Chapter 173: External Excuse
It was broad daylight and someone might come over at any time. Zhao Xiping didn't dare to do anything rash, so he just looked and satisfied his eyes.
The child was a straightforward person and would poop after eating. Zhao Xiping thought it was about time, so he took a basin and went out to get hot water.
Sui Liang came over just as the cub had finished eating. Sui Yu handed the child over happily. She was not afraid of someone holding the child, but she was afraid of no one holding the child. She was very happy to have someone coax the child for her.
On rainy days, everyone had nothing to do. Even when she was washing her child's butt, there would be a crowd of people watching. Sui Yu simply stayed in bed and slept until dinner was ready.
Li Mutou took away a can of chicken soup, and stewed half a chicken with dried vegetables in half a pot. The master of the house took half, and the remaining half was for the servants.
"When the weather clears up, Aunt Yin, go buy another 300 chicks." Sui Yu instructed.
Grandma Yin nodded in agreement.
"Sister, now that the weather is clear, let's go out of town to hunt and see if we can bring back another yellow sheep." Sui Liang said.
Sui Yu definitely couldn't travel far because she had a baby at home. She would probably have to rush back as soon as she left the city gate, and this situation would continue until the baby was weaned.
"You and your brother-in-law go out of town to hunt, and take Xiao Chunhong and the others with you, and Gan Da and Gan Er will also go with you." Sui Yu said.
"Can we leave the city gate?" Zhang Shun asked Gan Da.
"Yes, as long as the master is with us, we can leave the city." General Gan spat out the chewed chicken bones to the dog. He took a bite of rice and said, "One year we went out of the city with the master to pick reed flowers in the desert. With the master by our side, the city guards didn't stop us."
"Pick the cattail flowers? Sir, do you really need to pick the cattail flowers yourself?" Zhang Shun was surprised.
Grandma Yin knocked on the bowl, reminding Gan Duoduo to talk less while eating and not to tell others about the host family's affairs.
Gan Da laughed and said nothing more.
Except for Meng Ma, none of the ten newly bought private slaves had ever been to the Qianhu Suo, so naturally they had no idea about their master's past. Only Yin Po and her son knew that the female master had once been a criminal slave. Yin Po had already told them not to talk about this.
Seeing this, the others stopped asking questions.
After dinner, Gan Da and Gan Er took Zhang Shun and Li Wu to carry manure to the fields while the rain stopped. The smell was strong on the wind, so Sui Yu simply took the child and went back to the city with Zhao Xiping. Sui Liang and A Shui also followed. Halfway through, the big black dog caught up with them.
Walking back, Sui Yu and a group of people planned to go to Zhao Xiaomi's mother-in-law's house first, but when they got there, they found it empty. The neighbors said that the whole family, young and old, had gone to the fields.
Afterwards, Sui Yu followed a trail of tails to Minxiang. The houses in this alley were brand new, neatly arranged, and the road had been widened. Following the smell of meat, Sui Yu saw Lao Tu sitting under the eaves making dumplings.
"My son has opened a food store, so I'm not as carefree as before. Now that I don't have to spend money on food, I guess you won't enjoy the food as much as before." Sui Yu joked.
"Oh, a distinguished guest is here." The old bald man took the opportunity to throw away the noodles and shouted into the house: "Big Red Lady, there are guests at home. Bring these things in and wrap them."
"You go ahead and do your thing, we'll just stop and leave," said Zhao Xiping.
"It's a rare opportunity for you to come here, sit down and have a drink of water." The bald old man led the people into the house and went out to get the kettle and bowls.
Today, the bald old man was a generous and polite person. Not only did he get hot water to moisten his mouth, but even the big black dog lying at the door got half a bowl of water.
"Is this your child? When was he born? Is it a boy or a girl?" the bald old man asked as he sat down.
"He's almost three months old, a little boy." Zhao Xiping changed his arms to hold the cub and said, "You guys are doing pretty well here."
The old bald man smiled and said modestly: "I can't compare to you."
"Your location is good," said Zhao Xiping.
The old bald man touched his bald head and chuckled twice.
"From this year on, your business will be very good." Sui Yu complimented, "With me paving the way, your son's food store will also be profitable, right?"
The old bald man waved his hands quickly, "No, no."
Sui Yu snorted with a smile, "If you don't make money, you won't give us a good face."
The old bald man felt a little hot on his face. Thinking about it now, it was really embarrassing to have made that expression last year.
"There are steaming dumplings on the stove. I'll bring a plate for the two kids." The bald old man made an excuse to slip away, and soon brought back a plate of steaming dumplings. He asked Sui Liang and A Shui to eat them with their hands.
"Both children have grown up." The old bald man looked at Sui Liang and said to Sui Yu, "In two or three years, your brothers will be able to support you."
Sui Yu glanced at Zhao Xiping and thought that Sui Liang might not have that chance.
"Why are you here on such a windy day? Is there something wrong?" The bald old man asked about the business.
"The livestock pen at the guesthouse is digging manure, and the smell is quite strong, so we came out to hide." Sui Yu was quite honest. "It's a good opportunity to come and see how you are doing over there, so I can have a better idea of what's going on."
"When it comes to stealing business, you can't beat me." The bald old man smiled confidently, "It's just that we can't accommodate the customers here, so they come to your place."
A year ago, Sui Yu would have agreed. After the past year's development, her area had its own unique advantages. It was vast, allowing camels to roam freely, escorts to rise early to practice martial arts, and merchants to hang out their wares. Furthermore, with Zhao Xiping's protection, no petty thieves or ruffians dared to cause trouble.
"Captain Hu probably wants to build another guesthouse. What do you think?" Sui Yu revealed.
The old bald man's face fell instantly. He pointed at Sui Yu and said, "Nothing good ever comes of seeing you. You brought this upon yourself again."
Zhao Xiping's face changed. What kind of bullshit is this?
Sui Yu put her hand on his leg and patted it. The old bald man had the same dog-like temperament. He would wag his tail at anyone who threw a bone at him. If you hit him with a stick, he would bark a few times while holding the bone in his mouth.
The old bald man thought for a moment and asked, "Where does he plan to build it?"
"I'm not sure, it's either inside the city or outside the city." Sui Yu said.
Land prices in the city were high, and Old Baldy figured the project should be built in the wilderness outside. He suggested, "Don't stop him. Let him build it. The earliest the inn will be finished is this winter. There are only a handful of merchants passing through. We can split the profits, and he'll just make a pittance. He might not even get his money back in three years. He'll lose everything."
"We can't stop them even if we want to." Sui Yu spread his hands.
The old bald man looked at Zhao Xiping and said, "If Captain Zhao can get promoted again, Manager Yu will be able to walk around Dunhuang City with his head held high."
Zhao Xiping seemed to be thinking about something.
The kid woke up and whimpered a few times. Zhao Xiping carried him out to help him pee.
"It's getting dark, and you have things to do here too. We're leaving." Sui Yu pinched a dumpling into his mouth, stood up and said, "Thank you for the treat."
"Come back when you have time." The bald old man stood up to see him off.
After leaving Minxiang, Sui Yu and Zhao Xiping went back to Qianhu Suo. Sui Yu went back to feed her child, while Zhao Xiping went to the training ground for evening training.
Sui Liang chased after him and said, "Brother-in-law, my sister told me to pick us up at Dinghu Lane when you come back in the evening. She wants to take us to Sister Song's house for dinner."
"good."
After the evening training ended, Zhao Xiping walked back with Huang Ancheng. On the way, he thought again and again and asked, "Brother, are you going to seek justice for the fact that Captain Hu stole your military merits?"
Huang Ancheng stopped dead in his tracks. A whistling cold wind rushed towards him, causing him to shiver. His voice trembled as he spoke, "How do you want to ask for this?"
Zhao Xiping didn't say anything. It seemed that he had no better way than to explain to Captain Qu.
"The captain back then is dead, and the battle happened over ten years ago. Besides you and me, there's no other witness. Forget it, let's not talk about it. I'm living a happy life and don't want to cause any more trouble." Huang Ancheng was the first to lose his temper. "What's the matter? Captain Hu is bothering you?"
"No." Zhao Xiping denied. He was eager to take action before he said it, but he realized the difficulty after he said it. Unless Captain Qu had a grudge against Captain Hu, Captain Qu would not offend others for seeking justice for an unknown person even if he knew that Captain Hu had taken the credit.
"I haven't offended you, so why are you messing with him? Don't even talk about being my brother." Huang Ancheng sneered. He punched Zhao Xiping and said, "Take your wife and children and get out."
Zhao Xiping took a punch, he just smiled and the matter was over.
It rained for two days in a row, and the coldness shrouded the northwest for nearly half a month. It was not until March that the weather began to warm up.
At this time, new green appeared on the withered yellow soil, and ground vegetables actually grew on the wilderness covered with manure. Xiao Chunhong, Liu Yaer and others took baskets to pick ground vegetables under the roots of the dead grass. After washing them, they were mixed with lard or oil residue to make dumplings, which were extremely delicious.
At this time, some caravans had entered the city. The caravans that had previously stayed at the North City Guesthouse went straight to the North City Guesthouse. However, some caravans that were nostalgic for the old times turned to Minxiang under the persuasion of Lao Tu and others.
Sui Liang squatted at the city gate and counted. The caravans were almost equally divided among the guesthouses inside and outside the city.
He wasn't the only one. The steward of Commandant Hu's mansion was also squatting at the city gate, watching for half a month. He returned to report, "There are more caravans heading to the guesthouses north of the city. I've heard that some of the goods from the caravans inland get damp when they cross the snow-capped mountains and rivers, so they need a larger area to dry them. And then there's the escort teams; the escorts prefer to stay outside the city."
Captain Hu rubbed the ring on his thumb and asked, "Do you think I can make money if I invest more money to build a guesthouse?"
The butler didn't dare to say a word. How could he guarantee this matter?
"Forget it, I'll go find the eldest lady." Captain Hu stood up and left.
Mrs. Hu naturally agreed. She gave the job to her brothers from her natal family, as they could make a lot of money by building houses.
At the end of March, Zhao Xiping came back from morning training and met an official who was measuring the land. He asked a few questions and gave him a hundred coins, asking him to stay away from his house when measuring the land.
Relying on the river, Captain Hu's brother-in-law planned to buy land near the city, but the land there had already been cultivated into farmland. If he went further north, it would almost border Sui Yu's guesthouse. The officials lied that most of the land here had been bought by Zhao Xiping.
There was no other way, so Captain Hu’s brother-in-law could only buy land and build a house on the other side of the river.
"What bad luck." Sui Yu spat twice.
Merchants passing by found this funny. This wasn't business at all; it was simply enmity.
"Whose guesthouse is this?" a merchant asked.
"Captain Hu's brother-in-law." Sui Yu said.
The merchant shook his head. "No wonder he's so overbearing. But don't worry, Shopkeeper Yu. With his behavior, we'll probably suffer a loss if we move in. We all understand this principle. Your business probably won't be affected."
"Thank you for your comfort." Sui Yu forced a smile. "He won't give us a way to survive, and we can't defeat him. We can't make any money. I can only abandon the child and go out with you to trade."
Sui Yu suddenly had an idea. She was worried that she had no legitimate reason to form a caravan. If a woman went on business, it would inevitably attract criticism.
The merchant waved his hand, "It's not easy to get by outside the Great Wall, don't be impulsive."
On the other side, Zhao Xiping pretended to go to Captain Qu to ask for a task. After Captain Qu knew about the guest house, he called Captain Hu over and scolded him.
Captain Hu was like a dead pig that was not afraid of boiling water. He continued to do as he pleased even after being scolded.
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