Zhang Xiaobei glanced at the barely breathing Meng Changhe on the ground, then picked up the exhausted He Xiaoya and left Meng Changhe's home.
On the way home, the two were silent, none willing to break the fragile peace they had found.
Once at home, Zhang Xiaobei gently laid the sleeping He Xiaoya onto the bed and took off her shoes.
But the moment he removed her shoes, Zhang Xiaobei felt as if he'd been hit on the head with a sledgehammer.
At that moment, He Xiaoya's feet were covered with blisters, and without asking, he knew where they came from.
"I, Zhang Xiaobei, swear to heaven that from this day on, I will never let this woman suffer even a bit of injustice, even if it costs me my life!"
No sooner had he treated the wounds on her feet than He Xiaoya began to run a high fever.
Until dawn, the fever finally began to subside. Looking at He Xiaoya, who had suffered so much on the bed, Zhang Xiaobei hated the Meng Family's two beasts and even more, he hated himself.
Only when daylight broke did Zhang Xiaobei rise from He Xiaoya's bedside. He went to the fish pond, chose two plump carp, and brought them back home to cook.
This was his first time cooking. Though he fumbled with the task, he did it with great care.
"Xiaobei, what are you doing? Is this..."
The clanging outside had woken He Xiaoya from her deep sleep, her nerves, which had just relaxed, tensed up again, and she quickly grabbed the vase on the bedside table.
However, when she lifted the curtain of her room's door, she was so surprised she almost cried out.
"Nothing much... I thought the fish in our pond looked nice, so I caught a couple to let you taste something fresh," he said.
Whether it was from nervousness or inexperience, Zhang Xiaobei accidentally touched the edge of the pot and shivered from the burn.
"Xiaobei, are you alright?" Seeing this, He Xiaoya threw down the vase in her hand and ran over.
Looking at his hand, slightly reddened from the burn, He Xiaoya felt a pang of pain. "Why aren't you careful? Look at the burn, come on, put some toothpaste on it, it won't hurt after you apply it."
Though scolded by He Xiaoya, Zhang Xiaobei felt warmth in his heart, sweet as honey.
"How is it? Does it taste good?" After applying the toothpaste, Zhang Xiaobei served up the fruits of his morning's labor.
"Not bad, really pretty good. I didn't expect you to have such culinary skills," He Xiaoya said as she picked up a piece of fish with her chopsticks and savored it with relish.
"Really?" Pleased by the beauty's praise, Zhang Xiaobei felt delighted. But as soon as he put the fish in his mouth, he almost spat it out. "It's way too salty!"
Watching Zhang Xiaobei's bitter face, He Xiaoya laughed so hard she bent over backward. It was the first time in many years she had laughed so heartily.
"Sister-in-law, stop eating, throw it away, it's too salty," he said.
"Why throw it away? That would be such a waste!" Without waiting for Zhang Xiaobei to act, He Xiaoya pulled the plate towards herself. It was Zhang Xiaobei's first time cooking, his first time cooking for her. "So what if it's a bit too salty, we've run out of pickled vegetables at home, using it as a substitute isn't bad."
Did they really run out of pickled vegetables at home? Looking at the packed pickling jar beside him, Zhang Xiaobei didn't know what to say.
"By the way, Xiaobei. How did you get back?"
When He Xiaoya asked about the matter, Zhang Xiaobei couldn't help but smile. "It's all thanks to Brother Li and the others."
"Brother Li?"
"Yes, Brother Li."
It turned out that yesterday morning, Li Jianjun had returned to the county with his wife Qi Yaru. The more he lay in bed thinking, the more he realized how skillful Zhang Xiaobei's medical skills were.
Eventually, he couldn't stay in bed anymore and got up to go to the hospital. Despite the doctor's objections, he insisted on taking his father to Ji Xian Village for treatment.
However, when they arrived at the village and inquired around, they found out that Zhang Xiaobei had been arrested by the police. Moreover, according to the villagers, Zhang Xiaobei's arrest seemed to be related to him.
This puzzled Li Jianjun, so he turned the car around and headed back to town. After using his connections to inquire, he found out the whole story.
Unable to stand by when his benefactor was being punished because of him, he went through the necessary measures to get Zhang Xiaobei released from detention.
"So that's what happened! It seems that this Mr. Li is impressive!" He Xiaoya listened with her eyes wide open, finding the whole story unbelievable.
"Yeah! We really owe Mr. Li this time. If he hadn't stepped in to help, I wouldn't have been released so quickly, and I wouldn't have made it back in time," Zhang Xiaobei thought of last night's events and still felt a shiver of fear, feeling very grateful for Li Jianjun's help.
"How is his father's condition now? If you can treat it, you must do your best for them. Otherwise, we'll feel like we're letting them down."
He Xiaoya took a bite of a salted fish and advised as she put it into her mouth.
"Don't worry, I've already diagnosed the old man by the time I got back. The situation is not as bad as we thought."
"Xiaobei, how confident are you in treating this kind of illness?" He Xiaoya was still a bit apprehensive about Zhang Xiaobei practicing medicine again.
"This illness isn't serious; it just takes a long time to treat. Don't worry."
After the two had breakfast, they tidied up briefly.
"Sis-in-law, you rest at home, I'm going to the fish pond." Carrying a shovel and the remaining herbs, Zhang Xiaobei instructed.
"Wait a minute, I want to see how much those fry have grown!" Seeing Zhang Xiaobei about to discourage her, He Xiaoya smiled, "Don't worry! I'll just look and not do any work, is that okay? Just think of me as a supervisor, making sure you work hard."
The two of them joked and laughed on their way to the fish pond. But when they saw the fish frolicking in the pond, He Xiaoya was stunned, as if she had come to the wrong place.
Is this really our fish pond?
"Sis-in-law, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
"No... nothing's wrong. Xiaobei, is this really our fish pond?"
"Of course, you're not mistaken. This is our fish pond. I'll start by clearing a spot for the net and sell these mature fish, then clean the pond and add new fry. This way, our fish pond will quickly scale up, and you'll just have to wait and count the money then."
Seeing the vibrant fish pond, He Xiaoya was overjoyed and, ignoring Zhang Xiaobei's attempts to dissuade her, grabbed a shovel and also stepped into the water.
However, given that the weather was hot and the pond water was not so cool, Zhang Xiaobei didn't try too hard to stop her.
The splashes quickly soaked He Xiaoya's clothes, the thin fabric clinging tightly to her body, revealing her shapely figure, which made Zhang Xiaobei feel a surge of heat.