The yurts were big enough to accommodate all the people. They could even separate an inner room into two spaces. As such, Ye Xiaoxian, Xiao Baozhu and Li Hongmei could sleep together again.
Although the yurts were broken, the winter hadn’t come yet. They could repair the holes before it got colder.
The climate here was so dry that they didn’t need to bathe every day. So they merely washed their faces and hands and cleaned their bodies with wet towels.
They were busy until the evening.
Although the yurts were not as comfortable as the post house, staying here was much better than wandering in the wilderness.
The sun went down later than other places, so they couldn’t tell what time it was. As it got dark, a few stars lit up the sky immediately.
Ye Xiaoxian proposed having a meeting about what to do next.
When all the people gathered in a yurt, she let Squire Liu hold the meeting. Squire Liu went straight to the point, “When we arrived here this afternoon, you also heard what Mahal told us. He said we must listen to him if we want to settle down here. We are newcomers and don’t know much about this place. We don’t have goats or cows. Although we have money, we will run out of it sooner or later. At that time, we have to help the locals with herding. What do you think about this?”
Ye Xiaoxian was the first to state her views. “I think we can live by ourselves rather than relying on the locals. There are many other ways of living except for herding.”
Xiao Tieshu looked somewhat upset. “But we will use out of money one day. How can we earn money at that time?”
She said, “Do you remember what Mr. Qiao told us? People here not only herd goats or cows but also plant potatoes, melons and so forth. As long as we work hard, we can also plant something to eat or to sell. After all, potatoes can be grown anywhere.”
…
Xiao Tongshu was not convinced. “Even if we do so, we have to wait for the harvest for a long time. If we have no money at this time, what can we eat then?”
Ye Xiaoxian pointed at the mountain behind her and replied, “There are many treasures in the mountain. As long as we search carefully, we will definitely find something to sell in downtown.”
Li Hongmei was surprised. “Little Ye, I remember you don’t like mountainous areas. You said it was not reliable to live off the mountain.”
Ye Xiaoxian explained, “It’s indeed not reliable to live off the mountain all the time. But our environment has changed. Now that we are living at the mountain foot, we must make the best of the present materials.”
The other people were still muddle-headed.
Ye Xiaoxian recalled the scenes in the documentary and said, “At present, we can plant potatoes and fruit trees, collect honey from the mountain and sell it in downtown. We have money and food to support us for a period. When Mahal comes here tomorrow, we can ask him how to trade our products. Squire Liu, can you coax him to tell us more information?”
The glib talker agreed readily.
She continued, “We are strangers here, so we should keep a low profile. Don’t offend the locals, especially Mahal, or we will be excluded. We’d better be patient and try to integrate into the locals’ lives.”
She looked at Xiao Tieshu and Xiao Tongshu when she said that.
Unsatisfied with the locals, these two men had planned to teach them a lesson.
Of course, the lesson was taught by fighting, what they used to do as constables.
Hearing what Ye Xiaoxian had said, Squire Liu had greater admiration for her in his heart.
He turned to his family members and said, “I agree with Little Ye. We’re strangers, so we can’t cause conflicts with the locals. Otherwise, we will definitely be bullied.”
Xiao Tieshu protested, “But you also saw how Mahal bullied us. He didn’t give us flour or new yurts.”
Ye Xiaoxian reassured him, “Uncle, don’t worry. He will give back the things that belong to us. Trust me!”
Just then, her face was lit up red by the flames beside her, lively with hope.
…
This night, Ye Xiaoxian and her companions found it hard to fall asleep. They hadn’t acclimatized themselves to the new environment.
It was too quiet in the evening. When they had lived in the village, they could hear barks from time to time. But here, there was not even a bug to sing a lullaby to them.
However, it was bright outside. Through the windows, they could see the sky studded with twinkling stars that appeared so close to them.
Ye Xiaoxian failed to find a word to express her feeling. It was as if she was walking on a glass bridge where she was surrounded by beautiful scenery. The glass gave her a firm footing, but she felt like she would fall into the abyss anytime.
It seems that I have to be very cautious and work very hard these days, she thought.
…
Mahal came in the next morning.
He had heard from the boys that some refugees asked them to help set up yurts and gave them pancakes in return.
Mahal couldn’t help praising this group of people for being smart enough to bribe the children. It was always easy to make friends with children by showing kindness.
He also realized that they were not ordinary people. Otherwise, the official wouldn’t send them here in person and they wouldn’t have food to eat.
The previous refugees had been in rags without food or money when arriving here. It was some kind-hearted locals who made clothes for them.。
“Hey, good morning! How was your sleep last night?” Mahal greeted like an oppidan.
Last night, Squire Liu and Ye Xiaoxian had had a thorough discussion as to how to coax useful information from Mahal.
“We all had a sound sleep. This is such a good place with fresh air and magnificent views. The children in the tribe are also very hospitable. They helped us set up the yurts. Look, they did a good job!” Squire Liu laughed politely.
They wouldn’t have helped you if you hadn’t tempted them with food, Mahal thought.
But instead of stripping away the lie, he answered with a smile. “Yes, our children are indeed very warm-hearted. Oh yes, have you decided what to do next? Do you want to herd goats or do something else? You can help us herd the flocks or plant potatoes or wheat. We lack labors in this busy season.”
Squire Liu laughed and said, “We are so clumsy that we may do you a disservice. Could you give us some potato seeds and fruit seedlings? We want to grow something here so that we can better adapt to local life.”
Mahal’s face darkened. “You want to do farming?”
“Yes. We’re from the south and we’ve been farming for generations. Besides, the territory is vast here and we just need a small part of it.”
Mahal looked reluctant. “Our land has all been distributed to families. It’s difficult to reallocate the land for you latecomers.”
“We can accept a far piece of land, as long as we can grow something there,” Squire Liu insisted.
He tucked a silver tael into Mahal’s hand and continued with a smile, “We just need some land, potato seeds and fruit seedlings. I think this is a reasonable request. I promise we won’t overstep the boundary.”
Mahal squeezed the silver tael and relaxed his frowns after making sure it was a genuine one.
Then, he began asking what backgrounds they had, whether they knew any bigwigs and what relationship was between them and the official who had sent them here.
Ye Xiaoxian had taught Squire Liu how to answer such questions. “The official is my friend’s subordinate. We have a few friends who work for the government of Baoning city, so we could have stayed in downtown. But now it’s the sixth king who rules this city. He advocates diligence and thrift and requires everyone to work in tribes. That’s why we are here now.”
Mahal asked, “What’s your friend in charge of?”
The tribal inhabitants were living far away from the capital, so they didn’t care about the nobles. Only when it involved their interests would they show due respect to other people.
Squire Liu said, “I remember he’s in charge of, well, trades, all the trades in Baoning city.”
The tribe of Tianshan Mountains usually traded wool and fruit with other tribes or sold them to other people.
Therefore, trades were closely related to Mahal’s interests.
An ounce of respect appeared in his eyes as he looked at Squire Liu.
But he still said in an affected air, “I’m the leader here. If I give you land, I may be blamed by other local people. I can give you some seeds and seedlings, but you can only grow them in the distant hill. The land there is available.”
Humph! It’s just a small case for you! Squire Liu thought.
You have the responsibility to give refugees yurts, flour and land. You can’t take all the benefits, can you?
Besides, that is not a fertile place. It’s just a dry windward slope without enough sunlight.
But Squire Liu didn’t show any dissatisfaction and replied with a smile, “Really? Thank you so much. When we harvest, we will donate some money to the tribe.”
Mahal said, “Excellent! When you meet your friend or your friend comes here, you can introduce me to him.”
“Of course I will,” Squire Liu said. “He may soon come here.”
After saying that, he couldn’t help cursing internally: Fuck, you wily fox! All right, I will accompany you to play this game of wits.
“…”
Finally, Ye Xiaoxian and her companions got some potato seeds of varying quality, some fragile fruit seedlings and an unsatisfying piece of land.
But they were better than nothing.
Then, it was time to allocate tasks.