Chapter 246 Choice
When fighting broke out in Cheshi, post soldiers rode in from outside the pass, and the border guards immediately received the news. When Cheshi was surrounded, the Han army commanders asked the court for help, but the court had not yet received the news and there were no military orders. The border garrison could only hold its troops in place and secretly strengthen training.
Zhao Xiping has been going out early and coming back late these days, and he has no time to come back for lunch, so Sui Liang arranges someone to deliver food to him in the military camp.
"Uncle, you are in a daze." The kid came running over with his short legs. He sat next to Sui Liang and reached into his armpit to take out silkworm seeds wrapped in reed fluff and coarse cloth. The silkworm seeds had been kept for half a month, and little silkworms hatched every day.
Sui Liang put away his legs and took out a large pile of silkworm seeds wrapped in coarse cloth from his armpit. There were little silkworms squirming on the cloth. He ran into the house and took out the silkworm box.
The uncle and nephew squatted in the open space outside the door, head to head, pinching the little silkworms and placing them on the silkworm leaves.
"The little silkworms are amazing! They can eat mulberry leaves right after they're born," the cub said in a childish voice. "Even piglets drink milk when they're born. Uncle, will I drink milk too? Will I be able to eat?"
"You only eat milk. You were born without teeth. You only started eating egg custard after your teeth grew." Sui Liang turned his head and said. He bumped his nephew's head and said, "Don't talk to silkworms, they will blow away."
There were footsteps approaching, Sui Liang turned around and saw that it was a businessman who had just checked in today. He was holding a bag in his hand. He suddenly stood up.
The boy looked up with a confused look on his face, and when he saw the bag in the merchant's hand, a smile immediately appeared on his face.
"It seems you know what I'm here for." The merchant laughed, "Are you two the children of Shopkeeper Yu?"
"I am her younger brother, and this is her son." Sui Liang explained.
The merchant handed him the bundle and said, "We met her on the east side of the river. She asked us to bring this back to you. Judging by the time, she should have arrived in Chang'an."
Sui Liang took the bundle and thanked him sincerely: "Thank you, uncle."
"Yes." The merchant replied, but did not leave. He glanced into the courtyard and inquired, "I heard from the escort that your brother-in-law is a captain in the army?"
Sui Liang nodded. "He's training in the military training grounds and hasn't come back yet. What do you want to see him about?"
The merchant looked at Sui Liang. He wanted to ask the boy about it, but then he thought the boy might not know the news, so he gave up the idea and said, "I'll come back when he comes back."
"Then you can come in the evening. He will be back in the evening."
The merchant's heart skipped a beat and he asked, "Training at noon?"
Sui Liang nodded. His mind was already on the bag and he had no intention of chatting anymore.
"Come back in the evening. He will be back for dinner." He repeated, "Uncle, we are going into the house."
"Okay, okay."
Sui Liang and Xiaozai no longer picked on the silkworms. They packed up their things and ran into the house impatiently.
When the bundle was opened, the scattered things inside were spread all over the table. Sui Liang was a little puzzled. Why were there only leaves and wood chips?
The kid stood on a stool and looked at the table. He picked up a folded leaf and asked, "Uncle, what is this?"
It is a heart, made of resilient leaves, with words pricked on it with a needle.
"This is my name, given to me." Sui Liang put the "heart" next to his hand and said, "I'll look for it to see if there is one for you."
"Of course there is." The kid was very confident.
There are eight "hearts" in total, and there are words on each "heart", namely the names of Zhao Xiping, Zhao Mingguang and Sui Liang.
"Uncle, you only have two." The kid laughed.
Sui Liang didn't care. He dug out a star made of rice straw and water grass stems. The uncle and nephew were very surprised and didn't understand how it was made.
"My mother is so awesome." The boy was very proud.
Sui Liang picked up a palm-sized piece of wood with words on it and read aloud excitedly: "Brother Liang, baby, I'm now in Zhangye County. I sleep by a big lake at night. There are fishermen rowing boats to sell fish. There are many water bird eggs in the grass by the lake. I picked up a lot of water bird eggs and roasted them to eat."
The little cub stretched his neck and listened with great interest. When he saw that his uncle had stopped reading, he urged, "What else? What do water bird eggs look like? Are they delicious?"
"No more." Sui Liang put down the wood chip, found another one, and continued reading: "We are crossing the river. A big fish jumped out of the river. It is longer than the little cub's legs."
The cub looked at his legs and asked, "Did you catch it?"
"I don't know. Your mother didn't tell me. Ask her when she comes back." Sui Liang put down the wood chip, picked up another one, and continued reading: "I bought half a pound of rice in Zhangye. The little boy's father should remember to plant it on the riverbank to see if it can sprout and produce ears of rice."
Rice, rice. Sui Liang searched around and found half a pound of rice seeds in a handkerchief. He told the kid that there was big white rice under the husks.
"Uncle, are you still reading?" The kid handed over a thin piece of wood.
"Little ones can't play in the water near the river." Just one sentence.
"Well, I'm not going to the river," the cub replied, and he handed over another one.
"I saw a huge butterfly flying westward. I asked it to tell my family: I miss you."
Xiaozai and Sui Liang were both stunned. After a moment, Xiaozai covered his chest and said, "The big butterfly came to deliver a message. I miss my mother too."
"Yes, yes, yes, we received the letter from the big butterfly." Sui Liang carefully put down the wood chip, picked up another one, and continued reading: "I saw an old woman killing fish by the river. After she left, I picked up a handful of fish scales, washed them, and dried them. I showed them to the cat officer. It had never seen such large fish scales before."
The cub picked up the fish scales scattered in the bag one by one, and compared them with his hands, saying, "They are bigger than my toes and bigger than the cat official's eyes."
"It's time for dinner." Ah Shui came over and called, "Are you two in the room?"
Sui Liang looked at the piece of wood that he hadn't finished reading. He put down what he was holding, took only a handful of fish scales, and said, "Let's go eat first, and then come back to read it after dinner."
When Ah Shui saw someone coming out, she ran to call her father again.
"Auntie Shui, bring the cat official here." The cub shouted.
"The cat official is in the kitchen."
The cat official was full, so he lay on the wall of the kitchen yard, wagging his tail. When he saw the cub and Sui Liang coming in, he meowed lazily. After repeated urging, he jumped down with his fur shaking.
"Look at this, Cat Officer. You must have never eaten such a big fish." Sui Liang picked up the largest piece of fish scale and spread it in front of the Cat Officer. The Cat Officer smelled the scent and moved closer to sniff it hard.
Grandma Yin brought out the dishes and said, "Wash your hands and eat."
"Has my brother-in-law's meal been delivered?" Sui Liang asked.
"The master has returned, but was called away by a merchant." said Grandma Yin.
Zhao Xiping stood with two merchants by the river. The two merchants spoke anxiously. He nodded and said, "There's unrest outside the Great Wall. You can wait a few more days. If there are any foreign merchants entering the Great Wall, you can ask them about the situation."
The two merchants pondered over what he meant, and were a little unsure whether he was asking them to leave the customs later?
"Can we still leave the country this year?" a merchant asked desperately.
Zhao Xiping thought for a moment and said, "If you are really worried, you can take the trade route south of the desert. That is, you must avoid Loulan, Qiuci and other countries, and pass through Ruoqiang, Yutian and other countries. Wait until autumn or when you return to the pass next year, and then decide which route to take."
"Okay, we'll figure it out. We won't disturb you while you eat." The merchant understood what was going on, and the two of them thanked him gratefully, "Thank you Captain Zhao for your guidance."
Zhao Xiping waved his hand and didn't say much. He said that as long as they waited a few more days and asked the Hu merchants who entered the customs, they would be able to find out the situation outside the customs.
"Brother, let's go eat." Ah Shui brought Uncle Niu over. She asked curiously, "Aren't you busy today?"
"Well, we're almost done." Zhao Xiping followed the father and daughter, and the three of them walked towards the kitchen together.
Sui Liang and Xiaozai had been waiting for them. When everyone arrived, the uncle and nephew picked up their chopsticks and started eating the meat.
"Dad, my mom brought us some things back." The kid shouted happily, "She has a lot more to say."
Zhao Xiping looked at Sui Liang and learned that Sui Yu had written a lot of words on a piece of wood. He planned to go over and take a look after dinner.
"Mrs. Cui said that when she has time, she will use needle and thread to string the fish scales together and make a necklace for the cat official to wear." Sui Liang said.
Zhao Xiping nodded and said, "That's feasible. The cats in Dunhuang have never seen fish scales this large. If the cat official wears a fish scale necklace, he can marry a few more cat wives."
The others laughed.
After dinner, Zhao Xiping went back to the house with Sui Liang and Xiaozai. A Shui also wanted to join in the fun, but Uncle Lao Niu pulled her away. Seeing this, Hua Niu and Da Zhuang didn't go over either.
Zhao Xiping didn't know as many words as Sui Liang. He could only recognize half of the words on a piece of wood at most. He found it boring, so he asked Sui Liang to read it again.
After repeating the morning's work, the boy sorted out the remaining wood chips. Sui Liang took the wood chips in one hand and took the water handed to him by his brother-in-law in the other hand to moisten his throat.
"While climbing a snowy mountain, I saw a rock that looked like a piglet. I gave it to the little one."
"I shot a snow rabbit today. The meat is so tender and not fishy at all. The soup made from it is also very delicious. It's a pity that you can't have it."
"Wuwei Jun is plowing the fields and planting wheat. Are you busy with spring planting at home too? Erhei is always being dishonest."
"Brother Liang can't..." Sui Liang choked and looked at his brother-in-law.
Zhao Xiping raised an eyebrow. He shook the pig-shaped stone and asked, "What's wrong? Keep reading."
"Okay." Sui Liang blushed a little, cleared his throat, and continued reading: "Brother Liang can't see this. Forget it, even if you see it, forget it. Tell your brother-in-law that I dreamed of him last night..."
Zhao Xiping snatched the wood chip away, Sui Liang's face turned red, and he hugged the kid and laughed secretly.
"What are you talking about?" the kid asked cleverly.
Zhao Xiping smiled. He recognized the last line of words on the wood chip: Zhao Xiping, I like you and miss you.
"Dad, what did mom tell you?" the kid asked with his face propped up.
"It's none of your business." Zhao Xiping put away the wood chips and asked, "How many wood chips are left?"
The kid didn't want to pay attention to him, but when he glared at him, he had no choice but to let go. There were only three left.
Sui Liang took a quick look and said, "Brother-in-law, there's nothing left for you."
"Well, you two can play." Zhao Xiping put down the stone and walked away with the wood chip in his pocket.
Arriving at the training ground, Zhao Xiping met Captain Gu. The two stood together, and Captain Gu asked, "Are you going to the battlefield again this time?"
"Hasn't the imperial court issued an order yet?"
"It's only a matter of time. We can't let Cheshi be surrounded forever."
Zhao Xiping didn't say anything.
In the evening, Captain Qu came over. He walked up to Zhao Xiping and asked, "Do you have any ideas? I'll send you to the battlefield."
Zhao Xiping refused. As long as Captain Hu was alive, the position would not be vacant. Even if he made meritorious service on the battlefield, he would not be promoted. Instead of fighting on the battlefield and getting rewards, it would be better for him to stay at home and raise his children in the guesthouse.
"What? You're not going to be a hard-working man anymore?" Captain Qu was surprised. "Well, your wife is already free from slavery. If she hadn't been free from slavery, you would have rushed to the battlefield no matter what."
"I used to be a small soldier, responsible only for following orders and killing on the battlefield. Now it's different. I am leading a thousand soldiers under me, whether they are acting as scouts or charging into sieges. I don't have the ability to command them, nor do I have the ability to deploy troops and arrange what these people do and what those people do." Zhao Xiping told the truth.
Captain Qu understood that this was indeed a problem. In this situation, one could either go to the battlefield to gain experience, but that was experience gained at the cost of human lives, or have a family background, guidance from elders or a master, which required learning by observation and exposure. Zhao Xiping had neither of these two aspects.
This is the shortcoming of the descendants of poor families. They fight for their future with blood and sweat. If there is no opportunity, the mountains and rivers have peaks and the roads have ends, which can be seen at a glance.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com