Chapter 206

Chapter 206

When Sui Yu was helping the little one wash his face and feet, Zhao Xiping brought over a small wooden bed. When Sui Yu saw it, she paused for a moment, and then her voice softened.

The little one was unhappy about it, but when he saw his father throwing his clothes onto the small wooden bed, he became interested again and started talking to his mother enthusiastically.

Sui Yu and Zhao Xiping exchanged a glance, both struggling to hold back their laughter.

After getting into bed, Sui Yu held the little one in her arms and told him stories about their journey, such as the towering snow-capped mountains, the endless flowing great rivers, and the high plateaus that seemed to reach the sky... Listening to her gentle and slow narration, the little one fell asleep with a smile on his face.

"Asleep?" Zhao Xiping entered from the doorway.

"Wait a little longer, he’s probably not in deep sleep yet." Sui Yu gestured for him to lie down, and she asked him whether the little one had cried after she left.

Zhao Xiping certainly wouldn’t mention anything sad to make her cry; instead, he picked some amusing events to share with her, like how Sui Liang had been taking the little one to the training ground every day, or how the cat officer had stayed in the Qianhusuo house for two months and lost five or six jin...

Once the little one’s breathing became steady and deep, Zhao Xiping wrapped him in the quilt and moved him to the small wooden bed. It was then time for the couple’s intimate conversation.

Considering Sui Yu’s physical fatigue, they ended their conversation and soon fell asleep.

When the rooster crowed, it was still dark in the room. Zhao Xiping opened his eyes and looked at the woman in his arms. He brushed away the long hair that had fallen on her face, and Sui Yu woke up startled, but after realizing she was home, she sighed and closed her eyes again.

Zhao Xiping patted her back as if comforting a child.

Sui Yu smiled and nestled in his arms for another sleep.

During her light sleep, Sui Yu didn’t feel the itch from her frostbite on her legs and feet. Now, as she lay in a shallow sleep, she arched her body and stuffed her legs into the man’s hands, mumbling, "Scratch for me."

There was a stir in the small bed, and Zhao Xiping startled and sat up abruptly. Just before the little one opened his eyes, he moved the child back to Sui Yu’s arms.

The little one opened his eyes groggily and, seeing Sui Yu as if in a dream, muttered "Mother."

"My dear," Sui Yu held him, speaking softly, "It’s not yet dawn, sleep a little longer."

The little one opened his eyes wide, propped himself up on his arms, and stared at Sui Yu. It wasn’t a dream; he suddenly burst into tears, throwing his arms around Sui Yu’s neck, calling out "Mother" over and over.

The hot tears fell on her face, blurring Sui Yu’s vision. She responded to him repeatedly and pulled the quilt over them.

Zhao Xiping let out a sigh of relief; the little one had finally opened his mouth.

After crying, the little one wiped his tears and felt a little embarrassed. Sui Yu tickled him, and he laughed until tears came, finally relaxing.

"What’s this about sending a message through the merchants?" Sui Yu asked. She had just realized that the little one’s ability to express himself was limited; at most, he could say four words at a time, and beyond that, his words became unclear, understandable only to himself. However, even though he couldn’t speak well, he could understand adults’ meanings quite well.

"The merchants knew you had entered the pass, so they teased him and took him to look for you, trying various ways to get the things in his hands." When there were many merchants, Zhao Xiping, besides his morning and evening training, had to patrol the city and couldn’t always have the little one with him. When Sui Liang took care of him, he inevitably had to deal with the merchants. Those annoying merchants liked to tease the child for fun, as if he were a puppy, and Sui Liang had even argued with them over it.

"When they made the child cry, they gave him money to buy candy. At that time, I thought you would be coming back soon, so I explained it to the little one. When the merchants asked him if he wanted them to help find his mother, he would give them money if he had it, and if not, he would give them food."

"Poor little thing." Sui Yu stroked the little one’s head and praised him, "My little one is really smart. The merchants who took your money and ate your food told me, and I knew the little one missed me, so I hurried back."

The little one smiled, both shy and proud.

There was a sound next door; it was Zhao’s father and mother getting up. Sui Yu felt the little one’s stomach and said, "We should get up too; the little one needs to pee."

The family of three opened the door, and it was just dawn. The escorts had already risen early to practice martial arts. The guest house doors were open, and smoke rose from the boiler room.

The newly built teahouse was south of the kitchen courtyard. Zhao Xiping had also bought two acres of land to build more houses. The teahouse walls were high, and the roof was tall, making it quite spacious inside. A one-person-high earthen structure was built in the center, allowing ten people to move around.

Sui Yu walked around and noticed that holes had been dug in the walls to hold oil lamps. One wall had four holes, and if they were all lit, the room would be much brighter. She smiled at the man, appreciating his clever design.

"I couldn’t find any performing troupes outside. The entertainment houses in Chang’an are for wealthy merchants and the elite; I couldn’t invite those people. I did think about taking in performers who were sick or in trouble, but I couldn’t get in touch with them." Sui Yu looked back at the man, feeling a little embarrassed. "This teahouse can’t open this year."

"Don’t you have stories from the merchants’ travels? Keep writing and performing." Zhao Xiping scratched his nose and said, "I’ve already spread the word that you can come here to listen to stories and watch performances."

"No wonder Old Tu was in such a hurry to recruit caravans even though it was snowing. People have been staying on our side, is the residential area not fully occupied?" Sui Yu asked.

Zhao Xiping nodded, "Our guest house is full. Of the two caravans that entered the city with you, only one has been settled; the other caravan went back to the city to stay."

The little one suddenly ran in, pouted for a moment, then ran off again.

"I didn’t get any tea either; it’s quite scarce. I’ll ask later while eating; maybe a caravan has some tea bricks and can spare me a piece." Sui Yu continued.

After that, Sui Yu asked, "Is there a large caravan bringing back Hu Ji?"

There was one, but it was brought by a foreign merchant.

With a target in mind, Sui Yu immediately left the teahouse and waited outside the kitchen courtyard. When the foreign merchant brought out eight Hu Ji with striking and elegant appearances to eat, she approached them. After confirming that the Hu Ji were bought by the caravan to be sold in Chang’an, she asked if they could be hired to play the pipa and flute in the teahouse for the winter.

"How much?" the foreign merchant asked.

Sui Yu was unsure, not certain if running the teahouse would be profitable, and she was reluctant to spend money. She considered that the only thing that might attract the foreign merchant was the trade route map she had marked herself and the sheepskin scroll given by Song Xian, but she couldn’t offer that. She had seen enough stories in dramas about treasonous maps.

"I’ll pay ten coins for a day’s performance," Sui Yu said, and seeing the foreign merchant seemed dissatisfied, she added, "For this winter, the eight Hu Ji can eat here for free."

The foreign merchant talking to Sui Yu sighed, went to consult with the team leader, and then came back to say, "Alright, we agree."

Having solved one problem, Sui Yu went to the western kitchen to ask which caravan had tea bricks.

"Jade Merchant, we are rough and our tongues are thick and numb; we can’t appreciate that precious tea. You don’t need to bother with that; just make some oily tea or stew some soup to keep our mouths busy," a middle-aged merchant said.

"Yes, just something to drink and some pickled radishes to keep us awake," someone else added.

Sui Yu readily agreed and joked, "When I become rich in the future, I’ll treat you all to free tea."

"I’d love to drink free tea," Wang Ping said loudly.

The others laughed; tea was expensive and scarce. If you were hosting guests, it might be worth buying some to make an impression, but it wasn’t worth buying to drink as water yourself.

"By the way, Jade Merchant, are you still writing stories? I heard you’ve written about several merchants’ business experiences." Some caravans stayed at the guest house specifically for this.

"Write, I'll take a couple of days off and start writing after visiting friends and relatives." Sui Yu agreed to everything.

After breakfast, Zhao Xiaoping's parents wanted to visit their daughter and their grandson. Sui Yu took the coarse cloth she had bought, cut eight feet of it, packed a bag of mulberries, and carried a chicken. She took the little one with her as she followed her in-laws into the city.

Xiaomi's son, Aning, had just turned one. He looked like Xiaomi and was a delicate boy. His personality took after Huang Lianzheng; he was a shy and quiet child.

It was cold, so the child wasn't taken outside. Sui Yu went in to see him, brought the little one to recognize people, praised him a few times, and then came out, leaving Zhao Xiaoping's parents sitting by the bed to soothe the child.

"Third Sister-in-law, when did you come back?" Zhao Xiaomi asked. "A few days ago, when it snowed, I went to the guest house, but you hadn't returned yet. I haven't slept well these past few days."

"I came back yesterday afternoon. I went to pick up my parents, and it started snowing as soon as we left Jiuquan." Inside the house, the warm air blew on her cold hands, making them heat up and start itching again. Sui Yu held the little one in her arms and let him rub her hands for her.

"Freezing sores again?" Zhao Xiaomi peered over.

"It's cold on Hongchiling. I walked for half a month against the wind and snow, and the sores came back, but it's not serious."

The little one opened his mouth and blew on Sui Yu's hand. After blowing, he gently pinched the red sore with his small hand and carefully asked, "Mom, does it hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt." Sui Yu shook her head with a smile.

"Your mom endured this hardship to earn money for you..." Huang's mother walked in and said.

"No, no, no." Sui Yu interrupted Huang's mother. "It has nothing to do with the little one. I wanted to live a better life."

"When you came back, did the little one cry?" Xiaomi brought up another topic.

Sui Yu looked at the little one, who shyly smacked his lips. He took a breath, puffed out his cheeks, and blew hard.

Zhao Xiaomi patted his head and said, "He still remembers you and is quite attached to you."

Sui Yu hummed in response. She wasn't sure if the little one's memory of her was still clear, but in these six months, he had gone from being ignorant to becoming aware and alert. She felt regretful; things hadn't developed as she had envisioned. The little one wouldn't remain ignorant forever and wouldn't grow up to be a carefree, naive child.

At noon, they ate at Zhao Xiaomi's in-laws' place. After finishing his tasks, Zhao Xiaoping came over. Huang Lianzheng went to invite his younger brother and sister-in-law, but only Huang Ancheng came.

"They had a fight," Zhao Xiaomi whispered to Sui Yu after learning the news from Huang Lianzheng.

Sui Yu glanced at Huang Ancheng and remained silent. If Song Xian decided to leave the pass, the couple would likely have another big fight.

After the meal, Zhao Xiaoping and Sui Yu took the little one and left the Huang family. Sui Yu took the little one to buy malt candy, saying she would make sweet chestnut cakes for him when they got back.

On the way back, the little one got tired, and Zhao Xiaoping carried him on his back. The little one looked up at the sky contentedly, humming a tune only he could understand.

"Isn't it good that your mom is back?" Zhao Xiaoping asked.

"Yes!" the little one said loudly, swinging his legs and turning his head to sweetly call Sui Yu "Mom."