Chapter 119 Honghong Has Nothing to Wear
Wu Xiyuan followed Su Jiuyue quietly and headed for the city gate. Along the way, Su Jiuyue tended to stop and ask him if he wanted something as they came across some stalls.
Wu Xiyuan didn't ask for anything as Liu Cuihua told him before the journey until they approached the gate.
Then he pointed to a vendor not far away and said, "Jiuyue, I'd like that."
Su Jiuyue didn't hesitate about granting his only request and said, "Okay, let's go have a look."
She didn't know what it was until she got closer.
"You want a saddle?"
"Yes. Honghong needs clothes," Wu Xiyuan said as he patted the horse on the head.
The horse nuzzled his hands whether out of shyness or pleasure.
The vendor had only one saddle to sell, leaving them no more choice.
"But why does the saddle seem somewhat old?" Su Jiuyue asked with a frown.
Hearing her words, the vendor immediately said, "If you aren't taking it, just leave and make room for someone else who wants it."
It was the first time that Su Jiuyue had handled such a rude vendor. It used to be her way to turn and leave when she got into such a situation.
But Wu Xiyuan who stood beside her turned to look at the horse. "Honghong, do you want it?"
The horse snorted and nuzzled him.
Wu Xiyuan smiled, saying, "It's for Honghong. As long as Honghong likes it, that's all that matters."
The vendor's eyes flashed with surprise as he looked across at the horse behind Wu Xiyuan.
Any horse-lovers could see this was a great horse which was different from those ordinary reared ones whether in the shape or lines.
The vendor thought, 'If I'm right about it, this is a wild horse. No wonder such a great horse isn't even equipped with a saddle.'
It reminded the vendor of his horse and his eyes flashed with sorrow.
Su Jiuyue decided to take it as long as Wu Xiyuan liked it, thinking she could change its cover for a new one later. Then she asked, "How much does it cost?"
Although she had never bought such a thing, she presumed two taels were enough for it.
Unexpectedly, the vendor said, "The boy has good taste. The great horse deserves a good saddle, so you can take it for free."
Su Jiuyue was stunned and couldn't understand why such a poor guy who had been reduced to selling the saddle would offer it to them for free.
She couldn't accept such kindness and shook her head, saying, "We can't take it for free. Just give me a price."
The vendor thought it made sense and charged at random. "Well. Just pay me one hundred."
Su Jiuyue thought it was a little expensive. After all, one hundred was enough for a large amount of buckwheat soba.
But on second thoughts, she felt such a huge thing which Wu Xiyuan liked so much was worth it. Besides, she could afford it since she just earned two taels. After a long struggle, she finally managed to take out the money and handed it to the vendor.
Then the vendor gave them the saddle, as well as reins. When Su Jiuyue wound up washing the saddle at home, she found some story behind it.
The saddle flap was made of cowhide in the shape of U with various patterns. Two ropes were tied together with a knot to fix the saddle flap at the two ends of the saddle plate without punching holes. To make it look nice, there was a cover for the knot.
But in the process of cleaning, Su Jiuyue found that the cover turned out to be made of silver...
She couldn't believe the vendor sold her the saddle with silver in such a good size for only one hundred.

Su Jiuyue thought, 'The vendor intended to give us the saddle for free, which means it belonged to him and wasn't illegally obtained for money. If so, why was he virtually giving it away in the knowledge that the cover is made of silver?'
Su Jiuyue was both surprised and uneasy. Since the blood and silver suggested that the saddle's previous owner wasn't ordinary, she was afraid the saddle would get the family into trouble.
She was at a loss what to do with it. Then she stopped what she was doing and ran to Liu Cuihua's room even without knocking on the door.
Liu Cuihua was working on a sole on the bed when Su Jiuyue charged into the room. Liu Cuihua was startled and complained, "What's wrong with you? What's the hurry?"
Su Jiuyue's hands were still wet with water dripping onto the floor and into the tiles.
"Mom, there seems to be something wrong with the saddle we bought."
Her face crumpled as if she had made a terrible mistake.
Then Liu Cuihua asked curiously, "What exactly is wrong? Tell me about it."
"There's blood on the saddle and its cover is made of silver."
Liu Cuihua was shocked. Su Jiuyue had told Liu Cuihua that she spent one hundred on the saddle yesterday as soon as they were back.
Liu Cuihua also couldn't believe the saddle with silver was available for one hundred.
Liu Cuihua was stunned for a moment before she put down the needlework and got out of the bed.
"Well, I'll go have a look."
The saddle was left untouched there in the yard.
"Mom, look."
Liu Cuihua hurriedly stretched out to check the saddle without minding the water.
"Mom, there's blood in the crack here, and also here...Look, the cover at the top is made of silver."
Liu Cuihua studied it for a while and also thought there was a story behind it.
Su Jiuyue squatted beside her and asked, "Mom, will it get us into trouble? I just feel uneasy about it."
Liu Cuihua shared the same concern. After all, blood was thought to bring people bad luck. But at the same time, she knew the saddle with a cover made of silver must be valuable.
Liu Cuihua was lost in thoughts with a frown. Much later on, she seemed to think of something and turned to Su Jiuyue. "Have you dreamed recently?"
Su Jiyue shake her head. Then Liu Cuihua heaved a sigh of relief with her face cracking into a smile.
"Then you don't have to worry. There will be some omens for it before something bad happens." Liu Cuihua put some unfounded trust in Su Jiuyue who she thought was predestined to bring good luck to the family.
Su Jiuyue was convinced, thinking it was already too late to stop any possible trouble since what was done was done. So she decided to clean it for use.
Then she had it cleaned and dried in the sun for quite a few days before putting it on the horse.
Wu Xiyuan was so excited and rode the horse around the village for celebration. But the village was too small for the horse to gallop along.
One day, Liu Cuihua told the two of them, "I need you to take some food to your brother and Mr. Huang in the mountains. You can tell what happened in town to Mr. Huang. One more thing, Xiyuan needs Mr. Huang's acupuncture since it's time for that."