Chapter 736 Yang Huaixi's Righteousness
Yang Huaixi wiped the tears mixed with snow water from his face, turned around and walked into the black market alley filled with the smell of blood.
The stench of rotting meat mixed with the pungent smell of cheap liquor hit them in the face. The beggar curled up in the corner gave the two children a malicious smile.
He held the beans tightly in his arms and set up a stall under a leaky eaves - it was called a stall, but it was just a broken wooden board with the words "Collecting Chinese Medicine" written on it, and next to it was half a basket of bupleurum and platycodon dug from the back mountain.
“At first, I couldn’t even afford a scale.”
Yang Huaixi rubbed the scar on his palm left by the knife while picking herbs. The hideous scar glowed light red in the firelight.
"Some people exchanged moldy cornmeal for medicinal materials, so I would weigh the amount with my hands. Once, when I was treating a cold, I mistakenly gave asarum instead of angelica dahurica, and it almost caused a death."
The oil lamp in my memory is flickering. The corners of the worn-out medical book are curled and brittle. Yang Huaixi is scribbling on the yellowed pages with a charcoal pencil. Douzi is lying beside him, copying the appearance of medicinal materials on the mud with a branch.
Once a rainstorm destroyed the shack they lived in. Yang Huaixi would rather soak in the mud and water than not hold the medical books tightly in his arms.
There are still faint stains of mildew between the pages, but it is more precious than any treasure.
The stove fire suddenly burst into a bright spark, illuminating the flickering light in Yang Huaixi's eyes.
"Now that I think about it, those days of making a living in the black market were actually a test from God."
He looked at Douzi who was packing the medicine box. The boy wiped the medicine bottles skillfully and gently.
"I read through three medical books and walked thousands of miles to collect herbs, but I finally made it through."
The moonlight outside the window quietly climbed up the windowsill, giving this pair of unrelated brothers a layer of silver. The past soaked in blood and tears finally turned into sweet wine over the years.
"At that time, we just wanted to keep him well fed and clothed, so we didn't care about giving him a big name. As time went by, 'Douzi' became his name."
He looked at the young man next to him, and a gentle smile finally appeared on the corner of his mouth.
"But now it's good. With your help, my beans can have a resounding name."
Wang Jianguo's back suddenly straightened and his rough palms pressed heavily on the mottled wooden table, causing the dishes to clink.
He looked at Yang Huaixi's face, which was full of wrinkles carved by time. His Adam's apple rolled up and down for a long time, and a layer of sparkling tears appeared in his eyes.
The dancing flames in the stove cast their shadows onto the earthen wall, flickering as if the young boy who had hugged his baby tightly in the wind and snow back then gradually overlapped with the weathered man in front of him.
"Brother Yang,"
His voice was hoarse as if it had been rubbed by sandpaper, and he reached out with a trembling hand to hold the other's hand that was covered with drug stains and scars.
"Your friendship is higher than the mountains and deeper than the sea. It is truly great kindness and righteousness!"
Wang Jianguo's gaze involuntarily drifted to Douzi, who was sorting herbs in the corner. The boy's focused profile was 70% similar to Yang Huaixi.
It’s not the similarity in the eyebrows and eyes, but the kind of tenacious demeanor tempered by suffering.
"To speak from the bottom of my heart,"
Wang Jianguo took a deep breath, his voice filled with undisguised emotion.
"We have only known each other for a few months, but seeing how you two get along with each other, I always thought you were brothers connected by blood!"
He loosened his hand, took out the wine gourd that he had treasured for a long time from the corner, tilted his head back and took a big sip. The spicy wine flowed down his throat, but it could not resist the heat surging in his heart.
"You always put Douzi first, and would rather go hungry and cold to protect him. How can others love him with such sincerity?"
He pushed the wine gourd heavily in front of Yang Huaixi, and the firelight made the wine glow amber.
"Come on! Drink this bowl!"
Wang Jianguo's voice suddenly rose in pitch, carrying an enthusiasm that could not be refused.
"Those hard days in the past should be regarded as a test from God! From today on, Jianye Village is your home!"
He reached out and embraced Douzi, who was a little embarrassed, and the warmth of his palm came through the thin clothes.
"Douzi is a hard-working kid with a smart brain. He is a genius at making medicines. You are also a good doctor. When spring comes, I will mobilize the whole village to help you find a marriage!"
At this point, Wang Jianguo laughed heartily, his laughter causing dust to fall from the beams:
"In the future, we will build a magnificent clinic together! When you get married, start a family and have a big fat boy, the three of us will build new houses next to each other!"
He raised the wine gourd and pointed it toward the window. In the night, scattered lights in the distance flickered in the wind and snow, as if foreshadowing the coming warm dawn.
The cold wind was still howling outside the window, but the house was warm and cozy. Three figures were tightly attached to each other in the jumping firelight, and a bond deeper than blood ties quietly grew in this small world.
A spark suddenly flew from the charcoal in the fire pit, making a slight noise in the quiet room.
Wang Jianguo used a branch to poke at the dying fire. The jumping flames reflected on Douzi's childish face, illuminating the boy's hesitant expression with great clarity:
"Let's get back to business, Brother Douzi. Now I'm giving you a chance to choose a name for yourself. It will be useful when you go to the commune to register or sign documents in the future."
Douzi was originally staring at the fire in a daze, but upon hearing this he suddenly raised his head and his eyes widened.
His fingers twisted the hem of his cotton jacket unconsciously, and the cracks between his nails were still stained with dirt from picking herbs during the day:
"Ah, let me give myself a name?"
His Adam's apple rolled up and down twice, and his voice became smaller and smaller.
"I... I don't know how to give myself a name. No one has ever called me anything other than Douzi."
The boy scratched the back of his head nervously, making his messy hair even more disheveled, and the firelight cast an uneasy shadow under his eyelashes.
Yang Huaixi looked at his brother's flushed face and couldn't help but laugh. He reached out and gently patted Douzi's head with a force that carried the intimacy of a brother:
"Silly brother, each of us has a name given to us when we are born. But you are lucky. God specially left this job for you. It's not easy to have the opportunity to choose your own name. Are you still afraid?"
As he spoke, he took down the old pipe hanging on the wall, and sparks flickered in the pipe bowl.
"Think about it, what kind of name do you want most? Majestic, elegant, or..."
"elder brother!"
Douzi suddenly grabbed Yang Huaixi's hand, and the warmth of his palm came through the coarse cloth sleeves. The boy's eyes were sparkling, as if filled with two clear springs:
"You picked me up. If it weren't for you, I would have frozen to death in the dilapidated temple or starved to death on the road begging. You gave me a second life. This name..."
His voice suddenly trembled.
"You can give me this name! Your name is better than anything else."
Yang Huaixi's hand holding the pipe suddenly tightened, leaving deep red marks between his fingers.