Chapter 372 Extra 9

A loud eagle cry came from the sky. Everyone in the caravan looked up and saw a nimble black shadow getting closer and closer. The black eagle that had disappeared for four days appeared again.

Sui Liang picked up the wooden whistle hanging on his chest and blew it. The black eagle flying in the sky responded with another clear cry, but it did not approach the caravan. It dropped a bleeding dead rabbit and flew away in an instant.

"Hey! Where are you going again?" Sui Liang shouted loudly.

The boy reined in the camel, jumped off, ran back quickly, and picked up the rabbit that had fallen into the yellow sand. The rabbit had just died and its blood was still hot.

When he looked up again, the shadow of the black hawk could no longer be seen in the sky.

"I thought it had gone home, but it turned out to be hunting," Sui Yu said. "That's right. The eagle flies fast. Compared to it, the camel walks too slowly. No wonder it didn't want to go with us."

"What if it runs away?" Sui Liang worried.

"Eagles are also birds. How can a bird get lost? They migrate from spring to autumn and are born with the ability to identify directions." Lu Yaer continued.

"Sui Liang is confused because of his concern." Yang Erlang thought so.

The boy handed the rabbit to his uncle and said, "It won't pay any attention to us anyway. We can't control whether it leaves or not. It can follow the caravan or return to Dunhuang. It's up to it."

Sui Liang nodded.

The caravan continued on its journey.

During the four days that Black Hawk was away, the caravan had already left Yumen Pass. Outside the pass, there was vast yellow sand that stretched as far as the eye could see, and there were no more villages or smoke from cooking fires.

This was the first time for a group of young men and women including Sui Liang to go out of the desert. They felt it was new for the first three or five days, but after walking in the barren desert for a long time, all they saw were yellow sand and withered grass heads, which made them feel desolate. They no longer felt curious or surprised.

The sun moves from east to west, the sunset replaces the morning glow, the light wrapped on the sand fades away little by little, the cold night wind blows, and the temperature drops sharply.

The night wind blows, yellow sand flies, the sound of camel bells continues for a long time, and the herd of camels carrying heavy loads go west step by step.

When the Gobi Desert, shrouded in dark shadows, appeared, a heavy gong pierced through the dense sound of camel bells, and for a moment, sighs were heard in the wind.

"Are we going to stop for the night?" the cub asked, looking up.

"Well, this is the Gobi Desert, which can block some of the wind and sand. Let's rest here tonight." Sui Yu stretched her limbs, holding onto the camel's hump and jumping off the ground. She then went to help her son. "Slow down, don't jump. If you keep your legs bent for too long, your feet will become stiff. Be careful not to sprain your ankle."

"You jumped down by yourself." The kid muttered.

"I have experience."

"I have experience, too."

"How many days of experience do you have?"

The boy stopped being stubborn. He stood firm and took two steps. Then he hugged Sui Yu in a supporting position. Looking at the long dark night, he hummed, "Mom, I miss home, my dad, and my sister."

"Yeah, I miss your dad and Xiaohua too. They should be asleep by now."

While the caravan members had not yet had their meals, the servants were already working in a skilled division of labour: some were unloading, some were gathering firewood, some were lighting the fire, some were fetching water, and some were setting up tents.

"Little guy, come and help." Sui Liang shouted.

"Here I come." The boy didn't care about being sad. He suddenly became energetic and said, "Mom, you rest with Aunt Song. I'm going to set up the tent."

“

Go ahead.”

The kid left, and Song Xian came over. She had gone out of the customs just to join in the fun. With Sui Yu accompanying her, she didn't have to worry about anything and only had to endure the fatigue of the journey.

"Missing the baby?" she asked.

Sui Yu waved her hand. "It's okay. Xiaohua has her father to take care of her. I don't worry about her. And with Xiaozai and Liang Ge'er traveling with me, I don't feel lonely."

"Yes, with family members accompanying me, I won't feel lonely even if I stay away for a year or two." Song Xian agreed.

The fire started, and Sui Yu saw Yang Erlang take a small stool for Lv Yaer to sit on by the fire to keep warm. Song Xian also saw it, and suddenly she felt that Lv Yaer's decision was right. Finding a husband who could accompany her on the business journey and share the joys and sorrows was more heartwarming than walking alone.

"I can hold their wedding this time when I go back." Sui Yu said.

"Well, when I come back from outside the Great Wall, I will ask you to be the matchmaker and propose marriage to my family." Song Xian smiled.

Last year, when the caravan returned from Chang'an, Song Xian noticed that Lu Ya'er had developed feelings for Yang Erlang. She should have gone to discuss marriage, but she felt uneasy. Thinking that Sui Yu would be leading the caravan out of the country again this year, she thought about letting Yang Erlang go with the caravan again so that she and Sui Yu could observe it firsthand. So, she used the excuse that time was tight and she couldn't arrange the wedding in time, and postponed it until next year.

The tents were set up, the food cooked, and the staple food was pickled cabbage and bean sprout dumpling soup. The rabbit Black Hawk had sent was mixed with cured pork ribs and dried radish to make two large pots of soup. After the group had divided up a bowl of dumpling soup with a spoonful of meat and other broth, they all went back to their tents to sleep.

"Mom?" The kid shouted from outside the tent.

"What's wrong?" Sui Yu had just laid down when she stood up and walked along the edge of the tent. She came out of the tent and asked, "Where's your uncle? Why aren't you sleeping now? Do you have something to talk to me about?"

The cub said nothing.

Sui Yu understood, and she led him to the fire. The mother and son sat down, and the servant who was guarding the fire tactfully picked up the empty water bag and left.

"The wind in the Gobi Desert is so sharp and shrill. Is this the sound of ghosts crying and wolves howling?" the kid muttered in frustration.

"We might run into a pack of wolves after we leave the Gobi Desert. I'll show you howling wolves then." Sui Yu added a few more sticks to the fire. She looked at the stone peaks and earth pillars that blocked out the sky and the moon. "Your father has been here before. Before you were born, he was on an official business trip with a caravan into the Gobi Desert and captured and killed a group of bandits."

"My dad was here too?" The kid perked up and spoke in a cheerful voice.

"Yes, he and other soldiers captured and killed a group of bandits. After leaving the Gobi Desert, they encountered a group of wild camels drinking water by the river. He asked the others to go back and went into the desert alone. He captured two young camels and brought them back. Xiao San and Xiao Si were those two camels."

The little boy exclaimed "Wow" and said admiringly, "My dad is really amazing."

"The following winter, he went out of the city with the garrison soldiers to shoot wild wolves. They came back with several wild wolves, and the tanned wolf skins allowed your uncle and I to have a warm winter." Sui Yu added.

"Without me?" The kid was a little disappointed. "I don't know any of this."

"You were not born until we moved out of the military settlement and into the Qianhu Residence."

"My dad is so amazing! He can fight on the battlefield, capture thieves in the Gobi Desert, hunt wolves, and even put down his sword to take care of farm work." The cub cried. He felt that his parents were capable people and that as their child, he shouldn't be so fragile. He stood up and said, "Mom, let's go back to the tent and sleep."

"Don't you miss your dad?" Sui Yu smiled.

The boy felt a little embarrassed. He chuckled twice and turned around to send his mother over.

Sui Yu walked into the tent and said, "You should go back too. If you miss home, just hold your uncle and sleep."

The cub said "Oh" and walked away briskly.

"Little guy, do you miss home?" asked Lu Yaer.

"Yeah, I miss home and my father." Sui Yu took off his outer robe and lay down.

"I miss home and my dad, too." Ah Shui sighed softly, "I guess the old man misses me too."

Hua Niu and A Qiang turned over and neither of them interrupted the topic.

"Go to sleep. It's late and you have to get up early tomorrow." Song Xian said.

The tent became quiet.

The night passed in a flash, and when the sky was getting light, the people in the tent came out wrapped in cold. The night watchman had already cooked breakfast. After everyone filled their stomachs and tied up the goods, the caravan stepped into the Gobi Desert.

Camels and people walked into the Gobi Desert like a drop of oil falling into a river. After wandering for more than half a month, herds of camels finally walked out of the Gobi Desert.

The black eagle that had been waiting outside looked down at the dusty man. It dropped the two dead snakes and flew away.

Sui Liang let out two "Ah hey" sounds, but before he could finish his words, the Black Hawk flew away.

"It seems to be looking for water." Qingshan said, "There is a river over there."

Sui Liang followed the servant who was fetching water and went there to look for it. Sure enough, he saw the black eagle by the river. It was standing on a pile of gravel, staring at them with its cold eagle eyes.

Sui Liang blew lightly on the wooden whistle and muttered, "Can you find it yourself?"

He no longer had any doubts. In the past half month in the Gobi Desert, he had not seen any trace of the eagle at all. The fact that it could fly around randomly and still find them accurately only showed that it had an amazing ability to recognize roads and objects.

But people can't figure out the eagle's thoughts. It knows the way back to Tianshan but doesn't take it. When people walk, it follows them, but it doesn't get close to people. There is no pattern in feeding its prey, it seems like it does it on a whim.

Forget it, Sui Liang stopped thinking about it. He got a bucket of water and left. Xiao Chunhong and the others were still waiting for water to cook.

The caravan rested outside the Gobi Desert for a day and a night. After resting, they walked along the river, walked with a group of wild camels in the distance, watched a lone wolf hunting a gazelle, looked at an eagle catching a hare, and met a caravan coming from the west.

The sounds of the two camel bells merged into one and gradually faded away. The half box of letters that had been saved was taken to Dunhuang by the Hu merchants. The merchant caravans of the Sui and Song dynasties also entered the Kingdom of Loulan following the Black Hawk.

It happened to be March or April, and the oasis where Loulan Kingdom was located had put on a new look. Outside the city were farmers working the fields and herdsmen grazing their livestock. When they saw the Han Dynasty's caravan passing by, people and cattle and sheep all looked sideways.

When the merchants in the city heard the sound of camel bells, those selling food, blankets, clothes and shoes all put down their work and rushed forward to grab customers.

"Dear guests from afar, do you want a local to act as your translator?" a Loulan man with a thick beard asked in Chinese.

"Accommodation, one room per night is only two hundred copper coins." The man looked like a Han Chinese.

"Fragrant mutton buns, big and meaty, fresh from the oven."

"Roast, roast, roast—"

"Do you want goat's milk? A bucket is only one hundred coppers."

"Guests, come to my restaurant for dinner. I have steamed buns and hot soup noodles." A childish voice joined in, which made A Shui and Hua Niu, who were used to greeting guests, subconsciously look over.

Zhang Shun and Li Wu saw someone they knew, so they went over to greet him. While waiting, Sui Yu asked a few children to go over and buy some of their favorite food.

"Little girl, what kind of food do you sell at home?" A Shui walked over and asked.

"We have buns with various fillings, hot soup noodles, steamed flatbreads, and meat sauce. You can buy two cans to take away. Passing merchants like the food in our shop very much." Sui Abao said crisply.

Ah Shui and Hua Niu exchanged a glance, and she asked curiously, "Did your parents just move here from Dahan? Or have they been to Dunhuang in recent years?"

"No, I've lived here since I was born. I'm already eight years old. Mom, there are guests coming. Light the fire and cook." Sui Abao shouted, "Sister, what are you eating?"

Ah Shui walked into the food store. The kitchen and dining room were connected, with four sets of tables and chairs inside. The layout was almost exactly the same as that of the food stores inside the Great Wall.

"Empress, you moved to Loulan from the Han Dynasty in recent years, right?" Hua Niu asked curiously.

The woman shook her head. She didn't answer, but instead asked, "What would you like to eat? Hot soup noodles? It's windy and a bit cold today."

"There are too many of us to sit here. Can you take it out? If you can, we'll buy some hot soup noodles." Sui Liang came in, from the bright area into the slightly darker food shop. He was a little dazzled and couldn't see the people clearly for a moment. He just urged, "A Shui, hurry up, the caravan is waiting."

The woman kneading the dough was suddenly stunned. She looked up in surprise and recognized Sui Liang at a glance. He was 60% similar to Sui Hu.

"My lady, how many steamed buns and flatbreads do you have in your shop? Pack them all for us." Ah Shui handed over a clean cloth bag.

"A Shui..." Sui Liang's face changed. He recognized Tong Huaer. He was eight years old when Tong Huaer left Dunhuang and could remember people and things.

"Mother?" Ah Shui called out. She followed her gaze and saw Sui Liang also leaning sideways to look outside. She was puzzled: "What happened outside? What are you looking at?"

"Nothing." Tong Huaer took the cloth bag and asked, "What do you want?"

"Give me as many buns and dumplings as you can. By the way, how much are the buns and dumplings?" Ah Shui took out his wallet.

"The buns have sauerkraut and egg filling, and bean sprout and mutton filling. The sauerkraut buns are seven coins each, and the mutton buns are thirty coins each." Sui Abao quoted the price promptly. She didn't understand why her mother was so dilly-dallying today, constantly distracted and delaying things. She took the cloth bag to put the buns in, and said, "There are four baskets of sauerkraut buns, sixteen in each, two baskets of mutton buns, sixteen in each, and only three baskets of flatbread, seventy coins each. Let me calculate, the total is one thousand six hundred and eighteen copper coins. Since you bought a lot, I'll give you eight copper coins."

"The little girl is really good at calculating." Hua Niu praised.

"My father taught me." Sui Abao said proudly.

Ah Shui handed over a long string of money, "Here are a thousand copper coins. These small strings are worth a hundred coins each. Please give us the remaining ten coins as well. We bought so much."

"OK."

"no."

Tong Huaer glanced at Abao, then kept silent and reluctantly handed over the hot cloth bag.

"Hurry up and go." Sui Liang came over and took the cloth bag, saying, "Wait a little longer, my sister will come to look for someone."

Ah Shui smiled at Ah Bao and said, "Little girl, learn from your mother and don't be too stingy when doing business."

Sui Abao smirked, "Guest from afar, I'll see you out."

"Abao, come back." Tong Huaer stopped him with a serious face.

Ah Shui glanced back and met the woman's gaze. She frowned slightly and went out to whisper to Hua Niu, "The people in this shop are weird. Did you notice?"

Hua Niu nodded, "It's quite strange, we won't come here to buy it again in the future."

"OK."

The three of them returned to the caravan, and the caravan followed the Han people who were soliciting food and lodging out of the city gate.

"Tong Huaer, I only bought two lumps of sheep's tail oil today, but no lard." A man walked into the food store carrying a bucket.

Ah Shui turned around suddenly and didn't see the person who was talking. She thought she had misheard.

However, this voice kept echoing in her ears, and she also heard someone calling Tong Huaer in her dream. Ah Shui woke up and leaned against the wall, closing her eyes and thinking. In order to confirm her guess, she carefully recalled the scenes in the food store. The completely opposite reactions of the female shopkeeper were probably related to Sui Liang.

Early in the morning, the caravan was going into the city to sell goods. Halfway through, Ah Shui said, "Sister-in-law, I still want to eat the buns I bought at the city gate yesterday. I'll go over there."

He said this while looking at Sui Liang.

Sui Liang lowered his eyes and didn't look at her.

"I'll go with you. You've never been here before, so you're not familiar with the route," Lu Yaer said. "The buns from yesterday were really delicious, and they tasted pretty much the same as the ones you steamed in your guesthouse."

Sui Yu sighed and said, "Brother Liang, you should come along too."

"Okay." Sui Liang understood.

With Lu Yaer around, Ah Shui didn't ask, and there was no need to ask. Judging from her sister-in-law's attitude, she had already confirmed the woman's identity.

The food shop was not closed, so Ah Shui breathed a sigh of relief. She walked in quickly, but after entering, her pace slowed down.

"Sister, you're here again?" A Bao saw A Shui and came up to her cheerfully, asking, "Are our buns delicious?"

Tong Huaer looked over when she heard that. When she saw Ah Shui, her expression didn't change much. There was no surprise or panic in her eyes, but there was a strong sense of indifference.

A Shui felt like she had fallen into an ice hole. When she heard A Bao calling her sister, she subconsciously thought that Tong Huaer had revealed her identity, but now it seemed that was not the case.

The man chopping meat nearby looked over and asked with a smile, "You guys were here yesterday? What are you buying today?"

The water in the pot boiled, Tong Huaer put the steamer full of raw buns on it, then lowered her head to continue kneading the dough.

Ah Shui walked over and she whispered, "The buns you make are delicious. Can you give me another one?"

Tong Huaer handed her a mutton bun.

"The buns you made are delicious." Ah Shui murmured to herself, warm tears sliding down her cheeks. She reached out to take the buns, glanced at the woman briefly, and turned away.

"Hey! You haven't paid yet!" Sui Abao was annoyed.

"Abao, come back, this bun is free." The man realized A Shui's identity when he saw Sui Liang, and he grabbed his daughter who was about to chase him out.

"Why don't you want money?"

Why don't you want money? The man looked at Tong Huaer, who continued kneading the dough, as if she had no intention of chasing him out.

Sui Abao broke free from her father's hand and ran out. There were no freeloaders outside the food store. She looked around and returned home unwillingly.

Gone.

A Shui ran out of the city, and Sui Liang and Lu Yaer chased after him.

"What happened?" Lu Yaer was puzzled. "You know, right? A Shui..." She was suddenly stunned. A Shui had never been to Loulan, so she definitely wouldn't know the female owner of the food store. Judging from A Shui's current misconduct, there was only one possibility.

"Is that her mother?" Lu Yaer asked.

Sui Liang didn't answer. He walked over to sit next to Ah Shui and comforted her, "Sister Ah Shui, you still have Uncle Lao Niu. We watched you grow up, and we are your family too. More than a decade has passed, and you've grown up without your mother, and it will be the same in the future."

"Is she really your mother? She really is..." Thinking of that woman's behavior, Lu Yaer said angrily: "She is even worse than my father."

Ah Shui shook his head, "No, she treats Ah Bao very well, so she should be a very good mother."

Luya was puzzled, "You are still speaking for her?"

"What else? Curse her?" Ah Shui sighed and chuckled. Her emotions had calmed down. Ever since she learned that her mother had abandoned her, she had been feeling a lingering resentment. But seeing her today, the clamor in her heart finally subsided. All her fantasies about her mother, all the excuses she had made for her, vanished in that moment. She had given up, no longer wishing for anything.

"My mother...she, she is my sister-in-law's cousin, and her current husband is your cousin, right?" A Shui asked Sui Liang.

"It should be." Sui Liang was not sure. He had no impression of this cousin.

"A Bao's last name is Sui." Ah Shui explained Tong Hua'er's identity to Lu Ya'er cryptically. "My biological father is unknown. I was born under duress. I am also a woman, so I can understand her humiliation and difficulties. She is already very impressive for surviving. My father doesn't love her, doesn't like her, and doesn't know how to feel sorry for her. He brought her home because he wanted a child. A man like that can't keep a woman. She would suffer if she stayed. She is very smart. I believe that if this person was my sister-in-law, and my eldest brother treated her badly, she would never have returned after leaving Dunhuang with the caravan for the first time."

Ah Shui analyzed carefully that after her fantasy was shattered, she did not have much feelings for Tong Huaer and considered herself as an outsider. She was relieved and said: "I grew up without any illness or disaster, and she also had a new life. Her choice was right."

Lu Yaer was speechless. She hugged Ah Shui with heartache and sighed sincerely, "You are a good girl with a kind heart. You will definitely have a good life in the future."

Sui Liang touched Ah Shui's head and said, "My sister, my little boy Xiaohua, and my brother-in-law are all your family."

Ah Shui rolled his eyes at him and asked, "Why didn't you tell me when you recognized her yesterday?"

"I've heard about her and I have some understanding of her personality. It's better not to recognize her. I'm worried that you'll be wronged." Sui Liang stood up, he reached out to help her, and said, "Let's go back. My sister must be very worried about you."

"good."

When she passed by the food store again when entering the city, Ah Shui looked at it from afar, sighed, and walked away quickly.

…

A few days later, a Han man who was soliciting for food and lodging walked into the food store with a rolled-up piece of cloth and wanted to exchange it for two buns from Tong Huaer.

"This is what the girl who wrote the letter told me to do. If you don't give me the buns, I won't give it to you."

Tong Huaer thought for a moment and handed over two mutton buns.

——Mom, I’m leaving, and we won’t meet again. You don’t need to move, just live your life in peace.