20demayo Chapter 49
Chapter 49
In the second or third month of the lunar calendar, the weather started to warm up. Everything came back to life, and the fields began to bustle with activity.
The Du family's ox was also ready to start working in the fields. Fortunately, Lao Du had been feeding it well during the winter, and it had grown strong and healthy.
The busy period lasted until after the Qingming Festival. During this time, Aunt Cuihua's chicks also hatched. When she brought the week-old chicks to Li Suniang, Li Suniang was delighted.
Each chick was only slightly bigger than a ping-pong ball, with fluffy feathers and chirping away in a basket. It was quite entertaining. But Li Suniang wondered how many would survive under her care. She hoped they would all have strong vitality.
After asking Aunt Cuihua about her methods for raising chicks, Li Suniang offered to pay her, but Aunt Cuihua refused. The two women insisted for a while until Lao Du returned and told Li Suniang not to pay, so she put the money away.
Since her father-in-law had spoken, Li Suniang obediently put the money away. Then she brought out a prepared basket and asked Aunt Cuihua to put the chicks in it.
During the day, Li Suniang placed the chicks in a specially enclosed area to let them exercise. At night, she put them back in the basket and brought them inside.
To prevent Wangzai from getting too mischievous, Li Suniang spent two days teaching him. Surprisingly, the dog was smarter than some people and learned not to touch the chicks. Instead, he even helped watch over them.
After raising the chicks for a few days, Lao Du brought back some piglets, leaving only the ducklings uncaptured.
Lao Du said he needed to go find them because few people in the village raised ducks, as they didn't like the taste of duck eggs, which they said had a fishy smell and weren't as good as chicken eggs. Moreover, duck meat wasn't as good as chicken meat.@@@@
But Li Suniang thought duck eggs were fine, especially after being pickled as salted duck eggs. She loved eating them with porridge in the morning, and just thinking about it made her mouth water.
With the sudden increase in small animals at home, Li Suniang became busy. Du Wei continued to go to town every day, and Li Suniang didn't ask him what he was doing. She knew that if he wanted to tell her, he would, and asking him might even lead to marital discord.
The busy days made Li Suniang feel fulfilled. Their son, Zihao, had started attending school, and Du Wei would take him there and back every day. After returning from school, Zihao would excitedly tell his mother about what he learned that day like a parrot repeating what it heard. Seeing Zihao become more sensible after starting school made Li Suniang very happy.
Of course, there were also people in the village who were jealous and gossiping, but Lao Du and Du Wei ignored them.
After being busy for a while, Du Wei finally had some free time.
"I just thought you looked tired and sleepy, so I asked. I'm worried you might be hiding something from me. If you're not feeling well, we can go see a doctor in town tomorrow," Du Wei explained.
"No need to see a doctor, I'm fine. It's just spring fatigue, and maybe I'm not used to taking care of so many animals yet. I'll be fine after a while," Li Suniang said, shaking her head to avoid going to the doctor.
In reality, she was afraid of taking medicine. She thought that even if she didn't have any health issues, the doctor might still find something wrong with her and prescribe her some bitter-tasting medicine.
Du Wei felt guilty for not helping Li Suniang with household chores, saying, "I've been busy with town matters and haven't been able to help you at all. It's like I'm deceiving you."
Li Suniang tried to comfort him, saying, "We're husband and wife, we're supposed to share the joys and sorrows together. Don't be too hard on yourself. By the way, what have you been busy with in town?"
Du Wei explained that he had been wanting to tell her about the shop in town, but she had been asleep when he got back. He asked if Lao Du had told her about the shop, and Li Suniang shook her head, surprised to learn about it. She thought to herself, "Wow, I didn't know Du's family had a shop in town! I've really gained a lot by marrying into this family." She realized that the villagers didn't know about the shop either, or else Aunt Yang would have told her already.
When Du Wei saw Li Suniang shaking her head, he was afraid that his wife would misunderstand Lao Du, so he quickly explained, "I think Dad was going to let me tell you, but I forgot to tell you for a while, don't be angry!"
"No, you told me now! But you can't hide anything from me in the future, otherwise I will be furious." Li Suniang shook her head.
Li Suniang didn't lie. After all, this was bought before the wedding. Besides, he didn't hide it for his whole life, he just said it a little late. Even if they are on guard against themselves, that's what they should do. If it were her, she wouldn't necessarily tell them everything about her family's assets.
After Du Wei confirmed that Li Suniang was not angry, he continued, "I don't want to be a bodyguard anymore! So I took back the shop that I had been renting out to others and renovated it. I want to open a small restaurant. You know I have been traveling all over the country for so many years. I haven't learned anything else, but I have eaten a lot of food from different places, and I can cook some of the food. What do you think?"
In fact, it is not easy to quit as a bodyguard unless you are old, or you really can't do the bodyguard business anymore. Du Wei is so young and strong that if he hadn't saved the life of the chief escort, the chief escort would not have let him quit so easily. It was because of this life-saving grace. Of course, Li Suniang didn't know all this, and Du Wei wouldn't tell her.
Li Suniang, who had begun to feel drowsy again, suddenly opened her eyes wide after hearing what Du Wei said. She put one hand on Du Wei's chest, then turned over and half-lay on his chest and said, "That's great! I originally thought that since you have such good cooking skills, why don't we open a small restaurant! Now it seems that we really have a mutual understanding!"
Du Wei laughed when he heard Li Suniang say that they had a mutual understanding. He especially liked to hear this. Every time he heard Li Suniang talk about us, Du Wei always felt very satisfied.
"When are you going to open the restaurant? I'll go and support you then." Li Suniang asked excitedly.
"It's almost time. I'll take you with me then, but you don't need to support me. I'll have the brothers in the escort agency to support me. You just need to help me collect the money!" Du Wei said, looking at Li Suniang with a doting look in his eyes.
After the couple talked for a while, Li Suniang soon couldn't resist the sleepiness and her voice gradually became weaker and weaker. Finally, she closed her eyes and fell asleep, leaving Du Wei looking at her helplessly and a little worriedly. 'No, I have to find a doctor to see her tomorrow no matter what.' Du Wei decided secretly in his heart.