Chapter 69 Superficial

The night breeze cooled the sweat on her body. Sui Yu huddled in the man's arms. She looked up and asked, "Did you ever nearly lose your life during this trip?"

"No."

"Not even when we were killing bandits?"

"No, the bow and arrow you gave me played a big role." Zhao Xiping didn't intend to tell her about the hardships on the road. He reached his arm around her knees, picked her up and carried her into the house.

"Go inside and sleep. The rooster will crow soon."

After crossing the threshold, the moonlight disappeared and the room was so dark that one could not see one's hand in front of one's face. Sui Yu straightened her waist and leaned forward, holding the man's face with one hand. Their breaths met and she kissed him.

Zhao Xiping stopped walking. He stood still holding the person in his arms, tilting his head back and letting her move. However, the strength in his hands became stronger and stronger, almost rubbing the person into his body.

"Let's make a bed for Liang Ge." Sui Yu said in a low voice.

Zhao Xiping took a deep breath, lowered his head and leaned against her, buried his face in her slender neck and breathed softly. After he had recovered, he lifted his legs and continued to walk towards the bed.

"The main room is rarely used and there are no guests at home. It would be better to convert it into a wing room," Sui Yu said again.

Zhao Xiping put the man on the bed, and he lay down too. The two fell asleep face to face. He said in a hoarse voice, "When I was three or four years old, my family was so poor that we hadn't tasted meat for half a year. My mother killed the hen that didn't lay eggs during the Chinese New Year. On New Year's Eve, she stewed a pot of radish with a chicken leg, and brought a pot of shredded radish and chicken soup to the table. She said she would stew another chicken leg the next day, and we could eat meat every day until the Lantern Festival. Although there was little meat back then, I was very happy to have some meat every day. I looked forward to the dawn every night before going to bed. To me, you are the meat that I think about day and night. You have to make me crave it. I have to have something to look forward to, something to make me look forward to going out to fight, and to look forward to coming back when I'm away." As he spoke, he rubbed her through his bellyband and said frankly, "I'm afraid of death. I'm afraid that one day I won't be able to hold on. But I'm sure I crave you very much."

Sui Yu kicked him and she scolded him, "How vulgar."

Zhao Xiping laughed and continued, "I was worried that I would die before I could free you from slavery. If I got you pregnant, your situation would be even more difficult. I couldn't bear to see my child suffer a life of slavery and humiliation."

After saying that, without Sui Yu's reminder, he turned his head and spat twice, so that he would not die.

Sui Yu raised her leg and stepped on it. The man's breathing instantly became heavy. She loosened her foot and said softly, "I'll do it for you when you come back next time."

Zhao Xiping pinched her and said through gritted teeth, "You know quite a lot."

"You didn't even look at where I stayed before I went home with you."

Zhao Xiping fell silent. He was now thankful that Sui Wen'an had reached out and brought Sui Yu out of the brothel, and even felt a little grateful.

Not daring to continue discussing the previous topic, Zhao Xiping moved to the side of the bed and asked, "Has your cousin come to see you? How is he now?"

"I don't know about his situation, but he came once at the end of last month and brought me rice, flour and a pheasant. Liang Ge'er was at home at the time, and I went out to fetch water. He left his things and left. I guess he came to return the food I gave him before." Speaking of Sui Wen'an, Sui Yu also mentioned a few words about Sui Ling. "She left with Captain Hu, and then the Qian family also moved out. They left smoothly, and apart from being talked about, it seemed that nothing was affected. It was me who was unlucky because of Sui Ling's romantic affair. I don't know where the ruffian came from and knocked on my door in the middle of the night. I scolded him, and my eldest brother on the right heard the noise, opened the door and went out for a walk. The next night, Uncle Niu kept watch outside all night. He was probably afraid that Uncle Niu would keep watch at night again, so he quieted down after that."

Zhao Xiping suppressed his anger and cursed in his heart, but calmly comforted Sui Yu, saying, "Don't be afraid. The people living in the military settlement are all soldiers who have killed people. Most of them are righteous. If you hear a thief, just shout and everyone who hears will come out."

"I know, and I'm not afraid." Sui Yu told him about the dinner, "Tomorrow, ask Huang Ancheng which day he's not on duty. When he's not on duty, invite everyone over for dinner. Invite Uncle Niu and Brother Qin next door."

"Okay." Zhao Xiping put his arm around the man and said, "Let's sleep."

"Aren't you afraid of being uncomfortable?" Sui Yu grinned.

"Shut up."

Sui Yu bit her lip and laughed. After a long while, she stood up and moved to the other end. If she hugged him again, he would get out of bed and run out the door again.

"We still have to make a bed for Liang Ge'er to move out. He's not a child anymore and it's not good for him to sleep with me." Sui Yu was more worried about what Sui Liang would see. Although she and Zhao Xiping only explored the upper body, they would inevitably make noises. If Sui Liang heard it and saw it, it would be difficult for the child to accept.

"Okay." Zhao Xiping agreed. "There's nothing to do before the autumn harvest. I'll take a couple of days off and then go to the mountains and see if I can hunt some wild animals."

At this time, the sound of a rooster crowing was heard outside the house. The two of them tacitly stopped talking. Sui Yu yawned and fell into a deep sleep.

…

The night receded and the sun rose again. Zhao Xiping finished his breakfast and prepared to go out. He clutched a set of clothes with a strong odor in his hands and said, "This set of clothes is rotten. I'm going to throw it away."

"Why throw it away? If I don't want to wear it anymore, I'll take it apart and mend it to make some cloth bags. I've learned how to sew." Sui Yu said.

Zhao Xiping didn't explain, saying he would buy more cloth when he needed it. He went to the west gate, and when he got out, he threw his corpse-smelling clothes far away. On his way back, he asked Huang Ancheng which day he wasn't on duty.

The couple invited him again and again, and Huang Ancheng no longer refused and said, "I'm off for work the day after tomorrow, so I'll go straight over at noon the day after tomorrow."

Zhao Xiping nodded and said, "You are busy, I will go to the fields to check on the crops."

The wheat ears in the field were still green. A gentle pinch would release juice from the husks, and the ears were still tender. The soybean pods were full, but the beans were still tender. Zhao Xiping walked down to the bean field and grabbed two handfuls of bean pods, scooping them up with his coat. The beans were delicious when fried. The millet ears were drooping slightly, and they would be ready for harvest in another half month. The sorghum harvest was good this year, with large ears and many grains. The sorghum stalks were also well-developed and green. Zhao Xiping picked up a stalk with a small ear; the sorghum stalks were sweet, and he took it back for Sui Yu to eat.

This was the first time Sui Yu tasted sweetness after eating malt sugar during the Chinese New Year last year. Sorghum stalks are a bit like sugarcane, and both have a pulp that can be chewed. The sweetness is not as good as malt sugar, but it has a fresh fragrance.

Sui Yu handed the sorghum stalks to Zhao Xiping, but he waved his hand and said, "I don't like to eat it."

"Are you disgusted by my saliva?" Sui Yu glanced at him.

Zhao Xiping stared at her for a moment, then looked away without saying anything.

Sui Yu chuckled.

Sui Liang was chewing on a sorghum stalk when he suddenly felt a pain in his mouth. He spat, finding a tooth stuck in the unchewed sorghum pulp, stained with blood. He instinctively spat, his mouth full of blood. He felt panicky at the sight, his mouth drooping and tears streaming down his face.

"Come here, let me see." Sui Yu knocked the man with a sorghum stalk. "Look at you, the sweet sorghum you brought back knocked out our Liang Ge'er's teeth. He's losing teeth at such a young age. Will he end up like Uncle Niu in the future?"

Sui Liang cried even harder. He picked up the tooth and walked towards Sui Yu, blood flowing out of his mouth.

Zhao Xiping glared at Sui Yu and said, "You're old enough to change your teeth. You'll have new teeth in a few days. Why are you crying? Your sister is just trying to scare you."

Sui Liang wiped his tears, he spat out a mouthful of blood, and then spat out again, there was still blood. He squatted on the ground and cried pitifully.

Sui Yu smiled. She scooped a bowl of water for him to rinse his mouth, saying, "It's normal for children to lose their teeth when they are six or seven, or seven or eight. When the young teeth fall out, new teeth grow in. When the new teeth grow in, they can chew big bones. Open your mouth and let me see. Those are the upper teeth that have fallen out. Throw them under the bed. They will grow back in a few days."

After rinsing his mouth, there was no blood in his saliva, and Sui Liang was no longer panicked. He used the remaining water in the bowl to wash his face, and put his teeth in to wash. Now he felt curious again.

"Don't lick your teeth if they fall out. If you lick them too much, they will grow crooked and stick out, just like our little black pig, which is very ugly." Sui Yu warned him. She looked at the teeth in the bowl and thought it was a good opportunity to talk about sleeping in separate beds. She thought for a moment and said, "When you change your teeth, you become a big child. When I lost my first tooth, my aunt slept in a separate bed from me. The same goes for you. Ask your brother-in-law to make a new bed for you. I will clean up the living room and turn it into your bedroom. You keep this tooth. When the bed is back, throw it under your bed."

Sui Liang was unwilling. He lowered his eyes and played with his teeth without looking at her.

"I'll boil an egg for you at noon today, and you can sleep by yourself." Sui Yu tempted.

Sui Liang twisted his face, his expression slightly relaxed.

"One today, one tomorrow." Sui Yu glanced at him and said, "Now you have a room. You can bring Datou over to play in the future. You'll have a place to put your things. It'll be so comfortable."

Sui Liang raised his eyes, frowned and hugged Sui Yu.

"It's too hot for the three of us to sleep together, brother. When it gets cooler, you can move over and we can sleep together." Sui Yu hugged him, rocked him, and said, "Is this okay now?"

Sui Liang smiled and nodded.

"How can a boy this age still cling to his sister?" Sui Yu slapped him.

Zhao Xiping stood aside and watched with a gentle look in his eyes. He thought that when he and Sui Yu had a child in the future, it would probably be like this.

"I'm going to cook, Captain Zhao, you come and light the fire for me. Liang'er, sweep up the sorghum pulp on the ground. Do you want to eat the remaining sorghum stalks? If not, feed them to camels or sheep. See who will eat them." Sui Yu stood up.

Zhao Xiping followed her to the kitchen.

Sui Liang watched the two people's movements and ran into the main room. He threw the tooth in his hand under the bed and decided to leave it there.

While making a fire, Zhao Xiping always felt that something was missing. It was not until he went to the vegetable garden to dig radishes after dinner that he remembered that he had not stewed the medicine.

"You've finished the medicine you took, didn't you go to the clinic to see a doctor?" he asked.

Sui Yu subconsciously shrank her neck. She felt that she was well again and didn't need to drink the bitter soup anymore.

Zhao Xiping stared at her hatefully. Seeing that Sui Yu was becoming more and more guilty, he threw away the shovel, strode into the house, opened the wooden box and took out the money.

"Hey, I'm fine now." Sui Yu followed in.

"Don't talk to me."

"There are only 20 strings of cash left, and it's not even August yet." Sui Yu hesitated. The real reason was that the medicine was too expensive. He had already spent 16 or 17 strings of cash on medical treatment and medicine for five days. If the doctor prescribed medicine for another month, the family would be out of money.

Zhao Xiping ignored her. He put fifteen strings of cash in a bundle, tied the bundle into a knot and slung it over his arm. Then he went to catch the man with a cold face.

Sui Yu subconsciously ran away, but she could not outrun him and was caught before she even left the door.

"You're still running." The man laughed and turned around and shouted, "Sui Liang, follow me. We'll go herd the sheep later."

Sui Yu gave up resisting and sighed all the way to the clinic.

Zhao Xiping turned a deaf ear to him. He went to see the doctor as he knew the place well and took the prescription to get a month's supply of medicine, which cost him eight strings of cash.

After returning, Zhao Xiping took out a jar of wine from the woodshed. It was pretty good as a reward from the government. He took it to a wine shop and sold it for ten strings of cash. He spent another two strings of cash to buy two pounds of turbid wine, intending to use it to entertain guests.

In the evening, the bitter smell of medicine wafted out of the Zhao family's house again, and passersby asked, "Captain Zhao, are you injured?"

Zhao Xiping hesitated for a moment.

"It's not him, it's me. I caught a cold while being exiled here, and I'm taking some medicine to heal." Sui Yu didn't hide the truth. She turned her head and said to the man, "Everyone is going to pity you again. You've married a woman with no land or property and poor health. You've lost a lot."

Zhao Xiping looked her up and down, his eyes lingering on her pretty face. He said, "There are people who pity me, but there are also many who envy me."

Sui Yu spitted at him, "Superficial."