Chapter 235 Working in the Fields

"This one is not good. It looks fierce just by looking at its eyes. I don't want it." A peasant woman carrying a basket shook her head. She squatted in front of the stall and looked carefully. Suddenly, her eyes met those of a white cat. The white cat had gray fur and was thin. Compared with the big tabby cat, its eyes were much gentler.

"The white one, yes, I want the white cat." said the woman.

Xiao Chunhong untied the rope tied to the basket, dragged the cat over, and said, "Go back with your master. Be a good mouse catcher. She won't treat you badly."

"Yes, there is a lot of land and rats in our village, so it won't starve." The woman took the rope.

Liu Yaer came over with a stack of faded old cloth, which was cut from washed-out bedspreads. A piece of cloth was just big enough to hold a cat, making it convenient for the cat owner to take the cat home.

"This is the dowry our master gives to the kitten." Liu Yaer said with a smile.

The woman smiled, she wrapped the cat in a cloth bag, and carried it away.

Another person came, and Xiao Chunhong hurriedly greeted him, saying, "Do you want to hire a cat? These are wild cats, and they are very good at catching mice."

"How much for one?" The man took off the bag of copper coins and pointed at the two big orange cats at Sui Yu's feet and said, "I want the one with the flower mouth."

"These two have owners." This is what Sui Yu left for Zhao Xiaomi.

The man withdrew his gaze and looked around. None of the other cats were as plump as the two orange cats. He looked at Sui Yu again, his eyes wandering over the two orange cats who were sleeping soundly.

"That kitten, yes, is the same color as my two cats. It was born this spring and is a little small. You should catch it and raise it well. It will grow fat when winter comes." Sui Yu said.

The man accepted it reluctantly, threw a handful of coppers into the basket, and walked away with the cat.

At this time, a man with a sad face stopped in front of the stall. Xiao Chunhong looked at him in surprise and asked hesitantly, "Do you want to hire a cat?"

The man shook his head, but didn't leave.

Qingshan sensed something was wrong. He dropped his camel, walked over, and asked, "What are you doing?"

"I, I... Are you from the Zhao family in the north of the city?" The man with a bitter face asked. He looked at Sui Yu, a flattering smile appeared on his stiff face, and asked: "Manager Yu, right? Do you still want to buy slaves?"

Sui Yu stood up straight. This was quite a coincidence. She had been worried about finding slaves for Zhao Xiaomi these past few days. The slave traders in the slave trade mostly sold children. Young and middle-aged people wouldn't be reduced to selling their bodies as long as they had land. And the slave traders from the interior of the country probably wouldn't come back until next autumn, which would be too late.

Sui Yu asked Xiao Chunhong to guard the stall while she took the two cats and asked Qingshan to take the man who wanted to sell his body to a nearby alley to talk.

"What's your name? Where do you live? Why did you think of selling yourself?" Sui Yu asked.

"My name is Shuisheng. I live in Heishuitun, outside the west city gate. I'm the second child in my family. My parents are very sick. Their medical treatment has drained our family savings, and we're also in debt. We can't survive, so we have to sell ourselves." Shuisheng couldn't help but wipe away his tears. In order to pay for his parents' medical treatment, his wife quarreled with him every day. She ran away with the children this spring. Now the family is so poor that they have no rice to eat. As soon as the crops in the fields matured, they were divided up by several creditors. They really can't survive. Unfortunately, his parents are getting sicker and sicker, and they are still dying. He can't bear to see them starve to death, so he can only resort to this last resort.

"You are the second in line, which means you have brothers?" Qingshan asked.

"The eldest and third sons don't care, and they still want to dig the dirt to bury the two old guys..." Shuisheng sighed, "Forget it, everyone should follow their conscience. I will sell my body to pay off the debt and prepare two thin coffins for my parents. I won't owe them anything from now on."

He was extremely tired. The house was a mess that he had no ability to solve. He didn't want to be scolded every day, so he thought about escaping.

Sui Yu thought that this was a really honest person. He would just keep his anger to himself and would not even dare to speak loudly. So he didn't have to worry about anything going wrong when he bought Xiaomi.

"Let me be frank. I'll find you a host family. From now on, you'll have no relationship with your parents, brother, or sister-in-law. If you take the host family's food back to support your parents, even if one of your hands is chopped off, you won't be able to seek justice." Sui Yu said, "Think about it again. I see you're still a little hesitant."

Shuisheng was indeed hesitant. He hesitated and said, "I'll go back and ask my parents."

Sui Yu smiled and said, "Okay, I'll wait for you at the west gate."

If his parents loved him, he would never end up in debt with his wife and children leaving him. He is just a fool. He still asks his parents for advice at this time. He should just sell himself to support his family.

Sui Yu said hello to Qingshan and walked west with the two fat cats.

Although wild cats are afraid of people, they are quite courageous. These two are greedy. Every time they walk a distance, Sui Yu feeds them a boiled egg. He hangs them on the two boiled eggs and leads them all the way to the west gate smoothly.

"My dear sister, did you catch these two cats at the market? Are there any more?" A man ran in from outside the city. He heard on the road that someone was giving away cats in the city, so he immediately hurried over to find them.

Sui Yu showed him the way and said, "There are only seven or eight left. Hurry up, or there will be none left."

The man let out an "Ah" and ran off.

Sui Yu found a shady place to squat down. She broke a boiled egg to amuse the cat. A shepherd boy came over with a sheep. He didn't let the sheep go and squatted beside the cat to watch it eat.

"They are so fat." The child couldn't help but reach out and touch the cat's tail.

"Your sheep are also fat." Sui Yu said.

The child nodded and said, "I will find the tenderest grass to feed them every day. When the soybeans are picked, I will go to the fields to pick soybeans to feed them."

Sui Yu praised him for being patient and responsible. The child felt happy and stopped touching the cat. He sat next to her and told her how he raised sheep.

About a cup of tea later, the child was talking until his mouth was dry, and Shuisheng appeared at the city gate. Sui Yu said goodbye to his chatting partner and walked over with the cat.

"How?" she asked.

"We agreed that my eldest brother will use the money from selling my body to provide for my parents' medical treatment and retirement." Shuisheng exuded a sense of ease.

Sui Yu cursed Xiaomi inwardly for being stupid, and she led her people to Xiaomi's in-laws' home.

"With household registration?"

"Yes, Shopkeeper Yu, who bought me?"

"Captain Zhao's sister, my sister-in-law." Sui Yu remembered the Huang family elders and Shuisheng's temperament, and warned him in advance: "My sister-in-law bought you with her money, and you are also under her name. From now on, you only need to listen to her. If she asks you to plow the fields, you can't go to bale grass. If she asks you to go to the fields to cut grass, you can't listen to others and stay at home to dry the grass."

Shuisheng responded.

When they arrived at the Huang family's house, the main door was locked from the inside and smoke was coming out of the kitchen chimney. Sui Yu leaned against the door to look and saw Aning standing under the eaves through the crack. She called out, "Aning, it's my third aunt. Who are you home with?"

"I'm home." Zhao Xiaomi covered the pot and ran out. She opened the door and explained, "I'm home alone. I was cooking and couldn't look after the children. I was worried that Aning would run away, so I locked the door. He's short and can't open it."

"You should be more careful." Sui Yu came in with the cat and said, "I've brought you the servant you asked for."

Shuisheng stood aside stiffly.

Xiaomi was stunned for a moment, it was so fast.

"You don't want to buy it anymore? Then I can buy it back. It will be just right for me to help your third brother take care of the crops." Sui Yu dared to unilaterally agree to buy someone with this intention in mind.

Zhao Xiaomi wiped his hands and said, "Buy, you and my third brother want to buy a slave, you can look for one later. Third sister-in-law, come in and talk, I'm still cooking in the pot."

Sui Yu tied the cat to the door knocker and told Shuisheng to watch the child and prevent him from touching the cat.

"What does my brother-in-law say about buying a servant?" she asked as she entered the kitchen.

"What can he say? He has no objection. The money is in my hands, and I have the final say on how to use it." Zhao Xiaomi chuckled. "My parents-in-law do have objections, but they're afraid of my third brother and worried that I'd go back and complain. They've been sighing and groaning at home for two days, but when they saw I wouldn't change my mind, they didn't say much. They're just unhappy, with a gloomy face all day long, and they've been calling Aning a young master in a sarcastic tone."

Sui Yu wasn't surprised that Xiaomi had the money. The fact that she could readily reveal how much she'd earned this year suggested she was a clear-headed person, aware of her responsibility for the family's financial affairs. Huang's parents and the second son certainly had saved some money, but the lion's share was held by Zhao Xiaomi.

"If you have any concerns and ideas, talk to your brother-in-law. If you get any benefits, say a few nice words to coax him, so as to avoid estrangement between husband and wife." Sui Yu gave some advice.

Zhao Xiaomi covered her mouth and laughed twice, jokingly saying, "You've been feeding my third brother a lot of sweet talk, haven't you?"

Sui Yu added some firewood to the stove and said with a smile, "Yes, he drank a lot."

Zhao Xiaomi laughed heartily and sighed, "I'm still happier with you. My family, young and old, are all so dull that they can't take a joke. If they feel unhappy, their faces fall, and I'm not happy to see them."

"There are not many people like me in the world. If you can find one to be your sister-in-law, you should be content." Sui Yu said arrogantly.

Zhao Xiaomi said, "Pooh," and said, "You really don't know how to be humble."

Sui Yu smiled. Seeing that the pickled cabbage and tofu in the pot were beginning to smell good, she clapped her hands and said, "You're busy. I'll go back."

"Eat here with me. I'll cook some more dishes."

Sui Yu waved her hand and said that she would not go back because it would be time for someone to go into the city to look for her at dinner time.

Zhao Xiaomi asked her to wait. She scooped up the vegetables from the pot, added water, and quickly went into the house to get ten eggs, put them in her pocket and handed them to Sui Yu. This was the etiquette for marrying a cat. No matter whether the cat was related or not, giving some things meant that the cat was hers and would be easier to raise in the future.

"Don't worry, Third Sister-in-law. I told Aning's father that if I worked myself to death, I might not be able to get pregnant. He didn't mind buying a servant and told me to just stay home and rest." Zhao Xiaomi whispered, "Besides, he and I are on the same page. A brother can't compare to a son, and he knows how to keep things to himself."

"It's okay as long as you know this, but don't be too stingy with your parents-in-law. They have also contributed to the grain business." Sui Yu didn't want to worry about her family affairs, and even more didn't want to get involved in the relationship between her mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. After saying a few words, she was about to go out.

"Third sister-in-law, don't just blame me, and don't get yourself tired." Zhao Xiaomi chased out and said.

Sui Yu waved her hand without even turning her head. She had been busy for half a year and could rest for half a year. She knew that if her body was damaged, she could recover.

The cats had all been hired out, but Xiao Chunhong, Liu Yaer and Qingshan were still waiting on the street. When they saw Sui Yu coming, the three of them led the camel carrying the basket to greet him.

"Let's go back." Sui Yu said.

"Did that person sell himself?" Qingshan asked.

Sui Yu nodded. She got on the camel and looked at the things in the basket. There were all kinds of things in it, some for money, some for food, some for dates, some for bamboo baskets, and some for vegetables.

On the way back, Sui Yu ran into Sister Lamei and her husband, who were returning with a camel carrying vegetables. Sui Yu said, "New seedlings have grown under the pepper tree. Come and dig them up next spring."

"You still remember? I thought you forgot." Sister Lamei smiled. She patted the camel and said, "I made some money. I bought five pepper trees from somewhere else. They will bear fruit next year. I don't want the ones you have anymore."

"So generous." Sui Yu teased.

"Thanks to you." Sister Lamei laughed, "I won't talk to you anymore. Go back quickly. Your family's dinner is ready."

Sui Yuying is good.

After returning, Sui Yu told Zhao Xiping about Shuisheng's affairs. He didn't say anything. As long as Xiaomi didn't get angry or suffer, he would not interfere in her in-laws' affairs and would only serve as a support.

"If we meet someone suitable in the future, we can buy someone else to farm the land." Sui Yu glanced at the man and said, "We make money easily, so don't be so stingy."

"We can just hire some help." Zhao Xiping felt that it was more important to spend the money on Sui Yu. Although the family was poor, the road was rich. He would feel more at ease if she brought more money with her when she went out.

Sui Yu didn't bother to pay attention to him and gave him a sidelong glance to signal him to shut up.

Kurban and Anle were passing by with their bowls. Zhao Xiping saw them and remembered the household registration issue. He called the resident and said, "You two should come with me to the government office this afternoon and leave a record there. Your household registration will be with me first. If you want to leave the city later, you need my permission."

After all these miscellaneous matters were sorted out one by one, Sui Yu took his children to the fields to harvest wheat when he was free. Sui Liang also went to the fields, and the business of the guesthouse was left to Uncle Lao Niu and A Shui.

Sui Yu had instructed in advance to leave two acres of wheat unharvested. These two acres of wheat were the responsibility of her family of four.

"I haven't been busy with the autumn harvest for several years, sister. I still remember when we first came to Dunhuang, we followed my brother-in-law to work in the fields. He had a stern face every day, as if he wanted to eat someone," said Sui Liang.

Zhao Xiping rushed over after getting off duty and heard these words as soon as he got closer, which put him in a dilemma.

"No way." The kid was very confident. He puffed up his rosy cheeks and said stubbornly, "My dad wouldn't do that. He's a very good guy."

"You know shit. You weren't there when your mother and I were suffering." Sui Liang rolled his eyes.

The boy was stunned. He looked at Sui Yu, his eyes rolled, and he suddenly said, "Mom, my uncle lied again."

"You weren't around back then. Your uncle didn't lie." Sui Yu glanced at Zhao Xiping and said, "Your father hid you tightly back then and wouldn't give you to me."

Only the couple understood the meaning of this, and Zhao Xiping's face turned red.