Chapter 204 Awkward
A strong wind swept up the scattered snow in the wilderness and followed the sound of camel bells. The messy hoof prints in the snow were covered with a layer of white. After the camel caravan entered the city gate, the marks from east to west slowly disappeared in the wind and snow.
The sharp cold wind softened as she entered the city. Song Xian smoothed her frost-covered hair, glancing left and right before her eyes, her gaze drifting back to the long street. Among the scattered figures wandering about, none had come to take her home. Then she looked back at the family chatting affectionately behind her. Song Xian felt as if she had been scalded. She quickly averted her gaze, her ears, numb from the cold, rapidly heating up, the irritation and disappointment in her heart making them burn.
Without saying goodbye to Sui Yu, Song Xian went straight back with his eight servants, leaving the camel carrying goods to Sui Yu.
Sui Yu looked up unintentionally, but without thinking too much, his mind returned to the cub.
In Minxiang, Lao Bal heard the sound of camel bells. He took his hat off the wall and put it on his head. He shouted and three or five people ran out quickly. Halfway, they saw a caravan heading north. Lao Bal had just slowed down when he saw another caravan behind them.
"You two run over there quickly and intercept the caravan behind us." The old bald man ordered the young man to run errands.
The two young men ran a dozen feet through the snow and were about to shout to stop someone when they saw Zhao Xiping leading a camel. They immediately became discouraged. After all, they couldn't snatch the customer from the captain.
"What's going on?" the baldy old man shouted.
Zhao Xiping looked over and said a few words to Sui Yu. Sui Yu looked up and saw her old friend. She greeted him excitedly, "Uncle, long time no see."
The old bald man was stunned for a moment. He slowed down his pace and said, "Is it you? I heard that you formed a caravan to go on business?"
"Just got back." Sui Yu replied.
The old bald man didn't say anything else. He looked at the things carried by a group of camels. Some of the camels had camel skins on their backs, and he didn't know what good things were hidden in them.
"Come and visit me when you have time. I'm going back first," said Sui Yu.
The old bald man nodded, and when the camel caravan turned a corner, he turned around and returned the same way.
"Manager Yu, a woman, dares to cross mountains and rivers to do business, isn't she afraid of getting into trouble?" a young man said angrily. "What kind of teahouse is this? And she's going out to do business. All the money in the world is made by their family."
The old bald man glared at him and scolded him, "Useless thing, if you have the guts, go out and do business."
He now understood that Sui Yu was a man who thought three steps ahead, taking every step with aplomb. She'd probably already been planning a caravan when she bought the slaves, so she'd dared to enter the customs to trade, and even returned with the goods intact, all because she'd been prepared. If the old bald man still harbored some resentment towards Sui Yu for stealing business from the guesthouse, that was now completely gone. He had to admit that, though Sui Yu was younger and a woman, she was certainly more courageous and calculating than he was.
As they approached the Changgui Guesthouse, Sui Yu noticed a new building in the wilderness. She glanced at Zhao Xiping and asked, "Is this the newly built teahouse?"
"Yes, you left me six thousand coins when you left. I didn't buy any slaves, but used it all to hire people to build a house."
Sui Yu frowned and asked, "Are you the only one doing all the work in the fields?"
Zhao Xiping laughed. There were not enough people to help during the autumn harvest, so he went to Huang Ancheng's house to borrow four male servants. Together with him, Sui Liang, and four children who were responsible for delivering water and food, the autumn harvest was not delayed.
"Sister!" Sui Liang strode over, "You're finally back. I was so worried."
Sui Yu freed one hand to hug his brother and said, "I haven't seen you for half a year. You've grown taller and stronger."
Sui Liang hugged her and compared with her. He was taller than his sister.
The little boy raised his head from Sui Yu's arms and looked at his uncle with a pair of red eyes from crying.
"Your mother is back, and you're being spoiled again. You're such a grown-up kid, yet you still want to be held." Sui Liang hit him.
The kid sniffed and turned his head to bury it in Sui Yu's arms again.
"Thank you, sister, for taking care of the cub for me." Sui Yu patted Sui Liang.
Sui Liang was unhappy, "Who asked you to thank me? The boy is my nephew, I should take care of him."
"Not only have you fulfilled your responsibilities as an uncle, but you've also cared about being a mother." Sui Yu nudged Sui Liang and said, "The kid's grandparents are here. Haven't you recognized them yet? Go and say hello."
"Let's talk inside." Zhao Xiping said.
Sui Yu carried the baby into the house first, and handed the goods brought back by the camel to Zhao Xiping for packing.
Grandma Yin brought a bucket of hot water. She looked at Sui Yu, then at the little boy, and said, "Now the little boy is happy. He doesn't have to miss you anymore."
Sui Yu put the child down and said, "Go talk to grandpa and grandma. Mommy, go wash your hands and face."
The boy glanced at Mr. and Mrs. Zhao. As soon as Sui Yu moved, he followed closely, fearing that she would disappear again.
Sui Yu simply washed his face as well. She smiled and asked him, "Do you still remember me?"
The kid pouted and nodded, his big clear eyes filled with tears again.
"If you cry any more, you'll become a wet baby. It's so cold, you'll freeze as soon as you go out. I'll even carry you to the stove to warm you up by the fire to thaw you out." Sui Yu covered his eyes with a slightly warmed cotton cloth and coaxed him, "Don't cry. Mom brought you some delicious fruit. I'll take you to get it later."
As he was speaking, Xiao Chunhong came in carrying two baskets of chestnuts and a pot of dried mulberry fruit. "Little boy, do you still remember me?"
The kid stared at her for a few seconds and shook his head seriously.
Xiao Chunhong sighed in frustration, then turned to Sui Yu and said, "Madam, the boy doesn't like to talk anymore."
"He's probably trying to act nice in front of his mother and pretending to be pitiful." Sui Liang exposed the kid's disguise and said, "He's just not a quiet person."
The kid secretly glared at Sui Liang, and Sui Yu saw it and couldn't help laughing.
Father Zhao walked slowly to the door and turned to look at the boy. This grandson looked like Sui Yu, but apart from his height, he didn't look like his father at all.
Sui Yu scooped up a lump of camel oil, rubbed it into her hands and face, and finally rubbed it on the kid's face. She pointed at Zhao's father and said, "This is your grandfather, your father's father. Call him."
"Grandpa——" the kid called in a childish voice, staring at the old man curiously.
Father Zhao responded and said, "The child is two years old, and this is the first time we have seen him."
"It's too far away. It's inconvenient to go back and forth." Sui Yu took the cub to talk to Zhao's mother again and said, "Aning from my sister's family is one year old. It's late today. Let Xiping take you to see Xiaomi and Aning tomorrow."
Mother Zhao nodded. She reached out and held the cub's hand. She thought for a moment and said nothing. She could not interfere in the affairs of the third brother's family.
Zhao Xiping strode in from outside, looked at Sui Yu and said, "The bath water is ready, do you want to take a bath? Your legs and feet are getting frostbite again, right?"
Sui Yu subconsciously retracted his hand, and frostbite appeared on his hand.
Zhao Xiping pretended not to see it. He went back to the house to get her some clean clothes. When he made a new coat for the little boy this year, he also bought two for Sui Yu: a set of wool-filled coat and trousers, a rabbit fur coat, and a reed-flowered skirt.
Sui Yu said something to Zhao's father and mother, and then she took the cub out.
"Sister-in-law—" Ah Shui came back from outside, "Sister-in-law, you're back."
"Yeah, I'm back. You missed me, didn't you?"
"Yes, I missed you so much."
"I brought back some delicious and fun things. I'll give them to you later." Sui Yu let go of the cub's hand and said, "Play with your aunt. I'm going to take a bath."
The kid followed closely with two steps, but was grabbed by A Shui again.
Zhao Xiping came in with a pile of clothes and asked as he passed by: "Zhao Mingguang, did you call your mother?"
The kid hesitated twice and didn't say anything.
Zhao Xiping snorted lightly, pushed open the warehouse door and went in, then quickly closed the door and bolted it.
Sui Yu looked up at him and splashed water at him through the rising steam.
Zhao Xiping lowered his eyes and put down his clothes. He carried the bucket of hot water over and washed her hair silently.
The only sound in the barn was the silence of running water. The couple did not speak. They met again after half a year and both had many things in their hearts, but at this moment, nothing mattered and nothing they said could express the feelings in their hearts.
"Dad——" the kid knocked on the door.
Zhao Xiping ignored him.
A Shui took the kid away, and not long after, the kid sneaked back in again. He leaned against the closed wooden door and waited, circling outside the door like a little donkey.
The water had cooled down, and Sui Yu walked out of the bathtub. Zhao Xiping held her wet hair and helped her quickly put on thick clothes with one hand.
Finally, she put on a reed-flowered skirt and sat on a chair, letting him look at the chilblains on her legs and feet.
"You're feeling very uncomfortable again this winter." Zhao Xiping grabbed her feet and patted them, then quickly put socks on her and put on her shoes.
"I have you here, so I'm not afraid." Sui Yu leaned over, held the man's face and kissed him, saying, "I missed you so much outside."
"It must have been hard."
"It's okay." The physical suffering wasn't difficult to endure, but when she missed home and her children, she felt so depressed that she wanted to cry.
"Dad——" The kid heard the voices and started knocking on the door again.
"He has been refusing to call me." Sui Yu covered her eyes and choked up, "The kid is still a stranger to me."
"They'll be familiar with each other in two days." Zhao Xiping pulled her out and said, "I'll let him call."
"No, don't force him. I'm not leaving tomorrow. I can wait." Sui Yu hurriedly stopped him.
The door opened, and the little boy looked up at his parents. He hesitated and reached out to hold Zhao Xiping's hand.
Sui Yu sighed softly and said, "Where's Ah Shui? Xiaozai, go find Ah Shui, as well as Ah Qiang and Hua Niu. Where's Da Zhuang? I'll treat you to some mulberries."
A Qiang and Hua Niu ran out of the kitchen. A Shui and Da Zhuang were outside watching Gan Da and Gan Er digging holes to plant mulberry trees. Sui Yu took a pot of boiling water from the kitchen and took Xiao Zai and a group of children back to the house.
The mulberries were covered with dust when they were drying in the sun. Sui Yu poured water to soak the dried mulberries. The water immediately changed color when it touched the mulberries. Ah Shui exclaimed and she lay on the table and stared at them carefully.
"Sister-in-law, can I drink the water?" A Shui asked.
"Sure. Go get a stack of bowls and I'll make one for each of you." Sui Yu pinched a mulberry fruit and fed it to the cub. She also grabbed two to chew, and let A Qiang and the others eat the rest.
Guessing that her tongue had been stained, Sui Yu stuck out her tongue to show the kid, "Your tongue has changed color too, stick it out and let me see."
"My tongue has turned purple, like a dog's tongue." Da Zhuang said incoherently, pulling his tongue.
The big black dog had a purple birthmark on its tongue, so Dazhuang thought that dog tongues were purple.
The kid looked at the tongues of the others, then he stuck out his tongue and looked down, then looked at Sui Yu. He laughed and grabbed three more mulberries to chew.
Now not only the tongue is purple, but the teeth are also purple.
Sui Yu then took out a cloth covered with silkworm seeds. Only seven out of ten cocoons had hatched, leaving moths. She cut the seeds into five pieces with scissors and said, "Next spring, when the four mulberry trees I planted today sprout, you can hold the silkworm seeds between your armpits until the young silkworms emerge. The silkworms will eat the mulberry leaves, and you will eat the mulberry fruits. When the silkworms grow up, they will produce cocoons like these, which can be sold for a lot of money."
When the cub heard this, he took the largest piece of cloth.
After eating mulberries and chestnuts, Sui Yu asked Zhao Xiping to bring a stove over. She used scissors to cut the chestnut shells and roasted them by the stove. When they were roasted, she always fed them to the cub first.
The cub was so happy that he snuggled in Sui Yu's arms and refused to move. He even took Sui Yu's hand when he went out to pee.
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