Chapter 340 Settlement
Song Xian sat alone for a while, and when her mind calmed down, she went to see the goods brought back by the caravan. After counting them one by one, she took the servants who unloaded the goods to the main courtyard.
"Mom, isn't my brother coming back today?" Lu Yaer asked as she entered the room.
"He doesn't know you're back. He'll probably come back tomorrow morning when he gets the news." Song Xian had someone bring out the strings of copper coins she had prepared long ago. "One string is three hundred coins," she said. "Each of the thirty of you can take one string. Take the extra string and buy a sheep on the street and slaughter it in the desert."
The thirty-one servants all smiled when they heard this. They lined up to get the money, and the cash box was quickly emptied.
The servants drove the camels away, and the house became deserted again, which made Song Xian, who was used to the crowing of chickens and barking of dogs, feel a little uncomfortable.
"I have moved all my things to the guesthouse and haven't moved them back yet. I'm going to spend the night in the north of the city. Do you want to come with me? We can sleep in the same room tonight." Song Xian didn't want to stay at home anymore.
Luyaer nodded, "Okay, but let me take a shower and change clothes first."
"Didn't you just go take a shower?" Song Xian wondered.
"Mom, what are you looking at? I haven't changed my clothes yet, how can I look like I took a bath? Yang Erlang came to find me, so I went over." Lu Yaer complained, and she angrily called the maid to bring some water.
Song Xian stared at her daughter thoughtfully, but she didn't plan to ask, so as not to offend the girl again.
By the time Lu Yaer finished packing and went out, it was almost dusk.
"Shall we walk over there?" Song Xian asked.
Lu Yaer nodded. After walking thousands of miles on the camel's back, her legs were so stiff that they were bent outward. Now she was not in a hurry, and she would rather spend more time walking than riding a camel again.
Passing through the outer courtyard, Lu Yaer discovered that the hanging flower gate was empty and covered with dust, which did not look like anyone lived there at all.
"My dad moved out?" she was surprised.
Song Xian frowned. "I don't know. I only come back once every ten days or half a month. Anyway, I haven't run into him."
When I asked the doorman when I went out, I found out that Huang Ancheng had dinner at his eldest brother's house every day and came back after dark. Occasionally, when he didn't come back, he would stay at Huang's house.
Lu Yaer wanted to say something but stopped herself. She had been traveling with the caravan and had been around in the market. She had seen a lot and understood a lot.
"Mom, does my dad really stay at my uncle's house when he's not at home?" she hinted.
Song Xian scoffed. She put her hand on her daughter's shoulder and said, "Your father is cruel and vicious, but he's not stupid. He knows what he wants and what he can't do. Don't worry, he won't sleep with other women, let alone have some unpresentable children. If he does, I'll give him a handle to kick him out of the house."
Lu Yaer was surprised. "You, he... Mother, have you ever thought about divorce?"
Song Xian was silent. She felt like slapping herself. Just an hour ago, she decided not to let the matter between her and Huang Ancheng affect the two children anymore. She didn't expect that she would let the cat out of the bag without paying attention.
"I mentioned it during the argument, but he disagreed, so I didn't bring it up again. He's a city guard, a position of moderate importance. He can't handle major affairs like your Uncle Zhao, but he still has connections in Dunhuang. With him around, no enemy dares to harm our camels in the desert." Song Xian explained briefly, "This is a conflict between your father and me. It has nothing to do with you and your brother, so you don't need to worry about it."
When Huang Ancheng was young, he disregarded his dignity and married into the Song family for wealth. Now that the Song family's wealth grew year by year, it was even more impossible for him to leave. And Song Xian had paid for him to be appointed as a city guard because she hoped his status would protect her business and intimidate the city's camel traders. Now that her children were of marriageable age, having a father who was a city guard naturally improved their reputation, and Song Xian naturally wouldn't get angry and divorce.
When they had a quarrel before, she proposed divorce because she was so angry that she lost her mind. After being coldly rejected by Huang Ancheng, she calmed down.
Green Bud let out an “Oh”.
Outside the city, the earthy smell and grassy fields replaced the fumes and slops of cooking oil in the streets. Song Xian calmly warned, "Your father has one good thing: he doesn't covet what he doesn't deserve. He doesn't interfere with my camel business, doesn't inspect the caravan's income, and certainly doesn't take my treasures for his own. I have no objection to you finding a husband who can go out and do business like you, but you have to be careful. If he can go out and do business with you, it means he has ambitions. If he can interfere with the caravan's business, he might replace you. Mother hopes you can find a husband of your dreams, but she doesn't want you to act on your emotions. You have to be careful and don't let a wolf get in your way and end up losing your life."
Green Bud was silent.
Song Xian stopped talking about it and didn't mention it again.
As we approached the inn, it was completely dark, and then we heard loud horse hoofbeats behind us.
As Zhao Xiping approached the guesthouse on his camel, he noticed someone on the side of the road. He stopped his camel and asked, "Who is it? Patrolling the cotton fields?"
"No, it's me and Lu Yaer. We're staying in the guesthouse tonight. You just came back and are going into the city again? Are you busy with official business?" Song Xian asked.
"Well, let's go into the city and find the county magistrate. The people we brought back need a place to live. Let's see if he can vacate a vacant house for them." Zhao Xiping got off the camel and said, "Let's go. We'll talk about it when we get back."
The guesthouse was bustling with activity. Mid-April was the peak season for caravans to leave the country. Eight caravans were staying in the guesthouse, with two to three hundred people in each. Add to that the more than six hundred cotton growers who had just arrived today, and even a ten-story guesthouse could not accommodate so many people.
At that time, the merchants who were staying in the guesthouse also came to Sui Yu to make a request. They would not allow women who had been camp prostitutes to live in the guesthouse. Even though the mattresses and quilt covers in the guesthouse were changed frequently, they still disliked them, fearing that the dirt and smell on their bodies would be impossible to wash off.
"Shopkeeper Yu, every time we pass by Dunhuang, we choose to stay at your guesthouse without hesitation because we like that your guesthouse is clean and there are no messy people. If you let them stay there today, we will not consider staying at Changgui Guesthouse in the future." A merchant with a loud voice shouted.
Sui Yu scoffed, "Your caravan brings women with them on a long journey. It's okay inside the border, but outside, people in the desert can barely get water, let alone wash themselves. Don't you think it's dirty when you kiss them?"
"We don't take women on the caravan," someone said.
"We bring women with us, and they are clean and healthy," said another merchant.
Sui Yu rolled her eyes, "You men have done all the bad things, and now you're complaining about this and that."
"Go find whoever did it. Anyway, we haven't had any contact with these women."
Sui Yu did not argue any further. Her attitude could not change the prejudice of these men. The more she talked, the more humiliating it would be, and she would not stand out. This was not her intention.
"I'll have someone clean up the teahouse later. They can sleep on the floor for a few nights. When the houses are allocated, they will move into the city and will not stay in the guesthouse." Sui Yu said.
"We still have to eat by the fire in the teahouse in winter..." A shrill voice came from near the gate.
"Are they carrying poison?" Sui Yu's face turned cold. She lost her temper and cursed, "You're only separated from them by a wall. Pinch your noses and cover your mouths and don't breathe out, otherwise the poison they exhale will penetrate into your lungs."
"The guesthouse you're staying in charges 100 coins a night, not 100 coins. 100 coins won't change the ownership of Changgui Guesthouse. Don't get involved in things that aren't your business." Zhao Xiping strode in and said in a deep voice, "Who still has a problem with them staying in the teahouse? If you do, give me 1,000 coins and I'll have them go right away and stay away from you."
No one said anything.
"It's getting late. Go back to your room and rest after you've eaten. There will be a caravan leaving tomorrow morning. Don't sleep too late and delay their journey." Sui Yu spoke to ease the atmosphere.
The merchants gathered in the kitchen yard went down the stairs and swarmed out.
The cotton growers waiting outside the door retreated when they heard the sound. They walked towards the river and cleared the space outside the kitchen yard.
Xiao Chunhong followed the merchants out, glaring at them fiercely, calling them a bunch of bastards who acted like dogs and fought over others just for a little money.
"Come with me. There's a haystack to the east of the guesthouse. Come with me to fetch some firewood." She then spoke gently, "Stay here for a few nights. The adults are already arranging to find a place for you."
"It's good enough to have a place to shelter from the wind and rain. It's not a compromise." The woman in the lead spoke.
Xiao Chunhong didn't respond. She took the torch handed to her by Qingshan and led the 513 women to collect firewood.
"Men, come with me. You'll stay in the eighth guesthouse for the next few nights. There are twelve guest rooms and twelve barns in the first guesthouse. The couches in the guest rooms can sleep five people. If you can't fit in, you can sleep in the barns or under the couches." Zhang Shun came out and led a group of old men away. "Wait until they have made their straw beds, then you can go collect hay."
There was a commotion outside the kitchen for half an hour. Once the flying grass and dust from the teahouse had settled back onto the soft hay, about twenty women went to the kitchen and brought back ten pots of porridge and soup noodles. They had brought their own bowls and chopsticks, and the women distributing the food scooped a bowl for each of them. When the pots were empty, they carried them to the river to wash them before returning them to the kitchen.
"This is the mugwort soup that the master asked us to make for you. You carry it over and bring the clay pot back to me after you have scooped it out. I will cook it again." said Cui Sao.
"Thank you, sister-in-law."
Five pots of mugwort soup were taken away and returned in a short while.
While people were still busy outside, Sui Yu and his family had already gone to bed.
"My parents came here last year. In mid-March, they brought their five children to help us plant the cotton seeds, and then we went back to our hometown together." Sui Yu informed Zhao Xiping.
Zhao Xiping uttered an "Oh," his mind still on official business. He discussed with her, "I'll go talk to the county magistrate tomorrow and have them renovate the unused houses in the military and civilian settlements. A small courtyard could house two or three couples, or five or six single women. About a hundred houses would be enough."
"Are there so many vacant houses in Dunhuang?" Sui Yu was a little worried.
"It should be about the same. There are quite a few elderly widows like Uncle Niu, many of whom have no children. After they die, their houses become empty. Also, not every man living in the settlements can find a wife. When they die, the houses pass into the hands of the government." Zhao Xiping explained, "This is the county magistrate's concern, let him worry about it. These people are registered in Dunhuang and are Dunhuang residents. They farm the land and don't pay taxes. The government should be responsible for finding them a place to stay."
Sui Yu raised her hand, touched his face in the darkness, and said teasingly, "General Zhao is becoming more and more powerful."
The man grabbed her hand, took a bite, and whispered, "You should take a good rest for a while. Once the cotton planting is settled, you can let me relax."
Sui Yu sensed something was wrong. Before going to Chang'an, she had told him not to get pregnant. From last year to this year, he had been holding it in. After holding it in for so long, any intimate gesture from her could arouse him.
"Okay." Sui Yu reached down and said, "Once the cotton is transplanted into the field, we'll get busy for the second child."
Suddenly, the cry of a cat was heard outside the house, and then a suppressed groan was heard in the hot house.
Erhei came out and chased the cat away. He walked around the guesthouse and when he passed the eighth guesthouse, he shook the lock on the door to make sure that the door could not be opened without the key and the people inside could not get out before he left.
Everything calmed down. Sui Yu wiped her hands, rested her head on the man's arm, listened to his heavy breathing, and fell asleep.
At dawn, the majestic rooster crowed at the top of its lungs.
The people sleeping in the teahouse woke up. They heard footsteps outside and opened the door one after another to come out.
Ding Quan was washing his face by the river when he heard the door open. He raised his hand and said, "Come with me to the fields to transplant the cotton."
No one has any objections.
Ding Quan waited for five maids carrying dung baskets to come out, and then he led a large group of people out of the guesthouse to work in the fields.
Erhei asked Zhang Shun for the key. He opened the door of the eighth guest house and drove a group of smelly men carrying farm tools to the fields.
"You all know how to plow the fields with oxen, right? We don't have oxen here, so you use camel-harnessed plows to plow the fields."
"Two hundred of you, come with me and dig a hole. We don't have enough shovels right now, so use wooden planks. Just dig a palm's depth, and dig a hole every other step."
"The rest of you will follow the maids to dig cotton seedlings. You will only have one day to observe today, and tomorrow you will go to the fields to work."
After Zhao Xiping and Sui Yu woke up, Erhei and Ding Quan had been busy for more than half an hour with more than 600 new people.
Zhao Xiping didn't have time to eat breakfast. He took Sui Liang and drove twenty camels into the city. He borrowed forty iron plows and one hundred shovels from the agricultural officials.
Sui Liang drove back the camel carrying the iron plow and shovel, while Zhao Xiping took the agricultural official to find the county magistrate.
Zhao Xiping spent three days negotiating with the county magistrate and the agricultural official to finalize the matters of housing, food, and land rent.
In just three days, more than 600 people had planted all 67 acres of cotton fields belonging to Sui Yu's family.
Next is selling cotton seedlings.
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