Chapter 220: Tarico's Story

With the boat, the two servants could catch many more fish than before. In the past, they could catch, at most, six fish a day. But now, they were able to net about 20 fish within two hours. But Ye Xiaoxian didn’t want to owe Tarico a favor and decided to get their own boat. Therefore, she asked another servant to cut more wood so that they could make a boat in winter.

One day, Ye Xiaoxian asked Dilly a question about Tarico after the language class.

She said, “When we caught fish by the river, Tarico lent his boat to us. Auntie Dilly, do you know what kind of person he is?”

Hearing the name, Dilly smiled involuntarily. “Oh, that boy! He has a reputation as a loafer in the tribe. His parents died early, leaving him alone in his family. Since then, he has become so wild that even the tribal leader can’t do anything with him. But I know how capable he is. He is good at cutting firewood, fishing, riding and archery; few people can do better than him in these aspects. Two years ago, someone invited him to be an archer, but he refused. He said he wanted to live a free life and to continue his family line as the last surviving member. But actually, the second reason was just his excuse. After all, he loves freedom so much.”

She added, “Although he always claims to continue his family line, he doesn’t care about his marriage at all. Quite a few girls want to marry him, but he takes to none of them. That irritates the girls a lot. No one knows what kind of girl he likes.”

Ye Xiaoxian couldn’t help smiling.

Dilly went on, “I’m not surprised that he lent you the boat, because he’s such a kind-hearted boy. Now that the tribal leader wants to bully you, Tarico will definitely do the opposite.”

Ye Xiaoxian sighed with relief and said, “I see. I thought he would charge us rent, but he didn’t.”

Dilly grinned amiably. “Now that you have the boat, you can just seize the opportunity to catch fish. It’s very cold in winter. Since you have no cows or goats, you can live here and don’t need to move with the herdsmen. If you feel cold, you can consolidate the yurts and prepare more firewood.”

Ye Xiaoxian replied, “That’s just what we’re doing. Thank you, Auntie Dilly.”

…

The next day, Ye Xiaoxian specially made a pack of crisps and planned to place it in Tarico’s boat. Since Tarico went fishing every day, he would see the crisps when he got in the boat. But just as she got to the boat, a whistle from behind her almost scared her into dropping the crisps.

Tarico grinned from ear to ear. It was not a mocking smile but showing a kind of pleasure at his successful trick.

Ye Xiaoxian became calm again and handed the packet to him. “Here you go. Thank you for lending the boat to us.”

Tarico took the pack, opened it and smelled the tempting food inside. As soon as he put a crisp into his mouth, he couldn’t help nodding and praised, “Delicious! I like it!”

Ye Xiaoxian smiled. “Thank you. I can give you more, if you want.”

When she was about to leave, Tarico blocked her way.

She asked, “What’s wrong?”

But he just grinned and jumped aside. “Nothing. Bye bye.”

Ye Xiaoxian realized he was playing a trick with her and gave him a friendly smile. Then, she left without looking back.

…

Apart from making crisps, Ye Xiaoxian now had new work to do: airing the fish. Old Mrs. Jia and Liu Qianqian all came to help her kill the fish, salt them, and hang them under the sun.

It was late autumn and it was getting colder. But fortunately, the strong sunlight and the dry weather enabled them to finish the work before winter arrived. The neat rows of dried fish in front of the yurts gave all the people a strong sense of satisfaction. They would have enough meat to eat this winter.

Mahal came again that day. It was speculated that he was interested in the fish. First, he asked Squire Liu for money. “I heard that you’re doing business downtown. How much have you earned?”

That’s none of your business, thought Squire Liu.

But he squeezed out a smile and replied, “Not that much. As you know, what we sell are just some cheap crisps. A few copper coins per pack, so the money we earn can barely cover our daily expenses.”

Mahal said, “You’ve promised to give money to the tribe if you don’t help the locals herd goats. Winter is coming soon. I think it’s time for you to pay the money, isn’t it?”

“You’re right. But as you can see, there are over 20 people in our two families. How can we survive if we give you money?”

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“Humph! I know how cunning you are! You’ve asked for so many things from me, but now you’re telling me you have no money to pay?”

Squire Liu explained, “You misunderstood me. I just want to know the standard. Now that anyone who can earn money has to pay the fee, what is the standard for us? For example, how much it is per person? Before we came here, the official told us we would be treated the same as the locals.”

Irritated by Squire Liu’s words, Mahal snorted, “My words are the best standard. It was I who allowed you to live your own way. Don’t be so ungrateful!”

“How much should we pay then?” Squire Liu asked.

Mahal began scrutinizing all the people and then the yurts. His eyes moved from their new clothes and boots to the rows of dried fish and delicious crisps. “Two silver taels.”

It was not much for Squire Liu whose fortune had remained mostly untouched. If they must pay the fee, he could handle it with his private money easily.

But being in no way a pushover, he said with a smile, “Okay. But when we paid taxes elsewhere, we always got receipts from the government. This is a rule. I think our tribe has the same rule, right?”

Of course, Mahal didn’t want to write a receipt, but how could he reject the temptation of two taels? Besides, where these people lived was quite remote. Even if the government sent people to inspect this tribe, they wouldn’t have anything on him.

Not a big deal for me, Mahal thought.

He clapped his thigh and said, “All right, I can write a receipt for you now. Do you have a writing brush and ink?”

Squire Liu replied smartly, “Yes. But my vocabulary in the local dialect is so limited. What about letting Billy add a dialect version so that the terms are clear to both of us.”

Mahal became suspicious. “Why do you want to make it so detailed?”

Squire Liu said, “It’s a rule, isn’t it? We’ve always done it this way. One will get a receipt when he or she rents a shop or pays taxes.”

Mahal knew Squire Liu would use this receipt for other purposes, but what could this man do? Will he report what I do to the government? But his relative in charge of trade downtown can’t help him with this at all. Besides, I also have a friend in the government who can protect me.

After thinking for a while, Mahal made up his mind. “All right, let’s go to Dilly’s house now.”

When they were about to leave, Mahal looked at the fish greedily. “These fish are quite fat, aren’t they?”

Squire Liu understood at once — the tribal leader wanted to take their fish for free. He generously unhooked two fish and handed them to Mahal. “Please take them. They’ll taste more delicious after two days.”

Mahal’s eyebrows danced and his spirit soared all of a sudden.

…

At dusk, the women made dinner and called everyone over to enjoy it. The meal was far from rich. Placed on the table were merely naans, potatoes and cabbage. But Ye Xiaoxian was so ingenious that she could always make the food into various fresh dishes, such as bacon-stuffed naans and stewed fish with cabbage and peppers. So, all the people were excited at mealtimes.

This evening, Jia Zhenbo and Xiao Tieshu also returned from the town. The journey was very hard for them because they could only eat naans and sleep in the carriage at night. So every time they got back, they would exclaim how they had missed the food Ye Xiaoxian made. They even wished that she would open a restaurant downtown.

But Ye Xiaoxian just smiled about that. She didn’t want to become busy with business again. In fact, she was very pleased with her current life. Every morning, as she walked out of the yurt, she could have a panoramic view of the lofty mountains, spacious grassland and rivers that glittered like jewels. She also planned to learn how to spur a horse someday so that she could gallop across the grassland and enjoy her freedom.

At this moment, she thought of something and said, “Oh yes, Auntie Dilly said the herdsmen would walk two days to pastures where they can raise their goats. Although it’ll snow here, we can still have fun during winter. For example, we can ski in the mountains.”

The topic aroused everyone’s interest at once. The kids, in particular, were more than excited. Xiao Baoyang said the local children told him winter was a very interesting season.

But Old Mr. Xiao dampened their spirits. “Will Baofeng be back? How are his studies with the Sixth King’s children going? He’ll celebrate the Spring Festival with us, right?”

Everybody fell into silence.

Xiao Baofeng was studying in the Sixth King’s palace, which was not an easy place to get into. Afraid of bothering the king and his nephew, Xiao Tieshu paid only a few visits there although he usually went into town.

Ye Xiaoxian said, “Uncle Tieshu, you can ask Mr. Li for help next time you go to town. If he’s there, perhaps he can help us.”

…

To their surprise, Li Chengru came to the tribe before Xiao Tieshu went to the town. That day, he rode there on a white horse with a small entourage. Sitting on the same horse with Fengsheng was the boy they missed; Xiao Baofeng.