Chapter 223 Kind Persuasion
Although rejected, Lao Jin did not seem to be angry. He asked his eldest grandson to slaughter a big ram and warmly entertained the caravan coming from afar just like last night. He said that Sui Yu and her group were his fellow villagers and asked them to stay for two more days.
"Go east from that valley, through a spruce forest, over two mountains, across a river, and over another mountain, and you'll reach Old Aji's home. He, his son, and his nephew raise horses at the foot of the snow-capped mountains. If you want to sell your goods, I can take you there," said Lao Jin. "My daughter is married there, and I go there every year. It takes five days on horseback, so taking you with me might take two or three days longer."
Song Xian looked at Sui Yu. To be honest, she didn't want to go. The goods shipped from the interior were almost sold out. Even if she wanted to buy horses, the goods they were carrying on this trip could not be exchanged for many horses. It was not cost-effective to cross mountains and rivers for seven or eight days.
Sui Yu waved his hand and said, "Thank you for your kindness. We plan to transport these goods back to the interior to sell. We are not in a hurry to sell them, so we won't bother you to lead the way. We will rest for another day and then head back tomorrow."
Old Jin was stunned for a moment. He looked at the group of people helping to drive the sheep and said, "It's been a long time since I've had a bustling place here. I hope you can stay a few more days."
Sui Yu didn't respond.
The sheep were driven away, and the grassland became quiet. The birdsong on Eagle Mountain seemed to be right next to my ears, crisp and loud.
A goshawk flew back from the top of a distant snow-capped mountain. It started to cry when it was still far away from Eagle Mountain. When it got closer, another goshawk flew out from Eagle Mountain, and the two eagles circled around the top of the mountain.
Sui Yu and Song Xian sat on the grass and looked up. The two eagles, which should be a male and a female, played around in the air for a few circles before folding their wings and diving into the mountains and forests together.
Lao Jin's grandson Xiao Jin was dragging a skinned sheep back with great effort. Zhang Shun saw it and ran over to help.
Gan Da and Gan Er also took kitchen knives to help cut the mutton.
"Master, can I bring the pot over to help stew the mutton?" Xiaoxi asked.
Sui Yu glanced at her and said, "Let Qingshan take two people with him. The men are strong. You can sit down and rest, or even take a nap. I'll call you when the meal is ready."
Xiaoxi agreed. She looked towards the wooden house and walked over to sit down.
Sui Yu brought a wolfskin mattress and spread it on the grass, and she lay down on it. The environment here was so quiet and peaceful, and extremely leisurely, suitable for relaxing herself and thinking about nothing. It was great to just lie on the grass and watch the clouds roll by.
"Move over there." Song Xian pushed her down and she lay down too.
Another eagle flew out from the mountain. Xiao Jin blew the wooden whistle vigilantly to drive it away. The barking of dogs was heard in the distance, and the eagle's cry echoed throughout the grassland.
This is a kind of excitement unique to herdsmen.
A piece of white cloud was blown away by the wind, and Sui Yu felt sleepy. She raised her hands to her eyes, closed them, and fell asleep.
When he woke up again, he heard Xiaoxi's laughter and the sound of voices coming from a distance, some low and some high. Sui Yu opened his eyes and sat up.
"Awake?" Song Xian was fiddling with the agate in the box.
Sui Yu said "hmm" and stared at the two people next to the wooden house. Xiaoxi was holding a lamb, and Xiaojin was sitting beside her, looking at her greedily.
"You, a maidservant, are showing signs of sexual desire," Song Xian said. "Would you like to buy a horse for Captain Zhao?"
Sui Yu didn't respond.
"It's not impossible. Living here, there's no shortage of food and drink, and there's nothing else to do besides herding sheep. No wonder she's tempted." Song Xian closed the box and said, "Just give in to her wish."
Sui Yu shook her head, cleared her throat, and said, "For a moment of comfort, I've harmed generations of my descendants."
"What do you mean?" Song Xian asked in confusion.
"Shopkeeper Yu, are you awake? Come and have dinner, the mutton is stewed." Lao Jin called from a distance.
Sui Yu asked Xiaochunhong to bring some millet and a piece of cashmere cloth as a return gift for their meal at Lao Jin's house.
"Besides meat, how do you get rice and flour in your daily life? Do you have land to grow your own?" Sui Yu asked Lao Jin.
"Yes, I went out when I was young and bought some grain and seeds. Since then, we have had no worries about food and drink, and we have enough clothes to wear. When it's cold, we have sheepskin to wrap ourselves in," said Lao Jin.
Song Xian wanted to ask, "What if it gets hot?" "Would she wrap herself in a leather skirt like a savage?" But then she felt the question was offensive, so she swallowed it and didn't ask again.
Each of them filled a bowl with mutton bones and sat outside the wooden house to eat them. Lao Jin said hello to Sui Yu, left his grandson at home, and went to deliver food to others.
In the afternoon, Sui Yu took her maid to look for stones in the stream flowing down the mountain. The stones in the valley had been washed by years and were smooth in shape and came in many colors, including green, red, and yellow... They were very beautiful.
There were footsteps behind him. It was Xiao Jin who came over with a tall horse. He walked up to Sui Yu and said blankly, "I want to trade her with you for the horse."
His Chinese was stiff and his voice was hoarse. It might be because he had little communication with others, and the order of his speech was also messed up.
"I've already told your grandfather." Sui Yu picked up the stone and stood up, saying, "Tell your grandfather to come and talk to me tonight."
"Here's the horse." Xiao Jin put the horse down and turned around and ran away.
Sui Yu frowned. She looked at Xiao Xi and said, "What do you like about him? He doesn't even understand what he's saying."
Xiaoxi blushed and remained silent.
"I thought you were a smart girl, but you could only see the small profits and just wanted to follow him to eat meat?" Sui Yu scolded mercilessly.
"Master, let's go help Zhang Shun and the others chop wood." Xiao Chunhong wanted to give them some space to talk.
"No need to go, just listen." Sui Yu stretched out his hand to stop people.
"Do you think it's better to stay here and find a man to live with, herd sheep and farm, have a few children, and live a smooth life, rather than being a slave?" Sui Yu asked again.
Xiaoxi nodded. Life in Dunhuang had been quite pleasant, but the journeys through the borderlands were exhausting. Traveling often required all-nighters, encountering wolves along the way, and even sleeping with anxiety. Climbing snowy mountains was incredibly difficult. Compared to these difficult times, she felt that life on the grasslands with Xiaojin was quite pleasant. She only had to worry about preparing two meals a day. While it felt quite lonely without seeing anyone, having a child would bring her many more things to do.
"Have you ever thought that you will get sick? Will you have a difficult delivery? Will the baby get sick? Will you die of illness? Lao Jin is in his fifties or sixties, and he has only two children. Could it be that his wife only gave birth to two? And Xiao Jin's mother, that woman can't even walk straight, and she gasps for breath after speaking a few more words. She is so sick that she can't even go to a hospital to see a doctor, and can only live a miserable life. Xiaoxi, are you sure that you will have a smooth life here? Without illness or disaster?" Sui Yu asked.
Xiaoxi was speechless, and the others seemed to be thinking about something.
"You've seen the prosperity of Chang'an, know the vastness of the territory inside and outside the Great Wall, seen silk and satin, eaten salt and vinegar, tasted pickles and sauerkraut. Besides sheep and horses, you know there are donkeys, mules, pigs, camels, chickens, ducks, and wild wolves. Ask Xiao Jin if he knows what these things are. If you stay here, your children will be like Xiao Jin, eating vegetables without salt, and not knowing the difference between sour and sweet. After you die, your descendants will never be able to escape from these mountains. Generation after generation will live on this grassland, opening their eyes to eat and drink, repeating yesterday's days today, and this year's days next year, year after year, and being buried in this grassland after death." Sui Yu continued. Seeing the emotion on Xiao Xi's face, she slowed her tone and said gently, "Don't seek comfort in the present. We should endure some hardships and work hard, save more money, and not just eat and wait for death. We should have hope for the future and the next generation will have hope."
"What hope do my descendants have?" Xiaoxi said hoarsely. "They'll still be slaves, just like me."
"Putting aside his status as a slave, do you like Xiao Jin?" Sui Yu asked. "Can he follow what you're saying? Does he understand what you mean?"
Xiaoxi remained silent.
"Xiao Jin isn't good-looking," Xiao Chunhong whispered. "He has buck teeth, half of which are black, and his face is weird too. Xiao Xi, if you marry him, your future children will look like this too."
Xiaoxi subconsciously showed rejection.
"You look down on him. Why do you look down on him? Because you know a lot. Besides giving birth to children, you can make a living in other ways. You've traveled a lot and seen a lot. You think you're better than him, so you dare to look down on him." Sui Yu said, "Your life is better now than before you came to my house, right? This batch of goods has been sold to Chang'an. I'll share the money with you. Your future life will definitely be better than your current life. Getting better every year, isn't that what we call hope? If your life is better, how can your next generation be worse off? How can there be no hope?"
After saying that, Sui Yu glanced around and saw three female slaves with relaxed expressions, obviously they had heard it.
"That's all I'll tell you. You can figure out the rest yourself." Sui Yu walked away. "We'll leave tomorrow morning. If you still decide to stay, I'll take an extra horse with me."
Xiao Chunhong led the tall horse away, chewing grass, and said deliberately, "From now on, I'll name you Xiaoxi."
Xiaoxi looked up and glared at her.
In the evening, Xiao Jin's family came back with their flock of sheep. Zhang Shun and his men also chopped a pile of firewood from the foot of the mountain. Except for the four bundles they were going to take away tomorrow, the rest were left to Lao Jin's family.
"Shopkeeper Yu, my grandson said you agree to exchange horses for women? I still have three horses, how about exchanging them for three more women?" Old Jin smiled.
"Don't you only have two grandsons?" Sui Yu asked.
"Old Aji's family is also in need of a daughter-in-law, and my grandson will grow up in a few years," said Old Jin.
Sui Yu glanced at Xiao Chunhong and the others and said, "Ask them for their opinions. If they are willing, I have no objection."
No one was willing. If Sui Yu hadn't said that in the afternoon, and Xiao Xi had taken the lead, the other five slave-born sons might have been interested.
Seeing that no one else was willing, Xiaoxi felt a little regretful. When she saw Xiaojin smiling at her again, she turned her head away.
A night passed.
At dawn, the servants brought the camels and tied up the goods. Sui Yu took her half-grown colt and followed Song Xian up the slope.
When Old Jin saw that she only took away a foal, he felt something was wrong. He winked at his grandson and asked him to hold Xiaoxi.
When Xiaoxi saw Xiaojin coming over, she stared at him blankly. Listening to the tinkling sound of the camel bells, she became impatient.
"Child, come here." Lao Jin shouted.
Xiaoxi shook off Xiaojin's hand and said, "I want to leave. I don't want to stay here anymore."
Xiao Jin became anxious and reached out to grab her with a ferocious look on his face. Xiao Xi kicked him away and strode after the caravan.
"Go chase him, why are you just standing there?" said Lao Jin.
Da Jin took his two sons to chase after them, but when they saw Zhang Shun and Li Wu waving their machetes, the father and his two sons stopped.
The tinkling sound of camel bells left the grassland, and a goshawk spread its wings and circled above the grassland. Then a loud eagle cry echoed among the mountains and valleys.
The old Jin family came to their senses. They drove the sheep to graze while cursing and continued their pastoral life with eagles as neighbors.
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