The Second Young Master’s Obedient Husband : Chapter 81

The caravan kept heading south, and the weather grew warmer and warmer. They gradually moved from the cool and dry north into the warm and humid south.

The trees on both sides of the road changed. The crops in the fields were different too. Everywhere there were ponds, everywhere there were rivers, everywhere there was green as far as the eye could see.

The air was damp, the temperature warm. The men ran hot, and in the south they sweated even more, their clothes sticking to their skin in a sticky mess. Some men got so hot they stripped to the waist to drive the carts, rolled their pant legs up to their knees, and kept complaining about how hot this godforsaken place was.

Liang Yu fared a bit better, but he still rolled up his sleeves and loosened his collar. Su Qingyu was much more at ease. This place was similar to where he lived as a child, and even the smell in the wind was familiar.

Su Qingyu leaned on the small window, looking at the scenery outside. He suddenly remembered the roads from his childhood when he fled from the south heading north. Back then he also sat in a cart, but there was no fragrant soft quilt to cover him, no entertaining storybooks to read, and not enough food to eat.

There was only a broken donkey cart, jolting so hard it seemed about to fall apart, cold and hungry, not knowing where tomorrow would find them. But Su Qingyu had already been quite content. He had his parents protecting him, and he had a cart to sit in. More people walked until they collapsed on the road and became a good meal for someone else to fill their belly.

Now he was also heading south, but he sat in a softly cushioned compartment with Liang Yu by his side, with a cart full of goods, with hot meals to eat, with a place to sleep, with a large group of people together, lively and cheerful. Although it was bumpy, every day was happy, and he no longer lived in fear and worry.

As he thought, his eye circles turned red, but a smile appeared at his lips.

Liang Yu glanced back at him, reined in the horses, slowed the cart, and beckoned to him.

Su Qingyu’s eyes curved into crescents. He came out of the compartment and nestled into Liang Yu’s arms.

Liang Yu held him and kissed his eye. “What’s wrong?”

Su Qingyu shook his head. “Nothing. Just happy.”

Liang Yu looked at him and did not ask anything more. He wrapped his arm around Su Qingyu’s waist and continued driving the cart.

The cart kept heading south. Su Qingyu sized up the fields along the road. Here the water and grass were abundant, the fields many and the soil fertile, the villages large, all with white walled and black tiled brick houses. They looked like prosperous villages.

Su Qingyu leaned against Liang Yu’s arms, thought for a moment, and said, “Husband, this village looks quite well off. Let’s rest here. We can sell some goods.”

Liang Yu nodded, found an open space at the village entrance to park the cart steadily, called out, and had them spread out the goods.

The northerners were tall and sturdy. More than twenty rough looking men with fierce appearances, and when a woman glanced over she could not help but gasp softly, quickened her pace, and took a detour around them. No one even asked about prices.

Liang Yu stood at the very front, trying his best to put on a kind expression. He was born handsome, and when he did not make a fierce face he even carried a bit of scholarly air. But the cold severity that came from his bones could not be covered by putting on a smiling face.

An old woman came to ask about prices. Liang Yu smiled, and the old woman actually stepped back two paces. Liang Yu froze too. The two of them stared at each other with big eyes, and the old woman turned and ran.

Su Qingyu watched the whole scene from the side. He held it in but could not hold it in after all, and bent over the cart laughing until he could not straighten up.

Hearing the laughter beside him, Liang Yu reached out to pull him over and pinched him. Looking at Su Qingyu laughing uncontrollably, he could not help but show a helpless smile too.

The glib tongued fellow tentatively called out a few times, but more than twenty Han men standing behind in a dark mass looked like they were trying to lure people over to beat them up. The shouting was of no use. The group stood there for quite a while without making a single sale.

Su Qingyu watched them from the side and could not help but sigh. His family originally sold cloth, so he had some experience in selling things. He thought for a moment, walked over, pulled Liang Yu to the side, and stood at the very front of the stall himself. He smiled at a passing woman, his voice soft and gentle. “Hello, auntie, come take a look. We’re from the north selling goods. Everything we put out is top quality fur. This kind of fur is hard to get around here. Take a look, it’s all very good. In winter it would be just right to make a padded jacket for your daughter.”

That woman had been about to walk past, but his call made her stop. She turned back and saw a pretty young husband with red lips and white face, smiling so sweetly, looking like someone who had never suffered hardship. So she walked over, picked up a rabbit pelt and felt it, and asked the price. Su Qingyu had a clever tongue, and in two or three sentences he made a sale. The woman paid, smiled, and left with the pelt. She also bought a small package of medicinal herbs. The merchant caravan had finally made its first sale.

Su Qingyu glanced back at Liang Yu, proudly lifted his chin, turned around, and greeted the next customer. His mouth was sweet and he knew how to coax people. Which fur was suitable for what, which medicinal herbs should be decocted into what kind of soup, he spoke with full confidence and reason, coaxing the customers into good spirits. Before long he had made several more sales.

Qin Cheng squatted at the side watching for quite a while, clicking his tongue in wonder. “Liang Er, your husband is much better than you.”

Liang Yu ignored him, keeping his eyes on Su Qingyu, his gaze full of pride. After watching for a while and seeing more people gathering, he kicked Qin Cheng to get up and work, and together they went up to help Su Qingyu sell things.

The men who looked fierce and terrible were sent to the back to move goods and hand things over. They did not need to sell, just do physical work, which was actually much more comfortable for them.

The caravan sold as they traveled. Top quality furs and medicinal herbs were valuable in the north, and in the south they were even more in demand. Every time they stopped at a town, the glib tongued men would spread out their stalls and call out, but mainly they had to rely on Su Qingyu’s clever mouth to make sales.

Those who looked too fierce and did not know how to talk helped hand things over and move goods. The rest kept an eye on the goods and livestock to prevent theft. Everyone had something to do. Working together with one heart they sold quite a bit of silver. Although they had not calculated exactly how much, it was still much better than scratching a living from the fields.

But retail selling was not a long term solution after all. Since they had brought Su Qingyu this time, Liang Yu wanted to go a bit further south, to Suzhou Prefecture.

Liang Yu remembered Su Qingyu had said he was from Suzhou Prefecture. Suzhou Prefecture was prosperous, and good furs, medicinal herbs, and mountain products could fetch even higher prices there.

Of course, a very important point was that Liang Yu wanted to let Su Qingyu go home and see his family.