Chapter 218 Kucha City
It was five days later that we arrived at Qiuci City. The city was backed by mountains and the grass was green at the foot of the mountains. Like Dunhuang, rivers gathered from the meltwater of the snow-capped mountains passed through the city, providing irrigation water for this oasis.
When they entered the city and saw the Han army stationed at the city gate and familiar faces, Sui Yu and his party felt relieved.
Zhang Shun went to inquire and came back saying, "Boss, the general pointed me in the direction. Let's go into the city and ask around."
"Okay." Sui Yu waved his hand and led the camel caravan into Kucha City.
The busy streets were bustling with people and merchants. Most of the houses on the street were built with stones mixed with mud. There were tadpole characters written in a messy manner on the protruding stones. Sui Yu looked at them carefully out of curiosity, but didn't recognize any of them.
When they were in Loulan, Sui Yu asked Qin Wenshan about where to stay in Qiuci. Now that they were in the city, they only needed to find someone who understood Chinese to ask a few questions and it would be easy to find Agu Lane.
After renting a house and unloading the cargo from the camels, the servants led the camels out to graze.
After Sui Yu shook off the sand hidden in her hair and clothes, she quickly chased after him.
A mile away from Agu Lane is a pasture with thriving grass. At the end of the pasture is a mountain with a mixture of green and yellow. The soil on the mountain is poor and there are not many trees. The sparse hair on the mountain is like the hair of an old bald man and cannot cover his scalp.
Qingshan and Zhang Shun stood together, brushing the camel's coat with a bristle brush. Erhei shuffled over. He wasn't sure how many people had heard the noise that night, but he was certain Zhang Shun knew about it. Even if he didn't, given their friendship, Qingshan would have told him.
Qingshan glanced at him, then lowered his eyes and continued brushing the camel.
"Erhei, why are you staring at us instead of brushing the camels?" Zhang Shun pretended to be dumbfounded. He urged, "Hurry up and get to work. When you're done, we'll go back and rest."
Erhei said "Oh" slowly, but did not move.
Qingshan led the camel away and Erhei immediately followed.
"What do you want from me?"
"How many people heard the noise that night?"
The two men spoke at the same time. Erhei spoke longer but finished his words first, which showed his anxiety and panic.
"How should I know?" Qingshan said with a cold face.
"How could you not know? If you hadn't stopped me suddenly, I would have left long ago." Erhei was angry and anxious, "You didn't complain to the master, did you?"
Qingshan was too lazy to answer his stupid question.
Erhei has been in a state of agitation these days. He is afraid that the mistress will find out and find an opportunity to punish him, but he is also afraid that she doesn't know and other people will report her, and he will still be in trouble then.
He was now wary of everyone, but in order to keep his secret, he wanted to curry favor with his fellow servants. However, he was worried that they would mock him for being ungrateful or take the opportunity to threaten him, so he held off. On the other hand, he also wanted to encourage them to escape together, but he was afraid that Qingshan, the fool, would get wind of it and kill him.
"It's all your fault." Erhei suddenly clenched his fists with a ferocious look on his face, and the next moment, he was kicked to the ground by Qingshan.
Qingshan took this opportunity to pin this ungrateful villain to the ground and beat him up, and also wanted to use this to suppress the thoughts that were about to arise in other people's minds.
Zhang Shun took advantage of the chaos to observe the others' expressions. Every one of the Song family's servants wore a look of disdain, clearly aware of what had transpired that night. Gan Da and Gan Er frowned, seemingly unaware. Well, they were guarding the front of the group that night, so it's likely they didn't notice. Li Wu lowered his eyes, his expression calm as he continued brushing his camel, seemingly oblivious to the nearby fighting. The remaining eight men had been begged from Captain Hu along with Qingshan and Erhei. Most of them were obedient to Qingshan, but in the presence of the freedmen, their minds wavered.
In a moment of deliberate effort, Zhang Shun saw a person standing at the foot of the wall in the distance. When he looked closely, it was Sui Yu, who was staring at him motionlessly.
Sui Yu nodded at him and quickly disappeared under the wall.
Zhang Shun stood up and thought for a few moments, feeling a little worried.
The two fighters also decided the winner. Erhei was beaten by Qingshan until his nose was bleeding. He lay on the grass and cried loudly.
"What's going on?" Gan Da finally spoke.
"Yeah, Qingshan and Erhei are good friends." Gan Er was puzzled. "Why did they start fighting? If the fight goes on like this, the master will ask questions if he sees it."
Li Wu suddenly smiled. He looked at Qingshan and said, "The relationship is quite good. You really care about him."
Qingshan flexed his wrist and didn't respond.
"You guys go back, we'll stay here to look after the camels," the Song family's servant said. "You guys go back and rest, and it'll be your turn to keep watch at night."
The lanes in Qiuci are narrow and the houses are densely packed. There is no livestock pen to keep camels in the place where we are staying, so we can only drive them to the pasture and have people guard them day and night.
"Then I'll come and bring you food later." said Gan Da.
"OK."
Zhang Shun led the group back, and Erhei was left at the back, feeling anxious.
When we returned to Agu Lane, the maids had already prepared the meal: two pots of white rice and a pot full of mutton stewed in an iron pot.
"Are you all back? Now that you're back, let's eat. You've been thirsty and hungry along the way. You've suffered a lot. Eat more and replenish your energy." Sui Yu walked out of the house.
Zhang Shun glanced at her and quickly looked away.
Xiao Chunhong first served a bowl of rice to Sui Yu and Song Xian respectively, then scooped a full bowl of mutton and handed it over. After that, she served rice to the maids first, and finally the male servants.
Gan Da came over with a bucket and said, "Uncle Wu and the others are guarding the camels. Please divide their food and I will take it to them later."
"Oh, okay."
The rice and mutton were served together. Gan Da carried the bucket in one hand and the bowl in the other, and called Gan Er. The two brothers took the rice to the pasture to eat, as they were worried about leaving all their camels to another group of people to guard.
Erhei was at the end of the queue. When it was his turn, Xiao Chunhong screamed, "Ah! What happened to you? Who hit you?"
Sui Yu looked over when he heard the sound, frowned and said, "Who did you fight with for no reason?"
Erhei felt relieved, it seemed that she didn't hear anything that night.
"I hit him, he asked for it." Qingshan said.
"I don't care why you fight, but you can't make enemies." Sui Yu warned and turned around to continue eating.
The others stared at her, each speculating in their own minds.
Because they had to guard the camels at night, Sui Yu arranged for the male servants to rest during the day. She and Song Xian took nine maids out in the afternoon, intending to investigate the situation in the city.
"Boss, I'm coming with you." Zhang Shun chased after them. "You're all women, I'm worried."
Sui Yu waved her hand, signaling him to go back to the house and sleep. There were eleven of them in their group, and they had experienced two sandstorms. They were all covered in dust and dirt, so dirty that their original color could not be seen. They were as slovenly as beggars. Who would want to attack them? Besides, there were Han troops stationed here, and they could ask for help if they encountered danger.
Walking out along the way they came, they suddenly heard a burst of lively cheers. Sui Yu stopped and pulled Song Xian to follow the sound. Before they saw anyone, they heard cheerful drum beats accompanied by pleasant zither sounds.
"The sound of this drum is different from the drum sound in our place," said Song Xian.
Sui Yu had some guesses that the drum beats didn't seem to be produced by hammering, but might be clapping by hands, like a waist drum.
After passing two stone houses, we came to a high wall. It was a high wall made of yellow mud and stones. The stone wall was thick and had excellent load-bearing capacity. It was built in two layers. There was a dark door at the bottom. There was very bright light above, and a group of people were playing music and dancing on it.
Sui Yu and Song Xian led a group of ignorant maids to stand below and look up at the dancers. When the people above noticed them, they did not drive them away. Instead, they moved to a place with a better view and danced there, confidently and boldly showing off their moving dance moves.
"It is said that the people of Kucha are good at singing and dancing, and they also like music and dance. This rumor is indeed true." Song Xian sighed.
Sui Yu said "hmm". The cheerful drum beat was more inspiring than the drum beat of the Nuo dance during the New Year. If she was not afraid of making a fool of herself, she would have wanted to dance to the beat of the drum.
She suddenly remembered that the place called Qiuci was Kuqa or somewhere else in Xinjiang in later generations. Isn't this the ancestor of the Xinjiang people who are good at singing and dancing? Everything makes sense.
When the song ended, Sui Yu clapped and cheered, and Song Xian and others also clapped and cheered bravely.
The people upstairs laughed out loud.
The sound of the zither started again upstairs, and Sui Yu and Song Xian left with their people.
On the way, Song Xian asked, "Sister Yu, do you know how to play musical instruments? I want to buy a waist drum for Lu Yaer."
"I don't understand, but I also want to buy a waist drum for my kid." Sui Yu chuckled and said, "I plan to buy one for myself too."
"Then let's go and take a look?" Song Xian asked excitedly.
"Let's take a look first, don't rush to buy. Let's stay a few days and see if we can run into any caravans we know." Sui Yu said, "Let's stay in Qiuci for a few more days to see what the situation is like. There are many caravans coming and going here, and I also want to buy some seeds to take back."
"Okay." Song Xian agreed.
The eleven masters and servants wandered around Qiuci like headless flies for a long time, visiting stalls, shops, and caravans. Sui Yu discovered that the saying "Qiuci is full of gold, silver, and jewelry" seemed to have some truth to it. The place seemed to have many mines, and there were more bronze and silver artifacts than in Dunhuang.
A narrow-necked silver wine jug, with hammered threads throughout, shone brightly even in the dim stone chamber, and Sui Yu immediately took a liking to it. There was also a silver water jug with a large belly and a narrow mouth, like a vase, and it felt light and comfortable in the hand.
"Is this your local pottery?" Sui Yu asked as he picked up a yellowish-brown pottery bowl.
"Yes, it's different from your Han pottery. The soil we use to make pottery is red clay, and the pottery we make is yellowish-brown, not dyed." The shop owner introduced.
Sui Yu nodded, asked the price and put the pottery bowl down.
Song Xian took out a brass flatware and picked up a copper basin. She asked the price one by one and then put them down.
"They are all quite expensive." When they walked out of the shop, the sky was already filled with sunset glow. Song Xian sighed and asked Sui Yu if he planned to buy anything.
"Do you want to buy it?" Sui Yu asked.
Song Xian pursed her lips and smiled, "If you buy it, I'll buy it."
"I want to buy some silverware. I'll go look somewhere else tomorrow," said Sui Yu.
Song Xian nodded, she preferred bronze ware.
"Let's go back." Sui Yu said.
The group followed the direction they had inquired about when they entered the city in the morning. After taking several detours, they returned to Agu Lane safely.
Qingshan and others had already cooked millet porridge. After eating, they went to the grassland to keep watch. The servants of the Song family came back.
When going to bed at night, Xiaoxi quietly walked to Sui Yu's side. She squatted in the corner and whispered to her about Erhei's attempt to run away.
The next day, Song Xian learned the news from her servants, and she told Sui Yu the news in surprise.
"A slave with ulterior motives cannot be kept, as it will cause unrest among the people. In my opinion, you should sell him to the black kiln, exchange him for a batch of pottery, and then sell it on the way back." Song Xian suggested.
Sui Yu didn't say anything.
"What do you think?" Song Xian asked.
"Wait a little longer." Sui Yu said, "Let me see if there are any who have ulterior motives. I have to find a way to stop them from running away."
Two days later, Zhang Shun really couldn't guess Sui Yu's thoughts, so he looked for an opportunity to confess everything.
"I know. I woke up that night too." Sui Yu looked up at him and said, "I believe you. What do you think I should do with him?"
Zhang Shun's heart was in turmoil. He carefully looked at Sui Yu a few times and asked tentatively, "Why don't you take him back first and let him stay at home to take care of the crops?"
"How many people are ready to take action because of his actions?" Sui Yu asked.
Zhang Shun was speechless.
"So what are you going to do?" he asked.
"Let's talk about it after we leave Qiuci." Sui Yu smiled and said, "I know you're afraid I'll take his life. Let me be honest with you. I won't harm anyone who has truly helped me. I'm not a vicious person and I wouldn't be able to do anything murderous. You can rest assured. By the way, today's conversation is between you and me. Don't let anyone else know."
Zhang Shun responded hesitantly.
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