Chapter 229: Night Talk Between Husband and Wife

Chapter 229: Night Talk Between Husband and Wife

After walking around the guest house, the chicken was fully cooked. Xiao Chunhong came out to announce that dinner was ready, and Sui Yu invited Old Uncle Niu and A’shui to join them for another meal.

Five chickens were stewed with dried vegetables in two cauldrons. Additionally, Dream Mom prepared a chicken broth tofu dish, where the tofu was fried to a golden color and then stewed in chicken broth. When serving the dish, a handful of scallions was sprinkled on top, making it look extraordinarily appealing.

As Sui Yu ladled herself a bowl of chicken broth, she suddenly recalled, saying, "I forgot about the red dates and astragalus. Stewing chicken with red dates makes the broth sweet."

"We can stew it tomorrow," Zhao Xiping said, taking another bowl to scoop some tofu for her and placing it by her side.

"Here are the pancakes," Cui Sao brought in a large basin of pancakes, saying, "Pancakes soaked in chicken broth get tastier with each bite."

"No other dishes?" Sui Liang asked, "Come and eat with us."

"We're not hungry. We've already eaten after making the pancakes," Cui Sao said as she walked out, adding, "There are two more pots of stewed pig trotters; they'll be ready soon."

Sui Yu handed her bowl to Zhao Xiping and started eating the chicken broth tofu.

After two bowls of soup, Sui Yu broke out in a sweat. She finished the tofu and then took another bowl to enjoy the chicken.

Zhao Xiping watched her and gently tucked her loose hair behind her ear.

"Mom, eat this," the little one picked up a large chicken leg and offered it.

Zhao Xiping intercepted, saying, "Eat it yourself. There's a chicken leg in your mom's bowl."

"Alright," the little one bit into the chicken leg and stretched his neck to look at the dishes on the table, keeping an eye on his mother, ready to serve her more food.

"Just focus on your own meal and let your mother enjoy hers in peace," Zhao Xiping said softly, lowering his head, "Finish your meal, and then go for a walk in the yard. When your stomach is empty, we'll go back to sleep. Your mom is tired."

The little one nodded and said, "I want some tofu too."

"Didn't you dislike tofu?" Zhao Xiping said, but still gave him a small piece.

With a piece of tofu, a chicken leg, and a chicken foot, the little one was full and slid off the chair to go outside.

Sui Yu spat out the chicken bone and looked up, reminding him, "Little one, play in the yard and don't run out, alright?"

"Alright."

The stewed pig trotters with yellow beans were served. Zhao Xiping immediately took Sui Yu's bowl to scoop some. The pig trotters were stewed until tender, and the broth was thick and white. The yellow beans were also cooked until their skins burst, easily sucked in along with the pig trotter meat.

"Eating at home is still so comfortable," Sui Yu took out a handkerchief to wipe her sweat.

"Have Sui Liang buy more pig trotters, pork liver, and pork blood tomorrow," Zhao Xiping instructed, "Are you full?"

"I'm full, actually stuffed. I'm going for a walk," Sui Yu stood up and told the servants, "Take your time, but don't overeat. It's harder to digest at night, which could affect your sleep."

"It's all because Yin Po and Dream Mom cook too well," Xiao Chunhong joked.

"I'll tattle on you, and tomorrow you'll be drinking wild vegetable soup," Sui Yu joked.

Zhao Xiping broke two pancakes and soaked them in his bowl, eating both liquid and solid together until he felt full, then put down his utensils and went outside.

Sui Yu stood in the kitchen talking to Yin Po and the others. The little one and Aqiang rolled up their sleeves and squatted on the ground washing dishes. While he was supposed to be washing dishes, he was mostly playing with the water.

"Going for a walk?" Zhao Xiping asked at the door.

"Sure," Sui Yu walked out, instructing, "Little one, keep washing the dishes. When your uncle is full, he'll give you a bath."

"I'm not washing the dishes." Little Zai wanted to tag along.

However, before he could even leave the kitchen door, Sui Yu and Zhao Xiping had already run out as if fleeing.

"Mom—Dad—"

No one answered, and the sound of footsteps faded away. Little Zai clung to Aqiang for courage, and the two of them walked out of the kitchen courtyard. Outside, it was pitch dark, and there was no sign of anyone.

Little Zai called out a couple more times, and Aqiang led him back inside.

"It's dark, you can't go out. There are wolves outside that love to eat kids like you." Aqiang scared him.

"You're lying." Little Zai didn't believe her.

"Then why don't you go out? The wolf skin quilt you use in winter is from the wolf your parents killed and skinned during the night."

Little Zai stammered a bit.

Sui Yu and Zhao Xiping emerged from the corner of the courtyard wall, walking quickly with light steps.

"Aqiang is quite good at making up stories." Sui Yu said.

"Your son is getting more and more annoying. To keep him in line, everyone has to use their tricks." Zhao Xiping grunted.

Sui Yu took his hand and leaned on his broad shoulder. "It sounds like you're quite dissatisfied with my son."

Zhao Xiping chuckled.

Sui Yu playfully bumped her head against him.

"He's a clever little devil. Don't be fooled by how obedient and sensible he seems in front of you. When he gets stubborn, it's infuriating." Zhao Xiping defended himself, "Remember the two pairs of thick pants you brought back for him? The white one got dirty, and I washed it. When it dried, it shrank. He insists I ruined it by washing it. You be the judge."

"Well, you did ruin it." Sui Yu had already seen the pants, "Did you wash it with hot water? Wool clothes should be washed in cold water."

Zhao Xiping stopped in his tracks.

"My son wasn’t accusing you falsely, was he?" Sui Yu lightly bumped him.

"I didn't know." Zhao Xiping explained.

"Hmm, besides that, what else happened?" Sui Yu asked.

"He saw a hen laying an egg and wondered why roosters don’t lay eggs. After hearing from Yin Po that chicks are hatched from eggs, he thought he must have been hatched from an egg too. At night, he wouldn’t sleep and mimicked a rooster’s crow in my ear." Zhao Xiping complained.

Sui Yu burst into laughter.

Influenced by her, Zhao Xiping also laughed.

"Is there more?" Sui Yu asked with a smile.

"Xiaomi was busy and sent Aning over to let Uncle Niu look after him for a while. That child was timid and spoke little. He was chased by a big rooster and cried. Seeing this, Little Zai came to Aning’s rescue and drove the rooster away. He was brave, grabbed a stick, and fought the rooster. Aning was unharmed, but Little Zai got his hand scratched by the rooster. After that, Aning stopped crying, but Little Zai wailed for a while."

Sui Yu nodded approvingly, "Not bad, he’s showing the makings of a good older brother. What happened after that?"

"After that, the rooster ended up in the stew pot. He ate the two chicken claws, and after a couple of days, his hand healed. Now, he enjoys eating chicken claws."

"He believes eating chicken claws will make him stronger." Zhao Xiping nodded.

"That’s exactly what I thought."

"How adorable, and you're still not satisfied." Sui Yu bounced onto his shoulders, lying sideways on his back. "It seems Zhao Xiaozai's life is quite exciting. No wonder he didn't react much when I told him I'd leave again next year, and when I asked if he was sad, he said he wasn't sad at all."

Zhao Xiping wrapped his arms around the two legs resting on his waist and said, "He's been thinking about the gifts you sent with the trade caravan. When you weren't back, he talked about it every day."

Sui Yu understood; kids all like receiving gifts.

"I miss you too," not wanting to talk about the child anymore, Zhao Xiping whispered sweet nothings under the cover of night, "I dream about you often."

"Dream about what I'm doing?" Sui Yu teased him with a breathy voice.

The man chuckled quietly, looking ahead without a word.

"Let me rephrase, dream about what I'm doing with you?" Sui Yu wrapped her arms tighter, whispering softly in his ear.

"Cutting wheat."

"Pfft." Sui Yu spat in his direction.

Zhao Xiping laughed heartily.

"I'll tell you when we get back to the room." He turned to head back. "Tonight, let Zhao Mingguang sleep with his uncle."

"Can we send him away?"

"We can try."

And so they tried.

However, when the couple returned, they found Zhao Xiaozai already lying in bed. He had changed into a light purple belly band and shorts, his tied-up pigtails had come undone, and his hair, slightly curly, was fluffed up on his head, looking as pretty as a little girl.

"Mom." Zhao Xiaozai sat up.

"Yes." Sui Yu replied sweetly, sitting by the bed and hugging him. She turned to Sui Liang and said, "Doesn't he look like a little girl?"

Sui Liang nodded, "Now that you're back, I'll go to my room."

"You're sleeping with your uncle tonight, and tomorrow morning, you two will get up early to lead the horses to graze." Sui Yu remembered their task, "I'm tired, and I'll definitely wake up late. If you wake up early, you'll wake me up."

Zhao Xiaozai wasn't willing.

"Go sleep with your uncle." Zhao Xiping said.

"I won't wake up early." The little one lay down, pressing against the bed. "I miss Mom, I want to sleep with you."

In the end, Sui Yu left the room, saying, "Alright, I'll take a quick shower first."

Sui Liang had already finished washing and lay back in bed, legs crossed, shaking his feet, muttering, "Horse, horse, horse..."

The little one covered his ears, not wanting to listen.

When Sui Yu finished her shower and came back in, Sui Liang got up, put on his shoes, and asked if the little one wanted to sleep with him. After being turned down, he shrugged and said, "Sis, I'm going back to my room."

"Okay, sleep early."

In bed, the little one immediately snuggled into her arms. Sui Yu pulled a thin, two-layer cloth quilt over them, carrying the scent of father and son. Her heart finally found peace.

Surrounded by familiar scents, Sui Yu lay on her side, listening to the child's chatter about trivial, fun things, and slowly, she felt sleepy and closed her eyes.

"...Mom, Big Flower lays the biggest eggs. Every time she lays an egg in the hay, I have to climb up to get it."

Sui Yu's thoughts were muddled, and she muttered a vague acknowledgment, indicating she was listening.

"Dad sent the cat official back to the city; he said the cat official misses his wife..."

Sui Yu didn't respond anymore, and the little one got up to check, only to find her asleep. He cuddled her waist and closed his eyes to sleep.

Zhao Xiping returned from bathing in the river, and upon opening the door, he saw that both mother and son were asleep. He extinguished the oil lamp and lay down in the dark.

...

As dawn broke, a large group of chickens flew down from the earth wall of the livestock pen, their wings flapping noisily.

The chickens flew to the riverbank to drink water, occasionally clucking.

The people in the room woke up, and when the little one heard the sound of the neighboring door opening, he quietly got up, sliding off the bed, clothes in hand.

The wooden door opened quietly, and the little one, his hair disheveled, slipped out. He whispered, "Wait for me, Uncle."

After the child left, Zhao Xiping opened his eyes, hearing the footsteps fade away. He got out of bed and latched the door.

"No need to pretend to be asleep." He pulled the woman, who had a slight smile, into his arms.

Sui Yu opened her eyes, her bright, captivating eyes looking up at the man bending over.

The sun had not yet appeared, and the morning breeze was cool, but the tightly closed door and windows of the small room made it sweltering. Beads of sweat on taut skin gathered together, like oil spilling from a lamp, making the flames rise.

The humid heat, like the mist rising from the river, gradually saturated the indigo bed sheet, forming a human-shaped imprint.

As the sun emerged from the clouds, the dazzling white light flickered, and Sui Yu closed her eyes, feeling a momentary blankness in her mind.

"You sleep a little longer." The man, feeling refreshed, got out of bed, quickly put on his clothes, and said, "I'm heading to the training ground."

Sui Yu responded lazily with a "Hmm," and teasingly remarked, "Walk steadily, don't wobble."