Village Belle Chapter 119
Translated by Digitalian (ko-fi)
Chapter 119: Dad, Sister Taozi Is Still Sleeping
Su Qian opened her mouth to curse, but before she could utter a word, Su Tao spoke up, urging, "Mom, hurry up! Brother Yuntang is hungry."
Lin Sanzhu said nothing and walked on. Mrs. Su-Qian's face turned livid with rage, but she didn't dare to go up and argue.
After all, the Xie family was still around.
Su Fu had just arrived home before them and was fetching water to wash his feet. Seeing the Xie family coming, he quickly rolled down the hems of his trousers, put on his shoes, and said honestly, "Mr. Xie, Madam Xie."
Xie Qing responded casually, "Brother Su, just call me Daqing."
"Yeah, call us the same way you usually call others, otherwise we'll be embarrassed to come next time," Mrs. Xie-Qin agreed.
This was considered a way to build closer ties with the Su family.
Su Fu scratched his head honestly and said, "Okay, come in and sit down."
Su Zhi’s face was grubby. Su Tao had no idea where he had been playing. He stared eagerly at the snacks Mrs. Xie-Qin had brought.
He was acting like a beggar.
Su Tao couldn't stand it any longer, so she held back her disgust and dragged him to the kitchen to wash up. She whispered, "Hurry up and wash your face. It's so dirty."
"Sister, I want to eat cakes..."
"In your dreams. Wash up quickly. Listen, watch your manners when you eat later. If you dare to act like a hungry ghost, you’ll get it from me."
Su Zhi nodded fearfully.
During the meal, Mrs. Xie-Qin saw that after Xie Yuntang finished the first bowl of rice, he scooped another bowl of rice to eat without being told.
Su Tao casually put two pieces of chicken in his bowl. He usually didn't like to eat much, but now he lowered his head and started to eat.
It was of course a good thing that he could eat meat. The physician had said before that Yuntang had a slightly weak constitution and should eat more meat.
Hence, meat was served every day, but he ate very little.
She nudged Xie Qing. Xie Qing looked over, his eyes softening slightly. And then he began to talk to Su Fu again, "Well, there's been enough rain this year, so I don't think there'll be a drought..."
Su Tao was full after eating only one bowl of rice today, mainly because she had eaten too many snacks. She turned around and said, "Do you want some rice soup?"
Xie Yuntang nodded. "Yes."
Upon hearing this, Su Tao took the bowls to the kitchen and quickly returned with two bowls of rice soup. After giving one to Xie Yuntang, she began to drink hers.
Su Zhi, who was next to her, also wanted rice soup, but he didn't dare ask his sister to get some because she would definitely scold him. So he went to the kitchen and scooped some himself.
After the meal, Su Tao helped Xie Yuntang pack his belongings. He had quite a lot of stuff over the past few days, filling three bundles.
Xie Yuntang was quite reluctant to leave, and worried that Su Tao wouldn't go back with him. He asked anxiously, "Sister Taozi, aren't you going to pack your things?"
"I don't have much." Of course Su Tao was going back to the Xie family's house; it was clearly more comfortable than her own.
Xie Yuntang smiled at her words. "Sister Taozi, I'll help you."
After being used to the bustle of the house, now it was quiet again. Lin Sanzhu was a little reluctant, almost wanting to tell the Xie family that Su Tao was staying at home.
However, that wouldn't be kind. She would wait until Su Tao was a year or two older, when it wasn't convenient for the two to live together anymore, and then she would ask Su Tao to come back.
……
A few days after the Xie couple returned, it was Xie Yuntang's ninth birthday. It was on the eighth of March, a full month after Su Tao's.
Su Tao only found out it was Xie Yuntang's birthday the day before, when she heard from the Xie couple that some people from the capital would be arriving the next day. She had been freeloading off Milksop so often that it would be a bit impolite not to give him something.
But it was already evening, and it was too late for her to give any gift.
In the end, while Xie Yuntang was showering, she took a brush and ink and wrote a few words, "Happy Birthday!" and drew a simple sketch of Milksop below.
She felt it looked a bit bare, so she added some hearts, stars, and the like.
At first glance, it looked decent.
It wasn't too perfunctory.
Just as she finished writing, before she could put it away, Xie Yuntang came in. She hurriedly called out, "Milksop, wait a moment!"
Xie Yuntang, assuming she was changing clothes or something, blushed with embarrassment and quickly retreated, uttering a soft apology, "Sister Taozi, I didn't mean to do that."
After Su Tao put away her things, she called him in. Seeing his wet hair, she habitually reached for a handkerchief to wipe it, and tentatively asked, "Milksop, what do you want for your birthday tomorrow?"
"No, Sister Taozi, don't give me anything. Just spend the day with me." Xie Yuntang knew her well.
"Then give me half of all the delicious food tomorrow." Su Tao was as thick-skinned as a city wall, and she wasn’t embarrassed in front of Milksop at all.
Xie Yuntang didn't get angry at all. Instead, he took it as a matter of course and said happily, "You can have all."
The delicious food was all for Sister Taozi.
Su Tao chuckled twice, wiped his hair for a long while, and then yawned. "Let’s go to bed."
……
Su Tao woke up once in the middle of the night, and looked at the sky outside in a daze. It was past midnight, but she couldn't tell exactly what time it was.
She didn't know what was wrong with her, but she remembered that today was Xie Yuntang's birthday, so she got up and staggered to Xie Yuntang's bed.
She nudged him, yawning while calling out, "Milksop, Milksop..."
Xie Yuntang woke up in a daze, a little bewildered. "Sister Taozi, what's wrong? Do you need to go to the toilet?"
"No, I just want to say happy birthday to you. Here's your birthday gift. You can see it when you get up. Okay, I'm going to bed. I'm so sleepy." With that, Su Tao ran back to her bed and fell asleep in no time.
Xie Yuntang was stunned for a moment before he reacted. He touched the thing in his hand, his eyes suddenly lit up, and then he put it carefully under the pillow.
He whispered, "Thank you, Sister Taozi."
In the early morning, there were bursts of barking outside. Su Tao was woken up and cursed, "Why are you barking nonstop? Are you in heat? Can't you let me sleep? It's so annoying."
"Sister Taozi, it's still early. You should sleep a little longer."
Xie Yuntang was also woken up. He quickly put on his clothes and ran out. He said to the dog at the door angrily, "Stop barking. If you bark again, you won't get any food."
The dog stuck out its tongue obediently and stopped barking.
Xie Qing happened to come out of the house. When he saw his son, he called out, "Yuntang."
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw his son making a "hush" gesture to him. He shut up for some reason.
Xie Yuntang walked over and explained in a low voice, "Dad, Sister Taozi is still sleeping."
Sister Taozi remembered his birthday and didn't sleep well at night. She needed to sleep a little longer.
Fatherly Xie Qing, "..."
He nodded seriously to show that he understood. After Xie Yuntang entered the house, he turned around and went in as well. He closed the door and said to his wife who was getting dressed, "Yuntang told me to be quiet because Taozi is still sleeping."
His tone carried a trace of amusement.
Hearing this, Mrs. Xie-Qin couldn't help laughing and joked, "Then don't talk. If you wake Taozi up, Yuntang will probably blame you."
"Then let's sleep for a while longer." Xie Qing held her hand to stop her from getting dressed, then bent down and kissed her.
Over at this end, Xie Yuntang didn’t continue to sleep after returning to his room. He took out the birthday gift from Su Tao from under the pillow.
It was a piece of paper with "Happy Birthday" written on it and a sketch of a cute little boy.
The more he looked at it, the happier he became. A hint of sweetness lingered in his heart, just like eating honey.
He liked the birthday gift from Sister Taozi.
