CH 36
The two of them calmed down and returned to the salt cave, one after the other.
Outside, the people of the Ministry of Salt were working hard, while the salt cave was a more difficult place.
It was windproof and cramped. When the weather was hot, the sweat from a day’s work inside could accumulate into a pond.
What was more terrible was the collapse.
Sometimes people would die. Although people had experience in digging for a long time, they would collapse several times.
Ah Chuan was holding a stone pick, in the cave, there were five or six people sitting in a conspicuous place to rest.
“You got the pickaxes?” An older man stood up and asked.
Ah Chuan nodded and divided the picks: “There are still two left, I’ll go back tomorrow.”
The older man: “Okay, then I’ll settle with you another day.”
Xiao Le wasn’t in a good mood and worked on his own. Several people worked all day, and in the evening, Bao Shu came in.
Bao Shu stood at the entrance of the cave and peeked inside: “Where is everyone!?”
Ah Chuan was the first to answer and walked out: “Lord Bao Shu.”
Bao Shu took two steps back, stood in a ventilated place and waved his hand, “It smells too bad you guys, go back and get a bucket of water each, wash up.”
He finished and didn’t wait for a response, he shouted: “Roll call! Roll call!”
The salt cave was very deep, and this wasn’t the only entrance, after a while, one after another 50 or 60 people gathered near the entrance of this cave. Bao Shu asked his two companions to check how much they had dug today. Even if it looked similar, if it was too small, they would be hoisted and whipped.
Xiao Le and Ah Chuan went to get the stone pickaxe today, which wasted a little time, so they didn’t dig much, but Xiao Le’s was a little less.
He stood numbly, thinking indifferently, even if he was whipped to death, so what? There was no point in living like this all the time.
The two inspectors were at their diagonal, turning their backs to the place.
At this moment, Ah Chuan gently kicked two large pieces of stone salt he dug into Xiao Le’s pile with his foot.
Xiao Le was surprised, he frowned, and was about to kick the two pieces of rock salt back, but saw his companion Bao Shu turn around just in time.
He pursed his lips reluctantly and didn’t move again.
“Ah Chuan?” After a moment, the two men came closer, and one of them called Ah Chuan’s name and frowned.
Ah Chuan hmmed.
Although the man frowned, he eventually said nothing and walked towards the front.
Xiao Le sighed with relief.
As the evening red haze burned in the sky, Bao Shu and the others finished their inspection, they asked Ah Chuan and the others to carry the rock salt to the wooden sled car, which would then be pulled away.
It was the same process every day. Bao Shu yawned and finished the task before the afterglow of the setting sun dispersed.
As the slave’s day drew to a close, they each received a bowl of twisted soup and a sour fruit.
This was dinner.
Although they weren’t full, they would have dried meat in the morning, and no one complained when they got used to it.
“Ah Chuan.”
At night, the people slept in the shelter, Xiao Le couldn’t sleep and called out softly.
Ah Chuan pretended not to hear.
Xiao Lu muttered, “…… I’m so hungry.”
“I so want to eat the kind that I smelled this afternoon, especially fragrant food. If I could eat it once, I’d die happily.”
“Xiao Le!”
Ah Chuan chided in a low voice.
In the wilderness and lowlands, as long as it wasn’t winter, they didn’t even have a tent to keep out the wind. When he opened his eyes, there was a vast starry sky. The weeds were rustling in the wind, covering up their voices.
Ah Chuan turned over and faced the sky. “We are slaves,” he murmured.
Xiao Le sobbed: “I know, I can’t do anything, but I often thought that it would have been better if I hadn’t been sold. I’d rather die with you, with my sisters and aunts, than be a slave ”
Xiao Le remembered that it was very cold and snowy that winter. The old people in the tribe said that they had never been so cold in their life.
His and Ah Chuan’s tribes weren’t well prepared, and their tents were all collapsed under the snow. The whole tribe had to migrate in the extreme cold to find caves that could shelter from the wind and keep warm.
The cave was nowhere to be found, but people were frozen to death one by one. It never rained softly but it poured. One morning, Xiao Le, Ah Chuan and a dozen other people found that they were separated from the tribe.
They had no choice but to move in one direction. There were fewer and fewer people. When they found the Salt tribe, there were only five people left.
Three women, plus two teenagers, that was, Ah Chuan and Xiao Le.
That year was too cold, no tribe was good.
The chief of the salt tribe gave them a few cups of hot water, then said there was no place to take them.
Xiao Le remembered that cup of hot water, it was the best hot water he ever drank, one sip and all his limbs were revived. He thought at the time, with this cup of water, he was willing to die.
After a few words with the chief, Ah Chuan’s sister, knowing that the Salt tribe had the habit of taking slaves, pleaded with the Ministry to take them in, willing to sell themselves as slaves.
After discussing with others, the head of the Salt tribe said that only the two teenagers could be left, and the women couldn’t be taken in.
Ah Chuan’s sister cried and agreed, with a belly full of hot water, they said goodbye to Ah Chuan and Xiao Le. The three women’s figures drowned in the blanket of snow and wind.
Xiao Le knew that he was a very weak person. He was a little follower of Ah Chuan when he was young. He cried when he was hurt and when he was hungry. His willpower was extremely weak. When Sister and their family left, he saw that Ah Chuan was trying to be patient. Maybe Ah Chuan didn’t want to stay as a slave at all. He didn’t care for the hot water.
It was because of him, because he was too eager, A Chuan stayed for him.
When Xiao Le thought of this, he felt that he was the most useless person in the world, he made his choice, now that he was suffering, he was complaining and full of regret.
If it wasn’t for him, Ah Chuan would certainly live a lot better.
Suddenly, he felt a heat in front of his chest, Ah Chuan rolled over and hugged him.
“Don’t cry, your eyes will hurt tomorrow.”
Xiao Le choked and nodded.
The two embraced, about to fall asleep, but suddenly heard some sounds that didn’t belong to the tumbleweed insects.
Ah Chuan alertly straightened up with his hands on the ground.
But the sound of distant footsteps got louder and louder, more and more dense, accompanied by a booming sound, it actually made the ground shake slightly!
Many sleeping slaves woke up, some sat up, some timidly went into the salt cave to hide.
Xiao Le tugged at the corner of Ah Chuan’s coat, his fingers trembling: “Ah Chuan, Ah Chuan, what do you think it is? Will it, will it ……”
Ah Chuan’s expression wasn’t very good, he shook his head. Xiao Le understood that he wouldn’t be willing to take advantage of the chaos to escape, the Salt tribe had been kind to them, if not for the Salt tribe, they would have died long ago.
Not only that, if someone were to take advantage of the night to attack the tribe, Ah Chuan would certainly not sit idly by.
However, Xiao Le thought doubtfully that this direction headed straight out of the tribe. If someone really wanted to burn and kill, shouldn’t they go in from outside?
The two leaned against each other, each alert, and their muscles gradually tightened.
Ah Chuan breathed less and less, as if he had merged into the night, while Xiao Le also crouched to the ground as far as possible, hiding his figure.
The footsteps came closer. There were even more than ten of them.
Just when Ah Chuan and Xiao Le’s nerves were at their peak, suddenly, a blinding golden light shone ahead of them, hurting them to the point of pain!
Ah Chuan blinked hard to squeeze out the tears, rolled on the ground to a stone pickaxe not far away, and fell into a fight stance!
Xiao Le crept forward a few steps, moving to grab the stone pickaxe, a clear and nice voice sounded: “Hey, where are the people?”
Ah Chuan was stunned. Bao Di’s deep voice rang out, “They are all here. Don’t shine so brightly…”
” You don’t have many slaves.”
“How much do you want?” Bao Di sounded powerless: “If there are as many slaves as ordinary people in the tribe, who will work in the Salt tribe?”
“Ah, also. That said, why is Old Mu was so slow? Tian Yang-” After a pause, he shouted again, “Tian Yang-!”
Rumble, rumble, rumble, Ah Chuan and Xiao Le watched in awe as a huge wooden sled cart was placed side by side on a wooden plank adorned with strange round pieces.
A few familiar craftsmen and a tall man from the tribe pulled the rattan ropes that tied the carts, easily pulling so much stuff along.
Those wooden sled car piled up mountains of stuff, at first glance they were large pieces of all useless junk, and a strange-shaped column erected, what was all this stuff?! Ah, there was a person sitting in the car! It seemed to be a woman!
The people didn’t hide, but walked out with things in a big way. When they saw the dull Ah Chuan and Xiao Le who had forgotten to hide their figures, the leader waved the stick in his hand happily, and the golden light became brighter!
“Bao Di look at them, they are the slaves you said!”
Bao Di numbly responded: “Yes ……”
“Then I can buy them!”
“You can ……”
The leader, with beautiful and soft white hair, smiled like a spring breeze, stood still and said, “Well, if you want to go, just follow me. If you don’t want to go, how about staying?”
Nobody understood the current situation!
They were ready to fight, but why are you here!?
Was it the craftsman who took the whole house away from the mountain of goods on the wooden sled? Was it the silkworm lady who sat on the top of the mountain, the one with a plaque on her face
When Rong Yue saw that no one answered him positively, he said strangely, “Bao Di, your slaves are mute?”
Bao Di squatted down: “No! They just don’t know what’s going on!” He said to himself, “I don’t know what happened either, how could it turn out like this!
Rong Yue patted him: “Don’t be anxious, so, let me briefly introduce the place you are going to? The name is Xingyue Tribe.”
“Our Xingyue tribe, ah,” he cleared his throat, “is located on the shores of the beautiful Xingye Lake.” The name was just given two days ago.
“Our tribe has food to eat, water to drink, houses to live in, and everyone is equal! What about it? Those who are willing to come, I will leave the appropriate amount of food for you for the salt tribe at the price quoted by Bao Di. It is equivalent to me buying you out, only you have the choice not to come with me.”
After Rong Yue finished, seeing that still no one reacted, he said disappointedly, “None of you are willing? Our tribe is very good!”
Bao Di, still squatting, whispered, “Take out the ‘fries’, they will definitely go with you.”
Rong Yue oh: “Yes, and this.”
The silkworm girl reluctantly handed a basket from the roof of the car to Tian Yang, and then he passed it to Rong Yue, who said, “This is a special product of our Xingyue tribe, fries dipped in ketchup, it’s not too good when it’s cold, if you guys are willing to come with me, you can eat it hot.”
He put his hand forward, the basket was already under the eyes of Ah Chuan.
Ah Chuan hesitated for a moment, lifted his hand and took one, followed Rong Yue’s example and dipped it into the dish of blood-like goo, and the moment he put it into his mouth, he heard Rong Yue add: “Hot and very fragrant -”
It smelled good…
Fragrant-
The-
Xiao Le’s words were still ringing in his ears: so fragrant, if I could eat it once, I’d be willing to die!
Outside, the people of the Ministry of Salt were working hard, while the salt cave was a more difficult place.
It was windproof and cramped. When the weather was hot, the sweat from a day’s work inside could accumulate into a pond.
What was more terrible was the collapse.
Sometimes people would die. Although people had experience in digging for a long time, they would collapse several times.
Ah Chuan was holding a stone pick, in the cave, there were five or six people sitting in a conspicuous place to rest.
“You got the pickaxes?” An older man stood up and asked.
Ah Chuan nodded and divided the picks: “There are still two left, I’ll go back tomorrow.”
The older man: “Okay, then I’ll settle with you another day.”
Xiao Le wasn’t in a good mood and worked on his own. Several people worked all day, and in the evening, Bao Shu came in.
Bao Shu stood at the entrance of the cave and peeked inside: “Where is everyone!?”
Ah Chuan was the first to answer and walked out: “Lord Bao Shu.”
Bao Shu took two steps back, stood in a ventilated place and waved his hand, “It smells too bad you guys, go back and get a bucket of water each, wash up.”
He finished and didn’t wait for a response, he shouted: “Roll call! Roll call!”
The salt cave was very deep, and this wasn’t the only entrance, after a while, one after another 50 or 60 people gathered near the entrance of this cave. Bao Shu asked his two companions to check how much they had dug today. Even if it looked similar, if it was too small, they would be hoisted and whipped.
Xiao Le and Ah Chuan went to get the stone pickaxe today, which wasted a little time, so they didn’t dig much, but Xiao Le’s was a little less.
He stood numbly, thinking indifferently, even if he was whipped to death, so what? There was no point in living like this all the time.
The two inspectors were at their diagonal, turning their backs to the place.
At this moment, Ah Chuan gently kicked two large pieces of stone salt he dug into Xiao Le’s pile with his foot.
Xiao Le was surprised, he frowned, and was about to kick the two pieces of rock salt back, but saw his companion Bao Shu turn around just in time.
He pursed his lips reluctantly and didn’t move again.
“Ah Chuan?” After a moment, the two men came closer, and one of them called Ah Chuan’s name and frowned.
Ah Chuan hmmed.
Although the man frowned, he eventually said nothing and walked towards the front.
Xiao Le sighed with relief.
As the evening red haze burned in the sky, Bao Shu and the others finished their inspection, they asked Ah Chuan and the others to carry the rock salt to the wooden sled car, which would then be pulled away.
It was the same process every day. Bao Shu yawned and finished the task before the afterglow of the setting sun dispersed.
As the slave’s day drew to a close, they each received a bowl of twisted soup and a sour fruit.
This was dinner.
Although they weren’t full, they would have dried meat in the morning, and no one complained when they got used to it.
“Ah Chuan.”
At night, the people slept in the shelter, Xiao Le couldn’t sleep and called out softly.
Ah Chuan pretended not to hear.
Xiao Lu muttered, “…… I’m so hungry.”
“I so want to eat the kind that I smelled this afternoon, especially fragrant food. If I could eat it once, I’d die happily.”
“Xiao Le!”
Ah Chuan chided in a low voice.
In the wilderness and lowlands, as long as it wasn’t winter, they didn’t even have a tent to keep out the wind. When he opened his eyes, there was a vast starry sky. The weeds were rustling in the wind, covering up their voices.
Ah Chuan turned over and faced the sky. “We are slaves,” he murmured.
Xiao Le sobbed: “I know, I can’t do anything, but I often thought that it would have been better if I hadn’t been sold. I’d rather die with you, with my sisters and aunts, than be a slave ”
Xiao Le remembered that it was very cold and snowy that winter. The old people in the tribe said that they had never been so cold in their life.
His and Ah Chuan’s tribes weren’t well prepared, and their tents were all collapsed under the snow. The whole tribe had to migrate in the extreme cold to find caves that could shelter from the wind and keep warm.
The cave was nowhere to be found, but people were frozen to death one by one. It never rained softly but it poured. One morning, Xiao Le, Ah Chuan and a dozen other people found that they were separated from the tribe.
They had no choice but to move in one direction. There were fewer and fewer people. When they found the Salt tribe, there were only five people left.
Three women, plus two teenagers, that was, Ah Chuan and Xiao Le.
That year was too cold, no tribe was good.
The chief of the salt tribe gave them a few cups of hot water, then said there was no place to take them.
Xiao Le remembered that cup of hot water, it was the best hot water he ever drank, one sip and all his limbs were revived. He thought at the time, with this cup of water, he was willing to die.
After a few words with the chief, Ah Chuan’s sister, knowing that the Salt tribe had the habit of taking slaves, pleaded with the Ministry to take them in, willing to sell themselves as slaves.
After discussing with others, the head of the Salt tribe said that only the two teenagers could be left, and the women couldn’t be taken in.
Ah Chuan’s sister cried and agreed, with a belly full of hot water, they said goodbye to Ah Chuan and Xiao Le. The three women’s figures drowned in the blanket of snow and wind.
Xiao Le knew that he was a very weak person. He was a little follower of Ah Chuan when he was young. He cried when he was hurt and when he was hungry. His willpower was extremely weak. When Sister and their family left, he saw that Ah Chuan was trying to be patient. Maybe Ah Chuan didn’t want to stay as a slave at all. He didn’t care for the hot water.
It was because of him, because he was too eager, A Chuan stayed for him.
When Xiao Le thought of this, he felt that he was the most useless person in the world, he made his choice, now that he was suffering, he was complaining and full of regret.
If it wasn’t for him, Ah Chuan would certainly live a lot better.
Suddenly, he felt a heat in front of his chest, Ah Chuan rolled over and hugged him.
“Don’t cry, your eyes will hurt tomorrow.”
Xiao Le choked and nodded.
The two embraced, about to fall asleep, but suddenly heard some sounds that didn’t belong to the tumbleweed insects.
Ah Chuan alertly straightened up with his hands on the ground.
But the sound of distant footsteps got louder and louder, more and more dense, accompanied by a booming sound, it actually made the ground shake slightly!
Many sleeping slaves woke up, some sat up, some timidly went into the salt cave to hide.
Xiao Le tugged at the corner of Ah Chuan’s coat, his fingers trembling: “Ah Chuan, Ah Chuan, what do you think it is? Will it, will it ……”
Ah Chuan’s expression wasn’t very good, he shook his head. Xiao Le understood that he wouldn’t be willing to take advantage of the chaos to escape, the Salt tribe had been kind to them, if not for the Salt tribe, they would have died long ago.
Not only that, if someone were to take advantage of the night to attack the tribe, Ah Chuan would certainly not sit idly by.
However, Xiao Le thought doubtfully that this direction headed straight out of the tribe. If someone really wanted to burn and kill, shouldn’t they go in from outside?
The two leaned against each other, each alert, and their muscles gradually tightened.
Ah Chuan breathed less and less, as if he had merged into the night, while Xiao Le also crouched to the ground as far as possible, hiding his figure.
The footsteps came closer. There were even more than ten of them.
Just when Ah Chuan and Xiao Le’s nerves were at their peak, suddenly, a blinding golden light shone ahead of them, hurting them to the point of pain!
Ah Chuan blinked hard to squeeze out the tears, rolled on the ground to a stone pickaxe not far away, and fell into a fight stance!
Xiao Le crept forward a few steps, moving to grab the stone pickaxe, a clear and nice voice sounded: “Hey, where are the people?”
Ah Chuan was stunned. Bao Di’s deep voice rang out, “They are all here. Don’t shine so brightly…”
” You don’t have many slaves.”
“How much do you want?” Bao Di sounded powerless: “If there are as many slaves as ordinary people in the tribe, who will work in the Salt tribe?”
“Ah, also. That said, why is Old Mu was so slow? Tian Yang-” After a pause, he shouted again, “Tian Yang-!”
Rumble, rumble, rumble, Ah Chuan and Xiao Le watched in awe as a huge wooden sled cart was placed side by side on a wooden plank adorned with strange round pieces.
A few familiar craftsmen and a tall man from the tribe pulled the rattan ropes that tied the carts, easily pulling so much stuff along.
Those wooden sled car piled up mountains of stuff, at first glance they were large pieces of all useless junk, and a strange-shaped column erected, what was all this stuff?! Ah, there was a person sitting in the car! It seemed to be a woman!
The people didn’t hide, but walked out with things in a big way. When they saw the dull Ah Chuan and Xiao Le who had forgotten to hide their figures, the leader waved the stick in his hand happily, and the golden light became brighter!
“Bao Di look at them, they are the slaves you said!”
Bao Di numbly responded: “Yes ……”
“Then I can buy them!”
“You can ……”
The leader, with beautiful and soft white hair, smiled like a spring breeze, stood still and said, “Well, if you want to go, just follow me. If you don’t want to go, how about staying?”
Nobody understood the current situation!
They were ready to fight, but why are you here!?
Was it the craftsman who took the whole house away from the mountain of goods on the wooden sled? Was it the silkworm lady who sat on the top of the mountain, the one with a plaque on her face
When Rong Yue saw that no one answered him positively, he said strangely, “Bao Di, your slaves are mute?”
Bao Di squatted down: “No! They just don’t know what’s going on!” He said to himself, “I don’t know what happened either, how could it turn out like this!
Rong Yue patted him: “Don’t be anxious, so, let me briefly introduce the place you are going to? The name is Xingyue Tribe.”
“Our Xingyue tribe, ah,” he cleared his throat, “is located on the shores of the beautiful Xingye Lake.” The name was just given two days ago.
“Our tribe has food to eat, water to drink, houses to live in, and everyone is equal! What about it? Those who are willing to come, I will leave the appropriate amount of food for you for the salt tribe at the price quoted by Bao Di. It is equivalent to me buying you out, only you have the choice not to come with me.”
After Rong Yue finished, seeing that still no one reacted, he said disappointedly, “None of you are willing? Our tribe is very good!”
Bao Di, still squatting, whispered, “Take out the ‘fries’, they will definitely go with you.”
Rong Yue oh: “Yes, and this.”
The silkworm girl reluctantly handed a basket from the roof of the car to Tian Yang, and then he passed it to Rong Yue, who said, “This is a special product of our Xingyue tribe, fries dipped in ketchup, it’s not too good when it’s cold, if you guys are willing to come with me, you can eat it hot.”
He put his hand forward, the basket was already under the eyes of Ah Chuan.
Ah Chuan hesitated for a moment, lifted his hand and took one, followed Rong Yue’s example and dipped it into the dish of blood-like goo, and the moment he put it into his mouth, he heard Rong Yue add: “Hot and very fragrant -”
It smelled good…
Fragrant-
The-
Xiao Le’s words were still ringing in his ears: so fragrant, if I could eat it once, I’d be willing to die!
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