The Beautiful Brother of the Orion’s Family (Wearing Book) - 73

 

| TBBOTOF | 73

Liu Qiaoniang was already over three months pregnant, and her belly had a slight curve, although not very obvious. With the cold weather and her thick clothing, she still appeared slender. However, her movements were restrained, and she instinctively protected her stomach with her hands as she walked.

Tang Xu sat cross-legged on the cart and vaguely noticed someone approaching them. As the cart came closer, he recognized who it was when the person raised their arm to stop them.

He felt a headache coming on.

Tang Xu impatiently clicked his tongue.

In the future, he would have to check the almanac before going out to see if it was an auspicious time to travel. 

Wei Dong turned to him, "Are we going or not?"

"How can we go when she's blocking us? Aren't you afraid she'll come rushing over?" Tang Xu looked at Liu Qiaoniang, who had taken a few steps forward, with no desire to waste any energy on pretending to smile.

In Tang Xu's mind, Liu Qiaoniang probably didn't even hold as much weight as Liu Xiangxiang. If the original Tang Xu himself were here facing her, he might be easily swayed by a few soft words due to his kind-hearted nature.

Unfortunately, Xu Ge'er was no longer around. Tang Xu's temperament made it difficult for him to feel compassion for anyone. Even though it was dark, Liu Qiaoniang could still see Tang Xu's displeased expression clearly. 

It was evident that he didn't want to see her. Upon hearing his question, Liu Qiaoniang felt at a loss.

Due to her pregnancy, she had visited her parents' home to share the good news and also to restore her reputation. She wanted to prove to those who gossiped about her inability to conceive that she could indeed become pregnant and give birth!

Tang Xu became even more annoyed when he saw her standing there dumbfounded once again.

What's wrong with her? Why couldn't she just speak up instead of making people guess and ask?

"Auntie, do you have something to say or not? If not, you can sit here, and we'll give you a ride home." Tang Xu shifted aside, making room for her to sit next to him. "Sit here."

After thinking for a moment, Liu Qiaoniang nodded and sat down next to him.

The cart continued to move forward with a clattering sound. Wei Dong glanced back and asked, "Do we keep going straight along this road?"

Liu Qiaoniang nodded, then shook her head. "We need to turn up ahead and then turn again at the end."

Wei Dong patted the mule's rear, signaling it to change direction.

Tang Xu let out a sigh and lazily leaned against Wei Dong's side.

Although his movement wasn't particularly unusual, Liu Qiaoniang still felt her face heat up. Her gaze wandered around before settling on Tang Xu's crossed legs.

With her head bowed in silence, Liu Qiaoniang remained hesitant to speak, and Tang Xu didn't feel like breaking the silence either. As a result, the journey continued in silence, punctuated only by the rhythmic panting of the mule and the creaking of the cart wheels.

Eventually, it was Liu Qiaoniang who couldn't hold back any longer. As they approached the doorstep of her home, she still hadn't said anything.

"Um... that..." Liu Qiaoniang began tentatively, trying to gather her thoughts. 

Meanwhile, Tang Xu didn't even move his head, waiting for her to continue, while casually nudging Wei Dong's side. In response, Wei Dong instinctively twitched and turned to look at him.

Tang Xu narrowed his eyes and smiled, his expression resembling that of a playful fox. Wei Dong reached out and pulled Tang Xu into his embrace.

"That... I..." Liu Qiaoniang finally summoned the courage to speak, but as she lifted her head, she saw Tang Xu leaning against Wei Dong's chest, his arms wrapped tightly around him.

“...” Liu Qiaoniang's words choked back at the tip of her tongue once again.

As the cart came to a stop, Wei Dong asked indifferently, "Is this the place?" 

Tang Xu also turned his head to look at her, and Liu Qiaoniang nodded hesitantly. "Um... that..." she started again.

Tang Xu sighed, puzzled. "Auntie, you've been hesitating for so long, but you still haven't said anything. What exactly do you want to say?" 

Liu Qiaoniang bit her lip, took a deep breath, and said, "I wanted to tell you that your grandparents really want to acknowledge you, and I..."

"Stop," Tang Xu raised his hand in a gesture of pause, politely helped her down from the cart, and firmly escorted her inside the courtyard. As he closed the gate behind her, he said, "It's not necessary. Goodbye."

With a clang, the courtyard gate shut.

Tang Xu returned to the cart and patted the donkey's rump. "Let's go, let's go, hurry home. I haven't finished my meal properly, and now I've done a good deed. I'm starving."

Was it the delicious aroma of the stewed meat that wasn't enticing, or was it the stiff muscles of his men in his family that weren't pleasant to touch? He must be very troubled to consider acknowledging a family that couldn't even accept a premature infant.

“Do I look like I have a mental problem?" Tang Xu soulfully questioned.

Wei Dong pulled him into his embrace and planted a kiss on his forehead. "No, you don't. You're very smart."

Tang Xu gave a slight hum. "Tomorrow, don't go out. Help me make some jerky at home. Make plenty, so we can air dry it for a long time."

"We still have a big batch of air-dried lamb from last time," Wei Dong mentioned, thinking about the room where they stored cured meats. Rows of air-dried meat hung there, making his mouth water involuntarily. "Is air-dried beef tasty?"

Tang Xu recalled the hard and chewy air-dried beef he had tried before, nodding deeply. "It's delicious." Whether it was good or not depended on actually tasting it. Talking about it now wouldn't make a difference.

When they arrived home, the tomato and potato beef stew was already cooked. 

The aroma wafting from the kitchen made Wei Xi couldn't help but lean over the stove and sniff deeply. He thought he had already eaten plenty of delicious food and didn't care much about this beef stew. 

But he was wrong. The aroma was so unique, with a tangy yet appetizing scent that made him salivate uncontrollably. He kept swallowing hard, afraid that he might drool without noticing and embarrass himself.

Looking at the red color in the pot and smelling the fragrant aroma mixed with acidity, Wei Xi had already lost count of how many times he had turned to look down the corridor.

His heart and eyes were filled with anticipation, eagerly awaiting the return of his brother and brother-in-law. If they didn't come back soon, he would die of craving!

Longing, longing, finally hearing the clang of the big iron gate, Wei Xi couldn't bear to run out of the kitchen to greet the two, but instead leaned against the door and shouted out: "I'm in the kitchen!" Then he immediately withdrew.

It was as if skipping a breath of the meaty aroma would mean missing out on two bowls of rice.

Tang Xu didn't understand what was going on with him. When he entered the kitchen, he saw Wei Xi with both hands propped up on the stove, squinting his eyes with a greedy expression as he eagerly inhaled the white smoke rising from under the pot lid.

Tang Xu: I should be outside, not inside the house, so I can't see how intoxicated you are.

"Alright, alright, wash your hands and let's eat." Unable to bear it any longer, Tang Xu patted Wei Xi's shoulder. "I've cooked some white rice, scoop it out with the bucket." 

Wei Xi obediently nodded and went to serve the rice. They now used covered wooden buckets to serve rice, fearing it would cool down without the lid.

When the bucket was brought out, Tang Xu almost mistook it for one used to feed pigs. It was, well, very large, even larger than the usual water bucket they carried.

The other bucket of almost the same size was used to feed the animals in the backyard. Now, seeing this bucket, Tang Xu truly felt mistaken.

It wasn't his fault for being unobservant!

Blame could only be placed on the two brothers from the Wei family for being such hearty eaters. Using a wooden bucket to hold rice was better than a basin; basins didn't have lids and the heat dissipated quickly. The rice would cool down soon after being served, unlike with the wooden bucket, which not only had a lid but was also deeper, keeping the main dish warmer for longer.

As Wei Dong entered from outside and saw Tang Xu serving food, he walked over and saw the redness in the pot, pausing for a moment. Then, smelling the aroma, he swallowed saliva. "Tomatoes?"

He was familiar with this smell. Tang Xu had carefully stored the tomatoes picked from the yard in the cellar, but recently he had been complaining about their thin skins, which easily spoiled with the slightest bump, shortening their shelf life.

"Yeah, you help Xiao Xi carry the rice bucket to the main hall, it'll be ready soon over here." Tang Xu didn't waste a drop of the last bit of soup in the pot. He took a bowl of white rice that had been scooped out in advance, placed it directly on top of the soup, pressed it down with a spatula, and stirred it a few times in the pot.

The soup dyed the white rice with the color of the tomatoes, shiny and distinct.

"Let's eat!" Tang Xu turned around, and Wei Dong was already impatiently carrying the basin out of the room. He chuckled lightly, scooped out the rice from the pot with a spoon, and took chopsticks. 

In the main hall, there was only one large basin and three empty bowls on the table. The brothers sat on chairs, eagerly looking at the large basin in front of them. When Tang Xu entered, they both turned their heads and stared—

Tang Xu's lips curved up, and he put down the chopsticks and spoon in his hand. "Let's eat."

Wei Dong, showing brotherly love, filled Wei Xi's bowl with a bowl full of rice, then sneakily pulled the rice bucket towards his own side. Tang Xu saw it and rolled his eyes in speechless annoyance.

"So much, you'll eat yourself to death."

Wei Dong didn't respond. He had already followed Tang Xu's lead and poured a ladleful of tomato beef soup over his rice, the aroma wafting over him, making him swallow his saliva three times in a row.

Tang Xu picked up a piece of beef and tasted it. The texture was slightly tougher than regular beef, but it had a good chewiness to it. It was flavorful but required some effort to chew.

In fact, if it had been stewed a bit longer, the texture would have been even better. However, seeing the two of them enjoying their meal so much, Tang Xu just said, "The meat is a bit tough. Chew it thoroughly, Wei Xi, don't swallow it whole. It'll give you indigestion."

Wei Xi nodded, his mouth full of rice-wrapped beef, too absorbed in eating to respond.

Tang Xu then turned to Wei Dong, who was already silently serving himself a second bowl of rice, this time without the soup poured over it. He alternated between a bite of meat and a mouthful of rice, followed by a soft stewed potato, his cheeks bulging as he ate without any concern for decorum.

Tang Xu had intended to remind him to eat slowly, but seeing him like this, he decided against it.

Feeling mentally exhausted, Tang Xu decided to let it go. As long as they were enjoying their meal, that was all that mattered.

They had consumed about nine catties of rice, along with a large chunk of crusty rice from the bottom of the pot, and the five or six catties of stewed beef and potatoes in the pot. By the end of the meal, only half of the crusty rice was left, everything else had been polished off.

Tang Xu watched as the two brothers competed to see who could eat more, with Wei Xi eventually conceding after consuming three bowls of rice. The young boy sat on the chair, holding his belly, his eyes slightly glazed as he watched his brother devour his food.

Suddenly, a burp escaped from his mouth before he could even speak.

"Oops!" He quickly covered his mouth with his hand, eyes widening in surprise.

Tang Xu gave an exasperated look. "Almost burped it out, I told you to stop eating, but you wouldn't listen."

Wei Xi waved his hand and stood up slowly, then leisurely walked out of the room.

He needed to take a stroll to aid digestion.

It had been a long time since Wei Xi had made himself so full that he couldn't move, and he felt embarrassed with his face turning red.

Wei Dong got up to tidy up, his movements smooth and fluid, showing no signs of overeating or feeling bloated. However, he remained silent.

Having lived together for so long, Tang Xu couldn't help but notice that Wei Dong was also feeling stuffed. He sighed helplessly. "I'll clean up the kitchen, you go for a walk."

Wei Dong didn't respond or nod, he just grabbed the empty bowls and left the room. Tang Xu chuckled, wiped the table clean, and followed him to the kitchen. 

After cleaning up, he went to the backyard to take a shower. Taking a hot bath felt the most comfortable in the cold weather.

As he turned around, he saw Wei Xi playing with the orange cat. During this time, the cat had grown rapidly from a kitten to a fully-grown cat, but it still looked young and hadn't reached the lazy stage yet.

Although the orange cat was nicknamed "Fat Orange" and could eat and sleep a lot, it was also quite capable. Tang Xu had initially thought there were no mice in the grain store, but the other night, Mimi caught two mice.

 Although they weren't very big, since Mimi was still a young cat, catching two mice in one night was quite an achievement. After playing with them to death, Mimi didn't even eat them, just left them at the door of the kitchen. 

Tang Xu almost stepped on them in the morning while half-asleep making breakfast.

At that moment, Tang Xu's emotions were fluctuating dramatically.

The cat sat obediently on the side, curling its tail and tilting its head back, meowing softly as if asking for praise. Tang Xu directly gave it two egg yolks and mixed in some minced meat.

He handed the egg whites to Wei Dong.

Seeing Wei Xi and the cat together, he instinctively looked towards the stable, where the mule was.

"Where's your brother?" Tang Xu asked.

Wei Xi raised his hand and pointed towards the mountain.

Tang Xu understood. Wei Dong must have gone up the mountain to burn off some energy. When Wei Xi returned to the house and Wei Dong still hadn't come back, Tang Xu started to worry.

Going up the mountain to digest food shouldn't take this long. Could it be that he overate too much and ran off to Xiaoyou Mountain?

As it turned out, Tang Xu still understood his own men to some extent. Wei Dong went up Yuanbao Mountain to cut down a few thin dead trees, chopping away as he went. Eventually, he ended up in Xiaoyou Mountain.

In the darkness, with only the moon in the sky providing light, he walked steadily, stepping on the dry twigs and fallen leaves, producing crisp sounds with each step.

As he walked, he picked up more dead branches, filling his basket until it was full. Then, he turned around and retraced his steps, dragging the cut trees down the mountain with him.

With each trip, Wei Dong felt like he could eat another two bowls of rice.

Meanwhile, Tang Xu finished washing and lit an oil lamp before heading to the backyard to check on the various sheds. He needed to take advantage of the warm midday weather to replace the bedding for the livestock and prepare some dry grass to line their nests.

The ducks and geese were crowded together, but they didn't make a sound when Tang Xu approached. The hens clucked softly, and the big rabbits huddled with their little ones in their nests, not moving at all.

Tang Xu calculated that before the snowy weather arrived, he needed to renovate the nests for the animals to prevent them from freezing.

Chickens, ducks, and geese tend to lay fewer eggs when it's cold. He also needed to set up a large curtain to shield the mules from the wind. As for the two free-range goats, he wasn't sure where they were nesting. 

When it was light out, he would have Wei Dong build them a shelter. With the cold weather, they couldn't stay outside anymore. However, the pigs didn't need much attention; their thick fat would help them endure the winter.

In the upcoming springtime, he would need to find a suitable boar for the fat pig that had grown. He sighed at the pig's plumpness and took two pieces of bean cake from the bucket next to him, breaking each one in half and tossing them to the pig. Eating so well and sleeping so much, the pig had grown thick layers of fat. 

Tang Xu thought maybe it was time to upgrade the pig's name from "Chubby" to "Fatso." The pig snorted and grunted after finishing the bean cakes, still hungry, and made a few more sounds towards Tang Xu. It was a somewhat shy sound, almost coquettish. 

Tang Xu blinked, thinking he might be imagining things.

He tossed in another piece of bean cake.

These bean cakes weren't the ones that had been fried in oil; they were made from the leftover bean pulp from making bean skins.

 After adding a bit of salt, he cooked them into small, round cakes. Both the humans and the animals in the household ate them together.

Recently, Wei Dong hadn't been bringing steamed buns when he went into the mountains; instead, he packed some bean cakes. With these, both he and the mule had enough food.

Tang Xu fed a few more bean cakes to Fatso, waving his hand towards the pig who was grunting and squealing. "Alright, snack time's over. Time to go to sleep," he said.

Fatso's short tail wagged rapidly, a clear sign of happiness.

Tang Xu turned around and walked back, feeling the coolness of the wind on his face and the slight numbness in his feet from the cold. When he returned to the house, he added two thick branches to the heated brick bed, then entered the room. 

The bed was warm, and as he lay down under the covers, he let out a comfortable sigh. Wrapped in the blanket, he was almost asleep when he heard the courtyard door slam shut.

Tang Xu didn't get up, rolling over and continuing to sleep.

Wei Dong threw the dried trees he had dragged back into the backyard, planning to chop them into pieces of firewood later when Tang Xu woke up.

He went to take a shower, checked the livestock pens again, and then returned to the house.

On the brick bed, Tang Xu had already fallen into a deep sleep, unaware that Wei Dong had been standing by the bed, staring at him for a long time. It wasn't until the moisture evaporated from his body that Wei Dong finally climbed onto the bed.

Tang Xu slept while being hugged for a night, and when he woke up the next morning, he had a headache. He guessed it was because he had been standing by the pig pen for too long last night, and he hadn't dried his hair properly after showering.

Thinking about it made his head ache even more. He really found his long hair troublesome, causing various inconveniences.

"Awake," Wei Dong said, holding a bowl of medicine. Seeing Tang Xu tossing and turning on the brick bed, he sat down, pulled him into his arms, and said, "Drink your medicine." 

Tang Xu's nose was blocked, so he couldn't smell the medicine, but the dark bowl of medicine could almost reflect his face.

Ah! He didn't want to drink it!

He resisted, refusing to drink.

A bowl of dark medicine poured down his throat, it must be said that Wei Dong's method of administering medicine was very skillful, with almost no waste. Tang Xu weakly crawled back under the blanket, feeling so bitter.

"Get some more sleep, I'll cook porridge for you," Wei Dong said, kissing him on the forehead before leaving with the empty bowl. Tang Xu realized too late that he had a fever.

He sighed, rolled back into the blanket, and fell asleep.

After being woken up by Wei Dong, Tang Xu drank a bowl of porridge in a daze, unable to taste anything, but he wasn't hungry anyway. Tang Xu's consciousness was hazy, feeling light-headed and dizzy, unwilling to open his eyes.

Wei Xi didn't have much of an appetite that day, mainly because of the three meals his brother made, except for the morning porridge, which he could barely stomach. He forced himself to swallow it down.

Tang Xu was bedridden, and Wei Xi ended up losing all the little bits of meat he had managed to gain in the past. His cheeks had lost their fleshiness, making him look like a little refugee. It was a bit exaggerated, but not far from the truth.

When Tang Xu finally transitioned from a state of confusion to clarity, he was startled to see Wei Xi lying by the kang. He lifted the blanket in surprise. "What's wrong? Are you sick too?"

Wei Xi looked pitifully at him and pointed to the medicine bowl next to him, then gestured to Wei Dong sitting beside the kang. "Brother-in-law, you should take the medicine first." 

Tang Xu felt bitter in his mouth and turned to look at Wei Dong. "How many days have I been sick?" 

The only thing he could think of was that after he fell ill, Wei Dong must have neglected Wei Xi. 

Wei Dong handed him the medicine bowl and raised three fingers, "Three days, today is the fourth day."

Tang Xu held his breath as he drank the medicine, quickly following it with a gulp of water, feeling the bitterness numbing his tongue.

"Three days?" He glanced again at Wei Xi's face, which had lost some of its former plumpness, with his once-rounded chin now looking gaunt. "You managed to starve Wei Xi like this in just three days?"

Wei Dong glanced silently at Wei Xi, realizing that taking care of his younger brother was indeed troublesome. Even when he cooked, Wei Xi refused to eat. What could he do? 

Tang Xu sighed, got off the kang, put on his shoes, still feeling a bit dizzy, and his legs slightly weak.

"I'll go cook."

Wei Dong pushed him back onto the kang, wrapping him in a big blanket. "Rest, he skipped a few meals, he won't starve to death." 

"He's already so thin!" Tang Xu felt distressed. "I worked so hard to fatten him up a bit!" 

Wei Xi nodded, giving his brother a sideways glance, agreeing silently. He had finally gained some weight at his age, only to be starved thin again.

Without wasting any more words, Wei Dong simply lifted Wei Xi by the collar of his jacket and said, "I'll cook." Then he left, leaving Tang Xu behind.

Wei Xi didn't even struggle against his brother's restraint, subdued into compliance. Tang Xu, after drinking the medicine, pursed his lips. Well, if he wasn't needed, he wasn't needed. He rolled over and continued sleeping.

The medicine contained a sedative component, and he slept soundly until dawn, waking up hungry.

Finally coming back to life, Tang Xu looked at the man lying beside him, his eyes slightly bruised, his eyebrows furrowed. He had slept fully clothed, clearly ready to serve the sick him at any moment.

Feeling a pang of guilt, he sat up.

As soon as Wei Dong opened his eyes and saw him getting up, he hoarsely asked, "Do you need to pee?"

Tang Xu hesitated for a moment, but before he could respond, Wei Dong had already rolled out of bed and grabbed the nearby chamber pot, skillfully inserting it for Tang Xu. "Go ahead." 

Tang Xu: "???"

What?

No way!

Suddenly, he widened his eyes and looked down at his bare legs.

Where were his boxer shorts?

Where were his pants?

He hadn't left the room in days, it seemed. He ate, drank, and even relieved himself all on the bed? 

Wei Dong, with his eyes half-closed and clearly still half-asleep, hadn't heard the sound of water splashing for a while. Tang Xu hesitated in confusion. "Can't pee?"

Tang Xu's face was downcast. He thought about how Wei Dong had taken care of him these past few days while he was sick, and his heart swelled with emotions. His eyes reddened, and he threw himself into the man's arms.

Wei Dong was startled, his eyes completely open now. He hugged Tang Xu with one arm while holding the chamber pot with the other. "What's wrong? If you can't pee, then don't. Get back under the covers and don't get cold again."

Tang Xu made a muffled sound and murmured, "I'm fine now, it's okay."

Wei Dong gently pressed his chin against Tang Xu's forehead, seeing that he indeed seemed to have regained some spirit, and finally felt completely relieved. "As long as you're better now, that's all that matters. I'll take a nap for a while." 

He put down the chamber pot and lay back on the bed, instantly snoring loudly. Tang Xu poked him, but there was no response.

He got dressed and went outside. The sun was just right, not too hot or too harsh, with a gentle breeze blowing that felt pleasantly cool.

After stretching lazily, he went to the kitchen to light the fire and heat some water. He cleaned himself up first, and the water in the kitchen was warm. He put the cleaned salted eggs into it and then took out a basin to prepare the dough.

He didn't make anything complicated, just steamed buns with salted eggs and pickles, accompanied by some porridge, a simple meal. When Wei Xi entered the kitchen, he thought it was his brother, but when he saw Tang Xu, he was instantly excited.

"Brother-in-law, you're better now!"

"Yeah, I'm almost fine," Tang Xu handed him a steamed bun with salted egg, "Try it." Wei Xi took it, lowered his head, and took a bite.

"Mmm, delicious!"

After three days of eating meals prepared by his brother, he could finally eat normal-looking food again, without having to eat various random stews. While Wei Xi let out a sigh of relief, he also asked Tang Xu to make one for him and eagerly started eating.

"Wuwuwu, brother-in-law, the steamed buns you make are sweeter than the ones my brother makes!" After finishing the meal, Wei Xi wiped his mouth satisfied, "I'm full." 

With two large steamed buns in his belly, Wei Xi felt revitalized! 

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