Chapter 56: Why Did He Feel Like He Was Being Seduced?

The piercing pain seemed to vanish in an instant, and a deep blush rushed across her beautiful face. She tensed up as a strange sensation welled up from the depths of her heart.

“Wife?”

Xie Zhao watched as Lin Muyu’s earlobes slowly turned red.

He called out again, adding with a serious expression, “How about… let me suck it for you?”

Only then did Lin Muyu realize he must have meant clearing the blockage!

Whew!

The blush on her face finally began to fade slightly. She glared at Xie Zhao with a mix of embarrassment and anger, but her shy, reproachful look only made her appear incredibly alluring.

Little Xie Zhao suddenly reared its head: “…!”

This was torture!

Why did he feel like he was being seduced?

His heart pounded wildly, and he wanted nothing more than to slap himself twice!

Xie Zhao, oh Xie Zhao!

Your wife is crying from the pain of breastfeeding, and you’re actually thinking about that!

You’re such a bastard!

“Ahem!”

“Um, it doesn’t hurt anymore…”

The two of them spoke almost at the exact same time. They locked eyes for a split second before awkwardly turning away.

For a moment, their hearts beat like frantic drums. It took a full ten minutes before Le Bao’er let go and fell asleep, completely satisfied. Only then did the two of them finally catch their breath.

“You can’t just tough out a clogged duct. It’ll only get worse the longer you wait,” Xie Zhao said seriously. “The doctor warned me before we left the hospital. He said we have to take clogged ducts seriously, or you could end up with a fever!”

Lin Muyu bit her lip and nodded gently.

“But do we really have to…”

She thought of what Xie Zhao had just said, and her face flushed red once more.

The scene involuntarily flashed through her mind.

Xie Zhao leaning over, burying his face in her chest, and then…

Whew!

Lin Muyu quickly shook her head and pushed Xie Zhao away. Blushing furiously, she said in a mix of shame and annoyance, “No way! We’ll find another way! Absolutely not you!”

Just thinking about it made her die of embarrassment!

Xie Zhao was about to speak when footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door.

Tian Xiufen pushed the door open and walked in.

Frowning, she carried a basin of steaming hot water and strode over, saying worriedly, “Girl, why didn’t you tell me you had a clogged duct? That’s the most painful thing! I can’t believe you just endured it!”

As a mother herself, no one understood the agony of a clogged duct better than Tian Xiufen.

“Move aside! Don’t stand there wasting time. The longer you delay, the longer your wife has to suffer!”

Tian Xiufen was a little angry.

Her Er Xiaozi was so smart and clever when it came to business, so why was he so clueless when it came to caring for his wife?

He slept in the same bed as his wife every single day, yet he didn’t even know she had a clogged duct!

It really made her feel exasperated by his cluelessness!

Xie Zhao: “…”

He rubbed his nose and sighed, standing up in resignation.

He knew his mother, Tian Xiufen, was far more experienced in dealing with this kind of thing than he was. Still, remembering Lin Muyu’s expression just now, he couldn’t help but worry.

“Mom, if it really doesn’t work, I’ll take Muyu to the hospital tomorrow! Don’t let her just tough it out!”

Tian Xiufen glared at him.

“I know! Go eat your dinner! Your dad is looking for you!”

Xie Zhao then headed out.

Out in the courtyard, a square Baxian table had been set up, with several clay pots resting on it.

Tian Xiufen had really splurged today. There was a large basin of stewed pork with radishes, a clay pot of stir-fried cabbage, and finally, rehydrated shiitake mushrooms cooked with minced meat and a large handful of sweet potato glass noodles, filling a large porcelain bowl to the brim.

Xie Zhao took a sniff, his eyes lighting up!

It smelled amazing!

He hadn’t noticed while staying in the room earlier, but now that he was out, his stomach was growling loudly. As soon as he sat down, Xie Tian came out carrying a large bowl of rice.

“Second Brother! Eat up!”

Xie Tian grinned at him.

Xie Zhao took it, thanked her, and glanced at the worn-out cloth shoes on her feet. “Why aren’t you wearing your new shoes?” he asked helplessly.

“Mom said to wait until the weather clears up and the ground isn’t muddy anymore!”

Xie Tian scooped herself a bowl of rice and stuffed a large mouthful of minced meat and glass noodles into her mouth, mumbling, “I’d hate to get them dirty!”

Xie Zhao shrugged helplessly.

He knew it.

Halfway through the meal, Tian Xiufen came out.

Xie Zhao quickly set down his bowl and chopsticks, craning his neck to look at Tian Xiufen. “Mom? How is she?”

“It’s cleared!”

Tian Xiufen wiped the sweat from her forehead. “It was clogged pretty badly. We have Le Bao’er to thank! That little girl is so greedy! She spat up all over the place, but then she went right back to sucking. She really put her back into it!”

Xie Zhao paused, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

“They say ‘using the strength you used to suck milk.’ That saying has been passed down for generations for a reason, you know?”

Tian Xiufen set down the basin and glared at Xie Zhao. “Pay more attention to your wife! She’s having a hard time!”

Xie Zhao nodded vigorously, flattering her as he ate. “I know, Mom! Your cooking is delicious! It smells even better than the food at the State-Owned Restaurant!”

Tian Xiufen laughed and scolded him, “You and your sweet talk!”

By the time they finished eating, the sky had turned completely dark.

Xie Cheng nudged Xie Zhao and pointed at the river snails in the courtyard. “Second Brother, look.”

The small courtyard was filled with wooden buckets, water vats, and even some chipped clay pots, all used to hold the river snails.

“We collected over a thousand jin today. The river snails brought in by half the village are all here. Although Dad agreed with the village chief to hire his mule again tomorrow for one yuan a day, we can’t rely entirely on a single mule, can we?”

Xie Cheng couldn’t help but mutter, “If we actually work it to death, we won’t be able to afford the compensation!”

In this era of low prices, livestock like mules were not cheap.

According to records, a single mule could sell for as much as three thousand yuan!

Although a mule could pull over a thousand jin, Xie Cheng was still worried.

If it really got overworked, they would be in trouble.

“Then what should we do?”

Xie Zhao paused, then frowned. “How about we make a few more trips tomorrow?”

Xie Cheng stood up, brushed off his pants, and glanced outside.

“Come on, let’s go find Sanliuzi. His family has a donkey.”

…

Sanliuzi lived at the end of the village.

His house was in terrible shape. To be more accurate, it was a cowshed.

As the dim light illuminated the heap of ruins before him, Xie Zhao could still make out the faint shadow of the beautiful estate that had once stood there.

Unfortunately, nothing remained of the grand courtyard but a cratered foundation, scarred everywhere by the brutal demolition of years past.

Shards of beautifully carved window frames lay scattered on the ground, half trampled into the mud, the rest weathered and stained.

Only a single low adobe hut still stood.

It had once been the Shen family’s cowshed, where the cattle and servants slept.

During the campaign to Destroy the Four Olds, the Shen couple had wept and begged for mercy, letting the house be searched inside and out several times. Only after the searchers confirmed no gold or silver was hidden inside did they leave this adobe hut standing.

The hut had a single window covered in layers of old newspaper that whistled and howled whenever the wind blew past.

“Knock, knock…”

Xie Cheng knocked on the door. “Sanliuzi, are you in? It’s Xie Cheng!”