Chapter 111 Facing a Choice
Sui Liang didn't know what was on Sui Yu's mind. After finishing the New Year's Eve dinner, he was eager to carry the torch out. When Datou and Erya passed by, he ran out to show them his big torch. He poured lard on it and the fire burned quickly and vigorously.
"Sui Yu, are you going to leave?" Sister Lamei called out.
Sui Yu responded, put on a rabbit fur hat, took a torch and walked out.
"Did you make this hat yourself or buy it?" asked Sister Lamei.
"I bought it. I met a vendor selling fur hats on the street." Sui Yusuo locked the door and walked towards the alley with a torch.
"Boss Sui, Happy New Year!" Qin Dashun shouted from the yard. He smiled and said, "May you make a fortune in the New Year."
"Happy New Year, and may everyone be prosperous." Sui Yu smiled. "Where's sister-in-law? Have you finished your meal? Let's go dance the Nuo dance together."
Mrs. Qin came out wiping her hands and said, "The dishes haven't been washed yet, you guys go first."
"Then we'll go first." Sui Yu and Sister Lamei continued walking.
When the people on both sides of the alley heard the noise, those who had nothing to do came out to say hello. The children carrying torches joined Sui Liang and Datou Erya's team, taking the lead and leading the way.
In previous years, Sui Yu's family had been intentionally or unintentionally excluded on New Year's Eve. Whether going out or returning from the city, others would hang out in groups of three or five, and would not bring Sui Yu along. This year, thanks to her kindness, a large group, led by Sui Yu, gathered, filling half the alley and marching out into the street.
The sound of drums echoed through the streets and alleys, and the flames stretched the shadows of people. Amidst the chanting and the dancing steps of the Nuo ritual, Sui Yu broke out in a sweat. She regretted wearing the fur hat she'd worn before going out. But as she ran out of the city, her head protected from the cold wind under the fur hat, and her pace quickened, overtaking the shivering people one after another. When she arrived at the fire pit, panting heavily, there were only a dozen or so people around her.
The torch that was about to burn out was thrown up, and the strong wind pulled the dancing flames. Behind him was the noisy laughter and the messy and brisk footsteps approached. Sui Yu looked at the falling torch and made a wish in time.
"Sister Yu, you ran too fast. I almost couldn't catch up with you." Sister Lamei came over breathlessly. She threw away the burnt torch and muttered, "Aren't you tired? You danced the Nuo dance and then competed with the men to run out of the city."
"I'm fine, not too tired." Sui Yu looked for Sui Liang in the crowd. Seeing him running with some children, she walked over and called out, "Brother Liang, we should go back."
"I'll be right there." Sui Liang responded and solemnly threw the re-lit torch into the fire pit.
When walking back, everyone's pace slowed down a lot. Some people made appointments to go to the tavern for a drink, some talked about the arrangements for visiting relatives and friends after the New Year, and a harmonious atmosphere was filled. No one knew what was hidden on the other side of the night.
After returning to the military village, Sui Yu refused the neighbors' invitation to warm themselves by the fire. She pulled Sui Liang into the house, but after everyone had gone home and the alley became deserted, she took Sui Liang out again.
Sui Liang finally realized that she was worried, and his excitement instantly dissipated. He asked anxiously: "Sister, where are we going? What's wrong with you?"
"Go to Uncle Lao Niu's house. I want to go back to Jiuquan tomorrow. You can go to Uncle Lao Niu's house for dinner during the day. If you don't want to sleep at his house at night, you can go sleep with Datou." Sui Yu said slowly.
Sui Liang exclaimed, "Ah!" He was unwilling from the bottom of his heart and said unhappily, "Can't I go?"
"It's too cold on the road. On the other hand, I feel more at ease with you at home. We have pigs, sheep, camels and a dozen chickens at home. It's more reassuring to leave them to you than to anyone else." After turning into Shiqitun, Sui Yu said nothing more.
There were two "bang bang" sounds, and Sui Yu called out to the door softly: "Auntie, it's me, Sui Yu."
When Tong Huaer heard her voice, her legs went weak and she would have fallen to the ground if Uncle Lao Niu hadn't helped her.
"What did you do? You're so scared." Uncle Niu's face fell. He walked over to open the door and asked in a gruff voice, "Why are you here at this hour?"
"I need your help with something." Sui Yu pulled Sui Liang into the yard and chatted, "Didn't you go to the Nuo dance?"
"It's freezing cold, let's stay home and warm ourselves by the fire." Uncle Niu followed him under the eaves and asked, "What do you want to talk about? You almost scared your aunt to death when you came here."
Sui Yu glanced at Tong Huaer and said with a smile, "Why are you scared by me? It's not a bad thing for me to come here."
Tong Huaer came back to life after hearing this, like a dead tree sprouting new leaves. She became energetic and her face turned red. Her legs and feet were still shaking, but she was no longer panicked.
"Come in and sit down. It's warmer inside," she invited.
"I'm not going in. I'm leaving as I say. The thing is, I want to go back to my hometown in Jiuquan tomorrow. I'd like you to help feed the pigs, sheep, camels, and chickens at home for a few days. And Liang Ge'er, he'll bring his own food and eat with you these days." Sui Yu revealed his purpose. "I'll be back by the fifteenth day of the first lunar month at the latest, and I'll be gone for half a month at most."
"Why do you suddenly want to go back to your in-laws' house?" Uncle Lao Niu wondered.
Sui Yu smiled and said, "I want to wish my parents-in-law a happy new year."
Uncle Niu was a little skeptical, "Why didn't you follow Zhao Xiping back home?"
"I didn't want to go then, but now I do. I've been married for three years and haven't even visited my in-laws once. The more I think about it, the more I feel unwilling to go." Sui Yu lied, "I'm going back tomorrow and will come back with Zhao Xiping."
Uncle Lao Niu didn't want to explore the matter, so he just took what she said as the truth.
"It's unsafe for a woman like you to travel so far away in such a cold weather with no one on the road?" Tong Huaer worried. "Why don't you just not go? It won't be a big deal to go during the Chinese New Year next year."
"There are relatives visiting on the way, and I have a camel to ride and I can shoot arrows, so nothing will happen." Sui Yu insisted. She held Sui Liang's head and said, "When I'm not at home, please take care of him. He knows where to put the things to feed the livestock."
Sui Liang did not resist, which was considered as agreeing with her.
Uncle Lao Niu and Tong Huaer didn't say anything else.
"Then I'll go back. I'll leave early tomorrow morning and won't come here again." Sui Yu said.
Tong Hua nodded. When she sent Sui Yu out, she suddenly asked, "Did something happen?"
"No, everything is fine, don't think too much." Sui Yu stepped out of the door and walked back holding Sui Liang's hand.
This time she kept her mouth shut, not telling anyone the real reason for leaving home, not even Sui Liang. Later, when Tong Huaer asked about it, Sui Liang was clueless. The neighbors in the alley just assumed Sui Yu missed Zhao Xiping and had come all the way back to her in-laws' house to look for him.
Sui Yu led a camel out of the city alone. She carried a bow and arrow, wore a wolfskin, a fur hat, and wrapped her face with a cloth. She followed the group that was leaving the city to visit relatives and walked eastward.
Zhao Xiping and Zhao Xiaomi rode two big camels a few years ago. This time, Sui Yu was traveling on a one-and-a-half-year-old camel. This was the first time that one person and one camel were going on a long journey, and they were afraid that the camel would be tired. After running for most of the hour, Sui Yu got off and led the camel for a walk. She stretched her frozen legs and feet, and the camel chewed some dry grass and rested.
The city walls of Dunhuang have long been blurred. The further east you go, the fewer people there are in the wilderness. In the vast desert, strange-shaped mounds and stones stand on the lifeless land.
After the camel had rested, Sui Yu patted it, and it bent its four hooves and knelt on the ground skillfully.
Sui Yu took out a cloth bag from his arms and unfolded it. The camel stretched its neck to lick the salt, and after people got on its back, it stood up and ran.
After stopping and starting several times, Sui Yu led her camel into a nearby village in the evening to stay overnight. She had spent the day freezing on the camel's back, and wearing a thick fur hat and a bloated figure, she looked utterly miserable. Only when she spoke could one tell she was a woman. Furthermore, because of the worn bow and arrows she carried, no one in the village had any intention of harming her because she was a lone woman.
Sui Yu slept with a worried look on his face all night. The next morning, he paid the rent and left with his camel.
After walking for six days, Sui Yu arrived in Jiuquan on a camel. Following the direction she remembered, she turned outside the city, asked for directions along the way, and arrived at Zhao Xiping's hometown in the evening of the sixth day of the first lunar month.
The Zhao family was frying rice, preparing dry food for Zhao Xiping and Zhao Xiaomi before they left home. The aroma of rice filled the yard, and five children gathered outside the kitchen, craning their necks to eat the fragrant fried rice.
"Mom, please bring me two jars of pickled cabbage you made." Zhao Xiping walked out of the house and was about to enter the woodshed when he heard the sound of hooves outside the wall.
Sui Yu quickened her pace when she heard his voice outside. It seemed that she was not mistaken, this was the house.
The gate was open, and Sui Yu walked straight in, leading her camel. Seeing the man standing in the yard, her eyes curved and she said, "Guests are coming. Come and greet them."
Zhao Xiping's eyes widened in shock. He stared at the tightly wrapped person and looked at him over and over again.
The camel that came in called out to him, and Zhao Xiping then shifted his gaze to look at the camel. Recognizing it as his own camel, he strode over, took two steps, then broke into a run and hugged the person.
"Aren't you worried about picking up the wrong wife?" Sui Yu laughed.
Zhao Xiping patted her, then walked out and looked outside. "Did you come here alone?"
"Well, Liang Ge'er is at home and didn't come over."
"Who's here?" Zhao's mother came out from the side room.
Sui Yu took off his fur hat and said with a smile, "Mom, your third daughter-in-law is back."
Zhao Xiping led the camel into the pen, walked over and pulled her towards the kitchen, saying, "Come in and warm yourself by the fire. What brought you here? You must be freezing. We're planning to go back tomorrow."
Now all the family members rushed into the kitchen. Mrs. Zhao used the hot water on the stove to make a bowl of fried rice and handed it over. In the light of the fire, she looked at Sui Yu a few more times. Her sister-in-law was not lying. Her third brother's wife was pretty. No wonder the third brother was so devoted to her.
"You didn't come back before the New Year, why are you back now?" asked Zhao's mother.
"I was bored at home, so I came out for a walk." Sui Yu looked at the others while holding the bowl and said, "I came here on impulse. Please don't be offended, Dad, Mom, Brother, and Sister-in-law."
Zhao Xiping didn't believe it and asked, "Isn't there something wrong at home?"
"Everything is fine at home." Sui Yu shook her head. "Don't you welcome me back?"
What would other people say about this? Zhao Xiaomi said, "No, I won't. Everyone in the family misses you. Mom and Dad have already praised you to bits outside. Go out and ask tomorrow and see who doesn't know that I have a pretty and capable sister-in-law."
Mother Zhao coughed, pinched the girl quietly, and said vaguely, "Come back if you want to. You're from the old house. Go catch a chicken and stew it in the evening."
"I just like eating chicken, thank you, mom." Sui Yu smiled sweetly.
Mother Zhao looked at her face and could not say anything unpleasant. Thinking that they had been freed from slavery and that the third brother's family was living a better life, she no longer cared about the past. She forced a smile and turned to leave.
Mrs. Zhao went out to catch chickens and took the five children away. Father Zhao and the eldest and second brothers Zhao also followed her out, and the crowded kitchen suddenly became spacious.
Zhao Xiaomi wanted to say something, but Zhao Ersao pulled her out. Now only Zhao Xiping and Sui Yu were left in the kitchen.
Sui Yu took a sip of the soaked fried rice, but it didn't taste good. She handed it to the man and said, "Drink it for me."
"Not hungry?"
"I'm hungry, but I'm waiting to drink chicken soup." Sui Yu looked outside, took off her shoes and warmed her feet on the stove.
Zhao Xiping put down the bowl, went over to close the stove door, squatted down and took off Sui Yu's socks. The soles of her feet and legs were cold, and her toes were red and swollen from the cold. The frostbite had come back again.
"What are you doing? I rubbed and applied it to your skin every time it got cold, taking good care of you all winter. You didn't get frostbite this year, did you? As soon as I left, you got it like this again." Zhao Xiping looked at her with a stern face, "What are you doing here? Don't talk nonsense to me."
"I came to see if you have another wife in your hometown." Sui Yu said frivolously.
The man exerted force with his hands and slapped her on the back of her foot.
Sui Yu grimaced in pain, and she twisted her hand away, "It hurts so much."
"You're not afraid of freezing to death, but you're afraid of dying in pain?" Zhao Xiping glared at her. He picked up one foot and stuffed it on his stomach, then covered the other foot with his hand and rubbed it for her.
Sui Yu broke free and said, "Forget it, someone will come in later."
Zhao Xiping thought so too. He put socks on her feet and put on her shoes. Seeing that the water in the pot was smoking, he opened the door and went out to get a basin. He said, "Soak your feet and cover them up while you sit on the bed. It's New Year's Day. Don't catch a cold again."
After he said this, although Zhao's mother was puzzled, she didn't say anything in the end.
After entering the room and closing the door, Zhao Xiping had no intention of leaving. He asked Sui Yu to take off her pants and stand in the basin to rub her legs with hot water. Only when her legs and feet were warm would her body feel less cold.
"Can you tell me now? What are you doing here?" he asked again.
Sui Yu no longer concealed anything. She told him everything she had discovered before the New Year. "Transporting food and fodder during the dry season, I estimate that war will break out before the spring, and it is possible that we will have to march before the first month of the year."
Zhao Xiping twirled his fingers, recalling his trip to Wusun last year. He didn't know the specific details, but from what he vaguely heard, it should be related to the Xiongnu. If a war was to be launched, it would most likely be another war with the Xiongnu.
Unable to suppress his emotion, he sighed, it had only been a few years of peace, and now things were going to be in chaos again.
"I'll be back soon. You shouldn't have come. War is war. We're just soldiers following orders. It's the Emperor's business to decide when to start the war." Returning to the present, Zhao Xiping took a foot towel and wiped the water off her legs, saying, "Did you bring camel oil? Let me rub it on for you."
Sui Yu wanted to say something but stopped herself. The thoughts in her mind were too selfish and she couldn't say them out loud.
The night darkened and an oil lamp was lit in the room. Sui Yu lay on the bed, warming herself up. Listening to the voices of the young and old outside, she sat up and put on her clothes.
"Third sister-in-law, the chicken is ready." Zhao Xiaomi ran over and knocked on the door.
"Okay, I'm up." Sui Yu responded.
Zhao Xiping went out to get her straw sandals and saw several nephews and nieces chasing each other with sticks in the yard. He couldn't help but think of the upcoming war. At this moment, he suddenly understood the purpose of Sui Yu's hurried visit.
If he had to leave suddenly due to family matters and missed the day the army set out, he would not have to fight to the death on the battlefield.
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