Chapter 227 Family Reunion
After wiping away two tears, the little cub stopped crying. He hugged Sui Yu's neck and chirped, "Mom, I've been waiting for you outside the city for three days."
"Mom, only the leaves of the wheat have turned yellow, but the ears of wheat are not yet yellow."
"Mother, the silkworm turned into a cocoon, and then into a moth, and laid many seeds."
"Mom, Dad ruined my pants."
“…”
Song Xian waved to Sui Yuyang from a few steps away, then she took her camel caravan and servants and walked straight along the road home.
Huang Ancheng said something to the brother guarding the city gate and hurried to follow. Last year when she came back, no one was waiting for her at the city gate, and she was angry with him for the whole winter. This year he followed her back to see what else she had to say.
Sui Yu carried the cub in her arms as she led the caravan north. She couldn't hold the cub any longer and said, "Can Mommy take you on a camel ride?"
"Mom, you can't hold me anymore?" The little cub laughed proudly, "Uncle can't hold me either. I ate a lot and got fat."
"You look better when you gain weight."
The little cub giggled.
"Da Zhuang, come here." Zhang Shun waved, "You ride with me."
With the camel as our means of transportation, we could get back to the guesthouse much faster.
When Sui Liang heard the sound of camel bells, he shook the water off his hands and walked out quickly to greet them.
The sun was setting, and the bright sunlight shone on the camel. The face of the person on the camel's back was also clear. Sui Liang recognized that the bell hanging on the camel's neck belonged to his own. Moving his eyes back, he saw the little cub with a grin from ear to ear, and the dark and thin sister.
The big black dog and the little black dog also recognized the people. They scrambled to jump down from the haystack, barking and wagging their tails and ran over.
The barking of dogs caused Ah Shui and Hua Niu to stop looking for eggs. Uncle Lao Niu came out of the kitchen yard, and Li Mutou, who was carrying water, stopped and looked at the camel caravan that was getting closer and closer.
Sui Yu lifted the cub's arm and put him down. As soon as he landed, the big black dog swung its butt and pushed him away. Before Sui Yu could stand firmly, it raised its front legs and put them on her waist, making a hissing sound from its nose and growling with its mouth, very enthusiastically.
"Dahei misses me too." Sui Yu hugged the dog and patted it.
The little black dog circled around her, barking excitedly.
Sui Yu was very happy. She petted a dog with one hand and looked at Sui Liang. "Brother Liang, do you miss me? Why do you look unhappy?"
"I do." Sui Liang took a deep breath, forced a smile, and said, "You're so dark."
"It's too hot in the desert. The sun is scorching and the sand is as hot as charcoal. It would be strange if I didn't get tanned." Sui Yu threw the dog away and said, "Let's go back. I need to wash my hair and take a bath. Ask Yin Po to boil more water for me."
"Yes, we knew you were coming back, so we kept hot water in the kitchen." Sui Liang looked at the others. No one was missing, and it seemed that no one had encountered any life-threatening situations on the road. He breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Thank you for your hard work, everyone. I'll go to the city to buy some groceries and welcome you tonight."
"The second shopkeeper is quite stylish." Zhang Shun joked.
Sui Liang was embarrassed and smiled a little embarrassedly.
"I made some Imperata root water to help with internal heat. Come in and have a drink before you get busy." Grandma Yin came out and called out, "My dear, you're finally back. Did you have a safe journey?"
"It went smoothly." Sui Yu pulled the kid over and said, "I brought Gan Da and Gan Er back to you intact."
Only then did Grandma Yin start to care about her two sons. They had become darker, thinner, stronger, and in better spirits. She felt at ease.
Meng Ma made gestures to Liu Yaer to make sure her daughter was not injured, and she went back to the kitchen to scoop up the reed root water.
There was no sun in the yard, so Zhang Shun, Li Wu and their servants brought out benches and two tables to place the dishes.
Sui Yu sat down to rest, and she held the bowl for the kid to drink first.
"Mom, you drink." The kid pushed the bowl away, "I'm not thirsty."
Sui Liang passed by and sneered, she was being coquettish again.
"Sister, my brother-in-law is still in the training ground. I'll go call him and ask him to come back early tonight." Sui Liang was carrying two strings of money and a bucket, intending to go into the city to buy a bucket of tofu.
"Okay." Sui Yu drank a bowl of water in one breath and instructed, "Take two more coins and go to the grocery store to buy more bath beans. People like us can't wash off the grease on our bodies without rubbing them twice."
"I've already bought it. I knew you were coming back, so I prepared all the food and daily necessities." Sui Liang walked out.
"Who is so attentive?" Xiao Chunhong asked, "Could it be Grandma Yin?"
"He's my brother-in-law. He's missing his wife, and you're just taking him along." Sui Liang said loudly.
Sui Yu laughed. Sui Liang also knew how to tease people now.
Meng Ma brought out two baskets of pancakes. After everyone quenched their thirst, they each took a pancake to fill their stomachs. After they had recovered a little, they stood up and went to unload the goods.
Sui Yu also followed, she wanted to watch from the side.
Because the servants lived in the second guesthouse, the merchandise was stored in the second guesthouse's warehouse. The spices, due to their strong odor, were placed in a separate room along with the four boxes of silver. The wool blankets, carpets, sheepskins, and cashmere cloth couldn't fit in one warehouse, so they were divided into two. Sui Yu had the agate and jade moved to the master's courtyard and placed in the room where Zhao's parents had lived the previous year. Four large waist drums and two wooden zithers were also moved to the master's courtyard. As for the four boxes of medicinal herbs, they had to be stored in a separate warehouse, as they were worried about the smell from the spices and the wool blankets, fearing they would contaminate the blankets.
The cub spotted two people with blue eyes, and he walked over with his hands behind his back, staring at them curiously.
"Little boy, come here." Sui Yu called out, "Their names are Kurban and Anle, they are from Kucha, just call them brothers."
"They have blue eyes too," the cub whispered.
"Yeah, it looks good." Sui Yu took him a few steps towards the south door and whispered, "Don't stare at others all the time. It's rude and very unpleasant."
"I don't want to look anymore." The kid immediately withdrew his curious gaze.
"Good boy." Sui Yu touched his head.
After unloading, the camels were led out the south gate and back to the livestock pen. Li Mutou prepared soybean meal, fresh goldenrod, and tender radishes and radish leaves for them. The half-grown foals were housed in a separate pen, with their own trough for food.
The male servants packed up their spare clothes, took some bath beans and a bag of grass ash. They called Kurban and Anle and walked downstream along the river to wash their hair and bathe in the shallow water.
Sui Yu and the maids fetched hot water and went back to the house to wash. Each person prepared two buckets of water, which were only used for bathing. They could wash their hair by the river.
…
The kid moved a small stool and sat outside the door, talking to his mother through the door.
"When I hug you, do you think I stink?" Sui Yu asked.
"It doesn't stink." The cub said loudly.
Sui Yu snorted, "You're such a dishonest kid! I can smell the sour odor on me, but you can't? Is your nose broken?"
The kid put his fingers together and whispered, "It's only a little bit smelly."
"What did you say?" Sui Yu didn't hear clearly.
"It only stinks a little."
Sui Yu laughed.
The cub also held his face and giggled.
Zhao Xiping heard the laughter before he even entered the room. He strode in and said to the kid, "Have you waited until your mother?"
"Yes, my mother is back."
Sui Yu pricked up her ears in the room. When she heard no more sound outside, she continued to scrub her body with water.
Zhao Xiping stomped twice outside the door. He looked at the kid, and the kid also looked at him straight.
"When I was not back, you two were laughing happily. Why did you stop talking after I came back?" Zhao Xiping asked pretending to be familiar.
Sui Yu scooped up the water and placed it on her collarbone, smiling without saying a word.
Zhao Xiping tapped his son, and the boy lowered his head in confusion.
Zhao Xiping: ...
"Can I come in?" He pushed the door.
"Who are you?" Sui Yu raised her legs and put them on the bathtub.
The man folded his arms, leaned against the door, and asked with interest, "Can't you tell who I am?"
"I didn't hear it."
Zhao Xiping looked at his son again. The boy finally understood and introduced himself: "Mom, this is my dad."
"Yeah?"
The cub is confused, isn't he?
"It's my dad." He looked at it carefully and said again with certainty, "It's really my dad."
"If he's your father, let him in." Sui Yu agreed.
Zhao Xiping pushed the door open. There was a chair behind the door, so he pushed it open a crack. He reached in and moved it aside. He supported Zhao Xiaozai with one leg, slipped in quickly, closed the door again, and bolted it.
The cub stood up, leaned against the door and shouted, "I'm still outside."
"You wait outside." Zhao Xiping walked around the bathtub and came to the front of Sui Yu. The color on his neck turned red. The smile on his face fell, and his heart was filled with sourness and heartache.
"Don't you recognize me?" Sui Yu glanced at him.
"I changed my wife." Zhao Xiping joked. He had suffered and endured the pain, and the person was back. He didn't want to say anything to spoil the mood, so as not to make Sui Yu unhappy.
He picked up the comb from the table, walked behind her and combed her hair, saying, "It seems that Shopkeeper Yu has made a fortune."
"How did you tell that?"
"I thought you weren't coming back until the end of next month."
"I missed you, so I came back early."
Zhao Xiping didn't believe it, but a smile appeared on his face. He combed her hair, put down the comb and massaged her shoulders.
"Thanks a lot."
Sui Yu turned her face away, and he leaned over and kissed her tacitly.
The couple had not seen each other for a long time, and when they met, it was like sparks falling on hay, and they instantly ignited.
Zhao Xiping restrained himself, his hands holding the bathtub bulging with veins. He kissed her face all over, and when he heard a knock on the door, a hot kiss fell on her burning eyelids.
"I'll go get some water to wash your hair," he said in a hoarse voice.
Sui Yu stood up and glanced at him, the meaning was self-evident.
"Stop knocking." Zhao Xiping shouted outside. He exhaled and leaned against the wall to calm his mind.
Sui Yu tied up her messy hair, stepped out of the bathtub, changed into clean clothes, opened the door and went out.
"Mom, why did you ignore me just now?" The kid said aggrievedly, "I was talking to you."
"My ears were filled with water, so I didn't hear anything."
It was dusk, but the sky was still bright. Sui Yu took the little cub out, while Xiao Chunhong and the others washed their hair with basins by the river.
Zhao Xiping brought out the tub and poured water in it. He then took the tub out again and said from two steps away, "I'll get some hot water. Lie on the bench later and I'll wash your hair."
"OK."
"Mom, I'll wash you too."
Sui Yu no longer disagreed.
Three benches were put together and Sui Yu lay down. Zhao Xiping brought two buckets of water and placed a large wooden basin under her head to collect the water. He smoothed up her hair and scooped water with one hand to pour over her head.
The boy rolled up his sleeves and squatted aside, rubbing the bath beans vigorously. He rubbed bubbles out and smeared them on Sui Yu's head.
"The water is blinding me." Sui Yu shouted.
"I'll do it, I'll do it." The kid stood on tiptoe, wiped off the water with a dry towel, and blew it at the same time.
Zhao Xiping looked at him and saw that he was someone who could make people happy.
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