The Beautiful Brother of the Orion’s Family (Wearing Book) - 232

 

| TBBOTOF | 232

After that incident, he pinched his man.

The next morning, Wei Dong saw Xu Ze and specifically apologized to him, assuring Xu Ze, which made Xu Ze blush out of embarrassment.

They discussed the matter, but the chubby guy didn't think he was wrong.

"It’s not that what you said was wrong, but some things don’t necessarily need to be said. Look, after you said that, didn’t you notice how embarrassed your Uncle Ze got?”

The chubby guy blinked his big eyes and tilted his head in confusion.

“Why? Uncle Ze seemed really happy. He even blushed!”

Tang Xu wiped his face, feeling both amused and exasperated.

Was that a blush of happiness? Clearly, it was one of shame and embarrassment.

But the problem was, even if you explained "shame" to the little guy, he probably wouldn’t get it, so Tang Xu had to find another way to explain it.

Sighing softly, Tang Xu pinched his eldest one’s cheeks and bent down to look him in the eye, “What you think isn’t always the truth. Do you know what Uncle Ze was actually thinking?”

The chubby guy shook his head, and Tang Xu squeezed his face into a fish with both hands.

Tang Xu let out a light chuckle and released his hands, “Not everything needs to be said out loud. You have to think to yourself about which words are okay to say and which are not, understand?”

The chubby guy nodded, somewhat understanding, but his big eyes still revealed a hint of confusion.

Tang Xu had no other way to explain further, so he just mentioned it briefly to Wei Dong, suggesting that it would be best not to say things that could be easily misunderstood in front of the three little ones.

His man nodded and agreed.

And that was the end of it.

Two days later, on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, it was Little New Year.

Early in the morning, Liu Ge’er had just started a fire in the stove room, boiling a pot of hot water to prepare porridge later.

The night before, Tang Xu had prepared some dough before going to bed, intending to steam some buns later.

Tang Xu secured his hair with a silver hairpin, shook his head to make sure it was firmly in place, and then rolled up his sleeves to knead the dough.

“Brother Xu, I’m going to cook the pig feed.” Liu Ge’er carried a large wooden bucket. Inside was a bucket full of bean cake scraps, along with another bucket containing radishes and frozen clumps of pig grass.

The pig grass had been harvested in the summer, cooked, and then frozen in the icehouse in bundles. The pigs couldn't just eat bean cake scraps; they needed other vegetables to balance it out.

“Take some sweet potatoes and regular potatoes and cook them together,” Tang Xu glanced sideways and reminded him, “Even if you cook too much, it’s fine; you can feed some to the goats.”

Liu Ge'er responded, carrying a bucket in each hand as he headed out the door.

There was some noise coming from the backyard, and before long, someone was shouting for “Brother.”

Tang Xu paused, straightened up, and listened carefully. He wasn’t mistaken—it was Tang Li’s voice.

He hadn’t seen them for several months and missed them terribly, so he quickly wiped the flour off his hands, lifted the curtain, and walked outside.

“Ah Li?” He quickly turned toward the backyard and saw Tang Li struggling with large and small bags. “Why are you carrying so much stuff?”

Tang Li was holding things in both hands, her face scrunched up with effort. When she saw Tang Xu coming, it was like seeing a savior. She immediately called out, “Brother, come quick and help me! I can’t hold it all!”

“If you can’t carry it, just put it down, silly girl.” Tang Xu ran a few steps to meet her and took three of the bags from her hands. He looked down and asked, “What’s all this? It’s so heavy.”

“Aunt made some chili sauce, and there are clothes for you, Brother-in-law, and the three little ones. There are also spices and pickles and all that. Aunt said we would come back for the New Year, so she sent these over because they’d lose their flavor if left for too long. We’ll get fresh ones when we visit again,” Tang Li explained while shaking her red, sore hands, looking helpless. “And this is only part of it.”

Tang Xu chuckled, “I thought you all would come earlier. I didn’t expect you to delay it so much.”

"Don't even mention it. These past few days, people have been buying like crazy, purchasing in batches of ten or more. The ducks and geese we sent over weren’t enough to meet demand. Dad had to take extra orders and even went to the market to buy more, or else we wouldn’t have been able to fulfill the orders," Tang Li sighed deeply, finally realizing that making money can be exhausting!

"You don’t know how hard it’s been for us lately, Brother. Liu Yao has a big cold sore on his lip, and even Aunt has lost weight!"

Tang Xu chuckled as they walked, "You’ve lost weight too."

"Exactly! I need to take a good rest. We’ll start making money again when spring comes," Tang Li quickened her pace, handing over one of the bags. "Brother, you carry this."

Tang Xu didn’t argue, and the two of them quickly walked toward the front yard.

"Where are Dad and Auntie? And Liu Yao?"

"They’re at home putting things away. I missed you all so much, so I came to check on you first," Tang Li said, smiling brightly.

"Auntie~~~~" The chubby guy had just finished washing his face. When he saw Tang Li, his eyes lit up, and he ran towards her with open arms. "Auntie~~~ I missed you so much~~~"

Seeing how affectionate their brother was, Er Bao and Xiao Bao quickly ran over too. The three little ones clung to Tang Li, all chattering about how much they missed her.

Tang Li squatted down, hugging all three children, nuzzling one face and then the next, taking turns giving each of them attention.

Tang Xu shook his head, smiling as he sighed. He picked up the bag she had left on the ground and headed back to the kitchen.

Wei Dong came over to greet Tang Li and then went into the kitchen to help Tang Xu.

Liu Ge’er had seen Tang Li earlier but was busy stirring the pig feed and could only nod and smile from afar without exchanging words.

“Alright, alright, you three, hurry inside. Your Auntie needs to wash her face,” Tang Li said, leading the three children into the house.

In the kitchen, Tang Xu opened up the three bags. He handed the bag containing clothes to Wei Dong and then asked, “Since Dad and the others are here, are we slaughtering the pig tomorrow?”

“Isn’t that a bit early?” Wei Dong took out the clothes inside and inspected them. They were all light padded jackets with finely stitched seams. Just by looking at the stitches, it was clear that the person who made them put in a lot of effort. “Did Auntie make these?”

“Yeah, she made them for all five of us. She’s been so busy at the shop every day, and yet she still found time to sew clothes. It’s so hard on her eyes,” Tang Xu said, already planning to ask Old Wen to prepare an herbal soup that would help with eye strain so that Wang Cuicui could drink it for a while. 

He didn’t want her to struggle with her eyesight in the future.

Wei Dong nodded, agreeing with his words.

“Ah Dong, go over and call Dad and the others. Ask them to come and eat. Liu Ge’er and Zhao Ming should also come to meet everyone, along with Old Sun and Old Fu,” Tang Xu instructed as he skillfully rolled the dough into perfectly round balls and placed them on the bamboo steamer mat to be steamed later.

Wei Dong agreed. He unscrewed the lid of the chili sauce jar and took a sniff. The strong, spicy aroma shot up his nose, causing him to involuntarily turn his head and sneeze.

Tang Xu laughed and leaned in to take a whiff. The smell was so rich and intense that it made his mouth water involuntarily.

"Auntie really makes a good chili sauce. Once the steamed buns are ready, let’s eat them with this. Bring over two salted fish and pan-fry them to go with it; we don’t need anything else," Tang Xu instructed. 

Breakfast didn’t need to be too heavy, just some fried salted fish with pickles would be enough.

Wei Dong responded with a nod, putting down the jar and turning to call Tang Erhu and the others.

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