The Beautiful Brother of the Orion’s Family (Wearing Book) - 200

 

| TBBOTOF | 200

The letter was written not long ago and sent out by a courier from the post station. Since the distance wasn't far, it was delivered within seven or eight days.

The letter wasn't long, just a single page, with characters written in a flamboyant, flowing style.

Tang Xu was so angry that his eye's reddened as he read it.

Wei Xi, who was sitting beside him, also glanced at the letter but stayed silent. He thought to himself, Wow, brother-in-law really knows how to say the right things.

"Your brother and his group have probably already left Jiyang City by now," Tang Xu said, folding the thin piece of paper and putting it back into the envelope. "Things have been going smoothly on the road, there has been no issues so far."

Wei Xi nodded. He wasn't too worried about his older brother, to be honest. After all, when he was young, his brother often left for several days to hunt in the mountains.

 It was only after he got married to his brother-in-law that he finally settled down and stopped disappearing every few days.

"Brother-in-law, you can relax. I'm sure my brother will send another letter to let you know he's safe as soon as they settle down."

Tang Xu forced a smile, his expression a little strained.

Although he knew his husband wasn’t the type to let himself be bullied, there’s an old saying: “A mighty dragon cannot overpower a local snake.” 

In unfamiliar territory, with just the twenty of them—even if they were strong, burly men—they still couldn't compare to the local gangs and groups.

Tang Xu might not go out often, but he had watched plenty of period dramas, and all he could imagine were scenes of traveling emperors being bullied by local thugs disguised as ruffians.

His thoughts spiraled further, imagining his husband being surrounded and attacked by a gang of robbers. Tang Xu, who had just felt slightly relieved after receiving the letter, suddenly became anxious again.

“Dad!” The chubby little boy ran over, his face filled with worry as he shouted, “Xiao Bao threw up!”

Tang Xu was startled. He quickly put his concerns aside, took a few quick steps toward the child, and asked while pulling him along, "Did he throw up after eating cake when running around with you two?"

“No, after he ate the cake, I remembered that he shouldn’t run, so he just drank some water and then threw up,” the chubby boy said, looking nervous. 

After all, his little brother had thrown up right in front of him, and it had scared him.

Tang Xu frowned, “Did you call Great-Grandfather?”

“We did. Uncle went to call him,” the chubby boy nodded. “Grandma said the baby probably just ate too much.”

Tang Xu hummed in acknowledgment and led his son into the house.

Even though the room had been cleaned up, there was still a lingering odor from Xiao Bao's earlier vomiting. 

Tang Yang had already swept up the straw ash and wiped down the stone slabs, and when he saw his brother enter, he pointed to the side room.

Tang Xu patted him on the shoulder, signaling his appreciation for cleaning up.

Entering the side room, Wang Cuicui was sitting on the kang holding Xiao Bao, who looked weak and pitiful, with reddened eyes.

Seeing his father enter, Xiao Bao began to cry, looking aggrieved as he stretched out his hands, asking to be held.

Tang Xu quickly picked him up, pressing his forehead against his to check for a fever, noticing it felt slightly warm.

“Where else are you feeling uncomfortable?” he asked.

Xiao Bao pointed to his stomach, his face looking a bit pale.

At that moment, Old Wen entered the room. Tang Xu immediately handed Xiao Bao over to him.

Old Wen sat down by the kang, holding Xiao Bao in his arms. While feeling his pulse, he examined Xiao Bao’s tongue, then asked, "What did he eat earlier?"

Tang Xu turned to look at Wang Cuicui.

Wang Cuicui explained, "He had the small cakes you baked, Xu Ge’er. The three of them ate some. Er Bao ate the most, and Xiao Bao only had one. After that, he drank a little goat's milk, but it was warm when he drank it."

At that moment, Er Bao came running in from outside, rushing straight to Tang Xu. Hugging his leg, he turned to look at his little brother, “Brother, are you feeling better?”

Xiao Bao shook his head, his small hand still covering his stomach.

Old Wen finished feeling Xiao Bao’s pulse and touched his forehead. He then asked Tang Xu, “Has he pooped today?”

"He hasn't gone, not yesterday either," Tang Xu replied, watching the old man place Xiao Bao back on the kang. 

He quickly reached out, intending to pick him up.

Old Wen stopped him, gently instructing Xiao Bao to lie flat. He pressed on Xiao Bao’s stomach a few times before turning to Tang Xu, saying, “You need to keep an eye on whether he's pooping regularly. Xiao Bao isn’t as active as Da Bao or Er Bao, and he doesn't digest as well as they do. He has a slower time digesting food. Make sure to massage his stomach a bit before he goes to bed.”

Tang Xu nodded, “So it's slow digestion? Nothing else serious, right?”

“He’ll probably throw up a couple more times. I’ll prepare some medicine for him. Once it passes it, he’ll be fine,” Old Wen said, feeling Xiao Bao’s forehead again. 

His temperature had risen significantly.

Tang Xu realized that the fever had started. Xiao Bao’s hands and feet were warm to the touch, so he hurried to fetch water for some physical cooling. 

Old Wen didn’t linger either, leaving to prepare the medicine.

Xiao Bao, who was usually obedient and well-behaved, became fussy and stubborn once he started feeling unwell. 

When it came to drinking the bitter medicine, it was a struggle—half of it got spat out, and the other half spilled. 

Very little made it into his stomach.

Tang Xu, however, remained calm. After changing Xiao Bao’s clothes, he tucked him into the bedding and sat cross-legged on the kang beside him, starting to gently massage his stomach.

Xiao Bao grumbled and whimpered, on the verge of tears but not quite crying. After about fifteen minutes, there was a faint “pfft,” and the child let out a stinky fart.

The fart was so foul that Tang Xu rolled his eyes dramatically, clearly disgusted.

Seeing Tang Xu make a funny face at him, Xiao Bao burst into a fit of giggles.

Tang Xu let out a breath, poking Xiao Bao’s still slightly firm belly, "How long have you been holding this in? Why won’t you poop?"

Xiao Bao shook his head, then nodded, before throwing himself into Tang Xu’s arms with a grin, “I’m not smelly~”

“Not smelly, huh? I’ll have to open the window soon or we’ll all be suffocated by your farts,” Tang Xu teased, smiling as he picked up Xiao Bao and gave him a gentle shake, then took him to sit on the little potty.

Kids tend to recover quickly, and as soon as the fever subsided, Xiao Bao was full of energy again. He grabbed Tang Xu’s hand and excitedly shouted that he was hungry and wanted to eat.

Tang Xu, however, was cautious. He didn’t let him eat right away and specifically consulted Old Wen, who allowed the boy to have just a little bit of thin porridge.

Though not overly enthusiastic about eating, Xiao Bao wasn’t picky either. He accepted the porridge and ate half a small bowl.

Tang Xu felt relieved after seeing him finish his meal, but as soon as he turned to take the bowls back to the kitchen, he found that Xiao Bao had vomited again.

What followed was another round of cleaning up.

Wang Cuicui took Chubby Boy and Er Bao to her place for the night, leaving Tang Xu alone to care for Xiao Bao. He monitored his temperature and gave him water as needed.

Old Wen advised against eating anything else for now and suggested just keeping Xiao Bao hydrated.

After vomiting three times, even though Xiao Bao was still hungry, he no longer asked for food. The ordeal had left Xiao Bao completely drained of energy.

Tang Xu felt heartbroken seeing him like this. He spent the whole night watching over him, frequently checking his temperature to make sure the fever didn’t return, massaging his stomach to help with digestion, and using physical therapy to reduce his body heat whenever his temperature rose.

It wasn’t until dawn, with the faint light of morning breaking through, that Xiao Bao's fever finally subsided and he fell into a peaceful sleep.

Tang Xu, having been on high alert all night, was utterly exhausted. By the time he heard the rooster crowing, his vision was starting to blur from fatigue.

He took the water basin from the bedside and carried it outside before quickly lying down to rest for a bit.

However, his sleep was restless. The moment he heard noise from the courtyard, he woke up. Glancing at the brightness outside the window, he estimated he’d only slept for about an hour.

His head was spinning.

Tang Xu sat on the kang for a long while before he finally opened his eyes fully, rubbing his forehead. 

The aftereffects of sleep deprivation were hitting him hard—his head and eyes ached.

Xiao Bao was still sleeping soundly, with no sign of a fever.

Tang Xu got up to wash his face. In the kitchen, Tang Li had already started preparing breakfast. She was simmering a pot of multi-grain porridge and kneading dough.

"Brother?" Hearing a noise, Tang Li turned her head in surprise. "You barely slept last night. Why are you up so early?"

Tang Xu sighed, dark circles under his eyes. After yawning and rubbing his face, he said, "I couldn't sleep properly. I only dozed off for a short while."

"How is Xiao Bao doing?" Tang Li asked. She had stayed the night at Wang Cuicui's place, helping take care of the two nephews. 

When she got up during the night, she had noticed the oil lamp in her brother’s room was still lit.

"He's fine now. He had a bowel movement in the middle of the night. The medicine Old Wen made worked well," Tang Xu replied, stirring the pot with a long-handled ladle. "What are you planning to cook?"

"Stir-fried pickled vegetables, taro, and eggs. I’m going to steam some flatbread too. Old Xu mentioned he wanted pocket bread yesterday," Tang Li said, relieved to hear her nephew was better. 

She placed the kneaded dough into a basin and covered it. The dough had already risen overnight, so it would be ready to use shortly.

Tang Xu nodded, pointing to a large iron bucket nearby. "There’s some braised meat in there. Heat it up, and use the broth for soup. And where’s Ah Yao? Tell him that tomorrow he needs to go collect the ducks. The second batch of air-dried braised ducks needs to be started."

Tang Li nodded in agreement.

"By the way, did Dad say when we are reopening the shop in town? It’s already past the New Year. We can’t stay here forever," Tang Li asked.

Tang Xu shook his head. "You should ask him directly."

"I get the feeling Dad doesn’t really want to go back," Tang Li said, squinting her eyes as she scooted closer to her brother, lowering her voice in a conspiratorial tone. 

"Brother, do you think Dad's avoiding going back because he's worried the housekeeper will try to chat up Auntie again? But the problem is, without the shop, how are we supposed to make money? The customers in town must be missing our braised food by now. Just these past few days, folks from the village keep asking me about our braised foods!"

Tang Xu chuckled, "If they don’t want to go, then you and Liu Yao can go. The shop can’t just stay closed."

Tang Li had been eager to return to the shop for a while now. She had asked their father several times about setting a date to go back, but without any concrete answer. 

Now that it was already March, if they waited any longer, the weather would start to warm up, and she’d lose a significant amount of earnings! 

She was determined to head back soon and wouldn’t let their father keep delaying things.

Tang Erhu, however, had no idea that his children thought of him as a jealous, stubborn old man. 

Although that might have been a small part of it, the real reason for his hesitation was something else entirely.

Back during the New Year, Wang Cuicui had just had a miscarriage and needed time to recover. 

Even though the work at the shop was lighter than their usual household chores, the constant busyness meant there was barely any time for her to rest. 

All the cleaning and washing wouldn’t help her recovery at all. 

On top of that, the household had been bustling with activity, and with Wei Dong preparing to leave after the New Year, Tang Erhu didn’t feel comfortable leaving Tang Xu behind to manage everything by himself, especially with three children and the elderly to care for.

With Wang Cuicui, Tang Li, and Liu Yao still at home, they could help share the household burdens. 

If they left, Tang Xu would be overwhelmed with all the responsibilities.

Tang Erhu had discussed these concerns with Wang Cuicui, and the two of them had decided they wouldn’t be returning to the town shop this time around.

Wang Cuicui nodded and said, "I've been feeling better recently, and now that it's warmer, it's fine for the two of them to head to the shop. But they're not married yet—do you really feel comfortable letting them go off on their own?"

Tang Erhu looked conflicted.

She was right. That was exactly the reason why he had been dragging his feet on this decision.

Wang Cuicui thought for a moment and suggested, "How about this: you go with them to the shop this time. I'll stay back to help Tang Xu look after the kids. Once Dongzi is back, I’ll join you in town."

Tang Erhu was silent for a while, then finally nodded in agreement.

There wasn’t much else they could do. The braised food shop in town couldn’t be left unattended, so the elderly couple had to split up for a while.

On the day Tang Erhu, Tang Li, and Liu Yao packed up to leave, it started raining. 

Tang Xu made sure to feed their old cow plenty of food, giving its back a few pats as he prepared for the temporary separation.

"Father, put on your padded coat. You'll freeze to death without it on this journey," Tang Xu said as he handed over a raincoat and a straw hat. "You should wear these too."

Tang Erhu donned his gear and waved a small stick, saying, "Alright, alright. You all take care. It’s really cold out."

After seeing them off, Tang Xu returned to the house and gestured to Xu Ze. "Let’s go. We need to handle the ducks."

The ducks Xu Ze had collected were now gathered in the backyard, quacking incessantly. The new ducks weren’t getting along with the original ones, leading to a chaotic scene of feathers flying as they fought.

Tang Xu grinned, brandishing a long knife. 

At this moment, please call me... the Duck Slayer!

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TL: Lol like father like son. ᕕ(ᐛ) ᕗ

We finally reach 200 chapter!!! ☆*:.｡.o(≧▽≦)o.｡.:*☆