Chapter 209 Family
Father Zhao couldn't do anything about his grandson, so he went to reason with his son. It wasn't just the so-called "Mosquito Grandpa", but also the broken flute, which made noise from morning to night. His head was buzzing and he couldn't sleep well. Every day was more tiring than when he was farming at home.
Zhao Xiping ate his breakfast calmly. After listening to his father's complaints, he looked at his son who was eavesdropping with his ears perked up.
The kid glanced at him, then pouted and looked at the old man. He scooped a large spoonful of egg custard into his mouth, lowered his head, puffed up his cheeks and chewed it in big mouthfuls.
Zhao Xiping said nothing. He took the bowl and went out to get some rice.
"Give me half a bowl." Sui Yu handed over the bowl and said, "Half a bowl of porridge and half a cake."
Father Zhao looked at it and realized that the couple had no intention of teaching the child a lesson. He was so angry that he took the bowl and went out to eat.
The kid was happy. He held the bowl and ate happily. After finishing a small bowl of egg custard, he went to his father to ask for some buns.
The teahouse opened, and Zhao's father and mother put down their bowls and chopsticks, each holding a braised egg, and hurried out, anxious to get a good seat.
The two old men left, and there were few people left in the house. Uncle Niu looked at Sui Yu and said to the kid, "Little Mosquito, bring your flute here so I can take a look."
The kid glared at him and said, "I'm not a mosquito—"
"Your grandfather is an old mosquito, you are a small mosquito, and your father is a big mosquito." Uncle Niu smiled, and walked out with his hands behind his back, "I'm going to listen to music too."
"Your Grandpa Niu is right," Sui Yu said. She took the bowl from the kid after he finished eating the egg custard, tapped the hu flute under his butt, and said, "Don't run to your grandpa and grandma and play it again."
The cub was unhappy.
Sui Yu ignored him and went out with the bowl.
"Shopkeeper Yu, please come here quickly. I didn't finish what I said yesterday. I need to add to it." A customer outside the door urged.
"I'm here." Sui Yu handed the bowl and chopsticks to Yin Po, then turned to Zhao Xiping and said, "I'll go over first."
"good."
"Little Mosquito, do you want to go?" Sui Yu asked.
Zhao Xiaozai ignored him since no one was calling him anyway.
Zhao Xiping didn't care what the kid called him, as long as he didn't call him a stinky old man or curse at him.
"Don't keep playing the flute in front of people. They'll dislike you," he warned. "Not just your grandfather, but the people living in the guesthouse too. If you annoy them, they won't help you send messages to your mother anymore."
The cub looked up at him.
Zhao Xiping said nothing more. He came in with a broom and swept the floor. When Cuisao saw this, she hurriedly said, "Sir, please do your thing. I'll come over to sweep the floor later."
"It's okay, I'm not busy."
After shoveling away the dust with a shovel and going out and coming back in, Zhao Xiping saw the kid kneeling on the ground with his butt sticking up and starting to play with his flute again. Obviously, he had forgotten the scolding he had just received.
The sound of a pipa came from the teahouse, and a girl named Hu who played the hu flute came over to look for the boy. Zhao Xiping went out and took a bundle of straw back to the owner's courtyard next door to weave mats.
Sui Yu drank two bowls of water in the teahouse. After the customer in front of her left reluctantly, she tidied up the things on the table, stood up, and walked out around the wall.
The sun came out, but the wind was still cold, and even the snow on the roof had not melted. Once people went out, most of the warmth in their bodies dissipated.
Sui Yu gathered her rabbit fur coat and ran back to the toilet.
"Huh? Are you at home?" Sui Yu asked when he saw Zhao Xiping in the yard, and walked into the toilet without stopping.
Zhao Xiping was feeling cold sitting there so he went out for a walk. He went outside the toilet and waited for her to come out.
"Why are you so close?" Sui Yu came out and saw him, and couldn't help but glared at him.
"Do you want to go back to the teahouse?" Zhao Xiping followed her.
Sui Yu paused, she understood something, grabbed a piece of snow from the wall to wipe her hands, then turned around and walked back into the house.
"I'm not going to the teahouse. I want some quiet time." Sui Yu threw the snow he used to wipe his hands outside the door, stomped his feet, and walked into the main room.
Zhao Xiping went to close the door, and heard the sound of a flute from the kitchen next door. He pulled the bolt and locked the door from the inside.
"Why are you weaving mats?" Sui Yu looked up and asked when she heard footsteps coming in.
"I've woven this for you. Take it with you when you leave the border next spring, and use it as a bed when you sleep." Zhao Xiping closed the door and walked over. He kicked the wheat bundle away, grabbed Sui Yu and pressed her into his arms. His calloused fingertips caressed the smooth neck beneath her rabbit fur coat. He whispered, "Since you came back, you've either been thinking about your son or busy with the teahouse business. Have you forgotten you have a man?"
Sui Yu cried out in injustice, "Didn't I let you get into my bed last night?"
Zhao Xiping choked, he held her face and kissed her.
Sui Yu bit him, then she put her arms around the man's neck and said vaguely, "You're such a hypocrite. You have to find an excuse to do that."
Zhao Xiping let her go, pressed the corner of her red lips with his fingertips, and wiped away the water stains bit by bit. Their bodies, which were pressed together, separated, but their eyes were still glued together.
"You weren't thinking about me," he said seriously.
Sui Yu shook his head in denial.
Zhao Xiping gently pulled down the corner of her mouth, used his fingers to exert a little force, and pinched the corner of her mouth. When she bit him, he quickly withdrew his hand.
"I want you to accompany me, too." He pulled her into his arms, preventing her from seeing his expression. "Sui Yu, I kind of missed you when you weren't home."
Sui Yu smiled proudly.
Hearing her laughter, Zhao Xiping patted her.
"I think of you every day when I'm away from home. If there's a chance in the future, let's go inside the Great Wall together." Sui Yu said, "With you by my side, I don't have to worry about anything and I won't wake up in the middle of the night."
"Okay." Zhao Xiping let her go. Although he agreed, he knew in his heart that the hope of taking a half-year leave to travel away from home was slim.
He sat down and continued to weave the mat. Sui Yu stood by the bed and stretched out her foot to hook him, but he was unmoved and reached out to grab her foot and pull it towards him.
"Come and sit down, I'll teach you how to weave mats and we can talk." Zhao Xiping said.
"The ground is cold." Sui Yu held on to the bedpost tightly.
"I'll fetch a stove."
As he said this, Zhao Xiping really planned to get up.
Sui Yu walked over, kicked him, and glared at him fiercely. She sat down with her arms folded and held her breath.
Zhao Xiping also sat down. He glanced at her. The mother and son looked the same when they were unhappy.
"You see, weaving mats is not difficult." He pulled out two straws.
Sui Yu glanced at him for a few seconds, then moved his gaze to his face.
"What are you looking at?" Zhao Xiping glanced at her.
Sui Yu smiled and held her chin up, saying bluntly: "Look at my man."
Zhao Xiping couldn't hold it in any longer, he turned his face away and smiled.
Sui Yu also laughed, and she pounced on him and lay on top of him.
The flute sound from next door suddenly stopped. Sui Yu and Zhao Xiping paused for a moment and listened attentively.
After a while, the door outside was knocked. The boy lay on the door with his flute on his shoulder and looked inside through the crack.
"father--"
Zhao Xiping covered Sui Yu's mouth with one hand to prevent her from answering, so as to avoid being seduced by the little brat again.
"father?"
The boy shouted again, but there was still no movement in the house, so he dragged his Hu Di away.
"Don't pay attention to him. His uncle, aunt, grandparents are all in the teahouse. He will be left alone," said Zhao Xiping.
Sui Yu said "hmm".
However, after this interruption, the ambiguous atmosphere between the two suddenly dissipated, and they didn't know what to say when they wanted to continue.
Zhao Xiping felt a little melancholy, but had to continue with his work.
Sui Yu dragged a stool over and sat down, handing him some straw.
On the other side, Xiaozai went to the teahouse with Hu Ji. He went straight to where his mother was sitting. Only Sui Liang was there.
"Would you like some water?" Sui Liang offered him some water. "Drink some water. You've worked hard."
The boy drank a few sips, wiped his mouth and asked, "Uncle, where is my mother?"
"Didn't she come to see you?" Sui Liang was surprised. He stood up and looked around, but his sister seemed to be nowhere to be seen in the teahouse.
"Your mother has something to do. You sit and wait. She will be here soon." Sui Liang hugged his nephew and carried him to sit on the bench.
The kid looked up and around. He didn't understand the story on the stage and soon he couldn't sit still anymore. He grabbed Sui Liang's clothes and slid down.
"Where are you going again?" Sui Liang grabbed him.
"Go find your aunt."
"Okay then, you just play in the teahouse and don't run around." Sui Liang instructed, watching the kid carrying the hudi to another table, he turned around and continued listening to the story on the stage.
Zhao Xiaomi saw the little cub first. She reached out and took the child in her arms, "Little cub, you are so handsome."
The little boy smiled sweetly, touched his face, and said, "Daddy said I look like Mommy."
"Yes, you look like your mother. Both you and your mother are beautiful."
"Put away his flute." Father Zhao turned around and said, "Aning has fallen asleep. Don't let him play it and wake the child up again."
Zhao Xiaomi did not confiscate the boy's flute, but just told him not to play it at this moment, as it would scare his brother awake.
The little one is good and obedient.
"Do you want to see your brother?" Zhao Xiaomi asked.
The kid shook his head. He wouldn't play with kids who couldn't talk.
"Come here." Mother Zhao stretched out her hand and said, "I've been here for over a month, and I haven't held you yet."
The kid had always clung to Sui Yu, his uncle, and his father. He wasn't familiar with Zhao's father and mother, and would rather chat with Grandpa Niu than approach his grandparents. Only recently, he stopped clinging to Sui Yu so often and would only occasionally show up in front of his grandparents.
The kid refused, and he pretended not to hear.
Mother Zhao felt a little embarrassed. When others glanced at her, she thought they were laughing at her.
"You kid..." Mother Zhao stopped talking halfway when she saw the third child coming in.
Zhao Xiping was still worried, so he came over to see if the kid was in the teahouse. Seeing that he was in Zhao Xiaomi's arms, he planned to leave quietly.
"Your father is here." Father Zhao said, "Go find your father quickly."
So that he won’t shout again later.
The kid turned around and was about to shout loudly, but Zhao Xiping made a "hush" gesture. Seeing this, the kid covered his mouth with one hand and ran out dragging the hudi with the other hand.
Seeing that he couldn't get away, Zhao Xiping strode over and picked him up. As they walked out, he whispered, "Didn't your mother say that we shouldn't shout in the teahouse?"
"Where's my mother?"
"You can't even remember what she said. She's angry and doesn't want to see you."
"Baby, remember." The little boy was anxious.
Zhao Xiping ignored him and carried the child back to his master's yard.
"Dad, I'm looking for you... I'll knock on the door." The kid was puzzled.
Zhao Xiping still ignored him.
Sui Yu heard the child's voice, so she opened the door and asked, "Why did you bring him here?"
Zhao Xiping smiled. It seemed that she was not thinking about the little cub all the time.
The little cub smiled sweetly at Sui Yu and took her hand as soon as he landed.
"Come on, come in." Sui Yu took his flute and placed it on the table beside him, saying, "Are you thirsty? Ask your father to bring some bowls of water."
The kid shook his head, took off his shoes and was about to climb onto the bed.
Zhao Xiping understood that Sui Yu was thirsty. He went to the west kitchen to get a bowl of hot water, filled two hot water bottles, stuffed them into the quilt, and let the mother and son lie on the quilt to play. He sat under the bed and continued to weave mats.
"From now on, I'll only stay in the teahouse for half a day." Sui Yu leaned over and said to the man, "I'll spend the rest of the day with you."
"Zizi will come too."
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