Chapter 84 Mission
We walked back slowly. The fire where the Nuo dance was performed was still burning brightly. The Nuo dancers and drummers had all left. Except for two yamen runners who were adding firewood to guard the fire, the rest were ordinary people who were warming themselves by the fire and chatting.
"This fire will burn until dawn," said Zhao Xiping.
"I don't know about that. Last year, Liang Ge'er and I came back from outside the city and went straight home." Sui Yu leaned over and looked over there, saying, "Shall we go warm ourselves by the fire too?"
"OK."
The three of them walked over and the people sitting around made room for them. Sui Yu and Zhao Xiping sat down with Sui Liang between them. There was a pile of dry firewood on the ground, which was heated by the flames, so their butts were not cold even when they sat down.
The flame, more than one meter high, changed its shape wantonly in the cold wind. Some naughty children chased the elongated flame. It seemed as if the fire was deliberately teasing the children, and when they screamed in surprise, it quickly retracted the burning flame.
Sui Yu pushed Sui Liang and said, "You should go run too and play with them."
Sui Liang was moved. He stood up and said worriedly before leaving: "Remember to call me when you leave."
"No matter who I forget, I will never forget you. I will wait for you here and will not go anywhere." Sui Yu found it funny.
Sui Liang left happily, running behind the group of children. The firelight illuminated his face, and his eyes were sparkling.
"You are not very old, are you? Your child is already this big?" asked the aunt sitting next to me.
Sui Yu's eyes widened in surprise, and he waved his hands and said, "No, I don't have a child yet. This is my brother."
Sui Liang happened to come running over and he shouted from behind: "Sister——"
Sui Yu covered his ears and Sui Liang laughed.
After sitting for about an incense stick's time, Sui Liang was tired from running, so he sat back and said he was thirsty and wanted to drink some water.
"Let's go back. It's getting late," Zhao Xiping said. "If you haven't had enough fun, come back tomorrow. The fire will burn for a few days. Every night there will be people here chatting and warming themselves by the fire."
Sui Yu and Sui Liang followed him.
There were still pedestrians on the road, and the taverns and grocery stores on the long street were still open, with bright lanterns hanging in front of the doors, and children wearing fur coats and fur hats were walking around in the grocery stores.
"Would you like some malt sugar?" Zhao Xiping asked Sui Liang with his head down.
"Eat." Sui Yu answered quickly, "Let's go buy some. I want to eat."
When I walked into the grocery store, the owner was wiping the counter. He looked up at the sound of footsteps and said with a smile, "Happy New Year."
"You are well too." Sui Yu took out a copper coin and said, "Give us three pieces of malt sugar. How much is it?"
"Fifteen articles."
"It's much more expensive than before." Zhao Xiping counted out six more copper coins and handed them over.
The boss smiled and said, "It's a lucky sum."
The malt candy was handed over to Sui Liang, who took it. He stood under the lantern and compared the sizes carefully. He gave the two larger pieces to the adults and ate the smallest one himself.
The three of them walked home against the cold wind, holding sweet candies in their mouths. Before the door was opened, the cat official came out to greet them, meowing.
"Cat Officer, would you like some candy?" Sui Liang took out a little from his mouth and handed it to the Cat Officer. The Cat Officer licked it, clicked his tongue twice, shook his head and ran away.
Sui Liang looked at the candy in his hand that the cat had licked, hesitated for a moment, and threw it on the ground without eating it. He looked up and found his brother-in-law looking at him, so he shrank his neck and laughed.
"I'll buy it for you tomorrow," said Zhao Xiping.
Sui Liang shook his head. He strode towards the kitchen, shaking his head and saying, "No, I'm not going to buy it. I've already tasted it."
"What?" Sui Yu asked, "I'm going to make peach soup. Please wait a moment and drink the peach soup later."
Sui Liang nodded.
"Are you hungry?" Sui Yu looked at the man who walked in and said, "Would you like me to heat up a bowl of mutton soup?"
"I'm not hungry, just take a shower and go to bed."
Cook a pot of peach soup, and each of the three people will drink a bowl. The remaining water will be used to wash their faces and soak their feet.
After a busy day, I lay down on the bed and the rooster crowed.
Sui Liang yawned, he was sleepy, he tucked in the mattress and lay down, he fell asleep in just a few moments.
Listening to the breathing sound at his feet calm down, Zhao Xiping pinched Sui Yu's feet and whispered, "Come to sleep."
As soon as she heard the voice, Sui Yu knew what he was thinking about. She didn't move and said, "It's late at night. I want to go to sleep."
The man stopped talking, but his hand under the mattress moved up little by little, his rough fingertips rolling over Lingding's ankle. The joints under the skin were small, not even as wide as the tip of his thumb.
A tingling sensation rose from the soles of her feet. Sui Yu bit her lip and shivered involuntarily as she felt the rough fingertips sliding along her calves to her knees.
The man chuckled and said again, "Come here."
Sui Yu came over and she bit him angrily.
Zhao Xiping turned her face over and leaned over to kiss her.
The mattress became hot and humid, and the man bent down like a bow. He picked up the soft yet cold feet and placed them on top, saying shamelessly, "Let me warm your feet."
Sui Yu chuckled, she lifted her toes and rubbed them gently, and when she heard her breathing tighten, she laughed again.
A rooster crowed twice, the door opened and closed, and the man went out. Sui Yu lay on the side of the bed with her hands hanging down and looked out. She heard the cat official cry out, and the pigs in the pigsty woke up and grunted twice.
The water in the pot was heated. After Zhao Xiping finished wiping and washing, he brought in the water. Seeing that Sui Yu had fallen asleep, he wrung out the cloth to wipe her hands and feet, poured the water, closed the door, came in, and hugged her to sleep.
The next few days were like New Year's Eve, with nothing but eating and having fun.
After the fifth day of the New Year, Zhao Xiping spent three days tanning the dried wolf skin. With the wolf skin, Sui Yu would no longer be afraid of the cold when going out hunting. Then he took Sui Yu and Sui Liang out with a camel.
From the desert in the south to the Great Wall in the north, in the uninhabited wilderness, Zhao Xiping and Sui Yu drew their bows and shot arrows. The birds in the sky, the field mice on the ground, the rabbits foraging for food, and the mice passing by were all the couple's targets.
Sui Liang ran around dragging a heavy wolfskin, running wherever the arrows fell.
After the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Qin Dashun also joined in.
In the morning, the two of them fought hand-to-hand, in the afternoon they went out to practice archery, and in the evening they practiced with sticks. Zhao Xiping's days were very fulfilling.
After Qin Dashun came with her, Sui Yu no longer accompanied Zhao Xiping out. She stayed at home to deal with the prey she had brought back, including field mouse skins, bird feathers, and rabbit skins.
By early February, the accumulated field mouse skins were enough to make a leather vest.
Sui Yu wandered around the streets for half a month before finally buying a piece of tanned cowhide from a Hu merchant. It was two feet long and one foot wide, and he asked her for two strings of cash.
Cowhide is thin and tough. After cutting it, Sui Yu used an arrow to drill holes in the cowhide, and then sewed the cowhide to the outside of the rat skin vest. The remaining cowhide was patched on the chest to protect the heart.
A waistcoat was completed. It was the end of February and the soil was about to thaw. Before that, Zhao Xiping had to go back to his hometown.
Sui Yu took the dried wolf meat. A wolf weighing about 50 kilograms would only weigh about 20 kilograms after drying. (This is Sui Yu's concept of weight.)
After bagging the wolf meat, Sui Yu took down two dried pheasants and five dried field mice from the wall and put them into a sack. She walked around the room and said, "Would you like to take a bag of my dried radishes back to my parents?"
"These are enough. We have some dried radish at home." Zhao Xiping took out a wolf skin and tied it to his back, saying, "Are you really not going back?"
"Why go back? To get scolded?" Sui Yu glared at him.
Zhao Xiping thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "That's fine. We have pigs, camels, and chickens at home, and you'll need them. I'll be back soon, and I should be back within ten days."
"You can stay for two more days." Sui Yu walked over and tugged at his clothes, saying, "Go slowly, don't drive at night, and don't skip meals."
Zhao Xiping raised his hand and saw Sui Liang looking at him intently with her eyes wide open. He smoothed her hair.
"Okay, I'm leaving now." He pushed her aside, went into the camel pen to lead the camels, and came out saying, "No need to see me off today."
The burlap bag of meat was thrown onto the camel's back, the dry food for the journey was slung over his shoulder, and a bundle of firewood and two bundles of hay were tied to the sides of the camel's back. Zhao Xiping took inventory and found that nothing was missing. He blew a frivolous whistle at the woman standing under the eaves and strode out, leading the camel.
Sui Yu smiled and spat at him, then followed him out.
Qin Dashun was sitting in the yard weaving baskets. Seeing someone passing by, he walked out quickly and asked, "Are you going home today?"
Zhao Xiping nodded, gestured towards home, and said, "Brother, please take care of it."
"Don't worry, I'll take care of it." Qin Dashun said generously.
After Zhao Xiping left, Sui Yu took a shovel and Sui Liang to dig the vegetable garden. The shepherd's purse sown last winter has sprouted, and the leeks have also sprouted. In ten days or half a month, they will be able to eat fresh green leafy vegetables.
"Sui Yu, you didn't plant any onions or garlic this year?" Aunt Du was also in the vegetable garden. She pulled two handfuls of green onions from the patch and threw them over, saying, "Dig ditches, separate the green onions, and plant them one by one. When they grow up, they will take root and one single onion will become a whole bunch."
Sui Yu thanked him and asked Sui Liang to go pick some. She said, "We eat garlic and onions mostly by digging them up from the wild while herding sheep. We bury them in sand pits and store them well. They can last for ten days to half a month. But we don't eat them often. Sui Liang doesn't like onions and garlic, so I don't plant them."
Sui Liang stuck out his tongue.
Aunt Du glanced at Sui Liang and said, "My grandson doesn't like this either. By the way, did you hear about this? Another woman in the brothel is pregnant, and a few days ago, three old men rushed to claim the baby. They all wanted to emulate Lao Niu and snatch a wife and bring the baby home."
Sui Yu shook her head, she had not heard any news about this matter.
"What's next?" she asked.
"I don't know either." Aunt Du shook her head. "Let's see what happens in a few days."
Sui Yu felt a little uneasy. After planting two bunches of onions, she picked up a shovel and took Sui Liang home. They didn't go in, but went straight to Shiqitun.
The door of Uncle Lao Niu's house was half open. Sui Yu knocked on the door and walked in. Tong Huaer was holding A Shui in the yard to bask in the sun. There were bamboo mats and mattresses on the ground to make it convenient for A Shui to roll around on the ground.
"Sui Yu is here?" Tong Huaer stood up and said, "Lao Niu is not at home. He went to the river to wash diapers."
"I'm not looking for him. You don't have to rush. I'll just say a few words and leave. I heard that someone in the brothel is pregnant, and three men are vying to claim the child. The brothel people will definitely not be willing to let her go. If they are angry, they will definitely think of you. After all, you are the first person at the beginning." Sui Yu said.
Tong Huaer nodded, she had also heard about this.
"The baby is born. People over there may want to take you back. You should not go out for a while. Ask Uncle Lao Niu to go out less as well and lock the door at home." Sui Yu came here to talk about this.
Tong Huaer's face turned pale.
"Please be careful. I'm going back." Sui Yu turned and walked out.
"I'll take you there." Tong Huaer carried Ah Shui out of the house, "Sui Yu, thank you."
Sui Yu said nothing.
Tong Huaer watched Sui Yu and Sui Liang walk away, then she closed the door and bolted it.
Three days later, Sui Yu was watering the vegetable garden when she heard loud shouting and cursing in the village. She thought someone was arguing, so she ignored it. After she finished watering with two buckets of water, she led the camel back.
"Who's quarreling?" Sui Yu asked the people in the alley.
"People from the brothel came to arrest Tong Huaer, but Lao Niu refused to let her go. He held a kitchen knife and started yelling and cursing in the yard, saying he would chop anyone who came in."
Sui Yu opened the door and locked the camel in. She went to Shiqitun. There were too many people blocking the entrance of the alley, and she couldn't see the situation clearly. After listening for a while and seeing that Uncle Niu was not at a disadvantage, she went back to cook.
People from the brothel came three times, but were blocked outside the door each time by the deadbeat. The last time, they forced the door open, but found that only Uncle Niu was in the room. They couldn't find Tong Huaer no matter how hard they tried, and were finally driven out by Uncle Niu with a knife.
After that, the matter was left unresolved.
One morning, when Sui Yu was cooking, there was a knock on the door. She stood in the yard and asked, "Who is it?"
"I, Lao Niu." Uncle Lao Niu grunted.
The door opened, and a bag of food was thrown in. Uncle Niu saw that it was her and asked, "Isn't Zhao Xiping at home?"
"He has gone back to his hometown. What are you doing..." Before she could finish her words, Uncle Niu turned around and ran away.
Uncle Niu was old and short, but he ran very fast and was out of the alley in a flash.
Zhao Xiping went back and spent two nights there before returning. Leaving the village and walking onto the main road, he met a group of envoys holding flags. He shamelessly led the way for them and in the evening took advantage of the situation to stay at the post station, where he didn't have to pay for food and accommodation.
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