Chapter 364 Extra 1
Li Mutou was about to go out to open the gate to let the camels out when he saw Sui Liang coming towards him with his hair dripping wet. He asked in surprise, "Second Shopkeeper, what happened to you so early in the morning? Did you fall into the river while crossing it?"
"Can you heal birds?" Sui Liang shook the silent black hawk in his hand and said, "I fished it out of the river. It seemed to be drowning.
He held the black eagle's two claws, with the eagle's head facing down and its sharp beak fluttering. As he walked, water flowed out of the beak.
Li Mutou rolled up his sleeves and took the eagle. He put his hand on the eagle's eye and said, "It's still hot."
He peeled back the eyelids and saw the yellow-brown eyeballs moving slightly. He breathed a sigh of relief and said, "The eyes can still move. There may be hope."
"Then save him." Sui Liang wiped his face and said, "I'll go back and change my clothes and come back later."
Uncle Niu came out of the second guesthouse and opened the door to see Sui Liang passing by like a drowned rat. He called him over and asked, "Did you fall into the river?"
"I caught an eagle in the river."
Uncle Niu glanced toward the horizon and muttered, "The sun hasn't risen yet, and it's not yet completely light. Everyone in the guesthouse is still asleep, and there aren't many people outside. When you wake up, walk around the yard. Don't wander by the river. The current is fast, and if you fall in, you'll be swept away in an instant... I haven't finished yet. Why are you running? Just run. I'll talk to your brother-in-law later. You young people always rely on your agility to rush up mountains and into rivers. If something happens, it's too late to regret it."
Sui Liang slowed down after turning the corner. He rubbed his ears and broke off a grass stem and put it in his mouth.
Perhaps because he learned about the fire in the brothel before going to bed, he dreamed of witnessing his aunt and sister hanging themselves. After waking up in shock, he could not fall asleep again, so he opened the door and sat in front of his father's grave for half the night.
After crossing the river and returning home, Sui Liang changed and came out again. The other four people living in the house had also woken up.
Zhao Xiping and the little guy were practicing martial arts in the open space, while Sui Yu stood by and watched with Xiaohua in her arms.
The other side of the river was crowded with camels drinking water, and upstream, slaves were drawing water.
A wheelbarrow appeared on the road between cotton fields. An old man who collected night-blooming jasmine was looking at the cotton in the field as he walked.
"Ah——" Xiaohua discovered her uncle.
Sui Yu turned around and looked over, saying, "Uncle Lao Niu said you caught a black eagle in the river?"
Sui Liang nodded. He didn't say he had a nightmare and couldn't sleep. He lied and said, "I woke up hungry at dawn. I wanted to go to the kitchen to find something to eat. When I was crossing the river, I heard some movement in the river. A dark mass. I thought it was a human head. I jumped into the river and found that it was a drowning eagle."
"I'll go take a look," Sui Yu said. "It might be the eagle that Hu Shang lost a few days ago."
"The caravan has left Dunhuang." Sui Liang said.
"The eagle you fished out of the river is yours. See if you can save it. But even if you do, you won't be able to tame it. It's an adult eagle, wild and accustomed to hunting." Sui Yu handed the little girl who wanted her uncle to hold her and continued, "Keep it for now. When we go to Wusun, we'll send it back home."
"Sister, are you going to take the caravan to Wusun?" Sui Liang was delighted. "I knew you would leave Dunhuang. Staying in the north of the city day after day to take care of the children is not suitable for you."
Sui Yu smiled and said, "I enjoy my life at home."
Sui Liang shook his head, "Yes, home is definitely good, but life outside of home is also wonderful."
"I didn't expect you to think so. You are very homesick." Sui Yu was a little surprised.
Sui Liang lifted Xiaohua above his head. She laughed excitedly and he laughed along with her.
"I'm talking about you, not me," he explained. "I like being at home, but that doesn't mean I want you to stay home too. Sister, when Xiaohua is older, you can leave the quarantine and I'll stay home to take care of her."
"With your brother-in-law here, he doesn't have to go to military training. He can take care of Xiaohua with him, so you don't have to stay at home anymore. When the time comes, you and the cub will come with me."
"Okay!" Sui Liang was excited. He hugged Xiaohua and spun around happily, saying, "When Xiaohua grows up, we will take her out of the confinement."
"Sister-in-law--" A Shui ran out of the guesthouse, followed by Hua Niu, A Qiang and Da Zhuang.
"Master Du has already crossed the river, you guys should hurry over." Sui Yu waved his hand.
The four boys and girls hurriedly quickened their pace and left.
Sui Yu and Sui Liang walked through the second guest house, and the servants who had gotten up early to wash and dress came out to greet them.
Sui Yu saw Gan Er, and she pointed at him and asked him to follow her.
"Erhei, Qingshan, come here too." she shouted.
Zhang Shun and Li Wu also followed, and Xiao Chunhong and Xiao Xi hurriedly tied up their hair and caught up.
Sui Yu saw the eagle that fell into the water. It was indeed the one that Hu Shang brought. It was lying in the chicken coop, dying. When people approached it, it let out a rough cry.
"How?" Sui Liang asked.
"It vomited a puddle of water. There are no external injuries. I don't know how it fell into the river." Li Mutou spread out his hand, revealing a bright red wound on the back of his hand. "This is from it. It has a very vicious temper. If you want to keep it, don't let it out of the cage."
Sui Yu pulled out a silver hairpin and reached into the cage to poke it. The black eagle turned its head and stared at her. Its pair of yellow-brown eagle eyes were cold and fierce, which was quite scary.
She took back the silver hairpin and said, "Brother Liang, listen to Li Mutou. This eagle cannot be released from the cage. If you don't want to keep it anymore, take it far away and then let it fly. If it can catch lambs, it can also catch Xiaohua."
Sui Liang looked down at Xiao Hua and said solemnly, "Okay, I'll take note."
Sui Liang took the eagle cage away, and Sui Yu took Xiaohua. She looked at Gan Er and said, "You're free now. What are your plans? Your mother and brother are still in Zhangye. They probably don't know this good news yet. It's almost September now, and winter will come after the autumn harvest. Do you want to go to Zhangye to celebrate the New Year with your mother?"
Gan Er's face was panicked. He clenched his hands and asked nervously, "Master, can't I stay in the guest house?"
"Do you still want to continue traveling with the caravan?" Sui Yu asked.
Gan Er nodded. "It's still the same as before. When Zhang Shun leads the caravan out of Dunhuang, I follow. When he's not out on business, I stay in the guesthouse."
Sui Yu pondered for a moment.
Seeing her hesitation, Gan Er begged, "Master, please leave me here. Where else can I go if I leave here?"
"Talk to your mother and your eldest brother. Now that you have money, you can build a few houses, buy a few acres of land, and buy a couple of camels. Then you can get married and live a peaceful life." Sui Yu offered him an idea. "Also, you don't have to call me Master anymore. You can call me Shopkeeper Yu or Madam."
Gan Er was a simple, honest man, a bit stubborn. He'd been accustomed to being a slave, accustomed to being told what to do and being led, and accustomed to a routine life. Now that this routine had been broken, he felt restless, feeling that his master no longer wanted to keep him. In his panic, he even considered selling himself into slavery again.
"Qingshan, what's going on with you, Erhei and the others? Aren't you born as official slaves? The other official slaves have been pardoned, why is there no news about you? After breakfast, follow your master to the government office to ask." Sui Yu said.
"I might not be a government slave. I'm the son of a slave, and my mother might not be a government slave either." Qingshan scratched his head. "Captain Hu's father, the late Captain, kept many slaves when he was alive. During that time, there was war and many poor people sold themselves into slavery. He also took many slaves of unknown origin from the battlefield. Slaves and their children, and their descendants, were all private slaves."
Erhei nodded and said, "We ourselves don't know what crime our ancestors committed. Master, there's no need to ask the government. They can't find out."
Ah Niu glanced at Gan Er and said, "I'm not in a hurry to redeem my slavery. I'll still work for my master."
After making a lot of money by following the caravan, he no longer cared about the little money he earned from farming and selling grain.
Xiao Chunhong glanced around and interrupted, "Master, can we still live in the guesthouse after we're freed? I want to continue working for you even after I'm free. We can still do what we did before, forming a caravan to sell goods inside and outside the customs. You deliver the goods and we work, and you can give us 20% of the profits."
"That's no problem. If you want to stay, I definitely won't chase you away." Sui Yu smiled. She looked at Zhang Shun and Li Wu and asked, "What do you think? Let me know first. You should be able to redeem yourself in a year or two. If you plan to return home or form your own caravan, I understand and won't hinder you. I just need to find someone to take over in advance. The court has recently pardoned slaves and allowed them to find ways to earn money to pay off their debts. I plan to spread the word and hire another group of slaves to work."
"No, we don't have such plans. We are definitely going to stay." Li Wu said without hesitation, "Xiao Chunhong and I have the same idea. Whether we are slaves or good citizens, I choose to do things the same as before."
"Me too," Qingshan said.
Zhang Shun thought for a moment and nodded. "After I redeemed myself, I'll stay in Dunhuang. I'll build three houses in the north of the city. I'll follow the caravans when it's busy, and I'll have a place to stay when I come back."
Sui Yu looked at the others, "What about you?"
"I still follow my master's work."
"Me too."
"I want to make money with my master."
“…”
Sui Yu was satisfied, but she still tried to test him with some teasing: "I thought you would form a caravan after redeeming yourself and start trading goods. After all, you are familiar with the route and the prices of the goods. If you form your own team, you can get a 10% share of the profits."
Xiao Chunhong bent down, grabbed a handful of dirt, and shook it. She probably understood her master's worries, so she expressed her determination, "Master, we are not you. We don't have your ability, nor do we dare to have such ambitions. I am just an ordinary girl. There are a lot of people like me in the city. The same goes for Zhang Shun and Li Wu. Without you, the adults, and the Changgui Inn, we are no different from the people in the settlement. Just like the dirt on the ground, we are now like small clods of earth instead of fine ash. That's because we have an owner. When we are away from home, we are the slaves of Madam Xihua, the caravan under the name of Manager Yu, and we live in the Changgui Inn. We have General Zhao as our support. If we lose these titles and the windbreak, these small clods of earth will still be unable to withstand the wind."
Sui Yu liked smart people and was pleased with these words. She temporarily gave up the idea of expanding the caravan and said, "Xiao Chunhong, spread the word. I'm looking for twenty capable and ambitious slaves to leave Dunhuang and open a guesthouse for me. The wages will be negotiated."
Xiao Chunhong agreed. She exchanged a glance with Zhang Shun, knowing that these twenty people would likely be their replacements. If she and Zhang Shun performed well, these twenty people would manage the guesthouse business within the borders. If they didn't, these twenty people would replace them.
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