Chapter 43 Paving the Way
When she reached the edge of the field, Sui Yu saw that the trap had collapsed again. She ran over quickly, but the cat was one step faster than her. If she hadn't grabbed its hind legs in time, it would have jumped into the pit as well.
"Meow——" the cat officer struggled and screamed.
"Don't move." Sui Yu slapped it, she pushed aside the hay buried in the pit, and pulled a frozen field mouse off the pointed stick.
"There is no rabbit, only a vole, which is quite heavy." Sui Yu handed the vole to Sui Liang. When she was harvesting millet in the autumn, she had seen fat mice roaming around and stealing food in the fields. These field mice could waste a lot of food.
"Meow——" the cat official called in a rough voice.
Sui Liang touched it, not knowing whether he should feed it.
Sui Yu set the trap again. She took the field mouse and threw it into the basket. She picked up the cat official and walked towards the ridge. She said, "Brother Liang, follow me. We will set off now."
The brother and sister took a cat and rode on a camel. The camel followed the river downstream. Afraid of meeting acquaintances, Sui Yu chose not to go through the city, but directly bypassed the military settlement and shuttled between the ridges.
The majestic Great Wall stretching across the northwest is visible. Passing through residential areas, the road becomes wider and the soil becomes more sandy and gravelly. The cold wind blows up the sand, and the road ahead becomes gray.
As the saying goes, a horse will die if it runs too fast. Sui Yu felt that this trip was also true. The winding Great Wall was right in front of him, but the camel ran for half a day before reaching the foot of the Great Wall.
The people sitting on the camel were frozen stiff. When Sui Yu got down from the camel with the help of the hump, her legs had lost feeling. She held her knees for a long time before she could stand up.
"Brother Liang, grab my hand and come down. Where's the cat official?"
Sui Liang patted his belly, and something churned under his clothes. The cat official moved, and it crawled out from the collar of his clothes. The next moment, it kicked off with its four claws and landed lightly on the ground.
It was noon and time for lunch. The servants who were sitting or squatting at the foot of the city wall saw a woman coming. Their tired and numb eyes lit up and they stared at the people walking along the river with greedy eyes. When they saw her looking at them, someone blew a loud and shrill whistle.
Sui Yu pretended not to hear. Her eyes wandered through the crowd, scanning them again and again, but she still didn't see any familiar faces. Her heart couldn't help but skip a beat.
"Who are you looking for?" a man dressed as a soldier asked loudly.
"Sui Wen'an, he was exiled here in early August this year."
"Front." The soldier raised his hand and pointed, urging, "Hurry up and stop hanging around here."
Upon hearing this, Sui Yu walked quickly with the camel in his hand, and Sui Liang followed behind with the cat official in his arms.
The people standing on the city wall had a clear view of the commotion on the riverbank. While Sui Yu was still squinting, searching for someone, Sui Wen'an had already spotted her. He bent down, carefully asking for leave from the inspector. After receiving permission, he climbed down, holding onto the wasteland, constantly on guard against being pushed or tripped by someone behind him.
After descending the city wall smoothly, Sui Wen'an walked across the bridge to the other side of the river. He waved to the girl leading the camel, "Sister Yu, here."
Sui Yu paused. If the voice hadn't changed, she would hardly have recognized the man. The man walking towards her had a hunched back, a swollen face, and white hair.
"Cousin?" she called out tentatively.
Sui Wen'an forced a smile. He glanced at Sui Liang and said with relief, "Brother Liang has gained some weight. Can he speak now?"
Sui Liang shook his head.
"I came to see you." Sui Yu said dryly. She took the basket off the camel's back, peeled off the hay on the surface, and found a pot of thirty buns underneath. She tested the temperature with the back of her hand and found that it was cold.
"I steamed a pot of buns, you can have some first." Sui Yu picked up two buns that were not yet frozen and handed them over.
Sui Wen'an's eyes widened when he saw half a basket of buns. He didn't even bother to say thank you. He squatted down, took the buns and swallowed them in big mouthfuls.
As they got closer, Sui Yu could clearly see the swelling and bruises on his face, which looked like they were caused by a beating. She secretly measured the width and then looked down at his feet, which most likely involved a blow from the sole of a shoe.
She silently looked away, feeling a complex mix of emotions. She waited until Sui Wen'an stopped swallowing before asking, "Are you full?"
Sui Wen'an smiled, and the bones on his face pushed up the swollen skin. He shuddered in pain, his face trembled, and his smile fell.
"I'm full. This is the only meal I've had since I was put in jail. Sister Yu, thank you for coming to see me."
"Of course, you and I are brother and sister." Sui Yu counted the buns in the basket. Sui Wen'an had eaten five. She asked hesitantly, "Did Sui Ling never come to see you?"
"I've been here once." Sui Wen'an looked down at the buns in the basket, smacked his lips again, and a vague guess emerged in his mind.
"What a coincidence! She came to see me with buns too, and they seemed to be stuffed with radish." He looked over and said, "Did you two discuss this?"
Sui Yu shook her head. She had no intention of doing good deeds anonymously, so she said directly: "She took the buns from my stall. I used to set up a stall to sell buns. She said she wanted to come to see you, but she couldn't get anything from home, so she had to come to my place. I gave her six. Aren't you full?"
"Six?" Sui Wen'an sighed in disappointment. He looked around and muttered, "I'm full, I'm full..."
This is his biological sister, Sui Wen'an suddenly felt cold in his heart.
Sui Yu sensed something was wrong. She stopped asking questions and turned to take the old straw sandals hanging on both sides of the camel's back. She untied the straw ropes that held the sandals together and handed them over, saying, "These are your brother-in-law's old shoes. They're quite warm and not eye-catching. You can wear them."
Sui Wen'an thanked him again, and only then did he realize the difference between his two younger sisters and Sui Yu. Sui Yu was thoughtful in everything and lived a good life. All his previous worries were in vain.
"What's the matter with the wound on your face?" Sui Yu asked again.
"The day before yesterday, Sister Hui came and brought me a new set of winter clothes and shoes." Sui Wen'an shook the straw sandals in his hand and said helplessly, "Beggars wearing new clothes will attract envy and hatred. I put them on for only half a day before they were stripped away and I was even beaten."
"Who hit me?"
Sui Wen'an glanced up at the Great Wall. The people beating him were his own uncles and brothers. With each passing day of oppression and enslavement, their resentment of him grew. He could not avoid being scolded even when he tried to avoid them. When someone offered him food, drink, or clothing, his eyes grew even more furious.
"It's dark, so I don't know who it is." Sui Wen'an didn't want to mention it. He looked at the remaining buns in the basket and stuffed another one into his stomach. In between chewing, he asked, "Are the rest for my uncles and brothers?"
"Well, to avoid making people jealous."
Sui Wen'an nodded, and once again sighed that Sui Yu was much better than his other two sisters.
"Don't come here again. This isn't a good place." Sui Wen'an stood up. He knew it was time to get back to work. He stopped sighing and quickly explained a few things: "Sister Yu, please go back to the city and check on Sister Hui. I felt something was wrong with her when she left the day before yesterday."
Sui Yu frowned. She was about to refuse, but then she heard him say, "Please tell her again, if I die one day, don't bother to collect my bones. Just bury me where I died."
Sui Yu's heart skipped a beat. She looked up at him. When he mentioned death, a look of relief and even longing appeared on his face.
"Also, you should live your own lives well, don't think about the past, good or bad, and don't contact our people again." Sui Wen'an gave another brief instruction.
A whistle sounded on the city wall, and the servants scattered everywhere got up to work like a black swarm of ants. Sui Wen'an picked up the buns with his clothes in his pockets, and patted Sui Liang's shoulder gently before turning around.
"Cousin, have you ever thought about going to the battlefield to earn military merit? Military merit can be used to cancel slavery." Sui Yu whispered, "Since you are not afraid of death, why not go to the battlefield and give it a try."
"That also requires the opportunity to go to the battlefield."
"I'll keep it in mind for you, just hold on."
Sui Wen'an thought for a moment. He didn't want to die with the crime on his shoulders, so he nodded and said, "Then I'll trouble Sister Yu."
"Don't bother. I'm counting on you to rescue me once you've been denaturalized." Sui Yu said seriously.
Sui Wen'an shook his head and laughed, "You think too highly of me. Okay, if you're lucky enough, I'll help you get rid of your citizenship."
After saying that, he walked away, his steps much lighter than when he came.
"By the way, cousin, are Aunt Chun's children and grandchildren still alive?" Sui Yu chased after her and asked.
"Alive, all still alive."
Sui Yu felt relieved. She had seen what she needed to see and asked what she needed to ask. She packed up the bamboo basket, picked up Sui Liang and pushed him onto the camel's back. She handed the basket up and climbed on herself.
"Let's go, back home." She patted the camel.
After rushing on the road for a long time, they entered the military settlement. It was already dark and there were few people in the alley. Sui Yu opened the door and drove the camel in first. She pulled the bundle of bean stalks and carried them in, saying, "Brother Liang, lock the door."
The gate was bolted and a fire was lit in the kitchen. With the light of the fire, the dark house looked less scary.
Sui Yu held a machete in one hand and an oil lamp in the other, and searched the woodshed, bedroom, main room, and camel pen carefully. No one was hiding, so she felt relieved.
The field mice caught in the trap were skinned, beheaded, and gutted before being stir-fried. A shallow plate of meat was enough for Sui Yu and Sui Liang to have a meal.
After being frozen outside all day, Sui Yu started coughing that night. She stayed at home the next day to rest. When it was warm at noon, she went to the vegetable garden to cut a bunch of leeks, picked them, washed them, and put them on the curtain to drain.
On the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, Sui Yu baked two pancakes stuffed with eggs and chives early in the morning. She poured a bag of boiling water into the pancakes and went out alone when no one was walking in the alley.
She followed the path she remembered and quietly went to the brothel. She didn't dare get close, so she walked down the river for a while. When she saw no one, she slowly walked back to the brothel. From a distance, she heard the sound of men laughing uncontrollably.
There is no farm work in winter, so the prostitutes in the camp no longer need to go out to work, and the gate of the brothel is open day and night.
Sui Yu stopped walking, standing in the wilderness, looking at the past with a tormented heart. She wanted to forget the days she had spent there, but she didn't dare think about it. She could do nothing, and thinking about it would only torture herself.
The cold wind of the wilderness blew her through. Sui Yu counted silently. She planned to leave and never come back.
A woman walked out of the door. Sui Yu paused and walked forward a few steps. Seeing that person walking towards the river, she followed her.
"Auntie Chun." Sui Yu recognized the person and ran over holding the water bag and hot pancake in her arms.
"Yu girl? Why are you here?" Aunt Chun put down the bucket and waved her hand, saying, "Go away quickly. Don't come this way. None of the men who come here are good people. Don't bump into them."
"I came to see you and will be leaving soon." Sui Yu took out two pancakes from her arms and handed them over, saying, "Eat them quickly, they are still hot."
Aunt Chun took it and said, "Okay, go ahead."
Sui Yu didn't plan to stay any longer. She instructed, "These two cakes are for you. Eat them before you go back, to avoid any trouble if others find out. Also, I went north yesterday and found out that your son and grandson are still alive. I came to tell you."
Aunt Chun was so shocked when she heard the news about her family that her hands were shaking. After hearing Sui Yu's words, she burst into tears and said, "It's good to be alive, it's good to be alive, everyone is alive..."
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