Chapter 66 Reward
Crossing the gurgling stream in the desert, before heading north, Zhao Xiping filled his water bags with water. The fried rice in his bag was enough to last for about five days. He set a deadline for himself: three days later, regardless of whether he had any harvest or not, he must return from the desert.
The traces of a herd of wild camels were vaguely visible. The camels climbed over the peaks of the sand dunes. The halo of sunrise penetrated through them, and they looked like burning fireballs.
Zhao Xiping mounted a camel and went alone to follow the migrating camel herd. He followed far behind the herd. When the wild camels were moving slowly, he urged the camel under his crotch to speed up. Except for the time when the camels were eating grass to fill their stomachs, he never stopped.
From dawn to sunset, at dusk, Zhao Xiping caught up with the herd of camels that were drinking water by the river last night. There were more than 20 wild camels, including five cubs.
The sturdy male camels seemed to sense the malicious intent. They kicked their hooves restlessly and made sharp driving sounds with their mouths.
The camel under Zhao Xiping's crotch was timid. When the underage camel encountered a wild camel, it subconsciously turned around and tried to escape when it heard the sound of being driven away.
Zhao Xiping slapped it, then dismounted. The camel stayed where it was, and he continued forward, bow and arrow slung over his shoulder, across the soft sand. After a difficult trek, he climbed a crescent-shaped dune using both hands and feet. Beneath the dune, the camels dug out fine, leafy grass buried beneath the yellow sand.
The last ray of sunset was about to disappear, and before the earth completely sank into darkness, Zhao Xiping pulled the leather string and put an arrow on it.
The male camel chewing grass raised its head, and when it looked back, a baby camel came out and lowered its head to nibble on half a grass root.
A sharp arrow pierced the wind, piercing the young camel's thigh with a whoosh. Its neighing echoed as darkness fell. The camels were startled, and after a commotion, they scattered, their hooves twitching nervously, mindful of the young camel's whining. They stopped not far away, and a female camel emerged from the herd, returning the way she had come.
Another sharp arrow struck, and another baby camel fell in the herd. The herd fell into panic and chose to leave.
Only two female camels were circling in place. After countless attempts, they found that their cubs could not stand up. They wailed for a while, turned around and disappeared into the night to chase the herd that was constantly urging them.
The blood attracted scavenger birds in the sky, and there was a rustling sound of rats and ants crawling in the desert. Zhao Xiping sat on the sand dune. He took out a knife and swung it in the yellow sand, making a noise to scare away the wild animals that tried to pick up the leftovers.
The little camels seemed to have accepted their fate. In the second half of the night, they stopped wailing and lay motionless in the yellow sand, waiting for the sand to bury their bodies.
The stars retreated, and after the darkest moment, a faint light appeared in the deep sky. The man who had been sitting quietly all night put away the wolf skin. He stood up and blew a whistle. The camel kneeling under the sand dune in the distance stood up and walked slowly towards him.
Zhao Xiping sat on the wolf skin and slid down the sand dune. The scavenger bird that had been waiting all night flapped its wings vigilantly to leave the ground. The little camel that fell to the ground and gasped moved restlessly. It tried to stand up, and the scab-covered wound opened, oozing bright red blood.
"Quack, quack, quack--" the bird in the sky screamed in a hoarse voice.
Zhao Xiping walked over and held the camel's leg. He grasped the arrow and pulled it out with all his might. With a trembling whine, a stream of hot blood flowed onto his hand. He put the arrow back into the quiver and pulled out a coarse earthenware bottle from his bosom. Before the departure, everyone was given two bottles of wound medicine, but he hadn't used them, so he used them on the camel.
"Don't move, be quiet, and come home with me honestly. There are companions at home, as well as grass and food. It's much better than wandering in the desert." Zhao Xiping muttered to himself. He cut the hem of his clothes with a knife, and with a "swish" sound, he pulled off a piece of cloth to wrap around the wound on the camel's leg, and then tied the two front hooves with a hemp rope. He went to deal with the other camel.
"Hmph hmph—"
The domestic camel came over snorting.
Zhao Xiping picked up a camel, gritted his teeth and gathered his strength. He lifted the camel's back with his shoulders and pushed it up hard. The small camel was stuck on the big camel's back.
However, the little camel flapped its wings and kept barking, which made the big camel increasingly irritable and restless, and it seemed like it was about to give up.
Zhao Xiping dragged the little camel down by its legs again.
At this time, the bright sun rose, and the desert was shining with golden light, making people dizzy.
Zhao Xiping took out all the spare clothes from the camel's back. One of the sets still smelled of corpse. He vomited, held his breath, tied the two sets of clothes together into a knot, and put them on the two half-grown camels.
A low, short whistle sounded, and the big camel knelt on the ground with its front legs bent. Zhao Xiping picked up another small camel and dragged it around the hump, ignoring its struggle.
"Huh..." Zhao Xiping was sweating from exhaustion early in the morning. He patted the big camel to signal it to get up. The small camels hanging on both sides were hung on the camel's belly. He adjusted their position and tore open his clothes to cover their stomachs. Now they could not move.
The birds circling in the sky were unwilling to leave, chirping again and again.
Zhao Xiping grabbed two handfuls of yellow sand and rubbed his hands to remove the blood scabs and camel hair stuck on them. He took out his water bag and drank two sips of water, then poured out another bowl, sprinkled a pinch of coarse salt in the water, stirred it, and fed it to the camel.
The two little camels also each took two sips of salt water.
After quenching his thirst, Zhao Xiping led the camel south. When he was hungry, he would grab a handful of dry fried rice and chew it. He would eat three mouthfuls, and the loaded camel would eat one, and they would trek through the desert step by step, filling their stomachs.
It took a whole day to get here by camel, and two and a half days to walk back. When he was nearing the edge of the desert, Zhao Xiping heard the sound of water. His legs, which had been stiff with fatigue, felt strong again. He strode towards the river, threw himself into the water, and dove into it.
The water, less than knee-high, washed away the yellow sand on his clothes. Zhao Xiping turned over, sat up to take a breath, then leaned down to drink big gulps of water. After drinking his fill, he lay horizontally in the river, listening to the sound of flowing water and looking up at the sky.
The sky is clear without a single cloud.
Sui Yu, I have suffered a lot for you. The man covered his face with his hands, then raised his hand and slapped himself lightly. He chose the path and asked for trouble.
After recovering, Zhao Xiping took off his clothes, wrung them dry, and put them back on. He looked at the wound on the little camel's leg, then led the big camel onto the road and walked east.
It was thought that he would have to walk all the way back to Yumen Pass, but in the evening, a caravan caught up with him from behind.
It was dark again. Sui Yu walked out of the gate and stood in the alley looking towards the entrance. A child cutting grass passed by carrying a basket of grass. A man leading a mule was chatting and laughing with the woman on the mule's back. Aunt Sun's son ran out laughing. A camel turned in and he turned his head to talk to someone.
Sui Yu retracted her legs. It wasn't Zhao Xiping who came back. She looked at the entrance of the alley again, and when she turned around, she looked at the end of the alley. There was no one there.
She went in, closed the door and bolted it.
At night, Sui Yu woke up from her dream. She lifted the mattress, sat up and looked towards the door. The pigs in the pen grunted twice, but there was no other movement.
Sui Yu pressed her heaving chest, and when the cold sweat on her body subsided, she lay down again and did not dare to sleep again until dawn.
After dawn, Sui Yu sent Sui Liang to Sister Lamei's house. She went to find Uncle Lao Niu and asked him to take her to the government office.
"Sir, I'm Zhao Xiping's wife. I want to ask you something. Zhao Xiping from Shisantun was sent out on a mission at the end of May and hasn't returned yet. Is there any news about him?"
Captain Qu just came out. He looked over when he heard the sound and saw Sui Yu's face. He sighed in surprise. He understood why Zhao Xiping was willing to fight for her.
"Captain Zhao hasn't come back yet. I'll send someone to inform you when there's news," Captain Qu said.
Three days later, two soldiers knocked on the door of the Zhao family, carrying a jar of wine and ten pounds of meat, saying that it was a reward for Mr. Zhao's meritorious service.
"Captain Zhao has gone to the desert to herd camels and will be back in a few days."
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