Chapter 308 Getting Rich
April is a busy month for farming. The soldiers stationed at the border are both soldiers and farmers. In order not to delay spring planting, many soldiers take leave to do farm work. With fewer people training, the captains of the thousand households in charge have a much easier time.
Zhao Xiping was thinking about planting cotton. He asked Captain Gu to help take care of his soldiers, said hello to Captain Hu, and hurriedly rode his camel away from the training ground.
Before getting on the main road, Zhao Xiping heard the sound of camel bells outside the east city gate. Thinking of Sui Liang, he drove his camels closer to the city gate. When the caravan entered the city, he took a look and found that they were merchants he knew, but not Sui Liang and his party.
The merchant named Zhao raised his hand from a distance. Zhao Xiping looked around and pointed at himself. Seeing that the other party was indeed greeting him, he stopped his camel and waited there.
"Brother, are you waiting for someone here?" The merchant named Zhao entered the city first. Because they had the same surname, in order to get closer, he addressed Zhao Xiping as this when they first met.
"My brother-in-law went to Chang'an with a caravan last year. I heard the camel bells and thought they were coming back," Zhao Xiping explained. "You guys came from Chang'an, didn't you? Did you run into Sui Liang and Song Xian, the head of the Song family?"
"Indeed, there is. The Second Shopkeeper asked us to deliver a message saying that he and Mr. Song will be leading a caravan to Taiyuan County at the end of February and will probably be back in early June," said the merchant surnamed Zhao. "He also asked us to bring a wooden box with him. We'll find it and give it to you when we unload the cargo."
After hearing the accurate news about Sui Liang again, Zhao Xiping breathed a sigh of relief and sent Sui Liang away. He had been worried and couldn't sleep well. If something happened to this brother-in-law, there would be an unbridgeable gap between him and Sui Yu, a rift that would never be bridged until death.
"Thank you for your willingness to deliver the message for him." Zhao Xiping said sincerely.
The merchant surnamed Zhao smiled. "We used to stay at the guesthouse and often asked the Second Shopkeeper to do what he wanted. Since he took care of us, it's only natural that we could pass on a message for him. Besides him, we also ran into your parents in Jiuquan. They asked us to ask if Shopkeeper Yu would be home this winter. If she is, your brother, sister-in-law, and nephew are planning to come and spend the New Year with you. Remember to send them a message."
Zhao Xiping sighed secretly. How could he say no when asked this question? If he really stopped his family from coming, the merchants would talk about his family in private.
"Okay, I'll go find the postman and write a message later. My wife didn't come back from Dayuan during the Chinese New Year two years ago, and I couldn't spare the time to go back to pick up my parents, so I sent a message asking them to spend the New Year with their brother and sister-in-law in their hometown." Zhao Xiping explained.
The merchant named Zhao listened with a smile, nodded to show that he understood, and did not ask too much about his family affairs.
The caravan passed the inspection and entered the city. Zhao Xiping asked them to go ahead while he turned off to the post station. He did not bother the postman to write for him, but wrote the letter home himself. After the ink dried, he handed the wooden board to the postman.
"Sorry for the trouble." He said politely.
"You're too kind. This is our job. But the last postman left Dunhuang just two days ago, and the next one will probably leave at the end of the month. If Captain Zhao can't wait, he can ask a passing caravan to deliver the letter to Jiuquan Post Station." said the postman.
"It's okay, I'm not in a hurry. I'll deliver it at the end of the month." Zhao Xiping didn't want to trouble the caravan for such a small matter. After paying some errand money, he led the camel out of the city and went home.
Sui Yu, along with five maids and a group of children, were transplanting cotton seedlings. When making the mud blocks, they were divided into countless small pieces with hemp ropes, which were not connected to each other, but the roots of the mud blocks were stuck to the soil underneath. When transplanting, they had to first use a small shovel to scoop up the cotton balls and stack them in a dung basket.
Erhei was driving the oxen to plow the fields, and Ding Quan followed behind with a hoe to gather and beat the soil. After that, he would dig holes on the gathered ridges to plant cotton seedlings.
Sui Yu knew that in the less rainy northwest, ridges and drainage ditches weren't necessary, but within the Great Wall, cotton cultivation required ditches to prevent flooding during the rainy season. Therefore, even if it was a bit more troublesome at first, she would follow her past life's experience to avoid misleading others if her cotton cultivation methods were passed on.
Hearing the camel bells of the caravan, Sui Yu and her little cub stood up and looked south. The running camels were getting closer and closer. The mother and son recognized that the person on the camel was not the one they were expecting. They looked at each other, smiled and sighed deeply, then squatted down to continue working.
The caravan passed by in a mighty procession, and before the dust had settled, Zhao Xiping's figure appeared at the end of the road.
"My dad is back." the kid shouted.
Sui Yu took a look and put the cotton ball in her hand into the dung basket. When someone came closer, she asked, "How is it?"
"I've already agreed with Captain Gu that I won't be in the city on duty until the spring planting is over." Zhao Xiping walked over to her and squatted down, saying, "Didn't a caravan just pass by? It was the Zhao family caravan. They ran into Sui Liang in Chang'an, and Sui Liang asked them to tell them that he'd be back around early June. He and Headmaster Song are leading the caravan to Taiyuan County."
"It should be to buy honey. I guess it's Zuo Du Hou who wants the goods." Sui Yu guessed that both caravans made a lot of money from selling horses. If it was just to buy silk, Song Xian would probably buy the goods in Chang'an. It would be more expensive, but safer. Otherwise, it would be too risky to travel with three or four hundred thousand yuan.
Zhao Xiping glanced at the boy and said, "Your uncle asked the caravan to bring back a box of goodies. Would you like to go back and take a look?"
The cub's eyes lit up and he immediately stood up and ran back.
"Bring me two braised eggs. I'm hungry." Sui Yu shouted, "Who among you wants something to eat? Ask the kid to bring it over."
"I want two big buns." Da Zhuang has reached the age where he gets hungry quickly if he eats a lot.
"I just want a braised egg." said A Shui.
Hua Niu and A Qiang shook their heads. They had both eaten their fill in the morning.
Sui Yu looked at Zhao Xiping. He had no appetite and said absentmindedly, "I'm not hungry. I don't want to eat anything."
"So that means three braised eggs and two big buns?" asked the kid.
"Bring ten more braised eggs over, and whoever is hungry can eat them when the time comes." Sui Yu instructed.
The cub let out an "Oh" and ran away jumping and skipping.
Sui Yu glanced at Zhao Xiping again. He understood what he meant and immediately said, "The Zhao caravan also brought some news. My brother and his wife want to come here with my parents to celebrate the New Year. The merchant told me in person, and many people in the caravan should know about it. I couldn't refuse. Before I came back, I wrote a letter to the post station, asking them to come over after they finished their farm work."
"That's all. I don't think it's a big deal." Sui Yu breathed a sigh of relief. "Just come if you want. I have a place to stay and food at home. I'll be done with my housework by then, so their coming won't affect anything."
Zhao Xiping was worried that his eldest and second sisters-in-law would come and want everything they saw, and then act jealous and say all sorts of nonsense in front of Sui Yu, which would make the New Year unhappy.
"When autumn comes, I will take a few people back to the city to clean up the house of Qianhu Suo. When my brother, sister-in-law and children come over, I will let them live there." He said proactively.
Sui Yu had no objection.
"We're all brothers, and being too specific would be a joke. We're having a better time now, so any help we can give them is appreciated. But they live back home, and we have a lot of land, so farm work is essential, so we can't help them. This time they're here, if my nieces and nephews can settle down and learn to read in school, we'll let them stay with us." Sui Yu took the initiative to bring up this inevitable issue. Rather than letting her two sisters-in-law spend all sorts of time trying to find out what she was thinking, which would only lead to a lot of nagging, she decided to keep the child. The outcome would be the same, so she might as well bring it up first and look good in front of Zhao Xiping.
Sure enough, Zhao Xiping showed gratitude.
Sui Yu smiled. Zhao Xiping had no grudge against his two brothers. His life had gotten better now, so it was impossible for him not to have the idea of helping his two brothers.
Furthermore, she was nearly thirty, and even if she had another child, she would only have the energy to raise one. That way, the child would have a younger sister or brother to turn to when things got tough. But when it came time to hire someone, cousins who had grown up with her were also a good option. She had no objection to her husband's nephews and nieces living with her for a longer period; after all, the children were grown enough that she didn't need to worry about their food and sleep. She had never brought it up before, even speaking out to dissuade her two sisters-in-law from joining the caravan to Dunhuang. That was because she considered that gifts offered without permission would be less cherished, while things obtained too easily would be less appreciated.
"It's not easy to make money from farming, but we'll have enough food. If my eldest and second brothers want to keep their children with us to learn to read and write, they'll have to pay for their own food and clothes for all seasons. I'm an uncle, not a father. As long as there's a father and a mother, I won't raise my nephews and nieces," Zhao Xiping said. "I'll talk about this later. You'll be the good guy, and I'll be the bad guy."
"They're not evil, they're clearly good." Ah Shui, who had overheard this, interrupted, "It's whoever's child is responsible for raising it. It's not like Hua Niu and Ah Qiang sold themselves to you. You're letting us stay here, where we can eat as much as we want and learn to read poetry and read with the old teacher. This is a great favor to us."
She was taking the opportunity to express her feelings, and Sui Yu and Zhao Xiping both understood what she meant.
When Ah Shui saw the admiration in Sui Yu's eyes, she smiled shyly.
"No more talking. The dung basket is full. You can carry it to the field." Sui Yu interrupted and sent Zhao Xiping to work.
"Should we spread manure into the pit first?" asked Zhao Xiping.
"Yes, Dazhuang, you go with your master. You carry the bucket of manure and throw a handful into each pit." Sui Yu stood up and said, "Come on, I'll show you how to do it."
He threw a handful of burnt manure ash into the pit, placed a cotton ball in it neatly, and then used his feet to dig up the soil to shallowly bury the cotton ball. After completing the whole set of actions, Sui Yu looked at the onlookers on both sides.
"I got it." Da Zhuang nodded.
"I understand." Zhao Xiping also nodded.
Sui Yu did not leave. She stood aside and watched their actions. After making sure that everything was fine, she walked to the end of the field. The little boy brought her some braised eggs and buns.
"Mom, my uncle brought me a set of puppets, including a horse, a dog, a cat, a camel, and me!" the kid boasted loudly.
"How do you know it has to be you? It can't be me?" Sui Yu peeled the braised egg and took a bite. "We won't go back for lunch. When the meal is ready, you and Cui Sao will take it to the fields."
The boy agreed and quickly explained, "My uncle wrote in the letter that it was for me."
"Okay, okay, I'll give it to you. I don't want it." Sui Yu finished one braised egg and peeled another. She pointed to the two people plowing and digging a pit not far away and said, "Take the braised egg over and ask Erhei and Ding Quan if they want some."
"good."
"Hey, Dahei is here." Ah Shui waved at the running black dog. "Are you Dahei or Xiaohei? I didn't even notice you. Where did you come from? Did you come with your little master?"
"No, it wasn't at home when I got back." the cub shouted.
The big black dog jumped around excitedly, its tail wagging and leaving a trail of shadows. It rubbed against each person on the field, then licked the water in the river with its tongue sticking out.
Now that he had food in his stomach, Sui Yu took over Da Zhuang's work and let him eat the big buns.
After shoveling 733 cotton seedlings, Sui Yu arranged for five maids to take over Ding Quan's job of digging holes. Ding Quan and Erhei went back to get buckets and shoulder poles, and the two of them carried water to the fields.
Sui Yu and A Shui each held a watering can. They stood in the drainage ditch created by the plow and scooped water to pour into the pit where the cotton seedlings were planted. Huaniu and A Qiang followed behind, gathering soil to cover the water marks and bury the cotton roots.
After a busy day, all 733 cotton seedlings were planted when the sun was about to set.
"Let's go home," Sui Yu shouted. "Come back tomorrow to plant the second crop of cotton seedlings."
The big black dog that had been guarding the field stretched and stood up. It stood there watching, and when everyone left, it ran away with its tail wagging.
"When the cotton trees are in season, Dahei and Xiaohei will take turns to keep watch," Sui Yu said.
Dahei woofed and wagged his tail even more happily.
After returning home, washing up, and finally settling into bed, Sui Yu finally had time to read the letter from Sui Liang. The black horse had sold for 158,000 coins, bringing the total for all the horses to 623,000 coins, the saddle for 30,000 coins, and the thirty boxes of silver for 80,000 coins. Sui Liang also explained that the silver was too much, and that the Marquis of Zuodu had arranged for five soldiers to escort them for a while, on the condition that they hand over the honey business to him. Sui Liang and Song Xian agreed, so they led the team to Taiyuan County.
"I've made a fortune." Sui Yuxi smiled happily. "The market for Dayuan horses is better than I thought. The price is really good."
"Next month, I will arrange ten soldiers to go to Hongchiling to welcome them," said Zhao Xiping.
"Is it okay?" Sui Yu asked.
Zhao Xiping nodded. "Just like my time, soldiers who are not on duty can leave Dunhuang City at will. We pay them to go on business trips. I still have this right."
"Okay." Sui Yu was overjoyed.
A month later, a team of ten people followed the eastward-bound caravan out of Dunhuang City on camels.
At this time, all of Sui Yu's cotton seedlings had been transplanted into the field. The first 733 seedlings planted had grown to knee height and were showing signs of forming flower buds.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com