Chapter 117 Return to Origin
It took more than two months to return to Dunhuang from Wusun. It was already early September when they entered Yumen Pass. Another five days were spent on the journey before Zhao Xiping and Sui Wen'an entered the city gate of Dunhuang County.
Captain Chang and his entourage stayed in the post station. After Zhao Xiping came out of the post station, he went to visit Captain Qu.
"Are you back?" Captain Qu came out. He had returned with the army in early July. He heard half a month ago that Wusun had defeated Xiongnu, but he was not clear about the specific situation.
"Come, tell me about the battle." Captain Qu punched him and said, "I only learned from my return from Wusun that you met Captain Chang and went with him to Wusun again. How was it? Did you accomplish anything more?"
Zhao Xiping touched the tip of his nose and couldn't help laughing. He nodded proudly and said sincerely, "Thank you for giving me the opportunity to train. If I hadn't been sent on missions one after another in the past two years, you wouldn't have discovered that I have some talent in archery. Without these two years of accumulation, I would have been crippled if not killed on the battlefield this time, and there would be no way I could have achieved any merit."
Captain Qu was satisfied with his attitude and then asked about what was happening on the battlefield.
Zhao Xiping told him everything from their arrival in Wusun, to Captain Chang leading the Wusun army to take a detour north to intercept the Xiongnu, to the fighting on the battlefield, and the Xiongnu's defeat, and at the end he relayed the words of Gongcao.
Captain Qu nodded from time to time, staring at Zhao Xiping with inquiry. This was a smart man. Even before the court's reward came down, he had already paved the way.
Captain Qu couldn't help laughing as he vaguely remembered the fool who had been waiting for him outside the government office two years ago. As soon as they met, he said he wanted to do something meritorious to free his wife and brother-in-law from slavery.
"Okay, if you can be promoted to a captain, you can come and work under me." Captain Qu patted his shoulder and sighed, "It's really fate."
Zhao Xiping quite agreed with this statement. From the age of fifteen to nineteen, he had fought on the battlefield for four years, fighting tooth and nail to earn the title of a sergeant. This year, in a battle, he was directly promoted to a sergeant of a thousand. So many people, from enlistment to old age, never get a promotion. It's all about fate, after all.
Coming out of the Captain's Mansion, Zhao Xiping saw Sui Wen'an squatting on the side of the road. It was obvious that this man was waiting for him, and he couldn't help but frown.
Hearing footsteps, Sui Wen'an stood up. The knife wound on his face hadn't been properly cared for, and while it had healed, the scar was still particularly hideous. The healed flesh had tangled into a dark red centipede. The scar had pulled at his muscles, causing the left corner of his mouth to lift and his nose to bulge, giving him a sinister look.
"Please don't mention my return to Sui Yu, and don't even mention helping Tong Huaer and the others escape slavery." Sui Wen'an said. He was worried every day until the reward came.
Zhao Xiping nodded. "I won't mention it. I don't know you. Try to avoid showing up until they are freed from slavery."
Sui Wen'an understood that, while Zhao Xiping had spoken up for him in Wusun, he hadn't mentioned him or Sui Hui and Sui Ling at all. Furthermore, Zhao Xiping had only met him once, three years prior, and hadn't seen him since. Even if the truth came to light, Zhao Xiping could simply deny his recognition and distance himself from the matter.
"I won't show up again until the matter is settled. After that, I will leave Dunhuang." Sui Wen'an nodded at him, then hurried away with his face turned away.
Zhao Xiping and others waited until he was out of sight before they started to walk back. They stayed in the Captain's Mansion for nearly half an hour, and it had been an hour since they entered the city. It was unknown whether Sui Yu had heard the news.
Sui Yu was harvesting wheat in the field. It was the autumn harvest season. She went to the shop to do business in the morning and came to the field to harvest wheat in the afternoon.
She could tire herself out working on the forty mu of land, yet she couldn't finish it. When the wheat turned yellow, she went to the village chief, who promised to assign her more helpers as soon as possible. Sui Yu figured that even if she and Zhao Xiaomi went out early and came back late to cut a few more bundles of wheat, it wouldn't be enough to make the village chief assign a few more people to work for half a day. So, she stopped rushing and only came to work in the afternoons. In the mornings, she would open the shop and take care of the caravan business.
"Sui Yu."
The voice he had been thinking about day and night came, Sui Yu turned his head and saw that the person standing on the ridge was the man who had been away from home for half a year.
"Third brother!" Zhao Xiaomi shouted excitedly, "You're back! You're back alive! You're finally back!"
Zhao Xiping smiled and said, "Yes, I'm back."
Sui Yu glared at him, put down her water bag, walked over, and said, "You should have come back half a month late. Now that you're back, there's a man at home, and the village chief won't arrange anyone to help with the work."
Zhao Xiping suppressed the smile on his face, his expression tense and looking a little fierce.
Sui Yu reached out and hugged him gently, looking up and saying, "Welcome home."
The man finally calmed down. He reached out and held her with great strength.
He took a deep breath and said, "You have no conscience."
"Nonsense, I just feel bad that you have to work when you come back. There are forty acres of land." Sui Yu noticed that something was wrong with him. She gave up struggling and let him hold her in front of his younger brothers and sisters.
Zhao Xiping tilted his head to look at the golden wheat in the field. The scorching sun scorched the wheat ears, and the wheat field exuded a soothing scent. His tense mind relaxed, and he suddenly felt tired and wanted to lie down on the weed-covered ridge to take a nap.
"I'm not afraid of being tired. Why should I be tired when harvesting crops?" Zhao Xiping let go of the person in his arms and said, "You go back and cook, I'll harvest the wheat. I want to eat some vegetable and egg soup noodles."
"Green vegetables and eggs?"
"Yes, I want vegetables and eggs."
Sui Yuyan said okay, she hugged the man again, turned around and ran away quickly.
Zhao Xiaomi and Sui Liang looked at the couple with blushing faces. When they saw that they finally separated, they looked away embarrassedly.
Zhao Xiping picked up the water bag and filled his stomach with water. He picked up the sickle and went down to the field, continuing to cut along the place where Sui Yu had cut before.
Zhao Xiping, who was used to holding a knife for killing people, found it difficult to use a sickle for farm work. It took him a while to get used to it before he could harvest wheat faster.
"Third brother, before you left, my third sister-in-law asked the caravan to take a message to Jiuquan, but there has been no reply. I guess my parents didn't receive the letter. Now that you are back, remember to send another message back to our hometown." Zhao Xiaomi explained.
"good."
"Third brother, have you done anything meritorious?" Zhao Xiaomi asked again.
Zhao Xiping gave a short "hmm".
Zhao Xiaomi laughed, "I can eat meat again."
"Brother-in-law, are you hurt?" Sui Liang asked.
"Yes, yes, Third Brother, are you injured?" Zhao Xiaomi stood on tiptoe to look over and muttered, "It's been half a year, even if you were injured, it's healed. Third Brother, don't go to the battlefield to fight anymore. We are so worried about you at home. Whenever a caravan returns, Third Sister-in-law asks them for news from the battlefield. She's not happy when there's news, and she's still not happy when there's no news."
Zhao Xiping listened to her mumbling patiently, and when she finished, he said, "The Xiongnu have been driven away, and the Wusun have submitted to our dynasty. There will be no more wars."
"Great!" Zhao Xiaomi cheered, "Third brother, you guys are awesome."
Sui Liang nodded heavily and said proudly, "I've said it before, my brother-in-law is very capable."
Zhao Xiaomi started to talk again, repeating the words that Sui Liang had used to praise him.
Zhao Xiping straightened up and looked over. Sui Liang was introverted by nature, his face flushed and his eyes flickered, he was embarrassed to look him in the eye.
Zhao Xiping bent down and continued to harvest the wheat in a very good mood. He was the equivalent of two people, Sui Yu and Zhao Xiaomi, and he could have harvested two rows of wheat in half a day. If Sui Yu hadn't called him to eat, he would have continued.
The water in the pot is already boiling, and when people come back, they cook the noodles. The oily eggs and tender green radish sprouts and cabbage hearts are poured into the pot and cooked together. The noodle soup is cooked until it is thick and white, and the noodles are ready to eat.
Sui Yu brought out a plate of peeled braised eggs and said, "Try it. I've improved the recipe. The guests who come to eat here all say it's salty and fragrant."
Zhao Xiping ate half of the braised egg in one mouthful. He drank the noodle soup smoothly and said, "It's delicious."
But he still likes egg and vegetable soup noodles the most. When he is outside, he suddenly craves this taste, and the more he can't eat it, the more he misses it.
"Third sister-in-law, my third brother said that the Huns have been driven away and there will be no more wars in the future." Zhao Xiaomi said.
Sui Yu looked over in surprise, "Really?"
Zhao Xiping nodded and said, "I'll be at home from now on."
"That's great." Sui Yu sighed knowingly and repeated, "That's really good news."
After dinner, Zhao Xiping took his clothes and a shoulder pole and went to the river to bathe. He returned with wet hair. While putting on his clothes, he saw Sui Yu coming out of the camel pen. He said, "Stay away from the camel I brought back. Don't get close for a while. It got frightened on the battlefield and has been barking since we found it. It's only been quiet for a while now."
Sui Yu instantly understood where the abnormality in Zhao Xiping came from. It was post-war trauma, and he also needed time to calm down.
Lying on the bed, the silent collision was heavy and fast. Sui Yu almost hit the bedpost several times, but was quickly pulled back by him. She hugged him tightly and hung on the man.
The camels in the pen suddenly screamed, one after another, as if they had woken up from a nightmare.
Sui Yu stroked the man's head, her fingers entwined with his wet hair. The pleasure running through her body made her lose her strength. After the tension subsided, her weak hands dropped down.
The door next door opened, and Sui Liang, standing under the eaves, called out, "Why are you yelling in the middle of the night?"
Zhao Xiping chuckled and asked in a hoarse voice, "Why are you yelling in the middle of the night?"
Sui Yu gave him a light kick, then sat up cross-legged. She heard the door next door close again, so she reached down and asked coquettishly, "Will you scream in the middle of the night?"
"I'm not like you."
The man gasped as his tiger's mouth tightened. He glared at her and warned her, "Don't move. You can't bear it."
"The real murderer." Sui Yu curled his lips, moving his hands while asking, "Was it like this before when you came down from the battlefield?"
Zhao Xiping didn't say anything. The situation was even more serious then than it is now.
"No wonder I thought you had a weird temper when I met you." Sui Yu sighed.
"Most of the people coming back from the battlefield have strange personalities," Zhao Xiping explained.
Sui Yu leaned forward and kissed the man's eyes, whispering softly, "It's okay, I don't dislike you anymore."
When it was falling, I sat on it.
They talked and made noise until the hot and humid room finally quieted down in the second half of the night.
Sui Yu was hungry, so the two of them went into the kitchen in the middle of the night to light a fire and cook sauerkraut dumpling soup. There were tender yellow egg drops floating in the dumpling soup, and the chickens crowed when it was cooked.
"It's so annoying. It's all your fault. I definitely won't be able to wake up tomorrow morning and the shop will be closed for the day." Sui Yu muttered.
Zhao Xiping handed her the bowl and chopsticks, and said with a wicked smile: "How can you make money if you sleep with a man?"
Sui Yu looked at him in disbelief. What had he learned outside?
Zhao Xiping laughed muffledly, took the bowl and went out to sit in the yard to drink the dumpling soup.
The night wind was blowing gently, the stars were twinkling, the whole city was in deep sleep, and the sound of insects could be heard from the fields in the distance.
After eating and drinking, the rooster crowed, and the crowing drowned out the chirping of insects and birds. The two tired people fell on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.
…
In the days that followed, Sui Yu would open the shop in the mornings for business and return to the fields in the afternoons to work. Zhao Xiping, on the other hand, spent every day in the fields. He was a contented man with a down-to-earth disposition. Sui Yu and Zhao Xiaomi would often fret over the remaining twenty or thirty acres of unharvested crops, feeling hopeless day by day. But Zhao Xiping was not like that. He was grounded in every inch of the land, performing the repetitive and tedious tasks, and he never once fretted or complained.
The wheat fell in rows and was carried away in bundles. After the wheat was harvested, the millet was harvested, and after the millet was harvested, the stalks were pulled out, day after day.
In this tedious and arduous work, Zhao Xiping's mood gradually calmed down. He worked from sunrise to sunset and returned home. Putting aside his identity as a garrison soldier, he was just a hardworking old farmer.
Even the camel that came down from the battlefield calmed down after doing farm work day after day and no longer neighed every night.
After the autumn harvest, two official documents arrived at the Dunhuang post station. The chief steward registered them and sent a postman to deliver them to the county magistrate.
After the official document was issued, Captain Qu ordered Zhao Xiping to be promoted to the rank of a thousand households, rewarded with 100 kilograms of meat, an annual salary of 1,000 coins, and moved into a new house.
Supervisor Hu ordered the Sui clan to be freed from slavery and allowed to return to their hometown.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com