"Oh my, why are you here?" Qiao Mei covered her mouth and said in surprise.
He Ning fell to the ground and suppressed the anger in his heart. The thing he hated the most was having dirt on his body, not even dust.
"Didn't you see us?" He Ning said through gritted teeth.
He looked as if he wanted to skin Qiao Mei alive. In the village, there was no place to buy clothes. Even if they went to the county city to buy new clothes, the fabric would not be as good as what He Ning was wearing.
"You guys are squatting under my fence so early in the morning. How would I know where you are? If you have something to say, why don't you come in instead of sneaking around outside the door?" Qiao Mei said.
He Ning was rendered speechless. He really could not blame Qiao Mei for this matter. If not for the fact that he was greedy and wanted to eat the food Qiao Mei made, he would not be in such a sorry state now.
If he went back to change now, he would probably not be able to come back in time for breakfast at Qiao Mei's house. If he did not go back, he could not tolerate the mud and sand on his body.
"I see that you're making breakfast, so I'm going to let Huo Gao stay and help you. We're all friends," He Ning said with a smile.
Huo Gao looked at him in shock. This fellow was selling him out with just a few words. He was a doctor, not a cook! If being He Ning's doctor meant that he had to even take care of the patient's daily living, it would be better if he had not agreed to come with He Ning!
If he had insisted that He Ning's bodyguards followed them, he would definitely have an easier time now!
Qiao Mei looked at Huo Gao and then at He Ning. It would be a waste not to accept free labor. She had already splashed dirty water on him, so it was nothing much to allow him to stay for a meal.
"Alright, he can stay and chop firewood." After saying that, Qiao Mei brought Huo Gao into the backyard. One wall in the backyard was lined with firewood that Xia Zhe had chopped before he left.
Huo Gao looked around the backyard in confusion and asked, "Isn't there firewood? What do I need to chop?"
"Those are not for use. You have to chop new ones. Just pile them on the wall next to this wall when you're done. Make sure you fill up the entire wall space!" Qiao Mei said.
Filling up the entire wall space! Huo Gao froze on the spot.
Did he hear wrongly… The entire wall space needed to be filled…
He would probably need to chop the firewood for two days and two nights. He was a doctor, not a cook! Not a cook!
Qiao Mei did not care about what Huo Gao was thinking at all. Since He Ning had asked him to stay behind to cover the cost of the meal, he had to do the job well. Firewood was a consumable item. Even with the pile that Xia Zhe had chopped and lined along the other wall, they would still use it all up one day.
"Thank you for your efforts. You can do it!" Qiao Mei cheered Huo Gao on and ignored his unwilling look as she happily returned to the house to cook.
Today, she was making pumpkin porridge, scrambled eggs with cucumbers and stewed tofu with cabbage. Auntie Dong had sent the tofu over last night. Every Wednesday and Saturday, there would be a small carriage secretly coming to the village entrance to sell things. Everyone could grow things like potatoes and sweet potatoes themselves.
Even if they did not grow it at home, they could exchange what they had with other families. However, for food made with extremely complicated processes like tofu, everyone could only buy it.
Moreover, it was not cheap!
Previously, when Qiao Mei taught Auntie Dong how to grow bean sprouts for sale, Auntie Dong had made a lot of money. Therefore, from time to time, she would send some delicious food to Qiao Mei for extra nourishment.
Today was a lucky day for He Ning.
Huo Gao looked at the tree stump on the ground in the backyard and the ax in his hand helplessly. He had only used an ax to chop down medicinal herbs before, and this was his first time chopping firewood.
Huo Gao raised his ax high and aimed. With a bang, the ax was stuck firmly in the wooden stake that was used to stabilize the firewood, and the firewood that was about to be chopped flew to the side.
"What sin have I committed… In my past life, I must have killed people like flies. That's why in this life, I'm He Ning's personal doctor. With my ability, I can even open a hospital on my own! Sigh… what a sin!" Huo Gao complained and started working diligently again.
After Qiao Mei finished cooking, she stayed in the courtyard to bask in the sun. Qiao Qiang also did some Tai Chi in the courtyard. This was something Qiao Mei had taught him. She said that the old men in the capital all knew how to do the exercise. They would practice one set every morning and another set at night, and it helped to train up their physique.
Now that he was old, he could not practice the fist techniques to kill and subdue enemies that he had learned in the army. It was better to practice Tai Chi techniques to cultivate his body and mind.