234 Dahu
At this moment, Su Xiaoxiao still didn’t know that Wei Ting had been captured and brought back to the Wei family.
She entered the pharmacy again.
She guessed that it was because she had treated a critical patient that the pharmacy came to reward her again.
She was looking forward to what medicine it would be this time.
However, what puzzled her was that there were no medicine or health supplements on the table in the lounge at all. There was only an extremely ordinary pair of gloves.
It was a little thicker than cotton gloves, a little thinner than insulation gloves, and its fingers were well-defined.
Su Xiaoxiao was speechless.
She slept a lot during the day and was not sleepy at night. She woke up just after midnight.
Su Xiaoxiao looked at the gloves by the pillow and chuckled. “Is this for me to cook? Are you afraid of hurting my hand?”
There was no need to make snacks for a while. She became very free in the morning.
She kneaded the noodles first, steamed a pot of white steamed buns and cornmeal cornbread, roasted two sweet potatoes, and boiled a few eggs.
She had almost finished the peanut butter and sesame sauce she had brought from the countryside on the way. Later, she had to go to the market to buy peanuts and sesame seeds.
When Wei Ting returned, he would grind the sauce…
When the sweet potato was almost roasted, Su Xiaoxiao pulled it out of the stove with tongs.
While waiting for the air to cool, she went to clean up the courtyard.
Zhong Shan sent firewood again.
Zhong Shan wanted to help clean up the courtyard. Su Xiaoxiao looked at his hunched back and gestured with sign language. “No need, I’ll do it myself.”
Zhong Shan was slightly stunned as if he was very surprised that Su Xiaoxiao knew sign language.
Not only was he mute, but he was also deaf. However, he knew how to read lips. As long as ordinary people did not call him from behind, they would not notice that he was deaf.
As for speaking sign language, fewer people would use it with him.
He didn’t use it with others. He wrote when he needed to communicate.
Although they were all expressions, sign language and writing had different meanings, especially for deaf people.
Su Xiaoxiao continued, “I made a pot of snacks yesterday and left two boxes for you.”
While Zhong Shan was still immersed in the shock of Su Xiaoxiao actually communicating with him in sign language, Su Xiaoxiao had already entered the house and taken out the snacks.
Su Xiaoxiao handed the box to him and said, “A box of sweet and savory food.”
When Zhong Shan came out of the courtyard with snacks, his eyes were a little moist.
While Su Xiaoxiao sat in the kitchen eating sweet potatoes, a round head poked in.
“Dahu?” Su Xiaoxiao was surprised.
“Mother.” Dahu entered the kitchen.
“So early? Do you want to pee?” Su Xiaoxiao put down the sweet potato and wanted to take him to the toilet.
He shook his head and handed the headband to Su Xiaoxiao.
“You’re not sleeping anymore?” Su Xiaoxiao asked.
“I’m not sleeping anymore,” Dahu said in a childish voice.
Su Xiaoxiao smiled and took the headband, letting him sit on her lap. Her fingers circled his soft hair and tied it up bit by bit.
“Why are you up so early?” she asked.
“Walking the foal,” Dahu said.
Dahu was a responsible child. Every time he walked the foal, his two brothers would skive. He was the only one who persisted seriously.
The foal that was more than two months old looked very strong. It was impossible to tell that it was once a premature foal.
Seeing Dahu come over, it jumped up happily.
Su Xiaoxiao accompanied Dahu to walk the foal.
Dahu held the reins in one hand and half a sweet potato in the other. He nibbled on it with his glutinous rice-like teeth.
It had only been a few days since she moved in, and Su Xiaoxiao was not familiar with the neighbors in the alley. However, it was strange that they knew Dahu!
“It’s Dahu, right? He’s here to walk a horse again.”
An auntie who was sweeping leaves at the entrance of the courtyard said.
Dahu greeted politely, “Grandma Zhao.”
“Hey!” Auntie Zhao smiled and said, “How obedient. Eh? Who is this?”
She looked at Su Xiaoxiao.
Dahu puffed out his chest and said, “My mother.”
Auntie Zhao was dumbfounded. “Ah… This, this… young mother… is blessed.”
She could just say that she was fat.
Su Xiaoxiao greeted politely, “Auntie Zhao.”
“Hey, hey!” Aunt Zhao nodded repeatedly.
After that, they met a few neighbors. As expected, Dahu knew all of them and took the initiative to introduce his mother to them.
Su Xiaoxiao was confused.
How did he manage to identify all the neighbors in the alley within three days?
Could this be the legendary socially awesome disease?
Among the three little fellows, Erhu spoke the best. She had always thought that if there was really a popularity contest in the alley, it would be Erhu who would be crowned the winner.
Dahu must have been hiding his strength.
“No one lives in this house.”
“It’s the same for this house.”
As Dahu walked, he introduced the neighbors to Su Xiaoxiao.
“How do you know?” Su Xiaoxiao asked. “Maybe they were just going out to visit their relatives and will be back in a few days?”
“Grandma Zhao said so,” Dahu said.
Su Xiaoxiao was even more stunned.
She could not help but think of Dahu with a milky face, squatting on the ground and chatting seriously with the aunties and women…
How did Su Ergou watch the children?
At the end of the alley, Dahu pointed at the house in the east and said, “There’s a nice sound.”
Su Xiaoxiao asked, “Oh? Is there?”
Dahu said, “During the day.”
Su Xiaoxiao couldn’t imagine what kind of sound Dahu was talking about, but she did hear an awful sound.
Under a big tree not far away, a man in a green robe was holding the tree and retching.
In his other hand was an old zither case.
“Do you know him?” Su Xiaoxiao asked Dahu.
Dahu tilted his head and looked at him. “I’ve never seen him.”
“Wait for me here,” Su Xiaoxiao said and walked towards him.
He did not smell of alcohol. If he was not drunk, he was retching due to an illness.
“You…”
Su Xiaoxiao was about to ask when his hand slipped and the case fell.
There were a few angular rocks on the ground. If the case was smashed, it might break into pieces.
He hurriedly went to scoop up the case, but he was a step too late.
Just as the case was about to land, a pair of fair and chubby hands held it in time.
“Phew, I caught it!” Su Xiaoxiao took a deep breath and looked at him. “Where are you feeling unwell?”
The other party didn’t answer. He only glanced at Su Xiaoxiao and didn’t even thank her. He took the zither case and staggered into the house in the east.
Su Xiaoxiao raised her eyebrows. “Oh, is Dahu’s pleasant sound the sound of the zither?”
—-
Early in the morning.
A luxurious carriage stopped at the east end of Pear Blossom Lane.
The coachman lifted the curtain.
Qin Yanran walked down with a zither.
She raised her hand and gently knocked on the courtyard door.
She had come a little early today and was worried that her teacher had not woken up. She was about to return to the carriage to wait when she realized that the courtyard door was not bolted. She knocked lightly and opened it.
She entered the courtyard.
She saw a young man in green under the corridor.
The man sat on a rattan chair and wiped a zither with clean silk.
She bowed and curtsied for the first time.
The other party did not even look at her and carried the zither into the room.
Qin Yanran frowned.
Who was this man? She had never seen him before.
Could this be the elusive eldest disciple under his master?
Now that she thought about it, she had to call him senior brother.
“Yanran.”
Master Zhang walked over from the corridor.
Master Zhang was 30 years old this year and was once the Imperial Zither Master of the palace. He even taught the princesses how to play the zither.
To be under his name, the Protector Duke had used many connections.
Of course, if they were only banking on relationship and her aptitude and talent were not enough, he would not take her in as a disciple.
Qin Yanran was the only female disciple he had taught other than the princesses. Her musical talent was even more outstanding than the royal princesses.
“Teacher.” Qin Yanran bowed.
Zhang Qinshi said, “Let’s go to the zither room. I’ll come over later.”
“Yes.”
Qin Yanran originally wanted to ask about her Eldest Senior Brother, but she thought better of it.
—-
After Su Xiaoxiao and Dahu slipped away, they went to the Marquis of Zhenbei’s Estate.
Physician Fu had been there for two days. It was time to rotate him back to rest.
The Old Marquis must have been agitated during the day and had a high fever at night. Physician Fu gave him some fever medicine left behind by Su Xiaoxiao.
The Old Marquis’s pulse was much smoother than the first day, and his complexion visibly recovered.
However, he could no longer get out of bed like the day before.
If he was sick, he had to recuperate carefully. Otherwise, it was easy for everything to go down the drain.
The Old Marquis went out yesterday not because he had improved to the point where he could go out, but purely because his willpower was strong and he dragged his sickly body over.
If it were any other old man or woman, they would have long collapsed on the bed in death.
Physician Fu was extremely sleepy. Su Mo arranged a room for him to stay next door to the Old Marquis. He did not have to run around.
“Sure,” Su Xiaoxiao said.
Little Quanzi looked at Su Xiaoxiao strangely.
This disciple often overstepped her boundaries and made decisions for his master.
Su Mo’s expression did not change at all. He instructed, “Clean up the room next door.”
“Yes.” Little Quanzi scratched his head and agreed. He went to tidy up the room in a daze.
Physician Fu was so sleepy that his eyelids fluttered. He could sleep anywhere, but he was not picky.
“Shall we go to the study?” Su Mo said.
The two of them went to the study.
As soon as he sat down, a guard rushed over.
He was about to enter when he saw Su Xiaoxiao in the room and paused.
“Come in,” Su Mo said.
The guard bowed and cupped his fists. “Eldest Young Master.”
Su Mo asked, “Did you find anything?”
Seeing that his eldest young master was not hiding anything from that girl, the guard told him the clues he had found over the past few days.
234 Dahu
At this moment, Su Xiaoxiao still didn’t know that Wei Ting had been captured and brought back to the Wei family.
She entered the pharmacy again.
She guessed that it was because she had treated a critical patient that the pharmacy came to reward her again.
She was looking forward to what medicine it would be this time.
However, what puzzled her was that there were no medicine or health supplements on the table in the lounge at all. There was only an extremely ordinary pair of gloves.
It was a little thicker than cotton gloves, a little thinner than insulation gloves, and its fingers were well-defined.
Su Xiaoxiao was speechless.
She slept a lot during the day and was not sleepy at night. She woke up just after midnight.
Su Xiaoxiao looked at the gloves by the pillow and chuckled. “Is this for me to cook? Are you afraid of hurting my hand?”
There was no need to make snacks for a while. She became very free in the morning.
She kneaded the noodles first, steamed a pot of white steamed buns and cornmeal cornbread, roasted two sweet potatoes, and boiled a few eggs.
She had almost finished the peanut butter and sesame sauce she had brought from the countryside on the way. Later, she had to go to the market to buy peanuts and sesame seeds.
When Wei Ting returned, he would grind the sauce…
When the sweet potato was almost roasted, Su Xiaoxiao pulled it out of the stove with tongs.
While waiting for the air to cool, she went to clean up the courtyard.
Zhong Shan sent firewood again.
Zhong Shan wanted to help clean up the courtyard. Su Xiaoxiao looked at his hunched back and gestured with sign language. “No need, I’ll do it myself.”
Zhong Shan was slightly stunned as if he was very surprised that Su Xiaoxiao knew sign language.
Not only was he mute, but he was also deaf. However, he knew how to read lips. As long as ordinary people did not call him from behind, they would not notice that he was deaf.
As for speaking sign language, fewer people would use it with him.
He didn’t use it with others. He wrote when he needed to communicate.
Although they were all expressions, sign language and writing had different meanings, especially for deaf people.
Su Xiaoxiao continued, “I made a pot of snacks yesterday and left two boxes for you.”
While Zhong Shan was still immersed in the shock of Su Xiaoxiao actually communicating with him in sign language, Su Xiaoxiao had already entered the house and taken out the snacks.
Su Xiaoxiao handed the box to him and said, “A box of sweet and savory food.”
When Zhong Shan came out of the courtyard with snacks, his eyes were a little moist.
While Su Xiaoxiao sat in the kitchen eating sweet potatoes, a round head poked in.
“Dahu?” Su Xiaoxiao was surprised.
“Mother.” Dahu entered the kitchen.
“So early? Do you want to pee?” Su Xiaoxiao put down the sweet potato and wanted to take him to the toilet.
He shook his head and handed the headband to Su Xiaoxiao.
“You’re not sleeping anymore?” Su Xiaoxiao asked.
“I’m not sleeping anymore,” Dahu said in a childish voice.
Su Xiaoxiao smiled and took the headband, letting him sit on her lap. Her fingers circled his soft hair and tied it up bit by bit.
“Why are you up so early?” she asked.
“Walking the foal,” Dahu said.
Dahu was a responsible child. Every time he walked the foal, his two brothers would skive. He was the only one who persisted seriously.
The foal that was more than two months old looked very strong. It was impossible to tell that it was once a premature foal.
Seeing Dahu come over, it jumped up happily.
Su Xiaoxiao accompanied Dahu to walk the foal.
Dahu held the reins in one hand and half a sweet potato in the other. He nibbled on it with his glutinous rice-like teeth.
It had only been a few days since she moved in, and Su Xiaoxiao was not familiar with the neighbors in the alley. However, it was strange that they knew Dahu!
“It’s Dahu, right? He’s here to walk a horse again.”
An auntie who was sweeping leaves at the entrance of the courtyard said.
Dahu greeted politely, “Grandma Zhao.”
“Hey!” Auntie Zhao smiled and said, “How obedient. Eh? Who is this?”
She looked at Su Xiaoxiao.
Dahu puffed out his chest and said, “My mother.”
Auntie Zhao was dumbfounded. “Ah… This, this… young mother… is blessed.”
She could just say that she was fat.
Su Xiaoxiao greeted politely, “Auntie Zhao.”
“Hey, hey!” Aunt Zhao nodded repeatedly.
After that, they met a few neighbors. As expected, Dahu knew all of them and took the initiative to introduce his mother to them.
Su Xiaoxiao was confused.
How did he manage to identify all the neighbors in the alley within three days?
Could this be the legendary socially awesome disease?
Among the three little fellows, Erhu spoke the best. She had always thought that if there was really a popularity contest in the alley, it would be Erhu who would be crowned the winner.
Dahu must have been hiding his strength.
“No one lives in this house.”
“It’s the same for this house.”
As Dahu walked, he introduced the neighbors to Su Xiaoxiao.
“How do you know?” Su Xiaoxiao asked. “Maybe they were just going out to visit their relatives and will be back in a few days?”
“Grandma Zhao said so,” Dahu said.
Su Xiaoxiao was even more stunned.
She could not help but think of Dahu with a milky face, squatting on the ground and chatting seriously with the aunties and women…
How did Su Ergou watch the children?
At the end of the alley, Dahu pointed at the house in the east and said, “There’s a nice sound.”
Su Xiaoxiao asked, “Oh? Is there?”
Dahu said, “During the day.”
Su Xiaoxiao couldn’t imagine what kind of sound Dahu was talking about, but she did hear an awful sound.
Under a big tree not far away, a man in a green robe was holding the tree and retching.
In his other hand was an old zither case.
“Do you know him?” Su Xiaoxiao asked Dahu.
Dahu tilted his head and looked at him. “I’ve never seen him.”
“Wait for me here,” Su Xiaoxiao said and walked towards him.
He did not smell of alcohol. If he was not drunk, he was retching due to an illness.
“You…”
Su Xiaoxiao was about to ask when his hand slipped and the case fell.
There were a few angular rocks on the ground. If the case was smashed, it might break into pieces.
He hurriedly went to scoop up the case, but he was a step too late.
Just as the case was about to land, a pair of fair and chubby hands held it in time.
“Phew, I caught it!” Su Xiaoxiao took a deep breath and looked at him. “Where are you feeling unwell?”
The other party didn’t answer. He only glanced at Su Xiaoxiao and didn’t even thank her. He took the zither case and staggered into the house in the east.
Su Xiaoxiao raised her eyebrows. “Oh, is Dahu’s pleasant sound the sound of the zither?”
—-
Early in the morning.
A luxurious carriage stopped at the east end of Pear Blossom Lane.
The coachman lifted the curtain.
Qin Yanran walked down with a zither.
She raised her hand and gently knocked on the courtyard door.
She had come a little early today and was worried that her teacher had not woken up. She was about to return to the carriage to wait when she realized that the courtyard door was not bolted. She knocked lightly and opened it.
She entered the courtyard.
She saw a young man in green under the corridor.
The man sat on a rattan chair and wiped a zither with clean silk.
She bowed and curtsied for the first time.
The other party did not even look at her and carried the zither into the room.
Qin Yanran frowned.
Who was this man? She had never seen him before.
Could this be the elusive eldest disciple under his master?
Now that she thought about it, she had to call him senior brother.
“Yanran.”
Master Zhang walked over from the corridor.
Master Zhang was 30 years old this year and was once the Imperial Zither Master of the palace. He even taught the princesses how to play the zither.
To be under his name, the Protector Duke had used many connections.
Of course, if they were only banking on relationship and her aptitude and talent were not enough, he would not take her in as a disciple.
Qin Yanran was the only female disciple he had taught other than the princesses. Her musical talent was even more outstanding than the royal princesses.
“Teacher.” Qin Yanran bowed.
Zhang Qinshi said, “Let’s go to the zither room. I’ll come over later.”
“Yes.”
Qin Yanran originally wanted to ask about her Eldest Senior Brother, but she thought better of it.
—-
After Su Xiaoxiao and Dahu slipped away, they went to the Marquis of Zhenbei’s Estate.
Physician Fu had been there for two days. It was time to rotate him back to rest.
The Old Marquis must have been agitated during the day and had a high fever at night. Physician Fu gave him some fever medicine left behind by Su Xiaoxiao.
The Old Marquis’s pulse was much smoother than the first day, and his complexion visibly recovered.
However, he could no longer get out of bed like the day before.
If he was sick, he had to recuperate carefully. Otherwise, it was easy for everything to go down the drain.
The Old Marquis went out yesterday not because he had improved to the point where he could go out, but purely because his willpower was strong and he dragged his sickly body over.
If it were any other old man or woman, they would have long collapsed on the bed in death.
Physician Fu was extremely sleepy. Su Mo arranged a room for him to stay next door to the Old Marquis. He did not have to run around.
“Sure,” Su Xiaoxiao said.
Little Quanzi looked at Su Xiaoxiao strangely.
This disciple often overstepped her boundaries and made decisions for his master.
Su Mo’s expression did not change at all. He instructed, “Clean up the room next door.”
“Yes.” Little Quanzi scratched his head and agreed. He went to tidy up the room in a daze.
Physician Fu was so sleepy that his eyelids fluttered. He could sleep anywhere, but he was not picky.
“Shall we go to the study?” Su Mo said.
The two of them went to the study.
As soon as he sat down, a guard rushed over.
He was about to enter when he saw Su Xiaoxiao in the room and paused.
“Come in,” Su Mo said.
The guard bowed and cupped his fists. “Eldest Young Master.”
Su Mo asked, “Did you find anything?”
Seeing that his eldest young master was not hiding anything from that girl, the guard told him the clues he had found over the past few days.
