My delicate husband

Zhang Xiaomo was really tired after a whole day of shopping today. He started coughing as soon as he got home. Lan An patted his back with concern.

"Brother Xiaomo, are you feeling better? I'll go get you a glass of water."

"Better."

Seeing that his condition had stabilized, Lan Euan visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

The stove in the room was lit, but the temperature inside was still very low. Lan An was a little worried and planned to boil a dose of medicine for Zhang Xiaomo later. Fortunately, he had grabbed a few extra doses.

"I'll go clean up the living room. Brother Xiaomo, I'll bring you the new books."

"Row."

Lan An didn't rush to clean up, but went to the kitchen to boil medicine for Zhang Xiaomo. He asked Guo Ge'er to keep an eye on it and give it to Zhang Xiaomo when the medicine was ready.

The weather is very cold and the meats are all frozen hard. There is no need to worry about them going bad if you leave them outside. I took out some of the Blue Eucalyptus and put the rest in the space. Anyway, the space has a fresh-keeping function. If you put too much meat in the kitchen, you will worry about it being stolen.

"Brother Guo, let your brother wash up first after the water boils. Boil more water so I can use it. If there is not enough water, I will go get some later."

"Okay, Ange, don't worry."

Lan Euan returned to her previous room and sorted out the boxes in the room. It was quite clean. She planned to use it to store the snacks such as melon seeds, candies, etc. that she bought today. There was no cabinet at home, so many things were difficult to store and it was not convenient to take them out when there was space.

Fortunately, there was an empty bed in the room, so Lan'an put the fireworks and firecrackers and the offerings he bought directly on the bed. He planned to put the clothes and other things in the closet since it was empty anyway.

Except for the food, everything else was almost sorted out. Lan An went to the kitchen and boiled the water. Guo Ge'er fetched water for Zhang Xiaomo to wash up. While there was no one in the kitchen, Lan An took out the food and piled it aside to deal with it later.

The chickens and ducks were first raised in the backyard and kept together with the old hens. Lan Euan also fed the chickens a bowl of rice. Anyway, he didn't plan to eat the rice in the granary.

The newly bought plates, ceramic sand pots, bowls, tea sets, and blue eucalyptus have all been scalded with boiling water for ease of use. I plan to take the tea sets to my room later. We don’t have a formal set of tea sets at home, and we still use bowls to drink water.

The small wooden barrels for storing grain were not enough. Lan'an bought a wooden barrel, but it had no lid, so it could only be used as a water bucket and could not be used to store grain. It was a pity, so he had to find a carpenter to customize two. Only two were not enough, so Lan'an silently took note of it in his heart.

There were more and more bowls in the kitchen, and it was not elegant to just pile them on the wooden table. There were also a few spice jars on the counter. Lan An thought he should order a kitchen cabinet. There were cabinet making drawings in the books he had read, and it should not be difficult to find a skilled carpenter to make one custom.

The grocery store owner gave me four small baskets. I already had two at home, which were just enough to hold the vegetables I bought. I put a little in each basket and used space for storage. I also took out some eggs and put them in the kitchen.

The fish were kept in a new bucket of water and covered with a small wooden basin to prevent them from being eaten by wild cats. The things were quickly sorted out, and Zhang Xiaomo's medicine was also boiled. Lan Euan fetched water and brought the medicine back to the room.

"Brother Xiaomo, stop reading and take your medicine. I bought maltose and dried fruit so the medicine won't be bitter today."

"An An, you put your heart into it."

Zhang Xiaomo drank the medicine, Lan An helped him take off his clothes and told him to go to sleep quickly as he was tired after a whole day.

"Go to sleep."

"An An, don't be too busy, good night."

"Good night."

Lan An finished washing up quickly. He was very tired after a long day. Guo Ge'er also fell asleep. It was getting dark. Lan An cleaned up the house, locked the gate and prepared to go to bed.

Lan An was taking off his clothes when he heard a "dong dong dong" sound. Someone was knocking on the gate. The person outside was obviously in a hurry. Lan An seemed to hear someone calling his name. There was some noise outside, and Lan An was not sure.

Normally, everyone should be asleep at this time. Lan An thought he was too tired, so he had auditory hallucinations. Lan An was sure that he heard Aunt Wang's voice, so he put on his clothes and went to open the door. It was so late, he was afraid that Aunt Wang wanted to talk to him about something important.

Aunt Wang stood outside the door, with a trace of regret on her face, and whispered to Lan An

"Grandma Tang, who lived at the southernmost end of the village, passed away. Her body was stiff when she was found. She must have frozen to death. She's probably been dead for several days. The village chief and Muramasa went to her house, and many people went too. I guess you didn't know, so I'm telling you."

There was a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Auntie Wang, the New Year is coming soon, why would you leave the old lady home alone?"

Lan Euan opened the door and welcomed Aunt Wang in. The stove in the living room was still burning.

"Ang'er, you've only been here for half a year. You don't know what a miserable life this Granny Tang has. She's the only one left at home. Her son enlisted in the army early in life but unfortunately died on the battlefield; her daughter-in-law couldn't bear the pressure of life and remarried with her young granddaughter; and her husband passed away many years ago. Alas, she's the only one left at home."

Hearing this news, Lan An felt a little annoyed. He thought of his mission. It seemed that if he gave up, more people would die in Lotus Village.

The original owner had this old woman in his memory. When washing clothes by the river, this old woman helped Ang'er. She was still quite strong. Unexpectedly, she froze to death at home and was not discovered until several days later.

"Then what about Granny Tang's funeral?"

Lan An knew that Chu Qiguo attached great importance to filial piety and paternal affairs. If he remembered correctly, Grandma Tang had no other relatives.

"I guess the village chief will discuss this matter tomorrow. The burial expenses will probably be paid from the village public fund, but the banquet will be shared by all the villagers. Every family should send a representative. Your family should be the one to go. Your Zhang Xiaomo is in poor health, and Guo Ge'er is too young."

"Then, Auntie, what else should I bring? When are you going tomorrow?"

Lan Ean asked casually. He was not very willing to go, but he still had to pretend.

"Just bring a few pounds of brown rice and some vegetables, and a few coins. Remember to bring odd numbers, not even numbers, as even numbers are unlucky. Get up early tomorrow, and we'll set out together around the hour of Mao."

Aunt Wang repeatedly urged Lan An to do so, and seeing that it was getting late, Aunt Wang went home.

When he walked into the room, Zhang Xiaomo woke up. Lan An poured him a glass of warm water. Lan An was a little sleepy, and his sleep was disturbed. He felt very annoyed and looked a little bad because he had to attend the funeral of an unimportant person tomorrow.

"An An, what's wrong? Who came just now?"

Zhang Xiaomo's throat was a little hoarse, because he had been coughing for too long.

"Brother Xiaomo, I'm sorry to wake you up. Grandma Tang passed away. Aunt Wang came to inform me and told me to go over and help at 1 a.m. tomorrow. Grandma Tang froze to death. Brother Xiaomo, someone really froze to death."

Seeing that An'er was in a low mood, Zhang Xiaomo thought that he was sad because of the death of a fellow villager, and a trace of pity and love arose in his heart. He also remembered that he had asked before whether people in Lianhua Village would freeze to death in winter, and his heart softened. An'an was still too kind. He gently reached out his hand, gently stroked Lan'an's head, and softly comforted him.

"Don't be sad. Life is full of endless variables and unknowns. An An, I hope you can face whatever you encounter calmly, and I hope you can live a safe and smooth life."

Zhang Xiaomo kissed the ends of Lan An's hair, his eyes filled with heartache. Separation from life and death is a sensitive issue, and he was reluctant to mention it, especially since his health was not good. He was destined to leave Lan An alone.

Zhang Xiaomo had never felt so helpless. He thought An An was too kind. She had to bear all this when she was less than fourteen years old. He felt indescribable heartache. He was so sad when someone he was not so familiar with died. What if it was him? What should he do?

Lan Euan enjoyed Zhang Xiaomo's caress and pity. He felt Zhang Xiaomo's low mood. His cat was indeed very philanthropic and cared about the people in this village.

"Brother Xiaomo, don't be sad."

"An An, I will accompany you."

"it is good."

Maybe he was too tired, Lan An fell asleep quickly in Zhang Xiaomo's arms. He held Zhang Xiaomo's underwear tightly in his hands, as if as long as he didn't let go, he could hold his cat tightly.

He didn't know that his cat was staring at his sleeping face with its affectionate eyes, picturing his sleeping face over and over again in his head.