Fields of Gold

In a way, her family’s second son had exchanged his life to get this bear, so no matter what, she wasn’t going to let the Zhao Family reap all the benefits! As Madam Zhang urgently hurriedly Zhao Bufan into the room, she was also inwardly calculating how much money she could get.

Zhao Bufan gently shook her hands off, strode towards Old Yu, and then unfolded the heavy bag within his hands in front of him.  

Madam Zhang was immediately dazzled by the shiny silver. She was so stunned that her droopy triangular eyes were about to pop out. A bag full of silver ingots, which were worth ten taels each, would add up to at least two or three hundred taels!

Madam Zhang was an extremely stingy person, who was unwilling to spend too much money on clothes and food. There was a free laborer like Yu Hai to earn money throughout the day and Madam Zhang had been meticulously saving money for over a decade. However, after deducting the daily expenses and Yu Bo’s schooling fees, she had only saved up a little more than one hundred taels over all those years. Yet, a single bear was sold for two or three hundred taels!

“Is this the share that our second son deserved? Oh my, I didn’t expect a bear to be so valuable…” Madam Zhang grinned so widely that her old face had turned into a chrysanthemum. Her eyes had narrowed into a slit, while she exposed a mouth full of crooked, yellow teeth.  

Zhao Bufan dodged Madam Zhang’s hands that were reaching for the bag of money. He handed the bag of money to Old Yu and solemnly said, “Uncle Yu, this two or three hundred taels is all the money that I got from selling the bear, which is also the money that Brother Yu Hai deserves! If it weren’t for him, the person lying on the kang bed would be me!”

Old Yu didn’t take the money, sighed deeply, and said, “You two are as close as real brothers. I believe that if Dahai was the one in danger today, you would also do the same and rescue him! You guys have always split the earnings from hunting equally, so it shall be the same today!”

“Old man! Our Dahai is still lying on the bed and waiting for the money to save his life! Our second son has risked his life to get this money. Moreover, if Hunter Zhao takes the money, then all the villagers will gossip so much about him!” Seeing that her husband had gave out half of the money with a few words, Madam Zhang got worked up immediately! ‘Fifty-fifty? That would be one hundred fifty taels! Most people probably wouldn’t have that much money even if they saved up money for over a decade!’

Zhao Bufan, as if he didn’t see that Madam Zhang was hopping mad beside him, shoved the bag into Old Yu’s arms and said, “Uncle Yu, I only have one request!  Brother Dahai had risked his life in exchange for this money, which was something that Auntie had also mentioned earlier. Thus, I hope that at least half of the money will be used for Brother Dahai and his family. This shouldn’t be a difficult request!”

“Yes… Of course! The money will be used to treat my second son’s injuries. If anything happens to him… then the money will be saved for his children’s marriages!” Old Yu was Yu Hai’s biological father, so there was still familial affection between them!

Madam Zhang grabbed the money from her husband’s hands and held it in her arms happily. She replied in agreement, “Hunter Zhao, you don’t have to worry! Yu Hai is our Old Yu’s biological son, so how can we treat him badly? See, we have already invited the best doctor in town. A single dose of medication prescribed by him costs more than one tael! I’ll go pay for the medicine first. You guys continue talking!”

With three hundred taels in hand, Madam Zhang no longer hesitated to pay five taels for the medical examination and medication. She swiftly settled the bill, and then asked Yu Jiang to send the doctor back to town on his donkey cart.

“Everyone should go home! Dahai needs to rest quietly to recuperate. When he wakes up, I’ll let everyone know!” It was inconvenient with so many people in the yard. She must prevent the three hundred taels from falling into the eyes of the greedy! Once money reached Madam Zhang’s hands, it was like throwing a meat bun at a dog——it would never return!

In the west room, Madam Liu had already woken up and silently weeping as she stood beside her husband. Xiaolian and Little Shitou, who were accompanying their mother, had also cried until their eyes were red and swollen. Thus, Xiaocao would check on Yu Hai’s condition from time to time, while she decocted the medicine on a small mud furnace outside the room.

The sun had set in the west. The Yu Family had missed both the morning and evening meals. Except for the second branch, who had no appetite, everyone else was already starving. With Yu Hai’s three hundred taels, Madam Zhang naturally didn’t have the face to order the second branch around for the time being. So, she shouted at the east room, “Li Guihua, you lazy woman! Do you know what time it is right now? Quickly go cook dinner! Do you want to starve us to death?”

Madam Li and her son had secretly eaten some snacks inside their room. When she heard the noise, she reluctantly came out of the room and slowly lit the fire to cook. Yu Caidie glanced at the west room with her reddened eyes, and then quietly entered the kitchen to help cook dinner.

This was a sleepless night for the entire second branch in the west room. They all stayed beside Yu Hai for fear that the pillar of their family would suddenly collapse.

At the break of dawn, Yu Hai, whose breathing had originally stabilized, suddenly had a high fever. His pale and bloodless complexion had turned as red as a soldering iron, while his breathing became short and rapid.

Madam Liu’s, who hadn’t slept the entire night, face was without a trace of blood. There were also dark, heavy bags under her eyes. Her originally thin and weak body appeared even more fragile.

Madam Liu couldn’t stop her tears from falling down as she looked at her husband’s flushed face. The words that Doctor Sun had said yesterday still lingered beside her ears: ‘If he gets an infection or fever, then it will be difficult to save his life!’

“It’s so hot! Father has a fever! I’ll go ask Grandfather to call for a doctor!” Xiaolian wiped the tears on her cheeks and knocked on the door of the main room. Shortly afterwards, Yu Dashan was woken up and told to go fetch the doctor from town.

Yu Xiaocao, who didn’t dare to close her eyes throughout the night, felt lightheaded as she brew the second dose of medication for her father. She added two more drops of the mystic-stone water inside, while she anxiously called for the little divine stone within her heart, [Glutinous Dumpling, Glutinous Dumpling, are you here?]

[How many times have I told you? Stop calling me, this divine stone, ‘Glutinous Dumpling’! It’s such an insult to my status as a celestial stone!] Little Divine Stone responded lazily.

[Didn’t you say that my father will be fine after your being treated by you? Why did he suddenly have a fever again?] Yu Xiaocao asked uneasily.

[It’s normal to have a fever! He consumed too much of the mystic-stone water! I have already told you that if a healthy person takes in a high concentration of the mystic-stone water, then they will at most be more energetic and vigorous. But for someone like your father, who have suffered a serious injury, it will be difficult to endure the high concentration of energy within the mystic-stone water at the moment. Hence, he has a fever now!]

The little divine stone answered nonchalantly, but it was inwardly thinking about whether it would get any benefits from it saved its master’s father this time. If the shackles locking its powers could loosen up a little, then it might be able to…

“Then will anything happen to my father now?!” With Yu Xiaocao’s knowledge, she still understood the meaning of ‘too much is as bad as too little’. There would be side effects from taking too much medication, so would there also be negative consequences from consuming too much mystic-stone water?

Little Divine Stone’s train of thoughts were interrupted, so it impatiently replied, [What can happen? At most, he will just sleep for a few more days! I, this divine stone, can guarantee with my character that he will be fine, so what are you still worried about? Stop being so anxious about groundless matters! I need to rest for a certain period of time, so don’t bother me!]

With the little divine stone’s guarantee, Yu Xiaocao’s unsettled heart had finally calmed down. She stared at the medicine that was decocting, at a loss: ‘There’s also mystic-stone water within this pot of medicine. Should I still feed this medicine to Father?’

Since the little celestial stone had already promised that there was no side effects and he would just sleep for several more days, then… there wasn’t any harm in sleeping for a few more days, right? Don’t people say that sleeping more would help the recovery of wounds?

By the time Doctor Sun arrived again, Yu Hai’s fever was already gone. However, there were still no signs of him waking up.

Doctor Sun carefully examined his condition and checked his wound again, but he was still not optimistic, “If the patient doesn’t wake up within two days, I’m afraid that the chances of him waking up in the future will be very slim! Even if he wakes up, I don’t think we can keep his leg… However, it’s a good sign that his fever has gone down! He will still need to continue to take the medicine. If anything comes up, you can find me in town!”

Several days has already passed after that, but there still wasn’t any signs of Yu Hai waking up. Most of the family no longer held any hopes, except for Yu Xiaocao. She was the only one who knew that the condition of her injured father, who had been declared dead by the doctor, wouldn’t worsen anymore. Furthermore, he had also been fed mystic-stone water every day, so he could still survive even if he didn’t eat or drink anything. Yu Xiaocao firmly believed that as long as he drank a few more bowls of mystic-stone water, her father’s injury would gradually be healed sooner or later.

It had been three days since the little celestial stone used up all its powers to treat her father’s injury, but it had only recovered its spiritual form.

Look, that little golden ball of light was happily frolicking in the spring water and patted its chest in assurance, [Don’t worry. If you hadn’t fed him so much of the mystic-stone water, he would had woken up long ago.]

When the little divine stone heard from Xiaocao that the doctor told them that her father’s leg needed to be severed, it replied in disdain, [Don’t listen to that quack. This divine stone will be merciful and use a little more of my spiritual power. In a month, your father will definitely be able to walk with that leg of his. But… he did hurt the tendons and bones in his legs, so he might walk with a limp in the future.]

Even if he walked with a limp, it was fine as long as he was alright! Over the past few days, Yu Xiaocao had come to a clear understanding that her father was the main pillar of their second branch. If he collapsed, then the entire second branch would also fall apart.

Madam Zhang, who had been silent for a couple days, also didn’t have any hopes for Yu Hai’s recovery. She began to shout again, “What time is it? No one is feeding the pigs, nor is there anyone gathering firewood. Are we still going to get on with life? If you’re not going to work, then get the hell out! Our family doesn’t accept any slackers!”

Madam Liu, who always remained in a state of anxiety these days, would hastily get up from the kang bed whenever she heard Madam Zhang’s screams. The continuous days of worry and hard work had caused Madam Liu’s complexion to be even more pallid than Yu Hai, who was lying on the bed.  

Seeing this, Yu Xiaocao hastily said, “Xiaolian and I can take care of the household chores. Mother, you should lie down and rest some more! Don’t worry, it’s already the best news that Father’s condition hasn’t worsened. Father wouldn’t bear to part with such a virtuous wife and such intelligent children like us. My father is an upright and fearless man, so he will definitely be able to get through this obstacle! Mother, you should have confidence in Father!”

“Little girl! Who praise themselves like you?” Madam Liu’s anxious heart had somewhat settled as she pretended to glare at the little lass. Although there were endless work and scolding in this family, her husband was genuinely good to her. As long as her husband could safely survive this misfortune, she wouldn’t complain even if she encountered any hardships.

Madam Liu bowed her head and silently looked at Yu Hai. After so many years, it was her first time looking at him so carefully. For the five days that he had been unconscious, he looked really serene, as if he had fallen asleep. It was as if he would suddenly open his eyes at the next moment, smile at her foolishly, and then call out her maiden name——Muyun.

Hopefully, as Xiaocao had said, he could survive this hurdle…