Chapter 158: Few Guests and Idle People
After getting the agreement, Huang's father prepared four gifts and brought Huang Lianzheng to the Zhao family's door the next day. The two families agreed on a date for the trip. Zhao Xiping then called Huang Ancheng and his wife, and he hosted a meal for the three families to gather together for a meal.
When Song Xian entered the room, she noticed Sui Yu's belly. Her thin summer clothes could no longer cover her bulging abdomen. She asked in surprise, "How many months has it been? Why haven't I heard anything? I saw you on the street last month and I thought you had gained some weight, but I didn't expect you were pregnant."
"About four months, and the pregnancy only recently became apparent." Sui Yu took the things she brought and said, "Please sit wherever you want. We're old acquaintances, so I won't greet you."
"No need to greet me. I come to your house just like I go home." Song Xian asked her daughter to sit next to her and said, "Call someone."
"Auntie." The little girl was in the process of changing her teeth. She thought her gapped teeth were ugly, so she didn't dare to open her mouth and stammered.
Sui Yu smiled at her and said, "Our relationship is quite complicated. Xiaomi calls me sister-in-law, Lu Ya calls her sister, and also calls me aunt."
"You can't call me aunt." Song Xian covered her mouth and laughed, "It's okay, it doesn't affect me, we can just call each other aunt."
"Lu Ya, go to the backyard and play with Xiaomi. I want to talk to your mother." Sui Yu said.
After Lu Ya left, Song Xian talked to Sui Yu about the business of the guesthouse. "We have too few people here. After the caravan left, the city became deserted. Every family has a house to live in, and few people spend money to stay in the guesthouse."
Sui Yu nodded, but she thought it was a good idea. She could be busy for two seasons a year, make money and have some free time.
"How many baby camels have been added this year?" Sui Yu asked.
Talking about this, Song Xian smiled. She gestured and said, "More than 130."
Sui Yu envied, "Your business is getting bigger and bigger. If I can save enough money by the end of this year, I will buy more camels."
"Why do you raise so many camels?" Song Xian's mind moved.
Sui Yu glanced into the main hall and whispered, "I want to go into business, but my husband doesn't agree."
Song Xian clapped her hands excitedly. She held Sui Yu's hand and said in a low voice, "My dear sister, we are so much alike. When I was young, I also wanted to make money as a merchant. Unfortunately, my father was a conservative and didn't agree with me traveling far. That's why I started raising camels instead."
Sui Yu raised an eyebrow at her. Song Xian was tempted but didn't dare to make a decision. She had many burdens now, not only a herd of camels, but also children. She had long given up the idea of going out to trade.
"I was just kidding. I'm pregnant now, so I can't leave even if I wanted to." Sui Yu saw what she meant and didn't try to force her. He changed the subject and said, "I'm not ready either. Going inside the customs is fine, but once I get out, I won't be able to communicate and there's no one to guide me. I'm not sure if I'll lose my life or my money."
"That's right. My father also said back then that the area outside the Great Wall was too chaotic, with numerous small nations and constant wars. A merchant caravan traveling between these countries would be like a sheep among wolves." Song Xian twirled her fingers and said with a dejected look, "It's a pity I'm a girl. I have great ambitions, but I can't realize them."
There were footsteps approaching, and Sui Yu and Song Xian tacitly kept quiet and stopped talking.
"The meal is ready, come in and eat." Zhao Xiping came out and called people.
Song Xian stood up and reached out to help Sui Yu.
"Not really. My belly isn't big enough to affect my walking." Sui Yu smiled.
"I don't know if you'd mind, but my family still has the clothes that Congzu and Luya wore when they were little. Back then, our family was still well-off, and their clothes and swaddling clothes were all made of fine materials. Most of them became too small after being worn once or twice, but they still look new, so I can't bear to throw them away. I wanted to save them for the third child, but Luya is already eight years old, and I'm not pregnant." Song Xian turned around and said, "If you don't mind, I'll have them washed and dried and bring them to you when I get home."
"I don't mind, of course I would. Just give it to me." Sui Yu accepted it without hesitation. The child's flesh was tender, and she was worried that the new clothes would rub against his flesh.
When she walked into the house and saw Zhao Xiaomi, Sui Yu thought that she would give the clothes to Xiaomi when she became pregnant.
The three families sat down and had a lively meal together.
The next day, Zhao Xiping took Zhao Xiaomi and the Huang family father and son out of the city on camels.
After Zhao Xiping left, Yin Po moved back to the Qianhu Residence from the guesthouse. She was entrusted by Zhao Xiping to come back and take care of Sui Yu's daily life.
Song Xian was probably worried, so she often came over. Whenever she went out, she would stop by to sit, talk for a while, drink some water, or go shopping with Sui Yu.
"I've brought you some clothes. Come take a look." That day, Song Xian came over with her son, carrying two large bundles. She said, "They've all been washed and dried. They've been sitting there for a long time. One of the fox fur swaddling clothes got damaged. What a pity."
Sui Yu opened a small dress and took a look. She held it in her hands and measured it, saying in surprise, "It's so small."
"It looks small, but giving birth must have been quite tiring." Song Xian took a small red jacket and said, "This jacket is filled with wool, so it's light and soft, and it's comfortable for babies to wear."
"I also sheared the hair of my big goat. I soaked it in water with grass ash, but the fishy smell couldn't be washed off. Sister Song, what did you use to wash it?" Sui Yu asked. She had kept chicken feathers and bird feathers before, and they all had a smell and they were fishy no matter how she washed them.
"You need to soak it in wine, and then soak it in floral dew. I'll go back and get you some floral dew later." Song Xian said.
"Thank you for your help, sister." Sui Yu shook the bag and said, "With these clothes, I can save a lot of trouble and money."
"We don't need to be polite to each other." Song Xian was happy that others also cherished the things she was reluctant to throw away.
The two chatted for a while, and Song Xian left because she had something to do. After she left, Sui Yu took out the small clothes one by one and looked at them. She laid them out on the bed from smallest to largest, separating the thin ones from the thick ones. After comparing them carefully, she decided to make two sets of one-piece woolen coats for the baby in her belly. Born in the cold winter, just swaddling was not enough.
After Song Xian brought the flower dew, Sui Yu asked Yin Po to go to the wine shop to buy a pound of wine. The wine and water were mixed together and two lumps of gray wool were pressed into it. After pressing with a wooden board for a while, the grease on the wool and the grass ash that had been stuck to the wool floated up.
After the wool had soaked for the time it took to hold an incense stick, Sui Yu used a shovel to skim off the dust and oil on the water, then wrung out the wool and soaked it in clean water.
"Madam, let me do it." said Grandma Yin.
"No need, just help me bring the water and pour it." Sui Yu opened the jar of floral water and muttered, "It smells pretty good. I'll buy a jar when I get a chance. By the way, Yin Po, you should go out and ask around to see where I can find wool sellers. I'll buy as much as I can."
"good."
While the wool soaked and dried, Sui Yu cut the red cloth she had purchased into the size of the small dress, cutting out the collar, sleeves, trouser legs, and crotch, then sewing the two pieces together. This simple needlework would have taken anyone else less than half a day, but Sui Yu wasn't good at sewing and hadn't practiced much. It took her a day and a half to sew a one-piece dress that was no longer than her arm, and another half day to stuff the wool, which carried a faint floral scent, into her jacket.
"My dear, I'm back." Grandma Yin pushed the door open and came in, saying, "I met the camel driver Wan on the road. He wanted to treat people to a meal at the guesthouse and asked if we could open the door for business."
"Go back and ask him when he's hosting and what dishes he wants." Sui Yu raised his head to stretch his neck and continued, "Next time someone asks, just say you can host the banquet."
"Okay." Grandma Yin put down the bag of wool and said, "Then I'll go out and look for him."
"Go find him in the East Market." Sui Yu reminded, "If he's not here, just wait a little longer."
After Grandma Yin left, Sui Yu packed up her sewing basket. She folded the bright red onesie neatly and put it in her suitcase. She touched her belly and said to herself, "I'll sew you a change of onesie in a couple of days. I'll also prepare shoes and socks for you when you're born. Be happy."
Sui Yu was surprised to hear her stomach move slightly. She lifted her thin shirt. There was no bulge on her belly, but she could feel the movement inside her stomach, like small fish swimming. She poked it gently with her finger, and the gurgling sound stopped. After a few breaths, the movement of small fish swimming in her lower left abdomen was heard again.
Sui Yu urgently needed to share with Zhao Xiping at this time, but he was not at home. She touched her belly and said a few words, carefully feeling the movement of the baby in her belly.
Before they knew it, it was almost dusk. Yin Po came back and Sui Yu went out.
"Grandma Yin, the baby in my belly can move." Sui Yu showed off happily.
"It's time to get pregnant. I also started to get pregnant with my two sons around four months," said Grandma Yin. "If the adults knew, I'd be so happy."
"I'll tell him when he comes back." Sui Yu went into the kitchen to help with the cooking and asked, "When is Master Wan inviting us to dinner?"
"The day after tomorrow, he wants to eat steamed meat and steamed chicken. Let's prepare two or three more refreshing dishes. Ten dishes in total will be enough."
"Okay, buy a chicken the day after tomorrow morning and bring it over. I'll buy some meat and bring it over around noon." Sui Yu thought for a moment and said, "Steamed chicken, braised pork belly, stir-fried bean sprouts, cold noodles, shredded pork with garlic sprouts, pickled cabbage and pork soup, and anything else? Scrambled eggs with bitter herbs, stir-fried vegetables..."
"Braised meat." Grandma Yin reminded.
Sui Yu nodded, and she remembered that the broad beans planted in the field might be edible.
The next morning, Sui Yu took Yin Po to the field where they planted broad beans. A row of broad beans had indeed borne fruit. The beans in the pods were tender and tasted sweet when eaten raw. They would surely be good for stir-frying or stewing.
Sui Yu and Yin Po worked together to pick a full bag of broad beans. They walked back under the scorching sun. Sui Yu was afraid of heat and sweated a lot after she became pregnant, so she went straight home and asked Yin Po to give half a bag to Song Xian.
When stewing chicken in the evening, Grandma Yin peeled half a bowl of broad beans and poured them into the clay pot to stew together. When the chicken was out of the pot, Sui Yu scooped up all the broad beans at the bottom of the pot and ate them without touching the chicken at all.
"Don't stew chicken anymore, I'm tired of it." Sui Yu said.
Grandma Yin hesitated for a moment and said, "Okay then."
I'm actually tired of eating chicken! What a rich man!
The remaining chicken was divided into two halves. Yin Po ate one bowl and left the rest for Sui Liang to eat when he came back.
Sui Liang waited until it was completely dark before returning. He was young, and Sui Yu was worried about him walking alone at night, so Gan Da or Gan Er would take him back every day.
"Brother Liang, there's some chicken left for you. Da Gan, come in and have a bowl of soup too." Sui Yu called out.
Gan Da hurried in, bowed and said in a low voice, "Thank you, Madam Shopkeeper."
Grandma Yin walked briskly into the kitchen and brought out the chicken. She hadn't finished the bowl of chicken Sui Yu had given her, so she brought out another one. She smiled sheepishly at Sui Yu and whispered to her eldest son, "Eat a few pieces of meat, and leave a few for the second son to take."
Sui Liang gave him three more pieces of meat and said, "Eat two more bites."
Gan Da let out an awkward "ah" and as the chicken went into his mouth, he actually wiped away his tears quietly. Life was so good now.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com