Chapter 156: The Pregnancy Pulse is Showing

Chapter 156: The Pregnancy Pulse is Showing

The martial stick was knocked down, and Gu Qianhu grabbed his hand, rubbing his knuckles and cursing, "What did you eat this morning? Full of bull strength."

Zhao Xiping laughed, picked up the martial stick, and performed a few moves. Seeing it was about time, he threw the stick aside and said, "I'll leave first this morning."

With that, he ran out of the training ground.

Zhao Xiping rushed straight to the inn in the northern part of the city. He ran past one vendor after another carrying bundles of grass, waving back when they greeted him.

Sui Liang took over the accounting work, so Sui Yu went out for a walk. She led the big black dog out of the livestock pen, let the little black one out, and untied the ram tethered to the tree, which bleated. She went over and untied the ram's rope, and the pig skillfully nudged the ram towards the grassy area. Sui Yu followed behind them.

The big-bellied camel snorted, and Sui Yu whistled in response. The big black dog perked up one ear and tilted its head to look at her.

Sui Yu whistled again, and the big black dog wagged its tail happily.

"Go." Sui Yu picked up a stick and threw it, and the big black dog chased after it swiftly.

When Zhao Xiping arrived, he saw this scene, and Sui Yu also noticed him. She threw the stick the dog had brought back to him.

"Husband, you're back a bit early."

Zhao Xiping laughed, walked around the wagging dog, and sat beside her, saying, "Say it again."

"Husband."

"Ah!"

"Fool." Sui Yu punched him lightly, sitting in the spring breeze, smiling like a blooming forsythia.

The couple immersed themselves in joy, just sitting quietly without needing to say anything, the happiness welling up continuously. Occasionally, they would glance at each other, and their smiles would widen.

The big black dog, tired from running, lay down by Sui Yu's feet, gnawing on the saliva-soaked stick with a crunch.

In the distance, a merchant was brushing the camel's fur, and the camel snorted. The ram grazing on the grass looked up, paused for a moment, then lowered its head to continue eating the new sprouts.

White clouds floated in the sky, birds flew overhead, piercing through the clouds towards the blinding sunlight, chirping as they landed on the branches of the wild shrubs on the plain.

As smoke rose from the chimneys, the tinkling of camel bells echoed from south to north, hooves clattering loudly, signaling the arrival of another large caravan.

"Guests are here, guests are here," A’shui shouted.

Xiaomi came out and asked, "Did you buy the chicks?"

"I bought them, two hundred chicks, and got three more for free," Yin Po said, carrying two baskets of chicks. "Where should we keep these two hundred chicks?"

"The pigsty has space. Put the chicks in there, and let them out to forage once they're used to it," Xiaomi instructed. "If anything comes up, find me first. If I'm unsure, I'll ask my third sister-in-law. By the way, we have four old hens. Catch one tonight, cook it, and put it in a pot in the stove. Take it out tomorrow morning for my third sister-in-law to drink."

Yin Po's heart stirred; she guessed Sui Yu must be pregnant, but since the master didn't mention it, she wouldn't pry.

As the caravan approached, Xiaomi went to greet them, while A’shui chose to follow Yin Po to see the chicks.

The sun climbed higher, and Sui Yu felt slightly warm, feeling a bit drowsy, she leaned her head against the man's chest.

"What are you thinking?" she asked.

"Nothing much," Zhao Xiping wrapped his arm around her and said, "The weather today is so nice."

"Yes, it is."

At noon, the pig remembered it was time to return to the pen for food, so it drove the ram back. The ram resisted, trying to butt the pig with its horns. The big black dog, sleeping on the grass, leaped up and barked softly, and the ram, attacked from both sides, became obedient.

Sui Yu and Zhao Xiping watched silently until the pig, ram, and dog were far away, then they also got up and headed back.

"You don't need to stay with me. Do what you usually do," Sui Yu said lightly. "I'll eat when I'm hungry and sleep when I'm tired. There's plenty to do here, and I'm not overworked. Don't worry about me."

"I'm not worried about you; I just want to be with you," Zhao Xiping said, then added, "I'll go work in the fields this afternoon."

Sui Yu smiled at him, took his arm, and let go as they approached the inn.

Uncle Niu came out of the fifth courtyard of the inn, holding A’shui's thick coat to air it out. Seeing Sui Yu, he complained, "Look what your cat did. It slept in A’shui's trunk, and now her clothes are full of cat hair, impossible to wash off."

"Don't let it in, then."

Uncle Niu was speechless. He could prevent the cat from entering, but he couldn't stop A’shui from sneaking it in.

"Get ready, it's time to serve the meal," Zhao Xiping called out.

"Alright, you go ahead," Uncle Niu shook the coat again.

Entering the kitchen, they met the newly arrived merchants heading for their meal. With the kitchen staff busy, Sui Yu helped cook and serve noodles, while Zhao Xiping carried dishes and served food.

"What's that meat? Bring us a bowl."

"It's braised pork. To make it, you need fresh meat, boiled, fried, and then steamed. If you want it, I can prepare it for you tonight," Zhao Xiping explained. "This bowl is five pounds of meat, fifty coins. What do you think?"

"Fine, prepare a bowl for us tonight, and cook a bowl of dog meat."

Zhao Xiping waved his hand in refusal, "We raise dogs, so we don't eat or sell dog meat."

"But you raise pigs too. Why don't you avoid eating pork?" a merchant eating noodles asked with a laugh.

Zhao Xiping smiled faintly, "Can't help it, my wife eats pork but not dog meat." Turning to the merchant, he said, "We have chicken and duck, which can be stewed or steamed. How about something else?"

"His wife is an excellent chef, making fish soup, stir-fried chicken, stewed meat, and braised meat, all incredibly delicious," a merchant who knew Sui Yu chimed in.

"Then bring us two ducks."

Zhao Xiping noted it down. When he went to work in the fields, he would stop by the military settlement and visit Aunt Sun in Thirteen Villages, asking her to buy two ducks and send them to the inn.

"Wait a moment, Commander Zhao." Aunt Du, the neighbor of Uncle Niu, called out and asked, "Old Niu lives in the north of the city, right? Is he at home today? I want to rent his house for raising chickens, but I don’t know if he will agree."

"He is at the inn. You can go there with Aunt Sun," Zhao Xiping said, only then noticing that many households in the military settlement raised chickens and ducks.

"By the way, Aunt Sun, buy an old hen every other day and send it to the inn," Zhao Xiping instructed.

"Every two days?" Aunt Sun asked, "Old hens aren’t cheap."

"Yes, I understand," Zhao Xiping planned to take his bow and arrows to the fields tomorrow to see if he could hunt some game to make money, which would help cover the cost of buying the hens.

Peaceful days always pass quickly, and when the wild grass in the fields grew over their ankles, the first sown wheat quietly sprouted.

Time flew by, and it was already mid-April. This month, Sui Yu’s menstrual period did not come again. Touching her flat belly, she felt completely reassured.

Choosing a sunny day, she and Zhao Xiping went to the clinic after lunch.

"Congratulations, although the pulse is shallow, the pregnancy pulse is evident," the doctor said.

Sui Yu smiled and said, "It seems the baby will be born in the twelfth lunar month this year."

The doctor nodded and said, "Your body is healthy, and there are no problems according to your pulse. Go now, don’t delay my consultations."

Sui Yu and Zhao Xiping left. They stood by the roadside for a while, and Sui Yu decided to walk with him to the fields.

This year, Sui Liang planted twenty acres of land, half with soybeans and half with sesame. The soil had been nurtured for two years, especially with manure applied last winter, making it rich enough to breed insects. A’shui somehow found out and came every day to catch insects to feed her chickens.

Sui Yu had just arrived when A’shui was brought by her father. Seeing Sui Yu, Uncle Niu dropped A’shui off and went back to work.

"Uncle Niu, I have some good news," Zhao Xiping couldn’t hold back any longer after a month of waiting. He proudly said, "I’m going to be a father too. By the end of this year, I’ll have a child in my arms."

"My daughter is already more than four years old, and you haven’t even held your child yet. That’s really slow," Uncle Niu said, walking away with his hands behind his back but not forgetting to add, "Congratulations to you both. It hasn’t been easy for you."

"Auntie, are you going to have a baby?" A’shui asked, "Can you give me a little sister?"

"A little sister might not happen, but a niece is possible," Sui Yu tapped her head and said, "Go catch your bugs, but don’t dig up the soybean seedlings."

Leaving A’shui to dig for bugs, Sui Yu and Zhao Xiping walked around the field. The soybeans were sprouting, and the sesame had just emerged, making the whole field look lush and green.

"In this row, we planted peas. I heard that pea porridge is delicious. I got two pounds of seeds from the agricultural officer. After the autumn harvest, we’ll keep the peas for ourselves. If you like them, we can plant two more acres next year," Zhao Xiping said.

Sui Yu had seen pea seeds before. Two years ago, she bought a bag from a Hu merchant, but lost it during the move and forgot about it. Peas, also known as broad beans, bear fruit in summer. When young, the beans can be stir-fried, and when old, they can be cooked into porridge.

"In another half month, fewer travelers will pass through, and when things quiet down, I plan to hire people to build the last four sections of the inn," Sui Yu said.

"Alright, I’ll find people when the farming season is over," Zhao Xiping replied.

After wandering around, Sui Yu and Zhao Xiping helped A’shui dig for bugs and pulled up the lush weeds growing in the field. They worked until evening before returning home.

Chickens grow fast on a diet of bugs. The chicks bought in mid-March had grown significantly in a month, developing wings and flying out of the pigsty daily to scratch the ground for food.

When these chickens molted their baby feathers and the roosters began to crow, two pregnant female camels gave birth to two baby camels one after the other in the middle of the night. Sui Yu’s camel herd increased to eleven, and the three female camels she had brought back from the desert were expected to give birth next year.

"Eggshell will be weaned this year. By winter, its mother will be in heat again and ready to conceive. The third and fourth camels will be five years old next year, and we’ll have three more baby camels the following year," Sui Yu calculated, saying, "We’ll have fourteen camels by spring next year, and seventeen by spring the year after. We can form a caravan then."

Zhao Xiping, coming out of the camel pen, said, "I’ve found the people to build the house. They’ll start the day after tomorrow."

"Alright," Sui Yu nodded.

On April 20th, construction on the inn resumed.

When Old Tu and the others heard the news, they came over with worried faces. Each shovel of yellow earth thrown up seemed to bury their necks, suffocating them until their faces turned blue and black.

Sui Yu approached them calmly and greeted them, saying, "We’re only building four sections."

"By winter, most of the large caravans will stay here," Old Tu grunted.

"Then you can accommodate the smaller caravans," Sui Yu shrugged.

The others didn’t speak. On their way back, Old Tu said, "Let’s proceed as we discussed. If the others don’t want to, our few families will tear down our houses and rebuild them like Sui Yu’s inn, with rooms for people and stables for camels."