Chapter 26 Marrying me is your blessing
The sun was scorching brightly, and the dry ground was so hot that it burned one's feet. People were squatting to bundle bean stalks, and their buttocks were almost smoking from the roasting. The dried and hard bean stalks were even more prickly, and if they were not careful, they would leave a bloody mark.
Zhao Xiping stepped on the bean stalks and pulled the straw rope to tie them tightly. With a little force from his strong arms, he lifted up the two bundles of bean stalks and threw them into the basket on the camel's back the next moment.
Sui Yu sat on the ground, staring at him. The man worked with swift, vigorous movements, his strides and legs sharp and powerful, like a wild leopard. His coarse linen clothes were soaked with sweat and stuck to his body, but he seemed insensitive to the heat, and his face showed no sign of distress or annoyance. She thought to herself, as if he were a survivor of the battlefield, his endurance was superior to that of ordinary people.
"Is it time to go home?" she asked.
"You and Sui Liang go back first, I'll make two more bundles and carry them back on the way."
"We still have to go to the grain station to collect food. If we are late, the grain officer might be off duty." Sui Yu reminded.
After hearing this, Zhao Xiping stood up and thought for a moment, then put away his machete and prepared to go home.
"I'm too tired to walk. Please carry me." Sui Yu sat still.
Zhao Xiping turned his head and stared at her, then he drove the camel away mercilessly.
"Hey..." Sui Yu struggled to stand up, pulling the bean stalk. She trotted after him, "You are so heartless. I am exhausted working for you."
Zhao Xiping ignored her.
The camel walked in front and the man walked behind. When they arrived at the sorghum field, the camel saw Sui Liang and exhaled.
Zhao Xiping whistled, then he crossed the field and scooped up Sui Liang's camel from its hump, whispering, "Hold on tight to the rope, don't move."
He walked down again and picked up half a basket of sorghum ears.
Sui Yu looked at him and picked up a grass stem and put it in his mouth.
After walking out of the ridge and reaching the river, Zhao Xiping put down the basket, rolled up his trouser legs and went into the river to collect the net. The water in the river was fast-flowing and anyone standing in it could be washed away if they slipped.
"Is there any movement on the Internet?" Sui Yu asked.
"There are fish." Zhao Xiping pinched the mouth of the net and lifted it out of the water. The net was big enough to hold a basket, but there were only two fish in it. One of them was not much longer than his finger and was almost stuck in the mesh.
"Are you still going online?" he asked her.
"Let them go. We'll come back to collect them tonight and see if we can catch two more." Sui Yu washed his face with water and sighed, "How come there are so few fish in such a big river?"
"Running water can't hold fish, and there's no lake upstream, so where would the fish come from?" Zhao Xiping threw the two fish onto the shore. He walked to the shallow water to wash his face and feet, saying, "If there were more fish, you'd get rich later."
Sui Yu rolled up her sleeves and put her arms in the water. The cool water washed over her sore muscles. She suddenly felt lazy and didn't want to eat anymore. She just wanted to soak in the river and take a nap.
"Let's go." The man picked up the fish and stood aside to urge.
"I can't walk anymore. Let me rest for a while."
Zhao Xiping stared at her for a moment, and seeing that she didn't seem to be pretending, he went to lead another camel over and said, "Sit on it."
"Aren't you afraid I'll crush your camel?" Sui Yu walked over, stepped on his leg, and was thrown by him. She sat astride the camel's humps, her legs resting on the bean stalk. Looking down, he was carrying a fish in one hand and a basket in the other, following silently behind the camel.
Sui Yu didn't say anything else. She took this opportunity to take a break because she had to light a fire and cook when she got home.
The soybean field is not far from home, but there are many alleys in the military village, and it takes time to go around left and right. When we entered Shisantun, the sun was almost overhead.
From a distance, Sui Yu heard a sharp curse. The voice sounded familiar to her. It was Qian's mother's voice, probably cursing Sui Ling again.
"I asked you to cook at home, but the water in the pot is still cold. You can't even light a fire properly. What's the point of having you?" Mother Qian twisted Sui Ling's ear and cursed fiercely, "I'm exhausted working in the fields, and you're lying here like a young mistress. How long do you sleep?"
"I got up a long time ago, but I just don't know how to light a fire. The fire goes out as soon as I put dry firewood on the stove." Sui Ling was also annoyed. She didn't know what was wrong with that shitty stove. No matter how hard she tried, it wouldn't light up.
"How many times have I taught you? Even if I stuff a pig with something, the pig will learn it." Qian's mother slapped her in the face. She was so angry that she felt dizzy and turned around to scold her son, "Blind thing, you picked her up with your eyes full of shit. Go work in the fields this afternoon and imitate your cousin. Do whatever she does."
Sui Ling said nothing.
Qian's mother was in a hurry to cook, so she let her go for the time being. As she walked towards the kitchen, she said, "There's no food for you at noon, so go hungry."
Sui Lingqi ran away. She wanted to find Sui Yu. She ran into the second alley and saw Zhao Xiping piling firewood outside the door. She turned around and ran to find Sui Hui again.
"I'm going to get food." Zhao Xiping went into the house to get a shoulder pole.
"Do you want me to go with you?" Sui Yu asked.
"What are you going to do? You cook at home."
"Brother Liang, come with me, bring back a fish and exchange it for a cat." Sui Yu said.
Sui Liang was interested in this matter. He stuffed another bean stalk into the stove, ran out, picked a small fish from the bucket and followed him out.
"You lock the door, and don't open it until I come back," said Zhao Xiping.
"Why lock the door in the middle of the day? No one is going to steal your woman while you're not at home." Sui Yu didn't want to move.
Zhao Xiping was too lazy to talk to her, so he simply took the key, went out and locked the door from the outside.
Hearing the sound of the lock being locked, Sui Yu was full of confusion and cursed again for being fickle and acting incoherently.
The bean rice in the pot was cooked. Sui Yu lifted the lid and took out the steamer. When the water in the pot dried up, she picked up the oil can and poured it around the pot. Then she added the chopped radish and stir-fried it. When the radish was soft, she poured a bowl of water over it, covered the pot, and simmered it. She picked up a rag and wiped the stove, then turned back to kill the fish.
When Qian's mother came over, she saw that the door was locked from the outside, but smoke was coming out of the chimney. She looked into the yard through the crack in the door and happened to see Sui Yu scooping water to wash the killed fish.
"Aren't you the girl who sold me fish?"
Sui Yu looked over when she heard the sound. An eye peeking out from the crack of the door startled her. Her dizzy mind suddenly cleared up. She walked over and asked, "Who is it?"
"Is Sui Ling at your home?" asked Qian's mother.
"No, she hasn't been here." Sui Yu probably understood the man's intention of locking the door.
Mother Qian cursed, and with her greedy mind, she stared at the fish in Sui Yu's hand and said confidently, "Give me the fish in your hand."
Sui Yu rolled her eyes and turned away.
Qian's mother cursed a few times, kicked the door twice, turned around and went back to get some rice to carry to the field.
Sui Yu stood in the kitchen, listening for the noise outside to die down. She lifted the lid of the pot and shoveled the radish into a large ceramic bowl. After laboriously washing the pot, she poured oil and fried the fish. There was only one fish, and the family hadn't bought any tofu. She remembered that there were two jars of pickled cabbage. While the fish soup was simmering, she fished out a handful, washed it, chopped it up, and threw it into the broth to at least give it a sour flavor.
As the fish soup began to boil, there was movement outside. Zhao Xiping came in carrying a load of grain, followed by Sui Liang, who was holding a tabby cat on a leash. The cat came in reluctantly, but when the door opened, it smelled the fishy smell and leaped into the yard. It pounced on two chickens and grabbed two fish gills.
"This cat is quite big." Sui Yu squatted down to look.
"Grain Officer Zhou said it's great at catching mice and loves to fight." Zhao Xiping put down his burden and asked, "Is the meal ready? Let's eat first. I'm hungry."
Afraid the cat would run away, Sui Yu tied the rope that tied the cat to a rock. When serving the rice, he scooped fish soup and mixed it with a spoonful of bean rice, then asked, "What's its name?"
"Cat Officer." There are hundreds of cats in the grain station, and they are all called Cat Officer.
Sui Yu took a look at the name while serving dishes and thought it was domineering and cute, so she decided not to change it.
The three of them were extremely hungry. When the food was served, Sui Yu didn't feel like talking anymore. She scooped fish soup into the bowl and mixed it with bean rice. She then picked up two chopsticks of radish and put it on the rice. She took two mouthfuls of rice and one bite of vegetable. When the bowl of rice was empty, her stomach was no longer empty.
Zhao Xiping came in with his second bowl of rice. Seeing her put the bowl down, he said, "Are you full already? There's still rice in the pot."
Sui Yu shook her head. "No, I'm going to sleep for a while. After you finish eating, put the bowl in the pot and I'll wash it when I cook tonight. I'll only sleep for a short while. Call me when you go to work in the fields, okay?"
Zhao Xiping picked up the large ceramic bowl and poured the fish soup into it. He scraped off all the pickled vegetables, handed the fish to them, and said, "Share it between you two."
Sui Yu stared at him in surprise.
"You two are too thin. You keep complaining about being tired." Zhao Xiping looked at her with disdain and added, "Eat more and work harder."
Sui Yu smiled knowingly. She picked up the chopsticks and picked up the fish meat. She gave half to Sui Liang first, threw the fish tail to Mao Guan, and the rest was hers.
"You're concerned about me, aren't you?" she snickered.
The man ignored her, ate his meal in big mouthfuls, and strode out to get more rice. But after leaving the door, he turned back, took the radish with downcast eyes, and squatted in the kitchen to eat with his rice.
Sui Yu laughed out loud, shocking the cat official outside the door so much that he stared at her with wide eyes.
Sui Yu was in a good mood. After she finished eating the fish, she gave the fish skeleton and head to the cat official and said, "There are many mice in my house. You can live here peacefully. Your master can catch fish. If there are no mice to eat, he can catch fish for you."
"I didn't promise that. Whoever made the promise should go and catch me." Zhao Xiping said in the kitchen.
"I'll catch it if I can." Sui Yu carried the bowl into the kitchen and turned around to rummage through the baskets of food. One basket contained millet with shells, and the other contained soybeans, wheat, and taro.
"It will take another day to pull out the bean stalks. After that, I will have a day to grind millet and wheat." Zhao Xiping was full. He put down the bowl, picked up the grain and put it in the pottery jar first.
Sui Yu tried to lift the millet and asked, "Is this one dan? How many kilograms?"
"One hundred and twenty pounds." Zhao Xiping looked at her with a skeptical look and said sarcastically, "You are such a young lady who has never touched women."
Sui Yu said nothing. This bag of millet was not even heavier than her, definitely not 120 jin. She remembered that one jin in this dynasty was only five liang, which means that the millet with the shell only weighed 60 jin.
"After your colleagues got married and had children, did their wives and children get land and the harvested grain also be divided into 40% and 60%?" she asked.
Zhao Xiping nodded. He was now feeding three mouths with one person's ration.
"Alas..." Sui Yu sighed. She glanced outside and saw Sui Liang playing with the cat official. She said softly, "No wonder you refused to consummate your marriage with me. If you open your mouth again, you'll be begging for food."
In broad daylight... Zhao Xiping glared at her, then strode out to get the camel without even saying hello and went straight to the fields to work.
After the person left, Sui Yu laughed a few times, but then he became worried again. Money, money, where can I earn it?
She quickly washed the pots and dishes and cleaned the kitchen. After Sui Yu told Sui Liang something, she went into the house and lay down on the bamboo mat to rest for a while.
When the shadow cast by the house covered the water tank, Sui Liang ran into the house and woke up Sui Yu. The brother and sister packed up, picked up the water bag, locked the door and went downstairs.
"Boss, here I come."
Zhao Xiping heard her yelling before he even saw her. He didn't even raise his head, just focused on his work, not giving Sui Yu a chance to talk nonsense.
Sui Yu sent Sui Liang to the sorghum field, and she turned around to pull out bean stalks. Once she started working, her waist and arms ached, and she had no intention of teasing the man who was as tough as a bull. At this moment, she only envied his endless energy.
After Zhao Xiping finished pulling out a row of bean stalks, he stood up and went to the edge of the field to drink some water. Turning around, he saw Sui Yu, his face pale with exhaustion. With a stern face, he threw the water bag over to him and said, "Drink the water and go back. Don't work yourself to death in the field."
Sui Yu took the water bag and took a big gulp of water. She lay directly on the ground, squinting her eyes and looking at the sky.
"If you want to sleep, go back to sleep." Zhao Xiping said again.
"I'll take a break and break some sorghum stalks. The work in the fields is heavy, I'll help you share some of the burden..."
"I don't want it." Zhao Xiping interrupted her.
"Alas, you are a human, not a donkey. Your donkey knows how to feel tired, so how can you not be tired?" Sui Yu stared at the birds flying in the sky and muttered softly, "I rest when I'm tired. I'm not a fool. How can I really make myself sick from exhaustion?"
"You don't know what's good for you." Zhao Xiping hated her for not understanding him. "In previous years, I was the only one who planted and harvested these twenty acres of land."
Sui Yu turned over and sat up, supporting her chin and saying, "You mean I don't have to work in the fields anymore? I'll cook three meals a day for you at home?"
Zhao Xiping stopped talking.
"Anyway, it's just these twenty acres of land. I could plant and harvest it before, and I can plant and harvest it by myself in the future." Sui Yu imitated him.
"Then it would be great if I could live alone."
"Look at you, look at you, you've said everything." Sui Yu was shocked. "Men, their minds are so fickle and unpredictable. When they're in a good mood, they say, 'Good boy, go back and rest,' and the next moment, 'I'm so alone, so good.'"
Zhao Xiping couldn't stand her. He looked around, picked up a bean stalk and strode towards her to hit her, "Your mouth is always disgusting."
Sui Yu ran away quickly, laughing all the way towards the sorghum field.
Zhao Xiping stood on the field and stared at her. When she disappeared, he rubbed the goose bumps on his arms. Thinking of the disgusting words she had said, he slapped himself twice.
The sun was no longer blazing, making it a perfect time to work. Without Sui Yu distracting him, Zhao Xiping returned to the furrow and threw himself into the bean stalks. With his hands full, he grabbed a bean stalk and yanked it free from the soil. With a slight shake, he tossed it onto the open ground. The next moment, two more bean stalks were free.
On the other side, Sui Yu and Sui Liang did not slack off in the sorghum field. They stepped on the sorghum stalks and took out the ears of sorghum. Sui Yu walked in front and stepped on them, while Sui Liang followed behind and folded the ears of sorghum. Occasionally, when they saw insects and worms in the soil, they would crush them to death and put them in their pockets, preparing to take them back to feed the chickens.
As the sun sets, the cool evening breeze rustles the sorghum leaves, making them rustle. A basket of sorghum ears is full, and Sui Yu pulls Sui Liang to the soybean field.
"I'm going back to cook." She shouted to the people in the field.
"Yeah." The man became taciturn again.
"Is there still water in the water bag?" Sui Yu asked again.
Zhao Xiping looked up at the sky and said, "No need to deliver water. I'll go back when it gets dark."
Sui Liang glanced at him, and he ran into the field to pick up the water bag, which was empty.
"Brother Liang will bring you some water when he gets back." Without giving him a chance to speak, Sui Yu directly pulled Sui Liang away.
As they walked away, Sui Yu muttered, "Your brother-in-law is just awkward."
Sui Liang nodded heavily.
"You discovered it too?" Sui Yu smiled.
Sui Liang chuckled.
"Do you think he likes me?" Sui Yu asked quietly.
Sui Liang blushed and shook his head honestly.
"You still don't like me?"
Sui Liang nodded.
Sui Yu patted him on the head and said in a gruff voice, "You little brat, what do you know about liking or not... It doesn't matter. His attitude has softened and he will like me."
Sui Liang nodded repeatedly.
When Sui Yu got home, she saw a person dozing off at the door. She walked over and woke him up, saying impatiently, "Sui Ling, why are you here again?"
Sui Ling looked at her dazedly and smelled the strong smell of sweat on Sui Yu's body. She wanted to cry again. She didn't want to go to the fields to work.
"Go back to your home." Sui Yu drove her away.
"There's no one at home and the door is locked. I'm here to learn how to make a fire and cook from you." She would rather cook at home than work in the fields.
Sui Yu refused to let her in. She stared at Sui Ling and said, "Your mother-in-law came to see you at noon. I don't know what the conflict is between you, and I don't want to get involved. I'm very tired from work, so please let me have some peace and quiet."
"I just came here to learn how to make fire. I won't come again once I've learned it." Sui Ling squeezed in through the door.
Sui Yu didn't believe her words. Sui Ling completely ignored what others said and did everything according to her own wishes.
"I went to see my sister at noon. I waited for her for two hours, but she never came out to see me." Sui Ling started chattering as soon as she sat down.
Sui Yu ignored her. She took out a plate of pickled cabbage and soaked it in water. She also peeled a radish, cut it into thick slices, and threw it into the pickled cabbage jar to soak. In the evening, she just cooked a pot of bean porridge and fried a plate of pickled cabbage and eggs. After all, she didn't feel hungry when she fell asleep.
Sui Yu scooped water to wash the pot, Sui Liang pulled a handful of dry grass and stuffed it into the tree stump to make a fire. The flames shot up and filled the stove hole. He quickly stuffed a handful of bean stalks in. The bean stalks burned easily, and when the flames shot up, the bean stalks were burned through.
"I burned it the same way, so there must be something wrong with the Qian family's stove." Sui Ling looked at Sui Liang and said in a gentle voice, "Brother Liang, can you come to my house tomorrow to help me light the fire?"
Sui Liang shook his head.
"You should go back. Your mother-in-law will come looking for you again soon." Sui Yu drove him away again.
Sui Ling glared at her. "Are we still sisters? Are you just listening to a man?"
Her previous words were like playing the lute to a cow. Sui Yu picked up the firewood stick and chased her away: "Get out of here now."
Sui Lingqi walked away with a sullen look on his face, slamming the wooden door loudly.
The two chickens in the yard were frightened by her and started cackling.
The cat official lying on the stone looked up, curled up and went back to sleep, not waking up until the aroma of fried eggs wafted from the kitchen.
"Miao——" it greeted in a rough voice.
"You're so leisurely, basking in the sun and sleeping until the moon comes out." Sui Yu muttered. She poured out the water used to wash the pot, put the bean porridge and scrambled eggs with pickled cabbage into the steamer to heat them up, and said, "Liang Ge'er, wait at home. I'll go to Sui Lingpo's house."
Sui Liang held her hand and wouldn't let her go. If her brother-in-law knew about this, he would be angry again.
"Don't worry, I'll be back soon." Sui Yu pushed Sui Liang's hand away and went out. It was already dark, and most people had already returned. She asked three people along the way before she found the Qian family. As soon as she stepped through the door, she heard Qian's mother scolding.
"Are you all home?" Sui Yu called out as she entered the room. "Is Sui Ling back? My aunt went to my house at noon to look for her but couldn't find her, so I came over to ask."
"She's back, Sui Ling, your cousin is here." Qian Wei called out, "Cousin, come in and sit down. Is it time for dinner?"
Sui Ling came out of the kitchen and stared at her in confusion.
"I'm not going in. I'm here to look for my aunt." Sui Yu stood inside the gate and shouted loudly, "I didn't recognize you before. I only recognized you when you came to my house at noon today. I've been looking for you for a long time. Your family had a wedding banquet before, and you bought five fish from me in the evening. I asked for two cents of silver, but you gave me eight cents less. Do you recognize me or not? Aunt, you are already old, why are you so careless in your actions?"
Several neighbors heard the noise and came out to see what was happening. When they heard the last sentence, someone burst out laughing.
"You little whore, if you keep talking nonsense I'll tear your mouth apart." Qian's mother was furious and took advantage of her young daughter-in-law's thin skin to start cursing.
"If you had been a bit more honest, you old whore, I wouldn't have come to your house. If your son and my husband weren't colleagues, I would have thought you made your fortune as a thief." Sui Yu looked at Qian Wei and said, "It's not easy for me to catch a fish and sell it for money. Give me the eight cents, and I won't come to your house anymore, and you shouldn't come to mine either."
Sui Ling finally understood her purpose. She gritted her teeth and said, "Sui Yu, you are so cruel. From now on, we will no longer have any friendship."
"Give me money." Sui Yu stretched out his hand.
Qian Wei walked into the house, counted out ten coins, handed them to her, and said, "Our two families are relatives. Why are you making such a scene? How can you let your man meet me again?"
Sui Yuze took out two copper coins and returned them to her, then turned and left with the eight coins.
Walking out of the alley, she saw two people standing in the second alley, one tall and one short. Sui Yu approached and recognized them. She shook eight coins and said, "Let's buy a bowl of tofu tomorrow."
Zhao Xiping said nothing.
"She won't come anymore. I'll handle my own affairs."
"Well, you keep your word."
Sui Yu scoffed, "Oh, now I remember, did I forget to bring you some water?"
"I'm not thirsty either."
"Then I won't send it to you next time."
Zhao Xiping: ...
When they got home for dinner, Sui Yu relayed Qian Wei's words to him, saying, "Will it not affect other people's opinions of you because of me?"
Zhao Xiping snorted disdainfully. He didn't care at all. "I make a living with my own hands and feet, not by the opinions of outsiders."
"What's the conflict between you and Captain Li?" Sui Yu asked tentatively.
"There's no conflict. It's just that I don't know how to flatter people. I made him lose face a few times, so he holds a grudge against me." Zhao Xiping glanced at her and said, "If I were as thick-skinned as you, this wouldn't have happened."
Sui Yu took a piece of egg and put it into her mouth, saying viciously: "It is a blessing for you to marry me."
Zhao Xiping wanted to laugh out loud, he had the nerve to say that.
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