Chapter 184: Couple's Night Talk
As the horses approached, the man on horseback dismounted gracefully. He looked at Sui Yu, then at the boy with inquiring eyes, and asked, "Are you fishing?"
The cub's eyes moved.
Sui Yu noticed that the man had shaved his beard. She felt amused. Was he afraid that his son wouldn't recognize him?
She took the initiative to guide him and asked, "Little cub, who is this? Is he your father?"
Zhao Xiping was feeling uneasy. He clapped his hands and said, "Don't you recognize me? Come here. Daddy will carry you and let me ride on the big horse."
Sui Yu came closer, holding the child. She tilted her head to look at the cub and saw that he recognized her. She handed the child over and said, "Ask your father to take you hunting. He can catch rabbits and pheasants."
Zhao Xiping took the child and saw that he did not resist. He smiled slowly: "Not bad, you haven't forgotten me."
Zhao Xiaozai leaned back to look at him, holding his chin with both hands, and pursed his lips. Just as he was about to cry in grievance, he heard his mother shout, "What a big fish, Xiaozai! Quickly ask your father to catch it."
It was rare to catch a wild fish as long as an arm in the river. People nearby gathered around, and the noisy chattering disturbed the little boy's thoughts. He turned his head to look and forgot to cry.
In order to coax his son, Zhao Xiping carried the child in one hand and went into the river, stepping on the mud to fish in the shallow water.
The little boy joined in, he was extremely focused, staring at the turbid water and shouting, every time he caught a fish, he clapped his hands excitedly.
They were busy from morning to afternoon, and about twenty people walked back and forth downstream and caught two buckets of fish in total.
"Take these fish to Xiaomi." Sui Yu came over with a bucket and said, "You ride over there. I'll give you a chance to please your son and take him with you."
Zhao Xiaozai was also secretly glancing at Zhao Xiping. When he saw him looking at him, the child bit his hand stiffly. His hand loosened and he lost his balance and fell on his butt, almost hitting the frame of the wooden bed.
"This wooden bed is a bit small. I'll buy a bigger one tomorrow." Zhao Xiping strode over and picked up the child. He lifted the child with one hand and said, "Come on, ride on the big horse. We're going to bring some fish to your aunt."
After watching the father and son leave, Sui Yu went into the house to scoop up hot water to wash her hands. She didn't touch the fish much, and her body still smelled of fish. The three of them were going to take a bath tonight.
"I thought the kid would cry when he saw his dad, but he accepted it calmly and didn't seem shy. He even remembered." Uncle Niu sighed. He looked at Ah Shui and whispered, "After Tong Huaer left, Ah Shui cried every day. Unless he was asleep, he would cry as soon as he opened his eyes. He cried for more than half a month before he finally stopped."
"Little girls are more sensitive. My son cried for several days, but then I took him out to catch insects and hunt every day. With new toys, he stopped thinking about his dad." Sui Yu broke off a piece of bread and ate it, saying, "From now on, I'll take him out to play more often and make him a little rougher. He won't have to play with adults at home all day and learn to read people's expressions early."
Uncle Niu pondered for a moment. There was some truth to that. Even cats and dogs, after more contact with people, would learn to read people's expressions. Rats living in the same room with people were more clever than field mice. Even this old man, after two years in the guesthouse, had become more lively.
The sound of camel bells came from the wind, and Ah Shui came running back with the big black dog, "Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, there are guests again."
"What a coincidence! I'll make fish soup tonight." Sui Yuying came out and greeted him warmly, "Did you have a smooth journey?"
"Excellent." The leading merchant said, greeting, "Shopkeeper Yu's business is good. He's building another house."
"It's not mine. They're here to steal our business." Sui Yu led his men to the vacant guesthouse and asked, "Are you staying long-term or short-term?"
The merchants took a quick look around and found that there were fewer people staying in the guesthouses this year, which might be related to the weather. It was still sunny in October, and under such circumstances, few caravans stayed in Dunhuang for the winter.
"Short stay, one night. We'll continue our journey tomorrow morning," the merchant said. "Please contact the grain seller for me. I need seven bales of hay. Please also prepare enough dry food for me: two jars of braised eggs, fifty kilograms of dried vegetables, sixty kilograms each of fried rice and fried noodles, and four hundred pancakes."
Sui Yu agreed and said, "The caravan in the fourth guesthouse will also leave tomorrow. Ask during dinner if you can join them."
"OK."
When the aroma of stewed fish wafted from the kitchen, Zhao Xiping came back holding the baby. Afraid that he would be cold, Zhao Xiping stuffed the child into his clothes and covered him with his skin.
When it was getting dark, Huang Lian, who had received the letter, brought seven neatly tied bundles of hay. Sui Yu asked him to stay for dinner, but he refused and hurried back before it got completely dark.
After he left, the western kitchen started cooking and the hot fish soup came out of the pot. They kept some for themselves and sold the rest.
The kid also drank the fish soup without salt. Zhao Xiping carefully picked out the fish bones, crushed the fish meat with tofu, and fed his son with his own hands even though he was hungry.
Sui Yu was at ease, and after dinner he went back to the house to get a change of clothes for the three of them. When the weather got cold, everyone in the family would bathe in the storage room next to the kitchen. The stove was always on, and the storage room next to the stove was warm. With a bucket of water, people could bathe in it without feeling cold at all.
After the merchants finished their meal and left, the male servants went to feed the pigs and camels, while Xiao Chunhong and Sui Yu carried four buckets of hot water and poured them into the bathtub. They stripped the cubs naked and threw them in to wash them.
"You've grown taller again." Zhao Xiping took a rope to measure. The hemp rope he used to measure his body ten days ago was one finger joint shorter.
"If you can eat and sleep well, you will either grow horizontally or vertically." Sui Yu scooped a bucket of water and poured it on the child's head. The kid closed his eyes obediently. After the bucket of water was poured, he opened one eye mischievously.
Zhao Xiping was so fond of his little appearance that when he took the baby out of the bathtub, he quickly carried the baby to the kitchen next door to warm himself by the fire.
Sui Yushuan came to the door and used the baby's bath water to bathe him. After she finished bathing, she carried the baby back to the house quickly. The mother and child huddled in the cold mattress and breathed exaggeratedly.
The little cub played all day and didn't sleep during the day. He felt sleepy when the quilt was warm, but he was stubborn and refused to sleep. He rubbed his eyes several times and waited for his father to come before he fell asleep.
"The first night you were away, he was like this too. He refused to sleep. I finally managed to coax him to sleep, but he cried when he didn't see you while he was peeing at night." Sui Yu narrated softly, "He cried for three nights straight and would look for you when he woke up."
Zhao Xiping was really happy and felt extremely refreshed. He held the baby on his belly, feeling proud and pleased. Look, this is his baby. He can't even speak yet, but he already thinks about people.
"The child is the one who suffers when his parents leave home. I think he's too sensitive to people's emotions. If we don't intervene, he'll definitely grow up early." Sui Yu moved over, leaning into the man's arms. She stroked the child's head and said, "His uncle has experienced so much hardship, so he grew up early. He had a lot to worry about at such a young age. In the past two years, life has been stable, and he's no longer worried. That's why he's been a little childish and cries at the drop of a hat."
Zhao Xiping wanted to laugh. The funny things that happened a few days ago were really funny.
"The little cub has us to protect him. He will be happier if he is a little ignorant and slow and keeps the innocence of a child. What do you think?" Sui Yu asked.
"You're right." Zhao Xiping put his arm around her waist and said, "What do you think? Tell me, and I'll do it."
"Take him out more often to play with kids his own age. If there aren't any other kids his own age, take him hunting, or ride a camel out of town to play in the sand." Sui Yu held the man's hand, cracking his fingers as she negotiated, "When you weren't home, I didn't talk about you to him, nor did I let anyone ask if he missed his daddy, or tease him into going to find his daddy. Next year, if I'm away, you have to do the same and not talk about me to him. If he cries, take him horseback riding, playing in the sand, hunting, or fishing, but don't lie and say you're taking him to find his mom, and don't let anyone ask him if he misses his mommy or remembers her."
"Then when you come back, maybe he will forget you."
"Forget about me." Even though she said that, Sui Yu's heart still choked. She said stubbornly, "My son has a good memory and will definitely not forget me. Even if he forgets, he will remember me when I come back."
"Okay." Zhao Xiping nodded and agreed, "I'll do as you say."
Sui Yu lowered his eyes and looked at the cub. He said, "I'll leave in the summer. By then, he'll be able to talk. I'll tell him about my journey to the other side of the mountain to catch big fish, chase birds to find their nests, follow the footsteps of the clouds, and see what lies at the end of the sky. He'll definitely be curious too."
Zhao Xiping thought it was feasible. "So, the little one will think of you when he sees clouds and birds, and he will never forget you."
"He can't cry yet." Sui Yu breathed a sigh of relief. "When I come back, I'm going to bring him some colorful bird feathers, a talking bird, and palm-sized shells. Then he'll brag to others about his amazing mother who can conjure up all sorts of fun things."
As soon as he finished speaking, the kid suddenly laughed. He didn't know what kind of beautiful dream he had, but he laughed out loud in his sleep.
Sui Yu and Zhao Xiping both laughed.
"How was your trip?" Sui Yu changed the subject.
"We caught a group of Hu merchants trying to escape the city entrance fee and plan to bypass the desert in the south." Zhao Xiping thought for a moment and said, "We also chased off a pack of wild wolves. Otherwise, they didn't do much. Apart from sleeping and eating, they spent the rest of their time wandering around in the desert."
"Drive away wild wolves? I thought you could hunt wolves."
"There are many female wolves with cubs in the pack, so we can't kill them."
He is quite kind, Sui Yu admires him a little.
That night, the couple, who had just separated, talked until midnight. The atmosphere was so warm, as if they were back in the night when they were still in the military settlement, when they were hiding from Sui Liang and whispering to each other, and now they were with an ignorant child.
When they were sleepy, the couple would hug each other and fall asleep, while the baby would be carried to the end of the bed and fall asleep right next to his parents' feet.
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