A Western Doctor’s Happy Farming Life[1] 118

As soon as Guan Yiyu finished the last bit of his words, not only did Wu Dahu and Song Qinghan feel rather surprised and shocked, but also Hualian. He couldn’t help but frown tightly while gazing at Guan Yiyu in a condemning way.

Wu Dahu’s expression changed all of a sudden, and then he refused at once in decisiveness, “I already got a husband, I can’t marry anymore.”

“Is that so? And you should know that you’re abandoning the chance!”

Guan Yiyu inquired leisurely, and then suddenly reached out to hold on to the corner of Wu Dahu’s sleeve again.

Wu Dahu felt quite disgusted so he threw Guan Yiyu’s hand away, saying, “Please be respectful… Would you?”

A series of violent coughs burst out from his throat suddenly and his body became stiffer, as if the poison in his body had detected the vibrant emotional change and come into force.

Guan Yiyu’s eyes lit up and he smiled, “Well, well, it seems that you fancy me, more or less. Otherwise the poison wouldn’t come into force. Are you worried about your son? Don’t worry, I will keep him as my own child and treat him good. If the concerns still trouble you, it will be all fine for me not to give birth to any child.”

The more Guan Yiyu said, the fiercer Wu Dahu coughed. His body shivered and teetered violently as if he was about to collapse the next second.

Song Qinghan, who had hidden in the shadow for a long while, jumped out from the corner suddenly, supported Wu Dahu by his shoulder before Guan Yiyu took any action, and then he said coldly, “Childe, please be respectful, and thanks for your kindness offering the chance. I don’t think there doesn’t exist the second snowlotus in this expansive world. Since it bothers you to deliver us the one you own. We will think of another way ourselves, now it’s time for us to leave.”

Then, he motioned Hualian to grab the other arm of Wu Dahu. And abreast, three of them walked towards the carriage.

It was a great surprise for Guan Yiyu to witness Song Qinghan jumping out from nowhere and popping up like an animal. Yet he didn’t approached and blocked their way but just stood still with arms folded across his chest, and then he said leisurely, “As long as Wu Dahu chooses to stay tonight, I will go and produce an antidote using the snowlotus as an ingredient for his first round of treatment.”

Facing with the condition, Wu Dahu didn’t say anything but Song Qinghan himself sank into a long hesitation.

As long as Wu Dahu could be treated for the first time and the poison wouldn’t break out within a week. He could attend the last provincial competition tomorrow either the final tournament in the state capital.

Noticing that Song Qinghan was hesitating, Guan Yiyu continued to fan the flame.

“The antidote for the first treatment. I would give it to Wu Dahu as a requiting gift for saving me that day. No more other conditions I would require expect this one.”

“What? Are you afraid of something else?”

Song Qinghan’s eyebrows sank tightly as he stared at Guan Yiyu who was with a wry smile, and then he answered decisively, “Then I will stay together with him!”

Guan Yiyu was also straightforward and responded directly, “Fine!”

Wu Dahu never won every time when Song Qinghan made up his mind in decisiveness, so he had to got off the carriage again obediently. Song Qinghan looked at Hualian who was still on the carriage, and then ordered, “Take care of Wenxuan and Little Shitou. We will go back tomorrow.”

Hualian nodded earnestly, yet when he stared at the back of Wu Dahu and Song Qinghan walking directly into the mansion, he felt so much worried.

On the way they walked in the corridor which was leading them inside the even more magnificent yard, Song Qinghan commenced chattering with Guan Yiyu as if he was trying to figure out more information about this femina man, he asked without any jealousy, “Childe, do you mind me asking why you suddenly took a fancy to my husband? You should have found a noble who is much better than him by dint of your charming appearance.”

Guan Yiyu looked at Wu Dahu in a full of silently conveyed tenderness, smiled shyly and answered softly, “Well, I thought he was kind of a ruffian or someone with evil intention when I first met him that day in the pitfall. And when I was saved out of that pitfall, I found he was just someone with a bad temper but with no bad ideas at all. So I resorted any possible means to find his trace, and when I get more information about him, I find he is not with a bad temper at all, and it turns out that he only treats good to one certain person as well. So I just always imagined these days, if I were the other party whom he cares so much for, I will be totally in heaven! That kills me, you know,”

“And as the bitterness of yearning festered, I just think of doing something for him. Well, it happened that he got poisoned by that herb. So I would think it is a divine will which, the Buddha insinuates that I should do something to stay with Childe Wu!”

Wu Dahu frowned tightly. Looking at Guan Yiyu who was now showing all his shyness, he could clearly feel that every goose bump on his skin erupted suddenly with coldness. He would prefer to see this femina man with a bad temper he showed on that day than to see his current expression.

Oh, what a bummer, thought Song Qinghan as his corner of lips twitched. Probably this Guan Yiyu guy had already put himself in the shoes of protagonist in love story. And this drama queen was about to devote himself to purchase his so-called “Love” while abandoning the etiquette and custom and impressing only himself in the end.

And then Song Qinghan answered coldly, “Don’t you ever think that what you do right now is actually immoral and you’re just breaking up two people who are in love? And in addition, even if Wu Dahu marry you, do you really think that you will finally get his affection?”

Guan Yiyu glanced at him contemptuously and responded indifferently, “Don’t inform me something like that! But do you think you yourself deserve Childe Wu’s affection? What makes you so confident? Your appearance? Well, you do have one, but what about five years later? Ten years later? And medical skill? If you’re really that kind of potent, how come you can’t recognize this herb as a heartless herb? How about that, let’s compete with each other, and I will let you select the content of the competition, lyre-playing, chess, calligraphy, painting, poem, verse and song. Just pick one. As long as you can defeat me one of them, I will allow you to stay with Childe Wu.”

The drive for the excellence was ignited in Song Qinghan’s mind all of a sudden as he saw Guan Yiyu was being rather ignorant, he couldn’t help but laugh and answered, “It’s not about you allow or not, Wu Dahu will always be mine. Today I will explain to you the old saying about ‘One shouldn’t speak in absolute term’.”

They met each other in the eyes while it seemed that there was a pile of invisible fire lighting in the air between them. Yet Wu Dahu held his forehead with resignation.

When Guan Yiyu played the zither, Song Qinghan whistled at ease. What he whistled indeed echoed the rhythm of the Guan Yiyu’s zither. The whistle and the zither were coordinated making an euphonious melody of a combination of classic and modern fashion.

After the performance, Guan Yiyu sneered, “Oh wow, what a mouth! I never expected that you can use it as an instrument.”

Song Qinghan responded without changing his expression, “The word ‘zither’ refers not only to any instrument with strings, but to all the pleasant music in its broader meaning. If childe isn’t satisfied with that, let’s move on for the next item.”

When he said this, he placed all the blame on Guan Yiyu while showing his generosity. Guan Yiyu’s face flushed in a great redness and he looked at Song Qinghan fiercely, as if he wanted to swallow him with his monstrous mouth.

After the chessboard was set, Song Qinghan took the lead and picked up the chess pieces. He smiled and said, “I know nothing about weiqi but gobang. I will just tell you once about the rule, if you can take it, take it. But if it’s hard for you to comprehend that, well then, just regard it as my failure.”

Before Guan Yiyu reacted, he commenced narrating the rule of gobang while picking one piece of black in one hand and white in the other.

Frankly, five-pieces-in-a-row! It was just a clear rule which was quite easy to understand, probably people would just think that Guan Yiyu was actually a fool if he claimed that it was out of his capacity to understand that. In that case, he had to answered with resignation, “Alright! Let’s just start it!”

Song Qinghan chuckled and raised his eyelids. Seeing that Guan Yiyu was completely led by his “rule”, he couldn’t help but sighed secretly in his mind at ease, thinking that Guan Yiyu was somehow a “fool” in handling things.

The first round, Song Qinghan won. He smiled and consoled with a good temper, “Best two out of three.”

The second round, it was still Song Qinghan who won the game. He raised his eyebrows and asked tentatively, “Maybe best three out of five?”

The third round, Song Qinghan was still the winner. He said leisurely, “Maybe best five…”

“Enough! It’s out of my capacity!” Guan Yiyu interrupted.

He threw the pieces away to the corner and then stared at Song Qinghan with an expression of awkwardness.

He would prefer to admit that he was a fool rather than to admit his defeat. And in addition, being unable to play the weiqi could be the reason for Song Qinghan to reject the competition, so why couldn’t he do the same?

Song Qinghan put down his chess piece with a faint expression. On the chessboard, another five-in-a-row appeared. He calmly said, “Okay, let’s move on to the next item!”

Just as Guan Yiyu mentioned about the item of “calligraphy”, Song Qinghan held his chin and thought for a moment, and then he made an order to ask one of the servants to get him a black charcoal. And then he sharpened the black charcoal into a size and thickness of a pinky and wrapped it with a paper on its upper section, and commenced writing on a rice paper like he was using a fountain pen.

He wasn’t worried at all because he got an essay aside him which allowed him to make a reproduction, and he didn’t even have to concern over that it was out of his capacity to write any traditional Chinese characters (Modern Chinese from mainland use simplified version). After half an hour, he put down his self made “Fountain Pen” with reluctance.

Guan Yiyu couldn’t help frowning when they put the papers together.

Though Song Qinghan’s written characters didn’t possess any texture of writing brush, it still could be seen that he got a strength when he was writing, the shape of the characters was like floating clouds and flowing water.

And then Guan Yiyu couldn’t help asking, “What kind of font is this?”

Song Qinghan looked at Guan Yiyu’s written characters in regular script and then he praised directly, “You got good shaped words! Oh, me? That is… umm… kind of font used in medicine script!”

“Medicine script font?” Guan Yiyu frowned tightly and repeated the words of Song Qinghan, while memories failed him to search any knowledge about the “Medicine script font” in his mind, he wasn’t reconciled and then continued to utter, “Move on! Let’s move on!!”

Song Qinghan tried to hold back his laughter and nodded solemnly, “Move on, move on!”

Well, the next item- painting should be Song Qinghan’s weakness, and he hadn’t set about doing anything as Guan Yiyu commenced waving his writing brush. He pondered for a short while, and then he rushed to the kitchen as if a wonderful idea just popped up in his mind, with various vegetables in hand, he started doing a color modulation himself.

Guan Yiyu was completely absorbed in drawing in the whole process. And he didn’t find Song Qinghan’s absence until he finished the outline sketch of the painting, and, he found that the drawing paper by Song Qinghan’s side was still loaded with nothing.

He frowned, and just as he was about to ask the servant about where Song Qinghan was, Song Qinghan came back being covered with sweat while in his hands lying pigments with bunch of colors.

Guan Yiyu sneered and then used his own pigments in a leisurely manner.

Well, the traditional Chinese painting pursued the extreme purity and simplification. Over-exaggerating and rich colors would just ruin the artistic conception of it, and probably would finally become a laughing stock for anyone in the scene.

As he noticed that Song Qinghan commenced shaking the writing brush which was soaked with the pigments, and spread the liquid on the paper, he screamed suddenly and complained with an expression of grudge, “WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?”

Song Qinghan turned to look at Guan Yiyu who was accidentally flung by the “Vegetable” pigment. He blinked innocently and coughed lightly, saying, “Of course I am drawing… Oh, don’t worry, this is carrot juice, and it’s drinkable, it won’t make you poisoned.”

After saying that, he glanced at the incense that was about to burn out and hurriedly said, “I will explain to you later, I get no time now!”

Guan Yiyu took a clean handkerchief from the servant’s hand and wiped off the pigment on his face. He held tight his writing brush with an emotional combination of wrath and embarrassment and then was absorbed in his painting once again.

He didn’t believe that he wasn’t able to defeat a boor today!

Time’s up, both of them put away their writing brushes in hand. Looking at his own masterpiece, Song Qinghan explained loudly without hesitation before Guan Yiyu reacted, “I will name this drawing ‘The real world in the Eyes of children’.”

Guan Yiyu was stunned with his eyebrows sank when he saw Song Qinghan’s painting which was featuring bunch of colors.

“A REAL WORLD IN THE EYES OF CHILDREN”? How could they know that as they were already grown-ups?

Besides, the entire world was a color-laden and broad space. Nothing should be claimed to be wrong if someone said the world in children’s eyes was loaded with all kinds of colors.

Guan Yiyu then reached out to grab his own paper, tore it in pieces and then roared expressionlessly, “Let’s get the next item!”