Chapter 142 The In-Laws Are Here
Just as I was about to go out in the afternoon, I happened to meet Aunt Sun who was delivering eggs. This time, she brought me 30 salted duck eggs and said, "I'm giving you the duck eggs to eat. But don't ask me for money. I've made a lot of money this year, so I don't need the money for these duck eggs."
"The harvest is good this year, and you must have harvested a lot of crops from the fields, right?" asked Zhao Xiping.
Aunt Sun smiled broadly and said, "I came here just for this. I've sold most of the wheat to Dongzi's father, and I also have soybeans and millet. Sui Yu, when are you free? Go and help me calculate the accounts. I want to take the grains to the grain store to sell."
Sui Yu looked at Sui Liang and saw that he was interested. She said, "Let Liang go. I've taught him a lesson. He knows how to settle accounts."
"Can you settle the accounts without using an abacus?" asked Aunt Sun.
Sui Liang nodded confidently and said, "I'm just like my sister. I don't even use an abacus to do the math. I just do it in my head."
Zhao Xiaomi testified: "They are indeed siblings, their calculation speed is first-rate. I followed them to learn, but I am not as good as Sui Liang."
Sui Yu smiled. Perhaps it was because of blood ties. Just look at Sui Jiushan and Sui Hu and you'll know that people of Sui Wen'an and Sui Liang's generation have good physical fitness and learning ability. When it comes to learning algorithms, Zhao Xiaomi is indeed not as good as Sui Liang in adaptability.
"Let Liangge go with you," Sui Yu said. "Don't worry, he won't make a mistake, and he'll know the weight."
With her guarantee, Aunt Sun took Sui Liang away.
"Can you guard this place alone?" Sui Yu asked Zhao Xiaomi.
Zhao Xiaomi was a little nervous. It was not like she had not greeted customers before, but she was afraid of something going wrong. What if she said something wrong and drove the customer away?
"I……"
"I can do it, I can do it." Zhao Xiping pulled Sui Yu away, forcing Zhao Xiaomi to bite the bullet and take over. He said as they walked, "She's been with you for two or three years. You've seen enough. She's not a stupid girl."
Zhao Xiaomi heard it, she snorted twice, and secretly made two fist gestures from behind.
Watching her brother and sister-in-law ride away gracefully on camels, she turned her attention to the guesthouse.
Gan Da and Gan Er went to the fields to cut hemp, the helper Li Mutou was cleaning the livestock pen, the helpers Aunt Qing and Aunt Qiu were patting the mattresses that were hung out to dry, and the open space in the guesthouse was filled with sheets and quilt covers, the green and brown cloths fluttering in the autumn wind.
Zhao Xiaomi walked around the guesthouse and went to check on the camels grazing. Suddenly, she heard the melodious sound of camel bells. She turned back nervously and saw Ah Shui running back with the puppy from a distant path.
"Sister Xiaomi, a guest is here——"
"Woof woof woof——" the puppy also barked.
Zhao Xiaomi strode back, panting as she did so. The merchant caravan had already arrived. The merchant looked at the wet sheets and quilt and said, "It's quite clean. It's quiet here too."
"Yes, they're clean. We wash the mattresses after guests leave. If you're staying longer, we change the sheets and quilt covers every two weeks," Zhao Xiaomi explained. She led the guests into the guesthouse and said, "One room can accommodate five people. There are twelve guest rooms and twelve barns. Book a room and get a barn and a livestock pen. Each pen can hold six camels. There are twenty-three of you. If you're not staying alone, five rooms will be enough."
"How much is the room per night?"
"One hundred wen."
The group of merchants looked around and nodded to each other. This place was spacious and there was a warehouse, so people didn't have to squeeze with goods. It was just a bit off to the side.
"The kitchen is outside. We cook three meals a day. We usually have steamed buns, flatbreads, braised soup noodles, vegetable rice and millet porridge. It's no problem to fill your stomach. If you want to eat meat, tell us half a day in advance and we will arrange someone to go to the city to buy meat." Zhao Xiaomi added.
"Okay, we'll stay here for three nights."
Zhao Xiaomi clenched her hands. She was secretly happy that she hadn't messed up. She arranged five guest rooms for them and handed them the locks and keys after collecting the room fees.
Before the caravan had finished unloading the goods, the errand boys and the people selling grain and fodder from the city rushed over. They understood the rules here, and the three of them stood outside the inn waiting. When the merchants came out, they went up to talk to them.
"Sister Xiaomi, Sister Xiaomi..." Ah Shui came back excitedly, her face flushed with excitement, "Another caravan is here."
Zhao Xiaomi wanted to laugh out loud. Business was so good when she was alone.
This time, it was a small caravan that came and originally wanted to stay for a long time. However, when they entered the guesthouse, they learned that another caravan would leave in three days. So they changed their minds and planned to travel together after that.
Zhao Xiaomi was a little disappointed. She read it once after Sui Liang came back, and then read it again after Sui Yu and Zhao Xiping came back. At the same time, she was worried that the third merchant who stayed in the guesthouse would also leave.
Sui Yu specifically went to ask, and found out that the third merchant staying in the guesthouse did not plan to leave and said he wanted to stop and rest.
After dinner, Zhao Xiping took Sui Yu, Sui Liang and Zhao Xiaomi for a walk around the guesthouse to help digest the food and exercise their hands and feet. He taught them the movements and pointed out where to use force when running so as not to get tired.
The escort who was digesting his food outside heard this and walked over to ask, "Captain Zhao, can we have a fight? The night is too long, let's find something to kill time."
Zhao Xiping was tempted. According to his understanding, most of the bodyguards had inherited martial arts skills from their ancestors and were all very skilled.
"How about this, you invite the escorts from other caravans to come out and spar with each other. I'll send my family back first. If you're still here when I come back, let's have a fight," he said.
"OK."
Zhao Xiping called Gan Da and Gan Er and asked them to go to the kitchen to make a few torches and choose a place sheltered from the wind to light up.
"Let's go back now so as not to delay you." Sui Yu suggested.
"No delay." Zhao Xi was able to keep his composure. He patiently accompanied them around in a circle to make sure the three of them remembered the movements. He brought a torch and led a camel. Mrs. Yin held A Shui and rode the camel, while he took the lead and ran in front to light up the way.
In the whistling night wind, the sound of rapid breathing came one after another. He ran and stopped all the way. When he couldn't run anymore, he walked slowly, took a breath and continued running. Before he died of exhaustion, he arrived at Qianhu Suo.
Zhao Xiping didn't go in tonight. He led the camel and prepared to leave. Before leaving, he reminded her, "Remember to leave the door open."
Sui Yu ignored him. She was exhausted and sweating all over. Her chest felt like it was on fire. She didn't feel better until Mrs. Yin boiled the water for her bath.
In the open space of the guesthouse in the north of the city, the escorts were fighting with great noise. Merchants came out to watch, and some even started to place bets. The cheers and applause attracted the patrolling garrison. Then Zhao Xiping arrived. With his intervention, the garrison left without a word.
"A few exchanges of fistfights are enough for fun, but gambling is not allowed," Zhao Xiping said to the crowd. "I don't gamble or visit prostitutes here. This is just a place to stay overnight. At most, I can show you my fistfights as a guarantee."
The merchants collected their bets and said, "We will obey you, sir."
"If we practice martial arts here tomorrow morning, will the garrison not come to cause trouble?" asked the escort.
"No knife can be used." Zhao Xiping declared.
"We understand this. We must not show off our skills and cause you trouble." If we took out swords and axes and there were too many of us, the local soldiers would mistake it for a sneak attack and shoot us to death with arrows, which would be a huge injustice.
Someone invited Zhao Xiping to come down and fight a few moves, so Zhao Xiping rolled up his sleeves and went over. He had been practicing for half a year and it was a good opportunity to test the results of his practice.
Without using swords or sticks, the two men fought relying entirely on the strength of their legs and their sturdy bodies. Their legs were steady and could not be tripped, and their bodies were tall and strong and could not be moved. Zhao Xiping was equally strong as the escort he was fighting with. After finding out each other's weaknesses, they let go.
The torches were about to burn out, and the darkness was about to swallow up the weak flames. The escorts asked Zhao Xiping to pick up the wooden sticks and practice martial arts after dawn, but Zhao Xiping refused, making the excuse that he had to go to training in the morning.
However, before daybreak and the moon had even set, he led the camel back to the city.
Captain Zhao never tired of this kind of affair-like life. Every day before dawn, he would rush to his wife's bed.
Time passed quickly and it was November. The cold air from the west poured into the city gates of Dunhuang. Fewer caravans entered the city, and those that did at this time all planned to stay for a long time.
At noon that day, Zhao Xiping went to the west city gate to call Huang Ancheng to come over for dinner. He and Sui Yu had gone out of the city to hunt in the morning and had hunted a yellow sheep. When they came back, they told Huang Ancheng about it, but they were worried that Huang Ancheng would feel embarrassed to come over. Zhao Xiping and others came to call him again after the mutton was stewed.
Seeing him, the old bald man walked up to him and asked, "Is your guesthouse full?"
Zhao Xiping shook his head and said, "There are still five or six rooms left."
"Half of the alley on our side is empty." The bald old man complained.
Zhao Xiping was too lazy to pay attention to him. In previous winters, there were not many caravans staying in Minxiang. The most merchants stayed in Minxiang temporarily in March, April, August and September.
"Let's go." Huang Ancheng completed the handover and walked over with a bag of fish.
Zhao Xiping glanced at him.
"I can't go to your house for dinner empty-handed." Huang Ancheng explained with a smile, "I just happened to meet a fishmonger coming into town, so I bought a few."
Zhao Xiping punched him and said, "You are too polite."
Huang Ancheng smiled bitterly. In the past, he could call his visit a reunion of friends, and arriving empty-handed wouldn't have mattered. But now Zhao Xiping held a higher rank than him, and arriving empty-handed would have been considered tactless. He couldn't help but think of Captain Hu, who had embezzled his military merits. If he had had a superior who appreciated him, he wouldn't have been stuck as a city guard.
Suddenly, voices were heard outside the city. Zhao Xiping heard Uncle Niu's voice. He turned around and saw Uncle Niu leading a group of people into the city.
Lao Tu and the others rushed over to try to find tenants, but Uncle Niu rudely pushed them away and yelled, "Don't come and rob us. We're going to the guesthouse in the north of the city."
Lao Tu and the others turned their heads and stared at Zhao Xiping angrily, but Zhao Xiping remained silent.
Uncle Niu also saw Zhao Xiping. He rubbed his frozen face and asked first, "It's so cold, isn't Ah Shui sick?"
"No, she's waiting for mutton at the guesthouse." Zhao Xiping pinched Uncle Niu's clothes, which were probably stuffed with grass. He sighed and said, "She should have come back earlier... Forget it, let's not talk about it anymore. Let's go. There's mutton to eat today."
After saying that, he looked at the others. Most of them were independent traders and lone travelers. He didn't know how Uncle Niu persuaded them.
"Come with me, you came at the right time. We have mutton soup to warm you up today," said Zhao Xiping.
"This is the Captain Zhao I told you about. You can stay in his guesthouse and I guarantee no one will dare to bully you." Uncle Lao Niu said.
Zhao Xiping nodded.
These people shifted their gazes away from Lao Tu and the others and chose to follow Zhao Xiping.
Back at the guesthouse, Zhao Xiaomi led people to settle them. She saw Uncle Lao Niu in the crowd and turned around to shout, "A Shui, your father is back."
Ah Shui ran out happily, and the mutton in his hand fell. The little black dog got a bargain, swallowed the meat in one gulp, and ran out with his tongue wagging.
"Daddy, daddy, daddy——" Ah Shui shouted excitedly.
The child didn't cry, but Uncle Niu, an old man, cried a line of tears. He had been away for two months, and the person he missed most was A Shui.
Just as they were eating the mutton hotpot, Qin Dashun brought Zhao Xiping's parents, brother and sister-in-law to the house.
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