Chapter 213 - Tianshan Mountains (1/2)

Chapter 213: Tianshan Mountains

Translator: Fan Translation Studio

Mahal looked Ye Xiaoxian and her companions up and down and found that they had carriages and worn fine clothes. Then, he said, “Our tribe is a big one in Baoning city. The other tribes are either too dry or too cold. Have you heard about the Flaming Mountains? The tribe there is too hot for anyone to bear. Besides, it is mostly desert, so n.o.body will expect a good life there.”

Hearing that, they felt nervous and also fortunate that they didn’t choose the Flaming Mountains.

But Ye Xiaoxian had learned from the doc.u.mentary that it had enough water and fertile soil to grow grapes. In summer, the locals there usually slept on the roofs.

She suspected that Mahal had other intentions.

As she had expected, Mahal said, “Not anyone could be accepted by our tribe. Although we live separately in family units, each family should donate money to the tribe. If you have money, you also need to contribute to our tribal development.”

Squire Liu retorted, “But we are refugees and we don’t even have enough food to eat. How could we have extra money to pay for that?”

Mahal replied, “There’s no hurry. You can pay when you have money. If you want to settle down here, you have to work for the tribe. We have farms here, so you can help us herd goats if you want. But we don’t have money to pay for you. We can only provide you with two meals a day.”

Squire Liu asked, “What can we eat then?”

“A naan for a meal,” Mahal said. “The previous two batches of refugees are also herding goats here. Although this is the best tribe, we can’t provide you with good living conditions like the downtown. If you herd goats, you can at least fill your bellies.”

They exchanged a sad look at each other, feeling pessimistic about their future lives.

Squire Liu went on asking, “We have men to herd goats, but what about women and children? They also need food.”

Mahal said, “They can help milk or shear goats and will also get two naans each day.”

Two naans were only enough to keep them alive.

Ye Xiaoxian also thought of a question. “Mr. Mahal, what about our land? I heard that each family can get a yurt and 10 kilograms of flour.”

Mahal replied, “Yes. But we don’t have flour now, so you have to wait for several days. As for the yurts, you can follow me to fetch them now.”

Ye Xiaoxian liked the scenery here very much. The tribe was so large that the yurts dotted the plains spa.r.s.ely. Each family had about two yurts, one for dining and the other for sleeping. The windows were wide open to the blue sky, soft clouds and expansive gra.s.slands.

If this was a prosperous dynasty, Ye Xiaoxian could spend a whole day appreciating the scenery.

She was looking forward to settling down soon.。

The young men from the two families all followed Mahal to get the yurts.

When they went back, Ye Xiaoxian found the yurts were worn-out with holes all over. Clearly, they were what their previous owners had abandoned.

Squire Liu, who also saw the holes, was so shrewd that he didn’t complain about them.

…

But Ye Xiaoxian said, “Mr. Mahal, I heard that the yurts for refugees are new. The government has promised to subsidize them.”

Squire Liu pretended to cough, hinting her to mind her words. After all, refugees usually had the lowest status in a strange land.

After a sneer, Mahal answered with an affectedly puzzled look, “Really? But we don’t obtain any subsidies from the government. The yurts are indeed old, but they are still usable. Or you can ask Mr. Qiao about this if he hasn’t gone too far.”

Without doubt, Qiao Hu had gone for so long that they couldn’t catch up with him.

Ye Xiaoxian had no choices but to swallow her anger.

Mahal pointed at a hill and said, “You can settle down there. Look, near that tree.”

She protested, “Why can’t we settle down right here?”

Mahal stroked his beard and smirked. “Although you are arranged here, you are not the locals. If you live too close to us, I’m afraid you will disturb our lives. After all, our living styles are very different, right?”

She sighed slightly.

Anti-foreignism was an inherent weakness for a nation and it was too ubiquitous to avoid. But from another angle, anyone would be annoyed if his or her peaceful life was disturbed by strangers.

All right, just keep a safe distance with them.

Ye Xiaoxian suggested, “Squire Liu, it’s getting dark. Let’s set up the yurts now. I hope we can settle down earlier.”

Squire Liu agreed at once.

Mahal laughed and said, “You can have a discussion tonight. If you want to herd goats, give me a name list so that I can arrange work for you.”

Ye Xiaoxian didn’t answer. Neither did the others.