Chapter 19: Thick-Skinned

Chapter 19: Thick-Skinned

After leading the camels into their enclosure and unloading the hay onto a pile in the corner, Zhao Xiping washed his hands in the water trough before closing the door and leaving.

"I've already refilled the water trough," Sui Yu said.

"Mm, I saw it," Zhao Xiping replied, patting off the dust on his clothes. He walked over to the water jar, scooped some water to wash his face and hands, and said, "Serve the food, and light the oil lamp."

In the kitchen, a wick was lit. Sui Yu brought down the warm food from the pot and explained in detail, "We ran out of vegetables at home. Sui Liang and I went to the riverbank and found some leeks. On our way back, the elderly lady at the end of the alley gave us a bundle of radish greens. I chopped them up, mixed them with a small bowl of ash flour, and made half a pot of dumpling soup."

Zhao Xiping was used to the quiet of living alone. Her gentle chatter by his ear made him uneasy, so he waited for her to finish before taking a sip from his bowl.

"The chickens laid eggs this evening. I wanted to break them and make egg flower soup, but I was afraid you'd get angry, so I didn't touch them," Sui Yu said, looking at him with slightly lowered eyes. "I thought we should celebrate. Having someone new in the house is a happy occasion."

"Celebrate?" Zhao Xiping looked up. "Which eye do you see me being happy?"

"I'm happy. I want to celebrate for myself," Sui Yu said, looking straight at him. "Thank you for bringing me back."

Zhao Xiping avoided her gaze, lifted his bowl, and took another sip of the soup. The seasoning was just right, and the dumplings were well-cooked—better than what he could make. Seeing Sui Liang nervously watching him, he lowered his eyes and said, "Eat your meal. Tomorrow, I'll give you money for vegetables. If there's no meat or vegetables, go buy some. I need strength for my work, so every two or three days, we need to have meat."

"Alright, as long as you're not angry. I was just worried you'd be upset," Sui Yu smiled at him.

Zhao Xiping scoffed inwardly. If she really feared his anger, she wouldn't have mentioned the eggs. She wasn't as innocent as she appeared.

She couldn't even pretend convincingly.

After finishing three bowls of dumpling soup, Zhao Xiping got up and glanced into the steamer. "You two eat the rest. Don't let the rats get it at night."

Sui Yu hadn't eaten enough, so she picked up her bowl again and served herself more. It was too exhausting to keep her stomach flat, so she couldn't help herself anymore.

She had been holding her breath and sucking in her stomach since he came in, fearing it would rumble.

Zhao Xiping went back to the room to fetch clean clothes. Standing in the courtyard, he glanced into the kitchen. The siblings, who had been eating heartily, suddenly became cautious. He coughed and said, "I'm going to the river to bathe and bring back a bucket of water."

With that, he picked up the yoke and two buckets and left. Unexpectedly, he ran into the culprit responsible for this situation. His good mood vanished instantly, and he asked with a grim face, "What are you doing here?"

Li Baihu, picking his teeth, looked into the courtyard and saw Sui Yu peeking out with her bowl. He smiled and said, "Already eating? That's great. When are you two getting married? I'm practically your matchmaker, eager to drink the wedding wine."

He was deliberately trying to irritate them.

"It's none of your business," Zhao Xiping said, about to leave with the buckets.

"That's not how it works. With your parents away, I, as your superior, should worry about your marriage. Once you have a wife, your parents will be relieved," Li Baihu followed, chattering incessantly. "Qian Wei is already preparing the wedding feast. Why don't you have yours on the same day? You two are brothers-in-arms, marrying sisters. What a joyous occasion! Let's celebrate together."

Celebrate together? More like embarrass each other together.

Zhao Xiping refused his suggestion outright. "Once we finish the fieldwork, I'll take her back to our hometown and hold the wedding there. If you have time, you can come for a drink."

Li Baihu sighed inwardly, saying, "Then the brothers won't be able to celebrate with you. Well, I'll tell Master Hu that."

They parted ways halfway, and Zhao Xiping went downstream to wash himself and then upstream to fetch water. Most people were asleep, and the streets were quiet. But when he returned, the siblings were still sitting in the courtyard.

"Back already?" Sui Yu greeted him.

Zhao Xiping ignored her and walked past her to pour the water into the jar.

"Aren't you going out again? Should I close the door?" Sui Yu asked.

"Mm," he responded.

The courtyard fell silent again, with only the dull sound of the bucket hitting the ground and the sharp sound of the yoke clattering. Sui Liang stood in the darkness, watching the tall figure with unease.

The bedroom door creaked open, and Zhao Xiping entered the kitchen with a spark of fire, which he carried into the bedroom. Soon, the bedroom was illuminated. He tidied up the room, took down the wolf skin hanging on the wall, and grabbed a linen sheet from the bed before stepping out.

"You two sleep on the bed tonight. I'll sleep in the front room. There's a clean linen sheet in the chest; you can take it yourself." With that, he went into the front room and quickly closed the door.

Sui Yu stood in the courtyard, staring at the trembling door, wondering what else she could do.

Footsteps approached, and the wooden door was knocked on. Zhao Xiping opened it irritably. "What else is there?"

"I have lice in my hair. Do you have anything to kill them? Or maybe a pair of scissors? I'll cut my hair off," Sui Yu said, rubbing her hands outside the door. "I don't want to turn your bed into a nest of lice and infect you later."

"Cut your hair and become a nun?" Zhao Xiping opened the door, his face expressionless, mocking her. "Open your eyes, Miss. Ask around; who doesn't have lice?"

Sui Yu frowned instinctively.

Zhao Xiping laughed bitterly at her reaction.

"Fine, fine. You sleep. I won't bother you anymore," Sui Yu smiled at him.

Thick-skinned, Zhao Xiping thought as he closed the door. Despite his cold demeanor and sarcastic remarks, she seemed oblivious, doing things her own way.

While he was lost in thought, Sui Yu and Sui Liang fell asleep on the bed, exhausted from the day's events.

The quiet night passed swiftly.

The pre-dawn darkness was the darkest. When Zhao Xiping opened the door, the sky was pitch black, with only a few faint stars twinkling in the dark clouds.

He went into the kitchen to start a fire and cook breakfast. Stuffing dry grass into the log and igniting it, he placed it in the stove. The flames illuminated half of the mud wall. He added dry wood, filled the pot with water and rice, and noticed five clean eggs in a black clay bowl.

"I'll cook the meal. You go rest," Sui Yu pushed open the bedroom door and hurried over. She woke up at the sound and hesitated a moment before coming out.

Zhao Xiping ignored her.

"Then I'll tend the fire," Sui Yu said, undeterred by his silence.

The kitchen fell silent again, with only the crackling of burning wood. Sui Yu stared at the flames in the stove, while Zhao Xiping stood by the stove, staring at the wall. He noticed that the spider webs and dust on the wall were gone.

"Eggs shouldn't be washed; they spoil faster if they get wet," he suddenly said.

Sui Yu was taken aback for a moment before she realized, "Oh, I misunderstood you." She had thought he was sloppy, putting eggs with blood and feces into the bowl.

Zhao Xiping glanced at her, then strode out, opened the door, and dragged the still sleeping camel out of the gate. He didn’t return until the meal was ready.

The sky began to brighten, and the courtyard was brighter than inside the house. Sui Yu served the food and placed it in the courtyard to cool down, while Sui Liang watched nearby to prevent the chickens from eating it.

When Zhao Xiping appeared, Sui Liang jumped and hurried to find Sui Yu.

"Back already? Let’s eat. I mixed half a bowl of radish greens with the rice. After eating, we can go work in the fields together," Sui Yu said as she came out.

"You don’t need to go to the fields," Zhao Xiping said, picking up his bowl and squatting down to eat.

"If I do more work with Brother Liang, you’ll have less to do," Sui Yu said, her voice gentle.

Zhao Xiping didn’t like hearing her say that; it was too close for comfort. He put a piece of vegetable in his bowl, stood up, and walked away, gruffly saying, "If you’re not going, stay home."

"Do you not want to walk with me?" Sui Yu asked softly.

Zhao Xiping paused but didn’t refute her, and squatted outside the gate to eat.

Sui Yu didn’t say anything more, but when he gathered his things to leave, she pulled Sui Liang along and followed him immediately. Seeing the man glaring at her, she whispered, "I come from a poor background. If I don’t work hard, people will talk. Besides, I’ll eventually have to go out with you."

"Serves you right if you die of exhaustion," Zhao Xiping said, resenting her lack of gratitude.

"Serves me right, then," Sui Yu replied, her steps light as she followed him.

It was the time to head to the fields, and many people were leading camels and carrying farming tools. When they saw Zhao Xiping bringing his wife out, everyone looked over.

"Captain Zhao, when will you invite us brothers to your wedding feast?"

Zhao Xiping’s face remained expressionless as he tersely replied, "After the harvest."

Seeing his demeanor, those without any grudges turned their gazes away, knowing anyone in his position would be unlucky.

Once they left the alley, the land opened up, and there were fewer people traveling with them. Zhao Xiping first went to lead the grazing camel, then took the two burdens through rows of millet fields. His land and house were in the middle.

"Only cut the ears of the millet and put them in the basket. Stomp the stalks down, and I’ll chop them later." Zhao Xiping patiently instructed, fearing the young master and mistress wouldn’t know how to farm.

"Alright, I understand." Sui Yu led Sui Liang into the field. Since he was short, she stomped the stalks down so he could squat and break off the millet ears.

This was Sui Yu’s first time doing farm work, and her pace was slow. Together, she and Sui Liang couldn’t keep up with Zhao Xiping alone. Starting from the edge of the field, by the time the sun rose, he had left the young master and mistress far behind.

He worked tirelessly like a strong, young ox, taking only breaks to drink water. Sui Yu watched him from the edge of the field, panting heavily. With his strength and diligence, he was undoubtedly a sought-after son-in-law. Marrying her was indeed a sacrifice.

"How old are you?" she asked.

Zhao Xiping ignored her, pretending not to hear.

"You look quite mature, around twenty? Why didn’t you marry earlier?" Sui Yu asked again.

"War."

"Oh, that must have been hard on you."

Sui Yu shook the wild vegetables in her hand and put them in the basket, then leaned on her knees to stand up and continued working.

By midday, they had finished cutting the millet in one plot. Zhao Xiping bundled the millet ears onto the camel’s back, which knew its way to the granary without supervision.

Zhao Xiping picked up the machete and started chopping the stalks. People ate the millet, and livestock ate the stalks, which served as winter feed for the animals.

Without a machete, Sui Yu stood beside him for a while and said, "Are you eating lunch? I’ll go back and cook. While resting, I dug some wild vegetables in the field."

"I’ll also make some dumpling soup and scramble a couple of eggs."

"Alright." Sui Yu responded brightly and walked toward the field ridge, saying, "I’ll bring the food to you once it’s ready. Rest if you’re tired."

Sui Liang followed her secretly, afraid to be alone with his brother-in-law.

"Tell your sister to add more water, and you two should eat too," Zhao Xiping instructed without looking up.