Chapter 18
He could understand that she didn't want the kids to suspect anything so she had to treat him better now. With that he swallowed his words and went with the flow by laying next to Xiao Yu.
Su Ying felt satisfied seeing him understand without her explaining much to him. He truly was a smart man not talking but acting on his words. So with that, the sleeping arrangement was settled. She took Xiao Ming with her then placed a light kiss on Xiao Yu's forehead before going to her room.
Xiao Yu watched in shock as she kissed his forehead and left leaving the young boy stunned and flustered. He subconsciously turned to gauge his father's reaction but saw him with a blank face as usual.
"Father she kissed me in the forehead. Do you think she has changed?"
"Do you like the change?"
The young boy kept quiet as if contemplating something serious then meekly nodded.
"I like it. She doesn't scold us or hit us anymore. She bathed us and cooked for us. She even gave us names so I like mother as she is now but I'm afraid she will change".
Xiao Shan felt his heart ache as his son confessed his fears. He was surprised at the same time how the woman's actions has touched his son's heart so fast. It has only been two days and they felt this way. At the same time it reminded him how important a mother's love is to they kids.
"Mother won't change okay, I will make sure of that. If you feel she has changed then go with the flow. Father is here to protect you okay".
Hearing his father's assurance, Xiao Yu's eyes felt teary and his tensed shoulder dropped in relief. He nodded and then slept off in his father's embrace. Xiao Shan was awake for sometime listening to the sounds from the other room. It sounded like she was singing a song for Xiao Ming to sleep. His lips curled up in a smile before he slept off too.
In Su Ying's room, the boy happily rolled on his mother's bed with no signs of falling asleep. Su Ying chuckled at his childish behavior before laying down on the bed beside him.
"Not feeling sleepy huh?"
The boy nodded in affirmation. Su Ying then thought of an idea to make him sleep. Thinking of those nursery rhymes sang for them in the modern world when she was a kid she decided to sing it.
"Do you want to hear a song. Mother can sing it for you so you will fall asleep quickly".
On hearing her question he sat up straight and nodded profusely. Chuckling she began humming 'Mary had a little lamb'. She made him lay on the bed and gently pat his back as she lured him to sleep. Quietly lying in her embrace he dozed off faster than expected.
"So cute and adorable"
Making him comfortable on the table she yawned and fell asleep too thinking about what she would do tomorrow and also how to earn money.
....
The chirping of the birds and the clucking sounds from the pheasant chicken woke Su Ying up from sleep. Looking out from the window she saw it was almost 7am in the morning. The boy was still fast asleep in her embrace. Lying on the bed for a while she finally rose up. Quietly placing the boy on the bed she got up and left the room to start her day.
Going outside she saw her cheap husband pouring water in the water barrel which was now full. The chickens had been fed and even the fish water was changed. There was only one carp fish remaining in the bucket which she wanted to cook this morning. No doubt he had done all that after waking up.
"Good morning husband".
"Hm"
Su Ying rolled her eyes at monotonous reply. Cheerfully seeing all the work done she decided to ignore his reply. She got a broom and began sweeping the courtyard ridding all the rubbish littered everywhere. Xiao Shan watched the woman sweeping the courtyard with a smile on her face and said nothing. She normally wakes up around 11 in the morning and did nothing all day but eat and shout. This further strengthened his belief that she was different from that woman but as of now he chose not to confront her.
Su Ying who was casually sweeping didn't know that her casual sweeping had given her away. She carefully swept everywhere and packed the dirt to a particular side. It was then she discovered they actually had a small farm at their backyard overgrown with weeds. Looking for a cutlass she promptly started cutting the grasses and clearing everywhere till it was neat and leveled.
Feeling satisfied with her work she added one more thing to her list that was seeds. She could buy it from the market and plant it in the small yard to grow vegetables. With that she wouldn't need to go out to buy vegetables anytime she wants to cook saving her money. But now the most important thing is to earn money which was the start of everything.
The children were not awake yet so she proceeded to cook before heading out. Seeing her husband preparing to leave she remembered his leg. If only she had her niddles and tools she would examine him and cure his leg as compensation for the time of their deal. He looked at her and said
"I have to go sell my preys to the Town market. I can't stay to eat so please take care of the kids till I'm back. By the way do I need to get anything back if I happen to sell my preys?"
Su Ying was not expecting him to ask the questions but she responded anyway
"Get me condiments like salt and oil for cooking the dishes. The food are lacking some oil which is needed in the body".
Nodding at her words he set off to the mountain. There was a road to go into the town market relatively safe only in the daytime but quite dangerous at night because of the animals lurking deep into the forest. He had to go earlier to come back quickly so he went off. Su Ying stood watching his silhouette disappear into the mountains before going back into the house