Chapter 84: Situ Yun
"I heard that you've lost a lot of weight since you got pregnant. I thought that…" Xi Cui came back to visit her maternal family, she knew Su Shuilian was pregnant so she decided to pay her a visit.
“You thought what?" Su Shuilian beamed, throwing her a glance. She was lying comfortably on a soft couch under the shade of a cherry tree. She also picked the cherries to eat. This year, the wild cherry tree had grown well. It began to bear fruit from the fifth lunar month. Today was the summer solstice and her cherries were still a mass of beautiful red hue. Thanks to the tree, she could have several sweet and sour cherries every day. She couldn't say that she wasn't satisfied.
"Nah, no pregnant woman could look as soft and white as you!" Xi Cui admired.
Although Su Shuilian looked much thinner than she had been lately, her face was still chubby and creamy. Even though she was a woman herself, Xi Cui had the urge to touch it, let alone the men!
"Tell me honestly, how do you do skincare?" After she asked that, Xi Cui suddenly realised.
No house chores, no touching water. If she lived like that, she could be like this woman. Even if she got pregnant, her skin would still glow and be soft, her bearings elegant as if she was a noble woman.
Anyway, sigh, when you compare yourself to someone else, you'll be angry to death.
Although her husband was considered a good husband in this Luo Shui Town as he had cared and helped her thoughtfully, he would never give her a hand in domestic, women-should-do chores like cooking directly. At most, he would assist her a little bit when he was free. She also had to watch out for her in-law's. They would nag at her and claim that she was instigating her husband to help her.
According to her parents, her husband was the typical husband. And, the man who had embraced all the tough and easy works so his wife didn't have to work, Lin Si Yao, was unique in this world.
So, they couldn't be compared! Xi Cui comforted herself inwardly. At least, she didn't need to compare herself with Su Shulian, she couldn't do that anyways.
"A Yao told me to drink more warm water and have more fruits and vegetables." Su Shuilian wiped her mouth with a silk handkerchief. She shaded her eyes with one hand, squinting as she tried to look through the leaves to see the dazzling sunlight, which was making some shades on the ground. "It should be noon now." Sitting under the shade of the cherry tree in the Northern courtyard, she was able to sunbathe too.
"You should get inside." Indeed, Lin Si Yao walked out of the kitchen and asked her leave the battlefield. Ah, no, it should be her resting place.
"Xi Cui, join us for lunch before you leave," Su Shuilian stood up with Lin Si Yao's assisting her side. He carefully embraced her heavy pregnant body and guided her toward the main house.
"Ah, no, my mother said that my future second sister-in-law would join our lunch today. I have to go back," Xi Cui rejected with a broad smile.
The second son of the Lao family, Yong Qiang, was matched with the daughter of a vendor in Qing Tian Town. She had been going from the North to the South to do business with her father since she was young. She hadn't been home much. The Lao family had asked the matchmaker to propose that vendor's family because they cared about Yong Qiang's future.
Turned out Lao Yong Qiang had planned to open a grocery store in the Fan Luo City. Since the vendorr had been in the business for around ten years, he would have his own sources of cheap and stable goods. If Yong Qiang opened a shop, with his father-in-law's help, he wouldn't meet much trouble.
Thus, the marriage of the Lao family's second son was determined. They had chosen the wedding day to be by the end of the year. After the New Year's celebration, Lao Yong Qiang would take his wife to the city to build his business.
"So, Uncle Lao and Aunt Lao have to live alone soon?"
Their oldest son had taken his wife and moved to the blacksmith shop. Although they were in the same town, they didn't live under the same roof anymore. It would be difficult to take care of the elders. And now, their second son wanted to get married and then move to the city to open a grocery store, leaving only the old couple at home. Since they hadn't had any grandchildren to take care of, they would feel really lonely.
"After your labor, we will ask Aunt Lao to come and help us." Lin Si Yao pondered for a while then confirmed since his voice didn't sound like he just wanted to give an idea.
"What?" Su Shuilian turned to him, a little surprised. But she got his idea shortly. After giving birth, both she and the baby needed care. Lin Si Yao couldn't handle all of this. Moreover, he didn’t know what to pay attention to during her puerperium. Thus, it was the best option to invite Aunt Lao to come and help them.
"Sure. I will ask her when she comes tomorrow," nodded Su Shuilian.
Aunt Lao agreed immediately. Even if Su Shuilian didn't mention that, she already had a plan to come and take care of her after she gave birth. However, with a frown, she denied the payment of one hundred bronzes each day that Lin Si Yao offered her. "If you consider me your aunty, don't talk about money."
Su Shuilian knew that the relationship between the two families would last long, and she would have plenty of chances to thank her later, the New Year's celebration, for example. Thus, she didn't insist much.
As Su Shuilian was leisurely taking care of her body, waiting for her delivery, Lin Si Yao was busy building the big house. Luckily, he had estimated all of this. He had handed all the communication works to Tian Da Fu.
Tian Da Fu was a carpenter, but now he got more jobs to do. He was Lin Si Yao's spokesman; he was the presenter who explained the matters to the workers. Therefore, naturally, he was the team leader of the group of carpenters. Soon after, when they began to build the house, he was so busy his feet didn't touch the ground.
Quite the contrary, except for going to the construction site to check twice a day, Lin Si Yao stayed at home with Su Shuilian to cook good food for her.
This made Aunt Tian both happy and angry.
She hated it because when her husband got home, after dining and washing, he went straight to bed. He had skipped their husband and wife intimate, romantic time. It'd been more than fifteen days where he hadn’t shown her his masculine power, entangling with her as he used to do. If she didn't know that he had put all of his strength into the building in the wasteland in the West, she would think that he had cheated on her.
And she was also happy, because his salary now was much more since he had been promoted to be the team leader. Or it could be said that Lin Si Yao wasn't stingy when paying for the construction of the new house.
Thus, Aunty Tian regarded the shining silvers and restrained her anger. She could only seize her free time to cook Tian Da Fu some good broth to cool down and supplement more energy.
Today, as Lin Si Yao had finished cleaning the kitchen, usually, he would take the time during Su Shulian's afternoon nap to visit the construction in the West side. He would check the progress and the arrivals of new batches of materials.
But someone knocked his door.
"Uncle Si Ling?" Standing at his door was a teenager around twelve or thirteen years old. He looked really cute with white teeth and red lips. "Situ Yun*, greetings, Uncle. My teacher asked me to send you a message…"
(TL Note: The 'Si' in Situ Yun, Si Ling, and all the other Si's are the same character.)
Si Shan? Lin Si Yao slightly furrowed his brows. What did he do? Sending one of his disciple here, wasn't he afraid of Feng Qing Ya?
Situ Yun carefully hauled a thick envelope from his chest, respectfully handed it to Lin Si Yao.
"My teacher told me that after I gave you the package, I should stay and wait for him here. I shouldn't go anywhere else…" Situ Yun told the man what Si Shan had advised him with an embarrassed smile when he saw that Lin Si Yao didn't want to open the letter in front of him and wearing a seeing-the-guest-off face.
"No extra room…" Lin Si Yao replied indifferently.
Is that Si Shan crazy? It's okay that he sent the paper money because they needed to use the money for the three of them now. But why had he sent a teenager here? To supervise the construction or what? Protecting it? Really unable to make head or tail of it.
"No problem, I can sleep on the tree…"
Situ Yun pointed at the cherry tree with large branches and the shade in the yard, smiling as if he didn't mind at all.
Being Si Shan's disciple for six years, what kind of odd things has he not done? It’s just sleeping on the tree. In these hot summer days, it'll be cooler than sleeping in the bedroom!
Lin Si Yao rolled his eyes internally. He now truly believed that this young man was Si Shan's disciple. They're a bunch of shameless people.
Even though it would be like throwing an egg to a rock when talking about code of ethics to an assassin – it's useless. Since being with with Shuilian, he'd gotten used to moral and mannerly things, But he couldn't ask Si Shan and co. to follow him that way immediately.
"Up to you…" Lin Si Yao said, then turned around to head to his bedroom. Halfway there, he paused, asking in a neither cold nor warm tone, "If your teacher's sent you here, before the house is completed, you'll be in charge of watching this house…"
Lately, Da Bao had followed Da Fu to travel back and forth to choose and buy constructing materials, leaving only Xiao Chun at home. He was worried more as Shuilian's body was getting heavier. What if something happened while he wasn't home and nobody knew that? This Situ Yun was Si Shan's student. It would be a waste if he didn't use the kid.
Situ Yun was bewildered as he watched Lin Si Yao disappear into the main house. Then, with an awkward face, he glanced at Xiao Yun which was lying on the yard, looking at him lazily. My uncle… actually agreed to let me stay… though he gave me the same job with that big dog: To watch the house?
Oh, teacher, this time, your betted money would go away and never return to you. His uncle didn't shoo him away but made him a free guard to watch his house.
When Lin Si Yao, supporting Su Shuilian, walked out of the main house, Situ Yan's baffled face looked more exaggerated. His dropping jaw was big enough to hold an egg in his mouth.
Oh, teacher, you didn't tell me that Uncle had a beautiful wife. And, the key point is… heavens! …She's pregnant! She isn't due soon, is she?
"What are you dazing around for? Move the soft couch to the porch…" Lin Si Yao threw the stunned Situ Yun an unhappy glance. After that, he turned to explain to Su Shuilian. "He's Si Shan's student, Situ Yun. He had purposely came to help us."
"Si Shan's very thoughtful…" Su Shuilian nodded smiling.
As they were building the big house, there would be a lot of things to take care of. Lin Si Yao had to take care of her and the construction over there. He couldn't make a clone to do both. Although Si Shan's disciple was a little young, it wouldn't be hard for him to watch and urge the workers.
Su Shuilian's words baffled the other two.
They wanted to face the sky and sigh.
How could that Si Shan be so nice? He just wanted to send someone here to watch the fun and be his eyes and ears. Lin Si Yao cursed in his head.
My teacher iss thoughtful? Muahahaha… It's the biggest joke in the world! It would be already nice if his teacher didn't trouble the others. Come here to help? Not unless he was put back into his mother's womb to be born again. Oh, how could he think about his teacher like that? Bah! Disgraceful! Even if it's true, I shouldn't be so resentful! Situ Yun laughed crazily in his head.