Chapter 345 Donation
The people living in the northwest borderlands were rough and sturdy, their behavior rather tough. They didn't care about fine dining, preferring to drink and eat meat with large gulps. Therefore, preparing meals was much easier for Sui Yu. He would stew bones and stir-fry meat with the meat, and steam meat and fried fish would be served in large bowls and plates.
There were many guests, so the two large iron pots brought back from Chang'an came in handy. They fried diced rabbit, stir-fried tender lamb, braised pork with garlic sprouts... one pot could cook enough dishes for twenty-three tables.
Meat dishes were served on the table one after another, and empty plates were taken away one after another. Cans of wine were drunk one after another. The tempting aroma fermented in the teahouse, and two big black dogs were guarding outside the door, drooling with greed.
Sui Yu accompanied the female guests, Zhao Xiping the male guests, and Sui Liang and Xiaozai took care of the two tables of children. The four of them each performed their duties. They worked energetically for two hours. Only after the guests had eaten and drunk their fill and left for home did the four of them drop their smiles and sit under the tree, as still and silent as wilted dates.
After being busy for several days, not only the master was tired, but the soles of the servants' shoes were also worn thin. However, the master could sit in the shade and rest after the guests left, while the servants still had to run around to clean up the leftovers.
Two big black dogs, covered in the aroma of meat, came over with their big bellies and wagging their tails. Their eyes kept staring at the maid who was carrying slop to feed the pigs. After feeding the dogs, the leftovers were all food for the pigs.
"Master, I see that you didn't eat much at the banquet. You were so focused on taking care of others. Are you not full? There is still chicken soup in the earthenware pot. I'll ask Meng Ma to use the chicken soup to make you a bowl of hot soup noodles?" Xiao Chunhong came over and asked.
Sui Yu waved his hand, "Forget it, I'm already full from the aroma of the meat at the banquet, so I won't eat anymore. Tell the others to stop working and take a break. Just clean up before cooking dinner. There are no guests in the guesthouse anyway, so there's no need to be too particular."
Xiao Chunhong agreed, but when she turned her head, she saw a group of people appear at the end of the road. She wondered, "Where are they from? Are they working in the fields or coming here?"
Sui Yu and Zhao Xiping looked over and didn't think he was the type to work in the fields.
Song Xian came over, wiping her hands. She also leaned over to look out the street and asked, "Who is it? Are there guests at your house again?"
"What are you looking at?" Huang Ancheng walked over. He was three steps away from Song Xian. He looked away and said, "There's nothing to do here. I'll be leaving now."
"Let's have dinner at my place tonight. You and your grandparents can stay, and Xiaomi's family will be there too. There were too many people at noon, and we couldn't entertain you properly. We'll get together for a table tonight." Zhao Xiping stood up.
Huang Ancheng waved his hand, and all the outsiders left. When the dinner started in the evening and the wine started flowing, his elder brother and sister-in-law might start to talk about the same old tune again, trying to persuade him to give in to Song Xian and persuade Song Xian and the two children to go home and live there.
"You've treated me well. I've eaten and drunk enough. I'm a little drunk now, so I need to go back and rest so as not to delay my duty tomorrow." After saying that, Huang Ancheng walked away with his hands behind his back.
"Third brother and sister-in-law, my father is drunk, I'm taking him back." Huang Lian was leading the camel carrying his father over.
"Just stay in the guesthouse. You can stay here at night." Sui Yu asked the guests to stay.
"No, you are very tired today, so don't bother to prepare for the evening. You can have some peace and quiet and go to bed early." Zhao Xiaomi came with Jinhua, followed by her mother-in-law and Aning who looked reluctant.
"Aning, stay and sleep at my place at night. I won't let you come to pick you up." Sui Yu could see that Aning was unwilling to go back.
Aning glanced at his mother and seeing that she didn't say anything, he left angrily.
"What a temper." Zhao Xiaomi scolded, "Third sister-in-law, we're leaving."
"The child wants to stay here and play with his brother, why do you insist on sending him back?" Sui Yu picked up a small piece of dirt and threw it at her. "Go away, go away. I won't keep you here. The food at my house is too spicy."
Zhao Xiaomi smiled and said as she walked, "As long as you are willing to stay, my two children can stay here with you for a long time."
"I'm happy with this. I have a little son and a little daughter." Sui Yu waved at Jinhua, "Dear girl, come back with your brother tomorrow."
Jinhua nodded happily.
"I like my aunt," she told her mother.
"Well, if you don't like me, you'd be stupid. I like your aunt, too," Zhao Xiaomi muttered. Turning around, she darkened her face and said to her mother-in-law in dissatisfaction, "Look at my father. He's so old and still behaves like this. He got drunk at my brother and sister-in-law's wedding. All the respectable guests were fine, but he was the only one who couldn't walk straight. Isn't that embarrassing?"
Huang's mother looked embarrassed, "I didn't sit with him. If you go back and scold your man, he should take care of his father."
"You are in your forties or fifties, not a child of four or five. You can't control your greed and you need someone to watch your mouth." Zhao Xiaomi became more and more unhappy.
"Grandpa, you're so embarrassed." Jinhua interrupted in confusion.
Huang's mother looked at her granddaughter and said, "I'll go back and scold him for being an old fool and hit him in the mouth with the sole of my shoe."
Zhao Xiaomi rolled her eyes and said, "If there's anything serious going on at my brother and sister-in-law's house in the future, don't come over with me. We and the second brother's family will buy you whatever you want to eat or drink."
A group of women came towards him, and Zhao Xiaomi straightened his expression to avoid being laughed at.
"Auntie, sister-in-law, let me ask you, have all the guests from the General of the Central Army's family left?" asked the leader.
Zhao Xiaomi guessed the identities of these people. She nodded and said, "They've all left. If you have anything to do, go find him."
Zhao Xiping also thought something had happened in the cotton field, so he called Ding Quan to bring a camel over.
"Dad, should I go?" the cub asked. "I'm going to get my horse."
Zhao Xiping thought for a moment and said, "You know where the government office is. Take Ding Quan to the government office to find Ma Nongjian and ask him to look for me in the fields..."
"Sir, Madam, have all the guests left?" Fifty or sixty women hurried over, saying happily, "We heard your family had a happy event today, so we came to congratulate you. We don't have anything nice to give you, so we can only come empty-handed. We thought there would be a lot of chores to clean up after the banquet, so we came to help."
Zhao Xiping waved his hand, signaling Ding Quan to take the camel away again.
Sui Yucheng and the others are truly in love with her. They really want to congratulate her, and this is the only way they can express their gratitude.
"It's just right. The servants in the house are all exhausted, and no one has taken care of the chores inside and outside the house. Come with me." Sui Yu led people to the teahouse. The dishes on the lacquer table were taken away, but the table had not been wiped in time. The fallen bones and spilled oil stains were still on the carpet.
"Where is the kitchen? I'll bring a bucket of water to wipe the table." Yu Fu asked, rolling up her sleeves.
"Follow me." Xiaoxi said loudly, "There are still several pots of bowls, dishes and chopsticks piled up in the kitchen. Half of you can come over."
Twenty or thirty people followed Xiaoxi away, and the others went to the river, took off their shoes and washed their feet, then came back wearing straw sandals. When they entered the house, they took off their straw sandals and stepped on the carpet barefoot.
Song Xian watched from the side and thought to herself that it was really particular. Before, the rough guys who came to eat had to wear shoes when they entered.
"The water is here." Yu Fu came over with a bucket and said, "Madam, leave the rest to us. You can go back to your room and rest. I think you seem a little sleepy."
Sui Yu pressed his eyebrows and said, "I got up early today, so I'm a little sleepy."
"Master, go and rest." Xiaoxi grabbed a handful of bath beans and said, "Leave the rest to me. I'll watch over here. Once everything is clean, I'll have Zhang Shun return the lacquer table, screen, and wine jugs and cups to Master Song."
"No rush, it's okay to wait two days." Song Xian said.
Sui Yu waved her hand. She took off her shoes and walked in wearing socks. She asked someone at random, "How are your health problems? Is the mugwort soup fumigation and washing helpful?"
The woman being questioned blushed, looking a little embarrassed. She whispered, "Much better. We all have milder ailments. We changed and washed when we came here, so it doesn't itch. Even if it itches, we don't scratch it. Don't worry, ma'am. It's not contagious."
"You misunderstood. What I meant was that if the mugwort soup fumigation is effective, I'll buy you some more and send them over," Sui Yu said. "Also, I wanted to ask, has everything been peaceful back home lately? Has anyone shameless come looking for trouble?"
The woman apologized hurriedly, her face redder, almost blood-red. She said in a panic, "Mugwort soup and fumigation are helpful, but Madam, please don't spend any more money on us. There are seven or eight hundred of us, and buying medicine together will cost a lot of money. There is mugwort in Dunhuang, and we can find it ourselves. If all else fails, we can cut grass or collect firewood to sell for money. Once we have enough money, we can go to the clinic to get medicine ourselves."
"Yes, madam, you don't owe us anything. You have done us a favor, but we owe you a lot. We can't use your money anymore. Be careful that someone may be greedy." Another woman interrupted.
Sui Yu looked up and accidentally saw someone kneeling on the ground with their legs together, rubbing their heels against the center of their legs. She looked away and said, "In a couple of days, I'll take someone to your place and ask if you're willing to buy on credit. I'll lend you some money. When the cotton harvest is good, you can pay me back or use the cotton to pay off your debts. You must be suffering from this evil habit. You scratch it when it itches, but if someone sees you, they'll point fingers and scold you."
Some people shed tears when they heard this.
Sui Yu sighed, got up and left.
After leaving the teahouse, Song Xian asked, "What did they say? Why did I see someone wiping tears?"
Sui Yu did not hide anything from her and told her everything.
Upon hearing this, Song Xian said, "Leave this to me. Lend me your maid. I'll pay, and they'll go to the clinic to buy herbs. Buy three or four thousand kilograms, and that'll be my donation to these poor people."
"Then I would like to thank Mr. Song on their behalf." Sui Yu smiled.
Song Xian patted her, "Did you do this on purpose?"
Sui Yu smiled and said, "I'll drag you along to do a good deed."
"Okay, just copy down their addresses for me, and I'll let Lu Yaer take care of this matter," said Song Xian.
Sui Yu responded to everything.
"By the way, let me tell you something. I don't want your Phoenix meat anymore." Song Xian finally found the opportunity to talk about this. "My girl has no taste. I can't be your aunt-in-law."
Sui Yu realized she was referring to Sui Liang and Lu Yaer. She pondered for a moment and said, "Children and grandchildren have their own blessings. Lu Yaer is quite capable, and I like her too. It's a pity that they are not destined to be together. We can't force it. They each have a more suitable marriage waiting for them."
Song Xian nodded. "I'm just telling you so you don't have to be on guard against me."
Sui Yu felt a little embarrassed, and she ran away, "I'm sleepy, I want to go back to the house and take a nap."
Sui Yu slept until dusk. When she woke up, the group of women who came to work had already left. The carpets, wall coverings and screens in the teahouse had all been removed. Zhang Shun was driving a camel into the city to return the things.
Sui Yu went to the kitchen. When Cui Sao saw him, she asked, "Master, are you hungry? Wait a little longer. There's nothing to eat right now. When the workers left, I mixed chicken soup with mutton offal and made two pots of soup noodles for them to fill their stomachs. It's a bit of meat, but they're all so skinny."
"Not bad." Sui Yu praised, "Let's make something light for dinner, some sauerkraut soup. It's getting hot, and I want something sour to whet my appetite."
"Oh." Cui Sao agreed.
Sui Yu left the kitchen and took a walk. When the servants who had gone into the city came back, she took out the account book and asked Zhang Shun to bring out twenty boxes of money.
"It's time to share the profits." Sui Yu smiled. "You've been looking forward to this for a long time, right?"
Xiao Chunhong and the others laughed.
"Last year, I brought out eighty thousand coins worth of cloth. The goods I bought from outside the customs were shipped back to Chang'an and sold there, totaling over four hundred and twenty-three thousand coins, not counting the odds, for a profit of three hundred and forty-three thousand coins. The customs fees for people and goods totaled twenty-one thousand coins, and the year-end payment was fifteen thousand coins. The food rations for people and camels totaled twenty-eight thousand coins. After deducting these, the remaining profit was two hundred and seventy-nine thousand coins. Add to that the ginseng, wine, glassware, carpets, and furs I kept for myself, which totaled about five thousand coins, for a total profit of two hundred and eighty-four thousand coins." Sui Yu explained every income and expenditure. She looked at everyone, lowered her eyes, and continued, "The twenty percent interest is fifty-six thousand eight hundred coins. Gan Da and Liu Ya'er don't participate in the dividend distribution. Divided among seventeen people, each person will receive thirty-three hundred and forty coins."
"Congratulations." Sui Yu closed the account book and said, "Everyone, you've worked hard for a year and a half, and it's time to get paid. These cash boxes belong to you. Move them out, and don't be polite with me."
The servants laughed. They were all looking forward to it and no one would be polite.
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