Chapter 359 Family Reunion
An old donkey carried a bald old man and strolled to the north of the city. The big black dog sleeping under the jujube tree barked twice, and Erhei came out of the guesthouse.
"Is Manager Yu here? She and I are old acquaintances. Keep an eye on the dog, don't let it pounce on me and bite me." The old bald man stared at the big black dog warily. The dog was really big, and he suspected that it could bite his donkey to death with one bite.
"Dogs don't bite." Erhei took two steps forward to pull the leash. He led the donkey towards the kitchen yard and said, "Come in and sit for a while. Our master is coaxing the child to sleep."
"Come and give me a hand. I'm old and can't move my legs." The bald old man stretched out his hand. After he landed on his feet, he looked at the closed door of the guesthouse and asked, "Is the guesthouse out of business?"
"It's already May, how could there be any passing caravans? There's no business in the summer." Erhei explained, "What do you want from our master? Do you want to discuss business?"
"No, no, no, we're old acquaintances. I came to talk to her, but she's busy, so forget it. Did your inn host many caravans this spring?"
Erhei didn't answer. He looked him up and down. An old acquaintance? He didn't doubt that his master knew the frail old man, but he had been staying in the guesthouse for six or seven years and had never seen this old man.
Hearing someone moving in the next yard, Erhei immediately hurried over and said, "Master, there are guests."
"Who is it?" Sui Yu asked.
The old bald man came over and said with a smile, "Shopkeeper Yu, do you still recognize me?"
"This is the person in charge of Minxiang in the city." Sui Yu said to Erhei, then turned to greet him, "Uncle, it's been a while since we last met. You never come here for no reason. What brings you here today?"
The old bald man laughed a few times to ease the awkwardness and said, "I just came out for a walk and went to the north of the city to take a look."
Sui Yu smirked, looking unconvinced.
"There are not many caravans coming to Dunhuang this spring. How is your business here?" The old bald man didn't beat around the bush.
"From February until now, we've received a total of five caravans." Sui Yu didn't hide the fact. "Last winter, over sixty caravans came. Almost all the caravans from inside and outside the Great Wall gathered in Dunhuang. But they all left at the beginning of spring, so there are no more caravans coming here."
"It seems normal. We don't have a single caravan in Minxiang," said the bald old man. "Do you think the caravans coming here this autumn and winter will be the same as last year? To be honest, I bought an acre of land nearby and plan to open a wine shop. I heard you opened a new warehouse. Do you sell wine there?"
Sui Yu secretly sighed, the old baldy is not young anymore, but he is still quite capable of making trouble.
"Yes, we have wine. Do you want to buy it? I'll sell you two bottles."
"What's the price?"
"Two hundred and thirty coins a jar, the wine is clear, it's good wine." Sui Yu said.
"What do you think about me opening a tavern here?" The bald old man believed in her vision. Seeing that the business in Minxiang was declining, he planned to seek business opportunities in the north of the city and rely on Sui Yu's guesthouse. As long as her business was not unsuccessful, he would make money.
"Well, it's hard for me to say. It may make money or it may not. You have to think about it yourself. After all, you are the one who pays the money and you are the one who takes the trouble to run the business." Sui Yu does not get involved in other people's decisions. Some people can make money and some can lose money when opening a tavern on the same street. How can she know whether it is good or not until the shop is opened.
The old bald man surveyed the area and revealed, "Others are waiting and waiting, wanting to open shops here to do business, but they're worried that in two years, when the cotton plantations become overgrown and the caravans return from the north, there won't be enough merchants here, and the shops will be empty and unprofitable. But I know you, you won't just sit there and watch your inn languish. So, your warehouse will attract caravans on your behalf, replacing the cotton business."
Sui Yu was surprised that he could think of this. She sighed and said, "Uncle, if you were 20 or 30 years younger, if we couldn't be business partners, we would probably be mortal enemies in the business world."
The old bald man laughed a few times, and this time his laughter was sincere. "Then I am still willing to make money in partnership with Shopkeeper Yu."
"If you open a shoe shop here, business will not be bad. Caravans wear out their shoes the most when traveling. Straw shoes, cloth shoes, leather boots, wool boots, a merchant can buy ten pairs and not be too many." Sui Yu showed him a clear way.
Unfortunately, the old bald man didn’t have the skills to make shoes. He chatted with Sui Yu for a while, then rode away on his donkey.
On the way, he thought that he didn't know how to make shoes but he could hire someone to do it, and he could also go to the villages to collect shoes and sell them. This would cost much less than selling alcohol.
"Old man, what are you thinking about? Come back to your senses, the donkey is going to carry you to the wheat field." The kid shouted.
The old bald man immediately came to his senses. He cursed and hit the donkey's head. The old donkey even nibbled on the wheat straw while being beaten.
The kid jumped off the camel to help drive the donkey. He scolded, "Old man, why didn't you watch the road while you were riding the donkey? Farmers are so busy planting wheat that they don't have time to go home for a hot meal. It's not easy. If you hadn't met me, the donkey would have gone to the field to nibble on the wheat seedlings, and you wouldn't have been able to pull it up. The owner of this acre of land would have lost several kilograms of wheat this year."
The old bald man recognized him and said, "You look exactly like your mother."
"Don't try to get close to me," the kid said, annoying him. "What's your name? Where do you live? I'll tell the landlord tomorrow and have him ask you for compensation."
The old bald man was afraid of him. He rummaged around in his pocket for a while, pulled out a handful of copper coins, handed them to him, and said, "Please compensate the landowner on my behalf. Is this enough?"
The boy counted carefully. Thirty-seven copper coins were enough to buy a few large steamed buns. He waved his hand and said, "You can go now."
"This whole family is difficult to deal with." The old bald man muttered, cursed the old donkey and left.
The boy rode the camel back and saw his mother standing under a jujube tree in the distance, with two big black dogs wagging their tails beside her legs.
"Mom, I'm back."
"I saw it. What did you and Old Baldy say on the road?"
"His donkey went down to the wheat field and ate the wheat seedlings, so I went to him to ask for compensation." The kid jumped off the camel and handed her a handful of copper coins, saying, "Tell Erhei to keep an eye out for the landowner when he comes. Give him this handful of copper coins. I still have to go to the city gate to wait for my father and uncle. I'm not home often, so I definitely won't run into the landowner. Mother, is Xiaohua still sleeping?"
"Yes, I played with Golden Wheat Ear for a long time today and went to bed late. I guess I won't wake up for another half an hour." Sui Yu said.
The boy washed his hands and ran into the house to wake up his sister so that she wouldn't sleep until dark and disturb his mother's sleep.
Two days later, Lao Tu hired workers to build a house in the north of the city.
The merchants in the city got the news overnight, and those who bought land in the north of the city also started to hire workers to dig foundations and build houses.
Song Congzu found Sui Yu and said, "Aunt Sui, when my mother left the country last year, she left me a message asking me to help Lv Ya'er build the house at home. She also said that she had already asked the craftsmen who built the warehouse last year where they were staying."
"They are the garrison soldiers in the military settlement. Your uncle Zhao found these people. Please wait a little longer. When he comes back, I will ask him to tell them again. It will be more useful for him to pass on the message than for you to visit them one by one." Sui Yu said.
Song Congzu thanked him and asked casually, "Is Sui Liang coming back soon?"
"I guess he will come back with his brother-in-law. There are not many caravans coming from the interior this year. He should have come back long ago. He hasn't come back yet. He must have been asked to help by his brother-in-law." Sui Yu understood Sui Liang's character. When he left Dunhuang, he said that he would find a local man in Wuwei County to guard the shop, and he would come back to help her take care of the children. There has been no news from him so far. If nothing unexpected happens, he was captured by Zhao Xiping on his way back.
As she expected, three days later, Zhao Xiping and Sui Liang walked into the East City Gate together.
Zhao Xiaozai would guard the city gate every afternoon for half a day. He took a rare nap at noon, and when he woke up, his father and uncle appeared in the yard.
"Am I still asleep? Am I dreaming?" The cub was in a trance for a moment, and the next moment, he pounced over, kicked his legs, and jumped into his father's arms.
Zhao Xiping caught him steadily, but before he could say anything, he felt a chill on his arm, and the child's tears slid down his dark arm.
He was overwhelmed with emotions and his mouth felt so dry that he couldn't open his mouth to speak.
"Dad, I miss you every day at home. Why don't you ask the caravan to send a message back?" The kid wiped his tears in grievance.
"Are you still crying?" Sui Liang came over to interrupt, "I'm so jealous. You didn't cry when I came back last year."
The kid choked, wiped his tears on his uncle's hand, and said jokingly, "Uncle, wait a minute, I'll cry a little longer and give you my tears."
"I don't care. These tears are not for me." Sui Liang wiped his tears on him and said, "Are you ashamed? You will be eleven years old in another six months, and you still throw yourself into your father's arms and wipe your tears."
"My dad has never left me. I miss him." The kid started crying again. "I haven't seen him for two months, and he didn't send any news back. Wuwuwu——"
Sui Liang was no longer jealous. When he led a caravan to Chang'an a few years ago, he heard that the little boy also cried miserably.
He stared at his brother-in-law as if he was watching a good show. He wanted to see if this tough guy could still be stubborn.
"I was too busy. I wanted to finish my work quickly and come back early, so I didn't have time to send a message to the caravan." Zhao Xiping explained gently, "I was supervising the workers in the fields every day. I left home before dawn and didn't return until dark. I had no idea if any caravans were passing through the city."
"You could have sent a message from the postman," the kid retorted, "you just don't miss us."
"I'm so wronged. If I don't care about you, who should I care about?" Zhao Xiping wanted to cry out to the heavens. "Ask your uncle, he's helping me too. Ask him if I'm too busy to eat."
Sui Liang twitched his eyebrows and said nothing.
Zhao Xiping looked at Sui Yu for help.
Sui Yu crossed her arms and watched the show. She then accused him, "Our little cub is also missing him so much back home that he's sick. He's so worried that he can't eat or sleep well. He keeps complaining about his heartless father all day long."
Zhao Xiping: "...My fault."
The child in the house started crying. Sui Yu and Sui Liang walked into the house at the same time. She picked up the little girl who had just woken up and said, "Don't cry, don't cry. Look who's back. This is your uncle."
Sui Liang leaned over and took out an artificial flower from his arms, saying, "Uncle is giving Xiaohua a flower. This is a flower made by uncle himself."
Sui Yu exclaimed "Wow" in surprise. She took the flower and let Xiaohua hold it. Seeing that she stopped crying, she carried her out.
Zhao Xiping had just finished coaxing his eldest son when he saw his youngest daughter crying. He rubbed his hands and said in a low voice, "Xiaohua, you're already this old? Does she recognize you? Can I hold her?"
Sui Yu tentatively handed the child over. Zhao Xiping took the child, holding the child's neck with one hand and waist with the other. Xiaohua stared at him with her dark eyes, and he looked at her with loving eyes.
"You don't remember me? I've been away from home for two months. Your mother worked so hard to give birth to you and take care of you. Are you good? Are you not making trouble?" Zhao Xiping asked in a low voice, "You look chubby, but your mother has lost weight."
Xiaohua's mouth pursed and tears immediately came out. She cried loudly and opened her short arms to find her mother.
Sui Yu didn't take it, and Zhao Xiping didn't give it to her either. He patted his little daughter's back gently and coaxed her in a low voice.
The little boy also came over to comfort her, "Don't cry, little sister, this is our dad."
Xiaohua didn't understand at all and kept crying. There was nothing Zhao Xiping could do, so he could only return her to her mother.
"She must be hungry." Sui Yu carried her in to feed her.
However, when they came out after eating, Zhao Xiping reached out to hug the little girl, but she still didn't want him. But when Sui Liang reached out his hand, she agreed to let him hug her.
Zhao Xiping stood aside and watched. He took out the little toys he bought one by one to coax her to play with them. He spent a long time trying to entertain her. He even held the little one on his lap to let her see that he was not a bad person and that her brother was willing to let him hold her.
By the evening, Xiaohua finally let him hold her.
"It's hard to explain." Zhao Xiping sighed with a smile, "He has quite a temper."
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