Chapter 131: Work Begins
For seven people, there was a basket of steamed dumplings, seven bowls of braised pork soup noodles, a plate of steamed noodles and two plates of buns, as well as braised bird meat and sliced braised eggs. The dishes and bowls filled up half of the table, and the meal looked pretty good.
The last bowl of braised pork noodle soup was served on the table. Sui Yu walked over and said, "The food is simple, but please don't mind my brothers and uncles. It's enough to fill your stomach. If Xiping hunts something good next time, let him invite you all over for dinner."
"It smells delicious." Gu Qianhu said seriously, "I live next door to you, you may not know me yet."
Sui Yu smiled slightly and said, "It doesn't matter if we don't know each other, we know each other now. If you enjoy the food, come more often in the future. You guys can eat, I won't disturb you anymore."
"Have you eaten?" Zhao Xiping asked.
Sui Yu nodded and walked to the back of the stove to continue cooking noodles.
Zhao Xiping retracted his gaze and said, "I shot these birds yesterday and saved them for today. You can try them."
The six of them had been waiting for his words. The aroma of the braised meat was truly enticing. The bird meat seemed deep-fried, the skin crispy and the meat tender, without a trace of meaty flavor. The braised meat in the noodle soup was similar; the pork tasted completely free of any fishy odor.
"Mrs. Sui's tea and food cooking skills are amazing, but the shop is hidden quite deep. If you hadn't brought us here, we really wouldn't have been able to find this place." Captain Gu said.
Zhao Xiping smiled and said, "The shop has been open for more than two years, almost three."
"That's quite a few years."
After that, there was no conversation. The seven of them buried their heads in eating and drinking. In the middle of the meal, Sui Liang turned around and saw that the steamed noodles on the plate were almost empty, so he brought over another plate.
"Two baskets of steamed noodles." The errand boy who had come yesterday came over again, carrying a bucket. He greeted Sui Yu familiarly and said, "It's the same order from yesterday. Those two families weren't satisfied with just one meal, so they placed another order today."
Zhao Xiaomi took the wooden bucket of noodles and asked, "How much is the errand fee for one order?"
"The land of these two families is next to each other. I only need to make one trip and the fee is low, twelve cents per order."
"That's not bad." Zhao Xiaomi handed the bucket over, took the money, and said, "Please help us get more orders."
The errand boy said "Hey" and walked out the door quickly with the smell of food on his body.
Captain Gu and the others noticed this and started to think about it. This was just like each family jointly hiring a servant to deliver meals. If they wanted to eat this food in the future, they could send the servant to buy it and send it back.
After the meal, Zhao Xiping went over to pay the bill, and Sui Yu hesitantly reached out to take it.
"You two are so clear about your differences?" Captain Jiang, who was following behind, came over and said to Sui Yu, "The boss's cooking is delicious. We will come over more often to support him in the future."
Sui Yu seemed to have figured out Zhao Xiping's intention at this time. He paid for the meal in front of his colleagues. If these people came over in the future, they would definitely feel embarrassed not to pay.
"Send a servant to inform you before you come over. If there are any good things, I will leave two plates for you," she said.
Captain Gu and the others nodded. Seeing that there were more guests outside the door, they did not stay any longer and stepped out.
Zhao Xiping went out to see them off. After exchanging a few words, he stood by the roadside and watched them walk away, then turned and walked into the yard.
When Zhao Xiaomi saw him come in, he called out in a strange voice, "Captain Zhao, why are you here again? Are you full?"
Zhao Xiping ignored her. He walked into the steaming shop and asked, "Is there anything I can help you with?"
Sui Yu shook his head, "If you don't go hunting, go look at the fields."
Zhao Xiping stared at her inquiringly, and when he saw her glare at him in embarrassment, he laughed and walked out.
In the evening, he came back from the fields with Gan Da and Gan Er. There were many people in the shop at that time. The master and his servants stood outside the door, dusted off the dust on their bodies, went in to wash their hands and faces, and then dived into the crowd to help clean up the dishes.
They closed the shop and left when it was completely dark. Afraid of waking up the sleeping people, they didn't say much and walked home quietly.
"Mrs. Yin, please boil an extra pot of water tonight." Zhao Xiping gave instructions as soon as he entered the room.
Sui Yu clenched his hands, turned around, took the oil lamp and went to the livestock pen to see the camel calf.
Nine camels were kneeling in the sand pit and sleeping. The furry little camel was particularly conspicuous. When Sui Yu called it, it ran happily to the door of the pen.
"Did you recognize me?" Sui Yu spoke to it through the door.
The black pig eating next door grunted twice, which meant it recognized the pig.
Sui Yu called Gan Er and said, "Go to the kitchen and grab a couple of handfuls of salt. See if there are any fresh vegetables, and bring me a couple of handfuls as well."
Gan Er ran to the front yard, but it was Zhao Xiping who came over, holding two bowls, one bowl of bean sprouts and one bowl of salt water.
"The water is boiling." he reminded.
Sui Yu ignored him. She took the two bowls, opened the door and walked in. The silly little camel rubbed against her, tripping her and making her unable to walk straight.
"Here, have a meal." Sui Yu held two bowls and passed them to the camel with its calf, saying, "I didn't lie to you. Come home with us and you'll have a good life. You won't have to travel day and night for food and water, and you won't be disturbed by wolves."
The mother camel with her cub licked the salt water, then ate some bean sprouts. With the reins tied around its neck, it ate much slower and looked very docile.
The other seven camels did not move at all. They had eaten their fill long ago and there was still some weed left in the trough, so they had plenty of food.
The salt water was gone and the bean sprouts were all eaten. Sui Yu stroked the little camel and walked out with the empty bowl.
Zhao Xiping held up the oil lamp to light the way for her, and then chatted with her and the pigs for a while before returning to the front yard.
After a few times of hesitation, the fire in Zhao Xiping's body burned more and more vigorously. He pulled Sui Yu into the bathroom for sex, then returned to the bed and hugged her waist for sex again.
At noon, Sui Yu's shy look was really adorable, which made Zhao Xiping eager to try for a long time, and he was in a particularly good mood in the evening.
Sui Yu couldn't bear it anymore. Flames were running under her flesh, white light was flashing in front of her eyes, and her mind was in a great chaos. However, the man behind her was still moving violently. His hoarse gasps were like thunder in her ears. The surging waves swept over her body again. She buried her head in the pillow and sobbed softly.
The wind stopped and the rain stopped. The man went out to fetch water. Sui Yu stretched out her soft fingers to pull up the mattress. She closed her eyes and felt drowsy.
She heard footsteps and fluttered her eyelids, pretending to sleep when someone came in.
"Asleep?" Zhao Xiping didn't believe it. He wet a cloth, lifted the mattress and wiped it. Looking at the chaotic scene under the halo of light, his hands moved slower and slower.
Sui Yu kicked him and said in a nasal voice, "I'm tired. Don't come."
The mattress was lifted up and Zhao Xiping left the bedside.
Sui Yu slowed down, put on the mattress, opened the box to get her shorts, and put on her clothes before the man went to bed.
"Why don't you ask me about the meal money?" Zhao Xiping said.
"What meal money? Oh, isn't it just from the cash box?" Sui Yu yawned and muttered, "How's the work in the fields going? Do you want us to close the shop for a few days and go help?"
Zhao Xiping opened the door to pour water. The wooden basin was placed against the wall. He quickly hopped onto the bed, lay down, and said, "I don't need you. This year, Sui Liang's 20 mu of land is planted with flax. It's easy to take care of. If you plow the land well, you don't need to pound the soil. The seeds can be sown in two or three days. Today's meal money didn't come from the cash box. Guess what?"
There was no response. Zhao Xiping lowered his head and found that the person in his arms was already asleep.
"This is the money I saved from selling a rabbit while hunting." He whispered, "Go to sleep, you must be tired too."
He reached out to smooth away the long hair that was stuck to his lips, leaned over and gave her a kiss, then contentedly hugged the beauty and fell asleep.
The busy days passed quickly, and as spring planting came to an end, it was the end of April. The weather had warmed up, and people no longer hunched their hands and necks when walking on the streets. Even the elderly and children wore fewer layers of clothing.
Farmers had less time to cook, so eating out became less common. Furthermore, with most of the merchant caravans now entering and leaving the border towns, fewer merchants were staying in the border towns. Business in Suiyu had slowed down, and it was no longer as hectic as before.
In the middle of the morning and afternoon, Sui Yu would take time to go out. She made an appointment with Captain Zhao to discuss building a house.
"First, dig the foundation. The excavated soil is saved and used to build the wall. If there's not enough soil, dig along the riverbed to widen it," Zhao Xiping said. "Not only soil, but also grass, reed leaves, wheat straw, and red willow branches. Mixing these with the mud will make the earth wall more stable."
Sui Yu nodded. In the former military settlement houses, including the one he lived in now, one could see grass heads, branches or wheat straw.
"Tomorrow I'll go find Uncle Lao Niu and Qin Dashun and ask them to get me a dozen people from the village, and another thirty or forty from the thousand military households I manage. Once we have everyone, we'll start construction as soon as possible." Zhao Xiping had an idea and added, "We built the military settlements and civilian houses in Dunhuang ourselves, so we have experience. You've drawn the plan, and now we have everything, we can start construction quickly."
Sui Yu nodded again and said, "Neither of us has enough time to supervise the work. Why not hire Uncle Niu? He's thick-skinned and old, so he dares to push for more work and can convince people."
Zhao Xiping smiled and said, "Okay, I'll go over there tomorrow and see if he comes."
"If he's worried about not being able to take care of the child, tell him to leave Ah Shui in the shop and we'll look after him." Sui Yu walked back and said softly, "I was originally planning to have my eldest or second brother come over to supervise. My second sister-in-law had the idea of having my second brother come to earn money before."
"They are no good. They are okay at farming, but they are not as good as me in dealing with people. As supervisors, they cannot control the soldiers who have been to the battlefield. They will probably be ordered to run errands." Zhao Xiping refused.
"I think so too. If there are other ways to make money in the future, we will call on the eldest and second brothers." Sui Yu said.
"We'll talk about it when the time comes." Zhao Xiping put his hand on her shoulder and looked back at the wasteland where the grass was rustling in the wind. Life was really getting better and better.
…
The next day, Zhao Xiping brought back two and a half rabbits to the military village. He first went to Uncle Lao Niu's house. The door was not locked. He heard voices in the yard, so he shouted and pushed the door open.
Uncle Lao Niu was washing Ah Shui's hair. It was inconvenient for him to use one hand, and Ah Shui's hands were too small. After the father and daughter struggled for a while, the water in the basin was almost spilled.
"Hey, you brought some meat, are you announcing the good news?"
"What good news?" Zhao Xiping put half a piece of rabbit meat into the kitchen and came out and said, "Can I give you a hand?"
"It's almost done, just rinse it and it'll be clean... Don't move, the water will get on your clothes." Uncle Niu held Ah Shui down and asked, "Has your wife not given you any good news yet?"
"You are more anxious than my parents." Zhao Xiping said angrily.
"It's time to get anxious. You're in your twenties, and Sui Yu isn't young either. How many years have you two been married?"
"It's been almost four years." Zhao Xiping calculated and realized that time passed so quickly.
"In another six months, Ah Shui will be three years old." Uncle Niu wiped the child's hair with a cloth and asked, "What do you want to talk to me about?"
Zhao Xiping told him about the house construction project, "You have nothing to do anyway, why don't you become a supervisor for me? I'll pay you five cents a day."
Uncle Lao Niu looked at A Shui and agreed without hesitation. He wanted to save more money for A Shui to live on.
"Let me make it clear first, I'm just going to supervise. I won't do any heavy work, so as not to tire myself out. I want to live another ten years." Uncle Niu made the statement first.
Zhao Xiping didn't expect him to do any heavy work. "Take the child with you first. If you find it inconvenient to bring him there, you can send him to the shop. Also, help me find some capable people. The wages are four coins a day, with two meals provided. Anyone who is willing to work can go there."
"Okay, that's no problem."
After things here were settled, Zhao Xiping took the other half of the rabbit meat and went to find Qin Dashun.
Afterwards, Zhao Xiping called the three centurions who often appeared in front of him and asked them to each find him a dozen soldiers with experience in building houses.
On the second day of May, Zhao Xiping gathered forty-two strong soldiers. Each of them held a shovel and carried the shoulder pole and bamboo basket bought by Sui Yu to go to the wasteland to dig the foundation.
Mrs. Yin also returned from the food store. She was responsible for preparing two meals a day for the people who were building the house. Around noon, Gan Da and Gan Er would come back to pick up the food.
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