Chapter 306 Consultation
"Sister-in-law, the camel has given birth to a baby camel."
Sui Yu turned around and saw A Shui standing by the river outside the guesthouse, waving vigorously. The smile on her face could be seen from a long distance away.
Seeing that she didn't move, Ah Shui ran a few more steps, crossed the trickling stream, and continued to shout loudly: "The female camels have given birth to baby camels. Uncle Mu said that five female camels are about to give birth."
"Okay, I'll be back later." Sui Yu responded, "By the way, go back and bring me a bucket and a ladle."
Ah Shui responded, turned around and ran back quickly, sprinting across the river. She lifted her legs and jumped over, landing safely on the dry river bank.
Sui Yu looked away. This little girl was quite good. She had let things go once she had thought them through. She hadn't let her miserable past get her down. Far from feeling inferior or suspicious, she had become even more determined. She learned to use the abacus, learn to read, run for exercise, and take care of the chores of the guesthouse. She took the initiative to learn and inquire without anyone urging her. She was like a flower breaking through the soil, absorbing water and nutrients and growing vigorously. During the month she was ill, Sui Yu had worried that she wouldn't make it, that she would become troubled and her personality would change, which would be the end of her.
A horse came on the road from the south. The farmers who were digging the ground on the roadside looked up, but before they could think of anything else, the inertia of their hands pulled their heads back and they continued to dig and turn the soil.
"Aunt, I'm here to see your crops again." Lu Yaer stopped her chestnut horse and asked loudly while standing on the horse's back.
"yes."
"Aunt, has any caravan brought any news about my mother recently?" Lu Yaer asked again.
"It's only the beginning of March. The caravans from Chang'an have probably just entered the Qinling Trade Road. They won't enter Dunhuang until the end of the month or early April." Sui Yu said, "Don't worry. I'll have someone notify you when there's news."
"Well, I just asked casually. I came here to visit the old man and see if his cough has improved." Lu Yaer shook the reins and said, "Aunt, you are busy. I will go over to take a look."
"Okay, stay for lunch."
As the clatter of horse hooves faded, Sui Yu leaned over to remove the dirt stubble pressing against the oilcloth. The hay had covered it, and the temperature inside and outside the oilcloth was different, causing fine water droplets to cling to its sides. As the oilcloth was removed, a warm, moist breeze rushed out, and the stifling smell of rotten earth dissipated with it.
Sui Yu bent over and looked from beginning to end. The loose soil covering the cotton seeds was bulging into small bags. Perhaps one day, the cotton buds would break through the soil.
The sound of running footsteps and the bang of the bucket against the wooden barrel was getting closer and closer. Da Zhuang said across the river, "Master, Ah Shui asked me to bring the bucket over. Do you want to scoop some water?"
"Just scoop out half a bucket of water." Sui Yu said.
The clay was a bit dry and hard, and Sui Yu was worried that it would affect the growth of cotton buds. She poured water along the gaps in the clay cut by the hemp rope. Dazhuang wanted to help, but she refused.
Watering is a delicate job and can only be poured along the gaps, because if the loose soil on the surface of the mud is wet, it will increase the resistance of the cotton buds to breaking through the soil. Therefore, when watering, Sui Yu is more cautious than sewing clothes with a needle.
At first she was still squatting, but her legs became numb from squatting, so she changed to kneeling. When she finished watering, her waist and legs were sore.
"Oh, farming is such a dreadful job." Sui Yu stood up, leaning on the bucket. She turned around and saw Da Zhuang, bent over a ridge, digging up thatch roots with great enthusiasm. She thought to herself, what a fool! If it were Hua Niu or Ah Qiang, they'd be so anxious watching the master work that they'd have to find something to do to make themselves look busy.
"Come here and give me a hand. Pull open the oilcloth and cover it again." Sui Yu said.
"Okay." Dazhuang got up swiftly.
Cover the vines with oilcloth and press it down with earth stubble. Press it tightly on all sides and let the sun shine on it, which will create high temperature inside the oilcloth.
"Is the hay still covered?" asked Da Zhuang.
"No need to cover it, pick up the bucket and let's go back." Sui Yu patted the dirt off his knees.
Seeing that there was still water in the bucket, Dazhuang grabbed some reed roots and threw them into the bucket to scrub them clean. A bird landed, and he picked up a wooden ladle and smashed it hard.
Sui Yu turned around when she heard the sound and reminded him, "Don't step on the oilcloth."
Da Zhuang retrieved the water scoop and quickly followed with the bucket in hand. He asked, "Master, do you want to eat the sweet impatiens root?"
Sui Yu stretched out his hand and generously gave her half.
"Where's the cub?" she asked.
"He was watching the camel give birth to its calf."
Sui Yu almost forgot about this. She chewed the reed roots and hurried back to the house. She opened the box and took out the long wooden pieces she had prepared in advance. She wrote down the number of cotton seeds planted in the first batch, the planting time, and the germination time.
"Da Zhuang, Da Zhuang? Here, take this piece of wood and stick it in the ground where you just put the bucket."
Dazhuang took the wood chip and ran away. Sui Yu took out the ink stick and inkstone to grind, and wrote down the process of cotton seed breeding on the bamboo slips, as well as the precautions for ventilation, heat dissipation and watering.
It took her most of the day to write. In the middle of the writing, Zhao Xiping came back and looked at the door a few times, but she didn't notice.
"Haven't you finished writing yet? It's time to eat. You can continue writing after dinner." Zhao Xiping walked in again.
Sui Yu was startled. She looked up and outside. The golden sunlight made her dizzy.
"It's noon already?" She put down her brush and thought of the sprouting cotton seeds. She hurried over and said, "The cotton seeds have sprouted. I estimate that in two days, all the cotton seeds we planted will sprout."
Zhao Xiping was not surprised. When he discovered that covering the cotton seeds with oilcloth could produce the temperature of late spring, he knew that as long as the cotton seeds were still alive, they would sprout sooner or later.
"Can wheat and beans be planted like this?" he asked. "If we can plant them earlier, we can harvest them earlier in late fall. The September sun is still scorching hot enough to burn people, but the wheat and beans can be dried thoroughly after harvest. We don't have to worry about them getting moldy."
"It's definitely possible, but beans and wheat are not like cotton. When planting beans and wheat, you can sow the seeds, and one person can plant two acres a day. If you convert it to seedlings, try it again. Seedlings need to be planted in holes and then planted one by one. You can't plant more than half an acre a day." Sui Yu said, "Even if the seedlings emerge early, the spring planting will be delayed, and the autumn harvest will not be early. Besides, how many people can afford tarpaulin for planting seeds?"
Zhao Xiping dismissed the idea after hearing this.
"So according to what you said, cotton is not suitable for poor people to grow?" he asked.
"The further east and south you go, the warmer and more humid the climate is. Places where spring comes early are definitely more suitable for growing cotton. As for whether I can abandon the oilcloth and grow cotton, I am still trying. This afternoon I will ask the servants to dig the silt again, and I will plant the second, third, and fourth crops." Sui Yu said.
"Let them dig out a lot of silt and leave it there first. After half a month, there will be more water in the river, and what they dig out will be thin mud," Zhao Xiping reminded.
Sui Yu hadn't expected this. She hooked her arm around the man's neck, stood on tiptoe, and kissed him. She said sweetly, "Thank you, Captain Zhao, for reminding me. You are my most useful right-hand man."
Zhao Xiping pushed her and whispered, "Your son saw it, let go quickly."
Sui Yu turned around and saw the kid standing outside the gate with his mouth grinning and his eyes rolling around.
Sui Yu pretended nothing had happened. She took her arm around the man and asked, "Come and call us for dinner?"
The kid laughed and stared at his father, and sure enough, he saw his father's ears turned red again.
Zhao Xiping coughed uncomfortably and warned, "Don't tell anyone."
After saying that, he reminded the people around him: "Don't do this again when you leave the sleeping room."
"Is it illegal for me to kiss my own man? We've already given birth to a child, so who doesn't know what we did?" Sui Yu deliberately teased him, "What couple doesn't kiss? Besides, I only kissed your face."
Zhao Xiping's face flushed red. He glared at her and whispered, "This should be done inside. It's not good if others see it."
"Why didn't you push me away just now?" Sui Yu smiled cunningly, "You should have pushed me away just now."
Zhao Xiping: ...
He was speechless now.
Sui Yu stretched out his hand, and the little cub ran over happily to hold it. Seeing his parents bickering, he was as happy as if he had eaten three pounds of honey.
Zhao Xiping went to the river to wash his face, then walked into the kitchen. Seeing the kids talking around Sui Yu, he breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't dare sit down immediately, so he went into the kitchen to help serve the dishes.
"Mom, this morning, the camel gave birth to three baby camels. Their fur is so beautiful."
"Oh, give them names. Ding Quan, come here. I have a job for you. Take your men to the lower reaches of the river these next few days to dig up the silt. Dig a pit by the river and store extra silt for me before the river overflows," Sui Yu instructed. "Be careful when digging the pit. Set fire to the surrounding grass and don't let grass seeds fall into the mud pit... Forget it, forget it. Go to the city this afternoon and buy ten large bathtubs. Replace the old ones at home and use them to store the mud."
Ding Quan nodded. "Okay, I understand. I must not let the grass seeds fall into the mud."
The food was served on the table and Zhao Xiping sat down. The boy looked at him and saw that he was no longer shy. The secret curiosity in his heart disappeared and he devoted himself to eating.
After dinner, Sui Yu and Zhao Xiping followed the cub to see the newly born wild camels. The wild camels had been in their home for more than half a year. They no longer resisted getting close to people. They had copper bells hanging around their necks. When they saw people coming, they would stretch their necks to beg for food.
"Today is a good day. I will go to the city to buy a sheep in the afternoon. You can come back early for dinner after your shift tonight." Sui Yu said.
Zhao Xiping nodded. He glanced at his son, who was busy feeding the camel with bean cakes, and asked in a low voice, "What did the doctor say when we went to the clinic last time? Are you still eating medicinal food?"
After the winter began last year, Sui Yu stopped drinking bitter soup. Seeing that her family was well-off, the doctor asked her to stew lamb and hen with red dates, astragalus, ginger and pepper, and drink a bowl every few days to replenish blood and qi.
"I won't eat it anymore. If I eat more, I'll have a nosebleed."
"Then I'll have lamb stew tonight."
Sui Yu paused, glanced at him sideways, and immediately understood what he meant.
Since seeing a doctor last year, the couple had been sleeping in the same bed, mostly using their hands and mouths to soothe each other, out of fear that she might get pregnant. Zhao Xiping, on the other hand, avoided dry foods like leeks and mutton.
"Third sister-in-law, third brother." Zhao Xiaomi came over riding a camel, holding one in her arms and another sitting behind her.
"Auntie, little brother," the cub called out, "Come and see, my big camel has given birth to a baby camel."
The camel knelt down, and Aning slid down. He walked over quickly and asked, "Brother, when does the school start? My aunt told me to come to the guesthouse this afternoon. The old teacher has recovered from his illness."
"Take your things and go to the classroom first to review them, so that you won't be unable to answer the old teacher's questions." Zhao Xiping said.
"Let me check on my sister first." The kid walked over and asked, "Auntie, is Jinhua asleep?"
"She's asleep. She falls asleep as soon as she sits on a camel." Zhao Xiaomi squatted down and let his nephew look at the sleeping child.
Sui Yu and Zhao Xiping also walked over. Jinhua was five months old and chubby. Even when she was asleep, she was still sucking her lips.
"It's cuter than a little camel." The little boy held his sister's hand and shook it.
"Do you like it?" Sui Yu asked.
The cub nodded.
"Can Mommy give you a sister?"
"Like Golden Flower?"
"No, no, no, your mother's sister will definitely look like her. She'll be as pretty as you when she grows up." Zhao Xiaomi couldn't stand it any longer. She stood up, handed the child to her brother, and said, "Old people say nieces take after their aunts, but I don't like that. Third sister-in-law, if you have another girl, she'd better look like you, not me or my brother."
Sui Yu glanced at Zhao Xiping and said, "It doesn't matter if he's handsome. Your brother has good features, there's nothing to complain about. It's just that he's a warrior and has been on the battlefield, so he looks a bit fierce. He also has a stern face all the time, so he seems difficult to approach."
Zhao Xiaomi still shook her head in disdain, "If you're like me, don't be like us, the Zhao family."
Sui Yu looked at the boy and saw that he didn't seem to resist. She asked again, "Do you want to have a brother or sister? Just like your uncle and I, he and I have the same mother."
Upon hearing this example, the little guy nodded immediately, "Then give me a sister, and I will be a good uncle too. Mom, I miss my uncle."
"I miss him too. I wonder if he's on his way back." Sui Yu sighed and said, "If you and Aning are not in a hurry to go to school, then go stand under the jujube tree and greet your classmates, just like your uncle does when he's home."
The cub ran away with Aning.
"You're asking the kid's opinion before having a baby? If he doesn't want to, you really won't want it?" Zhao Xiaomi waited until this moment to ask.
"If he doesn't want to, then his father and I must have failed to do something well, making him feel that he doesn't like him anymore if he has a younger child," Sui Yu said. "If that's the case, it wouldn't be too late to have a second child two years later. If he insists on being an only child, then he'll have to give up some of his freedom, like not being able to follow his father's path and become a military officer on the battlefield."
Zhao Xiping looked at her. This statement was quite novel. He had both brothers and sisters, and had countless playmates when he was a child. He had never seen anyone who didn't like their mother to have another child.
Zhao Xiaomi couldn't understand it either. She thought it was the difference between the origins of a commoner girl and a daughter from an official family, so she stopped asking.
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