Chapter 142: The Three, Six, and Nine Ranks
There were three matches in the afternoon, and it was still early, so everyone left the stadium to eat lunch.
Jin Sui saw Yan Jiu looking in her direction from afar and quickly turned to talk to Han Xing and the other team members, pretending not to notice Yan Jiu’s gaze.
Hei Hu, on the other hand, kept chuckling and gave Yan Shiyi a thumbs-down gesture. Yan Shiyi was furious but couldn’t think of a way to anger Hei Hu.
He waved and called out to Baozhu, “Lead my horse for me.”
Baozhu looked confused. There were stable hands for leading horses, so why was she being asked to do it?
But she obediently led the horse and then saw Yan Shiyi grinning at Hei Hu. Indeed, Hei Hu’s face turned red with anger.
When Miss Yan discovered this, she ran over, wanting to hit her second brother in public. She pulled Baozhu aside and said, “This is my maidservant. You can use your own attendant!”
Jin Sui patted Hei Hu’s shoulder, “The prize money for this match is enough for you to get married. Hurry up and marry Miss Bai.”
Hei Hu grunted, his gaze fixed on Baozhu’s retreating back.
Until Miss Yan said something to Baozhu, and the round-faced little girl happily skipped over to wait by the Black Feather Team.
Jin Sui chuckled and kicked Hei Hu’s calf, “Hurry up and go! Stop pretending here!”
Hei Hu was overjoyed. He took off his hat and handed it to Hao Duojin behind him. Hao Duojin, not being tall enough, wasn’t selected for the polo team and was assisting Hei Hu.
He happily said, “I’m leaving first. I’ll score more goals in the next match!”
He mounted his horse and, as he passed Baozhu, scooped her onto the horse’s back, causing Baozhu to laugh in surprise.
The guests who hadn’t left yet saw this scene and didn’t feel it was indecent in any way. Heroes on the polo field seemed to be admired no matter what they did.
In today’s preliminary match, Hei Hu scored a full five goals!
Jin Sui and Gu Changxiao led the Black Feather Team off the field. Grandpa Ling and Jin An stayed behind because Grandpa Ling recognized some of the refugees who were cleaning the stadium and wanted to chat with them.
Then Grandpa Ling noticed that perhaps because the match was so intense, many people were engrossed and hadn’t finished their snacks and dim sum.
Even when these cleaning workers saw half-eaten mung bean cakes, they carefully wrapped them up and tucked them into their chests.
Anyone who found a whole piece of dim sum would beam with joy. Bringing this home for their children would make them happy all night. The children had never eaten such sweet dim sum before.
After finishing the food meant for people, they would carefully sweep up the crumbs to feed their chickens at home!
This was why it took so long to clean up after every match.
The pastries and snacks casually discarded by the gentry youths were precious items to the cleaning workers.
Seeing this, Grandpa Ling felt a mix of joy and sorrow, a very uncomfortable feeling.
He couldn’t help but laugh and curse himself, “Old Taoist, old Taoist, you’re an old man, how can your blood still be so hot? There are so many unfortunate people in the world, how many can you help?”
Your son and daughter-in-law died so tragically, your grandson is still young, and your granddaughter is entangled in such a major affair with an uncertain future. How can you still have the leisure to pity others?
Some refugees who knew Grandpa Ling saw the old Taoist priest staring at them and felt embarrassed. Grandpa Ling quickly smiled and said:
“It’s alright, it’s alright. When I was in the countryside and we had the ‘qiang pao liang’ ceremony, half of my steamed buns fell into the mud, but I still picked them up and ate them.”
Qiang pao liang!
A distant and familiar term. That’s right, when a new house was built in the countryside, on the day the main beam was installed, the host would prepare red-dyed steamed buns and dim sum, even mixed with a dozen copper coins.
These would be sprinkled from the roof beam for the villagers watching to scramble for. It was the biggest prize for building a new house. During the farming off-season, if people knew a house in a village ten miles around was having its beam installed, children would agree to walk a long way just to scramble for some snacks.
As for them, the refugees, no one had built a new house for many, many years. They either lived in caves, or built simple shelters from wood and stones, or lived in dugouts.
Qiang pao liang could only be told as a story to the children. The refugees who had obtained household registration in the border city, filled with pride, laughed and said:
“The Prince has allocated housing plots for our family. When our house is completed, we will definitely invite the Taoist priest for a simple drink.”
Grandpa Ling stroked his beard and smiled, “That’s great! The old Taoist will bring a customary gift to congratulate you.”
After a polo match, the gentry families were discussing winning the championship and being recorded in the border city’s annals. The young masters were discussing the match strategies and which team they supported.
Which fine horse was most suitable for the match? How much to bet? Which player played the best, and which pose was the most heroic?
The noble ladies were discussing which player was handsome, how good the team uniforms were, how excited they were during the match… and where to go for lunch afterward.
What dim sum to bring to the next match? What to buy at the market later? Whose perfume smelled good, whose jewelry was exquisite, whose clothes were eye-catching…
Ordinary people discussed the exciting morning match, rejoicing if they bet on the Black Feather Team to win, and dejected if they bet on the Zhou Family to win, starting to speculate which match would win in the afternoon.
Merchants were discussing what goods to import more of. What collaborations could be signed with the border city’s trade zone?
Things like team uniforms, saddles, hats, masks, etc., could all be collaborated on. They believed that soon, the noble young masters in Chang’an would also wear them.
All the recruited workers became busy, preparing horse feed, hauling horse manure out of the city, leveling the stadium, and sending large pots of food to the workers’ camp…
And the very bottom of the bottom, the newly registered refugees, were happy to have found this job, to have found a whole piece of dim sum…
A polo match, in its own way, depicted the class system of the powerful elite that had existed for thousands of years, dividing the same people into different ranks, with different joys and sorrows for each class.
As Grandpa Ling led Jin An towards the Central Plains Hodgepodge eatery, he saw Jin Sui, who had changed back into casual clothes, talking excitedly with a young girl at a tea stall.
The steam from the tea rose, and Jin Sui was pointing at the girl’s large tea bucket, while the girl kept wiping away tears. It looked as if the tea seller had offended the Prince and was being scolded.
Grandpa Ling’s heart skipped a beat, unable to pinpoint the feeling. He sighed, perhaps Jin Sui, accustomed to being a Prince, had forgotten her former identity…
It was Jin An who had sharp eyes and saw clearly, “Grandpa, what is Sister teaching that older sister?”
Grandpa Ling’s eyes widened instantly as he saw clearly. Indeed, Jin Sui was instructing the girl on how to make tea soup.
The gloom that had been building in his heart since the stadium instantly dissipated. He laughed heartily, stroked his beard, and said, “Let’s go and see.”
Jin An was very confused, “What’s so funny about this? My sister has been teaching many people how to make dim sum recently. Sister says teaching someone to fish is better than giving them a fish.
Distributing porridge can fill their stomachs for a day, but teaching them a skill to make a living can fill them for a lifetime.”
Grandpa Ling felt guilty for misunderstanding Jin Sui. No matter how much her granddaughter had changed, her heart was still so kind and upright.
“Your idea is very good. Picking wild pears and hawthorns from the mountains that others don’t want and brewing them into fruit tea to sell.
But your tea is too sour and astringent. Wealthy patrons won’t want to drink it, and selling it at too low a price isn’t profitable.”
“Listen to me, peel and core them, cut the flesh into small pieces, and add more sugar to simmer them together…
Use bamboo tubes as cups, draw pretty pictures on the cups, and write the team names on them. People will buy them for ten copper coins a cup…”
“Sugar is too expensive and you don’t have the capital? You have no parents or relatives, and you have to support a younger brother and sister…”
“Go to the refugee camp and work for a few days to earn work points, then exchange the work points for sugar. Then get a stall permit, and with the permit, go to the Central Plains Hodgepodge over there and ask the shopkeeper to let you have some sugar on credit.”
“You can’t write? Go to the Central Plains Hodgepodge too. The young shopkeeper there writes beautifully. He’ll write it for you, just say that this King told you to go…”
Grandpa Ling listened the whole way through. He was smiling at first, but then he started rolling his eyes. So, you’re pushing all the responsibility onto me!
However, he was very happy. He had heard about this tea seller girl. She wasn’t a refugee from the mountains but had come to Yanzhou to join relatives. Unfortunately, her parents had died on the way.
She, a girl who had just reached the age of marriage, was struggling to make a living with her younger brother and sister.
“What name should you give your shop? Alright, since you’re Xiu and the eldest sister, let’s call it Xiu Sister’s Sugar Water Shop. It’s simple, memorable, and friendly.”
“In the border city, there won’t be officials who arbitrarily collect commercial tax, nor will there be soldiers or wealthy young masters who will overturn your stall on a whim. If you encounter injustice, just go to the refugee camp and seek justice from the officials.”
“Take your younger brother and sister and live well.”
As Jin Sui was speaking, she turned and saw her Grandpa and Jin An. She quickly waved to them, introduced Ah Xiu to them, and gave Ah Xiu two taels of silver:
“Use this as capital. You can return it to the Taoist priest when you’ve earned money.”
Ah Xiu, with her younger brother and sister, wanted to kowtow to Jin Sui, but Jin An stepped forward to help them up, “Living well is the greatest repayment to the Prince.”
Jin Sui praised her younger brother with a thumbs-up. This kid knew how to talk.
The three of them walked towards the hodgepodge eatery. On the way, Grandpa Ling asked his doubts, “Grandpa has been thinking, there are so many poor people in the border city, how many can we save?”
Jin An reminded him, “There will be more and more poor people in the border city! Unfortunate people from other places will also come here when they hear that the poor in the border city have a way to live.
Look at Sister Ah Xiu, she was looking for work in Yanzhou City and was almost forced to sell herself. When she heard that the border city was recruiting female workers, she brought her younger brother and sister here.”
Jin Sui smiled and pinched her younger brother’s chubby little face. This was the flesh she had worked hard to raise! She remembered how thin he was when they first met, with hardly any meat on his face.
“How do you know so much? So you already knew Ah Xiu? I just happened to see her, a young girl, looking worried, with her younger brother and sister crying from hunger, so I gave her a few pointers.”
Jin An said proudly, “Brother Hei Hu takes me around every day, so I know many people.”
Jin Sui turned and replied solemnly to Grandpa Ling’s previous question, “Saving people is about actions, not intentions. We save one if we can.
If we didn’t see it, it would be one thing. But if we see it, hear it, and feel it, not saving them would make us uneasy.”
She smiled and leaned closer to Grandpa Ling, whispering:
“When we were being chased, in such a critical situation, Grandpa still saved Gu Changxiao. I knew then that Grandpa had the softest heart.”
Grandpa Ling smiled, “If I had known he was a Prince, we would have taken him away then and brought him to the border city earlier, and we grandfather and grandson would have enjoyed a peaceful life.”
Jin Sui quickly cautioned, “The Prince doesn’t know that we were the ones who saved him, and he asked me to find his benefactor! Grandpa, please don’t let it slip.”
Just then, Jin Sui saw someone sitting in the Central Plains Hodgepodge eatery.
He was completely out of place with the entire eatery’s style. Everyone else was in drab colors, but he, in his ethereal white robes, sat amidst the worldly hustle and bustle, like a banished immortal descended to earth.
At this moment, he was holding a fat, long-haired Persian cat. Such cats were rare in Great Xia, said to have been introduced during trade with the Western Regions. One such cat was more expensive than a cow.
His well-defined fingers gently stroked the cat’s back, again and again. In front of him were several bowls of dishes, but his tableware was exquisite, and the hodgepodge was even artfully plated!
He looked up at Jin Sui, his eyes carrying a hint of helplessness and sadness.
Without a doubt, in the border city, the only person who could carry himself with such an air was Yan Jiulang.
Jin Sui turned to run, “I forgot I have lunch plans with Gu Changxiao. I’m leaving now, you guys go eat hodgepodge!”
As she took a step, her shoulder was pressed by a large hand, and then her feet began to spin rapidly in place like a pinwheel, while her upper body remained motionless.
“What are you doing? Performing acrobatics?”
Jin Sui turned her head and saw Yan Shiyi holding a large bowl of hodgepodge in one hand and pressing her shoulder with the other.
The guy was eating with his mouth full of oil, his eyes shining, and he excitedly told Jin Sui:
“I know why this hodgepodge is so delicious! You don’t have to spit out bones, and when you’re hungry, you can eat it in large mouthfuls. That sense of satisfaction, no other dish can provide.”
Jin Sui was speechless, “Have you ever been hungry?”
“I’ve been hungry! I was almost starving today. The morning match activities were tiring, and my brother insisted on devising strategies specifically against the Black Feather Team, so we only got to eat lunch now.”
Jin Sui was even more speechless, “You stopped me just to discuss the taste of hodgepodge with me?
Also, you’re talking about targeting the Black Feather Team right in front of me. Are you out of your mind?”
Yan Shiyi was even more speechless than her:
“Everyone knows the Black Feather Team is tough to deal with. Everyone is discussing how to beat the Black Feather Team and how to stop that big black guy, Hei Hu!
It’s not just our Yan Cloud Team targeting you; it’s all, *all* the teams, understand? All targeting you!”
Jin Sui took a deep breath and decided not to argue with this idiot any longer, “Then you guys continue. This King is leaving.”
Yan Shiyi grabbed her arm and pulled her towards Yan Jiu’s table, “That won’t do. My brother has something to tell you.”
He also whispered a reminder, “My brother even brought the White Lion, which means he’s very angry, so angry that he needs the White Lion for comfort.
Although I’m not sure why he’s angry. In any case, take care.”
After saying that, he pushed Jin Sui forward and went to get more hodgepodge for himself, then sat down at the team’s table.
Can you Yan brothers be any more outrageous? I am Li King! Show some respect!
“Why does the Prince avoid Yan Jiu upon seeing him?” Yan Jiu’s voice was slightly cool, completely mismatched with the steaming hodgepodge.
Jin Sui’s face instantly turned into a smile, and she chuckled as she sat opposite him, her tone even slightly fawning:
“How could I? Officially, Jiu Lang and I are partners. Privately, we are friends, intimate friends! Why would I avoid him?”
Ling Jin Sui, oh Ling Jin Sui! Can you shed that laborer’s demeanor! You don’t need to fawn over the client like this!
She turned her head and saw Miss Yan in a red dress, smiling shyly at her.
The two boxes of gold and silver she had recently received flashed in her mind.
Alright, not for the client, but for the god of wealth!
Jin Sui lowered her gaze, then looked up again, her smile even more sincere, “What does Jiu Lang want to see me about?”
Yan Jiu felt a pang in his heart. So intelligent, why pretend to be foolish with me?
But for some reason, seeing Jin Sui smiling at this moment, the accumulated gloom in his heart for many days vanished.
