“Earn money?” Mahal snorted. “Of course they will if they can come back alive. But a trip will cost them one or even two months and 20 camels need at least 15 people to look after. Besides, they may confront bandits or be buried by sand at anytime. So I don’t think it’s a promising business, or I’d have done this before them.”
“Is it really so scary?” Guri asked. She was worried about Tarico.
“You’ll see. They’ll soon cry in front of us.” Mahal said as he slurped the noodles.
Relieved by his words, Dati continued eating her noodles. She had been exceptionally worried when seeing the large camel team. If they were financially outstripped by a poor guy and some refugees, their authority would be greatly reduced in the tribe. But Guri was rather anxious. She wanted to stop Tarico from risking his life.
…
Ye Xiaoxian and her companions began preparing the first batch of goods while feeding the camels. The camels liked eating leaves, hay and salt which were hard to digest. Fortunately, these were not difficult to obtain and didn’t cost much money. It only needed someone to cut grass every day. Since such food was cheap, they could also buy it from the locals. Some local children often picked dry grass and leaves and swapped them for money.
Tarico went to Desert Eagle’s house and wished he could guide the camel team. Desert Eagle’s real name was Ji. He agreed on the condition that they paid him three silver taels for a trip. When Tarico told Ye Xiaoxian about this, she said the commission was not a big deal as long as Ji could do his job well. After that, Mahal went to the market to purchase commodities with Ye Xiaoxian, Squire Liu and some other people.
Many local specialties could be exported. They included processed wool, dairy products, dried fruit, cotton, herbal medicine, sorghum liquor, beef jerky, and mutton jerky. Since the material resources here were not enough, they also went to other tribes to purchase more. Then, they packaged the commodities by using the consistent jars and oil paper written with “Tianshan” as the brand name.
During that time, all the people bustled around in their respective positions. Purchasing, cooking, or feeding camels, they felt glad that they were useful in this big team. After full preparation, it was time to set off.
It was their first time going through the desert. Except for Tarico, all the people were decidedly worried. If they really confronted any danger, all their efforts would turn out fruitless. More seriously, they might die on the way.
Ye Xiaoxian was also very nervous. But being the organizer, she couldn’t show negative emotions. Besides, since it was the first transportation trip, she decided to follow the camel team this time.
Learning about this, Li Hongmei became anxious. “Little Ye, you’re a woman. Why must you go with them? What if…”
Ye Xiaoxian replied with studied casualness, “According to Ji, it’ll be a smooth journey as long as the weather is good. It’s just like riding a horse on grassland. Besides, we have plenty of food and water. So you don’t need to worry about me.”
Hearing that, Xiao Baozhu suddenly clenched her fists. “If you go, I’ll go too.”
“Baozhu…” Li Hongmei wanted to dissuade her.
But Ye Xiaoxian said hurriedly, “Okay! I’d like a woman to accompany me.” Now that she appeared so confident about the safety, how could she stop Xiao Baozhu from going with her? Otherwise, Li Hongmei would certainly think the journey was dangerous.
Xiao Baozhu looked unconcerned about the potential danger. “Mom, if you’re over-cautious, you can’t do anything well and may even hinder Sister Ye. Just Trust Sister Ye.”
Li Hongmei could only give up trying to dissuade them.
Ye Xiaoxian’s participation relieved her uncles’ worry. After some discussion, they determined who was to go on the first trip. They decided on Tarico, Jia Zhenbo, Ye Xiaoxian, Xiao Baozhu, Xiao Tieshu, Dawu, Wong Wen, and Wong Wu.
Although they had 20 camels, they could have some of the camels carrying more than one person. This way, more of the camels had the energy to carry goods.
…
On the day of departure, Tarico was sharpening arrows at home. He usually used wooden arrows for archery practice. Although they were not as sharp as military ones, they would be useful for handling ordinary bandits. So he planned to prepare more arrows in case any accidents might happen on the journey. After all, there were not only bandits but also wolves and snakes in the desert.
Just then, he heard the clatter of a horse’s hooves. He looked up and found Guri riding over on her red horse. Instead of rising to greet her, he continued with his work.
“Tarico!” Guri shouted.
She was not pretty with a fierce look on her face. Although her face was full of worry, she was still far from being likable.
“What is it?” Tarico asked.
“I heard that you’re going to the desert tomorrow. Is it true?” She asked as she dismounted the horse.
“Yes.” His tone was cool.
Guri put on airs. “I forbid you to go.”
Tarico couldn’t help laughing. He would do whatever he wanted to do. How could he be stopped by Guri?
“Tarico, did you hear me? I forbid you to go. I want you to stay. If you stay, I’ll let you come to my home.” She finally spoke her mind to him.
He was confused. “Go to your home? Why?”
“Well… how should I say? You come to my home of course to be my father’s son-in-law!”
With a start, Tarico almost cut his finger with the knife in his hand.
Seeing his reaction, Guri had a big smile. “Are you surprised? Actually, I had this idea long ago. Do you agree or not? If you agree, I’ll tell my father now. After we get married, the cows and goats in my family will all be ours and you don’t need to take risks to herd camels.”
She thought Tarico would feel flattered. But in fact, he still looked indifferent, showing no hint of excitement.
Under her expectant eyes, he replied slowly and clearly, “I don’t agree.”
She was surprised. “Why?”
“I don’t like you and don’t want to be your father’s son-in-law. I like herding camels,” he said frankly.
He was as straightforward as any other local in the tribe of the Tianshan Mountains.
Guri said angrily, “Then do you like that southern woman? I heard that she’s a widow! You’d rather like her than the women of our tribe?”
Tarico seemed disgusted with her words. “It’s my own business who I like. It’s none of your concern.”
