Chapter 168 Nothing to Give Up
On New Year's Eve, after the New Year's Eve dinner, Zhao Xiping and Sui Liang went out, each carrying two torches.
Sui Yu was still in confinement after giving birth, so she could only listen to the majestic drum beats and exciting laughter at home, and sit at the end of the bed to amuse the lively little cub to the sound of the drum.
"Madam, I'll be guarding the kitchen. Call me if my son needs to poop or pee." Grandma Yin said as she walked to the door.
"Didn't I tell you guys to go out and play too?" Sui Yu tilted his head to look outside and said, "I don't need anyone here. His father will be back soon. You and Meng Ma go out to have some fun, and then go to the guesthouse to have some barbecue. It only happens once a year."
"We are old and can't eat meat at night. We also don't like noise. It gives us a headache." Grandma Yin rubbed her hands and said, "It's cold at night. It's more comfortable for us to warm ourselves by the fire at home. There's water boiling on the stove. My wife, if you need a drink or anything, just give me a call."
Sui Yu stopped forcing him and said, "Then roast two more diapers while you're warming up by the fire. He eats a lot and pees a lot every day, and the weather isn't good, so there won't be enough diapers to change."
"Why."
During the New Year, other people's houses have either cured meat or dried vegetables hanging under their eaves, but Sui Yu's house has either diapers or children's clothes hanging under its eaves. The diapers freeze and become hard as soon as they are hung. If they are not dried over a fire, they will take three or four days to dry.
The baby in the cradle babbled, and Sui Yu came to his senses. He continued to cover his face with the headscarf, lifting and covering it to tease him.
The drumbeats coming from the wind became rapid, and the cub opened his eyes wide and froze, looking curious.
"Do you understand? What can a little kid like you, as small as a club, understand?" Sui Yu tilted her head to meet his eyes. She happily picked up the child and said, "This time next year, your father and I will take you out to dance the Nuo dance... Hey, little kid, you're already celebrating the New Year before you're even a month old."
Suddenly there was a knock on the door outside the house. Sui Yu heard Yin Po standing in the yard asking who it was. A moment later, the door opened and Zhao Xiaomi and Song Xian came in.
"I met my aunt outside the city, so I thought of coming to see you." Zhao Xiaomi took off her sheepskin coat that smelled of firewood smoke and hung it outside the door, then slipped in.
Song Xian followed closely behind.
"Little guy, you haven't slept yet. Come, let your aunt hug you." Zhao Xiaomi stretched out her hand.
Sui Yu handed the child to her and turned to Song Xian, saying, "It's very lively over at the guesthouse tonight. I heard from Liang Ge'er that the merchants bought four large rams and are planning to roast them tonight. Why don't you go over and take a look?"
Song Xian was tempted. In this case, tonight was a good opportunity to build relationships and become familiar with these merchants, which would make it easier for her to sell camels in the spring.
"When Zhao Xiping comes back later, ask him to take you and Liang Ge'er there." Sui Yu said.
"Lian Zheng is outside. I asked him to take me there." Song Xian stood up and said, "You're almost out of confinement. I'll come see you in a couple of days."
"Okay, I'll invite you all over for dinner on the third day of the Lunar New Year." Sui Yu came to her senses after that. She looked at Xiaomi and asked, "Is your brother-in-law outside? Didn't he come in?"
"He didn't come in. Don't bother with him. He likes to be outside in the cold." Zhao Xiaomi said angrily.
Sui Yu laughed when he heard that. "What? Did you have a fight?"
"We just had a few arguments, it's nothing." Zhao Xiaomi didn't want to make her brother and sister-in-law worry, and it wasn't a big deal anyway, so she didn't say much.
Since she didn't want to talk, Sui Yu didn't ask. It was normal for a couple to have a quarrel and then go to court.
"My nephew is so handsome, so fair and tender, with a nice nose and nice eyes. The fat on his cheeks is so tender that I want to pinch it."
"Go ahead and pinch me. If you do, your third brother will chase you home and pinch you back." Sui Yu smiled.
"I believe that." Zhao Xiaomi also smiled. She touched the cub's face and said, "It would be great if I could give birth to a child like this."
"Are you pregnant?" Sui Yu asked.
Zhao Xiaomi shook her head, "Not yet."
"Then you should be careful. Once your period doesn't come, you should be careful and don't do heavy work." Sui Yu advised.
Zhao Xiaomi nodded.
The kid suddenly twisted his body, his face full of anxiety, and whimpered as if he was about to cry. Zhao Xiaomi quickly handed his nephew over.
When he reached Sui Yu's arms, he immediately swallowed back his tears.
It was time to eat, so Sui Yu urged Zhao Xiaomi to go to the kitchen to warm up by the fire.
"We are all women. Whatever you have, I have too. Why hide it?" Zhao Xiaomi muttered to herself, but still went out obediently.
Sui Yu sat in the bed, lifted her clothes and fed the child. He drank milk while she played with his feet. The mother and child were busy with their own things.
Just after feeding, Zhao Xiping came back with a roasted leg of lamb. Seeing that Sui Yu was not asleep, he went to the kitchen to light the stove and heat up the leg of lamb.
"Didn't Lian Zheng come back with you?" Zhao Xiaomi asked.
"Him? He came to see me? I didn't see him." Zhao Xiping glanced at her and asked, "What do you want to talk to me about?"
"Maybe he took the wrong road. He sent his aunt to the guesthouse."
"Then I'll take you back after we finish eating the lamb leg. He'll take her to the guesthouse and back again. It'll probably be almost dawn by the time we get back to the city." Zhao Xiping handed the lamb leg to Zhao Xiaomi and said, "Watch it, don't let it burn. Your nephew probably had diarrhea. I'll go clean his bottom."
Sui Yu was only responsible for feeding the child, and Zhao Xiping was the one who took care of him at other times. He was the one who comforted him when he pooped or peed, spit up, woke up in the middle of the night, or cried and made a fuss.
The door creaked gently, and the little boy, who had been about to fall asleep with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them wide. Sui Yu sighed and said, "You came at a really bad time. If you wait a little longer, he'll fall asleep."
"It's okay, I'll coax him back to sleep." Zhao Xiping smiled and picked up the baby in the cradle. He said in a cheesy way, "Son, are you waiting for your dad to come back?"
Sui Yu rubbed her arms. Perhaps because she was cold, goose bumps appeared on her arms. She pulled up the mattress and lay down, turning sideways to watch Zhao Xiping walking around the room with his son in his arms.
The baby fell asleep again, and Zhao Xiping put him down, untied his swaddling clothes, and went out to fetch water.
"Huh!" Sui Yu pinched his nose.
Zhao Xiping glanced at her and said, "You're being picky."
Sui Yu ignored her. She pinched her nose and held her breath. When she couldn't breathe, she crawled into the quilt and covered herself with the mattress to breathe.
Zhao Xiping pulled back the mattress and gave her a big kiss. Then he stuffed the swaddled baby into her arms and covered the mother and child. He opened the doors and windows to let in some fresh air.
"Third brother, the lamb leg is oily again." Zhao Xiaomi came over and whispered.
"Roasted lamb has a strong smell, don't bring it into the house, I'll go to the kitchen to eat it." Sui Yu said, lifting the mattress.
"Hey!" Zhao Xiping hurriedly tried to close the doors and windows, "There's a draft coming in, get under the covers quickly."
"It's only three days away from the full moon. It won't affect anything." Sui Yu felt that her body had recovered and was no different from a normal person. Even if she went out for a walk in the last three days, it shouldn't have much impact.
Zhao Xiping had already closed the doors and windows. When he turned around, he saw Sui Yu putting on her jacket. She seemed afraid of being stopped, so she put on her clothes very quickly. Before Zhao Xiping could say anything, she had already gotten down to the ground.
"Let's go, your son has fallen asleep, let's go eat roasted lamb leg." Sui Yu said in high spirits.
Zhao Xiping was helpless, "I shouldn't have brought back a leg of lamb."
As he spoke, he had already gone to rummage through the wooden box. He took out a thin mattress used for spring and autumn and put it on Sui Yu's head, wrapping her up. Then he turned around and took the child away, and then took Sui Yu out.
Sui Yu, wrapped in the mattress, asked vaguely, "Why are you still taking care of the child?"
"He's alone in the room, crying and I can't hear him, what should I do?"
"You really are the next Uncle Niu." Sui Yu shook his head.
The lamb leg has been sliced, and Zhao Xiaomi is baking pancakes. The sesame pancakes are especially fragrant when they are heated. When you take a bite, they are fragrant and crispy.
Sui Yu chewed the sesame cake. She used a pair of chopsticks to pick up the mutton and wrapped it in the sesame cake. Her mouth was full of meat and cake. The crispy and fragrant cake and the greasy meat made the cake taste better and better the more she chewed.
It was inconvenient for Zhao Xiping to roll the pancake while holding the child, so Sui Yu rolled the meat pancake and fed it to him. The couple took a bite each, and Zhao Xiaomi lost his appetite.
There was a knock on the door. Grandma Yin put down her chopsticks and went to open the door. It was Huang Lianzheng.
"Brother-in-law, come and eat mutton." Sui Yu called out.
"I ate at the guesthouse. I had mutton and a plate of cold noodles. I'm full." Huang Lianzheng came in and said, "I'm here to take Xiaomi back."
"Are you all eating cold noodles?" Zhao Xiping asked.
"Well, the merchant heated up the fire and thought the mutton was too greasy, so he asked the kitchen to make cold noodles." Huang Lianzheng nodded. He looked at Xiaomi and said, "Are you full?"
Zhao Xiaomi put down her chopsticks and said, "Third sister-in-law, Third brother, I'll come over on the third day of the New Year."
"Okay, I won't see you off." Sui Yu stood up, but didn't go out.
"No need to see me off. I'm not a stranger, so why be so polite?" Zhao Xiaomi put on her sheepskin coat and asked, "Is my aunt back too?"
"Not yet. My second uncle will be there soon. I will come back to pick you up." Huang Lianzheng said.
After the young couple left, Sui Yu and Zhao Xiping continued to eat. The five of them only ate half of the lamb leg, and the remaining half could be stewed for another meal.
"Did you pay for this?" Sui Yu put down his chopsticks and said, "I'm not eating anymore. Do you still want to eat?"
Zhao Xiping waved his hand, "It was a gift from a merchant, not purchased."
Leaving the mess to Yin Po and Meng Ma to clean up, Sui Yu took a basin of hot water back to the room, washed his hands and face, and sat back on the bed.
Unable to fall asleep for a while, Sui Yu talked to Zhao Xiping about the full moon banquet. Since many people would visit relatives and friends on the third day of the first lunar month, his colleagues did not invite them. They went to inform them and explained clearly that they would not invite guests and would not accept gifts.
…
On the third day of the first lunar month, just after breakfast, Zhao Xiaomi came with Huang Lianzheng. She brought a new set of clothes and a new hat, and Sui Yu immediately put them on the little boy.
When Zhao Xiaomi saw that her sister-in-law liked the clothes and hats she gave her, she was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling. She was particularly energetic when she went to help in the kitchen.
Uncle Lao Niu also came over with Ah Shui, carrying a basket of eggs and a knife of pork. When Zhao Xiaomi came to take them, he smiled and said, "I've kept you busy. We can only sit and wait to eat."
"I'm the child's aunt, and it's my job to take care of it. Please sit down, uncle." Zhao Xiaomi said politely.
From the military settlement, Dongzi's mother, Lamei's sister-in-law, and Aunt Sun all came. Only one person came from each family, carrying a fish or half a chicken, as if they were sharing a meal with vegetables and meat. They didn't give any gifts, so they didn't have to return the gifts in the future.
Song Xian's family arrived late, so she also made a winter coat and hat for the child. "I estimated the size and made it. You can compare them and see if they fit."
"It fits." Sui Yu compared the clothes with the cub's and said, "It's just a little too big, not too small. He can wear it for two more months. He's growing fast now."
"I was right, this child is a big one." Song Xian took the cub in her arms and frowned when she saw him in her arms. She smiled and said, "He recognizes people so young? Can't I hold him?"
Sui Yu watched with a smile but did not take over. This little brat also knew how to read the expressions. When no one paid attention to him, he calmed down again.
"On New Year's Eve, I closed three deals." Song Xian was still excited when she thought about it. She whispered, "I sold twelve camels. Someone also wanted the camel I saved for you, but I didn't sell it."
Sui Yu raised her eyebrows. She thought Song Xian had just said it casually, but she didn't expect she was serious.
"You're planning to go into business next year, right?" Song Xian asked in a low voice.
"Probably. After the first month of the year is over, I will take people to practice archery and stick fighting. If it is appropriate, I would like to go to the interior of the country first." Sui Yu looked at the child who was about to close his eyes and sleep again, and she reached out to take it.
"Are you willing to give it up?" Song Xian asked.
"It's not like I'm away from home all year round. In the beginning, I didn't travel far, coming back every three or four months. The rest of the time, I was at home with him." Sui Yu patted the swaddling clothes gently and said, "Look at those merchants, which one of them doesn't stay away from home all year round? And look at Ah Shui, he's living well with Uncle Lao Niu. There's no such thing as being reluctant to leave, everyone has their own things to do."
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