jdhmnovel Chapter 226 A Quiet Village Under the Setting Sun
Chapter 226 A Quiet Village Under the Setting Sun
In his dream, his family lived happily together, enjoying a prosperous life, so he never wanted to wake up.
But when he woke up and saw his young son and his elderly mother worrying about him, he was filled with guilt.
After hearing Dongzi's father's description, Long Chuqing was certain that it was the work of the dream demon.
On one hand, he missed his deceased mother, Dongzi, terribly; on the other hand, he probably wanted to escape reality. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so easily misled by his beautiful dream.
Dream demons grasp at the most important obsession in a person's heart, or what a person most desires but cannot possess in real life.
They create a perfect world in their dreams, drawing them deeper and deeper into it until they are completely trapped in the dream.
If a person is in a drowsy state all day, then they will have a constant stream of dreams to devour, which will accelerate their cultivation.
Afterwards, Long Chuqing took the old woman's pulse and gave her a few acupuncture needles to relieve her cough symptoms.
Since Dongzi's family had no writing brush, ink, paper, or inkstone, Long Chuqing did not prescribe any medicine for the old woman.
After returning, I will get some medicine for Grandma at Qiushui Pavilion and have Xiao Han send someone to deliver it to her home.
On the other side, Dongzi's father is only in his thirties and is in relatively good health, without any serious illnesses.
He had only been unconscious for a few days and was a little weak. He didn't need any medicine to recover; he just needed to eat some nourishing food to regain his strength.
Bronze and Green Shadow, who were waiting outside the house, were bored out of their minds because they had nothing to do.
They then erected the fence that had collapsed at Dongzi's house. They also found wooden stakes, inserted them into the soil to hold the fence in place, and secured it with hemp rope.
It was nearly dusk, and the sun was gradually setting in the west.
Xiao Han and Long Chuqing came out of the house. They looked up into the distance and their eyes met the bright red setting sun hanging in the sky.
As the afterglow of the setting sun shone down, the entire fenced village was cast with a long, slanted reflection.
At the same time, Bronze and Green Shadow had just finished restoring the fence and wall to their original positions.
"Done..." Qingying patted the dust off her hands, admiring her work and nodding in satisfaction.
"Your Highness, Miss Long." Qing Tong walked towards them after seeing them come out: "Has Dongzi's father woken up?"
"She's awake and fine," Long Chuqing replied. "Eat something good, and she'll recover in a couple of days."
“Miss Long has a way.” Qingying also came over: “It’s getting late, Your Highness, shall we go back now?”
"Okay," Xiao Han replied. "I'll be right back."
Dongzi and Dajun came out of the inner room. Dongzi came to Long Chuqing and knelt down with a thud.
"Thank you, sister." He kowtowed deeply.
Long Chuqing was startled. She quickly bent down to help him up, saying, "Silly child, there's no need for such a grand gesture. It was just a small favor."
"You saved my father's life; you are a great benefactor to my family."
"Why are you saying these things at such a young age?" Long Chuqing said reproachfully, feeling both helpless and heartbroken.
Children from poor families often mature early. At an age when they should be carefree, they take on heavy burdens during the most difficult times for their families.
She took out the loose silver she had with her that day and handed it to Dongzi: "Take this, buy some good food, and buy yourself a new dress."
Dongzi, clutching the half-bag of silver in his hand, was so frightened that he quickly returned it to Long Chuqing.
“No, sister, you have already treated my father for free today, how can I take your money again?”
“Now that my father is cured, he can earn money, but thank you again, sister.” He bowed again.
"Your father is in poor health now. Shouldn't he recover before he can go back to earning money?"
Long Chuqing stuffed the money bag into his arms again: "Take it! I earn more than your father, and I earn and spend my own money, so I have no burden and don't need this little bit."
"Alright, no more refusing. Once something is given away, it can't be taken back."
Seeing this, Dajun also advised, "Dongzi, just take it! Remember the people who helped you. When you grow up, when you are able, you can also do your best to help those in need, just like this older sister."
“That’s right.” Long Chuqing smiled slightly. “Alright, Dongzi, we should go back now.”
Dongzi held the silver in her hands as if she had made up her mind.
He bowed deeply to them again, saying, "Thank you, brothers and sisters, thank you all."
Under Dongzi's grateful gaze, the group left the courtyard and walked back along the fenced path they had come from.
At this moment, wisps of smoke rose from the chimneys of the surrounding houses, and birds fluttered their wings on the bare branches, flying from one tree to another, chirping and chattering.
"Look! The sunset is so beautiful tonight," Long Chuqing said, pointing to the sky ahead.
The sun had already set, and the layers of clouds on the horizon slowly tinged from a pale gold to an orange-red.
The gentle, warm orange hue reflected in their eyes and spread across the tranquil village.
“Yes, it’s beautiful.” Xiao Han looked at Long Chuqing beside him, and the corners of his mouth involuntarily turned up slightly: “Especially walking on such a quiet country road.”
"The sunset is beautiful, but it's windy and a bit chilly." Qingying rubbed her arms together.
"What you're saying is such a mood killer!" Bronze couldn't help but glance at him.
Dajun, standing to the side, looked at the beautiful sunset on the horizon and sighed inwardly: "Ah, if only Zhaoniang were here with me to watch this."
A few barks broke the silence from a distant courtyard.
The rosy glow faded slowly under the twilight, and the sky gradually darkened, turning into a pale bluish-gray.
As she passed the old locust tree at the village entrance, Long Chuqing stopped and turned to walk towards the well under the tree.
The area around the well was still damp, perhaps because villagers had been drawing water there. She leaned forward slightly and peered inside.
"Chu Qing, what are you looking at!" Xiao Han followed, also curiously leaning over to look into the well.
However, apart from the slightly rippling water and the reflections in it, there was nothing else unusual.
Long Chuqing withdrew her gaze, a slight smile playing on her lips: "It's nothing, I just thought the well water would be quite sweet since it's so clear!"
Xiao Han was puzzled upon hearing this. Wasn't this just an ordinary well? "Isn't our household's daily drinking water drawn from similar wells?"
"Hmm." Long Chuqing nodded gently, a faint smile still on her face: "Indeed, the water in the manor is just as sweet."
"Let's go!" Xiao Han smiled slightly. "Now that we've seen everything, let's leave quickly! It'll be dark soon."
The group left the village, and when they returned to the blacksmith's shop, it was already completely dark.