Chapter 221: Washed Pants
The cashmere fabric has a great drape and is soft to the touch, and the trouser legs are wide and lantern-shaped.
Sui Liang held the kid and took a closer look at the pants. The pants looked pretty good on him. They were loose and had buttons at the bottom, so they wouldn't get wind in.
"Uncle, does it look good?" the kid asked tenderly. He raised one of his short legs to show off, and before Sui Liang could say anything, he smiled foolishly.
"It's really beautiful." He exclaimed exaggeratedly.
Sui Liang was amused. He packed all the things scattered on the ground into a bag, slung the bag over his shoulder, and stood up holding the silkworm box in both hands.
"Go back and put on your shoes yourself."
"Oh." The kid obeyed obediently, put his feet into the shoes, and walked with his shoes dragging.
Sui Liang glanced back and said, "It's on the wrong way around."
The kid was indifferent. At this time, he was like a big-eared donkey, walking loudly with cloth shoes that could not cover his heels.
After Uncle Niu had settled the caravan, he came out of the guesthouse and saw the uncle and nephew. He asked with a smile, "Have you been waiting for Sui Yu's letter?"
Sui Liang smiled and nodded, "My sister brought us some pants. They were made of a fabric I've never seen before. They were soft, thick, and warm."
"Look." The kid raised his leg to show off.
Before Uncle Niu could see clearly, he saw that the child was unable to stand steadily on one foot, and the shoes on his feet were in the way. After jumping twice, the child fell to his knees on the ground.
There was a "bang" sound, and Sui Liang knew that something was broken. Before he could put the thing down, the child who was hurt started crying loudly.
"Let me see where you fell." Sui Liang didn't care about the things in his arms and picked up the kid. "Did you fall on your knee? I let you show off, now you know to wear shoes properly?"
The cub hugged his uncle's arm and wiped his tears.
"Check if you've fallen and have hurt yourself, don't knock your head against the rocks." Uncle Niu came over and squatted down, coaxing the child: "Your pants are really nice. Your mother has good taste, and she only gives you good things."
The kid stopped crying and smiled with tears in his eyes.
Sui Liang unbuttoned his trouser legs and rolled up his trousers above his knees. There was a red circle on his right knee and some scratches, but fortunately there was no bleeding.
"Does it still hurt?" He reached out and rubbed it.
The cub shook his head, "It doesn't hurt anymore."
"Okay, get up if it doesn't hurt." Uncle Niu picked up his shoes and put them on him, saying, "Walk carefully. If you bump into something, your father and uncle will be heartbroken."
The kid narrowed his eyes and smiled at Sui Liang.
Sui Liang looked up and patted his little forehead, then pulled him up and brushed off the dust on his body.
"Uncle Lao Niu, let's take the things back first." Sui Liang said, "Is Ah Shui in the house? Let her come over. This jar should contain food. I smell something sweet. Let's try it together."
Uncle Niu smiled and said, "Ah Shui and Hua Niu went to the city to buy hairbands. When they come back, I'll have them look for you."
Sui Liang agreed and took the cub away.
There was indeed food in the jar, a full jar of raisins, which were big and thick, and tasted sweet in the mouth.
Sui Liang ate a handful of raisins, savoring them in his mouth, and took out a pair of pants in his hand. There were two colors, one black and one white. The black pants were obviously not his size. He picked up the white pants and compared them. This one was his.
"Uncle, we are the same." The kid sat on the chair and swung his legs.
Sui Liang realized that the two pairs of pants the boy had were probably the leftover fabric from making trousers, and he laughed secretly.
"Uncle, you wear it too." said the kid.
Sui Liang was thinking about this. He took off two thin pairs of pants. The wind was strong in this season and one pair of pants could not block the wind. He had to wear two pairs to keep warm.
Wearing soft and thick new pants, Sui Liang walked out the door and took a few steps by the river. The boy didn't lie to him, it was really warm. What made him most satisfied was that the pants did not stick to his legs. When autumn came, he could add more pants.
"Hey, these pants are nice, but they don't last long." The helper in charge of pounding the laundry passed by and said, "Second Shopkeeper, don't sit on the grass when you wear pants like these."
The kid ran out and heard this. He bent down and brushed the dust off his knees, but couldn't get it off.
"Uncle, it's dirty." The kid asked for help.
"It's okay, the dust can be washed off. Just don't sit on the grass. It's hard to wash off the grass juice." Sui Liang said and walked into the house.
The kid followed happily again.
Sui Liang felt that the coat he was wearing did not match his trousers, so he went into the house and took out the clothes from the suitcase, trying them on one by one. He also asked his nephew for his opinion, asking which one looked best.
The uncle and nephew had been busy in the house for a long time. When Zhao Xiping entered the room and heard the laughter from the side room, his brows relaxed. However, when he walked to the door, he saw a bed full of clothes, winter clothes and spring clothes turned out, and his son was sitting in the middle of the pile, wearing a small red jacket.
"Summer is almost here, why are you wearing a coat again?" Zhao Xiping was depressed. "Aren't you afraid of the heat?"
"Dad—" The kid stood up quickly and asked with a laugh, "Am I good-looking?"
"It looks nice, looks nice." Zhao Xiping was so focused on the winter clothes that he said a few perfunctorily. He went over to take off the child's jacket. His back was wet with sweat, but the silly child seemed unaware of the heat.
"What are you doing?" he asked Sui Liang.
Sui Liang felt ashamed, as if he had been caught. He quickly put his winter clothes back into the suitcase and explained quietly, "My sister brought us some nice pants. I bought a matching coat."
Zhao Xiping paused for a moment, and then he realized that Sui Liang and Xiaozai were wearing the same white pants, the same style, narrow at the top and bottom, and wide in the middle.
He definitely can't wear pants of this color, which means he doesn't have them anymore.
But the kid was still grinning smugly. He held up the red coat he had taken off and said, "It looks good on me. My uncle said so, Dad, isn't it?"
Zhao Xiping couldn't say anything against his will. The kid looked very cute in this outfit. If he tied a small braid with a red hairband, he would really be a fairy boy under the throne of a god.
"Brother-in-law, please move aside and let me get a coat." Sui Liang moved closer.
Zhao Xiping's eyes moved around him. Sui Liang looked good in these pants. White pants and black coat, quite refreshing and clean, matching his face.
Sui Liang was at a loss as to what to do, but he felt happy in his heart.
"Besides these two pairs of pants, what else did your sister ask someone to bring back? Does she have anything to say?" Zhao Xiping calmly looked away.
"Yes, by the way, brother-in-law, there are also your pants. I'll give them to you to try."
Zhao Xiping clenched his fists, slowly let out a breath of anger, picked up the baby with one arm, and strode to the next room.
"Brother-in-law, try it and see if the length is suitable." Sui Liang encouraged.
Zhao Xiping touched his pants and said, "It will definitely fit. I'm not growing any taller, and your sister knows the size."
Having said that, he went to the river to wash his feet, and when he came back he put on the black trousers. Sure enough, the length and size were right. The fabric was actually elastic, making it convenient for him to get up and lie down.
"Very good." Zhao Xiping smiled.
"Brother-in-law, your pants don't have buttons?" Sui Liang squatted down and lifted up the trouser legs to take a look. He said, "Really, there aren't any. My little one and I both have buttons."
"That kind of thing is suitable for you kids. I don't like it." Zhao Xiping was about to take it off again.
"Why are you taking it off?" Sui Liang held him down. "It's getting hot, so keep it on for a few more days while you can still wear it."
"I, I...Okay, I won't go to work this afternoon."
Grandma Yin had called twice, and the food was getting cold. She came over again to urge them: "Masters, don't you want to eat?"
"Eat, eat, eat." The kid grabbed a handful of raisins and ran out, "Grandma, these are for you."
Grandma Yin quickly reached out to take it, "What is this?"
"My mother gave it to me to eat." the kid said loudly.
Zhao Xiping filled a large earthenware bowl with raisins and said, "They should be raisins. I've seen them at Captain Qu's house. Take these to the kitchen and divide them among you. Let each of you taste them."
When I went out, I happened to meet the Hu merchants who came here today coming out of the west kitchen. When the old woman said she wanted to boil raisins in water, one of the Hu merchants suggested, "Raisins boiled in water are not sweet, but they are delicious when steamed in buns or wrapped in cakes. Add some red dates and it will taste even better."
"Thank you all for bringing back a package for us." Zhao Xiping came forward to express his gratitude.
The speaker, Hu Shang, waved his hand and said, "We've already received our reward, so there's no need to thank us."
"Do you want to buy food and camels? If you need anything, we can help you contact a reliable vendor." Zhao Xiping said something else. Seeing that this group of people didn't look familiar, he added another instruction: "When do you plan to leave? Let the kitchen staff know two days in advance, and they will prepare dry food in advance."
"Okay, then please help contact the camel dealer so we can look at the camels," the caravan's head said. "We also need food and fodder."
Zhao Xiping agreed, and in the afternoon he rode a camel back to the city to deliver a letter to Zhao Xiaomi and Song Congzu.
The caravan stayed in Dunhuang for five days and sold a batch of miscellaneous goods. Then they left with ten newly purchased camels carrying food, fodder and commercial goods.
Zhao Xiaozai's white pants were covered in black and gray, so they had to be washed.
After taking a shower in the evening, Zhao Xiping soaked his pants in hot bath water. In order to wash his pants clean, all the bath beans came in handy.
The kid sat by the basin holding an oil lamp to light it up. He stared at it like a supervisor, and from time to time he grumbled about something that was not cleaned properly.
Zhao Xiping was annoyed, he raised his eyelids and glanced at him.
The kid wasn't afraid at all, he just grinned with a cheeky face.
Zhao Xiping raised his hand, and the kid leaned forward with his neck stretched out, saying flatteringly, "Daddy, you've worked hard."
What I mean is, just hit him, he is willing to take it.
Zhao Xiping couldn't hold it in, he lowered his head and smiled, then naturally put his hands down and continued to wash the child's pants.
"When I'm old and have no strength, will you wash my pants for me?" he asked.
The boy nodded heavily, "I wash my father, my mother, and my uncle."
"Don't complain about being tired when the time comes."
"I'm not tired. I've grown up... I've grown tall, as tall as Daddy." Glancing at the tree outside the wall, Zhao Xiaozai changed his words without thinking: "As tall as the tree, taller than the tree. I have a lot of strength."
Amidst the childish chatter, the pants were rubbed clean. Zhao Xiping took them out and rinsed them in the river several times. After washing them clean, he wrung out the water and hung them on the clothesline.
Water dripped down the trouser legs all night long. When the day broke and the sun came out, the trousers on the clothesline dried in half a day.
The boy ran back to get raisins for Grandma Yin to make pancakes, and ran into the house from the yard. In a moment, he came out with an empty bowl in his hand, staring blankly at the pants hanging on the clothesline.
"Little guy?" Ah Shui came over, "Where are the raisins? Why haven't you brought them yet?"
"Auntie Shui, are your pants too small?" the kid wondered.
The cashmere trousers that had been scrubbed clean were taken down from the rope. Ah Shui pulled the trouser legs and compared them with the kid's legs. They were much shorter and could not even cover the knees.
"What's going on?" Ah Shui looked at the pants in his hand and said, "Are these the same pants you wore yesterday?"
The cub wasn't sure either.
"Let's go ask your uncle." Ah Shui took the kid out without taking the raisins.
Sui Liang held up the trousers, which were less than two palms long, and asked in confusion: "Little guy, what's going on?"
Nobody knows.
"Brother Aliang, wash your pants too." said A Shui.
Sui Liang reacted strongly. Is he crazy? He washed it so small that it became too small for a baby to wear?
Ah Shui also reacted. She hugged the little boy and comforted him: "Don't be sad. Wait until your father and your uncle's pants are washed and they will be yours. They will become too small for them to wear. They are all yours."
"I just want mine. This is what my mother made for me." The kid took the shrunken pants and covered his face with them. He suddenly wanted to cry. He also wanted to wear this outfit to welcome his mother back.
The more he thought about it, the sadder he became. He squatted on the ground and cried silently.
Sui Liang sat aside with a frown on his face. He was unwilling to give up his pants anyway.
When Zhao Xiping returned, he saw a group of children squatting against the wall with sad faces. He stopped and asked, "Did you have a fight?"
The kid gave him a resentful look. Sui Liang took the pants that were not even big enough for his buttocks and handed them to him, saying, "Look, you've ruined the kid's pants."
Zhao Xiping couldn't believe it. This, this... the pants the kid wore when he was one year old were bigger than this, right?
"What's going on?" he asked.
"It's ruined after washing. Do you think there's something wrong?" Sui Liang asked. He didn't want to ruin his pants.
"How is that possible? Washing clothes only makes them rip and fade, how can you wash small ones?" Zhao Xiping refused to take the blame. He handed the pants to the kid and said, "Ask your mother when she comes back. She knows a lot."
"I still want to wear it." The kid said in a hoarse voice.
"It's getting hot, it's time to wear pants. Besides, don't you have another pair? The black one is dirt-resistant, so I won't wash it." Zhao Xiping hid in the house. "I'm hungry, I'm going to eat."
The kid didn't make a fuss or cry, but he just sat there for a long time, holding his pants that could only cover his face. He looked listless and didn't pick up the eggs or feed the silkworms.
When going to bed at night, Zhao Xiping looked at the child's listless appearance and thought it would be better to let him cry.
"I'll make another one for you when your mother comes back," he said.
The little boy grumbled, "Dad, when will my mom come back?"
"Come back when the wheat is ripe."
But the wheat is only two palms high.
There was a knock on the door, and Sui Liang pushed it open and came in. He stood at the door, leaning against the threshold, trying to find something to say: "Are you still awake?"
Zhao Xiping suddenly had an idea and said, "You two have the same color pants..."
Before he could finish, Sui Liang sternly refused: "No, why don't you cut your pants?"
"I don't have any white pants." Zhao Xiping sat up and said, "Your sister will make you a few pairs when she comes back. Besides, it's getting hot now. You won't be able to wear them until autumn comes, and your sister will be back when autumn comes."
Sui Liang still shook his head. He urged, "Boy, your pants were ruined by your father. You should ask him to compensate you."
"Hey!" Zhao Xiping rolled over and got out of bed. "You're looking for trouble, aren't you?"
Sui Liang strode out. He stood in the yard, unconvinced: "You were the one who started the fight first."
"I didn't ruin those pants by washing them." Zhao Xiping refused to take responsibility. "You should speak with conscience."
Sui Liang snorted.
Zhao Xiping approached, put his arm around his brother-in-law's shoulders and said, "If you're missing a pair of pants, you still have a shoulder bag, but if I'm missing a pair of pants, I'll have nothing."
Sui Liang glanced at him sideways.
"How about I go beat him up?" Zhao Xiping asked again, "Beat him until he cries and he'll get tired, and then he'll fall asleep."
"The kid didn't do anything wrong, why are you hitting him?" Sui Liang got angry like an old hen protecting her cubs.
"Then you take him to bed tonight. I have to go to early training tomorrow morning and need to get up early. I can't afford to waste time with him." Zhao Xiping walked into the house and said as he walked, "Zhao Mingguang, go sleep with your uncle and stop whining in my ear."
Sui Liang took the kid away, and the uncle and nephew slept together, their heads touching. Seeing that he was still holding the washed-out pants, Sui Liang compromised and said, "Forget it, I'll cut up my pants and make you a pair."
The cub didn't jump up happily. He refused, "That's a gift from mom. I don't want it."
"Then wait until your mother comes back." Sui Liang smiled. He took off his rubbed pants and threw them at the end of the bed, saying, "Go to sleep. If you don't go to sleep soon, your uncle will beat you up."
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