Chapter 231 Rogue
A breeze blew by, and the golden sunset in the sky completely disappeared into the clouds and disappeared at the end of the desert.
At this time, Sui Yu came back with Sui Liang and Xiaozai, and saw a large group of people standing outside the guesthouse. It seemed that all the merchants had come out and were standing outside, looking at something.
"What happened?" Sui Liang stretched his neck to look, but saw nothing.
Sui Yu didn't know either. She drove her camel closer. When she got close to the kitchen yard, she saw a figure who was almost exhausted moving slowly along the wall. It was Erhei. He was sweating profusely from exhaustion, his eyes were dull, and his face and lips were pale.
She pulled the reins and sat on the camel's back, watching Erhei turn the corner silently, dragging his heavy legs and moving step by step.
The merchants waiting outside the guesthouse looked at Sui Yu, and the servants also looked at her, as if they were all waiting for her to speak.
"What's going on?" Sui Liang was puzzled.
"The master punished him." Gan Da came over from the river carrying water and said, "He made a mistake. On the way out of the customs, he tried to steal the master's camel and blanket and escape."
Upon hearing this, Sui Liang immediately put away the doubts on his face, nodded, turned over and jumped off the camel.
The cub looked around, licking the candy in his mouth without saying a word.
Sui Yu patted the camel's shoulder blades, and the camel bent its front legs, followed by its hind legs, and it knelt on the ground. Sui Yu slid down from the camel's back with the cub in his hand.
"Go into the house and give two pieces of malt candy to your aunt Ashui, as well as Dazhuang, Huaniu and Aqiang," said Sui Yu.
"Oh." The kid noticed that the atmosphere was wrong, so he obeyed obediently.
Sui Liang led the camel away, and Sui Yu carried the medicine box to the merchants and asked calmly, "Will the price of medicinal herbs be higher if we sell them in Chang'an?"
The somewhat eerie atmosphere was broken when a newly shaved merchant stepped forward, opened the medicine box in Sui Yu's hand, and said, "Not only medicine is expensive in Chang'an, but everything is expensive. These two tortoise shells are of good quality. What would the pharmacy in the city offer for them?"
"Six hundred coins."
"This price is acceptable. It's about the same price if you ship it to Chang'an, because there are many lakes and turtles in the Central Plains," said the merchant.
Sui Yu pondered for a moment and said, "How about I raise the price? If the tortoise shells in Chang'an sell for 600 coins a piece, it will cost at least 50 coins more when shipped to Dunhuang."
The merchant nodded. He looked at the other herbs in the medicine box and asked, "This batch of herbs is of good quality and has a strong medicinal flavor. Where did you buy them? From which pharmacist?"
Upon hearing this, the other merchants came closer.
"I exchanged it from Mr. You, a drug dealer he knew in Dayuan. I don't know who it is." Sui Yu did not hide it. She wanted to make a good impression today. If they met in the future, it would be worthwhile for them to give her more advice.
"We ran into the You family caravan on the road. They're heading back to Chang'an," a middle-aged man in the crowd said. "The You family is transporting a lot of medicinal herbs. I don't think the pharmacies in Chang'an will be short of them this year. You won't be able to sell them at a high price if you transport them to Chang'an next year. You might as well sell them locally to save yourself the trouble."
"Okay, then I'll make two more trips tomorrow and sell everything I can." Sui Yu readily followed the advice. "Uncle, thank you."
"Oh, it's just a small matter."
After a few conversations, the sky darkened a little, and the sunset glow in the sky seemed to have lost its color and was about to disappear.
Zhang Shun called on the other servants to drive the camels back to the circle. A Shui and Hua Niu took the egg basket and went to look for eggs in the grass. The cub ran out and stood by the wall looking at Sui Yu.
"I heard from your servants that Captain Zhao ordered the fugitive to keep running. He cannot stop until he comes back." said a merchant.
Sui Yu nodded slightly, "It should be."
As soon as he finished speaking, Qingshan came running over and said, "Master, Erhei is exhausted and vomiting, foaming at the mouth. Are you still going to let him run?"
Sui Yu narrowed her eyes, turned around and carried the medicine box back to the kitchen.
Qingshan lowered his head with a trembling heart, then took a deep breath. It was nothing, he had had too many good days, and even he, a man who had killed someone, began to develop compassion.
"Let's go and take a look?" said a young merchant.
"What's there to see? Dirty eyes." A middle-aged merchant with a square face snorted. "It's nothing more than life or death. If it were me, I would have killed this traitor long ago."
The merchants who came to watch the fun dispersed, and Qingshan also left.
Sui Yu came out with a water bag, and Sui Liang and the little guy followed behind her, looking around.
"Sister, are you still going to let him run? He will be exhausted to death, right?" Sui Liang asked in a low voice.
"Do you think he should continue to be punished?" Sui Yu asked.
Sui Liang hesitated for a long time, he didn't know either.
The guesthouse covered a large area, and Sui Yu walked for a cup of tea before he saw the person lying on the ground. The servants who said they were going to drive the camels were all gathered there, and there were also a few merchants who liked the lively atmosphere and were holding their noses and watching from afar.
"The master is here." Liu Yaer said in a low voice.
The man who was already in a trance tried hard to open his eyes after hearing this. Erhei struggled to stand up by holding onto the earth wall. After trying a few times, he fell to the ground and hit his face against the wall. As he slid down, the sand and stones mixed in the wall scratched his face. The abrasion on his cheekbone made him wake up a little.
Zhang Shun lent him a hand and pulled him up.
"Master, I can't run anymore, just kill me." Erhei was panting heavily, the white foam from his mouth dripping through his clothes, and tears also flowed down.
Sui Yu handed over the water bag and said to Zhang Shun, "Mix salt and sugar in the water. Give it to him."
"Oh, okay." Zhang Shun came back to his senses. He pulled out the wooden stopper and fed the water bag to Erhei's mouth. As soon as the water came out, he couldn't wait to swallow it.
The kid covered his eyes and peeked through his fingers. He whispered, "Uncle, what's wrong with him?"
Sui Liang didn't say anything.
After drinking half a capsule of sugar and salt water, Erhei's rapid breathing became much calmer. The slaves watching him didn't say anything, but they felt much more relieved. It seemed that he would not die.
Erhei leaned against the wall and rested for a while. He had tasted the feeling of stepping into the gates of hell. It was really worse than death.
Now that he is alive, he is even more afraid of death.
"Give me another drink," he said weakly.
Zhang Shun held up the water bag and gave him two sips. The next moment, he saw Erhei stand up with the help of the wall and ran a few steps. He slowed down and walked with the help of the wall.
The others looked at Sui Yu. Sui Yu raised his eyes and looked over with an expressionless face. Then they all looked away again.
"What kind of water is this? Is it useful for an animal that's so tired it's foaming at the mouth to drink this?" A young merchant with a hoarse voice came over and asked.
"Mix malt sugar and salt with hot water and shake well. Don't make it too salty or too sweet." Sui Yu glanced at Zhang Shun and said, "When you see him, let him drink a few sips. Whether he can hold out until Captain Zhao returns depends on his luck."
Turning around, she said to the merchant, "It should be useful for livestock as well."
"What a pity! I wish I had known this method earlier. Two years ago, my family bought a cow. It foamed at the mouth while plowing the field and died when it returned home at night." The merchant with a duck voice spoke with regret.
"Master, let's drive the camels back to the circle." Xiao Chunhong said.
Sui Yu nodded and said, "Go ahead."
Several merchants left together, and Sui Yu also took Xiaozai and Sui Liang away from this place with vomit.
"Mom, what's wrong with him?" the kid asked again.
"He made a mistake, doesn't know what's good for him, and repays kindness with hatred." Sui Yu raised his voice as he passed by Erhei, "Your father and I saved his life, kept him well fed and clothed, and he still tried to steal our things and run away."
The kid wrinkled his face and said "Huh" in a childish voice, "He's not good, he's a bad guy."
Erhei listened carefully, but he lowered his head so that no one could tell his expression.
"Why keep him in our house?" Sui Liang looked at Erhei, then looked away and said, "I remember he belongs to Captain Hu's family. It would be better to send him back. Otherwise, sell him and buy an honest servant."
"Give him another chance and let him farm at home in the future," said Sui Yu.
"Okay then." Sui Liang looked back. Under the dim sky, the person walking with the help of the wall was hidden in the shadow behind the wall, and his expression could not be seen clearly.
The night gradually darkened, the camels were put back into the pen, the chickens also quieted down, and the merchants went into the kitchen one after another to have dinner. Erhei was still walking slowly around the guesthouse.
Zhang Shun and his group stood under the haystack and talked. Xiao Chunhong thought of what happened that afternoon. She patted her chest and said, "The master is so scary when he has a stern face. I think if the master hadn't told him to, he might have beaten Erhei until he vomited blood."
"It's possible that he will be beaten to death. He has been to the battlefield and killed many people. He is not afraid of death." Zhang Shun said in a low voice.
"I'm not afraid. I haven't done anything wrong." Gan Da disdained their private grumblings. "You must have something to hide. That's why you're afraid that the adults will cause trouble for you."
"Bullshit, I'm not that kind of person." Qingshan was the first to refute, "Anyone could have that thought, but it couldn't be me."
"It can't be me." Zhang Shun spread his hands. "I wasn't born a slave. Before I sold myself, I had two acres of land and a thatched hut. I could eat one meal and starve the next. What's the point of not having a slave status? Life is better now. A slave is a slave. At least I don't have to starve."
Li Wu nodded slightly. He thought so too. He was self-aware, so he found it funny when he learned that Erhei was trying to escape outside the pass.
The sound of camel bells rang out in the darkness in the distance. It was Zhao Xiping returning. Erhei heard the noise, covered his chest and ran away.
Zhao Xiping got off the camel, and Gan Da ran to lead the camel.
"Erhei is still alive?"
Gan Da was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said, "He's still alive. At dusk, he was so tired that he was foaming at the mouth. He looked like he was dying. The master had Zhang Shun give him half a bag of salt and sugar water, and he recovered."
"He's really lucky." Zhao Xiping snorted, "Since he's still alive, let him not run away. He doesn't need to eat tonight. Let him go hungry so he can learn his lesson."
"Hey." Gan Da agreed.
Erhei breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the message, and his heart settled down. The matter was finally settled.
At night, Erhei woke up hungry. He sat up from the couch and leaned against the wall for a while. When he couldn't sit still anymore, he put on his shoes, got out of bed, and prepared to go to the river to drink some water.
"What are you going to do?" Qingshan asked.
"I'm hungry, go drink some water."
Qingshan handed over the water bag beside the pillow, "Salt and sugar water, the master asked me to prepare it for you."
Erhei paused while holding the water bag. He suddenly slapped himself. The sound of the slap was particularly loud in the quiet night.
The other people on the bed woke up, and Aniu said impatiently: "What are you doing in the middle of the night?"
"Don't imitate me." Erhei said in a low voice.
"Idiot, who would imitate you?" Ah Niu turned over and muttered, "Now I only regret not exposing you back then."
The others fell asleep again. Erhei leaned against the wall, holding the water bag, and waited for dawn with his eyes open. He was so hungry that his stomach ached and his intestines felt like they were twisted together, but he didn't even drink a sip of the salt and sugar water.
The night buried the dirty things, the crowing of the rooster woke up the new day, and the dawn came.
Zhao Xiping went to the parade ground to check the time. After he left, Sui Yu took the cub to the city to return the camel.
"The camel is not ours?" asked the cub.
"No, it's rented."
"Have you paid?"
“I paid.”
"Give us the money and it's ours."
"You wish." Sui Yu hit him, "You are quite a scoundrel."
The little cub shrank his neck and laughed. After a moment, he said, "Mom, can we go find my dad?"
Sui Yu thought for a moment. She wasn't afraid of bumping into Captain Hu in her current state, so she nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go find your father after I return the camel."
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