Chapter 273 The Spokesperson

Chapter 273 The Spokesperson

After walking in the desert for four days, as the sun set in the west, a city appeared in sight.

"This is Jade Gate Pass," said Song Xian.

Lvya'er let out a heavy sigh. She looked back, where the winding caravan ended in endless yellow sand. The desert was about to be engulfed by the night, and the traces left by the camel team were quickly covered by the wind and sand. The familiar city was nowhere to be seen.

Before it got completely dark, the caravan entered the city gate. Sui Yu, wrapped in a bulky wolfskin robe, dismounted from her camel. After landing, she stood still for a few moments, waiting for the stiffness in her legs to slowly fade away. Then she took out the "travel permit" and household registration contract and went with the bondservants carrying the money box for verification.

"Caravan going out of the pass?" asked the city guard. "So early?"

Sui Yu responded, "We plan to go to Ferghana and want to return before winter, so we have to set off early."

"That's quite a tight schedule," said the city guard, handing over the "travel permit." He then took the household registration and slave contracts to count the number of people, while another person took the commercial goods registration document to check the goods to be taken out of the pass.

Song Xian walked over with Lvya'er and handed over various documents and slave contracts, saying, "The checks are quite strict this year when going out of the pass."

The city guard nodded without explanation.

After the caravan's people, camels, and goods were all counted, Sui Yu and Song Xian settled the city entry tolls and exit tolls. The two of them led the caravan into the city first.

By now, it was completely dark. Only a few people were walking on the roads inside the city. Stray dogs with their tails tucked were searching for food in the streets and alleys, while stray cats stood on the walls, meowing repeatedly.

The sound of camel bells reverberated through the alleys. At the sound, the stray cats and dogs scattered before anyone could approach.

"Owners, need a place to stay overnight? How many people? We have rooms available," said an old man holding an oil-burning lamp as he opened the door.

"Thank you, but we have a familiar place to stay," Sui Yu declined. "You can rest, old man."

"It's late, everyone is asleep. You should stay here to avoid the hassle," the old man insisted, stepping out.

Sui Yu ignored him and turned a corner at the end of the alley, arriving at the place they had stayed in previous years.

The host hurriedly opened the door and recognized Sui Yu's voice immediately. "It's you! It's been two years. Come in, the rooms are clean. We changed the new straw mats after the Lunar New Year, and no one has slept on them yet."

Lvya'er followed behind and entered the house. She looked around but didn't find anything special about the courtyard.

"There's water in the storage vat. It's from the snow piled up before the Lunar New Year. The snow melted and filled two vats. It's clean," said the aunt, rubbing her hands. "There's also firewood in the hearth kitchen. You can use it first. We'll settle the money tomorrow morning. It's freezing tonight, so I'll be heading back now."

Sui Yu agreed.

After the woman left, Lvya'er asked, "Mother, why do we have to stay here?"

"This woman takes care of a widowed mother-in-law and a sick husband. Life is hard for her. By staying here, she can earn some extra income," Song Xian explained.

A small courtyard with three rooms couldn't accommodate the entire camel team. Zhang Shun led the team to unload the bolts of fabric and fodder first. The bolts of fabric were stacked in the courtyard and covered with oilcloth. They then took the camels and tents and left, planning to spend the night by the riverbank in the south of the city.

Xiao Chunhong led the bondservants inside to prepare the sleeping area for the night, while Sui Yu and Song Xian took over the cooking.

"Tomorrow, we'll buy a few chickens and stew two pots. You can have more then," Sui Yu said to Lvya'er. "How do you feel? Can you still hold on?"

"What if I can't?" Lvya'er muttered.

"If you can't hold on, we'll have your mother buy more live chickens to take on the road. We'll stew one every couple of days to nourish you," Sui Yu said.

Song Xian nodded and said, "I'll arrange for someone to buy them when we leave."

Xiao Chunhong came out of the house and said, "Master, the rooms are prepared. I'll get the fire going now."

"The water is boiling, go wash your hands and throw a box of dried noodles into the pot to cook." Sui Yu didn't want to move; it was so comfortable to warm up by the fire.

It was late at night, and dinner was simple. Sixty-three people shared two pots of soup noodles, accompanied by the meat sauce brought by Song Xian. Mixing the meat sauce with the soup noodles, a bowl of noodles warmed half the body. Then, grabbing two handfuls of fried flour to make a bowl of oil tea, with the oil tea padding the stomach, everyone felt full and warm. Except for those on night watch and guarding the camels, the rest went back to sleep.

Lvya'er didn't expect that even in the city, there would be no beds to sleep on, still sleeping on the ground with straw mats. Except for the space being larger, it was almost no different from sleeping in a tent in the wild. She let out a frustrated sigh.

The caravan was to stay at Jade Gate Pass for a day, not in a hurry to move on. After dawn, Sui Yu was not in a rush to get up, calling Xiao Chunhong to bring a bowl of oil tea and a boiled egg. After eating, she lay down again.

"Take some money and go to the street to buy forty pounds of pork, with a mix of fat and lean. Also, see if there's any leek for sale. If not, buy radishes. Bring them back to make dumplings and buns, steam them, and take them on the road to eat," Sui Yu instructed.

Xiao Chunhong agreed.

Sui Yu yawned, pulled up the quilt to cover her face, and went back to sleep.

When she woke up again, Sui Yu heard the sound of water; it was Song Xian and Lvya'er washing themselves behind closed doors.

"What time is it?" she asked.

Lvya'er screamed in surprise, hurriedly pulling up her pants.

Sui Yu laughed and shrank back into the quilt, saying, "I'm not looking, take your time washing."

"The young girl is shy," Song Xian explained with a smile, "Hurry up and wash, your aunt isn't looking. You're only particular now; by the time we return from Ferghana, I bet you'll be able to bathe with us in the courtyard."

Lvya'er pouted and muttered softly, "I won't."

"We'll see about that," Song Xian said, scrubbing a towel to help her wash, "When I first went out of the pass, I was just like you. But the journey was too harsh, and there were no conditions to be particular. Naturally, I got used to bathing naked with the female servants in the courtyard, scrubbing each other's backs."

"Why not inside the house?" Lvya'er frowned, not hiding her disgust and rejection.

"If the floor inside gets wet, how can we sleep?"

"Elder Sister Song, don't say anymore, or Lvya'er might run back home tonight," Sui Yu teased.

Lvya'er let out a heavy sigh and went quiet.

After they finished washing, Sui Yu lifted the wolfskin quilt and stood up. She had been wearing wool and camel hair-filled pants and jacket while sleeping, stuffed thickly, but it was still cold when she suddenly lifted the quilt. She quickly put on the sheepskin coat and pants.

The sun was out, and the servants took out the quilts they had slept under to air. Sui Yu also carried the wolfskin quilt out and draped it over the pile of fabrics to dry.

"Yu sister," Song Xian called, pointing to the hot water she was holding.

Sui Yu followed her into the house, carefully washing her face and neck, then taking off her pants to wash her lower body. The underpants she changed out of were scrubbed clean with hot water, rinsed, and then hung outside to dry without any shyness.

Lvya'er hesitated and hesitated but still didn't bring out the underpants drying inside the house.

In the open space of the courtyard, Gan Da and Gan Er were kneading dough, Xiao Xi and Sancao took turns chopping meat filling, Liu Ya'er and other female servants were cutting radish cubes. Sui Yu glanced around and asked, "Did Xiao Chunhong go to buy hens?"

"Yes," Liu Ya'er nodded, "This morning, the aunt next door came over, and Xiao Chunhong settled the room and firewood money, and also recorded the accounts."

Xiao Chunhong and Liu Ya'er had studied at school for three months, learning most of the common numbers. Although their writing was a bit off, they had no problem keeping accounts. Sui Yu could understand, so she let them handle the money and accounts themselves.

Just as they were talking, Xiao Chunhong returned with two household servants from the Song family, each carrying two baskets filled with live hens.

"We bought forty hens, Master Song. I took the liberty to buy thirty for you, and we bought ten for ourselves. When we left home, we brought a hundred dried hens, enough to last us a month or two," Xiao Chunhong reported fluently.

Song Xian looked at Sui Yu and said, "Your little housekeeper is quite capable. With her around, you'll save a lot of worry."

Sui Yu nodded in agreement, "Xiao Chunhong is quite capable."

"It's mainly because the master taught well," Xiao Chunhong flattered, "I learned everything from the master."

"Enough flattery, go kill the chickens, pluck the feathers, and start the fire to stew them early," Sui Yu said.

Once the dough was kneaded, Liu Ya'er took over the task of rolling it out, while Xiao Xi was busy stir-frying the meat and radishes.

Song Xian took Lvya'er to see the scenery of Jade Gate Pass. Sui Yu went out for a stroll but found nothing interesting, so she went next door to borrow a rolling pin from the auntie, then sat down inside to roll out the dough and make dumplings.

When the chicken was stewing, the steamer was placed on top with meat buns to steam together, leaving one person to tend the fire while the others washed their hands and gathered to pinch the dumplings.

By the time Song Xian returned with Lvya'er, two steamers of buns were already cooked. Sui Yu let Gan Da and Gan Er eat first, as they would later go to watch the camel herd, allowing those who had kept watch the previous night to come back and eat.

By the time the two pots of chicken were done stewing, it was already past noon. Gan Da and Gan Er each had a bowl of soup with meat, then drank a pouch of hot water before immediately heading out to relieve the night watchmen.

Sui Yu scooped a bowl of chicken soup and some chicken meat, sitting in the sun to eat. At home, she ate meat every meal, but on the road, she hadn't touched fresh meat for four days, and she was indeed craving it.

Lvya'er was eating well when she suddenly started wiping tears, choking up as she said, "The chicken at Jade Gate Pass is so fragrant, it's the best chicken I've ever eaten."

No one bought it; she wasn't crying because the chicken was delicious, but because of the hardship. This girl had never known hardship since birth, and this time she had faced a real challenge.

Song Xian remained silent for a moment, then turned her head away, hardening her heart to avoid softening.

After the meal, Lvya'er pulled herself together and joined the group to learn how to make dumplings.

"Once we're past Jade Gate Pass, there's no going back," Sui Yu said softly.

Song Xian shook her head, "No turning back. If we let her go back this time, she'll be even more reluctant to come out in the future."

Seeing her determination, Sui Yu said, "Then shall we leave Jade Gate Pass early tomorrow morning?"

"Yes," Song Xian nodded.

For the rest of the afternoon, Xiao Chunhong led the female servants to steam five boxes of dumplings, while the remaining filling was used to make buns. In the evening, they cooked two pots of porridge, with one bun per person, solving dinner.

The next morning, the servants drove the well-fed camels back to load up the fabrics, fodder, and dry rations before leaving the rented place.

At the agreed time, the three merchant caravans met outside the city gate and entered the desert against the chilly wind.

"Jade Merchant, are you familiar with the conditions in the Gobi Desert?" Along the way, the leader of the Xu merchant caravan caught up with Sui Yu and said, "This year we are the earliest to leave the pass, and there are no traces in the Gobi Desert. To get out, we can only rely on skill and luck."

"Aren't you familiar, Xu Dajia?" Sui Yu asked, "It's fine, with so many of us, including escorts and camels, we can get out. To put it bluntly, even if we get lost, we have enough water and food to keep walking in one direction, and we'll eventually get out."

"That's true," Xu Dajia didn't argue, "I just wanted to ask about the situation. If you have a strong sense of direction, once we enter the Gobi Desert, we'll follow you, to avoid having no leader and causing disputes among the three caravans, which could harm our harmony."

Sui Yu exchanged a glance with Song Xian. This was about deciding who would be the leader and have the authority. If she agreed today, she would decide when to stop, when to rest, and which trade route to take after leaving the Gobi Desert. Conversely, if she couldn't take on this responsibility, their caravan would follow the opinions of the other two caravans on the trade route.

After thinking for a while, Sui Yu said, "Alright, I'll take the lead. Once we enter the Gobi Desert, you follow me. If I lead us in the wrong direction, you can blame me."

"That's too serious," Xu Dajia chuckled, "But we trust Jade Merchant. You have good luck, which is suitable for leading in the Gobi Desert."

"Is there such a saying?" Sui Yu was surprised.

Xu Dajia nodded, "In that spooky place, luck is your best bet."