Chapter 217 - Dati and Guri (1/2)

Xiao Baoshan was lost in deep thought again. He kept asking himself, “Who am I? Who on earth am I? Who was the woman in my dream? Who is the woman in front of me?”

After a long while, he still didn’t answer Jin Xiaoyu’s question. She stroked his cheeks, patted them flirtatiously and asked in a soft voice, “You don’t want to tell me? Or can’t you remember anything?”

“I don’t remember who I am,” he replied.

“Don’t worry. There’s no hurry. If you have nowhere to go, you can stay here. Take it easy. I won’t be hard on you.” She giggled.

“Where is this?” he asked.

She raised her brows. “This is Longmen Inn and I’m the owner here. You’re now in my bedroom, lying on my bed.”

He got up from the bed immediately and said, “I’m just an outsider. How can I live in your bedroom?”

She placed her hands on his shoulders. “You’ve been injured. It’s reasonable for you to stay here for a while.”

He pushed her hands aside and said resolutely, “Please arrange another room or a woodshed for me. I just need a small s.p.a.ce. I’ll remember your kindness forever.”

“Do you really think so?” She gave him the glad eye. Almost all the male customers wanted to make a pa.s.s at her. Except for Mr. Li, who had come last month.

Xiao Baoshan avoided her enchanting gaze and replied firmly, “Yes, I mean what I say.”

…

The Tianshan Mountains.

Ye Xiaoxian’s crisps and chips were selling very well. The honeyed crisps were the most popular. Back from town, Xiao Tieshu and Jia Zhenbo said they had quite a few repeat customers who always bought a large packet of crisps at a time. The only trouble was that it was too far to go into town.

It had taken the two families a day and a night to come here by carriage. Without the heavy luggage, Xiao Tieshu and Jia Zhenbo still needed a day to ride downtown. Therefore, Ye Xiaoxian would prepare the snacks to sell for two days and also some naan to fill their bellies. At the same time, she arranged for Liu Qianqian and some servants to sell the snacks at the tribal market. Although this was not a very profitable business, the money they earned could more or less cover their daily expenses.

One day, Ye Xiaoxian and Xiao Baozhu went to the riverside to wash clothes as usual. There, they met a woman called Zhi who had also escaped here from the south.

“You’re so clever. You’ve not only broken free from the tribal leader’s manipulation but also earned money in your own way. When we’d just arrived here, we were totally at the mercy of the leader,” she said with envy as she washed the clothes.

Ye Xiaoxian asked, “What about now?”

“Well, it’s better now. As long as we’re obedient, the farm owner will give us extra food to eat. Several days ago, he even gave us a small plot to grow vegetables and potatoes. This way, we don’t need to eat naan every day. But anyway, I still envy you,” Zhi said.

Ye Xiaoxian replied with a smile, “Things will get better. Don’t worry.”

Zhi asked, “Where are you from? Oh, we’re from Hexin county. We escaped as soon as we heard the bad news. It was so lucky that we left early. I heard that many people have died on the run.”

“Yes, we saw bodies strewn about the whole way here.” Ye Xiaoxian sighed slightly.

“The war is over and we feel a little homesick. But we’ve lost everything, including our money. Besides, if we go back, we’d have to go the same way again. It’s too daunting. What about you? Do you want to go back?” Zhi was quite talkative because it was not easy to meet someone who spoke the same language there.

This time, Xiao Baozhu replied instantly and firmly, “I don’t want to go back.” For one thing, she had a bad reputation in Qinghe county. For another, Scholar Wong was still there. If she went back, she would be gossiped about for the rest of her life.

As for Ye Xiaoxian, she could survive anywhere. If she went back, she had a cozy house to live in. But she would live a life the same as before, selling snacks and feeling no pa.s.sion. In the past, she could wait in her house for Xiao Baoshan. But now, he might have died. It made no sense for her to go back there. So she said, “The scenery here is very beautiful and I feel good living here. It doesn’t matter to me whether we go back or not.”

Xiao Baozhu gave her a grateful look.

Hearing this, Zhi murmured, “Alas, the scenery is indeed beautiful, but it’ll gradually become nothing fresh to you. Oh yes, since I came here early, I know a little local dialect. Yesterday, the farm owner said the tribal leader would ask you for money.”

“Money? What money?” Xiao Baozhu asked.

“It’s said you’re outsiders and have your own business. So you need to give some money to the tribe,” Zhi said.

Xiao Baozhu frowned. “That’s impossible. We won’t pay anything, especially not before he gives us flour.”