Chapter 574 - 574: Xing’ er Was Unwell

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Ruyi took the title deeds and contracts back and showed them to Li Yu. “Madam, Uncle Zhou took some silver and left. I want to go back and get some money and transfer the title deeds to our family.”

Li Yu nodded. “Alright, did Old Master and Sir go out?”

Ruyi smiled and said, “Old Master asked me to tell you that they won’t be coming back for lunch. The two of them went out with dry food.” Li Yu nodded. “Alright, bring Tiezhu back! I’ll go to the village.”

“Yes.” Ruyi took the title deed and left.

Li Yu brought Han Ling around the village and walked to the end of the village. She saw that the entire slope was filled with bamboo. After the heavy rain yesterday afternoon, all the bamboo shoots had emerged.

Li Yu said to Han Ling, “Ah Ling, go back and get a hoe. We’ll dig bamboo shoots and dry them at home.”

“Aye!” Han Ling agreed crisply and ran back.

Li Yu walked up the stone steps and suddenly saw a fat bamboo rat crawling out of the hole. It stuck its head out and looked around. Li Yu deliberately stomped her feet. The bamboo rat shrank back when it heard the sound.

After a while, Han Ling and Aunt Zhang walked over with hoes and bamboo baskets. Seeing Li Yu standing in front of a bamboo basket, they smiled and asked, “Madam, are you looking for bamboo rats?”

Li Yu pointed at the pig and rat hole. “There’s a nest of pigs and rats here. Bring the bamboo basket over. We’ll have bamboo rats to eat today.”

Aunt Zhang took the hoe and dug along the hole. “If we catch them, we’ll be in for a treat today. They say that turtledoves in the sky and bamboo rats on the ground are rare. My father caught them when I was young. He couldn’t bear to eat them and sold them for money. Two small bamboo rats were sold for half a tael of silver. They’re quite valuable.”

Li Yu covered the hole with the bamboo basket and asked Han Ling to press down on the bamboo basket. “This thing is very smart. It will enter the hole as soon as there’s movement. Things are expensive if they are rare.”

Aunt Zhang nodded. “That’s right! Just rest at the side and I’ll do it.”

Li Yu carried the hoe and dug up the bamboo shoots. She dug from the place where the bamboo shoots appeared and found the dense ones to dig. In a while, she dug up a few chubby bamboo shoots and piled them at the side.

Han Ling pressed down on the bamboo basket and shouted, “Aunt Zhang, two bamboo rats ran out and drilled into the bamboo basket.”

Aunt Zhang smiled and said, “Press it down. Don’t go too far into the bamboo basket. Be careful that it bites you.”

Han Ling obediently pressed down on the bamboo basket. Aunt Zhang dug over, and the other bamboo rats also crawled into the bamboo basket in panic.

Aunt Zhang knocked the bamboo rats unconscious with the handle of the hoe. She smiled and said to Li Yu, “Madam, there are five bamboo rats. They’re all fat and big. I’ll bring them back and fix Auntie He first.”

“Alright,” Li Yu replied and continued to dig for bamboo shoots.

Han Ling picked up the bamboo shoots that Li Yu had dug up and placed them together. Aunt Zhang went back and got a knife. She cut open the bamboo shell and peeled it off before putting it into the bamboo basket.

After a while, Auntie He brought Yueyue to the bamboo forest. Seeing that he had changed his clothes, Li Yu smiled and asked, “Did you play with mud?”

“Yes!” Yueyue nodded honestly. “Mother, we pinched the little clay figurine. I fell and tripped my brother. Granny said my brother’s stomach is not well.”

Auntie He then said to Li Yu, “Madam, Young Master might have caught a cold in the carriage yesterday. He played outside and went back. When he reached home, he kept pestering you.”

Li Yu threw down the hoe and took a few steps down to wash her hands in the ditch. She carried Yueyue and walked back.

When she returned to the manor, she saw Granny Chen circling the courtyard with Xingxing in her arms.

When Xingxing saw Li Yu return, he reached out listlessly for his mother to hug her. Li Yu hugged him and kissed him. She touched his forehead.

“Fortunately, you don’t have a fever.”

Granny Chen shook her head. “He didn’t have a fever. He pooped once. Perhaps he caught a cold when he was eating pancakes on the mountain yesterday-

When he went out to make a lay in the morning, he was exposed to the cold wind. His stomach was a little uncomfortable. I used a warm bag to apply it to him for a while. He’s better now.”

Li Yu carried him and sat down. She gently rubbed his stomach. “Baby, does your stomach still hurt?”

Xingxing shook his head and nodded. “I feel terrible.” Yueyue squatted on the ground and looked at his brother. “My brother’s stomach hurts.”

“Brother, I feel terrible.” Xingxing looked pitiful.

Li Yu looked at Xing’er’s uncomfortable expression and recalled that when Mr. Wen and Old Master Zhou went out in the morning, they had said that they would only be back in the afternoon. Thinking that the two of them would not go far, she said to Granny Chen, “Nanny, go find Zhao Cai and ask him to look for Sir to check on Xing’er.”

“Yes, Madam.” Granny Chen hurriedly went to the field to look for Zhao Cai.

At this moment, Auntie He rushed back and said to Li Yu, “Madam, rub your hands warm. Rub them along Young Master’s navel for more than half an hour and you’ll be able to dissipate the stomach wind. When Master was young, his stomach was upset. This is how Matriarch rubbed it.”

“Alright, I’ll give it a try.” Li Yu carried Xing’er into the house and rubbed her hands warm. She rubbed him gently around his navel for a while and Xing’er farted a few times.

“Little brother, Stinky.” Yueyue covered his nose and ran away in disdain. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Auntie He laughed when she heard that. “Alright! Rub it until the gas is expelled. Let Young Master have a good sleep.”

Seeing that Xing’er was no longer frowning after farting, Li Yu smiled and kissed him. “Is the baby feeling better?”

Xingxing nodded and fell asleep in Li Yu’s arms after a while.

Li Yu brought the two children into the house and coaxed Yueyue to sleep with his brother. From time to time, she touched Xing’er’s forehead, worried that the child would have a fever.

After sleeping for an hour, the two children woke up. Each of them took a small wooden sword and played the game of officials and bandits in the courtyard. Seeing that he was in high spirits again, Li Yu was relieved. She, Aunt Zhang, and the others cut the bamboo shoots into long strips and blanched them. They tied them up with thin hemp rope and hung them on the wooden shelf.

Zhao Cai brought the two Old Masters back to the manor and Mr. Wen checked Xingxing’s pulse before heaving a sigh of relief. He smiled and said, “It’s fine. It’s just as guessed. He was exposed to the cold wind when he was playing. When you go out early in the morning and are exposed to the cold wind, your stomach would feel uncomfortable.”

Zhao Cai carried one in each hand. “Young Master, don’t go out to play tomorrow morning. Wait in the courtyard for the dew to dissipate.”

The two of them looked at Zhao Cai with shining eyes. “Yes! Uncle Cai is taking us fishing.”

Zhao Cai laughed and said, “You’re not feeling well and you’re already thinking about fishing. It’s not time yet. It’s cold in the morning. When summer comes, Uncle Cai will bring you guys to fish.”

Old Master Zhou carried his backpack and walked in front of Zhao Cai. He smiled at the two children and said, “Xingxing and Yueyue, come down and see the flowers I dug.”

“Wow! They’re so beautiful!” The two of them looked at the purple flowers in the backpack and asked Zhao Cai to let them down. Old Master Zhou smiled at them. “I’ll bring you to plant them together.” Yueyue nodded. “Okay, plant them in the garden.”

Granny Chen said to Li Yu guiltily, “Madam, it’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have brought the two young masters out early.”

Li Yu glanced at her. “It’s not all your fault. Just be more careful next time.”

“Yes, Madam.” Granny Chen bowed and retreated to the side..