It is said that Zhao Xin bought several 30-pound large iron pots with a diameter of about 80 centimeters to make it easier for Shino and the other women to cook. They are the old-fashioned thickened cast iron pots used in rural households and used for cooking in canteens.
There are currently 308 refugees in the camp. Including Zhao Xin, Liu Sheng and seven others, there are only 315 people. Four large pots are enough for cooking rice, vegetables and soup.
The pots that Yarha and the others often see in Ninggu Pagoda are all very small cast iron pots, which are shipped all the way from the pass and are very expensive. In order to control these ethnic minorities, the Qing government rewards them as tribute minks every year.
The belongings that went down were all satin, cloth, needles and thread; ironware was absolutely restricted, and most border residents used pottery to cook at home.
When Yarha and the other two Kurkaqi people saw Li Ji and Sheng Haizhou walking up to them and putting the pot down, they walked over to the iron pot in unison, squatted down and tapped it lightly.
Liji looked at the cautious appearance of the three natives in front of him, and secretly cursed the three of them as "bumpkins." So he reached out and took the wooden stick used to lift the pot from the refugee's hand, and struck the iron pot with the stick.
The sound of "dang" is clear and sweet, with lingering echoes.
"What a good thing!" The three of Yalha were extremely happy. Not to mention the cotton robes and shoes, this pot alone made this trip to the island worthwhile.
The three Kurkhaqis exchanged glances with each other and nodded. Then they stood up from their horses and unloaded all the leather goods they had brought this time, still in front of Pingtai.
Pingtai looked through it roughly. Most of these leather goods were black fox skins, with fine coats and fine and smooth tentacles. There were also more than a dozen deer skins. He estimated that the total number must be more than a hundred.
At this time, the two newly arrived Kurkaqi people began to carry the iron pot on their horses and tied it with ropes. Yalha happily patted Pingtai, Liji and Sheng Haizhou on the shoulders, and kept saying
Author of "GUCU (Friend)."
Sheng Haizhou smiled and handed the one-pound bag of refined salt in front of Yalha.
"Shio (salt)."
Yalha looked curiously at the white packaging bag in the other person's hand. There were strange symbols and patterns painted on it, making him wonder what it was.
Sheng Haizhou gently tore a small opening in the outer packaging of the salt bag, then carefully poured some out into his hand and handed it to Yalha.
Yalha's eyes lit up, he stretched out his hand, took a handful and put it into his mouth, and soon showed a very satisfied look.
“Deji Dabsun(The finest salt)!”
When the two Kurgazi people who were tying the iron pot heard it, they immediately shouted something. Yalha twisted a handful more and gave them a taste each.
"Deji Dabsun!" The two people also exclaimed after tasting it.
The curious Pingtai grabbed Yarha, pointed at the salt bag first, and tried to say: "Deji Dabsun?"
Seeing that he didn't understand, Yarha pointed out his thumb and said, "Deji, Deji." Then he pointed at the salt bag and said, "Dabsun."
Pingtai and others suddenly realized.
Yarha pointed to the labor protection coat on his body with understanding: "Hubtu." Then pointed to the labor protection shoes on his feet: "Sabu."
Pingtai and others nodded and repeated a few words to show that they remembered.
Yalha took an animal skin bag from his horse, poured the salt from the opened salt bag into it very carefully.
When Sheng Haizhou saw it, he tore open the other bag of salt and poured it in together.
At this time, Zhao Xin was watching the commodity exchange scene with great interest when he heard someone calling him in a low voice not far behind him. He turned around and saw that it was Wang Yuanfang.
Zhao Xin stood up and walked to the other party and asked, "When did you come back?"
Wang Yuanfang said: "I've been back for a while. After we found out that the natives were coming in the morning, we followed them from a distance. It wasn't until we saw our people trading with them that we came back from the west gate." ""
Zhao Xin asked: "What did you call me for?"
Wang Yuanfang said: "That Lu Shoushan wants to see you."
Zhao Xin nodded: "Okay. I'll finish talking in a while, let's meet."
Wang Yuanfang said: "Okay, I'll inform you. Hey, why are you dressed like this? If the little girl hadn't pointed it out to me, I wouldn't have recognized it."
Zhao Xin took off the cloth wrapped around his head and said, "Isn't this braidless? I'm afraid that the natives will see it and cause trouble."
Wang Yuanfang smiled and said nothing.
When the two came to the tent where Lu Shoushan was, they saw Wu Siyu, Ding Guofeng, and Deng Fei standing outside.
"Liu Sheng and Zhao Liang went to have dinner. After we came back, Pan Xiucheng also woke up and said he wanted to see the child. Liu Sheng took him in just now." Wu Siyu said to Zhao Xin.
"How long has he been in there?" Zhao Xin asked.
"It's been about twenty minutes," Ding Guofeng added.
Zhao Xin thought for a while and then said: "I'll go in and take a look first. You guys wait a moment. I'll call you if I need anything. We are very tall people, so don't scare them." After he said that, he opened the door curtain and entered the tent.
The four people in the tent had heard the voices outside. As soon as Zhao Xin came in, he saw Lu Shoushan supporting Pan Xiucheng and Xu Funan pulling Xu Shounan, and they were all kneeling on the ground.
"Thank you for saving my life, gentlemen. I will never forget your great kindness!" Pan Xiucheng kowtowed to the ground, and Xu Funan also took his younger brother to kowtow together.
Zhao Xin smiled and said: "Everyone, get up. You have just recovered from a serious illness. Take a good rest for a few days."
After seeing the four people standing up, Zhao Xin asked them all to sit down, and he also sat cross-legged on the mat. After Lu Shoushan and the others saw Zhao Xin sitting down, they also sat down carefully.
"Brother Lu, what do you want from me?"
"Mr. Zhao, you can just call me Shoushan." Lu Shoushan cupped his hands, expressing that he did not dare to be called "eldest brother".
"Okay, then I will call you Brother Shoushan." Zhao Xin smiled and nodded.
"Mr. Zhao, our brothers and the two young masters Sun were rescued by you, and you took action to heal Brother Xiucheng and Young Master Funan. I heard Brother Xiucheng tell me before that you and Mr. Liu stayed up all night to take care of them.
We really have nothing to repay for such a great kindness!”
Zhao Xin waved his hand: "Let's not talk about this for now. What are your plans?"
Lu Shoushan smiled miserably: "After escaping from Ninggu Pagoda, Brother Xiucheng and I originally wanted to go all the way south, but we found officers and soldiers patrolling on the way. I heard a bannerman transporting grain say before that if you know how to go east from Daling,
Follow the river to the seaside and there is a fishing village.
Our original plan was to escape the winter near the fishing village, and when the ice melted in the spring, we would find a boat to go south to North Korea. Who could have imagined that Brother Xiucheng and Master Sun both fell ill."
Zhao Xin shook his head and said: "From here to North Korea, the sea is vast. If you want to find a small boat to row across, you will definitely have a narrow escape." He paused and suddenly asked: "Do you understand Manchu?"
Lu Shoushan and Pan Xiucheng both nodded. Pan Xiucheng coughed twice and said: "Mr. Zhao, when our brothers were slaves in Ninggu Pagoda, none of the armored soldiers and flag soldiers spoke Chinese.
He spoke Manchu. We didn't understand it at first, but after being whipped a lot, we gradually remembered it.
Brother Shoushan is literate and has a better brain than me. He got a lot of information from Qiding..."
Lu Shoushan answered at this time: "Mr. Zhao, if you need me and Xiucheng, just say one word, go up to the mountain of swords, go down to the sea of fire, work as cows and horses. I just want to preserve the two bloodlines of the Xu family.
When she came to Ninggu Pagoda, the old lady died halfway; the next winter, the young lady also died.
Before she died, the young lady cried and begged us to take good care of Mr. Sun and our brothers. Xiucheng and I both knelt down and swore an oath.
Mr. Zhao, I know you are a kind person.
You can give up your place to live in for Brother Xiucheng and these two children. Such a good house and bedding... To be honest, the Xu family was considered the richest family in Dongtai back then, even in Taizhou.
But I don’t think it can be compared with the furnishings in your house.
Mr. Zhao, as long as you can accept Mr. Sun's brothers and give them enough to eat, I will never frown even if it involves murder and arson!"
Having said this, Pan Xiucheng also nodded heavily. The two of them knelt down in front of Zhao Xin in unison and kowtowed three times.
Zhao Xin looked at the two people in front of him, sighed, and said slowly: "To tell you the truth, I am also bringing a group of overseas refugees here, and their previous situations were similar to yours. The village has suffered a major disaster.
But their government doesn't care about the lives of these people at all.
I met them by chance, and it was considered a fate. If I didn't care about them, they would only become bones in the wilderness.
Let’s not talk about this anymore. I will definitely be of use to you two in the future. Don’t worry about these two children. As long as they have something to eat from me, I will never starve them.”
When Lu Shoushan and Pan Xiucheng heard this, they were immediately overjoyed and quickly said to Xu Funan and Xu Shounan who were sitting next to them: "Quick, kowtow to Mr. Zhao."
Five years of living as a slave in Ningguta had made eight-year-old Xu Funan gradually understand some of the difficulties of life. He pulled his younger brother Xu Shounan to kneel in front of Zhao Xin and kowtowed three times.
"Get up." Zhao Xin helped the two children up and continued: "I don't need you to be slaves. I will find someone to teach you how to read and write. I can't let the scholarly family of the Xu family lose its inheritance. I'll wait for you.
When you two grow up, you can help me with things."
"Yes, thank you, sir." The eldest son, Xu Funan, was indescribably happy when he heard that he could read and write.
Six-year-old Xu Shounan knew that the old man in front of him was a kind-hearted person, so he hesitated for a long time, and after focusing everyone's attention on himself, he said rashly: "Master, can I talk to that big man?"
Sister, do you want to play with me?"
Zhao Xin laughed and said to Xu Shounan: "The big-eyed sister's name is A Miao, and she is also a poor child without her parents. There are Kurkhaqi people outside the camp coming to exchange for animal skins. Don't go out yet. Wait for them to leave.
If you want to look for them, ask your brother to take you there, but don't leave the camp." After saying that, he stretched out his hands and rubbed the little heads of the two brothers.
Zhao Xin turned to Lu Shoushan and Pan Xiucheng and said, "As for the two of you, you need to take good care of yourself in the camp for the time being."
Seeing that the two people opposite him were about to speak, he raised his hand to stop them, and continued: "It is still winter now, the sea is frozen, and it will be March or April next year to wait for the ice to melt. Before that, in addition to cutting some
The tree can't be used for anything other than making fire. Take a few days to rest and wait until your body recovers. When it's time for you, I will naturally make arrangements. There are no idlers here."