The person in charge spoke loudly, “The felt tents in front are where you will temporarily stay. We initially thought there would be over a thousand people, so there are plenty of felt tents. Now listen to my command: those who are alone stand on the right, and those with families stand on the left.”
Mi Niang glanced around, and after a moment of chaos, about a dozen people stood beside her, including only six young ladies. Instinctively, she looked to the other side, where Wan’er enthusiastically waved at her.
“My surname is Wan. In the future, just call me Master Wan. Now, I’ll take a count of your situation—your names, ages, where you were during the DaKang, what your family does—make it clear to me.” the old man with a white beard came forward with a thick ledger. He had a Han Chinese appearance, providing a sense of familiarity and comfort to the newcomers in the northern desert.
“Master Wan, I heard from the official that they would assign houses for us when we come to the northern desert. Is this tent our house in the northern desert?” A middle-aged man bravely asked, and as soon as he spoke, the surroundings quieted down, with everyone leaning in to listen.
“At the end of autumn, you will migrate back to Guchuan with the locals. Guchuan has brick-and-tile houses, and you will be assigned there. These felt tents here are just for your temporary stay,” Master Wan briskly wrote in the ledger, undisturbed by the question. He called the next person and continued, “Guchuan is our capital and the main residence. This area is near the mountains, designated as a pastoral area only five years ago. People here have moved less than five years ago. The northern desert is different from DaKang; people here live a nomadic life, unsettled. Now it’s better, the pasture is fixed, and there is only significant long-distance migration in late spring and late autumn.”
“Talking too much, you may not understand. If you don’t understand, just follow orders. In a year or so, you’ll understand everything and pastoral life is simple.”Master Wan glanced at the person and the dog in front of him, lifted his eyelid to look at Mi Niang, and asked, “You brought the dog too? What’s its name?”
“It’s called Da Huang, very obedient.” Mi Niang was a bit uneasy; she was afraid that they wouldn’t allow her to keep the dog. She tightened the leash and said, “I’ll take good care of it, not letting it run around or bark.”
“Oh, it’s fine. Dogs are good. Every household here keeps dogs.” Master Wan waved to signal another group of people to come over and casually added, “There are many grassland wolves here. Don’t go out at night for no reason, and if you hear any noise outside, don’t open the door.”
“Wolves! You still have wolves here?” someone asked in a high-pitched voice.
“What’s the matter? Does DaKang not have wolves or wild boars? I see there are hunters among you.” Master Wan snorted, “Putting on airs.”
After about half an hour, Master Wan put down the ledger, stood up, and said a few words to the man with a hanging knife on his right. Soon, someone came to call out names for the felt tents.
“Mi Niang, I’m in the same felt tent as you. Did they assign us based on the same place?” As soon as they entered the felt tent, Wan’er grabbed Mi Niang and chattered away.
“It shouldn’t be. I’m not from Qiancha Town.” A slender girl behind them spoke up. “I’m called Bai Mei, twelve years old. How about you?”
“I’m Wan’er, fourteen years old.”
There were a total of seven young girls belonging to this felt tent, and Mi Niang was the oldest at sixteen. The youngest was only seven, named Yingniang.
“Auntie, I’m leaving this felt tent to your care. Be careful; these girls are lively and don’t know their limits. If anyone hasn’t returned by nightfall, quickly go to the yamen and find County Magistrate Zhu.” Someone at the door spoke. The man had a deep facial expression, and a tall stature, and spoke in more authentic Mandarin than Wan’er’s grandmother.
“Once you’ve arrived, settle down and don’t worry about being mistreated. The Assistant County Magistrate in the yamen is specifically assigned by the governor to handle the daily affairs of your group that has moved to Linshan,” the man explained gently.
“Ah, thank you, sir.” Wan’er’s grandmother watched as the guards went to other felt tents. Turning around, she entered the felt tent and exclaimed, “The door is short, but the inside is quite high and spacious.”
“But there are no beds; we have to sleep on the floor.” Wan’er frowned. She had never seen people sleeping on the ground in her entire life.
“There’s plenty of grass here. While the day is still early, all of you go out and cut some grass to bring back for drying. Once it’s dried, bring it inside to make a bed on the ground.” The flood came too suddenly, and most people were too focused on escaping; they didn’t have time to bring things. They slept on piles of grass along the way, so having a place to shelter from the wind and rain was already a blessing for them.
Wan’er’s grandmother’s family name was Zhao, and people called her Granny Zhao.
Mi Niang chose a spot near the door to put down the bowl she was carrying. Granny Zhao asked her to sleep inside, but she shook her head and said, “Except for you, I’m the oldest here. Besides, I have my dog outside, and I can monitor on things if there’s any movement.” Sleeping near the door meant no one would sleep beside her, providing some peace and quiet.
“That works too. Let’s make do for tonight, and tomorrow, we can sleep well once we have some hay.” Just as a few people were preparing to borrow sickles from the locals to cut grass, they saw a group of people coming with ox carts. On the carts were woolen felt blankets similar to those tied to the felt tents.
“I heard you didn’t bring any bedding. These were gathered by the Assistant County Magistrate temporarily. Although they are a bit old, they can still be used. Take your share.” The bailiff walking in front said.
“Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir! We’ve encountered kind-hearted people.” Granny Zhao bowed and thanked, and others who heard the commotion also followed suit, expressing their gratitude.
“It’s nothing. You’re all in difficult circumstances, and when people are facing hardships, it doesn’t hurt to lend a helping hand,” the young bailiff, feeling a bit embarrassed with so many people thanking him, waved his hand. Seeing the little maids struggling to move the felt blankets, he walked over, shoved them away, and effortlessly lifted a bundle into the felt tent.
Mi Niang noticed a man occasionally eyeing Da Huang. With his back turned, she couldn’t see his face. However, when he reached out to move the woolen felt, she recognized him as the man who had grabbed the dog’s neck earlier, named Bahu.
“It’s too thin. It needs to eat more meat,” Bahu suddenly spoke as he passed by Mi Niang. This remark surprised his companion, who stared at him in bewilderment.
“Yeah,” Mi Niang responded indifferently. She couldn’t even afford to feed Da Huang properly, let alone find meat for it. Unless she cut meat from her own body.
Bahu glanced at her, moved his lips, and walked past her into the felt tent.
“Hey, Bahu, are you interested in that girl?” On the way back, Wu Ri loudly spread the news to those around him. “Bahu actually took the initiative to talk to a girl. Have you seen her before? No wonder he followed us when we were delivering things, not even caring about the sheep.”
“Really? Which girl?” someone asked in surprise.
“The one with the yellow-haired dog.” Wu Ri thought for a moment and said, “She’s as thin as the dog.” He wanted to say it wasn’t worth the attention, but with Bahu around, he held back from saying it out loud.
“I know her. If I hadn’t been there during registration, I would have thought she was mute,” a man sitting on the ox cart, supporting his legs, laughed. He looked at the stern-faced Bahu and said, “Good choice. If you two become a couple, there will definitely be no quarrels in the future.” Two stoic individuals bumping into each other wouldn’t create much commotion.
“I just want to take care of her dog. Look at her; even the dog seems to be suffering with her,” Bahu explained, “It’s a good dog.”
“Ah, what a waste. I thought I could go to your father to share the good news and have him treat me to a drink.”
Upon hearing these words, Bahu immediately frowned, ignored the others, and turned to walk in a different direction.
“I told you, you’re too idle. You know well that he and his father don’t get along, yet you still have to poke him in the sore spot,” Wu Ri muttered, licking his lips.
“It’s his lack of tolerance,” the man replied sheepishly.
—
Early the next day, someone rang a gong to announce the distribution of lambs. Mi Niang dragged the woolen felt mat out to a grassy area to dry. She led Da Huang and followed the crowd toward the yamen.
“Why are you still bringing the dog? No one is going to steal it,” a woman said.
Mi Niang looked up; she didn’t recognize the woman and couldn’t recall if they had spoken before.
“Don’t you remember me? When we fled from Qiancha Town, I advised you not to bring the dog along for the escape,” the woman asked.
“Oh, I remember now.” In reality, she didn’t. During that time, she was in a daze, with thoughts of suicide lingering in her mind. She had no memory of the people around her, and she couldn’t even recall the paths she had taken; it was as if everything was a blur.
“Your dog is lucky, too. It hasn’t starved to death walking with you all this way.” The woman reached out to pet the dog, but Da Huang stepped back, alert and watching her.
“Hey, your dog, doesn’t know what’s good for you,” the woman scolded, feeling a bit embarrassed, and quickly returned to the crowd.
Mi Niang reached out and touched Da Huang’s head. The bones under the fur felt more uncomfortable than the lumps of soil beneath her feet. The two of them walked slowly at the back, and the lamb they received was also one that others had passed over.
“We’re not taking you in as servants. Qingge Lede Tsiren Shan is benevolent. These sheep were assigned to you without interest for two years. After two years, each person only needs to return four lambs, the original number. All the lambs produced during these two years belong to you,” the Assistant County Magistrate addressed the refugees below. Seeing the excitement on their faces upon hearing this news, much of the lingering despair from before dissipated.
“But let me make it clear, as benevolent as Lede Tsiren Shan is, we cannot let her suffer losses. If, after two years, you are unable to return the original number, you will have to sell yourselves as slaves to learn a trade. Once you’ve learned how to raise sheep, then you can consider redeeming yourself.”
“Well, we’ve never raised sheep at home.” A man expressed dissatisfaction, having never even fed pigs at home. “If we had known, we might as well have gone to Lu County. At least there, we could have put our strength to use digging the land.”
“Recognize your own status. If you have a place to live and food to eat, be content and don’t be greedy. If this were in DaKang, even if you wanted to sell yourself as a slave, it would depend on whether the master wanted you or not,” the Assistant County Magistrate sternly admonished. “You’re not guests here in the northern desert. Those who dare to commit crimes, be prepared to face punishment, even if it means being dragged out to feed the wolves.”A sharp warning from the authority immediately silenced the crowd.
After the dispersal, Wan’er, Bai Mei, and the other four girls who shared the same felt tent gathered around Mi Niang. They stared at the bleating lambs like treasures and discussed how to bring them into the tent at night to avoid wolf attacks.
Mi Niang looked around. In just one day, the over a hundred people who arrived together had dispersed into countless small groups, and those living in the same felt tent huddled together.
“Mi Niang? Mi Niang, what are you thinking? We’ve called you several times, but you didn’t respond.” Wan’er nudged her and asked, “You keep bees. Where are you going to put the beehive tonight? Are you bringing it inside?”
“Listen to your grandmother. Beekeeping is different from raising sheep.” Mi Niang had no energy to worry about these matters and couldn’t summon the spirit.
