Chapter 46 Gambling
Spending the New Year in his hometown village was boring. Zhao Xiping chopped a whole houseful of firewood in five days and was thinking about leaving. After dinner, he told his family that his mother hadn't offered to keep him. She had children, a daughter, and grandchildren, and she didn't need the third son around to fulfill his filial duties. She missed him when he was away, but when he returned, she was annoyed.
"The soybeans are in the jar. You can fill them up yourself and take as much as you want," said Zhao's mother.
"Give me a pot of steamed buns so I can eat them on the way," said Zhao Xiping.
"I'll go and knead the dough right away." Mrs. Zhao stood up.
"When will you come back next time?" asked Brother Zhao.
Zhao Xiping looked at his mother and said, "I've bought some piglets, so please send a message. I'll be back before the spring plowing."
"Third brother, I'll send it to you, okay?" Zhao Xiaomi came over, rubbing his hands and said, "Well, my third sister-in-law can't do business, but I can. She makes buns at home, and I go out to sell them."
Old Man Zhao smacked his lips impatiently and said, "Just stay home."
Zhao Xiaomi was a little scared, but still stared at Zhao Xiping. He was very effective in talking.
Zhao Xiping frowned and thought, then said, "There's no place to live at home. Besides, your sister-in-law has to raise pigs and sheep in the spring, so she can't spare the time to make buns."
Zhao Xiaomi slumped down dejectedly.
"You should stay home and do the laundry and cooking when everyone else is out in the fields during spring planting, summer planting, and autumn harvest." Zhao's mother began. She glared at her daughter and muttered, "You're young, but you're so wild. I don't know where you learned that from."
Zhao Xiping glanced over, stood up and said, "I'm going back to my room to sleep."
On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, the Zhao family was busy steaming buns, while Zhao Xiping was bundling fodder for the camel to eat on the road, as well as dry firewood, soybeans and dried radishes for his use on the road. He filled a cloth bag with them and put it on the camel's back. He only took these and nothing else.
Early in the morning on the sixth day of the New Year, Zhao Xiping carried his bag and led his camel out. Zhao Xiaomi and his nephews and nieces saw him out of the village.
"When I have free time, I will take you to stay with me for a while." He said to his sister.
Zhao Xiaomi's worry turned into joy, she knew that pretending to be pitiful in front of her third brother would be effective.
"Third brother, remember to bring your third sister-in-law with you when you come back in spring." She smiled and waved her hand.
Zhao Xiping didn't answer. He had already ridden his camel away.
With only food and lodging to spare, Zhao Xiping left home on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year and was already outside Dunhuang on the tenth. At dusk, the massive city walls loomed, and he estimated the distance. He spent the night outside the city and entered before noon the next day.
The city was still the same as when he left years ago. Zhao Xiping got off the camel. The camel was tired, so he walked into the city carrying the soybeans.
"Little brother, where did you come from?" The merchant in the city caught up with the man and asked, "Is the road to the east easy to travel?"
"From Jiuquan, I don't know where to go further east." Zhao Xiping glanced at him and said, "Is this your first time in Dunhuang?"
The merchant nodded. He had arrived in Dunhuang in the summer before last and returned from the Western Regions last autumn. Because of the cold weather, high mountains and long roads, he stayed in the city for more than a month.
"Then wait a little longer. In previous years, merchants and travelers only went south after the first month of the lunar year. You can ask more people." Zhao Xiping said and left.
After crossing the long street, the military settlement was right in front of us. The camel let out a short cry and quickened its pace towards home. The man holding the rope also quickened his pace.
When he entered Shisantun, Aunt Sun saw him and said with a smile, "You came back early this year, even before the Lantern Festival. Why don't you stay home and spend more time with your parents?"
"I'll go back in the spring." Zhao Xiping said, and strode home, pulled by the camel.
"Captain Zhao is back? That's quite early this year." A passerby said casually.
Zhao Xiping nodded.
When Sui Yu heard the sound, she dropped the basin and ran to open the door. As the door opened, a camel's head came straight towards her. She pushed the camel away and smiled broadly at the man next to her.
"You're finally back. I dreamed about you last night." Sui Yu ran out in small steps.
Zhao Xiping coughed twice, then turned his head to look outside. Fortunately, there was no one on the street. He pushed the person in and said, "I'm dirty, stay away from me."
"I don't mind you being dirty." Sui Yu closed the door and followed him all the way to the camel pen. He asked, "Haven't you eaten yet? Are you cold? I'll boil some water for you to soak your feet."
"No, okay, I'll wash my feet." Zhao Xiping carried the soybeans into the woodshed. Turning around, he saw Sui Yu following him in. He smiled helplessly and said, "The kitchen is next door."
"I know." Sui Yu glared at him, "You really don't understand romance."
Zhao Xiping pretended not to hear. He hadn't seen her for nearly twenty days and felt that things had become estranged between them. But when he came back and opened the door, he felt that he was the only one who felt strange. Her enthusiasm was overwhelmed by him.
Sui Liang came over and looked up at him eagerly. Zhao Xiping touched his head and said, "You've gained weight."
Sui Liang laughed and skipped away.
Zhao Xiping walked around the yard. Nothing had changed in the house. He glanced at the wood chips spread on the bamboo mat, then went back into the house to take off his clothes and change his shoes.
"Where are my old straw sandals?" he asked as he came out.
Sui Liang's face tightened, he clenched his hands and didn't dare to look up.
"Throw it away. The cat official vomited in my shoes. They were fishy and smelly. I was disgusted by the sight, so I threw them away." Sui Yu said in a normal voice, "Change into a pair of straw sandals and take out the straw sandals you're wearing to dry in the sun. It's a good day today. Oh, and take out the wolf skin and hang it on the rope. You can use it as a mattress cover tonight."
Zhao Xiping stared at the cat sleeping soundly with its eyes closed on the wall and said, "Why did the cat vomit?"
"I ate too much and felt bloated." Sui Yu took a rabbit out of the food cupboard and said happily, "I caught this rabbit with a trap in our field. This one is specially for you to eat. I'll stew a pot for you tonight." Turning back to the cat official, she secretly apologized to the cat and said dirty words, "I couldn't handle the rabbit head well, so I gave it to the cat. It didn't finish it at night and gnawed it in the middle of the night. Its stomach is as bloated as a ladle. I don't know what happened, but it ran into the house and vomited all over your shoes."
When he saw the rabbit meat, Zhao Xiping immediately forgot about the shoes and the cat. He went into the kitchen and sat down to light the fire, trying to find out what she had done after he left. Her life seemed to be better than he had imagined.
While kneading the dough, Sui Yu told him stories about catching rabbits and field mice, and how she took Sui Liang to perform Nuo opera during the Chinese New Year, and followed people to throw torches outside the city late at night.
The dumpling soup was cooked and the conversation was over. Zhao Xiping found that his worries were in vain. Without him, Sui Yu's life was wonderful and free.
"Have you eaten yet?"
"I've eaten it. We had just washed the pots and pans when you came back." Sui Yu went to mess with her wood chips again. After they were pounded and softened, she scooped them up little by little and spread them on the bamboo mat, then flattened them with a rolling pin.
"What did you do?" Zhao Xiping asked again, "Can you tell me now?"
Sui Yu smiled proudly, and she turned her head and asked, "Have you heard of paper? It can be used for writing."
Zhao Xiping couldn't read a single character, and had never even seen a bamboo slip. When it came to writing, he only knew that one had to use a brush.
"I'll tell you after it dries."
This wait lasted for two days. Sui Yu carefully peeled off two square pieces of rough paper from the bamboo mat. The paper was very rough and wrinkled, and the wood pulp was clearly visible. It felt uneven to the touch and even stuck to the skin.
Sui Yu took out an unburned branch from the stove hole. She used the burnt end to gently scratch the paper, leaving a black mark on the paper.
"What do you think? It's light and convenient for writing. If I offer this to him, would it be considered a great achievement? Would it help me and Liang Ge'er escape slavery?" Sui Yu was excited, but when she looked up, she found that the man's expression had changed and turned very ugly. She withdrew her hand and asked tentatively, "What's wrong with you?"
Zhao Xiping took a deep breath. He was glad that he came back a few days earlier this year. Otherwise, if the news leaked out, there would probably be two corpses waiting for him when he returned home.
"Who else knows about this?"
Sui Yu shook her head, "No one knows, isn't that okay?"
"Who are you going to dedicate it to?" he asked again.
Sui Yu was speechless. She shook her head and said, "I don't know, that's why I asked you."
"You think too highly of me. I didn't know it." Zhao Xiping took the item from her hand and said, "In the second year of my service on the battlefield, I was once sent out to clean up the battlefield. While burying the bodies, a soldier in my squad spotted a Xiongnu soldier wearing our uniform and pretending to be dead. He panicked and hacked him to death. He discovered that the accessories on the Xiongnu soldier didn't look like those worn by ordinary cavalrymen. After reporting the news to the captain, he threw a bag of silver and sent the soldier away. The captain wanted to take the credit, but he died the next day, drowned in a river. However, the credit did not disappear, and it went to the son of a captain."
After saying this, Zhao Xiping stared at her. Sui Yu was smart, so she must have understood what he meant. Seeing her dazed look, he added, "The man who was sent away with a bag of silver was Huang Ancheng, and the son of that captain is today's Captain Hu. Not many people know about this, so you've forgotten it after hearing it."
Sui Yu nodded. She stared at the two pieces of paper in despair and said, "If I insist on offering these two pieces of paper, I will be killed, and you will die too, right?"
Zhao Xiping nodded. He stared at the paper in front of him, clenched his fingers, and said, "It shouldn't be in your hands or mine."
Sui Liang suddenly rushed over from the side and snatched it away. He didn't know whether this thing was good or bad, but he knew how much effort his sister had put into getting it, and it shouldn't be wasted so rashly.
Sui Yu and Zhao Xiping both looked over. Sui Liang took two steps back helplessly. He turned around and ran into the house, locking the door from the inside.
Zhao Xiping retracted his gaze and looked at Sui Yu, saying, "If you insist on doing this, I can only ask you to leave my house and wait for half a year or a year before handing over the paper. I am a coward and afraid of death, so please spare my life."
Sui Yu shook his head, "I'm afraid of death too."
Zhao Xiping didn't say anything, he waited for her to make a decision.
Sui Yu sat on the ground, thinking for a long time, and said, "Before the New Year, Sui Hui came to see me. She is the girl who entered Lord Hu's mansion. She is my cousin and a sister of Sui Ling. She is now Lord Hu's concubine. She came to ask me to visit my eldest brother more often and bring him food every now and then. She promised me that when she gets pregnant, she will ask Lord Hu to free me from slavery. Do you think it's reliable?"
Zhao Xiping's expression turned even uglier. He glared at her and asked, "Did you agree?"
"No."
"I don't believe it." He knew how much the temptation to escape slavery was for Sui Yu, so he said affirmatively: "You have already agreed, and now you are just here to inform me. What kind of paper is that? Is it really a treasure? I don't know how to read and write, so don't fool me."
Sui Yu rolled his eyes back and said, "If you don't believe me, go out and ask. Don't you know when I started chopping sawdust?"
Zhao Xiping was thinking, his mind was confused now, he was not sure whether Sui Yu saw through his thoughts and was taking advantage of his liking for her to manipulate him, or whether it was really a coincidence.
"When she told me this, I didn't agree. I said I would wait for you to come back and discuss it with you." Sui Yu recalled the scene that day.
"I need to think about it before giving you an answer. Zhao Xiping doesn't like me associating with you. I agreed to it on the first day he and I returned home. Now that he is not at home, I secretly went to see my cousin and came to see you. I am already sorry for him." Sui Yu hesitated for a long time and still did not agree.
Sui Hui was surprised, "It seems that what Sister Ling said is true. You want to cut off contact with us."
"Is this called cutting off contact?" Sui Yu sneered.
"Sister Yu, you are prettier than me. When you are freed from slavery, you will have a place to go even if you leave your current home. You don't have to beg him for a living." Sui Hui tried to persuade her. She couldn't bear to see Sui Yu always tolerate a small soldier.
Sui Yu shook her head. "I understand what you're saying, but Zhao Xiping is no match for the man who married me because of my looks." She made up her mind and continued, "If Zhao Xiping doesn't agree, you can ask Sui Ling to look after my cousin. As for our enslavement, if you're able, and you're willing to help Liang Ge'er and me escape it for my father's sake, I'll remember your kindness forever. If you're unwilling, that's fine. I can only say I've seen right through him."
After that, Sui Yu took Sui Liang away.
However, at that time, she relied on the path of making merit by papermaking, so she was quite straightforward when she rejected Sui Hui. Now that the path of papermaking is ruined, the other path depends on Zhao Xiping's intention.
"I still stick to what I thought that day. If you don't agree, I won't associate with them, and I won't bring food to my cousin." Sui Yu told him, and then asked, "Does Lord Hu have the ability to free us from slavery?"
Zhao Xiping nodded. "He is the one who supervises the criminal slaves. All your affairs are under his jurisdiction."
Sui Yu became even more confused.
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