Exile

47

Su Qingtong saw her coming and hurried to climb over the crop ridge, "Wife Yun."

Su Ersao quickly lifted the basket. "I've made five millet pancakes for you. You see if they're not enough."

Su Qingtong held her hand to halt her. "Wife Yun, don't be busy. I just ate."

Su Ersao looked a little way away. Madam Su was right in the middle of cleaning up the plates. The dishes were not finished eaten yet.

"You have eaten?" Su Ersao suddenly felt embarrassed and her hands were stiff on the basket.

Su Qingtong seemed to feel her embarrassment too, and said, "I just had a meal and not had a drink yet, Wife Yun, have you brought any water?"

Su Ersao felt even more embarrassed. "I forgot. Or, I'll go to bring it."

Su Qingtong hastily grabbed her and said, "No, you go home and look after our daughter. The firewood at home is almost gone, I'll go home early to cut firewood, so you don't have to come to deliver it."

Su Ersao had to nod.

She put down the basket with the pancakes. "I'll put the pancakes here. If you're hungry, you can eat some to pad your belly."

Su Qingtong nodded.

Su Ersao inadvertently caught a glimpse of a strange figure in her father-in-law's field next to theirs. "Who is that?"

At this moment, Jiang Mao had robbed Su Qingbai of his job and at the side, Su Caicai was even laughing around him.

"Sigh~ that is Caicai's Dad." Su Qingtong did not hide from his first wife of many years, even though they had a little conflict recently.

Su Ersao was somewhat surprised. She knew that little uncle was conceived in the capital city, but how could that man find him in this town now?

Seeing his wife was surprised, Su Qingtong didn't explain it. It was not really good for him to say.

After a few days of spring plowing, the Sun family arrived.

Su Lingchuan was surprised that the Sun family arrived so quickly.

At the county inn, Sun Zhong, Su Ersao's father, said to the young person beside him, "Is that all right? I think our trip here might be in vain this time. Su Lingchuan is not open to persuasion. Otherwise, he will not end up in exile."

The young man, Sun Zhe, took a dish with his chopsticks and said, "We are helping Uncle Su to get away from this damn place. He will thank us even if it is too late. Dad, eat quickly. Don't think so much about it."

Sun Zhong nodded hesitantly and persuaded himself to believe what his son said.

"Father-in-law――" Su Ersao was very happy. She hadn't seen her father or brother for about two years. "My Dad's and DaGe's letter is here. They've arrived in the county town."

Su Lingchuan nodded his head to show that he knew and then asked Su Qingtong to take Su Ersao to the county town. Anyway, it was Su Qingtong's father-in-law and brother-in-law.

Su Lingchuan meant that he did not want to see the two men, nor did he want to be mixed up with the trifles in the capital city. Therefore, he let Su Qingtong and his wife receive the guests in the county town for a few days and then send them away.

Listening to Su Lingchuan saying such and also taking care of his wife's face, Su Qingtong nodded his head even though he was reluctant.

When Su Qingtong saw Sun Zhong and Sun Zhe, he disliked them in his heart yet not lack of etiquette. Sincerely, he and his wife came forward and called out to them, only it lacked the former friendliness.

Sun Zhong also felt quite awkward. He was someone who cherished his reputation and was cautious. He would never have done such things as spurned people if it hadn't been for the last time incident involved the life of his whole family.

It was Sun Zhe who turned a blind eye to the awkwardness of the two families and called out to his younger sister and brother-in-law enthusiastically.

"By the way, what about Uncle Su?"

"My Dad is busy, he can't come." That was what had been said, but both sides knew that it was not that he could not come, but he was unwilling to come.

In the past, Sun Zhe would never put his warm face on people's cold buttocks1, but currently, he had things to request with Su Lingchuan. "The mountain road is bumpy, it's alright if Uncle Su couldn't come. I'm strong and as the junior generation, I should personally go to pay him a formal visit."

Su Qingtong refused without thinking. Asked him to go, he feared that his Dad was not angry enough?

However, Sun Zhe seemed to be unable to understand people's words. Regardless of what was said, it did not make sense to him. He only wanted to hear pleasant things without argument. Su Qingtong could not articulate, and moreover Su Ersao was happy to see her father and older brother and tried to persuade him. Su Qingtong really couldn't refuse.

The party packed up and rushed to the small mountain village.

Meanwhile, Su Qingbai was fooling around in Jiang Mao's bed.

"Bastard, you're going to let me go." Su Qingbai was almost crying. He brought some wild vegetables to the man, and the beast pulled him to bed under the blue sky and in broad daylight.

After making love, Jiang Mao satisfactorily reached into Su Qingbai's collar. "Can't you stay a little longer?"

Su Qingbai grabbed his hand fiercely. "Don't think about it. I've got my next door's housewife to look after Caicai. I have to go back as soon as possible."

"Why don't you bring Caicai?"

Speaking of this, Su Qingbai got angry. "Every time he comes here, he eats, eats, and eats. He's already fat. He'd eaten today, and I'm afraid if he comes here, he will be filled till he burst in the evening."

After saying that, Su Qingbai dressed up and rushed back.

At Su Family's entrance.

The next door's housewife, who looked after Su Caicai for Su Qingbai looked up at the sun. "Didn't he say he will be back soon? Why hasn't he come back yet?" She also had to cook for the old and young in her family.

"Liang Liang." The housewife happened to see her son who had been home for mealtime. "You take little brother to play for a while. Mother goes to cook for you."

Su Caicai had barely getting familiar with the housewife and was handed over to a small big brother like that, his mouth pouted as he was about to cry.

Liang Liang was a big boy and once he saw Su Caicai crying, he was anxious. Helplessly, he put him down. He then took a bamboo tube in the hand of his small companion and handed it to Su Caicai, "Here you go."

Su Caicai pulled back his tears and curiously looked at the mouth of the bamboo tube.

"Heh heh." Liangliang was very happy to see the little brother was coaxed. "Give it to you."

"No!" the little friend next to him refused. "The bamboo tube was made for me by my grandfather. You can't give it to him."

Liang Liang licked his lips and squatted down to Su Caicai and said, "How about you take big brother to your house, and I will put it in the pot or jar in your house for you."

Su Caicai thought about it, pulled Liang Liang into the kitchen, pointed to the big water jar where his family cooked, and said, "there~"

He remembered that the jar was always full of water.

Liang Liang tiptoed and poured the tadpoles into Su Caicai home's water jar.

Footnotes
you who treat others with enthusiasm, while others treat you with cold eyes