"Mother!——"
Su Ke’s face collapsed instantly; he hadn’t finished talking with his fourth sister yet!
However, seeing Mrs. Su-Hua’s resolute expression, his shoulders drooped all at once, "Fine, fine! I’ll go eat first... Fourth Sister, I’ll bring food to you later."
"Who needs you to bring it!"
Mrs. Su-Hua smiled and lifted her hand, giving him a thump on the forehead: "Your fourth sister is eating confinent als. Mother has already prepared them for her. Do you still think it’s like when you were little, stuffing whatever food you find into your fourth sister’s mouth? You scamp..."
"Ow, owie! Mother, am I really your biological son? It hurts so much!"
Su Ke used his newly changing voice to wail pitifully, his mournful cries resonating throughout the Qin Mansion. This imdiately made the two won on the scene double over with laughter.
"Enough, stop showing off. Just go!"
Mrs. Su-Hua pushed Su Ke a couple of tis. Amidst a field of groans, he turned to wave at Su Pan’er before quickly descending the stairs.
"Fourth Sister, Ke’er will co to see you again later."
"This little mud monkey..."
Mrs. Su-Hua said with amusent, her eyes full of indulgence.
Turning back, she looked at Su Pan’er with a smile, pushed her into the room, and closed the door behind her: "Today, Mother made you a chicken stuffed in pig stomach; it’s been stewed until tender. Soone will bring it to you later. There’s also Silver Swan Nest Porridge. This ti you have to eat all of it, don’t always leave more than half. The confinent period is vital for your lifeti health, and if you don’t eat well, how can your body recover properly? And then there’s..."
She went on and on, seemingly without an end.
Su Pan’er clutched the letter that Qin Yi had written to her in her hand. On the surface, she was listening to what her mother was saying, but her thoughts had long since flown far away...
Qin Yi’s letter was more than ten pages long!
The beginning of the letter was a pile of yearnings for her, with every word and every sentence of longing turned into text, rushing into her heart. Then, it was the yearning for family back ho, especially the part written to little Yanyan, which was quite lengthy. He worried whether she was cold, hungry, or freezing, and also worried whether her mischief would cause Pan’er any trouble...
In the end, he also expressed concern for the child in her womb, encouraging her not to be afraid and assuring her that the child will surely be well-behaved.
Lastly, he talked about his inability to be by her side to witness the birth of the child, conveying a deep sense of helplessness.
"Pan’er, as the father of our two children, I cannot watch them being born into this world. Instead, I burden you to carry the load alone, ti and ti again. I have failed as a husband. I am sorry..."
The self-reproach in the letter seed to take tangible form, surging toward Su Pan’er.
Su Pan’er laughed so hard she had to bend forward and backward, yet a tear trickled down the side of her face.
As a woman, who wouldn’t want the company of her husband!
Yet, during Yanyan’s birth, they were facing a pursuit. Her husband was fighting desperately just beyond the wall outside, resisting the invading enemies!
Now, as she had given birth to Little Sugar Bean, he was striving for their future once more. As his woman, if she couldn’t relieve his worries, the least she could do was take good care of herself and the children, to eliminate any concerns he might have!
"Pan’er, I yearn for the roasted fish made by your hands. That delectable flavor—I still savor it just thinking about it..."
Qin Yi, I too crave so roasted fish now!
Su Pan’er silently pressed the letter to her chest, closed her eyes, and lifted her head to the sky!
"Xiren, please go yourself and tell my mother that tonight, I want to eat grilled fish!"
Since you want to eat grilled fish, then we will have grilled fish tonight. I’ll help you eat your share too!
Because Su Pan’er craved grilled fish, but at the mont it was early February when the Dragon Raises Its Head, and the snow on the mountain hadn’t fully lted. Naturally, it wasn’t easy to catch fish!
But there was no resisting Su Pan’er’s craving!
Su Lao Si glanced at the sky and decisively decided, "Let’s go, let’s go have a look at the river."
The Jade Belt River flowed between Luoyan Village and Luoshan Village, finally eting at Shuanghekou. If one followed the stream upstream, it led to the Mountain Spring water cascading down from Deicide Mountain—in fact, it used to be the swamp at the foot of Deicide Mountain!
Now, it had beco the villagers’ favorite spot for catching fish and shrimp!
However, since children had drowned there one after another in the past two years, the area remained strictly off-limits for them!
Now that Su Pan’er said she wanted to eat grilled fish, the first place Su Lao Si thought of was that treasure spot.
Not only was the swamp abundant with fish and shrimp, but there were also more loaches and eels! Not to ntion other creatures like field snails and snakes, which were even more nurous inside! On the banks, there were often sightings of badgers, weasels, wild boars, and other animals, which delighted those skilled in hunting. This also ant that the traces of these wild animals had gradually decreased in recent years.
Su Lao Si took out his fishing net, quickly attracting a crowd.
When they learned that Pan’er wanted to eat grilled fish, everyone was eager to get going, scrambling to run towards Deicide Mountain.
Zhou Ning was the most enthusiastic among them!
Zhou Ning and Aunt Zhou had co back along with Su Ke, his mother and him having originally helped manage Su Pan’er’s affairs in Changze County. When Su Ke passed through Changze County, they learned he was returning ho and joyfully packed their belongings, following him back to Luoyan Village.
Although Su Ke and Su Pan’er were siblings, Zhou Ning was, after all, an outsider.
Back then, when he sought to marry Xiren, with Mrs. Su-Hua’s blessing, they married and had children. Now that he was back, he naturally had to avoid suspicion. Without Su Pan’er’s permission, he couldn’t go to see her.
Now, after he and Xiren had reunited and both had washed and rinsed with his mother, learning that Su Pan’er wanted to eat grilled fish, he grabbed a fishing net and ran off in high spirits.
Zhou Ning had a real knack for hunting, and when he got near the swamp, he didn’t rush to fish, instead making a detour into the mountains. When he ca back, he had a few pieces of wild ga in his hands.
It was early spring, and the animals in the mountains were all very hungry, thin as rails. They might not provide much at, but they were fresh.
Seeing his return, the people catching fish by the edge of the swamp quickly greeted him, checking their catch and happily scooping up field snails by the shore, until their tools were almost full, and then they returned ho laden with their haul.
When Su Pan’er found out that everyone had gone to such lengths just because she ntioned wanting to eat grilled fish, she was quite amused!
She had rely glanced at a letter in which Qin Yi ntioned wanting to eat grilled fish, and she said it offhandedly.
She hadn’t expected that Su Lao Si, devoted to his daughter, would actually go down to the river in cold weather to catch fish.
Luckily, everyone was safe and sound, otherwise, wouldn’t she have felt terribly guilty?
Su Lao Si waved his hands dismissively, "My daughter wants to eat grilled fish, not the dragon at from the heavens! There’s nothing I, Su Lao Si, can’t do—this grilled fish, your dad can still manage to get!"
The pride in his voice made Su Pan’er genuinely smile!
A father’s love is like a mountain!
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