Chapter 86 Do You Want to Be a Dad?
Zhao Xiping walked back with a swift pace. People he met on the road saw him and asked curiously, "Captain Zhao, is there any good news?"
Zhao Xiping waved his hand without answering, but his face was full of smiles and he couldn't help being happy.
"Is your wife pregnant?" someone speculated.
"Got a promotion?" The old man basking in the sun looked at Zhao Xiping's back and said, "A guard went there earlier, probably to look for him."
Zhao Xiping had already turned into Shisantun. Thinking of the woman waiting in the house, his pace became faster and faster, and in the end he almost ran.
He chased the chickens that were digging in the soil and pecking for insects in the alley, causing them to cluck and fly away. Sui Yu heard the noise from inside the house and called out, "Brother Liang, go out and see if someone is beating our chickens."
"good."
Sui Liang ran out and bumped into someone who was about to step into the door.
"No one's catching chickens." Zhao Xiping supported Sui Liang, lifted him up with both hands and carried him on his shoulders. He asked, "Is your sister cooking?"
Sui Liang exclaimed, and he leaned on his shoulder a little at a loss. The sudden closeness made him freeze.
"Are you back? Braised vegetables and dry rice for lunch, and stewed wolf meat or rabbit meat for dinner?" Sui Yu was skimming the rice soup and adding rice to the soup. She didn't turn her head until someone walked in. She was about to ask the captain what he wanted to see her about when she saw him carrying Sui Liang with an excited look on his face.
Sui Yu smiled and asked, "What are you so happy about?"
"you guess."
"I can't guess."
Zhao Xiping put Sui Liang down, sat in front of the stove and started to light the fire, staring at the person washing the pot with a pair of eyes full of smirk.
Sui Yu glared at him, then looked at Sui Liang, reminding him to be careful as the child was still there.
Zhao Xiping chuckled.
"It seems like he's really happy about getting a promotion?" Sui Yu guessed.
"Well, I'll lead the team this time."
Sui Yu's smile faded a little, "Are you really going out?"
"Don't you want me to earn military merit?"
That being said, Sui Yu was afraid that he would get hurt or even die.
"When are we leaving?"
"In two days, we'll be able to plow the remaining two acres." Zhao Xiping stuffed some vegetables into the stove and asked, "Where's the cow?"
"Tied them where you usually let the cattle graze."
The vegetables were put into the pot, making a sizzling sound. Sui Yu stopped talking and concentrated on cooking.
After the rice was cooked, the family of three sat in the yard with their bowls to eat. The sun was shining brightly, and they felt hot after eating. Their stomachs were full and they felt drowsy.
Zhao Xiping watched Sui Yu put down her bowl and chopsticks, then he put down his bowl as well and said, "Go and close the door. I have good news for you."
Sui Yu's eyes were full of suspicion. She was too lazy to move and asked Sui Liang to close the door.
"Okay, the door is closed, what can we say? It's so mysterious." Sui Yu complained.
Zhao Xiping couldn't help laughing again. He stopped teasing her and said seriously, "You are free from slavery."
Sui Yu frowned at first, then stared at him in disbelief. Then she stood up with a look of surprise and excitement: "Are you serious?"
Zhao Xiping nodded and opened his arms.
Sui Yu rushed over, hugged the man's neck, jumped and danced excitedly, and kept asking him if it was true...
"Really, really, you and Sui Liang are free." Zhao Xiping also felt like he was dreaming.
The cat official, who was stealing food from the bowl, was suddenly pulled up. He tilted his ears guiltily, and the next moment, his paws were pinched and lifted up. Sui Liang held the cat official and spun him around in circles. Hehe, he would no longer be despised by his friends.
The good news came too suddenly. Sui Yu's face flushed with excitement and her head felt a little dizzy. She held the man's arm, stood firm, closed her eyes and relaxed.
"Are you so happy that you're about to faint?" Zhao Xiping joked.
"A little bit." Sui Yu took a deep breath and exhaled, then took another deep breath and exhaled again. Her buzzing head calmed down a little. She opened her eyes and looked at him, slapped him in annoyance, and said, "You're playing tricks on me, and you still want me to guess."
"I told you earlier that you wouldn't be in the mood to eat this meal."
"I won't be hungry even if I don't eat." Sui Yu held the man's hand, and the smile on her face faded. She asked with concern: "Tell me, what have you done? Is this mission dangerous? Or are you going to the battlefield? Are you going to be a pioneer in exploring the way?"
Zhao Xiping recounted his earlier conversation with Captain Qu to her, saying, "Captain Qu is a kind person, willing to intercede with Supervisor Hu on my behalf. It was also a fortunate coincidence. Last year, Captain Qu owed us a favor for Wu Zu's false death report, and he even had Wu Zu reprimanded. That's why this matter fell on me."
Escorting the delegation? It was certainly safer than going to the battlefield, but the desert was now filled with yellow sand, and a sandstorm could bury people, making it quite dangerous. However, Sui Yu did not express this concern out loud, lest Zhao Xiping comfort her in return.
"The wish I made on New Year's Eve was to free you from slavery this year. It's not even halfway through the year, and I've already accomplished it." Zhao Xiping smiled happily and said, "This New Year's Eve, I'm going to make a thicker torch, pour a bowl of lard on it, and fulfill my wish. If I don't make it back this year, remember to help me fulfill my wish as I promised."
Sui Yu was unhappy with his words and corrected him, "You will definitely come back, and the wish I made will come true."
Zhao Xiping was stunned for a moment, then waved his hand and said, "That's not what I meant. The delegation may not be able to return this year. It may be next summer."
Oh, she misunderstood, but Sui Yu still emphasized: "You will definitely come back safely."
"Of course." Zhao Xiping also believed that he could come back alive. He waved at Sui Liang and asked, "Do you want to be my uncle?"
Sui Liang glanced at Sui Yu, nodded, and said, "Yes, I am an uncle now, and I play with children every day."
Sui Yu folded her arms and looked at the man, saying proudly, "You're asking the wrong person. Who gave birth?"
"You give birth, you give birth." Zhao Xiping answered impatiently. He burst into laughter, clenched his clasped fingers, and said, "When I come back, we'll have a baby."
Sui Yu seemed to be thinking about something, and under the man's expectant gaze, she nodded seriously.
With a "bang" sound, the cat official stepped on the bowl while stealing food. The three people looked over and saw it running away.
The pigs in the pigsty were also grunting for food.
"I'm going to wash the dishes and feed the pigs." Sui Yu stood up.
"Wait." Zhao Xiping pulled her back and said seriously, "Although your slavery has been abolished, it won't be reported until I return. Before I come back, you two should keep a low profile and don't publicize the fact that you've been freed from slavery."
Sui Yu nodded to show that he understood, and Sui Liang also said that he would not talk nonsense.
"Okay, go wash the dishes." Zhao Xiping thought for a moment, and when he had nothing else to say, he stood up and walked out, saying, "I'll go plow the fields. I'll spend half a day today and the whole day tomorrow, and I'll finish the remaining two acres."
Sui Yu watched him walk out. She sat there for a while. The shackles on her body were gone, and the sky above her head seemed higher and wider.
"That's great." She tilted her head to look at Sui Liang. He and she were no longer lambs to be slaughtered in the pen.
Sui Liang smiled at her.
"How is your brother-in-law?"
Sui Liang nodded vigorously, "The best."
"Best? What about me?"
“It’s also the best.”
Sui Yu snorted and laughed, "You have the sweetest mouth."
Sui Liang laughed heartily. He picked up the bowl from the floor and carried it into the kitchen. Seeing the water bag was still inside, he held it up and said, "My brother-in-law forgot to bring water. I'll take it to him."
"Go ahead."
Sui Yu washed dishes and fed the pigs at home. After cleaning the pot, she scooped a large pot of water into it, intending to take a bath while the weather was warm.
After taking a bath, she steamed rabbit and dried wolf meat in a hot pot and stove. After they were cooked, she hung them in the yard to dry in the wind and sun, waiting for Zhao Xiping to take them away when he went out.
There was still plenty of wolf meat at home, and since Zhao Xiping had good teeth and loved it, Sui Yu chopped up the wolf meat and threw it into the pot in the afternoon. The pepper tree had sprouted new leaves, so she plucked a handful and threw them into the pot. She also added two spoonfuls of wine to remove the fishy smell and went to the vegetable garden to pick three scallions and threw them in.
The wolf meat stewed till it smelled delicious, and the workers came back.
Sui Liang came back riding on the back of an ox.
Sui Yu tutted his words and said, "Riding on a bull's back will make you wet the bed. Don't sleep with us tonight. I've dried the mattress and wolf skin on your bed for you. You can move back tonight."
Zhao Xiping's eyes lit up when he heard this.
Sui Yu pretended not to see it.
Sui Liang was a little skeptical, so he asked his brother-in-law if that was the case.
"Yes, you can move in and sleep there tonight. I'll put a urine bucket in your room and you can pee in the bucket."
"Then why do you let me ride the cow?" Sui Liang said with a bitter face.
Zhao Xiping raised an eyebrow at Sui Yu and said, "I'll be out in two or three nights. You move out for two or three nights, and then you move back in after I'm gone."
Sui Liang had no objection.
Sui Yu walked into the kitchen and said, "The wolf meat is cooked. Wash your hands and come to eat."
Neither Sui Yu nor Sui Liang particularly liked wolf meat; no matter how delicious it was, it still tasted fishy and bloody, a memory left by their previous exile. This evening's meal was no different; the siblings ate a few bites, picking and choosing, while Zhao Xiping took the entire bowl of wolf meat.
"Here, fried rice." Sui Yu handed over the bowl.
Sui Liang licked his teeth and found some wolf meat shreds stuck in his teeth. He took the bowl and put it down, then walked out and picked his teeth with his hands. With two clicks, a piece of wolf meat shredded meat pulled out two teeth.
"My teeth fell out again—" He held his teeth and cried, "Two teeth fell out, and there was so much blood."
Sui Yu put down the bowl and went out. She took the tooth and threw it onto the roof, saying, "Rinse your mouth, the bleeding will stop in a while. Why are you still crying? It's not the first time you've lost a tooth."
"It's bleeding." Sui Liang reached out to touch the gap in his tooth, pressing it and crying again, "The flesh is rotten."
"It will be fine tomorrow, and the new teeth will grow out soon." Sui Yu scooped water for him to wash his hands, asked him to rinse his mouth more, and pulled him in directly.
Zhao Xiping laughed at him from inside the room, "Another piece of meat?"
"I will never eat wolf meat again." Sui Liang was angry.
"Then eat your meal. Rice fried with lard will get cold soon." Sui Yu said.
Sui Liang took a bite and his mouth hurt from the salt. He put down the bowl and stopped eating, hugging the cat official and bursting into tears.
"I don't want to lose my teeth. Why doesn't the cat official lose his teeth?"
"How can it catch mice if its teeth have fallen out? You don't catch mice, and if its teeth have fallen out, you can eat less and save food." Zhao Xiping teased him.
Sui Liang cried out "Ah!" and his distorted cry made Sui Yu laugh. He was so angry that he pouted, but soon he laughed too.
"I still have a lot of teeth that haven't fallen out. Will they all fall out?" He started touching his teeth again.
"They will fall one by one and grow one by one." Sui Yu said casually while taking a bite of rice.
"I lost two today."
Sui Yu and Zhao Xiping ignored him.
Sui Liang added, "Da Zhuang is nine years old now, and he has a mouth full of gaps in his teeth. It's so ugly."
"You still know what looks good and what looks bad?" Zhao Xiping scoffed. He put down his chopsticks and said, "I'm full."
"Go fetch some water. There's no water in the vat. I'll use it to wash my hair and take a bath this afternoon." Sui Yu looked at him and said meaningfully, "Go fetch some water and take a bath too."
Zhao Xiping became excited. It seemed that he was right. He would get something sweet every time he took a bath.
"I want to be a cat, too. Cats don't lose their teeth," Sui Liang said to himself. "Cats can also climb trees and walls. How great is that?"
"You're going to sleep in the kitchen with the cat owner tonight and keep an eye on the mice." Zhao Xiping slapped his forehead with all his strength. "Are you stupid? Ask the cat owner if he wants to be a human?"
"It doesn't want to!" Sui Liang lifted the cat and placed it on his head, and he happily blew air into the cat's belly.
Sui Yu washed the dishes and cooked pig food. While cooking the pig food, she washed two salted eggs and threw them in. When they were cooked, she called Sui Liang to come and eat.
While Zhao Xiping was taking a shower, Sui Yu went to make Sui Liang's bed. Before leaving, she told him, "Go to bed early. If you have any questions, just shout from inside. Don't run out and knock on the door. It's cold outside."
"Okay." Sui Liang lay down and after a while called out, "Sister, let the cat official come and sleep with me."
Sui Yu arrested the cat official.
Before going to bed, she opened the door to take a look, and the cat official slipped out through the crack in the door. Sui Liang was already asleep.
"Go back to the room." Zhao Xiping came to pull her, and as soon as the door was closed, he excitedly carried her up and put her on the bed.
Sui Yu kicked off her shoes, hooked her legs around the man's waist, and pulled the man down onto the mattress.
"Is Liangge'er cute?" she asked.
Zhao Xiping hurriedly said "hmm", and he held her neck and kissed her.
"Do you want to have a child like this?" Sui Yu held his face in her hands and said, "Do you want to be a father in ten months? Let's see what you can do tonight."
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