Chapter 138 New Hope
At dusk, Zhao Xiping ran all the way to the training ground for evening training. When he arrived, eight of the ten captains had already arrived and were fighting with sticks. The garrison soldiers in military uniforms were practicing their legs and feet around the training ground. Only one idle man was leaning under a tree to avoid the shade.
Zhao Xiping strode over. Captain Hu's gaze shifted to him. Thinking of the rumors he had heard, he asked first, "You built a six-story guesthouse in the north of the city? I'm shortsighted. Captain Zhao, you have quite a lot of money."
"Our family's savings are gone, and we still owe seven or eight thousand coins in wages." Zhao Xiping sighed heavily and said, "We overestimated ourselves."
"Seven or eight thousand coins?" Captain Hu was so shocked that he stood up straight and suddenly laughed. "Captain Zhao, you are quite brave. These six guesthouses must have cost tens of thousands of coins. You are quite brave."
Zhao Xiping swallowed hard, smiled bitterly, and said, "Captain, I came to you to ask for three days' leave. Tomorrow I plan to go out of the city with two servants to pick reed flowers."
Captain Hu was overjoyed. This was the first time he had encountered a captain so poor that he went out to pick reed flowers himself. He waved his hand without arguing, saying, "Allowed."
Zhao Xiping bowed and took his leave. He went over to teach the garrison soldiers archery skills.
Captain Gu walked over a few steps and asked, "What did you say to him? He was laughing like a bird."
"I took three days off and went out of town to pick reed flowers." Zhao Xiping did not hide it.
Captain Gu shook his head. "You really never give yourself a single day to rest. You're either hunting or picking reed flowers. Why not just buy them with money? Where's the money from selling your prey?"
Zhao Xiping also wanted to laugh for some reason. He smiled and said, "It all fell on the guesthouse."
"Need some money? Can I lend you some?"
Zhao Xiping refused with a smile.
The next morning, when Captain Gu went out for morning training, Zhao Xiping took Gan Da and Gan Er on camels and headed west. The city gate had just opened, and the three of them, master and servant, were the first to leave the city.
Gan Da and Gan Er were government slaves and were not allowed to leave the city, but with Zhao Xiping as their guarantor, they completed the registration and were able to walk out of the city gate leading their camels.
Zhao Xiping's target was still the lake in the desert. He rode a camel in front, leading Gan Da and Gan Er all the way west, and then walked upstream along the river.
By this time, it was already bright, and Sui Yu's food shop was open. Caravans had already entered the pass in August. These caravans would stay in the city for one night or half a day, and then immediately leave the city and head east after replenishing their food and grass. Before the first snow fell, they would cross Hongchiling and enter the Guanzhong area to sell goods from the Western Regions to the Central Plains.
"Madam shopkeeper, are the cakes we want ready?" a burly man asked in a loud voice.
"It's ready. Two hundred dry pancakes, two hundred egg and pickled cabbage buns, sixty kilograms of dried vegetables, and fifty kilograms of pickled radish. Everything is ready." Sui Yu pointed to a pile of things against the wall and said, "Please order some."
The man took a quick look, took a bite of the cake, and found it was made of pure flour, without any bean powder mixed in. He nodded with satisfaction, paid the balance of fifteen cents, loaded the things into the bag he brought with him, carried it on his shoulder, and walked out.
After him, a group of fifteen merchants came in. They walked to the water tank to scoop water to wash their hands, shouting, "Boss, mix fifteen plates of cold noodles and fifteen bowls of braised soup noodles! Hurry up, we are in a hurry to leave the city."
Sui Yu agreed. A pot of cold noodles had been cooked and was soaking in a basin of cold water. The shredded cucumber and pickled radish were also cut and mixed quickly. Zhao Xiaomi and Yin Pozi worked together. In half a cup of tea, fifteen plates of cold noodles were served on the table.
"We will move to the guesthouse in the north of the city at the end of this month. You can come back next year. If you want to taste my third sister-in-law's tea and food, you can go to the north of the city." Zhao Xiaomi said in a low voice, fearing that there might be eavesdroppers on the other side of the wall.
The noodle-sipping merchant shook his head and said, "We won't be staying long. Eating is a small matter. The main thing is to buy fodder for the camels or some ready-made clothes. We've heard about that guesthouse north of the city, but it's too far away and inconvenient."
"It's convenient, of course. We also sell food and fodder over there. If you want to buy ready-made clothes, you can send the errand boys. You've been traveling for a few months, so it's so comfortable to just lie in the guesthouse and eat and drink."
"Xiaomi, come and get the bowl." Sui Yu interrupted her.
Mother Yin took away two bowls of braised noodle soup. Zhao Xiaomi had no use for them. Sui Yu glanced at her and said, "Just sit still."
"What?" Zhao Xiaomi said unhappily, "Am I wrong?"
"Just mention it briefly. Don't rush it. Talking too much will make people annoyed." Sui Yu handed her a bowl of braised soup noodles and said, "Send it over."
"You're here too? Looks like you're leaving again?" Another group of merchants came in, exhausted.
"Brother Hong, please sit here." The merchant who arrived earlier greeted him, saying, "We entered the city at dusk last night. You're a step behind."
A short merchant, as if to ask for more rice, came in with a tray, his back to the people outside. He took out a coin and threw it on the table, saying, "I paid for the meal of the next table. Is it enough?"
"Also braised soup noodles and cold noodles? That's enough." Sui Yu nodded.
Thirteen more plates of cold noodles were served on the table. When cooking braised soup noodles, Sui Yu put two braised eggs in each bowl. One string of coins was worth a thousand coins. If they only ate braised soup noodles and cold noodles, it was enough to entertain forty-five people. She made a lot of money from these two orders.
The first merchant left, and the thirteen people who came later finished their noodles and found out that the meal had been paid. They exchanged greetings and prepared to leave.
Sui Yu called out to the people and said, "Everyone, would you like to get some rations from me? The caravan that left first bought some pancakes, steamed buns, dried vegetables, pickled radish, and a jar of braised eggs from the old bald man next door."
"Then prepare some for us according to the amount they bought. I'll come get it in the afternoon."
"Okay, but you have to deposit five cents with me first. That way, if you don't want it, I won't lose money," said Sui Yu.
Sui Liang ran over and said, "Brother, just give it to me. I'll go out with you and see where you live. When you have your food, I'll go and call you."
"You're smart, kid." The big man next to him patted his shoulder, handed him some money, and said, "You're too skinny. Practice more. When you grow up, I'll take you out to do business instead of running errands in this snack shop."
Sui Liang didn't answer. He ran to Sui Yu with the money in his hand, and then ran out to see where they lived.
When he came in, Sui Yu raised her arm and pressed his head, asking, "Why don't you answer me?"
"I just want to be with you."
"You have to answer him if you want to stay with me. He just said it casually. Is he really going to wait until you grow up and tie you up? Are you stupid?" Sui Yu scolded with a smile, "Be brave. If he praises your cleverness and wants to take you on a business trip, you can say something clever: Thank you, big brother, for your respect. See if everyone will be happy."
"He can't say it, he's too old-fashioned." Zhao Xiaomi muttered, then tilted her head and said, "Third sister-in-law, this is for me to say."
Sui Liang was unconvinced and retorted, "You are the old-fashioned one."
"If you're not old-fashioned, say something." Zhao Xiaomi challenged.
Sui Liang moved his mouth, but he couldn't imitate the lively tune. As soon as he missed a note, his face turned red.
Zhao Xiaomi giggled.
Sui Yu also laughed, "This isn't the type of person who can make jokes."
After noon, a group of Han merchants left and another group of Hu merchants arrived. The Hu merchants immediately clamored for meat. Meat was good, and eating meat made money. Sui Yu went to buy two pounds of pork belly with copper coins. She braised it first and then stewed it. The meat was fat but not greasy. When it was served, she made a net profit of eight cents.
In the evening, Zhao Xiping, Gan Da and Gan Er led their camels into the city, cancelled the registration they had made when leaving the city, and the three of them went straight home.
The master and his two servants spent three days gathering all the reed flowers from the reed marshes in the desert.
In the days that followed, after closing the shop every night, Sui Yu, Zhao Xiping, and their entire family would sit in the yard and gather reed catkins to fill their mattresses.
"We need to buy more cloth to make a quilt cover to put on the mattress, so that it can be easily changed and washed when it gets dirty." Sui Yu tutted his words and said, "The cloth here is too expensive. It will probably be much cheaper to buy cloth in the Central Plains."
Zhao Xiping didn't understand. He yawned and said, "It's time to sleep. I'm done."
…
The sixty mattresses had not been filled yet, and the end of the month had arrived. Sui Yu moved all the things in the shop as promised, including the pottery pots, stoves, tables and chairs, wooden basins, water tanks, bamboo baskets, dried vegetables...all these miscellaneous items were moved to the guest house in the north of the city.
"I remember there weren't so many things when I first came here. I didn't notice them when they were placed in the shop, but they're quite a lot when I pack them up." Sui Yu muttered.
"We've added a lot of things in the past two years, and the bowls and dishes fill two baskets." Zhao Xiaomi continued.
Sui Liang came in leading a camel. It was a mother camel with her calf. She came out to work, and her calf followed her, jumping and skipping. After raising it for half a year, it had grown a lot, and its two humps had also grown. Its fur was no longer eggshell white, but the color of braised eggs.
The two camels were pregnant and were carrying some light dried vegetables. The remaining six big camels tied up the things piled at the foot of the wall and carried them away.
As for the water jar, Gan Da and Gan Er tied it up with straw ropes and carried it on their shoulders.
Zhao Xiping and Sui Liang followed the camel caravan, while Sui Yu stayed behind with Zhao Xiaomi and Yin Pozi to clean the house. There was oil stain on the wall, which was no longer visible after a layer of dust was swept off with a rough broom.
Old Baldy came over to take a look and couldn't find any fault, so he returned the two months' rent that he had previously withheld.
"Back then you were haggling over me for eight cents of rent, but now you don't even care about that little bit of money." The old bald man sighed, "This little courtyard of mine is a treasure trove. It will help you make a fortune."
Sui Yu admitted that her ability to earn so much money was inseparable from this position.
"I plan to rent this courtyard to another food business," said the bald old man.
"It's more cost-effective than converting it into a livestock yard," said Sui Yu.
"It's not as good as your place." The old bald man locked the door and said, "We can't let you attract all the merchants away."
"You think this is too easy." Sui Yu shook his head, "If only it were that easy."
After saying that, Sui Yu walked westward. From now on, they would go to another place to make money.
"Third sister-in-law, are we going to live in the city or in a guesthouse in the future?" Zhao Xiaomi asked.
"We'll stay in the hostel this year, and let your third brother ride the camel back and forth. Next year, when things are stable here and we've found reliable people to guard it, we'll move back to the city. We'll have the camel for transportation, so it won't be a problem."
As soon as they walked out of the city, they saw Zhao Xiping and Sui Liang running towards them with camels. Sui Yu, Zhao Xiaomi and Yin Pozi each rode a camel, and the five camels turned around and ran towards the guesthouse in the distance.
The wheat fields by the roadside are ripe for harvest, covered with the glow of the sunset and filled with the sound of rushing water. The guesthouse built by the river is like an ochre-colored ear of wheat lying on the ground, full and full of hope.
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