Chapter 242 "I'm Not a Pig"
"Did a merchant named Hua Suichun come here last year?" Sui Yu only remembered this matter at this time.
Sui Liang thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "There were too many people. I don't remember."
"Just remember this person's name. If he brings his wife and children to stay here for a long time in the spring, please arrange a quiet courtyard for them," Sui Yu instructed. She explained, "This person plans to bring his wife and children to Dunhuang to stay for a few years. They will probably rent one or two rooms in our guesthouse."
Sui Liang understood and nodded to indicate that he had taken note of it.
"The rent is three hundred coins a year. I have already agreed on the price with him." Sui Yu said again.
"Is it just one room or is the same price for several rooms?" Sui Liang asked.
Sui Yu had overlooked this question. She pondered for a moment and said, "One room is three hundred coins, two rooms are five hundred coins, and three rooms are also five hundred coins. They probably only need one warehouse, which can be used as a guest room. You can compare the prices."
Sui Liang understood.
"When I'm not home, practice your calligraphy." Sui Yu continued, "On the fifteenth of next month, go to the back door of the Supervisory Office and tell the maid that Sui Hui won't be copying articles for the time being. I forgot to tell her that I was leaving."
Sui Liang responded sullenly. He picked up a stick and drew it on the ground. He wanted to say that he wanted to go business with her, but thinking of the family business and the nephew who needed to be taken care of, he said nothing.
"This time when I enter the customs, I will see if I can go to the horse farm. If I can, I will bring my father to Dunhuang. If not, we will find a way later." Sui Yu said.
Sui Liang nodded, and after a few moments he said, "Sister, you should take care of your own business. As for Dad...his affairs are not urgent. If he has a spirit, whether he is in the mountains or in Dunhuang, he will know that we are thinking of him. Moreover, he is sleeping in the mountains. Every time you pass by, he can protect your safety."
Sui Yu suddenly realized, "No wonder I was able to walk in the mountains so smoothly two years ago without even encountering a snake. It turns out that he was protecting me."
Sui Liang nodded repeatedly. He had just said it casually, but now he felt that it was true. His eyes lit up and he said confidently, "Dad must have followed you all the way. Maybe he even came back with you. He came to see us."
Sui Yu smiled, this statement was interesting.
"Sister, let Dad live in the mountains for a few more years." Sui Liang smiled shyly and whispered, "Let him take care of you for a few more years."
Sui Yu couldn't help laughing. Sui Hu was tired enough. He never had a good night's sleep when he was alive, and even after his death, his son entrusted him with important tasks. Now he was a lonely ghost in the mountains and had to worry about the safety of his children.
"Mom——" The boy came back from grinding flour with his father.
Sui Yu and Sui Liang looked over, and the brother and sister went over to greet them at the same time.
Gan Da and Gan Er jumped off the camel's back and took away the jars of flour one after another. They ground three bags of wheat into six jars of flour and baked them into cakes, which were enough for Sui Yu to eat for a whole year.
"Mom, this is the flour I ground." The kid boasted shamelessly.
Zhao Xiping stared at him but didn't expose him.
"Zizi is so capable." Sui Yu touched his head.
"I'm going to the training ground." said Zhao Xiping.
Sui Yu nodded and said, "Come back early tonight so we can make fried chive dumplings."
Zhao Xiping was a little dazed. He remembered that he had eaten it once when he was in the military settlement, but Sui Yu seemed to have never made it again after moving to the guesthouse.
He rode off on his camel, and Sui Yu led the cub back to the house. In the kitchen, people were bustling with activity, making pancakes, rolling noodles, and frying them, preparing rations for the departing caravan. Sui Yu didn't want to add to the chaos. She asked Gan Da and Gan Er to bring a table to the master's courtyard and a jar of noodles, and she took two basins to knead the dough.
"Brother Liang, go get me a bowl of warm water."
"I'll go, I'll go." The kid eagerly took over the job.
"Grandma Yin, let me get some hot water." The kid ran into the kitchen. Seeing Grandma Yin busy, he changed his words and said, "Sister Hong, help me get a bowl of hot water while my mother kneads the dough."
"Okay." Xiao Chunhong scooped a bowl of warm water and handed it to him, asking, "Can you hold it steady?"
"Yes, yes, yes." The kid walked out slowly. As soon as he walked out of the kitchen door, he encountered a wall of people. He went to the right, and the long legs in front of him also went to the right. He went to the left, and the people in front also followed to the left.
"Hey, don't mess with our young shopkeeper, he's carrying some water." Fortunately, Xiao Chunhong followed him out out out of concern.
Hu Shang pinched the kid's cheek and said, "You're such a funny kid, and you're so good looking. Your parents are really good at giving birth and raising you."
The kid smiled and praised him.
"Will you be my son?" Hu Shang squatted down. He took out a jade token and teased him with interest, saying, "Be my son, and this jade token will be yours."
The boy's face instantly fell, and his expression was very similar to his father's.
"No way." The kid walked around him and snorted, "I don't want it."
Hu Shang laughed out loud.
Sui Liang found it and wanted to take the bowl, but the boy refused to give it to him and insisted on carrying it into the yard with his own hands and then handing it to his mother with his own hands.
"What's wrong with your face?" Sui Yu saw two red marks on his face, the size of a fingertip, as if someone had pinched him.
"Who pinched you?" Sui Liang asked as he approached.
"A Hu merchant touched my face." The kid rubbed his face and complained, "He also wanted me to be his son."
Sui Liang glanced at his sister and said, "The merchants here like to tease him, pinch his face, touch his head. In the summer when he's wearing less, some like to pinch his legs and pat his butt. Some people pinch him too hard, leaving a mark on the little guy. I've even had arguments with them before."
Sui Yu looked at the boy, her smile gone. He looked at her in confusion. She put down her work and told him seriously not to let anyone touch him below the shoulders. She pointed at the boy's chest, buttocks, and groin, saying, "Apart from your parents and uncle, anyone who touches you here is a bad guy. Scold him loudly, have Da Zhuang scold him, and tell Da Hei and Xiao Hei to bite him. Don't be afraid of causing trouble. Tell your father, he can protect you."
The kid nodded obediently, "I listen to my mother."
"Be good."
The little cub giggled.
After sending the boy back to serve the leeks, Sui Yu and Sui Liang repeated their instructions: "Some bad men and bad women just like fair and tender children. They don't touch him just because he's cute. If anyone pinches the boy's butt or tries to take off his pants again, have your brother-in-law kick them out."
Sui Liang vaguely understood what she meant, but just thinking about someone like that touching a kid made him so angry that he wanted to flip the table.
"Mom, the leeks are here." The little boy came running over happily, followed by Xiao Chunhong and Gan Da.
Xiao Chunhong brought over half a bowl of scrambled eggs, Gan Da brought over the stove and firewood, and soon brought over a clay pot.
Mix the chopped raw chives with the scrambled eggs, sprinkle the filling with salt and pepper, and finally pour a spoonful of lard on it and stir. The first batch of chives in spring are tender and fresh, and do not need too much seasoning. The original flavor is the most fresh and sweet.
After the filling was mixed, Sui Yu started to roll out the bread filling, while Sui Liang sat in the corner and lit the stove. He only put the pot on the stove when the smoke from the firewood disappeared.
The ceramic pot does not conduct heat as well as the iron pot, so it is perfect for making pancakes. There is no need to brush oil on the bottom of the pot. Put the leek dumplings in. The kid counts to twenty, and then Sui Liang turns them over with a spatula. After doing this three times, a pot of leek dumplings is ready.
Sui Yu asked the kid to call his grandparents back to eat first. The chive dumplings are most delicious when they are just out of the pot. Without the heat, they will lose half of their fragrance.
The little boy also held a small cake that belonged to him and sat next to Sui Yu to eat it. There was also a big one in the bowl on the table. He ate five bites himself, then put down the small cake and held the big cake to feed his mother a bite.
"Little guy, how many have you counted?" Sui Liang asked.
"Um……"
"Twelve." Sui Yu said quietly.
"It's twelve," the kid said loudly, "it'll be twenty soon."
Zhao Xiping walked back into the night. The February weather was still quite cold, especially at night. The night wind was like a wooden board, making people's faces stiff and numb. He walked into the courtyard. There was a stove and torches burning in the yard. The wind seemed warm, and as soon as he entered, his body warmed up.
"Brother-in-law, wash your hands and eat the cake." Sui Liang lifted the lid of the pot and said, "This is the last pot. Come and eat it while it's hot."
Zhao Xiping walked out quickly again and came back in wiping his hands after a while.
"We're all full and didn't wait for you." Sui Yu patted the chair and said, "Sit here and eat. Let your son see how much you can eat."
One pot can make five leek dumplings, each bigger than a man's palm. Zhao Xiping doesn't drink water. He props up his legs and hunches his waist, eating five bites of each dumpling. In less than a cup of tea, five leek dumplings are gone.
"Sui Liang, bring five more." Sui Yu shouted.
"Brother-in-law, I only ate two and a half." Sui Liang brought the warmed pancakes and said, "Take your time."
Zhao Xiping ignored him and ate five more leek boxes. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.
Sui Yu understood that he was just feeling full, and if he held on, he could at least eat two more.
"Have a bowl of porridge," she said.
The kid squatted beside his father's legs. He stretched out his arm to touch his father's belly and was surprised that his belly was not burst.
Zhao Xiping drank a bowl of thin porridge, then went to get a leek dumpling for himself. He was busy talking while eating it bite by bite. After a while, he finished another pancake.
"My father is a pig." The kid said loudly.
Sui Yu laughed loudly, Zhao's mother also laughed, and even Zhao's father also smiled.
"You're going to be beaten." Zhao Xiping scolded.
"If you had eaten like this every day when you were a child, our family would not have been able to support you," said Zhao's mother.
Zhao Xiping didn't respond. He thought to himself that he didn't want the food she cooked.
"Clean up, take a shower and go to bed." Sui Yu stood up and said to Zhao Xiping, "You only ate tonight and didn't work. It's your job to clean up this mess. Put the stove in the corner and the table over there. I still have to make pancakes tomorrow."
Then branding is to prepare for the trip.
On the second day of March, Song Xian packed her luggage and sent forty camels to Sui Yu, asking her when she would leave.
"We'll leave tomorrow." Sui Yu pointed to the dried noodles hanging in the yard and said, "We can put them away tonight."
"Then I'll wait for you outside the city tomorrow morning."
"Okay." Sui Yu sighed and said, "This time I plan to take all the money from home with me. I'll buy more goods when I enter the customs. Cloth and silk are easier to cash in outside the customs, so I can buy more of these things and they'll be easier to carry. After that, I'll go further out of the customs, spend less time in Loulan and Qiuci, go to Dayuan and Kangju, and then rest at home for a year or two depending on the situation."
Song Xian understood what she meant. Sui Yu was still young and might get pregnant at any time. She had to prepare for this accident.
"Me too. I took most of the money from home and did some big business this time," said Song Xian.
After the matter was agreed upon and the date was set, Sui Yu no longer hesitated.
The next morning, the servants drove the camels into the guesthouse, opened the barn door, and tied the goods that had been stored for the winter back onto the camels.
"Will you cry today?" Zhao Xiping asked his son.
The cub shook his head firmly and said confidently, "I won't cry."
"Okay, whoever cries is a pig."
The cub choked.
"Let's go." Sui Yu came out carrying a bag, "Let's go, you two, take me out of the city."
There were three caravans traveling together, with Sui Yu's caravan walking at the back. The caravan in front walked fast, so the caravan behind could not slow down either.
In the time it took to stick up an incense stick, they arrived at the East City Gate.
Sui Yu took a deep breath, raised the corner of her mouth, waved at the person sitting on the other camel, and said, "Little boy, plant two more acres of wheat this year, and another acre of broad beans. I like eating broad beans."
"Okay." The kid waved his hand with a stern face, urging, "Mom, hurry up and go."
"Talk to your grandparents." Zhao Xiping diverted his attention.
The kid turned his head and waved vigorously.
After Sui Yu left, Zhao's father and mother looked at their grandson and followed him out of the city.
"Whoever cries is a pig." Zhao Xiping lifted the child's chin and said, "Let me see if you are a pig."
The kid's face was tense. He opened his mouth and exhaled heavily, covering his eyes and saying, "I'm not a pig."
"Okay, okay, you're not a pig."
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