Chapter 233 Persuading Xiaomi
It took two days for nine maids, including Xiao Chunhong, Liu Yaer, and Xiao Xi, to weave a large net with hemp rope under the guidance of Uncle Lao Niu. They also used willow branches as frames to weave several small net bags, which were tied to long poles and suitable for catching cats from a distance.
One afternoon, Sui Yu brought Xiaozai and Xiao Chunhong back to the city. In order to lure the cat, she took away half a basin of braised pork soup noodles. She mixed the braised meat and noodles together and kneaded them into a fine powder, making sure that every noodle was covered with minced meat.
Just like the previous two days, the stray cats in the yard quickly hid when the door opened. A cat, the cat officer, was standing on the wall. It smelled the meat and recognized the person who walked into the yard. With a cry of "wow," it excitedly jumped down from the wall, meowing as it ran.
"Cat officer, I'm here to take you home." Sui Yu touched the cat's head and let it rub against her leg's fur.
The little cub also reached out to touch it, and after touching a handful of fur, he supported himself with his hands and puffed out his cheeks to blow, causing the cat's fur to fly everywhere.
The cat officer stood up and dug the basin. Sui Yu stood up and looked around. She placed the basin in the corner near the kitchen. There was a blind spot here, which could prevent the cat from escaping when she caught it.
When the food bowl was put down, the cat hiding on the beam showed its head, and two cat heads also squeezed out from the crack of the door of the back room.
"Mimi—" Sui Yu called out.
Two cats tried to jump off the beam, but their heads retracted into the crack of the door. After a while, two different cat heads emerged.
"Let's go pick peppercorns." Sui Yu pulled the kid away, intending to proceed slowly.
The sun was setting in the west, and the earthen walls and eaves cast large shadows on the ground. The pepper trees were also covered by the shadows, so people standing underneath would not be exposed to the sun. Sui Yu took off the scarf covering her head. Now she felt much cooler without the cloth covering her head.
Xiao Chunhong had already started picking the peppers, and the little guy came over to help. Sui Yu was worried that the thorns on the pepper tree would cut his delicate skin, so he coaxed him to watch the cat eat.
"Walk lightly, watch from a distance, and don't get close to them." Sui Yu instructed.
"Okay." The kid went.
"The young master was born in this house, right?" Xiao Chunhong asked.
"Yes, it's quiet here, more suitable for me to recuperate after childbirth." Sui Yu threw a peppercorn into her mouth, bit it with her teeth, and the numbing and pungent taste rushed straight to her brain, and her tongue lost consciousness instantly.
On the other side, the cub tiptoed to the front yard. He lay on the wall and stuck his head out. The cats, who had heard the noise a long time ago, ran away and looked at him vigilantly.
"Meow——" He squeezed his throat and imitated the meow of a cat.
The cat owner was full, so he took the time to meow, then squatted on the ground calmly, licking his paws carefully.
The cub came along the wall, but before he took a few steps, a large group of cats gave up eating and ran into the yard to stare at him.
"Eat it." The kid squatted down and dug into the dirt, saying, "Eat it quickly. It's delicious."
The cats all licked their mouths and paws, and the little cub watched with relish. Two big orange cats saw that he was not moving, so they looked at the food bowl, pricked up their ears vigilantly, and went back to eat.
The cub noticed that the cat he was staring at didn't dare to approach the food bowl, so he turned his gaze to the cat officer and muttered, "Cat officer, which one is your wife?"
The cat owner licked his paws clean, then stood up and walked towards the backyard, and the cub followed immediately.
"Mom, I'm coming over. The cat is afraid to eat." He ran over and said.
Sui Yu had just recovered from the numbness when she said, "Go and visit them a few more times. They'll get used to you and won't be afraid of you anymore."
The little cub noticed her mouth and asked greedily, "Mom, what did you eat?"
"I didn't eat anything."
The boy didn't believe it. He walked around the pepper tree twice and found nothing. He rolled his eyes and said, "I'm hungry."
Sui Yu glanced at him and said nothing.
"Mom, I'm hungry." He said again.
Xiao Chunhong suppressed her laughter and said, "If you're hungry, go eat cat food."
Sui Yu pinched a small Sichuan peppercorn and handed it over, saying, "I just ate this, would you like one too?"
The cub sniffed and found that the smell was not right.
"It doesn't smell good, but it's sweet when you bite it." Sui Yu added.
The boy believed it. He took the peppercorns, chewed them, and spat them out the next moment, lowering his head and spitting.
"Don't cry, you asked for it yourself." Sui Yu reminded her and continued picking peppercorns.
"It's not sweet, it burns my tongue and it hurts." He had never eaten Sichuan peppercorns before and didn't know how to describe the spiciness and numbness.
"It will be fine in a while." Sui Yu laughed at him, "Let's see if you're still greedy."
A peppercorn knocked down a child, but he didn't make any trouble. When it was almost dusk, Sui Yu and Xiao Chunhong picked peppercorns from half a tree.
When I left this time, there were seven or eight big cats lying in the yard. Some of them were braver and meowed when they saw Xiao Chunhong taking away the food bowl.
As soon as he walked out the door, the cub forgot about the burned tongue. He sat on the camel's back with the cat in his arms, enjoying the breeze. He took a big bite against the wind, turned his head and spit it out. He kept doing this boring action all the way.
The next evening, Sui Yu and Xiao Chunhong were going to the city to pick peppercorns again. She asked Xiaozai if he wanted to go again. He hesitated and chose to pick eggs at home.
Another half bowl of rice was brought in, this time it was millet rice mixed with egg custard. The rice was cold and had a strong egg smell. People disliked it, but cats liked it very much. As soon as they entered the door, all the cats came out when they smelled the smell.
The food bowl was placed in its old place. Before Sui Yu left, a big orange cat rushed over. She tried to touch it, but it was so focused on eating that it didn't react at all.
Sui Yu smiled.
It took another half day to pick the remaining peppercorns. When she left, there were five more cats in the yard. When Xiao Chunhong went to get the food bowl, two cats stood up to see her off.
"Master, when are we going to catch the cat?" Xiao Chunhong was a little excited.
"In two days, tomorrow we will come again and bring the big net to cover the eaves." Sui Yu said.
A large net was propped up with sticks to form an outer wall, leaving only one passage for the cat to enter and exit. The food bowl was left behind, and Sui Yu and Xiao Chunhong went to the backyard to pull weeds.
The cat food we brought this time was not finished. Some wild cats were wary by nature and would rather starve than walk into the traps set by humans.
For the next two days, Sui Yu didn't come over again, nor did he ask anyone to deliver food.
The wheat in the wheat field has turned yellow and the soybeans can be harvested. Before the autumn harvest, Zhao Xiaomi invites his brother and sister-in-law to dinner. At the dinner table, they talk about catching cats at night. Zhao Xiaomi intends to hire two cats.
"We have a lot of food and grass at home, and there are also a lot of rats. Last month, I almost sold out a pile of golden grass, and I wanted to go gather some firewood to burn. When I pulled it apart, I revealed a rat hole. I poured a bucket of water into it, and thirteen little rats floated up. It was disgusting." Zhao Xiaomi said with disgust. "At that time, I wanted to borrow a cat guard from the guesthouse to catch rats, but then I got too busy and forgot."
"Xiaomi, how much did you make from selling grain this year?" Sui Yu asked. "About four or five thousand coins, right?"
Huang's mother was unhappy when she heard this and interrupted, "Sister-in-law, have another bowl of chicken soup. This is from a two-year-old hen, and the stew is very nourishing."
Sui Yu handed the bowl to Zhao Xiping and said, "Auntie, please sit down and let Xiping serve me. You are the elder, so I won't bother you."
"I have over 4,800 coins. By March next year, I estimate I'll have saved 7,000 to 8,000 coins." Zhao Xiaomi didn't think much of it, nor did she hide anything. She dragged her chair closer and said, "Third sister-in-law, I plan to buy another four or five acres of wasteland by the end of the year. The golden flower grass seeds you brought me from outside the Great Wall are more plump, so I plan to plant a few more acres to see if the grass seeds outside the Great Wall are better."
"Are you planning to hire some long-term workers? Or buy a couple of slaves, it would be fine. With help, you can relax a lot." Sui Yu reached out and stroked her sister-in-law's hair. Xiaomi was younger than her, not even twenty years old, and her long hair had lost its luster.
Huang's mother put down her bowl and chopsticks and said, "Our family is small and we can't afford to keep farmhands and servants. Two more people means not only two more helpers, but also two more mouths to feed. We can't afford to feed the family."
"You can't even afford food with the money you earn?" Zhao Xiping asked. He glanced at the second son of the Huang family and asked, "If you can't afford food, how can you afford to marry a daughter-in-law?"
Huang's father and mother's expressions changed, and Zhao Xiaomi lowered her eyes.
"When you opened your food shop in Minxiang, you only had to roll out bread and make dumplings in the house. You complained about being tired then, but now you don't feel tired? Could it be that you were a clay figurine back then and a bronze figurine now?" Sui Yu joked with her, "If you can't bear to buy slaves, then hire two farmhands. The farmhands will go to the fields, and you can be free to contact merchants. We can help you attract business, but if business comes and you all go to the fields, it will be useless if we can't find your people. Also, to do business, you still have to contact merchants yourself. People will only think of you when they buy food and fodder if they have a relationship with you."
Zhao Xiaomi took these words to heart, and she also thought of another thing. She was now treating herself like an animal, cutting grass, bundling grass, and carrying grass in the fields. She was saving money, and when the second son got married, she would just sit in the house and enjoy the life. She would be at a great loss.
"Okay, I'll hire two cats and two servants." Xiaomi hardened his heart and said through gritted teeth, "Brother, sister-in-law, please keep an eye out for me. If there are any honest servants, I'll buy one."
Once a slave is registered under her name, he will be hers from now on.
Huang's father and mother's faces were as black as the bottom of a pot. They wanted to kick Sui Yu's family out. These two troublemakers were so angry that they couldn't vent their anger and could only curse in their hearts.
After lunch, Sui Yu said goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Huang with a smile on her face. Zhao Xiping held the sleeping child in his arms, looked at his sister, and followed Sui Yu.
There was sunshine outside. Sui Yu covered her head and face with a headscarf. After wrapping them up, she took the child and waited for Zhao Xiping to ride the camel before handing the child over.
The camels walked slowly in the city, two camels walking side by side, their bulging bellies rubbing against each other from time to time.
"We should have let Xiaomi marry a family with only one son. If she had had business opportunities and made money, those two old guys would have been more calculating." Zhao Xiping sighed.
"The key is whether Huang Lianzheng can stand firm. Your family has three sons. If I marry you, I won't have to suffer much from my parents-in-law." Sui Yu said.
Zhao Xiping sat up straight without making a sound. He raised the corner of his mouth and said calmly, "You have a point."
What a bad behavior! Sui Yu smiled.
He went home for a nap, and when he woke up, he received a group of merchants. When the sun set, Sui Yu took all the servants, brought food, and rode a camel into the city.
"Xiao Chunhong and I will go in later. The rest of you spread out and guard outside the door and the wall. If any cat escapes, catch it with a net bag." Sui Yu instructed, "Don't catch it with your hands. Be careful of stray cats scratching you."
Zhang Shun and others nodded.
Sui Yu and Xiao Chunhong opened the door and went in first. As soon as they entered, Sui Yu put down the cat official. Tonight, it and a bowl of raw fish and rice were baits.
The wild cats in the yard had been out of food for three days. As soon as they smelled the fishy smell, most of them gave up the idea of running away. The two big orange cats simply threw down their weapons and followed the cat owner to scramble for food.
The food bowl was placed in its old place, and Sui Yu and Xiao Chunhong stepped back. All the wild cats in the yard heard the news and rushed in.
Sui Yu made a gesture to Xiao Chunhong, and the two of them approached slowly. As soon as the figures moved, four cats jumped out vigilantly.
Sui Yu continued to approach, and Xiao Chunhong followed him. Five more cats ran out licking their mouths, breathing fiercely at people.
The two walked outside the big net and stood quietly for a moment, waiting for the cats under the eaves to relax their vigilance. Sui Yu winked at Xiao Chunhong, and the two of them stepped on the wooden sticks that were buried in the ground, broke them, and pounced on them with the big net.
A dozen or so cats that reacted quickly ran away. The cats covered by the big net screamed miserably and the food bowl overturned. Sui Yu noticed that a skinny orange cat took the opportunity to sneak in and gobble up the food, as if it was only interested in filling its stomach and not its life.
The cat that escaped the net climbed over the wall and fled, but before it landed on the ground, it was caught in a net bag by the servants guarding outside.
"Master, the cats have been caught." Zhang Shun shouted outside.
"Once the problem is solved outside, come in and help." Sui Yu shouted.
Zhang Shun and Qingshan each carried a sack. They wore sheepskin gloves on their knuckles and had tattered clothes wrapped around their hands. They were mainly responsible for catching cats from the big net.
One, two, three... fifty-two, including the cats caught outside the wall, a total of fifty-two.
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