Chapter 263: The Fox Using the Tiger's Power to Bully People
The flames shot up, and the house drenched in darkness was illuminated. Zhao Xiping came out of his parents' house holding burning firewood, and went to the next room to continue lighting the oil lamps.
Sui Yu took the baby by the hand and said a few words to her parents-in-law, and then the mother and son quickly returned to the house.
"Sui Liang hasn't come back yet?" Zhao Xiping asked.
"He is probably still bathing in the river. Light the oil lamp in his room first," said Sui Yu.
Zhao Xiping didn't move. He looked at the child who was climbing onto the bed with his butt sticking out, and said, "Little one, go sleep with your uncle. Our bed is too small, and it's so hot. It's hard for any of us to sleep well with three of us squeezed into one bed."
"No way." The kid refused outright. He tugged at the bedpost cautiously and said, "I don't mind the heat or the crowding. I can sleep well."
Zhao Xiping looked at Sui Yu. The boy followed his gaze and pursed his lips without saying a word.
Sui Yu blinked at the man. In this situation, how could she be allowed to persuade the child to leave? That would offend him.
"I'm fine," she said. "It's a little crowded and a little hot, but it's okay. It cools down in the second half of the night."
The kid snorted at his father and walked over to Sui Yu and sat down next to her.
A wisp of white smoke rose from the firewood, and the flames died down. Zhao Xiping placed the firewood on the oil lamp and rekindled it, then went out to Sui Liang's room to light the fire. When he came back in, he still insisted, "Your uncle slept alone when he was your age. If you don't want to sleep with him, next spring, I'll have someone tear down the courtyard wall and build two more rooms."
The kid ignored him and lay flat on the bamboo mat, closing his eyes and pretending to be asleep.
"You have no shame," Zhao Xiping said, teasing him. "You're such a grown-up kid, yet you still cling to your mother while sleeping."
The kid simply covered his ears with his hands and closed his eyes, neither looking nor hearing.
Sui Yu also lay down. She gestured to the man, signaling him to stop talking.
If you don't want to talk, then don't talk. Zhao Xiping sat on the bed, lay sideways, and stared at the child who was pretending to sleep with his head tilted. When he caught the child secretly opening his eyes, he pretended to continue talking.
The kid quickly closed his eyes and raised the corners of his tightly pursed mouth.
The father and son were tug-of-war, each more stubborn than the other. Finally, the boy stopped pretending to sleep and actually fell asleep, and the tug-of-war came to an end.
Zhao Xiping waited for another incense stick of time, and when he was sure that the baby was asleep, he carefully carried the child to the end of the bed.
"When you are not at home, he mostly sleeps with his uncle." Zhao Xiping explained in a low voice.
"Is that so? Then it will be easy to sleep in separate beds in the future." Sui Yu also spoke softly. She moved into the man's arms, resting her head on his arm, and whispered softly, "I just got back, and he's clinging to me. It's impossible for him to sleep with his uncle at this time."
Zhao Xiping sighed softly.
"Two years later, when he turned six, I stopped going out. I was home more often then, and he got used to it and stopped clinging to me. So I sent him to sleep with Liang Ge'er," Sui Yu said. "When Liang Ge'er started sleeping in a separate bed from us, he was also over six years old."
"Are you really planning to stop doing business in two years?" Zhao Xiping still found it hard to believe.
Sui Yu took his hand and placed it on her belly, saying, "I'm 26 years old this year. While I'm still young, I want to have another baby. I'll stop trading for two or three years, but that doesn't mean I'll stop doing business. I also want to open a guesthouse in Zhangye and a restaurant in Wuwei. These two things will be enough to keep me going for two or three years."
Zhao Xiping was thrilled. He bent down and kissed her, saying, "This year, our inn brought in over 48,000 coins. I asked Sui Liang to do the math, and he estimated we've made about 30,000 coins. Based on previous winter business, we should be able to make 50,000 coins by the end of this year. Our family isn't short of money anymore, and with the caravan business, it's just right to run it for a few years and then take a break for a couple of years."
"That's what I think," Sui Yu nodded. "There's no end to making money. I don't have any lofty ambitions. Going out and seeing the world has satisfied my curiosity, and that's enough. And from the very beginning of forming the caravan, I never intended to give up our family for the sake of making money."
Zhao Xiping kissed her again. He had always known that she was a clear-headed and independent-minded person, so he did not stop her from forming a caravan to trade, because he knew she would come back again, but he did not expect it to be so soon.
"Is tonight okay?" he asked.
Sui Yu nodded. He almost melted her, so there was no way it wouldn't be possible.
In order to prevent pregnancy, Sui Yu has been calculating the dates in recent years to avoid having sex during the ovulation period. The two have always been very cautious, and fortunately, they have never gotten pregnant.
After a night, Zhao Xiping went to work in high spirits. After breakfast, Sui Yu picked out four jars of honey, a basket of eggs, and a small bundle of kelp. She cut the coarse cloth into ten feet and the silk cloth into six feet. She put the things together and waited until noon, then took her parents-in-law, the child and Sui Liang to Zhao Xiaomi's in-laws' house.
"Third sister-in-law, why did you bring so many things again?" Zhao Xiaomi pretended to complain, "The dishes I prepared today are not worth what you brought. You are at a disadvantage."
"You're not at a disadvantage. These things aren't just for you. I'm not here just to feed you." Sui Yu handed the items over. She looked at the nervous young woman standing nearby and said with a smile, "Is this Sister Cui? She looks so gentle. She must have a better temper than my sister-in-law."
"Third sister-in-law." Cui Hongxia bowed her head and said shyly, "A good temper is useless. I am just a dough, not as capable as sister-in-law."
"Of course it's useless. At least you two sisters-in-law won't fight." Sui Yu smiled. "My sister is impatient, but she's not a bad person. If she says something wrong in her haste, don't take it seriously. Let her back off. When she comes to her senses later, she'll definitely apologize to you."
Cui Hongxia smiled softly and said, "No, my eldest sister-in-law has always been kind to me. Third sister-in-law, uncle and aunt, please come inside and sit down. It's quite sunny outside."
With Sui Yuding greeting them in front, Zhao's father and mother didn't need to say anything. The two elders walked into the door with ease, one holding their grandson and the other holding their grandson-in-law.
It was autumn, the perfect time for harvesting crops. The rest of the Huang family was busy working in the fields, leaving only the two sisters-in-law at home busy with cooking. Sui Yu walked around the kitchen, and seeing that the two sisters-in-law worked so well together, there was no need for her to help. She said goodbye to Zhao Xiaomi, went into the house, grabbed two jars of honey, and prepared to go out.
"Mom, where are you going?" The little follower was always paying attention to her movements.
Sui Yu thought about it and waved to him to follow. Seeing this, Sui Liang also quickly chased after him.
"Mom, where are we going?" the kid asked.
"I went to see someone." Sui Yu glanced at Sui Liang and asked, "Have you been in contact with Sui Hui since I left home?"
Sui Liang shook his head, "Sister, are you going to look for her?"
"Well, we collected quite a few bamboo slips. I'll go return the gift and tell her about it so she doesn't worry about it day and night."
"She knows that you are entering the customs this year instead of leaving. I told her maid at noon on March 15th." Sui Liang said.
Sui Yu said "Oh" and stopped talking.
When they arrived at the back door of the Supervisory Office, Sui Yu sent her boy to knock on the door, while she and Sui Liang stood on either side of the doorpost.
He knocked on the door again and again, but no one answered. The boy looked at Sui Yu and asked, "Mom, are you knocking again?"
Sui Yu glanced at the sun above his head and said, "Knock ten more times. If no one opens the door, we'll go back. Your father's shift is almost over."
The wooden door knocked ten times and the boy took two steps back. Just as he was about to say that no one answered, he heard a series of quick and light footsteps coming from inside.
The wooden door opened, and a maid in coarse gray clothes poked her head out. Sui Yu recognized her, as this maid was the one who served Sui Hui.
"Madam, it's you!" The maid breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "I was just about to go to the kitchen to get some food when I heard the knock on the door and wondered if it was you."
"Your master lives near the back door?" Sui Yu was surprised. "It's quite remote, isn't it?"
The maid's face showed a hint of embarrassment. She rubbed her hands, skipped over the question, and asked, "Madam, what brings you here? Is there any news about my uncle?"
Sui Yu handed over the two jars of honey in his hand and said, "This is the honey I bought from Taiyuan County. I'll give it to your master to sweeten her mouth. By the way, I won't leave the city until the beginning of next spring. I'll come to her when I have news. Tell her not to go out of the city alone on New Year's Eve this year."
After making sure the maid had remembered what she said, Sui Yu pulled the boy and Sui Liang away.
After leaving the alley, Sui Yu put Sui Hui's matter behind his mind. The three of them jogged along the wall in the shadows, just in time to catch up with Zhao Xiping who had just come back from his shift. The family of four ran into Huang's door.
"Where did you go?" Zhao Xiping asked.
Sui Yu shook her head, "I won't tell you."
"I won't tell you!" the kid mimicked, shaking his head.
Zhao Xiping looked at his brother-in-law. Sui Liang shrugged provocatively, "Do you think I'll tell you?"
Zhao Xiping choked for a moment, and followed in silently, letting these two fence-sitters take advantage of their support to bully others.
The rest of the Huang family had also returned. Huang's father and mother were sitting in the house talking to their in-laws. When they saw Zhao Xiping and Sui Yu coming in with their child, Huang's mother stood up and said, "Everyone is here. Let's set the table for dinner."
After dinner, Zhao Xiping rode a camel to patrol the city. Huang's father took his two sons and a strong servant to work in the fields, leaving Huang's mother at home to entertain the guests.
Sui Yu didn't want to disturb Huang's mother-in-law from doing her work, so she took her parents-in-law away and took the two elders back to Qianhu Suo to pick peppercorns.
When he opened the door, he saw two huge cats standing on the wall with their fur standing on end. Sui Liang exclaimed, "Why are there cats in our house again?"
"You go in first." Sui Yu turned and went out. She knocked on the door of Captain Gu's house and learned that there were only three or five wild cats living in her house, so she didn't care.
Five people, young and old, spent half a day picking all the peppercorns. They also dug out the newly sprouted peppercorn seedlings and planted them nearby. They were busy until dark, and then they went home with Zhao Xiping who had come to find them.
"That's quite a lot of peppercorns from one tree." Mother Zhao pinched a green peppercorn and put it in her mouth to chew. She said, "My third daughter-in-law, when I go back next year, I'll grab a couple of handfuls of peppercorns and bring them back. I'll chew a few when my nose is stuffy."
"Okay, I'll dig up another pepper tree for you to take back next year." As long as the old lady doesn't make trouble, Sui Yu will be happy to do so.
"That's great." Mother Zhao was happy and said, "Don't worry about drying the peppercorns. I'll do it for you."
"Okay, you and my dad can help take care of the chores at the guesthouse. Tomorrow I will take Xiaozai and Liangge to the fields to harvest wheat." Sui Yu said.
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