Chapter 45: Eliminating Obscurity
The cold streets were bustling with people, and the hawkers' calls were clear and sharp. You could clearly tell what they were selling from two blocks away.
Sui Yuha exhaled, rubbed his hands, and said with his head down: "There are a lot of people in the market, hold on to me tightly and don't get lost."
Liang Ge'er nodded, his face full of excitement. Before leaving, Sui Yu gave him fifty cents so that he could buy whatever he wanted at the market.
After leaving Juntun, walk more than a mile and you will reach the crowded market. It is the last market day of the year. The vendors push out all the goods they have in their hands. The shop assistants have changed their usual indifference and stand in front of the shops with a smile as bright as a chrysanthemum, greeting passers-by warmly. The vendors setting up stalls on the roadside are even louder. They are sharp-eyed and sharp-tongued, and call passers-by "uncle" and "grandmother" affectionately.
"Tusu wine, selling Tusu wine. Drink a cup of Tusu wine at the end of the year, and you will be free from all diseases in the coming year."
The woman with the basket peeked in and asked, "How much is it?"
"Thirty wen per liang."
"It's still so expensive during the New Year." The woman shook her head, covered her mouth and nose, and walked away with the basket.
"I still have peach soup here. It's cheap. If you don't mind the trouble, you can buy some peach branches and leaves and make the soup yourself." The vendor called out, "Auntie, I'll sell you peach soup at a low price."
The woman waved her hand and said in a muffled voice, "I've already bought it."
In a blink of an eye, she was stopped by a vendor selling peach charms. She looked at them carefully, bargained, and bought a pair of peach charms for twenty cents.
Sui Yu was walking behind with a basket on her shoulder when she heard the noise. She walked over to the stall selling Tusu wine and asked, "How much is the peach soup?"
"Twenty cents a jar. New Year's Eve is tomorrow, so I'll sell it to you cheap. Once you're all gone, I'll have some peace and quiet." The vendor glanced at her basket and asked, "You don't have any jars with you?"
Before Sui Yu left, she didn't think about buying wine or soup. She picked up a bundle of peach branches on the ground and asked, "How much is this?"
"Take the five cents."
Sui Yu grabbed two handfuls of dried peach leaves and peach roots and said, "These are five cents each. I'll go back later and get a bowl to buy two more ounces of Tusu wine."
The vendor thought it over and accepted the five coins. When Sui Yu left, he worriedly told her, "Sister-in-law, you must come over later. I'll be waiting here for you."
Sui Yu nodded, then went back to the stall selling peach charms and bargained for fifty coins for two pairs of deity statues. They were called deity statues, but in reality, they were simply small images of the priests Shentu and Yulei painted on peach wood, sketched with a few simple strokes and their names inscribed. In this paperless age, these were door gods.
Sui Liang heard the shouts of the candy seller, he tugged at Sui Yu's clothes and pointed forward.
Sui Yu took him over and bought two pieces of malt candy at three cents each. Sui Liang ate one piece and then fed the other into Sui Yu's mouth.
"So sweet." Sui Yu narrowed her eyes.
Sui Liang also narrowed his eyes and licked the tip of the candy carefully.
Passing by a grain store, Sui Yu went in to buy half a bushel of rice. The clerk who was seeing the customer off came over and asked, "You haven't set up a stall to sell buns anymore? I haven't seen you buy noodles in a while."
Sui Yu nodded. She stretched out her hand to show him the chilblains on it and said, "It's too cold. Chilblains on my hands are disgusting. I can't knead the dough, so I just didn't do it."
"Then wait until the weather warms up before selling it." The clerk weighed the rice for her and said, "It's a full kilogram, take a look."
"Still the same price? No price drop?" Sui Yu counted the money.
"It's good enough that the price doesn't go up in winter, it's even going down..." the guy laughed.
Sui Yu handed him the copper coins and asked him to count them. Before leaving, she smiled and said, "May you be safe and sound every year, and be free from all diseases."
"Oh, you too." The waiter walked her all the way to the door.
After passing the grain store, Sui Yu stood on the road and thought for a moment. She had nothing to buy, but it was okay to go back, so she took Sui Liang by the hand and walked around the market. They followed the crowds, and at the end of the street, through a narrow alley, they discovered a stall selling goods from a foreign merchant.
Sui Yu and Sui Liang lingered in this market with a completely different style for half a day. The brother and sister stopped in front of each stall for a long time, but they just looked and did not buy. Hu Shang did not drive them away because Sui Yu was willing to listen to them bragging about the stories behind each piece of broken copper and stone.
Leisurely and festive days are rare, so Sui Yu and Sui Liang walked outside until the sun set before returning home. The children were running in the alley, each holding a pancake. During the Chinese New Year, most families steamed buns and baked pancakes.
While cooking tonight, Sui Yu also made half a bowl of noodles, intending to steam them for New Year's Eve. She could keep them warm when she was hungry, which was both convenient and filling. At the market today, she heard that there were Nuo opera performances from New Year's Eve to the fifth day of the first lunar month, and she planned to take Sui Liang with her to join in the fun for a few days.
When lying on the bed at night, Sui Yu suddenly sat up, and Sui Liang looked at her in surprise.
"Oh, I forgot to buy Tusu wine. I forgot about it while playing." Sui Yu slapped her head. The wine seller was probably going to scold her if he didn't wait for her. "Forget it, I'll go check tomorrow morning to see if he's still setting up the stall tomorrow."
With this in mind, Sui Yu immediately grabbed her water bag and headed out after breakfast. Today was New Year's Eve, and everyone was busy at home. The people on the street were as few and far between as sparrows in the snow. She took a few steps and saw the vendor who had sold Tusu wine the previous day. He had also seen her.
"Thank goodness you came today. I was so busy yesterday that I forgot." Sui Yu smiled apologetically. She handed over the water bag and said, "Sell me three taels."
The vendor responded loudly, saying as he sold the wine, "I didn't see anyone yesterday, so I figured you were busy and forgot. Since you didn't buy any wine and wanted to come today, I came here early this morning."
"You didn't scold me yesterday, did you?" Sui Yu asked with a smile.
"How could that be?" the vendor said he wasn't that kind of person. He gave Sui Yugu an extra half spoonful of wine and said, "You'll be well."
"All diseases will be cured." Sui Yu replied to him. She took the water bag and prepared to go back. "I'll go back first. You are busy."
"Hey, I'll be back soon if I wait a little longer."
Sui Yu went back and cleaned the old things first. She and Sui Liang boiled water and scrubbed the house clean inside and out. They swept the loose dust off the wall and dumped it outside the door, and cleaned the camel pen inside and out.
It was already noon when I finished all this.
"We still have some fried noodles left over. Let's make a couple of bowls of oil tea and have a quick meal, saving some room for meat tonight."
Sui Liang nodded twice.
While the water was boiling, Sui Yu opened the cupboard, took out the dried rabbit meat and pickled pork, and soaked them in a basin with warm water.
"Your brother-in-law is having a bad day today." Sui Yu said to Sui Liang, "But you can't say that. His mother will make up for the missed meal."
After two bowls of oil tea were mixed, Sui Yu handed one bowl to Sui Liang. The two of them squatted in front of the stove and ate with the bowls. Occasionally, Sui Yu said something, and Sui Liang looked up and listened carefully.
"Meow--" The cat official called out as he entered the room, then went straight into the kitchen following the scent.
"Where have you been?" Sui Yu scooped a spoonful of oil tea into the broken bowl and warned it, "Don't go out later. I won't go out to look for you until the New Year's Eve dinner is ready."
With food in her stomach, Sui Yu began to prepare the dough. While the dough was resting, she chopped radish and meat and fried the stuffing. After the stuffing was ready, she was busy wrapping the buns. After the buns were steamed, she continued to wash, cut and chop the meat into rabbit.
There is no time to rest.
Although there were only her and Sui Liang at home, Sui Yu had no intention of compromising on this New Year's Eve.
After a pot of buns came out of the pot, Sui Yu scooped the water from the bottom of the pot into a basin, and then added a ladle of cold water to wash the sauerkraut.
The remaining water at the bottom of the pot was burned away, and the oil tank was lifted to pour in the oil. When the bottom of the pot began to smoke, Sui Yu poured half of the rabbit meat into the pot and stir-fried it. When the rabbit meat changed color, he poured in the radish and then added water to simmer it.
"One is stewed rabbit with radish, one is stewed pork belly with sauerkraut, and another is fried tofu and scrambled eggs with leeks. I'll make four dishes tonight." Sui Yu muttered to himself.
Sui Liang nodded.
"Brother Liang, do you have anything to say?" Sui Yu asked casually.
Sui Liang opened his mouth and made the shape of "ah" with his lips, but only hot steam came out and no sound came out.
He lowered his head dejectedly.
"It's okay. Maybe one day you'll wake up and suddenly be able to speak." Sui Yu smiled. "It doesn't matter if you can't speak. Just listen to me."
Sui Liang touched the cat's head and nodded.
The rabbit meat was removed from the pot, covered with a plate, and placed on the stove to warm. Then, the pot was washed and the sauerkraut and pork stew was prepared. Once the two stews were ready, the remaining two quick dishes took little time. Sui Yu added a ladle of water to the pot and placed two of the cooled buns on the grate to steam.
"Let's go and eat. Bring the dishes to the main room."
We don’t eat in the kitchen during the Chinese New Year.
At this time, the sun was still shining in the sky and the sky was bright. The two hens did not go into the cage. When someone opened the door and entered the house, they followed him in.
"Go away, it's not time for you to sit down at the table yet." Sui Yu waved them away. She went into the woodshed, grabbed a handful of bean dregs and scattered them on the ground, saying, "It's New Year's Day today, so you should eat well. It's the beginning of the new year, so lay more eggs."
The two hens clucked and scratched the ground with their claws.
Sui Yu poured the Tu Su wine she bought into the bowl. Three taels of wine was less than half a bowl. She took a sip to taste it. The taste of the wine was not strong. She gave some to Sui Liang and lightly covered the bottom of the bowl.
"Come, let's have a drink together, brother and sister. This is our second New Year's Eve after surviving a near-death experience. Let's celebrate having a family." Sui Yu handed the wine bowl to Sui Liang. The two bowls clinked together, making a not-so-crunchy tinkling sound. "I wish our future paths will become broader and our lives more hopeful."
Sui Liang's eyes sparkled. He looked at his sister with a smile, holding the bowl with both hands and drinking all the wine in one breath.
"It's a lot, little brother." Sui Yu gave a thumbs up.
Sui Liang smiled embarrassedly.
"Eat, eat as much as you can tonight." Sui Yu said nothing else.
The two of them picked up their chopsticks and each picked up a piece of rabbit meat for the cat official. The brother and sister looked at each other with a smile, and then picked up their chopsticks at the same time to pick up meat for each other.
"Haha." Sui Yu laughed and said, "Let's eat. Let's finish eating quickly so we can go out and watch the Nuo opera."
The alley suddenly became bustling with activity. Sui Yu looked outside and saw the gate was open. She happened to see three children from the opposite door, each holding a torch. A moment later, a family from the west also approached, holding two burning torches.
"Are you still eating?" a passerby asked loudly.
"You guys had your New Year's Eve dinner early, so why are you going out to play now?" Sui Yu asked.
"My family always has an early New Year's Eve dinner. Come on, eat. We'll go dance Nuo opera together later."
After the person left, Sui Yu and Sui Liang's hearts also left. The brother and sister finished their meal in a hurry and did not eat the steamed buns, but left them in the steamer.
Sui Yu was busy hanging door gods on the main door and the main hall door, and hanging peach branches on the door lintel. He soaked the remaining peach branches, leaves and stems in water and waited to make peach soup when he returned in the evening.
Sui Liang washed the dishes and took two straight wooden sticks from the woodshed. He ran outside to look at the torches held by others, then ran back into the house to peel the bark.
"I'll do it." Sui Yu came over. She used a machete to peel the bark from the tree stump, then wrapped it around a wooden stick, tying it thickly. Then she took two torches into the kitchen, rubbed lard with her hands and spread it on the bark, and also rubbed her hands with lard.
"Here, put it in the tree stump and make a fire." Sui Yu handed over the torch stick, then held Sui Liang's hand and rubbed it until it was shiny.
While Sui Liang was covering the fire, Sui Yu quickly cleaned the stove and put the buns and leftover dishes in the cupboard to protect them from rats.
The torch ignited a flame, and the cat on the stove jumped in fright. Sui Yu took the torch, held it, and circled around it, muttering, "Get rid of the bad luck, get rid of the bad luck, and may the cat official live a hundred years."
"Remove the darkness and all camel diseases will be cured."
"Get rid of the darkness and the hens will lay eggs without worries."
"Get rid of the bad luck, and this family will become more and more prosperous."
The two of them walked around the house holding torches and headed straight out the door. As the torches caught the wind, the flames suddenly lengthened. Sui Yu held Sui Liang down and raised the torch to walk around in a circle. Sui Liang then held the torch high and walked around her again.
"Get rid of the darkness, get rid of the darkness, Sui Yu and Sui Liang will be freed from slavery as soon as possible." Sui Yu shouted softly, she locked the door, pulled Sui Liang and strode out of the alley.
It was already dark and most people had gone out to play. The alley was so quiet that only the sound of the wind could be heard. However, there were torches lighting the way, and perhaps it was the atmosphere, but Sui Yu was not afraid at all as he walked on the road.
Further ahead, the streets became bustling with people, torches in hand, rubbing shoulders as they walked eastward. Countless torches illuminated the long street. Sui Yu blended in with the crowd, her steps brisk. Her eyes darted left and right, watching the faces reflected in the firelight, and she felt a sense of relief.
Walking along the long street, you can see the blazing flames outside the yamen lighting up the sky from a distance. The Nuo opera dancers are already there. It is the coldest time of the year in winter, and the dry and cold wind is howling. The Nuo opera dancers are wearing thin sleeveless clothes, but they are still sweating.
There was a fire in the middle of the road, and people who came threw the torches in their hands into it. The more people gathered, the higher the pile of firewood became, the stronger the flames became, the more excited the people performing the Nuo opera became, and the more frequent and loud the drum beats became.
At a certain moment, the drums began to beat hard, and the crowd around them began to dance, laughing and swaying with abandon. Sui Yu and Sui Liang were also drawn in, imitating the movements of the woman in front of them. Holding Sui Liang by one hand, they led him around the fire, accompanied by the indistinct chorus of the others.
As soon as the singing was over, the drum beats began. The drum beats were rapid and passionate. People who were still immersed in the Nuo opera were awakened by the drum sound. Men, women, old and young rushed to the fire to get torches, and ran east with the torches in their hands.
Sui Yu didn't understand why, but she had already followed suit. She held Sui Liang's hand, and the two of them ran in the cold wind, laughing. A winding sea of fire headed straight for the East City Gate.
The city gates are wide open. There are defenses but no restrictions tonight, and everyone can leave the city.
The sea of fire streamed through the pitch-black gates of the city wall, eventually emptying into a fire pit outside the city walls. Sui Yu threw her torch down. She had a vague idea: Nuo opera was meant to ward off evil spirits and dispel gloom, and so were torches. Throwing the torches out of the city walls was a prayer for a prosperous new year, a city that would remain strong, people free of disease, and livestock that would thrive.
"All diseases will be cured." Sui Yu said, "Brother Liang, throw the torch."
All diseases will be cured, Sui Liang repeated silently.
The brother and sister followed the crowd back to the city. On the way, everyone congratulated each other on being healthy, having a good harvest, and being happy and carefree.
When we returned to the military settlement, the fast-paced people had already returned. There were voices in the alleys, and the quiet houses were lit by fire. The land became lively again.
Sui Yu unlocked the door and entered. When she heard voices in the alley, she turned around and said, "Happy New Year."
"Hey, Happy New Year." The person walking was from the west side of the house. A woman holding her child asked gently, "When will Captain Zhao be back?"
"It depends on the situation. I don't know either," said Sui Yu.
"If anything happens at home, just shout and someone will come out when they hear the sound," the woman instructed.
"Hey, thank you, sister-in-law." Sui Yu thanked with a smile.
After entering the house and lighting the oil lamp, Sui Yu walked around the rooms holding the oil lamp and came out to ask, "Brother Liang, are you hungry? I am hungry. Let's make a pot of peach soup and steam two buns."
Sui Liang was also hungry. He sat in front of the stove, gathering wood and stoking a fire. The firelight illuminated his face, which was blackened by smoke. When Sui Yu came in and saw him, she pointed at him and laughed.
"Is my face black too?" she asked as she walked over.
Sui Liang smiled and nodded.
"This is called burning bad luck to ashes. We will definitely be able to escape slavery next year." Sui Yu was full of confidence.
The water in the pot boiled. Sui Yu picked up the rake and stirred the peach branches in the water. Peach wood is a talisman for warding off evil, and the roots and leaves of the peach tree are treasures. Sui Yu followed the local customs and boiled a pot of peach tea. She and Sui Liang each drank a large bowl of it. They also filled their water bags with boiling peach soup and used the remaining water to wash their faces and feet.
Before going to bed, Sui Yu carried a bowl of peach soup into the woodshed, poured half a bowl into each of the stinking wooden basins, and muttered to himself, "May everything go as planned, and may all my wishes come true."
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