Chapter 8
Han Yunkai took Yueming to the elephant kennel to watch a baby elephant, not even a month old, bathe. A large wooden tub was filled with water, and the baby elephant happily stepped into it, hopping into it with all four hooves raised. Once inside, it sat down, unconcerned with the overflowing water, and rolled around in the tub, splashing its bathwater everywhere. A mother elephant was bathing nearby, slurping up water with her trunk and spraying it on her head. She paid no attention to the baby elephant's frolicking, only occasionally turning to check on him.
When Yueming saw the little elephant's feet sticking out of the basin and its trunk swinging back and forth, her heart softened. She held her excitedly red face in her hands and stared blankly at the little elephant having fun in the bathtub.
I really want it, what should I do? Is it expensive? Will my dad buy it for me?
Yunkai smiled at Yueming's reaction. Kids like this! He patted Yueming's shoulder and asked, "Do you want to play with it?"
Yueming jumped for joy: "How do we play? Should we feed it? The book says it loves bananas, so should we feed it bananas?"
Yunkai felt that the child was extremely excited.
"It's still small and can only drink milk. You need to feed it bananas and then feed the chief. You can touch this little one or give it a bath."
Yueming was of course willing. She rolled up her sleeves and said to Hanyun, "Please give me some soap and a towel!"
Rare clouds clear...
Feng Xiaosai couldn't help himself any longer and retreated to the corner, covering his mouth and laughing heartily. To bathe an elephant, one needs to use scented soap. How much scented soap would it take to bathe an elephant?
Han Yunkai suppressed his laughter with great difficulty, coughed and said, "No need for that. Just use a ladle to scoop water and water it, and it will be very happy."
Knowing he had made a fool of himself, he blushed and lowered his rolled-up sleeves. The elephant slave carried a bucket of water in a wooden bucket and placed it next to the baby elephant's bathtub. A gourd ladle floated on the water.
When the time came, Yueming was a little hesitant. The little elephant was cute, but what if it kicked her?
He glanced hesitantly at Yun Kai, who encouraged him, "Go ahead, it's okay."
It is easy to be convinced by what good-looking people say, especially when they speak sincerely and the people around them all look at her with encouraging smiles. Yueming bravely walked to the bathtub.
When I got closer, I found that the baby elephant had fine hair on its head, its trunk was raised and its forehead was wrinkled, making it look like a little old lady. Yueming thought it was even cuter.
She bit her lip to suppress her excitement, scooped a bucket of water from the bucket and raised it to the baby elephant's head, ready to give it a loving bath to deepen their relationship. Suddenly, a stream of water fell from the sky and soaked her like a rainstorm.
It turned out that the mother elephant who was bathing nearby saw Yueming holding a ladle towards the baby elephant and thought the baby elephant was going to be attacked, so she sucked up a nose of water and touched Yueming.
Yueming was soaked through and through, water dripping from her hair and clothes. She kept holding the ladle and didn't dare to move.
Yunkai was also stunned by this sudden situation. Yanwang, experienced and experienced, quickly ordered the elephant slaves to pull the mother elephant and the baby elephant down. He wanted to go forward and help Yueming down, but he didn't dare. He hesitated and said to Han Yunkai, "Second Young Master...this Miss Lan..."
Yun Kai woke up as if from a dream. He stepped forward and took the ladle from Yue Ming's hand. He held her arm and helped her walk out. He asked worriedly, "Are you okay? Is everything okay?"
Yueming was so frightened that tears welled up in her eyes, but she calmed down when she saw Yun Kaixin. She sniffed and held back her tears, saying, "I'm fine."
Seeing that she was not frightened silly, Yun Kai breathed a sigh of relief and comforted her: "Don't be afraid, it's just playing a joke on you, it doesn't mean to hurt you."
Yueming wanted to say nonchalantly, "It's okay." But she felt wronged. She'd happily watched a sand-building show and was about to go eat with her senior brother on the street. But he insisted on forcing her to eat at a chieftain's house and see elephants. As a result, a young girl was sprayed with water in public, completely humiliating. And the water had come from the elephant's trunk, possibly even containing snot. The thought of herself covered in snot was unbearable, and Yueming burst into tears.
Han Yunkai looked palely at Yueming, who was crying loudly in front of him without caring about her image. He felt that history was surprisingly similar. He made her cry again when they first met. The only thing to be thankful for was that he was already so old, and his father should not beat him again, right?
In the Tusi Mansion, Lan Yingde, Han Tusi and Han Liyang discussed last year's harvest and plans.
Lan Yingde said, "I sent a telegram to Charles from Kunming. He's very interested in our goods. I decided to go to Lashio before the rainy season comes to clear out the goods. I'll be back in time for the tobacco harvest."
Last year, Lan Yingde took his goods to Honghe and sold them to the French in Vietnam for a very good price. Now he abandoned the French and went to Burma to find the British, which means that the British offered a higher price.
Han Tusi asked, "What price did the British offer?"
Lan Yingde smiled and said, "The British don't give us money."
Han Tusi and Han Liyang looked at each other suspiciously. Han Liyang was younger after all and not as patient as Han Tusi. He frowned and asked, "What do you mean by not paying? They want it for free."
Chief Han told him to shut up and signaled Lan Yingde to continue.
Lan Yingde straightened his gown and said, "Charles agreed to trade the gun for Western medicine. I've already contacted my old friend in Tengchong, and he's agreed to buy all the Western medicine." He pointed three fingers at the father and son, "That's three times more than if we'd just sold the goods."
Upon hearing this figure, Han Tusi and Han Liyang were ecstatic. Han Tusi clapped his hands on the armrest of his chair and said, "Well done! Not only did you make money, but you also got guns and ammunition. This is a long-term plan! I was right about you, Yingde. You want an official position and land?"
Lan Yingde said modestly, "I am deeply grateful to the chieftain for giving me a place in Yunxiang. This is just a small thing and I don't deserve your reward."
Chief Han waved his hand and said, "Don't be so modest. You Han people just love to play these empty tricks. Our Prime Minister Yun believes that meritorious service must be rewarded. It is only right that you be officially granted the title of Lang Ye for your contributions."
Lan Yingde was no longer surprised that a chieftain who had read the Four Books and Five Classics of the Han people spoke like a mountain king.
"That's not necessary, Mr. Lang. After all, I'm a Han Chinese and that doesn't conform to the rules. But right now, I do have two difficult matters that I need your assistance with."
Han Tusi liked to chew betel nut when he was unhappy, and he would chew betel nut even more when he was happy. He took out tobacco from the lime box he carried with him and wrapped the betel nut and green seeds with it. He then used a small silver spoon to scoop some lime and added it, then put it in his mouth and started chewing.
He looked delighted and intoxicated. He said to Lan Yingde, "If you have anything to say, just ask."
"The first one is the reclamation of wasteland in Maliba. Last year, the harvest was good, so I had people reclaim dozens of acres of wasteland and plant medicinal herbs. This year, I wanted to have people reclaim another hundred acres, but I really don't have enough manpower."
Tusi Han laughed and said, "What kind of difficulty is this? Let Tao Da go to each village to recruit people. Can't a few diggers find such a great prime minister? Let them all go up the mountain."
"It's not difficult to recruit people, but I'm worried that all the laborers will go up the mountain to open up wasteland and plant tobacco, which will delay farming."
Han Liyang interrupted, "What's the point of earning so little from the farm? If you have money, just go buy something else."
Upon hearing this, Han Tusi frowned almost inaudibly, but he said nothing.
Lan Yingde said, "Young Master, you are wrong. In ancient times, the key to fighting a war was to have food and fodder before the troops moved. Food and fodder are the lifeblood of war. It would be inappropriate to hand this lifeblood over to outsiders!"
Han Liyang disagreed. In today's world of chaos and war, guns and money are the foundation of life. He was about to retort when Han Tusi coughed and interrupted him.
After coughing, Han Tusi reached out to take the teacup on the table and spit the betel nut in his mouth into the teacup. Seeing this, the attendant quickly took it and gave him another cup of tea.
He skimmed the tea foam with the lid and asked Lan Yingde, "What do you think?"
Lan Yingde said, "Let the able-bodied men from each village take turns coming, visiting one village every three days. This way, neither reclamation nor farm work will be delayed."
Han Tusi put the tea back on the table and said, "Okay, I'll do as you say. What's the second thing?"
Speaking of the second matter, Lan Yingde felt a little embarrassed: "Changsheng and I will be away for at least three or four months. I really can't rest assured leaving my daughter alone at home. I hope you can find a proper place for her to stay."
The chieftain said happily, "I don't think it's a big deal. Let her live in the mansion. There's no better place than here."
This is what Lan Yingde had asked for. He bowed to the Han Tusi and said, "Then Yingde would like to thank the Tusi for taking care of my daughter."
The chieftain was just about to say something like, "Don't worry, the child will never lack a hair of her own while she stays with me."
Tao Da walked in hurriedly and whispered a few words to the chieftain, who was then filled with anger.
Lan Yingde wondered what had caused Han Tusi to have such an expression.
After Tao Da left, Tusi Han gave Lan Yingde a few dry laughs, his expression awkward, and his words unusually polite: "Yingde, go to the backyard to check on your daughter! I'm afraid she's caught a cold."
Caught a cold? In this weather where he was sweating even in a single shirt? Lan Yingde didn't believe it.
The chieftain looked at Lan Yingde's puzzled expression and smiled bitterly, "My son took her to play in the water."
Lan Yingde frowned. Is it Han Yunkai again?
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