Chapter 183 Empathy

The sky suddenly brightened, roosters crowed, and the hazy mist on the river surface gradually dissipated, covering the chickens that had risen early to peck at insects.

On the roof, curls of smoke reflected the blue-gray clouds. A blazing fire burned in the stove, mixed with busy figures, all falling on the earthen wall covered with incense.

"Master is about to go out. Are the pancakes ready?" asked Grandma Yin.

Meng Ma made a gesture, and the leek and egg box was already wrapped and ready to be put into the pan to make pancakes.

The wooden door was gently pushed open, and Zhao Xiping walked into the dim room. He walked to the bed, picked up the baby, covered Sui Liang with a quilt, and walked out quietly.

"Are you still asleep?" Sui Yu asked, leaning against the head of the bed.

"You played until late last night, so you need to sleep a little longer today." Having said that, Zhao Xiping reached out and slapped his son awake, forcing him to urinate.

The little cub was groggy and didn't sleep well. He wanted to cry as soon as he opened his eyes.

"Where is this? Who did you sleep with last night?" Sui Yu interrupted his crying and asked, "Are you hungry?"

After she finished peeing, Zhao Xiping handed the baby to her and said, "I'm leaving now."

"Well, go on your way and don't delay anything." Sui Yu held the baby in her arms and fed him, then pulled up the mattress to cover him. It was still a little cold in the morning.

After having a full stomach, the kid became energetic again. Sui Yu put a thin coat on him and let him roll and climb on the bed.

"Sister? Are you awake? The cub is here with you?"

"Swoosh——" The kid immediately became excited when he heard his uncle's voice.

"He's awake. Come in and take him away." Sui Yu said.

"Ha, little one, hehe." Sui Liang pushed the door open and jumped in. He stood beside the bed and said, "Come on, uncle will carry you out to play."

The kid crawled over, Sui Yu lent a hand, and Sui Liang carried his fat nephew out.

The servants who were running by all cast their eyes at him. Sui Liang felt a little embarrassed. He carried his nephew on his back to find the big black dog, and then went to call Ah Shui to get up.

Sui Yu got up and went to the kitchen to check the food. There was porridge, noodles, steamed dumplings, pancakes, buns and braised eggs. Some of the bodyguards who had woken up early had already come to eat.

"Why was your young shopkeeper crying last night?" asked an escort.

Sui Yu smiled and said, "I did something wrong and I'm crying and repenting."

"Nonsense." The bearded escort didn't believe it. "Did you two beat him up?"

"I didn't touch him at all." Sui Yu didn't want to say more, so he changed the subject and asked, "When are you leaving?"

"Let's go this morning, early, to avoid the snow and freezing to death." The bearded escort sipped his soup and said, "It snowed early last year, I don't know what it will be like this year."

"It's estimated that the snow will come late this year. It will be October in half a month. I am still wearing light clothes in the morning and evening." Sui Yu continued.

"That's not necessarily true. Last year, it was sunny and warm before it snowed, but winter arrived overnight. I wonder how many people and livestock froze to death." A merchant named Ma strode into the door and said, "Last year's weather was cold, so the price of furs will be higher this year. If it doesn't snow soon after winter, I won't be able to sell the furs I have in stock."

Sui Yu entered the kitchen. She brought out the fried egg and chive box and said, "I'll give you two baskets of dry food. Would you like some liquid food?"

"Shopkeeper Yu, why don't you treat us to a meal?" asked the merchant sitting opposite.

"My son is ignorant and let this big brother spend money yesterday." Sui Yu explained, and then made an excuse: "There is only this row of chives left in the vegetable garden. Come back next spring and I will treat you to chive egg pancakes. The chives will be fresh and tender then."

"Okay, I'll remember that."

The merchant surnamed Ma smiled at Sui Yu, took a bite from a leek and egg box, and said, "You are so polite."

"Anything else?" Sui Yu asked.

"Another bowl of hot soup noodles per person, and an extra braised egg in each bowl."

"Are you leaving today too?" Sui Yu walked out.

"Yes, eat enough and leave after dinner."

"Madam, are you still making steamed egg custard this morning?" asked Grandma Yin.

Sui Yu waved his hand, "The porridge was cooked well this morning. I'll feed him a few mouthfuls after dinner. Serve twenty-three bowls of braised soup noodles to the table of merchants, and add a braised egg to each bowl."

After that, Sui Yusheng made a bowl of porridge and sat down in front of the stove to eat. A bowl of porridge, a steamed bun stuffed with pickled vegetables and eggs, and a braised egg, and she was full. She went out to look for Sui Liang and the little boy, and saw from a distance that Sui Liang was helping the little boy ride on the dog.

"Sister-in-law, you're here." Ah Shui patted the dog's fur on his hands and said, "The kid likes to ride the dog."

Sui Yu didn't know what to say, so she could only suppress her disgust and take the child, letting Sui Liang and A Shui go eat.

"Dahei is going to eat too." Sui Yu said.

The big black dog wagged its tail, went around the cub, licked the mistress, and chased Sui Liang with its messy fur.

The little cub screamed "Ah" and fluttered his wings to chase after him.

"Don't move!" Sui Yu lowered her voice and scolded, "Look at all the dog hair stuck on you. I don't even want to hug you anymore."

The cub stared at her face, grinned ingratiatingly, and leaned over to give her a warm kiss.

Sui Yu glanced at him sideways, "Who did you learn this from? You're quite good at coaxing people."

A bird flew over, and the cub's attention was distracted. He stared at the bird flapping its wings with wide eyes.

Sui Yu reluctantly picked the black dog hair off his clothes. She carried him to see the camels grazing. The merchants' camels were released at dawn and were scattered in groups across the wilderness.

The slaves who had finished their training went to have breakfast. After eating and drinking their fill, both men and women took their sickles and went to the fields to harvest wheat. On the way, they met Zhao Xiping riding back on horseback and greeted him one after another.

"I need to go out of the city on patrol to prevent people from outside the city from bypassing the desert and going around the city wall to enter." Zhao Xiping hurried back just for this matter. "It may take ten days or half a month to come back. If there is any problem at home, you go to Huang Ancheng. If he can't solve it, you can go to Captain Gu. I have told him."

Sui Yu was stunned for a moment, then realized: "Is Captain Hu deliberately looking for trouble?"

Zhao Xiping nodded. In previous years, such matters were handled by the garrison troops, with small flags leading patrols and rotating every ten days. Previously, Captain Hu had suffered a setback and couldn't find any fault in the business, so he could only use his official position to pressure him and assign him difficult tasks.

"It's okay. There's nothing dangerous about leading troops on patrol. It's just that being away from home is torturous." Zhao Xiping hugged Sui Yu into his arms and said, "Don't let your imagination run wild."

Sui Yu nodded, "I'll help you pack your clothes. Take your sheepskin pants and coat with you. Wear them when you go to bed at night. Also take a wolf skin and a bow and arrow."

The kid fell asleep. Zhao Xiping leaned over and picked him up, holding him and the mattress in his arms. He walked slowly around the room holding the child, his eyes never leaving the child's face.

Sui Yu packed up the two bags and then looked at the man with a warm face. He really loved this child.

"Wake him up? Talk to him?" she asked.

"Forget it." Zhao Xiping touched the child's face, put his son back on the bed, and when he stood up, he kissed the boy on the face, then kissed Sui Yu, then picked up his bag and went out.

Sui Yu saw him off and watched him ride away on horseback, then she went back into the house.

During lunch, the kid looked out from time to time, and Sui Yu knocked on the bowl with a spoon to call his attention back.

During dinner, the boy found that his father had not come back yet, so he pulled Sui Yu's hand and pointed outside, indicating that he wanted to go out and look for someone.

When it was time to go to bed at night, the little one lay on the bed and played all the time. Even when he was so sleepy that his eyebrows and eyes were drooping, he still struggled not to sleep. He was in a bad mood and hummed anxiously.

Sui Yu hugged him and fed him, and then coaxed him to sleep.

However, when he woke up in the middle of the night to pee, the little guy found that there was one person missing from the bed. He could no longer bear it and cried loudly while hugging Sui Yu.

"If your father knew you missed him so much, he would be so happy that he would fly away." Sui Yu put on her clothes and hugged him to comfort him, "You are not young, but you are very sentimental. Your father is not lost, nor did he run away. He will be back soon."

The kid mumbled something similar to "Dad". He had just learned to speak, and his pronunciation was often intermittent, and his articulation was unclear, but he could tell who his father, mother, and uncle were.

Sui Liang woke up with a start. He ran over and asked, "Sister, what happened to the cub?"

"I miss your brother-in-law. It's okay. Just cry for a while."

"Why don't you let him sleep with me?" Sui Liang felt that he still held a great importance in his nephew's heart.

Sui Yu opened the door and let him in. Sui Liang took the cub and went out. As soon as he stepped out of the door, he reached out for his mother again.

Sui Liang had no choice but to play with the little boy on his sister's bed. With the two of them coaxing him, Zhao Xiaozai was so happy that he forgot about his father.

When he woke up in the morning, he started crying again. In order to comfort him, the cat owner and the big black dog came.

Three days passed like this, and the cub seemed to have gotten used to his father not being at home. He stopped crying and only looked outside subconsciously when he heard the sound of horse hooves.

Another night, Sui Yu coaxed her son to sleep. She leaned over and looked at him, silent for a long time before speaking in a hoarse voice, "You're so sentimental. When I'm gone next year, how long will you be sad? Oh, you should be more insensitive, a little more insensitive to other people's emotions."

No one answered.

Sui Yu was worried about this matter and did not sleep in the middle of the night. He did not close his eyes until the rooster crowed.

After dawn, Sui Yu left the guesthouse to Sui Liang to guard. She took A Shui and the little boy to work in the fields with the servants. The wheat and millet had been harvested, but soybeans and sorghum were still growing in the fields.

"Look, little one! I caught another big grasshopper." Ah Shui ran over, pinching the grasshopper's leg. She said seriously, "Grasshoppers are green in the summer, but they turn yellow in the fall when the grass turns yellow."

The kid took the grasshopper and put it into his mouth at lightning speed. Sui Yu quickly reached out and pinched his chin, forcing the grasshopper out.

The cub stole a glance at her expression, and seeing that she didn't scold him, he reached out and pinched the grass stems blown by the wind.

Ah Shui put the grasshopper in his pocket and said, "The kid must have seen chickens like to eat grasshoppers, so he wanted to try some too."

Sui Yu said "hmm", and she carried the cub with her and went to the grass with A Shui to catch grasshoppers, and then dug for worms in the soil where the soybean stalks had been pulled out. After catching a bag full of them, the three of them went back excitedly to feed the chickens.

They caught insects to feed the chickens, and the chickens laid eggs. Sui Yu took his cubs and followed behind the chickens to pick up the eggs, and then took the eggs to the kitchen to cook them.

The little one nibbled on this boiled egg with relish.

The next day, he volunteered to go catch insects to feed the chickens, but Sui Yu, armed with a bow and arrow, took Ah Shui and the big black dog to patrol the fields. In the wheat field, a rabbit was dragging wheat ears back to its burrow. The big black dog, smelling the scent, started chasing after it, forcing the rabbit into its burrow.

It returned home disappointed, and the cub was also listless. When Sui Yu shot down a pheasant flying in the air with an arrow, both the child and the dog were excited.

Chicken was stewed in the evening. People ate the meat and the dog ate the bones. The kid sat on the wooden bed and drooled with greed.

When the weather turns cold and the river dries up, it is time for fishing again.

Sui Liang fished out a palm-sized fish from the mud and threw it onto the shore. The boy leaned over to take a look, but the fish suddenly swung its tail and bounced up, startling him.

Sui Liang pointed at him and laughed, Sui Yu also laughed, A Shui teased him for being timid, the kid looked at everyone and grinned ignorantly.

The sound of horse hooves could be heard in the distance, getting closer and closer. Sui Yu turned around, holding the cub in her arms and standing up. She pointed at the man on horseback and asked, "Cub, is your father back?"