Chapter 174 Childishness
When the foundation was being laid on the other side of the river, Sui Yu went to the city to order a plaque. Before that, hers was the only guesthouse in the north of the city, so she didn't bother to name it or put up a plaque.
"What words do you want to carve?" asked the craftsman.
"Return to the guesthouse." Sui Yu took out a thumb-sized piece of wood and said, "I have already written it."
"Can you write?" The carpenter rummaged through the woodpile and pulled out a plank. "Since you can write, you can write it. Trace the outline on the board, and I'll carve along the mark."
Sui Yu rolled up her sleeves, picked up a piece of charcoal and walked over, saying, "I wrote the words myself, so you can ask for less money."
The craftsman had no objection and he walked to the side to continue hammering.
Sui Yu remembered that the characters she knew how to write were all taught by the original owner's aunt. She didn't know many characters, and after so many years of practice, she could barely write them properly. She calculated the spacing, held the charcoal head, and with her left hand holding her right wrist, she tried to write the four characters steadily.
"It's done." Sui Yu showed the wooden board to the carpenter and asked, "Can it be painted? I want the words on the plaque to be painted black."
"Yes, the calligraphy fee will cover the paint fee. Come and pick it up in two days."
Words are really valuable, four words are worth one penny.
When Sui Yu saw Sui Liang after returning to the guesthouse, she walked over and asked, "Can you write the few words I taught you before?"
"Yes, but the little one can't write yet."
Sui Yu thought about it, and then she sat in the house for three days, collecting all the words she could write in her mind, and wrote them all on a wooden board, asking Sui Liang to practice.
When Zhao Xiping saw it, he asked Sui Yu to write another version for him.
"I'll practice first. When the kid grows up, I'll teach him how to write." He made an excuse.
"You are quite studious." Sui Yu glanced at him.
"It's all for the children." Zhao Xiping said righteously.
Sui Yu laughed, "I can't write many words, and maybe some of them are missing arms and legs."
Zhao Xiping felt that it was already a lot. At least he saw that Sui Yu had never encountered a word that he couldn't write.
The next day, Sui Yu found another piece of wood and copied the words he had written to Sui Liang again.
When it was handed to Zhao Xiping, he took a look at it and found that the characters on this version were rather difficult.
"That's all? Anything else?" he asked.
"No more." After she finished speaking, Sui Yu reacted and remembered the words she had written in the diary. She said, "You mean the words I wrote when I was keeping the account, right? I just wrote them randomly. It's okay as long as you can understand them."
Zhao Xiping was silent. He learned a lot of characters she created.
Sui Yu saw that his expression was not right and asked, "What's wrong?"
"No." The man sighed inwardly. He thought, "If I have the chance in the future, I'll buy two scrolls of bamboo slips."
"Whatever you want." Sui Yu took off her shoes and lay on the bed. She looked at the halo cast on the wall and suddenly thought that if she came out of seclusion, wouldn't she be unable to speak the language or read the text?
"Hey, when you were on your way to Wusun, how did you communicate with the local people? People outside the pass can't speak Chinese, right?" Sui Yu asked sideways.
"No, but there are people in the local area who can speak Chinese." Zhao Xiping put down the wooden board, walked to the bed and lay down. "Shh, don't mention this spoiling thing."
While Sui Liang took the kid away, Zhao Xiping pulled up the mattress to cover the two of them, and the couple had a good fight in the bed.
The rapid breathing gradually subsided, and footsteps were heard outside the door. Zhao Xiping turned over and got out of bed, quickly picked up his clothes and put them on. After having a child, being intimate with Sui Yu was like cheating on him.
"Sis? Is everyone asleep? The cub is hungry."
"Take her to your room first. Your sister is asleep." Zhao Xiping said.
"What if the cub is hungry?"
After a few words, Zhao Mingguang started to sob, but when he heard the door open, he stopped crying.
Sui Liang chuckled, "Look, he also knows how to knock on the door."
Zhao Xiping took the baby and said to Sui Liang, "It's late, you should go back to your room and sleep."
"Okay."
Zhao Xiping carried the baby into the house. Sui Yu had already put on her jacket and sat up. She took the child and said, "Go get me some water."
Zhao Xiping went out. The lights in the west kitchen were still on. When it was almost dark, a group of more than 50 big merchants came. They threw down two red agate stones and asked the chef to kill chickens and sheep for them to fill their stomachs.
When Zhao Xiping went over, the food had just been served. The merchants were sitting in the yard, eating meat and drinking wine with big mouthfuls. They spoke with foreign accents. If it weren't for their Han Chinese appearance, one would have thought they were from outside the Great Wall.
"Sir, there are mutton buns steamed in the pot. Would you and your wife like to eat some?" asked Grandma Yin.
Zhao Xiping thought for a moment and said, "Pick up a plate for me and I'll take it back to eat."
"Hey, the lamb I bought today isn't big, but the meat is tender. The steamed buns are delicious." Grandma Yin put four buns on the plate and said, "I asked Sui Liang to have two, but he refused because I put onions in them. They're so delicious."
"Leave two for him. Bake them and let him eat them tomorrow morning. He likes them with the shells burnt." Zhao Xiping held the basin in one hand and the plate in the other and said, "After these people have eaten, you can close the door and go back to sleep. You can clean up these things when you wake up tomorrow morning."
"Hey." Grandma Yin responded.
Back at the master's courtyard, Zhao Xiping called out, "Sui Liang, would you like some mutton buns? I've brought them over."
"No, I've already gone to bed."
Zhao Xiping went straight back to the house. The baby was still breastfeeding. He put down the basin of hot water to wash his hands. He took a mutton bun in each hand, ate one himself and fed the other to Sui Yu.
After the cub had eaten its fill, Sui Yu and Zhao Xiping were also full. Sui Yu held the cub upright and asked, "Is that group of merchants still eating?"
"Well, the food had just been served when I got there." Zhao Xiping washed his hands, took the child, and said, "I'll take care of it, you clean up."
"When they were unloading the cargo today, I saw a pair of ivory in the box," Sui Yu whispered.
"What is ivory?" Zhao Xiping had never heard of it, let alone seen it. He warned, "Stay away from these people. They've probably been wandering outside the Great Wall for years. They're full of banditry and are very vigilant. They must have killed many people."
Sui Yu also discovered that these people could no longer be called businessmen. They carried treasures on them and everyone was a thief in their eyes. It was normal for them to talk peacefully one moment and kill someone with a knife the next.
When the west kitchen quieted down, Sui Yu and Zhao Xiping also rested with their children.
The next day, the sounds of digging on the other side of the river woke everyone up, and Zhao Xiping left the guesthouse to return to the city for morning training. After he left, Sui Liang came over to take the cub away, and Sui Yu slept for a while longer, covered with the mattress, before getting up.
The weather turned warmer in April. Sui Yu washed her face by the river in the morning. She squatted by the river and looked at the people digging the foundation on the opposite bank. Those who came to work before dawn were slaves, and the garrison soldiers who were paid to work came here now.
It was not until noon that Captain Hu's brother-in-law slowly came over.
Sui Yu was originally practicing archery with Xiao Chunhong. When she heard the quarrel, she ran over with her bow and arrow to watch the fun.
"Less than ten days into the work, he's already withholding wages, and these soldiers are asking for payment," said Mrs. Zhang, a helper, excitedly. She was washing the sheets, talking without stopping. "I heard someone say that we build houses here on a daily basis, and they're demanding that Cui be paid daily, too."
Captain Hu's brother-in-law glared at this side, then walked away angrily with a dark face.
Sui Yu waited until he was far away, then raised her voice and asked, "Hey, what did he say? Will he pay you?"
"Going back to get paid," a soldier shouted. "My aunt's cousin's brother-in-law works as a thug in a gambling den. I heard that Cui took the money his brother-in-law gave him and lent it out at interest, so he's holding up our wages. I'll quit after 10 or 20 days, to avoid him not being able to pay us later."
Sui Yu: ...
What a way to make money!
"Madam, do you think the guesthouse across the street can be built?" asked Mrs. Zhang.
Sui Yu nodded, "If it can be built, Mr. Cui will definitely let his brother-in-law see the house after he gets the money."
"That's right. If we can't hire builders, we still have slaves," Mrs. Zhang sighed. "These slaves are so unlucky. They come here before dawn and are not released until dark. The food they eat is not as good as the pigs we raise. They are not treated as human beings at all."
Sui Yu sighed and lost the mood to watch the fun.
She left the river with her bow and arrow, and was about to go look for the cub when she suddenly heard the sound of a piano coming from the first guesthouse. The side door of the guesthouse was closed, and she couldn't see what was going on inside.
Sui Yu stood there for a while, thinking that the sound of the piano was quite nice. Just after taking a few steps, he heard the sound of drums.
"Sister, I'll return the baby to you." Sui Liang came out from somewhere, handed the baby to Sui Yu, and ran around the corner to the east.
Sui Yu stared at the kid. She took out her bow and arrow, picked up the kid and chased Sui Liang.
As she had guessed, there was a haystack between the east side of the guesthouse and the livestock pen. Sui Liang, A Shui, and the big black dog all climbed up, stood on top of the haystack, and looked inside the wall.
"Can you see it?" Sui Yu asked.
"I can only see a little bit, there are Hu Ji dancing." Sui Liang said, "The courtyard of the guesthouse seems to be covered with blankets. Sister, this caravan is really rich. The previous caravans used to cover the blankets with cloth and set up racks to dry them, to prevent them from getting dusty and fading..."
"Let me take a look." A Shui supported Sui Liang. She was short and could only see the top of the wall even when riding on the dog.
"Ah——" the kid shouted at Sui Liang.
Sui Yu looked down at him, and in a moment's blink, he saw the two children on the haystack screaming and rolling down, while the big black dog was standing on top of the haystack, looking at them innocently.
"What happened?" Sui Yu laughed, "Hurry up and get up. Are you okay?"
The south door of the guesthouse opened, and a man with eagle-like eyes walked out. Sui Yu looked over and said apologetically, "Are we disturbing you? We'll leave now."
Sui Liang and A Shui climbed up with hay on their heads, picked up the fallen grass and fed the camels in the pen.
The man said nothing and went back in, but did not close the door. The drumming and piano music in the yard did not stop.
"Sister, does he mean that we can go over and take a look?" Sui Liang asked.
Sui Yu picked the hay out of his hair and said, "You two should stay away. Don't take Dahei over there, don't go in, and don't make any noise to disturb others."
Sui Liang took Ah Shui and walked over quietly. They stopped three feet away from the door. Only then could they see the scene in the guest house clearly. There was a carpet on the path in the courtyard. Eight Hu girls were dancing barefoot on the carpet. They had bells hanging on their bodies and small drums in their hands. They swung them, and the crisp sounds of the bells and drums rang out.
The melodious sound of camel bells came from afar, and another group of merchants came to rest.
Sui Liang's gaze shifted away from the yard. His sister was taking care of the baby, and he wanted to go and greet the guests.
"A Shui, let's go." He reminded softly.
Ah Shui looked at her twice more and left reluctantly.
The big black dog caught up quickly and when passing by the door, it also took a look into the yard.
There was no one outside the door. A man holding a bowl of wine walked over and closed the door.
"Who lives in this courtyard?" A new merchant passed by, leading his camel.
"They are also a group of merchants who came back from outside the Great Wall. They brought some Hu girls with them." Sui Liang explained.
The new merchants were in high spirits. The leader gave Sui Liang a handful of copper coins and said, "Come over and call them when they come out to eat."
Sui Liang shook his head, returned the money, and said, "You better be careful. They are quite fierce and not easy to mess with."
At noon, the merchants living in the first courtyard opened the door and came out to eat. Sui Liang saw the man who had held the door open for him. He walked over and said, "A new merchant is here today and wants to meet you. Do you need me to pass on a message?"
The man waved his hand.
"Then I'll go tell them not to bother you." Sui Liang laughed twice and ran away. Before leaving, he quickly said, "You are such a nice person."
The man was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, and the people traveling with him also smiled.
"Does the guest house need cleaning?" Sui Yu took the opportunity to come over and ask.
"No need. No one can enter our yard until we leave."
"Okay, I understand." Sui Yu left.
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