Chapter 185 Three more slaves
When it was half light and half dark, the room was still dim. Zhao Xiping and Sui Yu were sleeping soundly when suddenly a warm ball squeezed into their arms... Suddenly waking up, the couple looked at the baby who was struggling in their arms.
The little cub smiled and squeezed into his father's arms with his frizzy hair.
"Tsk!" Sui Yu sneered, "Take good care of your father, or he won't run away again."
Zhao Xiping was in a very good mood. He touched his son's little head, lifted the mattress, carried him out of bed and went to pee.
The cub was so cold that he was gasping for breath. He asked, "Is it cold?"
The cub nodded vigorously.
"Good son." Zhao Xiping kissed him, "You are so good."
Back in the bed, the little cub was very happy to sleep between his father and mother. He climbed up and down in the bed, mumbling "da" and "liang", calling his father and mother again and again.
Sui Yu and Zhao Xiping responded patiently, occasionally chatting.
"How many days can you stay at home this time?" Sui Yu asked.
"Ten days."
"Why don't you go back to your hometown to visit your parents before it snows and the weather isn't too cold?" Sui Yu suggested. "Wait until the twelfth lunar month, when it snows and it's too cold."
"clatter--"
"Hey." Zhao Xiping took the time to respond and said, "Hurry up and cover yourself with the mattress. It's so cold."
The cub rushed over and hugged his feet.
Zhao Xiping lifted his foot and dragged the cub over. Afraid that he would catch a cold, he held him tightly in his arms to prevent him from tossing and turning.
The kid was laughing so hard that he choked and coughed twice. Zhao Xiping patted his back gently and said to Sui Yu, "I just came back and left again. Isn't my son going to cry again?"
"It depends on how you talk to him. Besides, if you don't leave tomorrow, you still have to leave in ten days." After she finished speaking, Sui Yu vaguely heard the sound of camel bells. She stood up and listened carefully, and there really was a caravan coming.
"I'm getting up. You two can lie down for a while." Sui Yu lifted the mattress and sat up. He stuffed the little boy's jacket and woolen trousers into the quilt and said, "Warm him up before putting them on."
The kid also wanted to get up, but Zhao Xiping hugged him tightly and said, "If you don't let you go, I'll run away and sell you."
"If you dare to sell him, I'll sell you." Sui Yu slapped him twice, then leaned over and kissed the kid, encouraging him, "Beat your father. He's a bad guy and wants to sell you."
Zhao Xiping looked at his son with a smile. The little boy glanced at him and hid in his arms with a smile on his face.
I won’t fight.
Sui Yu said "eh" in disgust, "You really are his biological son."
Zhao Xiping was so happy that he went crazy.
The sound of camel bells got closer. Sui Yu smiled and opened the door to go out. A chill came from outside. She rubbed her shoulders and looked up at the sky, saying, "It's getting cold again. The weather is going to change."
"Sister, are you awake?" Sui Liang called from inside the house. "I heard the camel bells."
"I know. I'll go out and tell them. Don't rush to get up. It's frosty this morning, so wear more clothes when you get up." Sui Yu gave instructions as he walked and opened the door to go out. Xiao Chunhong and Gan Da and Gan Er were already leading the team in training.
In the gray wilderness, a group of merchants led their camels through the mist, approaching with the sound of jingling.
As the camel caravan approached, Sui Yu went over to greet them and asked, "Did you enter the city last night? Or are the gates already open?"
"I came into the city last night. Is this the guesthouse run by the captain's brother-in-law?"
The smile on Sui Yu's face froze. She took a deep breath, pointed to the other side of the river and said, "That's it. This is the Changgui Guesthouse. I'm the owner, known as the Jade Owner."
The merchants nodded distantly, turned on their toes, and pulled their camels across the wooden bridge that spanned the river.
Sui Yu took a few glances, then turned and walked into the western kitchen to wash her face and brush her teeth. The toothbrush was homemade by her, cutting the horsehair from a military horse, tying it with a rope and stuffing it into a piece of wood. It was difficult to make and she used it carefully.
"Madam, shall I make the egg custard now?" asked Grandma Yin.
"Okay, it's ready to stew. I'll go call the kid to get up and eat." Sui Yu took a basin of hot water and just went out, he saw a caravan coming from the other side of the river.
"Shopkeeper Yu, I heard that you provide meals here? Can I still eat here if I don't stay with you?" The leading merchant asked loudly.
Sui Yu thought about it and realized that this group of people came here just to see Captain Hu, probably to ask for help. Even if she refused to let them in for dinner, she probably wouldn't be able to make them change their minds and stay in her guesthouse.
"Yes, I can not only provide you with food and accommodation, but also dry food and fodder. If you want to buy a camel, I can also introduce you to a reliable camel dealer." Sui Yu decided to make as much money as possible.
The merchant thanked him and said, "We plan to leave in the spring of next year. There may be snow in a few days."
Sui Yu looked up at the sky again. It was a little brighter. There were thick clouds in the sky, so it was unlikely to be a good day today.
"You can eat at my place all the time while you live here for the next few months." Sui Yu said with a smile, "You guys go in, I have things to do."
After Sui Yu left with the basin of hot water, twenty or thirty merchants walked into the west kitchen. As they entered the room, a gust of hot air hit them, and they felt relaxed all over.
"This shopkeeper is quite nice. I thought she wouldn't let us eat here. That would be troublesome." A young merchant sighed and walked briskly to the kitchen, saying, "Please sit down. I'll see what's available."
Sui Yu walked into the bedroom. Once the door was closed, she could no longer hear the sounds from the kitchen next door. She put down the basin and said, "Get up. It's time to eat."
"It's time to get up." Zhao Xiping dressed his baby in a light and warm woolen jacket and woolen trousers to prevent him from peeing without calling for help, and also stuffed a diaper in his pocket.
"The weather is going to change. The merchant said it will snow in a few days. Will you go back to your hometown?" Sui Yu asked.
Zhao Xiping glanced at the boy, nodded, and said, "Go back, I've already discussed it with him."
Sui Yu was surprised. She glanced at the boy and asked doubtfully, "Did you really discuss this? What did you say?"
Zhao Xiping shook his head. "This is a secret between us father and son. Don't ask too much."
Sui Yu kicked him, but Zhao Xiping dodged it very quickly, picked up the kid and hid at the door, taking the opportunity to wring a handkerchief to wash his face.
Zhao Xiaozai watched carefully when he saw Sui Yu approaching. Seeing his father being beaten again, he chuckled.
Sui Liang heard the sound, he walked to the door, knocked on it, and said, "I'm coming in."
"Come in." Sui Yu glanced at him and said, "You're wearing a thin layer of clothing. Haven't you put on your jacket yet?"
"I'm not cold, and it's not snowing." Sui Liang rolled up his sleeves and washed his face with the water used by his nephew and brother-in-law. To save trouble, he didn't mind getting dirty at all.
After applying camel oil on the boy's hands and face, Sui Yu carried her son out.
With a father, a mother and an uncle, the little guy is excited and happy. He smiles when he sees everyone and is happy when anyone teases him.
Zhao Xiping was squatting under the eaves eating, with a big black dog sitting beside his legs, staring at his mouth with its eyes and ears erect, listening to the movements from the young master.
"You can't feed him anything. He's still young and can only eat egg custard." Zhao Xiping said. He gestured to the dog and threw out another piece of cake. "You can't feed the baby, but you can feed the dog."
The merchant threw the boiled egg to the dog and said, "Captain Zhao, your son is well taken care of. He is so cute that I want to take him home and raise him as my own son."
"If you take him away, you won't be able to leave Dunhuang City," Zhao Xiping said half seriously. "If you like the cub, come visit more often, but don't lose sight of the big picture because it won't be fun in jail."
This is true. With a father who is a thousand households, no one dares to steal this kid.
The merchants teased each other for a while and then went their separate ways.
Zhao Xiping thought for a moment, then called Ah Shui over and asked her to play with the cub in the kitchen yard for a while. He hid in the woodshed, peering out through the crack in the door. Merchants were coming in and out to buy food, and when they saw the cub, some reached out to touch him, some held him, and some even joked about taking him home.
"Where are your parents?" the newcomers asked Ah Shui. "They're pretty generous. They let the two kids play in the yard without worrying about someone taking them away."
The tall and strong merchant lifted the wooden bed and moved it under the eaves. He touched the top of the kid's head and called to the kitchen, "Where's he? Your young master is playing in the yard. Someone come and watch over him."
Cuisao came out and looked around. Apart from Ah Shui, she really didn't see any of her family members. She thanked the merchant and called Yin Po over. The two of them carried the wooden bed into the kitchen.
After the merchants left, Zhao Xiping came out of the woodshed. He went into the kitchen, picked up the kid, and took A Shui to watch Sui Yu practice stick fighting with the servants.
Seeing him, Sui Yu slowed down her movements, wiped the sweat off her face and walked over, saying, "After working up a sweat, I feel much more relaxed."
Zhao Xiping told her what had happened just now. "I think we should arrange for a servant to look after the cub. Should we buy a slave about the same age as Ah Shui?"
Sui Yu thought about it and realized that she could keep an eye on the child when she was at home, but she would not be at home next year and Zhao Xiping would have official business to attend to, so it would be impossible for him to keep an eye on the child all the time. It would be fine to buy a little slave.
The two agreed that Sui Yu would go back to practicing with the stick, and only after the training was over did she and Zhao Xiping carry the cub into the city.
At the pawnshop, the manager brought in three children, two girls and a boy. One of the girls looked more like a Qiang person. Sui Yu noticed her at first sight and found her very pretty.
"Only one kid? Where did he come from?" Zhao Xiping asked.
"It was delivered to me the day before yesterday by a wandering knight who said he found it in the desert outside the Great Wall. He looked like a Han Chinese, so he brought it back." The steward explained frankly, "I hadn't had time to register him as a slave yet. Seeing that you wanted a male servant, I brought him here."
"No need to be enslaved." Sui Yu said subconsciously, "We'll take him back, and you don't have to worry about anything else."
It is easy to be a slave, but difficult to get rid of it.
The steward nodded, pointed at the two girls, and asked, "Do you want these two?"
"Who is this? Can she speak Chinese?" Sui Yu asked, pointing at the little girl who looked more like a Qiang.
"Her mother is Han Chinese, and her father is probably a Qiang who passed through Dunhuang. He was born and raised in Dunhuang and can speak Chinese." The steward pushed the girl and said, "Her mother died of illness. I took pity on her and brought her back. As a slave girl, at least she can find a job and make a living."
Sui Yu bought both girls and went back with them to feed the chickens and collect firewood, or even to stomp on the stove, so they could at least have a decent life. If they were willing to learn a skill, that would be even better. If the girls were beautiful and left unprotected, they would be targets for thieves.
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