Chapter 187: Tear Down the Loess Wall
The wind and snow crushed the house, the walls collapsed and the beams broke. The merchants who were sleeping in the house did not have time to escape, and some people were still trapped under the adobe and beams.
When Sui Yu arrived, no one from Captain Hu's side had come yet. The people moving soil and wood were all merchants and bodyguards who lived there. Seeing this, Qingshan and Zhang Shun also joined in.
"Madam, let's go over and help." Xiao Chunhong took off the bow and arrow from her body.
Sui Yu nodded and warned, "Be careful, don't get close to that crooked wall. I suspect it's going to collapse too."
Just as he finished speaking, a beam rolled down. Without support, the crooked earth wall broke in half and collapsed to the ground.
The merchants and escorts who were carrying soil and wood ran away. They stood quietly in the snow and looked up. After the noise of the collapse subsided, they watched for a while and then they were busy rescuing people again.
Sui Yu walked around the guesthouse and found that the two earthen walls were crooked. The wall close to the ground was still in a straight line, but the higher it went, the further the wall leaned to the south, which resulted in a distorted space when the house was completed.
Another merchant came over. Sui Yu tilted his head to take a look and asked, "How many people are buried down there?"
"Five of them! They were heavy sleepers, sleeping in one room. They didn't have time to escape when the wall collapsed." The older merchant looked toward the city and asked, "Is this Captain Hu's guesthouse?"
"Officials are not allowed to engage in business." Sui Yu said implicitly.
The merchants understood that officials were not allowed to do business, so this guesthouse was definitely not under the name of Captain Hu. If the house collapsed today and killed someone, he could find a scapegoat to atone for his crime.
"Save one person." someone shouted.
Sui Yu and the merchant strode back. Since they slept together, if they rescued one of them, the other four could be rescued immediately.
"The head is smashed, and he's dead." The escort withdrew his hand and said, "The body is still warm, but there is no pulse."
The merchants traveling with him wept bitterly.
"Dig another one out." Zhang Shun came over, carrying a young merchant half covered in blood. "He's still alive, but his legs can't move. Let's take him to the city to see a doctor."
Someone brought a camel, and three bodyguards worked together to lift the man onto the camel. A familiar merchant followed and rode the camel across the river to the city.
The other three merchants were also carried out from under the beam, one dead and two injured. The injured were sent to the clinic, and the dead were handed over to their tribesmen for treatment. The rest continued to help them search for goods from under the ground.
Sui Yu invited the distressed caravan to move in with her. This year the snow fell late, so there were not many caravans staying there. She still had four empty guesthouses, which were just enough to accommodate them.
"You can stay here with peace of mind. We won't ask you for accommodation fees this winter," said Sui Yu.
"Thank you, Shopkeeper Yu." After this, the merchant seemed to have aged seven or eight years. Looking at his tribesmen, whose heads and bodies were bruised and bent, and the goods scattered on the ground, he suddenly beat his chest and burst into tears, "It's all because of my greed. If I had stayed at the Changgui Inn, my uncle wouldn't have died. He went out and wandered for more than ten years, and he didn't die at the hands of wolves or foreigners..."
"Alright, alright, stop howling." An elderly merchant interrupted him, saying, "Hurry up and settle this place. You still have three members of your tribe whose lives are in jeopardy. Treat their injuries, mourn their deaths, and then seek justice for them."
"Has the person in charge not come yet?" asked another escort.
Sui Yu looked to the south and saw no one on the snow. The injured had probably been sent to the clinic. Neither the Hu family nor the Cui family sent anyone capable of taking charge.
But this matter had little to do with her. Sui Yu left after doing her duty. The wind was strong in the snow, and she stood in the wind without moving. The sheepskin coat she wore did not keep her warm, and she was frozen to the bone.
The cub was playing in the barn with Dazhuang. Uncle Niu was there too. When he saw Sui Yu come in, he asked, "What's going on? How are the people?"
"Two were killed and three were injured. The warehouses where we stored our goods collapsed, trapping the goods beneath the earthen walls. Most of it is probably destroyed." Sui Yu rubbed his hands, closed the door, and continued, "The walls were crooked. From what I recall, the three collapsed walls were probably built by slaves with no building experience. I don't know if the person in charge didn't notice, or if they did, and just rushed to cover them, hoping for a lucky break."
"That makes sense." Uncle Niu nodded. "Last night the wind was strong and it snowed heavily. If the earthen wall isn't compacted, it won't be able to withstand the wind."
Sui Yu nodded. There was one more thing she didn't mention, which many people must have noticed. The beam that fell down was broken, and the cross-section was hollow. The insects had eaten the core of the wood.
At noon, Qingshan, Erhei and ten other male slaves returned first. Sui Yu went out and asked, "Have you taken out all the goods?"
"Not yet. Someone from our former master came, and Brother Zhang asked us to come back first." Qingshan said.
"Who is coming?" Sui Yu asked again.
"Captain Hu and his brother-in-law are here."
As he was speaking, voices were heard outside the yard, crying mixed with talking, and among them was a comforting voice in an official tone. The noisy sound approached the west kitchen.
"Brother Liang, come here." Sui Yu retreated to the warehouse and said, "Go out and wait. They probably want to borrow a room to sit down and talk. Put them in the empty cabin. If anyone asks about me, just say I caught a cold this morning and took some medicine and went to bed."
Many people have heard of Captain Hu's reputation for playing with other people's wives. In addition to Sui Ling's incident, Sui Yu didn't want to get close to him. If he had any thoughts about her, it would cause a lot of trouble.
Captain Hu noticed the boy who ran out. The boy had a good appearance, red lips, white teeth, and a pair of beautiful phoenix eyes. He guessed that he should be Zhao Xiping's brother-in-law. He had heard that Zhao Xiping's wife was a beautiful woman, and his brother's appearance would not be bad either.
"Where is Manager Yu? Arrange an empty room for Captain Hu so they can discuss business." A merchant said to Sui Liang.
"My sister caught a cold this morning and took some medicine and went to bed without waiting for dinner." Sui Liang explained, "There are a few empty guesthouses. I'll take you there."
Captain Hu noticed that the door knocker of a closed door was still shaking, which meant there was definitely someone behind the door.
"It's right here. I'm treating everyone to a meal. Let's eat and chat." Captain Hu strode into the kitchen and pointed to the warehouse and asked, "What is this room used for?"
"We use this room for our own meals. When we're not eating, we put away the dining table and let my nephew play in it," Sui Liang explained. "This room is next to the kitchen, so it's warmer inside, so the child won't feel cold."
As soon as he finished speaking, the door of the warehouse opened, and A Shui ran out chasing the little black dog. Uncle Lao Niu followed closely behind him. Seeing a group of people standing in the yard, he asked A Shui to carry the dog in.
"If you want to eat, go to the canteen. Why are you standing in the yard?" Uncle Niu said, "We have stewed chicken and lamb for lunch. It's not a lot. Buy first, eat first."
Captain Hu gave his brother-in-law a look, and Cui Liu lowered his head and went into the kitchen to get money to buy food. He was the one who paid for everyone's meals today.
The cafeteria was crowded and noisy, and Sui Yu couldn't hear clearly sitting in the room. When Ah Shui came in with the egg custard, she took the bowl and fed the little one.
“Sister-in-law…”
"Shh..." Sui Yu raised a finger and whispered, "Don't talk."
The kid thought it was fun and made a "shush" sound with his fingers.
The little black dog was lying on the ground. It looked up at its mouth and saw some egg custard falling into it. It stuck out its tongue and rolled it into its mouth.
A Shui teased it with a chicken bone, making it bark.
Captain Hu came out of the smelly dining hall and heard the dog barking. He covered his nose in disgust and strode away with Cui Liu, who nodded and bowed.
Sui Liang quietly went out to take a look, and saw that Captain Hu, who had been smiling just now, had a gloomy face and raised his hand to slap his brother-in-law hard.
He was so frightened that he shuddered and quickly retreated back into the room.
About half an hour later, the merchants who had been eating in the kitchen courtyard had all left. The servants went to clear the dishes, and Uncle Niu went to close the kitchen courtyard's wooden door. He walked into the warehouse and said, "The matter is resolved."
"How did you solve it?" Sui Yu asked.
"In Cui Liu's name, he paid for the caravan's 20,000 yuan compensation. The three people in the hospital will be treated for their injuries, and the two deceased will be buried with honor. Furthermore, the caravan seemed to have other ulterior motives, and Captain Hu agreed to it," said Uncle Niu. "Anyway, the matter has been suppressed, and the caravan won't report it to the authorities again."
Sui Yu nodded to show that he understood. "Captain Hu's pockets are going to bleed heavily again this time."
Uncle Niu smiled and said, "To him, this little money is nothing. He still has time to think about other things."
Sui Yu didn't respond.
There was no more talking, and the kid squinted his eyes. Sui Yu patted him hard, and he quickly closed his eyes again, with a smile on his face, buried his head in her arms and continued to pretend to sleep.
Uncle Niu went out and the room became quiet. Sui Yu gently patted the cub's back to coax him into a nap.
As it grew dark, the caravan on the other side of the river collected their goods and moved over to live there, and the camel caravans were also brought over.
During dinner time, Sui Yu was stopped when he came out of the master's courtyard.
"Shopkeeper Yu, I'm here to pay the rent." It was the merchant who had been crying loudly that morning. He said tiredly, "The damaged goods have been compensated, and the funeral expenses and medical expenses have been covered. We didn't lose much, so we shouldn't owe you rent."
Sui Yu didn't pretend to be polite. She accepted the room fee and asked with concern: "How is the person who was sent to the clinic?"
"They saved lives."
"That's good." Sui Yu hesitated to speak and ultimately didn't ask any more questions.
"Madam, the little guy is looking for you." Xiao Chunhong shouted.
"I'm coming." Sui Yu responded, and she said to the merchant in front of her, "My condolences."
The merchant nodded and turned back to the guesthouse.
Sui Yu walked into the west kitchen and asked, "Where is the little one?"
"I lied to you. The little guy didn't come looking for you. He just gave you an excuse to get away." Xiao Chunhong said with a smile, "I did it right, didn't I?"
Sui Yu nodded, "You did the right thing."
"Oh, my dear, everyone at the guesthouse on the other side of the river has left. The camel feeders, the sweepers, the dung collectors—they've all left," Xiao Chunhong continued. "Is that guesthouse closed down?"
Sui Yu felt it was very likely. The remaining three guesthouses still had two crooked walls, and she wondered if they could survive the winter. Who would risk their lives to live there? If the other three guesthouses also collapsed, she felt Captain Hu would be reluctant to spend the money to rebuild them.
It's a farce that begins in the spring and ends at the end of the year.
However, just two days later, Cui Liu came to the door and said that he wanted to sell the guesthouse on the other side of the river to Sui Yu. Sui Yu had never seen him and bluntly said that he would not buy a house where human lives had been lost.
But Cui Liu was not willing to give up. The 20,000 yuan compensation was all paid out of his own pocket, which had drained his family's savings. He was now thinking of selling this unprofitable guesthouse, preferably for 20,000 yuan, so that he could curry favor with his brother-in-law.
Cui Liu came to her house for three consecutive days, and Sui Yu was annoyed. She thought of Zhao Xiping. If he was at home, this bastard would never dare to bother her.
That night, there was a sudden heavy snowfall and a strong wind. Sui Yu asked Gan Da and Gan Er to take Qingshan and others across the river to push down the shaky loess wall.
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