Chapter 337 Hunting in the Mountains
"That's where I stayed when I first came to Chang'an," Sui Yu pointed to Zhao Xiping. "Do you see the earthen wall stretching across the ground? I heard from the locals that this is the ruins of the Qin Dynasty imperial city, and the collapsed and weathered earthen wall is the city wall."
"Let's go for a walk." Zhao Xiping became interested.
Sui Yu went with him. There was nothing left at the ruins of the Qin Emperor's City except for the intermittent loess walls. The valuables had long been dug away, and even the wooden rafters had been chopped into ashes.
As she got closer, Sui Yu saw a woman with a black and blue mouth from the cold scraping yellow earth from under a broken wall. The wind brought the smell of milk and urine. She understood that the woman had a breastfeeding child at home. The dirt scraped from the old wall could be applied to the child's armpits, leg creases or buttock grooves, which was very effective in treating stings.
The woman looked at them for a few seconds, smoothed her hanging hair, grabbed a handful of fine soil and hurried away.
Xiaoxi walked forward and pinched the dirt, saying, "It's really fine ash, finer than flour."
Zhao Xiping moved his fingers, took out a cloth bag from his arms, poured out the copper coins inside and handed it to Sui Yu. He also squatted over to find a clean place and scraped the dirt out of the cloth bag with his fingernails.
"Dunhuang has no shortage of soil." Sui Yu couldn't help laughing.
"This is imperial soil, carrying the aura of an emperor. What a wonderful thing." Zhao Xiping said seriously, "The soil in Dunhuang is sandy and not as fine as this. If you give birth to another child, I will use the imperial soil to apply to his buttocks."
"What if I can't have a baby?"
"That means I'm destined to have only one son. I'll leave this good thing to Sui Liang and the little one."
Sui Yu liked to hear this, so she squatted over to help scrape off the dust.
Xiaoxi took a look and took out a cloth bag to hold the imperial soil. However, she was still a grown woman and was embarrassed to say that she was saving it for her child. She made an excuse, saying, "Liu Yaer has been married for a year. I'll bring her two bags back. I'll go to Yin Po and Meng Ma to ask for credit and have them make me something delicious."
After hearing this, Gan Er and Li Wu walked over silently and also started scraping the soil under the broken wall.
After one stick of incense, the five masters and servants left satisfied.
They walked the rest of the way, observing the scenery. A few days ago, there had been a winter rain and a light snow, and the winter wheat in the fields was growing lush green. Gan Er saw some wild radish seedlings in the wheat field and pulled them up, saying he would take them back to feed the camels.
In winter, there is no one to be seen in the wild, but there are many birds, and you can even hear the calls of pheasants in the mountains from a long distance away.
The cold wind made their faces stiff, but their bodies became warm. The five masters and servants were all wearing cotton jackets and cotton shoes. After walking for half a day, they were sweating.
After resting at the post station for more than a month, Sui Yu went out for a walk. He felt particularly comfortable, his joints became more flexible, and the heaviness in his body disappeared.
When they reached the foot of the mountain and didn't see anyone guarding the tomb, Sui Yu exhaled white air and muttered, "Are we going to go deeper into the mountain?"
"Let's come back tomorrow, right after breakfast. Take the bows His Majesty gave us and go hunting in the mountains," Zhao Xiping suggested. "It's still early in spring, and it's inconvenient for us to go into the city. Why not head to the mountains? It'll both kill time and give us some exercise. You won't have to eat and sleep all winter, and then your bodies won't be able to handle it when we leave Beijing next February."
Sui Yu agreed, "Okay, we don't have mountains with so many trees in Dunhuang. Let's take this opportunity to satisfy our hunting craving."
The five masters and servants returned the same way. It got darker as they went back. They were worried that they would miss dinner, so Sui Yu shouted a signal and several people started running.
They returned to the post station panting, but it was still dark. Sui Liang and Xiaozai were very anxious. When they saw people coming back, the uncle and nephew had sour faces.
"I thought you were being carried away in sacks." Sui Liang was furious. He scolded, "Why don't you just walk around in the mountains a little longer? Come back in the middle of the night and we'll call the police to look for you."
"Okay, okay, I'll take you with me tomorrow. You can go into the mountains with us." Sui Yu took a bite of the shrimp and scallion egg pancake and said, "We're going hunting in the mountains tomorrow. If you want to go too, just eat your food now."
The kid immediately took a mouthful of the thick porridge from the bowl and said, "Dad, Mom, you guys should come back early next time when you go out. I'm almost crying with worry. That's all I have to say. I'll eat, and you can take me with you when you go into the mountains tomorrow."
Sui Yu gave him a piece of fried wild mushrooms and said, "I understand. I'm as old as your father, how could I lose him?"
"I'm an unfamiliar place..." Before he finished speaking, Zhao Xiaozai immediately remembered that his father had been to the battlefield and his mother had been running back and forth between the border areas.
"I'm still worried," he emphasized.
"Okay, I'll be back early next time I go out." Sui Yu handed him another shrimp and egg pancake and said, "Eat it."
Zhao Xiping picked up a piece of meat with chopsticks and gave it to Sui Liang. Their eyes met. Sui Liang handed over the bowl and took it, which meant that he was no longer angry.
The next morning, Sui Liang and Xiaozai took most of the servants and left the post station first. An hour after he left, Sui Yu and Zhao Xiping also left the post station.
As for Lu Yaer, Sui Yu did not bring her with her. The Song family's goods had not been sold out yet, and Sui Yu could not help. Lu Yaer took her servants and carried the goods around Chang'an City every day, trying to visit every corner of Chang'an City and sell the goods she brought from outside the Great Wall with great difficulty at the best price.
At noon, Sui Yu and his group entered the mountains. More than 20 masters and servants were carrying bows and arrows and machetes, and they made a mark on the tree every five steps.
There were traces of villagers chopping firewood on the outskirts of the forest. There were few bird nests on the trees, not to mention prey. A group of people walked in the mountains for half an hour before they heard the call of pheasants.
"Outside the mountains, the calls of pheasants are clear, but once inside, with the chirping of birds and the rustling of leaves, the calls of wild animals become muddled." Sui Yu stabbed the bark with his machete and asked, "Which direction should we go?"
Zhao Xiping leaned over and rummaged around under a bush. He picked up three red dates from the grass and rubbed them on his body. He then handed them to his wife, son, and brother-in-law, saying, "There are date trees nearby. I think there are a lot of rabbit holes. Spread out and look for them."
Sui Yu took the dried dates and wiped them on her clothes again. Seeing that the kid had already eaten them, she asked if they tasted good.
The kid shook his head, "Not as sweet as the dates from Dunhuang."
Sui Yu took a bite and found that it was indeed not sweet. The jujube trees in the mountains were not fertilized, and Chang'an had more rain than Dunhuang, so the jujubes were not as delicious as those in Dunhuang.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that the dry grass on the right side was moving violently. Sui Yu turned sideways, raised her machete and swung it over, but the machete missed and a gray rabbit quickly changed direction and ran away.
Sui Liang immediately drew his bow and chased after him, and the kid spit out the date pit and followed closely behind.
"Go in that direction." Sui Liang pointed, "Go block it, make some noise, and chase the rabbits in my direction."
"Okay." The kid immediately changed direction.
Sui Yu picked up the machete, spat out the date pit, and strode towards the cub. She was worried that he would run around in the mountains without his parents.
"We found the rabbit hole." Xiao Chunhong shouted.
Sui Liang and the cub also intercepted the frightened hare. Sui Liang stopped it and asked the cub to practice shooting with a bow.
After three arrows missed the target, Sui Liang shot an arrow that hit a hare that was about to escape.
Sui Yu tapped his son's head with his fingers, "You're not working hard."
The kid blushed a little, "I haven't practiced for half a year, my hands are rusty."
"Take this opportunity to practice hard." Sui Liang came over with the bleeding rabbit and said, "Let's go back and roast the rabbit tonight."
The boy picked up the wooden arrow and heard the hurried footsteps of the slaves coming from behind a valley. He hurriedly took his bow and arrow and chased after them.
They caught five out of a litter of seven hares. It had been an hour since they entered the mountain, so the group hurried out while there was still light in the mountains.
It was still light when we returned to the post station, and we returned earlier than the day before.
The male servants peeled the rabbit skin, and the female servants chopped the hare into small pieces with a knife. After washing it clean, they fried it in oil and then stir-fried it with handfuls of peppercorns and garlic. The cook of the post station was so choked that he ran out.
Five wild rabbits were stir-fried with dried cucumbers in a large pot. When the food was taken out of the pot, one bowl was given to the postmen, another bowl was sent to the master's family, and the rest were given to the servants.
Lu Yaer had dinner with Sui Yu in the evening. Her tongue was numb and she kept saying she didn't want to eat anymore, but her chopsticks and mouth wouldn't obey her.
The rabbit meat was gone, and the rice that was brought to them was also eaten. Sui Yu poured a bowl of barley tea and drank it, then asked, "Did you make any business today?"
"Yes, we sold twenty sheepskins and seven camel skins." Lu Yaer nodded.
"Have any shops in the city caused you any trouble because of me?" Sui Yu asked.
"No, I didn't go to the West Market. I'm in the East Market today." Lu Yaer took a sip of water and thought, "Aunt, I want to go to Shaolingyuan tomorrow."
"Many officials live in Shaolingyuan." Sui Yu reminded, "I'll go find Hu Zhonglangjiang and see if he can recommend a way."
"No, no, no, Auntie, my family's goods are easily sold. Several caravans have approached me wanting to buy my goods so they can resell them. If a blanket were ten or twenty coins cheaper, I could sell out all my goods. It's just that I don't want to sell," Lu Yaer explained hurriedly. "Please don't feel guilty about this. I think this is a good opportunity for me to gain experience. My mother is away, and you're stuck, so neither of you can interfere. This makes it easier for me to make the decision."
Sui Yu smiled and said, "Okay, then let you do whatever you want. I'll give Xiao Chunhong to you tomorrow and let her walk with you."
Lu Yaer agreed, "When I sell all my goods, I'll buy Xiao Chunhong some clothes and give her another 100 coins. Is that enough?"
"Quite a lot."
Lu Yaer also took a sip of water. She scratched her neck and asked, "Aunt, what are you going to do next? When our caravan comes again next year, will the merchants in Chang'an City have forgotten us? Will they be willing to do business with us then?"
Sui Yu wasn't sure. It all depended on Emperor Xuanping's intentions. If he wanted to pardon some of the official slaves in two or three years, she suspected she wouldn't be able to do business with the aristocratic families of Chang'an anymore. While her caravan could also go to Longxi, Taiyuan, and Sishui counties, which were also home to aristocratic families, it would also mean she would have to open up new trade routes with her caravan, a tedious undertaking she wasn't keen on.
"I had an idea last night. When we get back to Dunhuang, I plan to build a warehouse to the north of my guesthouse. I'll sell the goods that the caravans bring back from outside the Great Wall in the warehouse. For example, sheepskin costs fifty or sixty coins when bought, but it will sell for two hundred and twenty or thirty coins when shipped to Chang'an. So I'll sell it for one hundred and forty coins. Caravans from inside the Great Wall can buy goods from outside the Great Wall without leaving the Great Wall, and I'll split the profit with them." Sui Yu held his chin in thought. "It's not just the goods brought back by my caravan, but also by other caravans, such as the Hu merchants. They have to pay taxes when passing through cities inside the Great Wall, and they have to be bullied by boatmen when crossing the river. If they encounter local tyrants, they will also lose a lot of money. Do you think they are willing to sell their goods to me? And for caravans that are unfamiliar with the outside of the Great Wall, or caravans that are unwilling to leave the Great Wall, will they be willing to buy goods from my warehouse? The price will be higher, but it will save half the time and energy."
Sui Liang's eyes lit up and he said, "In this way, as long as we don't go to Dayuan or Kangju, our caravan can travel back and forth outside the Great Wall once a year. Once we are familiar with the route, the Hakka people who buy and sell goods will have a stable base, and business will become increasingly prosperous."
Lu Yaer nodded repeatedly. "That's feasible. If I get pregnant in the future, and it's inconvenient to take the caravan out, I'll have the caravan take the goods from the warehouse and sell them inside the Great Wall. That way, I won't have to worry about them stealing the goods and betraying the owner. Aunt, you should think about it carefully. This warehouse must be built. Really, you are perfect for it. You have good relations with merchants, you have cotton business, you have a plaque bestowed by His Majesty, and you have a title. My uncle Zhao is also the General of the Central Army. Once your warehouse is built, there will be business. Oh, my God, I'm so envious."
The boy also understood, and he decided, "Let's build a warehouse when we get back."
Sui Yu smiled at him and said, "We need to think it over carefully. There's one thing I haven't considered. Caravans entering the city must pay taxes and entry fees. The goods sold to caravans inside the city must be cheaper, and the goods sold outside the city must be more expensive. Otherwise, the caravans will not want to do business with me. We need to think carefully about the pricing scale."
Zhao Xiping took the cold water in front of her and poured it out, then poured her a bowl of hot water and said, "It's still early until next year, so take your time to think about it. There's no rush."
"You can't tell this to anyone today." Sui Liang instructed Lu Yaer.
"I'm not stupid." Lu Yaer rolled her eyes at him. "Those bad guys in Chang'an City are still trying to annoy us. I really have to thank them for giving my aunt another way to make money."
Sui Yu nodded silently. If it weren't for this incident, she really wouldn't have had this idea.
The next day, Sui Yu and his servants continued to go hunting in the mountains. Lu Yaer was accompanied by Xiao Chunhong, and the two of them took the male servant to Shaolingyuan to sell furs.
The two caravans were busy with their own work. When it snowed, they would rest at the post station, and when the snow melted, they would continue their journey.
Near the end of the year, Lu Yaer learned in the city that the Huo family was going to Xianyang Plain to worship the Great Sima, and she immediately passed the news back. The group, who had been wandering in the mountains for nearly a month, bought a pig's head and waited for them halfway. They followed the Huo family to worship the Great Sima.
"So it's on this mountain. We've been taking the wrong path. No wonder we couldn't meet the people guarding the tomb." Sui Yu muttered.
The people who guard the mausoleum live halfway up the mountain. Twenty families form a small village. Apart from their daily inspections of the mausoleum, they live like ordinary people. They grow wheat in the sacrificial fields, build fences behind their houses, turn the soil and grow vegetables, and raise chickens and ducks in front of their houses.
The offerings often made in front of the Grand Marshal's tomb are the grains grown and the chickens and ducks raised by the tomb keepers.
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