Chapter 274 Spring Storm
When the Gobi Desert appeared before our eyes, it was already the third day since we left Yumen Pass. It was not yet mid-February, and the riverbed in the desert had dried up, with no water or ice.
Sui Yu checked the clean water he brought with him when he left Yumen Pass. The pottery jar carried by the camel was still full of water. When he left Yumen Pass, the pottery cauldron, iron pot and bathtub were all filled with water. This water was used for the next three days.
"Luckily, I prepared for this situation early on." Song Xian was thankful. She patted her face lightly and said, "I regret making such an impulsive decision now. It's caused you a lot of trouble."
"Don't dwell on what's already happened. Business is prone to all sorts of problems," Sui Yu consoled him. "Go ask the two caravans behind to see if there's anything wrong with their water."
Boss Xu has already sent someone over to worry about whether they have enough water.
"We should have discussed it with each other before leaving the country." Lu Yaer muttered softly.
Sui Yu smiled at her and asked, "Then why do you think we didn't discuss it with each other?"
"Forgot?"
Sui Yu stretched out his finger and shook it, saying, "On the one hand, frequent merchants tend to stock up on water and food rather than less. This is common sense and should be planned before departure. No one needs to remind them. On the other hand, perhaps he is just hoping to watch the fun. If any of our three caravans made a mistake in this matter, it would be a laughing stock. He would be unable to convince others for the rest of the journey and would have to follow their advice."
"Aren't you two partners who are traveling together for business? How hypocritical! If you encounter the Huns and wolves, you will run away separately, right?" Lu Yaer said contemptuously.
"We have two dogs at home. They eat from the same bowl and sleep together. We have a great relationship, but they still have to choose who's the boss," Xiao Chunhong interjected. "I don't understand any profound principles, but I think whether it's people or dogs, as long as there are more than one, they have to choose a boss. It has nothing to do with hypocrisy."
"What are you talking about?" Song Xian came back and said, "There's plenty of water and food. Shall we go in now?"
Sui Yu nodded, looked up at the position of the sun, and drove her camel in first.
The winding caravan looked like a giant ochre-colored python. As the sun set, the python completely disappeared in the forest of earth and rocks.
After walking only three or four miles into the Gobi Desert, it was getting dark. The sunset glowed brilliantly in the sky above, but the soft light could not penetrate the towering stone forest. In order to avoid misjudgment due to the dim light, Sui Yu struck the gong, signaling the caravan to stop.
"Except for water and food, don't unload the cloth and fodder on the camels," Sui Yu ordered. "Zhang Shun, lead the men to set up the tents. Qingshan, use the hemp rope to tie two ropes in the direction we're coming from."
Zhang Shun and Qingshan responded, and the servants got busy with their work.
Sui Yu walked forward a few steps and placed the bronze swords in the open space in a north-south direction to prevent her from getting dizzy and losing her direction.
It was Lu Ya'er's first time in the Gobi Desert. She was both scared and curious. She dragged her mother to a nearby spot, where they looked up at the boulder. Pointing at the sharp scratches on the boulder, she said, "Mom, does this look like it was cut by a knife? And those two sunken holes, don't they look like eyes?"
As he was speaking, a black-feathered bird's head popped out, and it looked like its eyeballs had fallen out. Green Yaer was so scared that she screamed and almost suffocated.
The bird was also startled. It flew out with a "ka" sound and passed over the caravan, making everyone look up suspiciously.
"It's getting dark, don't let the girl run around and scream." Someone from the Xu caravan shouted.
Song Xian was almost scared to death by the maid. She quickly responded and pulled Lu Yaer back to the caravan.
The stove had been set up, but Xiao Chunhong didn't trust others, so she personally took a basin to scoop water.
A basin of water is enough for so many people to drink. At night, we can stir-fry the leftover dumplings and eat them, and then chew some fried rice, and we won’t be hungry anymore.
After the fire started, the darkness shrank three feet. Song Xian pulled Lu Yaer over to sit by the fire and said, "Are you feeling better now?"
Lu Yaer subconsciously looked up. Sui Yu, who was passing by, raised his hand to hold her head down and said gently, "Don't look up after dark. There are many birds looking for food in the dark, and the wind and sand are blowing. The shadowy movements will make you more panicked."
Green Bud let out an "Oh!" and reached out to warm her hand against the fire, rubbing it vigorously. The pain in her hand made her feel the reality. She asked in a muffled voice, "I've been walking for a long time and I haven't seen a single blade of grass. Are there birds building nests here? What do they eat?"
"They can fly away, right? Are they scared?" Xiao Chunhong continued, "Oh right, there are sand scorpions and sandworms under the sand. It's cold now and no snakes have come out yet. When it gets hotter at night, snakes will crawl out of the sand to look for food, and birds will eat them too."
Lu Yaer was so startled that she sat up suddenly. She was about to collapse.
Sui Yu hit Xiao Chunhong with a piece of firewood.
Xiao Chunhong smiled awkwardly and said comfortingly, "Don't be afraid. We've been through the desert twice and haven't been bitten by insects."
"Insects and sand scorpions aren't fools. We can crush them to death with a single kick, so why would they come to provoke us? Just like these oddly shaped rocks and mounds, if they could move, wouldn't you avoid them?" Song Xian said, "Sit down, sit down, and don't get so startled."
"The water is boiling and the dumplings are hot. Bring your bowls over." Liu Yaer said.
The dust raised by people walking was heavy, and the servants who were carrying bowls were stopped three steps away. Xiao Chunhong and three other maids were responsible for scooping water and rice for them.
Women get ten dumplings and men get fifteen dumplings. After eating, each person gets a bowl of boiling hot water, chews a few mouthfuls of fried rice and drinks some water. After finishing the water, they feel full.
Lu Yaer chewed a mouthful of fried rice and stopped eating. It was dry, hard and salty. She was already thirsty, and the more she ate, the thirstier she became. It was better not to eat it.
"If you don't eat, you'll be hungry in the middle of the night." Song Xian whispered, "Eat more. You're not at home outside. If you get hungry, no one will get you food. When you toss and turn and can't sleep, it will disturb others."
"I still have bean cakes here..."
"No." Song Xian interrupted Sui Yu, "She eats whatever we eat. Fried rice is made of rice, and it's not like bean curd dregs steamed buns that will make your throat ache. There's nothing she can't swallow."
"I'm not hungry." Lu Yaer said stubbornly.
"Forget it if you're not hungry." Song Xian stopped trying to persuade her. She sat aside and chewed the fried rice mouthful by mouthful, making a crunching sound like chewing sand.
The hens with their claws tied around their necks calmed down after eating the fried rice, and people gradually went into the tents to sleep.
In order to avoid getting lost and running out of firewood, no fire was lit at night after entering the Gobi Desert. The night watchman sat on a mound, avoiding the wind, wrapped in a sheepskin mattress, and stared at the sky with his eyes open.
People were sleeping and camels were resting. There was no other sound in the Gobi Desert except the rustling of moving sand and the whistling wind.
The birds that built their nests in the mounds landed silently. They walked on the gravel and pecked at the rice grains and debris that fell in the sand, or landed on the camels' backs and pecked at the flesh and blood.
With a "thump", the camel twisted its neck and bit the black bird that was pecking at its hump. The bird screamed twice and then fell silent. The other birds took off one after another.
Gan Da watched with his eyes wide open, and as long as no camel left, he would not care.
In the middle of the night, Lu Yaer was woken up by hunger as expected. When she opened her eyes, she heard a bird's scream, followed by a sticky chewing sound, mixed with two sounds of broken bones.
The wind was strong, and the rolling sand and gravel hit the tent, covering up the noise outside. Lu Yaer pricked up her ears and listened, caught off guard. She remembered what her mother said at night, and she wondered what if these strange-shaped stones and mounds were alive?
The more she thought about it, the more frightened she became. Lu Yaer covered her mattress with her hands and broke out in a sweat.
It was time to change shifts. Gan Da, A Niu and the Song family's servants walked towards the tent and woke up a few people. They took off their shoes, got in, lay down in the warm quilts and fell asleep.
Lu Yaer felt relieved now. After scaring herself, she no longer felt hungry and could sleep soundly.
At dawn, the chickens with their claws tied together cackled, and the sleeping people woke up at the sound, and breakfast was already cooked.
Breakfast is pancakes and hot soup noodles. This is the only meal of the day when I have enough time to cook, so I don’t compromise on breakfast every day.
Meat sauce mixed with soup noodles, the dry and hard pancakes are broken into pieces and stewed in the soup, which is both filling and delicious.
After having a full stomach, Lu Yaer felt like she was alive again. Seeing her servants getting up to drive the camels, she went over to help.
"Huh? Why is there a bird feather in this camel's mouth?" she asked in surprise.
"They ate birds. Miss, please stay away. The dust on the camel is thick and will stain your fox fur."
"It'll get dirty sooner or later." Lu Yaer sighed. She took a handful of leftover fried rice from her pocket and fed it to the camel. She said, "Don't be naughty. Get up quickly. We have to leave."
Song Xian paid attention to her movements and was quite satisfied with it.
"There was a lot of wind and sand blowing in last night. I hope there won't be a sandstorm." Sui Yu dug out the bronze sword from the sand and said, "Once you've packed up, get on the camels and we'll continue on our journey."
A gong sounded, and the chickens clucked in fear. Birds hiding somewhere also started to cry hoarsely. They didn't quiet down until the caravan had gone far away. They flew down from the mound, dug out broken feathers and bones buried in the sand with their claws, and cleaned up the remaining blood and flesh.
After walking for another five days, Sui Yu woke up in the morning. The sun had not risen yet and the sky was gloomy. Not only that, the wind on the Gobi Desert was strong, and the sand under his feet flowed like water, creating waves of ripples.
"The weather is going to change," Song Xian said worriedly. "Why does it look like it's going to rain now?"
The headmasters Xu and Li came over together and asked Sui Yu if he was still leaving.
"We're not going any further. Instead of wandering around without knowing the direction, we might as well rest here. Brother Xu, Uncle Li, quickly arrange for people to take down all the cloths and cover them, and tie the camels to the boulders to prevent the camels from getting lost in the strong wind and sand." Sui Yu arranged.
"Okay, we think so too. It's better to be safe." Boss Xu nodded.
Hearing the noise, the others took action, reinforcing the tents that had not yet been dismantled, and quickly setting up the tents prepared for the cloth, stuffing the dismantled cloth into them.
"The raindrops are falling." Green Bud shouted.
"The rain in the desert isn't heavy, and it won't last long," Song Xian said. "Come in quickly, a sandstorm is probably coming."
The sandstorm came suddenly. In an instant, the sky and the earth seemed to be distorted. The sky was filled with gray and yellow, and sand and rocks were flying everywhere. Soon, nothing could be seen.
"Has the water been brought into the tent?" Sui Yu shouted. "Have the water and food been brought into the tent?"
"They've moved in, right here in our tent." Little Chunhong crawled over following the sound and said, "Master, please go in quickly. The wind is so strong it's going to blow you away."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com