Chapter 15
A snowstorm made many people sick, and after discussion, the officers and soldiers decided to rest for two days.
Two days later, it was a sunny day. When the whistle sounded, people from the woodshed began to leave the post station. The snow on the mountain had not yet melted, especially on the shady slopes. When the wind blew, the snow particles enveloped people like fog.
When the wind stopped and the snow fell, Sui Yu shook the black sheepskin on his body and glanced at Sui Liang who was hiding under the sheepskin. The sheepskin blocked the wind and the cold, and he was sweating under it.
"Don't lift the sheepskin to let in air, or you'll get sick from the cold," she warned.
Sui Liang nodded obediently.
Sui Yu gathered the sheepskin tightly and reached down with one hand to hold him, lest he lose sight of the road and fall. The child was silent and quite hardy. Ever since Sui Hu's death, he'd been with her all day without crying or making a fuss.
The wind brought the sound of camel bells again, but after a long time, I heard no one. After a long climb to the top of the mountain, I saw merchants submitting their travel permits at the heavily guarded pass. Camels and mules grazing in the snow were panting heavily, and the hot air from their mouths turned into puffs of white mist.
"Sir, could you tell me if it's snowing in Hongchiling?" A merchant with a foreign-looking face approached and asked, his official language a bit stiff.
The officer nodded and said, "It has been raining for a whole day and a night, and it has been sunny for two days now."
"I've never heard of it snowing in June in previous years. It's really strange."
"The servants at the post station said that snow in June is not common, but it is not strange either." Before leaving, the officers and soldiers specifically asked the people at the post station.
When the caravan passed through customs, the officers and soldiers came forward to hand in the documents. After they were stamped with the official seal, he waved his hand and the large army moved straight forward.
"After passing this checkpoint, we will go down the mountain and walk for two or three days to reach Wuwei County." said the leading officer.
"We've reached Hexi? Doesn't that mean we'll be there soon?" Everyone who heard it was delighted.
"When summer is over, we can plant two crops of vegetables after dividing the land. I heard that each person can get 20 mu. This way, we won't have to worry about going hungry."
"I can also raise a flock of lambs. In the winter, I can keep one to slaughter for the New Year, and sell the rest to buy food."
"Then we'll raise a flock of lambs. My eldest son and daughter will cut grass for the sheep every day, and when winter comes, I'll make a sheepskin coat for each of you."
"What? Are we almost there?" asked the person at the back of the team.
Good days were just around the corner, and the applicants, who had looked numb, suddenly became different people, each one as excited as if they could kill a wolf.
The pace of travel suddenly increased.
Cross Hongchiling and head west, then go down along the Songxiashui River Valley to enter Wuwei County.
Passing through the sandy walls, Sui Yu pulled Sui Liang to the city gate. The city was bustling with activity. Vegetable vendors pushed carts, a woman making steamed buns with her butt sticking out over a scorching fire, strong men carrying game and asking for prices, merchants leading camels, and women hurriedly buying groceries with baskets slung over their shoulders... Sui Yu felt dizzy walking among the long-unseen bustling human life. She had spent so long fleeing through the wilderness, climbing mountains and crossing rivers. She felt like a wild man entering a city inhabited by humans, feeling uneasy.
"Hua girl, we bought a lot of meat today. Are there guests coming to your house? Buy two bowls of tofu?" The tofu lady shouted at the top of her voice.
"Okay, give me two pieces. The millet we planted at home was flooded, so my uncle and my brothers came to help drain the water."
"Then I have to cook some delicious dishes to entertain you. Since you are not strangers, I will also buy you two taels of wine." The wine girl shouted.
"I dare not. My mother will pull my ears." The girl who bought tofu ran away with a smile.
This was just an ordinary conversation in the market, but the applicants squatting under the city wall were all excited. Having a house, land and a stable life was what they had been pursuing all their lives.
"Boss, we've made the right decision." A woman wiped her tears and said, "Twenty mu of land per person. There are three of us in our family, so we have sixty mu of land. We must work hard."
"It's a pity that my parents died on the way. They had hundreds of acres of land. Landlord Li in our village only had about a hundred acres of land." The man regretted.
"The officer is here." A sharp-eyed person shouted, and the officers and soldiers also brought two local officials.
The people squatting at the foot of the wall stood up one after another, their faces excited, their eyes glowing green like wolves seeing meat.
"Sir, I'm very strong and I can drive cattle and plow the fields. I can plow three acres of land a day." A man recommended himself loudly. He wanted to stay here and not leave.
"Sir, I... cough cough cough..."
"Sir, I'm in good health. My family has never been sick during this trip."
"Sir..."
"Sir..."
“…”
"Shut up." The whistleblower raised his whip and threatened, "If you keep making trouble, I'll send you to repair the beacon tower."
Now there was silence. The bearded officer said to the visitor, "There are over 637 volunteers and over 380 pardoned criminals. You may choose."
"There are quite a few people." The chief clerk, wearing a wooden crown, winked at the agricultural official beside him and said, "We only need 30 households to apply, and we will give priority to those who know how to farm."
When it comes to farming, Yu County is located in the south of the Yangtze River. Applicants from Yu County have an advantage over those from Chang'an. Sui Yu thought of this and shouted, "Sir, Yu County is located in the south of the Yangtze River. There are many fields but few lands. People here are born to grow rice."
The agricultural officer glanced at the officer and the soldier nodded. He walked over to select them and found that they were all short, which he disliked. When he walked up to Sui Yu, he took a fancy to Sui Wen'an's large stature and asked, "How many people are there in your family? How many adult males are there?"
"Sir, the criminal is a pardoned criminal, and he has a little brother who is not even seven years old."
The escape journey was too long, and the prison uniform he had worn for nearly six months was so dirty that the original color could no longer be seen. Sui Wen'an tugged at the tattered prison uniform, lowered his head and took a step back.
When the agricultural official heard that it was a criminal, he withdrew his gaze and went to choose the next person.
Of the thirty families they had chosen, half were refugees from the flood. Sui Yu looked around and saw only a few hostile refugees remained. She considered trying to disperse them across as many cities as possible on the way. She knew the vast east-west span of the Hexi Corridor. If they were dispersed, most would never see each other again. No matter how much hatred they harbored, it would wear away at the passage of time.
After leaving Wuwei County, the oases along the way are interspersed with rushing rivers, cows and sheep are grazing on the hillsides, and children are picking up cow and sheep dung in the grass with baskets. The dry cow dung is taken back for burning, and the liquid cow dung and sheep dung are shoveled back for composting the land.
"Where are you from?" a snot-nosed kid shouted from atop a hill. "My family came from Guanzhong twenty years ago. Do you know Guanzhong?"
Sui Liang turned his head to look over, and after a while turned his head to look at Sui Yu.
"Guanzhong is east of Guanshan. After leaving Chang'an, we walked for a long time and then entered the mountains, right? The place before entering the mountains was Guanzhong." Sui Yu said.
"Does he understand?" Sui Ling doubted.
"He's not stupid." Sui Yu glared at her.
Sui Ling curled his lips. If he could understand what was said, he would have spoken when his father died.
"Brother Liang was just scared. He will be able to speak when he grows up." This was the first time Sui Yu mentioned Sui Liang's speech.
Sui Liang opened his eyes wide, his clear eyes filled with a bright mind. Just by looking at these eyes, one could tell that he was not a silly boy.
"Really, I promise, you believe me." Sui Yu stretched out his finger to swear.
Sui Liang nodded repeatedly, he believed it.
Sui Ling just thought she was coaxing a child and didn't point it out. Who can say whether Sui Liang will still have a child's mind when he grows up?
After leaving Wuwei, it took another half a month to reach Zhangye. Zhangye has vast grasslands with abundant water and grass. It is the royal horse farm. When the horses gallop, the earth shakes.
Green grasslands, dark green hills, bald yellow Gobi Desert and snow-capped mountains, the four are passed from low to high in sequence, and the scenery of the four seasons of summer, spring, autumn and winter appear at the same time.
In the evening, the soft light of the setting sun shines on the snow-capped peaks. The long snow slopes, half white snow and half rosy clouds, are extremely beautiful.
As the sun sets in the west, the rays of light turn into flowing water and roll into the icy lake. As night falls, the horses rest and the travelers fall into a peaceful sleep.
Tianming continued on his journey.
Sui Ling bit a piece of grass and held it in her mouth, occasionally looking up at the sky, then the ground, then at the misty snow-capped mountains. She stepped over a pile of horse manure and said, "After coming here, I feel like I have a lot more strength."
"I feel better and in better spirits." Sui Yu also felt relaxed all over.
Zhangye County selected one hundred volunteers and twenty prisoners. Now there are more than 750 people left in the team, half of whom are prisoners.
Sui Ling couldn't help but worry and said, "I don't know where we will stay."
"Dunhuang, building the Great Wall requires a lot of people." Sui Wen'an said. He looked at the road ahead, not knowing whether he should hope to arrive soon.
It was early summer when we passed Wuwei County, and the grains in the fields were growing vigorously. After passing Zhangye, the crops in the fields began to bloom and ear. When we arrived in Jiuquan on foot, the fruits of millet and sorghum were becoming fuller day by day.
"We have been on the road for more than two months, sir, how long will it take to arrive?" someone asked.
Another two hundred people were left behind in Jiuquan, leaving only half of the original number of people in the team, with prisoners accounting for nearly three hundred of them. The officers and soldiers watched them more closely, with one person guarding every two meters.
"It's not far, we'll be there in half a month." The soldiers wiped their sweat, it was too hot.
…
The next day, the soldiers took six buckets and three shoulder poles from the post station. They pointed out three tall men and said, "The further we go, the more desolate it becomes. The weather is dry and the rivers are few. You carry the buckets. When we get there, I'll tell you to get a few buckets of water to take with you on the road."
Sui Wen'an took the barrel and looked at his tribesmen while holding the carrying pole. When these people saw that he had the carrying pole as a weapon in his hand, their eyes were fierce and fearful.
The further west they went, the sparser the vegetation on the road became. It was July, and the scorching sun made people's scalps hurt. Sweat soaked their hair and flowed down their faces. The wind blew a thick layer of dust over them, making them look dirtier and smellier. Sui Yu felt nauseous when he smelled the odor on his body while sleeping at night.
But without water to wash, she could only endure it.
When the road crossed the Gobi Desert, the officers and soldiers ordered everyone to carry water. Sui Wen'an had never carried a load before, and on his first day, after walking half a mile, only half the water in his bucket remained.
In the afternoon, he didn't have enough water to drink, and with the help of others, he was severely whipped several times.
"Brother, stop carrying water." Sui Ling couldn't bear it any longer. "With so many people here, why are you the only one carrying water?"
"Just shut up! There's no need to be so naive." Sui Yu went to ask Aunt Chun's son for advice on how to carry a load. After the people left, she poked Sui Ling and said, "Second Miss, recognize the current situation. Your family is ruined. You have no power or influence. You have no reason to be naive. You are inferior to others, so you just do whatever they say."
Sui Ling took a few deep breaths and fell silent.
Sui Wen'an was much more steady when carrying water on the road again. After practicing for a few days, he could carry water without leaking a few drops. Others could not make mistakes even if their eyes hurt from staring at him.
The city of Dunhuang County is right in front of us. In the desert, tall camels step out bursts of yellow smoke, and the wind here has a shape.
"Sister Yu, thank you for your care along the way. Please keep an eye on Ling'er for a few more days. I will come to find you after I find Captain Li." Sui Wen'an sighed. Sui Hui was too soft-hearted and Sui Ling was too aggressive. He didn't know what to do.
Sui Yu stared at the heavily defended city, feeling uneasy about the turning point ahead. She nodded hesitantly and said, "Hurry up."
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