Chapter 171 Sui Gong's Good Son
Before the merchants set off, Zhao Xiaomi borrowed thirty camels from Song Xian to transport sixty bundles of food and fodder, along with twenty bundles of firewood. Han merchants traveling eastward from the city would have no shortage of firewood, but Hu merchants crossing the border into the desert would have no firewood to burn, so the firewood was sold to them.
In addition to Zhao Xiaomi, several other grain and fodder dealers also brought grain and firewood to sell, including neatly bundled goldenrod, chopped bean stalks, neatly stacked sorghum ears, and broken and shriveled soybeans.
Farmers selling soybean paste came with jars of soybean paste on their shoulders to set up stalls. Also setting up stalls were farmers selling dried camel meat or cured fish and chicken. Barbers also came with wooden boxes on their shoulders.
Sui Yu did not stop these small vendors from coming to the door, nor did he drive them away. As long as they did not enter the guesthouse and did not affect the movement of people in the guesthouse, Sui Yu did not care if they set up stalls by the river or under the wall to sell their goods.
At noon, Song Xian drove the camels over. She greeted Sui Yu and asked her if the caravan that had booked the camels from her on New Year's Eve had left yet. She asked her son to go into the guesthouse to look for them.
Sui Yu walked over with the cub in her arms and asked, "Has your camel given birth again?"
Song Xian nodded, "What about yours?"
"It's estimated to be half a month."
"If you're planning on..." Song Xian winked at her, but continued, "You'd better castrate all the male camels to prevent them from causing trouble on the road."
"The two new camels we added last spring were both female. I don't know if there will be a male this time. If there is a male, I will find someone to castrate him," said Sui Yu.
"Mom..." Song Congzu called out, "Mr. Tu said he doesn't plan to buy camels this year."
"Old Wan was here a few days ago." Sui Yu reminded.
Song Xian understood that this business was snatched away by Lao Wan.
The other two teams of merchants did not change their minds. One team took away three camels, and the other team took away five.
"Master Wan came to see us, and we didn't change our minds. It was entirely because of Manager Yu's face." The man who spoke was the merchant who gave the ring to the kid as a gift.
Sui Yu laughed and said, "I don't have the face to do that. The camels owned by Mrs. Song are truly excellent. You won't be cheated if you buy camels from her. And you are honest."
"Shopkeeper Yu knows how to talk. Yes, we've already agreed on the price with Mr. Song. It's difficult to change your mind." The merchant presented two rolls of azure silk, three fox furs, a pair of deer antlers, and a pound of cinnabar. He said, "These are worth ten thousand coins, equivalent to your five camels."
Song Xian gestured to Song Congzu to take them. She smiled and said, "If anything happens to these five camels, come find me next time you pass by Dunhuang. If you can't find me, you can look for Shopkeeper Yu."
Sui Yu nodded, "Mr. Song has a veterinarian who can treat any camel injury or illness."
"Mr. Song said so on New Year's Eve. Otherwise, I wouldn't have said that I was doing this for your sake." The merchant smiled. "Okay, see you someday."
"See you someday." Sui Yu shook the cub's hand and said, "If you come again next winter, my shopkeeper will lead the camels for you."
"Good luck." Song Xian said.
The merchant nodded. The others were loading the goods, so he said nothing more and just drove the camel away.
"Do you still want cinnabar? I'll trade it for camels." asked the merchant who wanted to buy three camels.
Song Xian waved her hand. "Cinnabar sells well inside the Great Wall. There are few Taoist temples in Dunhuang, so I won't stock up on it."
"Then give me the fur too?" The merchant turned and went to the guesthouse. "Wait a minute, I'll get it."
After the merchant left, Sui Yu walked to Song Congzu, touched the fox fur, and looked at the deer antlers. They were all good things.
Song Xian pointed at the fox fur coat and said, "Would you like to take one? Fox fur is warmer than sheepskin coats and looks good too."
Sui Yu quickly let go and said, "You're quite good at bluffing. I don't want such a valuable thing, just because you want to give it to me."
"You will have it sooner or later."
"It's not the same thing." Sui Yu carried the cub away and said, "You go ahead and do your work. I'm thirsty and I'm going to go back and drink some water."
Sui Yu went into the house and first undid the baby's swaddling clothes to help him pee, so that he wouldn't wet his pants and swaddling clothes again.
When she went out again, Song Xian and her son had already left. Lao Wan came over again with the camel. Sui Yu went over to see what goodies the merchant would offer to Lao Wan in exchange for the camel.
Sichuan peppercorns, deer antlers, leather, cloth and silk can be used as money as long as both parties are satisfied with the estimated price.
…
The next day, the five caravans agreed to leave together. Once the five large caravans left, the five guesthouses became empty.
The servants were busy taking apart, washing and drying bedding, and washing wooden basins with boiling water. They were busy for more than ten days. When the caravan left, the guesthouse was also thoroughly cleaned.
The fifteen rattan bows ordered by Zhao Xiping were also received. Each rattan bow was equipped with two iron arrows and six wooden arrows. Each arrow was marked and registered when it was distributed to the slaves.
"Each of you take good care of your own bows and arrows. If anyone is injured, I will hold the owner of the arrows responsible." Zhao Xiping glanced around with sharp eyes and asked, "Is everything clear?"
The ten private slaves, including Gan Da and Gan Er, responded sparsely.
With the bows and arrows, Zhao Xiping asked Gan Da and Gan Er to make ten scarecrows and stand them on the wasteland, and taught them the posture of drawing the bow and shooting arrows. He asked these people to practice the feel first and figure it out on their own.
Zhao Xiping has led a lot of soldiers in the past two years and is used to giving orders. His every move is full of majesty. He himself may not realize it, but the twelve servants subconsciously follow his orders and have no intention of resisting at all.
Sui Yu stood not far away, holding the cub in her arms, watching. Finally, she turned and looked toward the vast expanse of yellow sand. She couldn't help but sigh. The decision to form a team and go on a business trip was absolutely the right one. If she had stayed home, she would have fallen behind Zhao Xiping. He was moving forward, while she stayed put.
If there is another opportunity, Zhao Xiping may be promoted again, but she is still a small businessman.
As footsteps approached, Zhao Xiping came over and embraced Sui Yu. He took the cub and asked, "What are you looking at?"
"miss you."
"Nonsense, if you missed me you should look at me, why are you turning your back to me?" Zhao Xiping said angrily.
Sui Yu smiled and asked, "It's spring now, do you want to go back to your hometown?"
"I wrote back before the New Year and sent money back, so I won't be going back." Zhao Xiping held the cub upright and said, "The child is still young, and you and him can't leave me alone."
"You overestimate yourself." Sui Yu smiled and gave him a blank look.
"How about we try it for the next two days? Just pretend I'm not home, and you take care of the kids by yourself, and don't ask me for anything, how about that?"
Sui Yucai refused to do so. When Zhao Xiping was at home, she pretended to be weak and lazy and relied on him for everything. When he was happy, she felt relaxed.
"Sir, someone's looking for you." Grandma Yin came trotting over and said, "A few farmers are here to buy manure. Do you want to sell it?"
"I'll go check it out." Zhao Xiping handed the cub to Sui Yu and said, "He's asleep. Take him back."
Sui Yu walked back slowly, rocking the child. Looking at the dry grass that was almost gnawed to the roots, she thought about sowing some golden grass seeds and applying manure on the wasteland, to prevent waves of camels from coming and going and gnawing the wasteland into a desert.
The kid was put on the bed, whining and trying to wake up. Sui Yu immediately lay down with him. She pulled up the mattress and hugged him. The kid smelled the familiar scent, gradually became quiet, and fell asleep again.
When Zhao Xiping came in, he heard two steady breathing sounds. He walked lightly and took Sui Yu's arm and put it under the mattress.
Sui Yu woke up in shock and subconsciously went to pat the child.
"You're not awake yet, just continue sleeping." Zhao Xiping said in a low voice.
Sui Yu pinched his brows and said, "I won't sleep anymore. If I sleep during the day, I won't be able to sleep at night. Have you sold the manure?"
"If we sell it, we get fifty cents for one load of manure. This year, all ten guesthouses are full, and we have accumulated a lot of camel manure, as well as pig and chicken manure, which we can't use up in our fields," said Zhao Xiping.
Sui Yu told him her considerations, and he nodded and said, "Okay, I'll tell Gan Da, Gan Er, Zhang Shun, and Li Wu when they pick up manure for the land. But the manure here smells quite bad, do you want to move back to the city?"
Sui Yu shook her head. She liked living here. There was a vast wilderness outside her door, a river to the west, the majestic Great Wall to the north, and open terrain to the east. It was much more comfortable than living in the city.
There were footsteps in the yard again. Zhao Xiping recognized the person by the sound. He opened the door and went out and said, "The kid is asleep. You two can come back later."
Ah Shui held a green grasshopper in her hand. She stood on tiptoe to peek into the house and said, "Then I'll come back after the little one wakes up."
"I'll go in and take a look." Sui Liang squeezed into the room with a grin, "Let me see, the little cub is sleeping so well. Sister, come down, I'll hold him while he sleeps."
"I'll hold you in my arms to sleep with you at night. Where did you go to play?" Sui Yu asked.
"I went to help Sister Xiaomi plant goldenrod. She bought two pieces of wasteland and used them all to plant goldenrod." Sui Liang reached out and touched his nephew's face, saying, "Sister, remember what you said. Let Mingguang sleep with me at night."
"Okay, okay." Sui Yu drove him out, "Don't wake the child up. Get out of here."
Just get out of here. Sui Liang returned to his room and took out the mattress and cushions to dry in the sun.
As soon as it got dark, Sui Liang came to pick up his nephew to sleep with him.
Zhao Xiping watched him calmly as he took the child away. Listening to the sounds of the child being amused in the side room, he smiled.
But within an hour, Sui Liang panicked and shouted, "Sister, brother-in-law, Zhao Mingguang wet the bed, come here quickly."
Zhao Mingguang burst into tears out of shock, and Sui Liang felt guilty. He didn't care about the wet mat and soaked pants. He followed him out and said, "Don't cry, little one. Uncle is not scolding you."
"Do you still want this troublemaker to sleep with you?" Zhao Xiping asked with a smile.
Hearing that he wasn't angry, Sui Liang calmed down. He shook out his wet pants and said with a smile, "When the kid stops wetting the bed, I'll take him to bed, just like you and my sister take me to bed."
Sui Yu took the baby and Zhao Xiping went out to get some hot water. He heard some movement in the livestock pen. After changing and washing the baby, he went over to take a look and saw that it was a mother camel giving birth to a baby camel.
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