Chapter 241 Sickness
"How did you get here? Did you walk here alone?" Sui Yu asked.
"Yes." With a positive answer, Sui Hui felt relieved and her heart was relieved. She spoke with a hint of joy. She gathered her cloak to block the dim flame of the lantern and said, "I'll be back soon. The maid will keep the door for me."
Sui Yu felt a little annoyed and irritated. She took a deep breath and said, "You're out there alone at night, aren't you afraid of anything happening? If anything happens to you, what good will it be even if I find your brother? Forget it, I'll take you home."
Turning around, Sui Yu said to Zhao Xiping, "Send the cub back first, take the others back as well, then bring two camels back to me. I'll stay here with her."
It was almost late at night. Although there were not many people walking outside at this time, Zhao Xiping was still worried about leaving Sui Yu outside in the middle of the night. He hesitated and did not move.
"Sister, I'll wait for my brother-in-law here with you." Sui Liang said.
"Forget it, I'll go back by myself." Sui Hui was about to leave, and she said embarrassedly: "You guys go back, it's okay, I've been on this road before, I'm familiar with it."
Sui Yu got off the ground and told Ah Qiang to hold on to the reins. She said, "Just do as I say. Don't dilly-dally. You're still dreaming while I'm on the night road outside the pass. Stop dwelling on nonsense."
"Okay, then you wait here for me." Zhao Xiping threw the reins and said, "Let's go."
A group of people rode away on camels, leaving only the sound of hooves in the wind, making the wilderness seem particularly quiet and desolate.
Sui Yu didn't think there was anything worthwhile to exchange pleasantries between the two sisters. She walked a few steps away and squatted behind a tree that was slightly sheltered from the wind.
Sui Huiqing coughed. She had so much to say, but the words that were worth her deep emotion might be insignificant to Sui Yu. She opened her mouth and closed it again.
The two cousins made different choices at the beginning, and their situations are now very different.
The disappeared hoof sounds came again, getting closer and closer. Sui Yu stood up. It was Zhao Xiping leading two camels over.
"Here." she called out.
As they got closer, the camels slowed down and stopped in front of them. Sui Yu led a camel over and asked, "Can you ride a camel?"
Sui Hui's face flushed, and she said shyly, "I've never ridden one before."
Sui Yu led the camel to her, made it kneel on the ground, and said, "Straddle the camel between its humps. Yes, sit on it, hold the reins, keep your body steady and don't lean back. If you can't sit still, you can lie down."
Sui Hui nodded in agreement, and when the camel stood up, she screamed and her sight suddenly rose. She was a little scared, afraid that she would fall off if she couldn't sit steadily, so she had to lie down on the camel's hump.
Sui Yu took the lantern from her hand and made sure that everything was fine on her side. She walked to the other camel, grabbed the reins, supported herself on the camel's back and climbed up.
"Gone?" Zhao Xiping asked.
"Um."
The three camels trotted and ran towards the city. There was no other sound except the whistling wind.
As they approached the Supervisory Office, Sui Yu and Zhao Xiping both stopped their camels, and the camel carrying Sui Hui slowed down.
"I'll take you here." Sui Yu said, "Eggshell, lie down."
The camel bent its limbs with a "bang". Sui Hui moved her frozen legs and turned over to the ground. She took a few steps back and the camel quickly stood up.
Before she could say thank you, Sui Yu and Zhao Xiping left with the camel.
Sui Hui watched for a while, then she picked up the lantern that had long been extinguished and slowly walked towards the back door.
There was no conversation along the way. After another cup of tea, Sui Yu and Zhao Xiping returned to the guesthouse. Sui Liang heard the noise and came out. He took a look but didn't ask anything.
"The cub is here with me. He's sleeping with me tonight and is already asleep," he said.
Zhao Xiping was worried because the child had sweated while playing at night. He was afraid that the child would catch a cold from the cold wind and feel uncomfortable at night. After washing up, he took a mattress and went to the next door to pick up the child.
"Falling asleep?" Sui Yu asked in a low voice.
"Well, he's asleep. Let's sleep too."
Sui Yu responded, took the child in her arms and closed her eyes to sleep.
Later in the night, Zhao Xiping and Sui Yu woke up to the child's cough. The child was still asleep. Sui Yu felt his forehead and said, "No fever."
"Shall I make a bowl of onion and ginger water to help him sweat?" Zhao Xiping sat up.
This was the first time the cub had fallen ill since birth. The couple had no experience and could only try every trick they could think of.
The spicy onion and ginger water was brought over, and Sui Yu woke the kid up and coaxed him to drink a few sips of water.
"It's so spicy." The kid said with a bitter face and refused to drink.
Sui Yu took it and took a sip, then passed the bowl to his mouth and said, "I won't take you out for the New Year next year. If you have fun, your body will suffer."
The boy looked up at her, his throat felt itchy, and he turned his head away and coughed a few times.
"Drink it quickly, and you won't cough anymore. You've caught a cold," said Zhao Xiping.
"Be good and listen to me." Sui Yu handed over the bowl again.
This time the kid held the bowl and swallowed it in big gulps. He barely drank half a bowl, then pushed the bowl away, saying his stomach was full.
Sui Yu drank the remaining onion and ginger water, handed the bowl to Zhao Xiping, and continued to lie down with her arms around the child.
"mother."
"Um?"
"I want to go to the city to play drums again next year." The kid said in a muffled voice.
"Okay, you can practice martial arts with your father next year. When you grow stronger, you won't have to worry about getting sick." Sui Yu patted his back gently and said, "Look at your father, your uncle, and me. We're all healthy."
The little cub said "Oh" obediently.
Zhao Xiping pushed the door open and came in. He took off his sheepskin coat and lay down. After the coldness on his body dissipated, he approached the mother and son who were sleeping inside.
"Asleep." Sui Yu said in a low voice.
Zhao Xiping touched the child's forehead and felt that the problem should not be serious. He tucked in the mattress and closed his eyes to sleep.
After drinking half a bowl of ginger soup, the boy started sweating when it was dawn. He stretched out his arm in his sleep, and Sui Yu took it back.
He groaned and couldn't sleep well, and Sui Yu and Zhao Xiping also dozed off and on.
It was not until dawn that the kid woke up from the urge to urinate, and Zhao Xiping got dressed and got out of bed.
"It's snowing outside again. Don't come out. I'll bring breakfast to you in bed later." Zhao Xiping came in carrying a urine bucket.
Sui Yu said okay, and she instructed, "Go check on the other children later."
"Okay." Zhao Xiping stuffed the kid back into the quilt and went out with the urine bucket.
"Mom, it hurts here." The kid pointed to his throat.
"Tell your father to bring a bag of hot water later. Drink more water and the pain will go away." Sui Yu hugged him and kissed him, "Oh, my son is so handsome."
The little boy laughed. He held Sui Yu's face and kissed her, saying, "My mother is pretty too."
The old couple next door woke up, and Zhao's mother walked to the door and asked, "Old Third Wife, I heard the little boy coughing last night. Did he catch a cold?"
"I did catch a cold, but I'm much better now and in good spirits." Sui Yu said through the door.
Mother Zhao sighed and muttered, "I told you not to take him out for a run. It's so cold at night. Alas, you didn't listen. If he coughs again tonight, smear your stinking spit on his neck and rub it."
Sui Yu glanced at the kid and responded with a smile.
It seems that this method has never been lost from ancient times to the present. She remembered that when she was sick as a child, her grandmother used this method to treat her.
Zhao Xiping came over with porridge, egg custard and meat buns. He told his parents to go eat and do what they needed to do and not to worry about what was happening here.
"Don't eat the egg custard or the meat. Just drink half a bowl of porridge and eat half a bun." Sui Yu sat up in her thick coat. The kid sat in her arms, with the mattress tucked under his neck. He was wrapped like a cocoon.
The child was sick, and both adults were responsible. Feeling guilty, Zhao Xiping and Sui Yu took care of the kid like a baby. Sui Yu held him in her arms, while Zhao Xiping stood by the bed with a bowl and fed him porridge one spoonful at a time.
The kid was so happy that he couldn't contain his joy. Although he had tasteless millet porridge in his mouth, his heart was sweet, as if he had eaten candy.
"Dad——" he shouted.
"Yeah." Zhao Xiping broke off a piece of bun filling and fed it to him, saying, "Drink half a bowl of scallion and ginger water later."
His mouth was blocked and he couldn't speak, so the kid nodded quickly.
Zhao Xiping smiled, "You're so good."
"I'm so good." The kid became spoiled unconsciously.
Zhao Xiping glanced at Sui Yu. She looked exactly like when she was acting coquettishly.
"Sister, how's Xiaozai?" Sui Liang pushed the door open and came in, saying, "Hua Niu is fine, Da Zhuang and A Qiang are both coughing, and A Shui is fine too. How's Xiaozai? Is he coughing?"
"You had a cough at night, but you're feeling much better now," Sui Yu said. "Go get some big red dates and bring them to the kitchen. Have Grandma Yin fry them in sesame oil until they're crispy but not burnt. Drain the oil and give some to Dazhuang, Aqiang, and Huaniu while they're still hot. They'll help with the cough. Send three or five to the kid as well."
"Okay." Sui Liang left again.
The cub was full, so there was no need to take care of him anymore. Sui Yu and Zhao Xiping started to eat.
The little guy was still sitting in Sui Yu's arms. He tilted his head and stared at her while she ate, or stared at his father while he ate. He coughed twice, and both of their eyes turned to him.
After breakfast, Zhao Xiping cleared the dishes and went out. Sui Yu put on a woolen coat and trousers for the kid. She leaned against the head of the bed, hugged him and told him a story.
After the two stories were told, Sui Liang brought dates. The dates were oily, so he didn't let the kid touch them. He pinched the oily dates and fed them to his nephew.
"Please pay more attention to A Qiang and Da Zhuang. If they have a fever, please find someone to take them to the city to see a doctor." Sui Yu instructed.
"Okay, don't worry, sister."
After eating five dates, the little guy wanted to sleep, so Sui Yu slept with him.
On the first day of the new year, Sui Yu spent all her time lying in bed with her child, except for going to the toilet. She had told all the stories she had heard in her past life, and when she ran out of stories to tell, she would talk about things beyond the Great Wall, how vast the desert was, how wolves held grudges, what a goshawk looked like and how it cried, and the stories of Old Jin's family in the deep mountains...
Zhao Xiping and Sui Liang came back after settling the guesthouse. They washed their feet, took off their trousers, and sat in bed. The four of them chatted and laughed in the house all day long.
Early in the morning on the second day of the Lunar New Year, the boy woke up with no more throat sounds, and his cold was gone.
"Oh——" After walking out the door, the kid stood in the snow and sighed heavily.
"What's wrong?" Zhao Xiping asked.
"Dad, I feel like I'm not well yet. Listen—" He coughed a few times.
"Shut up." Sui Yu came out, "Go wash your face and eat."
The cub pouted and muttered, "I'm still coughing."
No one paid any attention to him, so Zhao Xiping picked him up and went out.
"Dad, I want to build a snowman." The next moment, the cub had a new idea.
"Let's talk about it in two days. Your aunt and her family are coming over today, so don't mess around."
The boy felt disappointed. It was better for him to be sick. Yesterday he got whatever he wanted.
Near noon, Zhao Xiaomi and Huang Lian were walking back to their parents' home with their child wrapped in a quilt. Neither of them mentioned the quarrel on New Year's Eve. They happily had dinner at the guesthouse before going back.
On the third day of the Lunar New Year, Sui Yu's family of six rode camels to visit Zhao Xiaomi's home to pay New Year's greetings. Song Xian and Huang Ancheng's families were also there. The three families worked together to eat a sheep, filling their stomachs and warming their bodies. After the meal, they chatted for a while and then went home.
On the fourth day of the New Year, Song Xian and Huang Ancheng's family went to pay New Year's greetings to Sui Yu and Zhao Xiping.
On the fifth day of the New Year, Sui Yu and Zhao Xiping took their children and Sui Liang to the Song family to pay New Year's greetings.
Before dinner, Sui Yu found an excuse to go out. She took a detour to find Sui Hui, knocked on the door and got three bamboo slips.
"Madam, my aunt has caught a cold and has only written these few days. She said she'll find time to write to you after she recovers," the maid said. "We can't leave the house. Could you please come over once a month in the middle of the month? I'll wait for you here at noon on the 15th of every month."
Sui Yu nodded and said, "Let her recover first. If her cough gets worse, she can eat some sesame oil fried dates."
"Oh." The maid agreed and said, "Then I will close the door. I still have to go take care of my aunt."
Sui Yu nodded and left with the bamboo slips.
In the days that followed, Sui Yu stayed in the guesthouse. Apart from playing with the children, she was busy learning to read and practicing calligraphy. She asked Shen Dadang to help her recite the words on the bamboo slips, mark the words she didn't know in simplified Chinese, and practice them carefully afterwards.
From the first month to the second month, Sui Yu received eight scrolls of bamboo slips from Sui Hui. Later on, the words on the bamboo slips were not coherent and the chapters were not complete. It was obvious that Sui Hui had no articles to copy and could only write whatever he thought of.
At the end of February, Sui Yu spent seven days writing Qin Wenshan's personal biography. After the ink dried, he put it in a box and asked Sui Liang to give it to Qin Wenshan when he saw him.
The snow melted, spring came, and the caravans that had been idle for the winter went their separate ways. It was time for her to leave home too.
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