Chapter 282 Meeting an Old Friend on the Road
After walking on the uninhabited grassland for three days, we gradually saw signs of human life on the roadside. The rice seedlings were growing vigorously in the farmlands below the lake, and ducks were foraging in the rice fields. When the camel caravan passed by, the ducks quacked and then dived into the depths of the rice fields and disappeared.
"This is rice that came from your Han Dynasty," said Zhao Qin.
"Before our rice was introduced here, didn't you grow rice here?" Sui Yu asked.
"I don't know. I wasn't even born before that." Zhao Qin didn't farm, so he had no knowledge of the situation. "I only heard that many years ago, Han envoys frequently visited us, and your emperor gifted us with fine Han breeds. We gave you Dayuan's unique fine horses and fruit stems in return. Later, merchant caravans arrived, carrying away our medicinal herbs, wool blankets, long-haired lions, and more. They also brought looms, stoves, chimneys, silk, and other things. You can see many things from the Han here."
As he spoke, Sui Yu saw a farmhouse. Its foundation was earth and stone, its walls half rammed earth and half wood, and its round roof gave it a distinctly exotic feel. But a chimney protruded from the low roof. A woman wearing a black and red cap and a lavender gauze dress poked her head out of the house. She stood outside the door, curiously gazing at the passing caravan.
The translator of the Xu caravan went over to inquire whether there had been any caravans passing by in the past few days. After learning the news, the caravan continued on its journey.
"How long will it take to reach the next city?" Song Xian asked.
"It won't be long, at most two days. The next city will be a big one, and you should be able to sell your goods there," said Zhao Qin.
As he said, when the population became more dense and there were more farmlands along the road, a large city appeared before their eyes.
Unlike the previous city, the people of this city mainly engaged in farming and lived in groups. It was densely populated, thus forming a big city.
Before entering the city, the sound of camel bells was heard. The two caravans were getting closer and closer, and both sides recognized each other.
"Master Qin?" Sui Yu called out, "Are you guys preparing to go back?"
The person who came was Qin Wenshan, the leader of the caravan that Sui Yu met in Loulan when she first left the country. She had agreed to write a personal biography for him at that time.
The Qin caravan arrived last year, originally planning to leave in early autumn. Having already crossed the Pamir Mountains, they encountered a caravan coming from the interior of the Great Wall. Learning that war had broken out outside the Great Wall, and that several caravans had encountered the Xiongnu, they were unable to escape. After much deliberation, he led his team back to Dayuan. He spent the winter there, visited seventeen cities, and painstakingly purchased two purebred Ferghana horses before finally preparing to return home.
Qin Wenshan recognized her. He said hello to the headmaster Xu and rode his camel towards Sui Yu. He looked her over and said, "Shopkeeper Yu is incredible. You've come to Dayuan. The endless desert slopes and the endless mountains and valleys can't stop you."
"Want to get rich." Sui Yu smiled, her eyes looking at the tall horse in his caravan. The horse was snow-white all over, with shiny and bright hair. Its big eyes were extremely arrogant, and it looked at the camel with disdain.
Sui Yu laughed and said, "Where did you get this horse? It looks like it has a bad temper. It looks down on us."
Qin Wenshan ignored her first words and, boastfully, invited Sui Yu to come forward and admire him. He said, "This is a purebred horse. We nearly broke our bank to buy it. Even if it looked down on me, let alone my ancestors, I wouldn't whip it. Don't get close. It has a bad temper and will kick anyone who gets close, no matter if it's a human or a horse."
Song Xian and Lu Yaer also came over. This horse was really beautiful, glowing all over. It was truly a fairy product, making the Arabian horse that Song Xian had bought before look like a fish eye.
"Mom, please buy me a horse like this." Lu Yaer hugged Song Xian's arm and acted coquettishly, "Don't blame me for being short-sighted and looking down on the horses raised by my brother and Sui Liang. It turns out that the horse of my dreams is waiting for me here."
Not only Lu Yaer liked it, even Song Xian liked it. When she was still a young girl, there were many horses in her family. She had seen at least eight hundred horses, but none of them had the posture of this horse.
Sui Yu came over and pulled Song Xian. Thanks to the tacit understanding they had developed, Song Xian immediately understood what Sui Yu meant. He wanted to find out where the horse was bought.
"Go ask your uncle. I don't know the price of this horse. I need to figure out if I can afford it." Song Xian led Lu Yaer to Qin Wenshan's side and said, "Master Qin, this is the first time I'm bringing my daughter out. To get her to agree to learn business from me, I have to spend a lot of money on a generous gift. Where did you buy this horse? I wonder if it's still available. I want to buy it for her."
Qin Wenshan smiled slightly. He glanced at Lu Yaer and asked, "Do you want it?"
Green Bud nodded heavily.
"Then do business with your mother, travel more often outside the Great Wall, make more money, and if you have a chance to meet a divine horse, you can just wave your hand and buy as many as you want." Qin Wenshan did not mention the source of the horses.
At this time, the two leaders Xu and Li also came over. Their minds were also on the extremely dazzling purebred horse. They pestered Qin Wenshan and said good things to him, trying to pry out the place where to buy the horse from him.
Sui Yu walked up to Zhao Qin and asked, "Do you have any way to buy a thoroughbred horse of this quality?"
"I know a few horse owners who can take you there, but whether you can persuade them to part with their horses depends on your ability and luck," Zhao Qin said. "Most owners are reluctant to part with top-quality horses like these. For those who have plenty of money and treasures, they naturally keep horses with precious bloodlines for themselves, or give them to the rich and powerful."
Meanwhile, Qin Wenshan was getting so frustrated that he said, "The previous owner of this horse wouldn't sell another horse like this. We were lucky to get one, and it took two months of nagging before he finally agreed."
"If we sell the horses to you, can you buy two or three more?" Sui Yu came up with an idea. If they sold the horses to Qin Wenshan, they wouldn't have to worry about the sales. On the other hand, they could find out who the previous owner was. If they couldn't buy from him this time, they could always come back next time.
Qin Wenshan was tempted, but his tribesmen disagreed. It was almost July and they could not delay any longer. If they went back too late and it snowed, the horses would freeze to death in their hands, and all their work for three to five years would have been in vain.
"When are you going back?" Qin Wenshan asked.
"Next year, the earliest we will return to Chang'an will be next autumn. Don't worry, even if we buy a horse, it will not affect the sale of your horse." Boss Xu immediately understood what he meant.
"Alright then, we're all acquaintances, so let's help if we can." Qin Wenshan said, "You guys should head southwest. It'll take about ten days to get out of this city. There's a remote town in the southwest, close to the mountains, with few people living there, making it a great place to raise horses. There are three big horse dealers in that town, but they don't really like dealing with Han people. If you're not in a hurry to go back, you can go there and give it a try. I bought this horse from the Tuwen family. I know they have seven other valuable horses. Mention my name and see if you can see them."
The four heads of the family expressed their gratitude and praised Qin Wenshan as a broad-minded and kind person.
"Master Qin, your personal biography has been written. There are two versions. One is written by me. It is written in plain language and is easy to understand. The other is written by a scholar from the Sima Mansion in Chang'an. It is a fu. Both versions of the personal biography are in my house. When you go back, find Sui Liang and ask him to give them to you." Sui Yu said.
A teacher from the Grand Marshal's Mansion? Qin Wenshan was delighted. He couldn't come into contact with such a person.
"It seems that Shopkeeper Yu has been very lucky and has met an important person." Qin Wenshan looked at Sui Yu, his eyes shining. He said earnestly: "I will help you this time. If I encounter difficulties in the future, you must lend me a hand."
"Of course, of course. As long as it's within my ability, I won't refuse." Sui Yu agreed without hesitation.
"Then we shall part ways here." Qin Wenshan bowed and said, "I wish you all gain something."
Sui Yu waved to Xiao Chunhong, and Xiao Chunhong handed over the wooden box that she had taken down earlier.
Qin Wenshan noticed it and before Sui Yu could take over, he reached out to stop her and said, "Is this for your family? Give it to me."
Sui Yu smiled shyly and said, "I'm the one who's embarrassed. I have a little kid to take care of at home, and I'm not strong enough to take care of him. I can only ask kindhearted people to help pass on messages and gifts. When I left home, I promised my little boy that I would return in the golden autumn, but something happened on the way and delayed my trip. For safety reasons, I won't be returning this winter. I asked you to give him a message so that he won't be anxiously waiting for me when the wheat turns yellow."
Qin Wenshan pictured the little cub waiting for his mother outside the city. Thinking of his own children, he felt a mixture of warmth and sadness. He sighed, "People in our line of work make money, but they don't spend time with their families. We endure hardships, and most likely don't end well. Don't worry, I'll make sure to pass on this message and won't let him get angry with you."
When Lu Yaer heard this, she lowered her head in shame.
The white horse couldn't stand their chattering anymore, so it snorted suddenly and raised its hoof to kick them, startling the camel three feet away and making it scream "Puff".
"Let's go." The Qin clan members urged.
The two groups said goodbye again, and the camel caravan went in the opposite direction. However, within a stick of incense, there was no trace of the caravan outside the city.
Sui Yu and her caravan rested in the city for two days, stocked up on dry food, and then took four translators with them and headed out of the city towards the southwest.
After thirteen days of traveling, the remote town that Qin Wenshan mentioned appeared in the group's sight. It was sparsely populated, with galloping horses and camels attracting their attention. The jingling sound of camel bells also attracted the horsemen.
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