The village head was called back by his second son. As he approached his own felt bag, before he could even rein in his horse, he saw a man squatting outside the sheep pen in front of the door, bending over to tighten the loose ropes of the wooden fence.
“Village head, you’re back.” Zhao Qingshan heard the sound of hooves and stood up straight, clapping the dust off his hands and quickly walking over. He bowed slightly, somewhat embarrassed, and said, “I should have come earlier. I trouble you to make another trip back.”
“It’s a small matter. Riding back and forth on horseback is not a big deal.” Qu Village Head dismounted, whistled, and the black horse walked behind the felt bag to graze on grass.
Zhao Qingshan looked a bit stunned and said hesitantly, “Your horse is really obedient. I envy it. Any man loves horses. In Dakang, I couldn’t afford to keep a horse. Now that I’m on the grassland, as long as I can afford it, I can keep one.” Thinking of this, he felt invigorated and glanced at the tall and majestic horse again.
“Village head, you see, with just a few of us relying on raising a few lambs, we can’t solve the predicament. The women have to scrape together to buy even a needle and thread, and life is really tough. Could you please give us some advice? Is there any short-term work we can do? We’re not afraid of getting dirty or tired. As long as we can earn a bit of money, we can do anything.” Zhao Qingshan followed the village head into the felt bag. This was his second time entering the locals’ felt bag, and the ropes tied inside were mixed with three different colors, and the various tools were no worse than those used by the landlord.
“We do have work. Picking up dried cow dung, shearing sheep wool, repairing sheep and cow pens, cleaning dung – all of these tasks require people. But I need to have a word with County Magistrate Lü to see what he says.” Village Head Qu shouted to his son at the door, “Changping, go check if County Magistrate Lü is available. If he is, ask him to come over; we need to discuss something.”
Zhao Qingshan rubbed his hands, restless, and said, “Village head, let me make the trip. Don’t trouble the young master.”
“He’s no young master. County Magistrate Lü’s son is the real young master. We don’t even have a servant at home; it’s always been the children running errands and delivering messages.” Village Head Qu laughed, walked back, brewed two bowls of milk tea, and said, “Don’t be too reserved. We’re all fellow villagers; we should take care of each other.”
“Coming to the Northern Desert from Dakang and managing to settle down is already quite remarkable.” Zhao Qingshan sipped his milk tea, still looking uneasy. When asking for favors, he should bring some gifts, but being so poor that he didn’t even have clean clothes to change into, he couldn’t afford anything valuable. He had to come with a thick-skinned face, and in such a situation, how could he confidently make arrangements?
“It’s just good luck.” Village Head Qu didn’t want to dwell on this matter. Just then, he heard voices outside and went to greet them, saying, “Lao Lü, Zhao Qingshan, and the other refugees want to find some work. What do you think?”
He wanted to pass this favor to County Magistrate Lü. Every year at this time, every household needed people to shear sheep. Introducing short-term workers naturally started with families they had good relations with.
“That’s a good thing. The Bilige family, Baiyin family, and Shaobu family all need extra hands.” County Magistrate Lü didn’t enter the felt bag, nodded at Zhao Qingshan, thought for a moment, and continued, “Last year, many slaves from the Bahujia family were redeemed, and they also need people. Find a few nimble and honest ones and introduce them over there.”
“Alright, since you agree, I’ll go arrange it at noon.” Village Head Qu pondered for a moment; these families all had connections with County Magistrate Lü.
“Well, is there anything else?” County Magistrate Lü asked.
“Yes, there are some other matters. Come in and sit; we can discuss them.” Village Head Qu glanced at Zhao Qingshan and said, “If you have nothing else, you can go back and make arrangements.”
“There’s something, there’s something. Some people approached me saying they wanted to move out. We still have quite a few empty felt tents over there. I want to ask if they can be rented.” Zhao Qingshan hurriedly said.
“We can’t rent them to you. Those were allocated from above for the refugees. There will be second and third batches of refugees coming later.” County Magistrate Lü waved his hand and looked at Village Head Qu, saying, “Some herder families have vacant felt tents. Go and ask them. If anyone wants to rent, negotiate the price with them.”
Village Head Qu, being tactful, didn’t bypass him to handle it himself. He also wanted some benefits to be distributed.
“Alright, I’ll go after lunch.” Village Head Qu signaled to Zhao Qingshan with his eyes.
“Sorry for the trouble, both of you.” Zhao Qingshan nodded respectfully and quickly left.
…
“Bahu was just about to have someone look for you at home. Where are you headed?” County Magistrate Lü, with some free time in the afternoon, walked downstream alone. Even before arriving, he spotted Bahu, who was walking with his hands behind his back, looking somewhat peculiar.
“Just taking a stroll, nothing special. Master, if you’re looking for me, what orders do you have?” There were others on the road, and Bahu didn’t plan to talk here. He turned around and said, “Come to my place. My elder brother sent me some tea, and said it’s for steeping in plain water. I’m not used to it, and milk tea tastes a bit bland. Seeing you reminded me that you probably like that flavor.”
County Magistrate Lü, in the first two years after arriving in the Northern Desert, taught at a private school. Bahu was his first group of students. Later, when he became an accountant at the county office, he also relied on Bahu’s father’s influence. They had been in contact all these years.
“You only remember me now? You should have sent it to me earlier.” County Magistrate Lü also saw what Bahu was holding—a large piece of meat, dark red in color, lean with little fat, looking dry, which was wolf meat.
“Killed a few wolves last night?”
“Three, none of them were big.” Bahu opened the door and casually threw the wolf meat into a basket outside the door. He planned to wait until County Magistrate Lü left before finding Da Huang.
“No hurry. Don’t bother boiling water for tea. You won’t be able to brew anything tasty. Later, wrap them up for me to take away.” County Magistrate Lü looked at Bahu as if he were his nephew, speaking casually. “I came to find you for something important. You have a lot of cattle and sheep, and not enough manpower. I’ll introduce you to twenty or so short-term workers. They’ll manage two meals a day, and each person gets twenty cents. If it works for you, they’ll come tomorrow.”
“The refugees from the west?”
“Yeah, I had Qu Village Head pick out honest and capable ones for you.”
“Okay, it’s fine, but I don’t provide meals. Forty cents per person per day. First, they shear the sheep, then they pick, wash, and twist the wool. I have a lot of work here, and the project will definitely take a while. You know, I don’t like having too many people in the house.” Bahu spoke candidly. He didn’t like dealing with people, especially unrelated strangers.
“I’m telling you, is this how you plan to go on? The folks in Xishan Xu Shui all know you have a bad temper. Today, this matter should have been brought up by Village Head Qu. They find you difficult to talk to and don’t want to come.” County Magistrate Lü frowned and clicked his tongue. “With this attitude, who would marry their daughter to you? You’re nineteen, almost twenty, always hanging out with cows, sheep, horses, and dogs. You’re wasting your face.”
“I live quite well on my own, no one to bother me. It’s comfortable.” Bahu stuck to his usual response.
“Arrogant,” County Magistrate Lü glanced at him as if he were a fool, “Bring the tea. I can’t be bothered with you.”
Bahu went into the house, rummaged through a box, and took out a pack of tea wrapped in oil paper. Without looking, he directly handed it to County Magistrate Lü. Then, he locked the door, lifted the basket of wolf meat, and walked north with him.
“This is good tea. Your elder brother buying it for you is also a waste. By the way, your elder brother should be coming back soon, right?” County Magistrate Lü picked a tea leaf and tossed it into his mouth.
“I don’t know. If you want to know, ask his father.”
County Magistrate Lü hummed, “His father? How? Aren’t you two from the same father?”
“I wish we were. My mother is unreliable.” Bahu didn’t hide his disdain for both of them.
“Your father being beaten by you is infuriating enough to drive him to death.” County Magistrate Lü put himself in Bahu’s shoes. If Bahu were his son, he would have given him a good beating for saying such things.
“I’ll tell you, don’t bother with your father and mother’s affairs. That’s between a couple; if you get involved, it won’t end well.” County Magistrate Lü unusually spoke a heartfelt word of advice.
“I don’t want to talk to you anymore. I’m leaving.” The conversation was becoming increasingly unpleasant. Bahu turned and walked west.
“Where are you going?” County Magistrate Lü looked up. To the west was where the refugees lived. “Have you set your eyes on a girl there? Are you trying to win people over with meat?” He gossiped curiously.
“To win over a dog.”
A dog? The owner of the dog? County Magistrate Lü had some impression of the girl who escaped to the Northern Desert with a dog. Well… how should he put it? She often had a dreamy look, a bit introverted, and seemed difficult to talk to.
Thinking this way, if Bahu chose her for the sake of convenience and tranquility, it wasn’t impossible. However, these two standing together didn’t seem very interesting.
As Bahu carried the wolf meat to the west side of the river, which was chaotic, it took him a while to find Da Huang. It was tied to the door of the felt tent, sleeping. Upon hearing footsteps and seeing it was him, it jolted awake with a start.
“Don’t be scared, don’t be scared. I won’t pinch you, and I won’t hit you.” Bahu didn’t approach, squatting down to toss the wolf meat over. “It’s not poisoned. Consider it an extra meal for you. Look at how skinny you’ve become, not even resembling a dog anymore.” cautiously lowered his head to sniff, then glanced at the smiling man. It extended its tongue, forming a loop to catch the drool escaping from its mouth. It bit into the piece of meat, turning its back to the man, and began tearing and chewing vigorously.
“You say your taste is not bad. You chose a skinny master, and you’ve become a bag of bones too. Despite that, you’re still loyal to her. You should follow me instead. I’ll feed you meat every day.” Bahu playfully persuaded the dog, ignoring the owner.
“You really never change your thieving ways.”
A cold voice sounded behind Bahu. He paused, sighed inwardly, but remained composed. He stood up and said, “Just kidding. I can’t help wanting to tease it.”
“Honey, who is he?” Wan’er asked. She and Honey shared meals and beds, so how did Honey make friends with a local who was generous enough to feed a dog? From the way they talked, they seemed quite familiar.
“… Bahu.” Honey thought for a moment; she only knew his name.
Bahu had no interest in talking to these bright-eyed girls. Pretending not to notice their curiosity, he spoke to Honey, “I’m hiring short-term workers. Forty cents per day, no meals provided. The work isn’t easy; it’s just shearing sheep. Take a look and see if you want to come.”
“I do.” Honey agreed readily. When Zhao Qingshan recruited people, he always preferred those with strength, and men were chosen first. She hadn’t been selected.
“Alright, come tomorrow morning, the last house downstream.” Bahu glanced at Da Hung and suddenly said, “Do you want to bring Da Huang to work too? No pay, but I’ll provide meals.”
Honey looked at the man and understood that Bahu liked the dog. He couldn’t stand seeing Da Huang go hungry with her.
“Thank you, I’ll bring it over tomorrow.”
Bahu couldn’t help but laugh. “Smart move.” He didn’t insist further.
After Bahu left, Honey sat on the doorstep, waiting for Da Huang to finish eating before taking it to graze. She didn’t dare leave it alone at home, fearing that someone with ill intentions might take advantage of her absence and harm it.
“Honey, can you take me with you tomorrow? I’ll work for just thirty-five cents, and I’ll give you five cents every day,” a girl approached, whispering a plea.
Honey couldn’t remember the girl’s name and hadn’t spoken to her before.
“Why didn’t you ask him yourself just now?” She was merely curious. Having arrived only two days ago, how could this girl think that Honey could help her find work with the main household?
“He didn’t want to talk to us, and he seemed to have a bad temper,” Pan Di explained in a low voice.
