Chapter 312 Buying a Camel
Sui Liang was enjoying his wine when he remembered that the mulberry saplings he had bought had not been planted yet. However, considering that they were transplanted in wooden boxes, it would not make any difference if they were planted a day earlier or later. He drank some mulberry wine in a daze.
The boy knelt on the chair, holding his chin and looking at his uncle with a blushing face, his eyes occasionally falling on the bright red wine in the bowl.
"Master, I offer you a toast." Xiao Chunhong brought the bowl over, and she said a little embarrassedly, "To be honest, when we were in Chang'an, we discussed it privately, wondering if you would share this large sum of money with us. We were mean-spirited, and I apologize."
While his parents' attention was on Xiao Chunhong, the little cub quickly leaned forward and asked eagerly, "Uncle, is the wine good?"
"It's a bit spicy, haven't you tried it before?"
"I haven't."
"Really? Did I forget?" Sui Liang was a little drunk. He handed the bowl over and said, "Try it."
The boy took the bowl and drank greedily. The wine hit his throat and he felt like vomiting. But seeing that everyone else was drinking happily, he felt that he might as well taste it without swallowing it. After a big gulp of wine, he quickly scooped up a spoonful of chicken soup and drank it. As the chicken soup entered his stomach, he smacked his lips, as if he could taste the wonderful taste of the wine.
"Dad, I want a drink."
Zhao Xiping looked at him, thinking of the Tusu wine Sui Liang had tasted when he was six or seven years old. He tilted the wine bowl over and said, "You are still young. Drink a sip or two to taste it. Don't get drunk."
The kid nodded repeatedly. He first drank a mouthful of the rich chicken soup, then took a sip of wine with bated breath. The rich aroma of mulberry fruit grew in his mouth like grass, and the greasiness of the chicken soup quickly dissipated. He frowned, sighed, and said seriously, "Wine and meat taste good together."
Zhao Xiping snorted, "You're still drunk! Don't drink anymore. Your mother will beat you if you get drunk."
"What?" Sui Yu only heard the last two words. When she turned around to see Sui Liang's eyes were empty, she hurriedly said, "Don't let him drink anymore, kid. You and your father will help your uncle go back to bed. Don't wash tonight. Wash up tomorrow after you sober up."
Sui Liang didn't make a fuss when he was drunk, he just kept grinning foolishly. When Zhao Xiping got him water to wash his feet, he pointed at him and grinned foolishly, which annoyed Zhao Xiping. He picked up the kid and stood aside, refusing to serve him.
The boy served willingly. He ran in and out like an ant carrying food. He washed his uncle's feet, carried his uncle's shoes, and combed his uncle's hair. When his uncle lay down, he held his head and wiped his face.
Zhao Xiping stood at the end of the bed and watched. When the boy finally took care of Sui Liang and put him to sleep, he said, "Let's go see your mother. She's not drunk."
The kid shook his head and pointed at his head and said, "Dad, I feel dizzy too."
Zhao Xiping immediately walked over, pinched his son's face and looked at it in front of the oil lamp, and then slapped the boy with a "slap".
"You stole wine from your uncle's bowl." He said firmly, taking off his clothes as he spoke. "You lie down too. I'll get you two big bowls of honey water. If you wake up thirsty at night, get up and drink it yourself."
By the time the honey water arrived, Xiaozai and Sui Liang had already fallen asleep head to head. People who drink alcohol feel dry, and it was hot in June, so Zhao Xiping didn't cover them with a thin mattress. He just closed the door and let them sleep.
The moon was above the willows, the chickens and dogs were asleep, and the noise at the wine table finally died down. More than 20 people drank two cans of mulberry wine, and most of them were drunk. Coupled with the fatigue from the journey, the alcohol took effect, and Xiao Chunhong and other maids fell asleep on the table.
Sui Yu was still sober. She estimated that she only drank half a bowl of wine throughout the night. When the servants toasted her, she either drank chicken soup or fish soup and did not join them in drinking.
"Sister Cui, take someone to help Xiao Chunhong and the others go to the third guesthouse to sleep, and give them some honey water to sober them up. Zhang Shun, you guys should stay in the second guesthouse, which is where you slept before. Be careful at night, and slap any drunks." Sui Yu made the arrangements. She stood up and stretched, looking at the table of leftovers under the moonlight. She said, "Let's all rest tonight. Leave this thing here. Lock the door when they leave, and clean it up tomorrow morning."
Grandma Yin agreed and took the initiative to say, "Madam, you go and rest. I will take care of the rest. I'm sure nothing will go wrong."
Sui Yu said "hmm" and left with Zhao Xiping.
"Your son is drunk." Zhao Xiping complained as soon as he left the house. "He drank the wine from Sui Liang's bowl while we weren't paying attention, and then he tried to get a sip from me."
"Then remember to scold him tomorrow." Sui Yu put it down with care. Her eyes were filled with the money boxes placed in the yard. When the money boxes were opened, the moonlight fell on the copper coins, emitting a faint cold light. She opened all the money boxes, and the whole yard was bright.
"What a lot of money!" Sui Yu was so happy that she picked up a string of coins and hung it around her neck. She put it under her nose and sniffed it, pretending to be disgusted and said, "Eh, the smell of money is not good."
Zhao Xiping sat down on a cash box and did not interrupt her, accompanying her in venting her pent-up joy in the yard. In front of the servants, she had to act arrogantly, but now that everyone was asleep, she could laugh and dance as much as she wanted.
The guesthouse across the street fell silent; even the sound of running water behind the house faded. Sui Yu finally felt tired. She walked over to the man and sat on his lap. She said, "Let's buy ten acres of wasteland to the north. We'll till the soil and fertilize it in the fall, and plant a large area of goldenrod next year. When the soil improves, we can grow crops and even build a house later. Let's buy the land first to prevent it from being taken over by others."
"Okay." Zhao Xiping had no objection.
"We rented eighty camels. I'll tell Sister Song about buying all eighty camels in a couple of days."
"Okay, you want to buy land to grow goldenrod. Then we won't have to buy fodder for the winter. It's more cost-effective to buy camels than to rent them." Zhao Xiping agreed.
"After the autumn harvest, we'll go to Zhangye and buy three to five mu of land. We'll build a guesthouse next year. No, no, no, it'd be best if we buy the land next month and hire more people. We'll try to finish the guesthouse before winter." Before Zhao Xiping could ask, Sui Yu continued, "Some of the servants want to get married, so I can pick two to stay in Zhangye and oversee the house construction. I need to keep an eye on the cotton business, so I can't be away for long, but visiting Zhangye once or twice a month is no problem."
"And Sui Liang, I think you can let him take care of buying the land and building the guesthouse." Zhao Xiping suggested.
"I heard my name called." Sui Liang opened the door and came out with honey water. He looked at the sky and asked, "What time is it? Are you still awake? How long have I been sleeping? Am I drunk?"
"It's midnight. You've slept for over an hour." Sui Yu looked at the direction of the moon's shift, estimated the approximate time, and said, "Are you sober? Go back to sleep. You probably didn't get a full night's sleep on the way back."
"I couldn't sleep, but I'm quite awake now." Sui Liang walked over. When he saw his brother-in-law, a picture suddenly appeared in his mind. He was so shocked that he almost dropped the bowl.
"Brother-in-law..." He laughed arrogantly, "You washed my feet——"
"...The kid washed it."
Sui Liang waved his hand, "Don't fool me, I'm not drunk to death."
"Ask him when he wakes up."
"I didn't ask him. I already had the impression that I should ask him why." Sui Liang remembered what happened afterwards, but he insisted on blaming Zhao Xiping for the foot washing.
Zhao Xiping's face darkened, and Sui Liang was so happy that he even said deliberately: "Don't feel that you are at a disadvantage. When you are old and can't move anymore, I will wash your feet too."
Zhao Xiping ignored him, but the more he paid attention to him, the more excited he became.
"Sit down, you're making me dizzy." Sui Yu said.
"By the way, sister, what were you talking about me just now?" Sui Liang remembered this.
"Your sister plans to buy land in Zhangye to build a guesthouse, and I said I'll leave this matter to you to take care of." Zhao Xiping continued.
Sui Liang was thinking about it and he didn't say anything for a while.
"Your brother-in-law will be in charge of buying the land and building the guesthouse. I will arrange two servants to keep an eye on it later. However, I will also have to go there every half a month. If it is inconvenient for me, you can go in my place." Sui Yu said.
"Okay." Sui Liang agreed immediately, "Can I take the cub out?"
"No, he is too young. When you were little, I would not have taken you to Jiuquan if I had no place to stay. Riding a camel takes a whole day, and even adults can't stand it, let alone children." Sui Yu explained.
"Well, I'll go and come back quickly then." Sui Liang said with some regret, "When he grows up, I'll go on a long journey with him again."
Zhao Xiping showed an indescribable expression, "Just tie him to your belt. Is he your nephew or your brother? There's a ten-year age difference between you two. How can you really play with him?"
"Don't be jealous of us." Sui Liang raised his eyebrows complacently. He turned the bowl in his hand and walked away. "I'm going to sleep. I won't chat with you anymore."
The wooden door closed gently, and the oil lamp in the room was immediately blown out. Zhao Xiping and Sui Yu turned their heads at the same time. He was silent for a moment, then said, "It's still the same character. He only grows in height but not in brains."
Sui Yu twisted his waist, and he gasped in pain, but he still insisted, "My eldest brother was married when he was his age, and he still doesn't seem to have figured it out...Okay, okay, I won't say anything more, just let go."
"Let's go back to the house and sleep." Sui Yu got up and went back to the house.
Zhao Xiping rubbed his waist and limped back to the house with his numb legs.
…
The next day, until lunch, those who were drunk last night came out one after another. They had a good sleep and were all in high spirits.
Grandma Yin disliked their stink and wouldn't let them into the kitchen. She took the rice and dishes out and made these stinkbugs stand outside the door to eat.
"After dinner, go to the river and wash up. Wash the mattress you slept on last night yourself." Grandma Yin instructed.
Sui Yu didn't care about these things. She waited until sunset when the weather was no longer hot. She put on a straw hat and carried a water bag to the cotton field to check the work results of the five maids.
The cotton has bloomed. I pinched the heads and broke off the extra buds growing on the branches to prevent the branches and leaves from becoming too lush. The cotton stalks would not produce too many shoots, which would affect flowering and fruiting.
Sui Yu walked along the drainage ditch again and again, breaking off some buds that the maids were unsure about and had not yet broken off.
When they reached the end of the two acres of land, it was already dark. Sui Yu washed his hands by the river and walked back with the big black dog that had followed him to the field.
"Ding Quan, it's time to water the cotton. Tomorrow you take Da'er and the others to fetch water for the fields." Sui Yu came back and arranged the work in the fields first.
Da'er is the newly bought Hun. He is tall and strong, and is a good farmer.
"Okay, I'll take them to the fields before dawn tomorrow morning," said Ding Quan.
When Sui Yu returned to the house, the yard was empty. The money boxes were piled up in the empty house next door, and the remaining money was stored in the warehouse of the second guest house.
The next morning, Sui Yu brought 220,000 yuan on a camel into the city to discuss the camel purchase with Song Xian.
"The rent for eighty camels is forty thousand coins. I inquired and found out that a camel is twenty-three hundred coins this year. Eighty camels would cost eighty-four thousand coins. I bought more, so you owe me four thousand coins." Sui Yu sat down and got down to business.
Song Xian perked up and said, "You're my biggest customer. I don't want the rent this year. The camels are 2,000 coins each. You've rented 40 of these 80 camels for three years. I haven't paid a penny for fodder in those three years, so I'm making a profit on this price. Don't refuse."
Sui Yu laughed, "You still do business like this?"
"Yes, you've seen it." Song Xian waved her hand proudly. "Sister is not short of money now, so I won't make money from you. But you have to promise me one thing. When you don't leave the customs, you let your servants lead the caravan with me and help me control my servants. I know you have this intention, otherwise you wouldn't let Zhang Shun buy 200,000 coins worth of cloth."
Sui Yu admitted, "I did have this idea. Initially, I only allowed them to take 80,000 yuan worth of goods out of the customs as a trial."
"Is it this year? I'll bring Green Bud out in August."
"Okay." Sui Yu nodded, "But Liang Ge'er won't follow the caravan out of the customs."
"I know your brother has no ambition and is a homebody." Song Xian suddenly leaned in and whispered, "What do you think of my daughter Lu Ya'er? If Sui Liang is interested, I won't let Lu Ya'er marry into the family."
Sui Yu was stunned for a moment, then she reacted and shook her head, saying, "Brother Liang hasn't gotten the hang of it yet. You can't have failed to notice."
"Go back and get some fresh air."
Sui Yu refused. "I won't do this. It doesn't matter if he gets married or not, or if he gets married or not. It doesn't matter if he's twenty or thirty, as long as he's happy. If he gets married, I hope he marries a girl he likes."
"Then it depends on whether we are destined to be together." Song Xian didn't force it. Lu Ya'er was still young. She sighed, "With you doting on him, it's no wonder Sui Liang has grown up to be like this."
Sui Yu smiled complacently.
"By the way, this matter should not be mentioned to me or you. Let's not talk about the two children, lest they find out and feel uncomfortable when they see each other." Sui Yu instructed, "If you cause trouble, I will be angry."
"Okay, okay, I won't mess with your sweetheart."
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