On the morning of the fifth day, Abu finally returned!
Besides him, there were more than a dozen people from the Uda tribe who came with him.
The Wuda tribe went to see Zhao Tingduo, but Song Liyun was called into the yurt by Granny Qi.
On the woolen couch sat a brightly colored rosewood box.
Granny Qi smiled and pulled Song Liyun to sit down next to her, saying, "The lady received the fruits you sent, and she liked them very much. The elders in the tribe also tried them and said they were delicious, so they had that brat bring you some trinkets."
Song Liyun felt both ashamed and grateful.
She had taken out those fruits on a whim and packed them in a cardboard box. It was only because Granny Qi said they were to be sent to the tribe that she had now made them into a gift for her mistress. It was far too simple and shabby.
"Granny! Those fruits are just ordinary things, not worth Madam's praise."
"Silly child, the most precious things are the ordinary ones."
Granny Qi opened the wooden box on the couch, turned it around to face Song Liyun, and said, "This is a return gift from Madam!"
Song Liyun was almost speechless when she saw what was in the box: inside the wooden box was a necklace, with red, green, white and gray colors, and each bead, about the size of a peanut, was made of a different material.
"Granny, this gift is too expensive, I can't accept it!"
Song Liyun felt a bit overwhelmed: these beads were made of agate, turquoise, jade, and sandalwood. She didn't know their specific value, but she could sense Madam Wuya's respect for them.
Granny Qi took out the necklace and put it on her, smiling as she said, "This time, time was too tight, and the tribe was also moving to another location, so it was inconvenient to meet you."
The lady said, "Once we've settled things by the Mida River, I'll have Ashi take you there for a few days."
Song Liyun felt her heart pounding like a drum, and a heavy weight pressing down on her neck, making it hard to breathe.
This is with the lady's approval!
Accompanying Abu was another special person, a gold miner who had been kidnapped from Shattered Gold Town.
This was something the Uda tribe traded for sheep from other tribes a few months ago.
Looking at the man in front of her, dressed in sheepskin and linen, with a hunched back, a face full of scars, and whose real age was hard to guess, Song Liyun couldn't imagine what he used to look like.
The man first asked excitedly how things were in Broken Gold Town.
When he heard that there were now only 500 garrison troops left, the man burst into tears!
Once he calmed down, Song Liyun recounted the events of that year in detail.
This man is called Qiao San, and he is a gold prospector in Suijin Town.
In the first year, they could still find a few ounces of gold, and after a while, they lived a carefree life.
A few years later, the number of people panning for gold increased sharply, and the gold deposits gradually dried up. But these people had gotten used to it and didn't leave until the tragedy occurred.
When they were kidnapped from Broken Gold Town, they were immediately blindfolded and taken away in an oxcart.
Qiao San had no idea how many people he had kidnapped or how many places he had traveled to.
All they knew was that they were being sold from one tribe to another. They would get off the oxcart and go into a sheepfold, then get back on and go into another sheepfold.
The number of people on the oxcart dwindled. Apart from the strong and able-bodied who were sold, some starved or died of exhaustion on the road, while others were devoured by wolves in the middle of the night.
Finally, he was left to herd cattle in a tribe. During the day, he worked with rubber-banded anklets, and at night he slept in the hay of the cattle shed, wearing a sheepskin.
He never considered escaping. The vast grasslands made it impossible to distinguish east from west, and there was no human habitation for miles around. Running away would only mean feeding the wolves.
He often went hungry, but the lady of the house was kind enough to give him a bowl of meat soup every few days, which allowed him to survive for more than five years.
"Do you know where a woman named Lin Juan and a child named Xiao Shitou were sold?"
Song Liyun began to question Han Ming's wife and Yunniang's son.
After hearing the description of the two people's age and appearance, Qiao San shook his head: "I only know that the young woman and the child left separately."
I used to be able to understand a few words of the Di language. I overheard a few sentences on the road; it seemed to be about sending a child and a pretty young woman to some royal court. Those places are crowded, nobles need servants, and the prices are higher.
Song Liyun frowned as she listened. She had already heard from Zhao Tingduo that the Di tribe's Northern Court was composed of five large tribes, each with more than ten thousand people and a strong military.
People usually refer to them as the Five Royal Courts. These five courts are not fixed; they compete based on strength to occupy the most fertile grasslands of the Di Lu grasslands.
It was these royal tribes that dared to form an army and fight against the Wu Dynasty's Northern Army, but their power was limited to the grasslands.
These tribes still relocate their tents annually. The inhabitants include nobles who do not herd livestock themselves, but rather have cavalry retinues and slaves.
Because young women and children are the most sought-after items, they are expensive, don't run away, and are treated much better on the street than rebellious men like them.
Although Song Liyun didn't find out their whereabouts, she knew at least that they had a high chance of surviving, which put her at ease.
After asking Qiao San, Song Liyun went to Granny Qi and said she wanted to buy Qiao San.
Qiao San is now the property of the Wuda tribe. If she asks for it back, Granny Qi and Zhao Tingduo will definitely agree.
But she couldn't be so oblivious, and she had to tell Granny Qi about it.
Sure enough, when Granny Qi initially said she didn't want the money, she readily agreed when Song Liyun said, "Friendship and money are two different things," and insisted on paying: "That's fine too. Those people did search diligently, so let's give them these few taels of silver as a reward."
It was a coincidence that they were able to find Qiao San and his group. Several months ago, Zhao Tingduo had sent messages back and forth, asking the tribe to help find Xiao Shitou and the other two.
It was a troop that overheard the news by chance among the tribes they had previously gathered, and then traveled for five days to buy it from other pastures.
Song Liyun asked Qiao San what he planned to do and whether he would return to Suijin Town, but Qiao San said he wanted to go back to his hometown.
His home is in a rural area of Pingyang Prefecture. More than ten years have passed since he left. Now he has survived, but he doesn't know if his wife and children are still alive. He wants to go back to retire.
Song Liyun agreed to take him to Suijin Town and then ask for a travel permit to leave.
After spending five days on the grassland, it's time to prepare to go back.
The big black horse was too dazzling, so Abu and Zhao Tingduo still rode the Broken Gold Army Horse.
Song Liyun's chrysanthemum-green horse was recuperating, and now it had been replaced with a gentle chestnut horse. Qiao San, who was traveling with them, couldn't ride, so he was tied to the horse's back. There was also a little girl with them.
Granny Qi told Song Liyun to bring Yuquan along, so that she could serve tea and water and run errands whenever needed. She was also suitable to ride a horse.
Song Liyun did not refuse. Yuquan was good at horse riding and was obedient. Having him by her side would be like having a private car driver.
There were also two other people with five horses carrying mutton.
On the morning of the sixth day, the caravan set off back to Suijin Town.
Having had the experience before, and with the chestnut horse being docile, Song Liyun was no longer nervous about walking the Yellow Sand Golden Beach this time. Yuquan was also in perfect harmony with the horse, and the others had even better riding skills. In addition, the visibility was good during the day, so they did not need to rest on the way.
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