Chapter 49 Visiting Sui Wen'an Again
After lunch, Sui Yu scooped flour and prepared to roll out dough to make dumplings. Since grain was precious, she could only focus on the filling. Dumplings and buns were economical in dough, filling and long-lasting, so they were suitable for her to make and send to Sui Wen'an.
"Let me knead the dough." Zhao Xiping rolled up her sleeves and came over to take over. The frostbite on her hands had worsened again, and it was quite difficult to knead the dough. It would probably hurt if she pressed the frostbite bumps.
"Then I'll go dig some radishes." Sui Yu made way and walked away. Before leaving, he asked, "Do you want radish stuffing or pickled cabbage and egg stuffing? The chives in the vegetable garden should be growing again, but I didn't go to check."
"Just stuffed carrots will do, it won't be a hassle."
I still prefer the ones with pickled cabbage and egg filling. Sui Yu went to the camel pen to dig out two short radish heads, and then fished out pickled cabbage from the pickled cabbage jar. The two jars of pickled cabbage were empty even if I tried to save them. This was the last bowl. If I wanted to eat it later, I would have to eat pickled radish that had been soaked.
After kneading the dough, Zhao Xiping washed his hands and came out. Seeing Sui Liang sitting on a rock picking fleas for the cat official, he waved and said, "I'm going to the mountains to chop wood. Do you want to come with me?"
Sui Liang looked at Sui Yu, and Sui Yu said, "It's up to you. If you're not afraid of the cold, go help your brother-in-law find dead trees on the mountain. If you don't want to go, just stay home and make dumplings with me."
Zhao Xiping had already led the camel out. He went into the house and took out the wolf skin. He said, "If you feel cold, put on the wolf skin. Come with me for a run. Exercise more and you will grow taller."
Sui Yu saw that he was willing to teach Sui Liang, so she gave him a push and said, "Go with your brother-in-law. I'll wait for you to come back for dinner."
Sui Liang had no choice but to follow him out and then ride on the camel's back holding the wolf skin.
The cat official squatted on the stone without moving. The hostess was cooking at home, and the cat wanted to stay at home.
The sun was shining outside and the courtyard wall blocked the wind, so it was not cold to sit outside. Sui Yu moved out the low couch in the main room and sat outside to chop the stuffing, first cutting the sauerkraut and then the radish.
"What delicious food are you going to make?" a passerby stopped and asked.
"I'm planning to make some dumplings." Sui Yu looked outside and asked with a smile, "Where are you going, sister-in-law?"
"Just walking around." A woman carrying a sewing basket stepped in and said, "Everyone says you're good at cooking, so I'm here to learn from you."
"If you don't mind, then come and learn." Sui Yu pointed to a few stones standing in the yard and said, "It's hot, sister-in-law, please sit anywhere. If it's too hard, just pull some hay to cushion it. Please forgive me, I'm busy and don't have time to entertain you."
"You ladies are just very polite. I don't need you to greet me. Just go about your business."
Sui Yu suppressed the smile on her face, lowered her head and sighed, "Sister-in-law, please don't look down on me. There's no such thing as a young lady from a wealthy family."
"Hey, that's not what I meant. I don't mean to look down on you. It's a fact that you come from a good family." La Mei waved her hand. "If you don't like it, then I won't say it."
Sui Yu looked up at her, then lowered her head and continued to work, changing the subject to talk about something else.
After cutting the sauerkraut and radish, Sui Yu picked up the chopping board, rinsed it, and hung it on the wall to dry in the sun. She then went into the house, picked up the chopping board and the basin, kneaded the dough into long strips and then cut it into pieces. She took out the rolling pin and began to roll out the dough.
In order to wrap more dumplings, Sui Yu cut the dough into small pieces and rolled it out as thin as possible, so that the dough would become bigger.
Lamei watched her kneeling on the ground, rolling out the dough into sheets over and over again without getting tired. She had finished sewing one leg of her trousers, but there was still half of the dough left in the basin. She was amazed and said, "I'm used to being extravagant. I can't do such delicate work."
"When it comes to cooking, as long as I can fill my stomach, that's all I need. Xiping thinks I'm wasting time with all the fancy tricks." Sui Yu smiled, put down her rolling pin, stretched her neck, and said, "If there was enough food at home, I wouldn't bother with all this."
"You don't have enough food at home? I have plenty at home. If you are short of food, you can borrow some."
Sui Yu smiled. This guy was really nice, so she stopped saying these polite words to fool him.
It took another half an hour to roll out all the dough. Sui Yu went into the house to get a steaming cloth and covered the basin and the working surface. She went into the house to light the pot and fry the stuffing. La Mei followed her into the house to help light the fire.
"Your kitchen is well-kept." said Lamei.
"Just wipe it a few more times and it will be clean." Sui Yu poured oil and fried the stuffing, first frying the radish stuffing, then frying the eggs and sauerkraut.
When making dumplings, La Mei wanted to help, but Sui Yu quickly refused: "Sister-in-law, please sit down. It's not right for you to work all the time on your first visit. Just sit back and we can talk."
When Zhao Xiping came back from chopping wood, he heard a strange voice before he even entered the house. He looked back again and again to make sure he was in the right alley before leading his camel in. When he entered the house, he saw Sui Yu learning needlework from a familiar woman.
"Oh, it's getting late. I should go back and cook." Lamei was a little scared of Zhao Xiping. She packed her sewing basket and hurried out. When she was out, she stood on the road and said, "Sui Yu, I'll come back another day to teach you how to sew clothes."
"Hey, next time my door is open just come in." Sui Yu went out to see her off.
Zhao Xiping stood in the yard and watched her. After the gate closed, he asked, "Do you know her?"
"I just met her today. She was passing by and came in when she saw me at home." Sui Yu walked over, raised her hand to help him pick the grass off his shoulders, and said, "You came home early today. Are you hungry? I've already made some dumplings."
Zhao Xiping shook his head. He looked at Sui Yu again and thought, that's right. With her personality, if she wants to be nice to someone, anyone can be pleased with her words.
"I'll cook. Let's eat early and go back to bed early while it's still light. You didn't sleep well last night." Sui Yu walked into the kitchen and said, "I made a lot of dumplings. I'll cook some tonight and save the tofu for you and Liang Ge'er to eat at noon tomorrow."
Sui Yu made two dumplings with lids, and boiled water in the evening to cook one, both filled with sauerkraut and eggs.
As for the dumplings stuffed with radish, she steamed them all when she went to see Sui Wen'an, and after they cooled down, she put them in a steaming cloth and took them away.
As soon as it was dawn, Sui Yu went out wearing a wolfskin and riding a camel. As soon as she left, Zhao Xiping took Sui Liang to chop firewood and also carried the sleeping cat official with him.
After La Mei cleaned up her house, she came to see Sui Yu again, only to find that her door was locked.
Sui Yu rushed on the road for half a day and arrived at the foot of the city wall before noon. Fearing that she would attract attention, she got off the camel from a distance, held the wolf skin and carried the steamed dumplings, and walked over on foot. She would wait until the servants served the meal before going to find Sui Wen'an.
"Didn't I tell you not to come? Why are you here again?" Sui Wen'an pounded the city wall below his waist.
"I'm worried you might be in trouble, so I came to bring you some food." Sui Yu walked over on the side of the bridge to save him from having to walk an extra distance. "I brought you some dumplings. Eat them first. If you can't finish them, give one or two to each of your uncles and brothers."
Sui Wen'an sighed, "Sister Yu, thank you for your concern."
Sui Yu didn't say anything. She stood aside, stepping on stones, her ears filled with the sound of Sui Wen'an swallowing in disarray. After he had eaten his fill, she turned around and said, "This is what I promised Sui Hui. Years ago, you asked me to go see her. I went, and she became a concubine of Supervisor Hu."
Sui Wen'an's face went blank for a moment. He was stunned for a moment before he spoke with difficulty: "This can be considered a way out. As long as she behaves herself, she won't have to worry about food and clothing."
"She wants to be free from slavery, and she wants to free you from slavery even more. She is afraid that you will not survive this year." Sui Yu said truthfully.
Sui Wen'an choked up and remained silent for a long time. A drop of grayish hot tear flowed across the corner of his dry eyes.
"Alas, I... why bother? You guys just take care of yourselves. There's no meaning in my living. I'm just another mouth to eat for free." Sui Wen'an looked up at the sky.
"Why is it meaningless? Your life is a comfort to her." Sui Yu kicked a stone and said, "She can't get out and can't see you anymore, so she asked me to come and look after you more often and promised to free me from slavery if there is a chance."
Sui Wen'an clutched the clothes around his chest uncomfortably. He took a deep breath. Escaping slavery was so difficult. How could she dare to promise? How could a girl like her shoulder the expectations of two or three people?
"She has already..."
"Yes, I have already told Master Hu."
"Sister Yu, please don't come." Sui Wen'an waved his hand and said, "Please don't come. Let her live her life in peace."
Sui Yu shook his head and said, "She's not a three-year-old child. Even if she were, she wouldn't listen to everyone else. She has her own opinions, and everyone has their own persistence. It's useless for me to talk to her. Besides, God is not an obedient person. People can't live a peaceful old age by just being content. If they struggle, they might find a way out. Sui Hui grew up in a wealthy family and experienced her family being broken up and exiled. Her character should not be underestimated. Cousin, to her, you are like the carrot hanging on the donkey pulling the millstone. If you live well, she will have something to look forward to. From now on, I will bring you a meal every five days. Remember the date and take note of it. Bring this steaming cloth with you."
After saying this, Sui Yu stepped on the bridge to cross the river, "Cousin, I'm leaving now. Take care."
Sui Wen'an chewed over Sui Yu's words several times. His three younger sisters, whom he had raised like delicate flowers, had grown up. He walked to the river and looked at the water. He could no longer be decadent.
He grabbed a handful of leftover steamed dumplings and hid them in his arms, and then shared the rest with his uncles and brothers.
When Sui Yu was riding on the camel, she saw him climbing up the city wall. She wrapped the camel with wolf skin, patted its butt, and the camel ran home as if it knew the way.
The camel was tired from running for half the morning, and its pace slowed down considerably on the way back. It was dusk when they reached the city, and by the time they turned into the military settlement, every household had already lit oil lamps. Entering Shisantun, Sui Yu slipped off the camel's back and within a few steps saw two figures, one tall and one short, standing at the entrance to the second alley.
Zhao Xiping held the camel and said, "Let's go back. The meal is ready."
Sui Yu walked over and took his arm. She sighed, jumped and stamped her feet, and said, "It's really cold. It's very cold this morning and this evening."
Zhao Xiping nodded and walked in. He asked her to go to the stove to warm herself by the fire. He led the camel into the pen, fed it and gave it water. After finishing all this, he went into the house to serve the meal.
"I've cooked taro porridge and fried pig's blood. Try some." Zhao Xiping brought the dishes down and placed them on the bucket lid. He asked, "Have you had lunch?"
"I ate a few steamed dumplings, but I'm not full." Sui Yu gulped down the porridge and picked up a piece of pig's blood. She said with a guilty conscience, "You can start your apprenticeship now. I'll open a restaurant and hire you as the head chef."
Sui Liang looked at her with the pig's blood in his mouth. He chewed it twice, drank a mouthful of porridge, and forced himself to swallow the pig's blood wrapped in the porridge.
"Fool." Sui Yu laughed, "You can't even put on a show."
"He's no match for you." Zhao Xiping glared at her. "I hate people who tell lies the most."
Sui Yu glanced at him sideways, then took another piece of pig's blood and fed it to her mouth, saying, "It's really delicious, really delicious."
Zhao Xiping ignored her.
"Are you going to chop wood tomorrow?" Sui Yu asked.
"Well, what's up?"
"It's okay, I'll go with you. I'll go borrow a machete from Sister Lamei later." Sui Yu finished eating, and she handed the bowl over, saying, "Give me another bowl. Thank you, my dear father."
Zhao Xiping almost choked to death.
Sui Liang dropped the chopsticks in his hand in shock, and looked at Sui Yu with wide eyes.
"You're going to be an uncle, aren't you happy?" Sui Yu touched her belly in a serious manner.
Sui Liang nodded heavily and he also wanted to reach out and touch it.
"Listen to her nonsense." Zhao Xiping was furious.
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