Novels online

Chapter 905 Three New Arrivals

Zao Ying led Nangnang Fujin, Sutai Fujin, and E'zhe back to Gao Family Village.

Travel was slow in those days.

The three hostages, escorted by the cavalry battalion, felt utterly terrified. Their hearts pounded with the same frantic dread that An Jile and Zhebu had experienced when they were first brought to Gao Family Village.

Terror gnawed at them, coupled with a crushing worry for their fate.

The two women had already steeled themselves, prepared to compromise and endure any humiliation from the Han people to protect E'zhe. *Just name your demands,* they thought, *and we will fulfill them. Do whatever you wish; as long as my son is spared, I will do anything.*

E'zhe's birth mother, Sutai, in particular, was aflame with a mother's fierce resolve, ready to face any adversity.

The moment they stepped into Gao Family Village, she was braced to witness a landscape of pure hell.

However, they were greeted by An Jile and Zhebu, both clad in Mongolian attire, smiling and waving at the three newcomers, addressing them in Mongolian: "Nangnang, Sutai, E'zhe, welcome."

The three new arrivals were utterly bewildered: *Who are these two Mongolians?*

At her words, the three newcomers instantly understood: *So, the Wushen leader's wife and son are also held by the Han. No wonder! No wonder the Han people stole the Imperial Seal, and Wushen showed no reaction. The Wushen Tribe is nothing but a puppet army of the Han!*

Only then did the three finally grasp why the Wushen Tribe had risen so rapidly, subjugating the Ordos Tribe and the Tumed Mongols, and then marching against Chahar.

Yet, there was little resentment.

The three had personally witnessed those strange iron vehicles. When they moved across the steppe, they were truly invincible, leaving no room for resistance.

Sutai Fujin's face was a little downcast. "An Jile, Zhebu, have you been living among the Han people for a long time? Is life here... alright?"

Even as she asked, she didn't expect a positive answer. *What kind of good life can a hostage have? Surely, they're treated like beasts of burden by day and forced to serve ugly, old men by night...*

But An Jile laughed. "It's wonderful! Life here is absolutely fantastic."

Sutai blinked. "Huh?"

An Jile's smile widened. "It's even better than when I lived with the Wushen Tribe."

Sutai stammered, "What, what, what?"

An Jile gestured. "Come with us."

An Jile and Zhebu led the way, with the three newcomers trailing fearfully behind.

The bustling and prosperous Gao Family Village commercial hub soon unfolded before them. The streets were lined with dazzling arrays of goods, making the three Mongolian newcomers' heads spin.

There were markets on the Mongolian steppe, with Han, Mongolian, and even Western Region merchants exchanging goods, but that pitiful handful of items paled in comparison to the Gao Family Village market. It was like a firefly trying to outshine the sun and moon.

Nangnang Fujin pointed at a small stall ahead and gasped, "Look! That shop is selling iron pots, so many big iron pots, displayed everywhere. I've never seen so many iron pots in my life!"

An Jile glanced at the shop and chuckled. "That's a store run by the Gao Family Village Committee. You could call it an official workshop. Their goods are cheaper than what private vendors sell."

She led Nangnang Fujin over and, in halting Han Chinese, asked, "This... iron pot... how much... for one?"

The shop assistant from the official workshop smiled and replied, "Two hundred cash."

An Jile translated in Mongolian: "Two hundred cash."

"What? Only... only two hundred cash?" Nangnang Fujin was utterly dumbfounded. "Such good iron pots, where we come from, would cost at least one tael of silver. And after the border trade was cut off, you couldn't even buy one with a tael of silver; we had to trade a whole sheep for one."

An Jile felt a twinge of smugness. Intimidating her unsophisticated fellow tribesmen with Gao Family Village's abundance, for some reason, felt incredibly satisfying. Perhaps it was her long stay in Gao Family Village that had given her this inexplicable sense of superiority.

In the tone of an experienced person educating newcomers, An Jile slowly said, "Don't worry. Now that you're here, you'll be able to buy so many iron pots you'll get tired of them, more than you could ever want. Even the air here is sweeter than on the steppe."

As the group continued, Sutai's eyes immediately fell upon a shop selling rouge, powder, gold, and silver jewelry. Still at an age when she appreciated beauty, her feet almost refused to move when she saw these items. But she was a hostage, captured and brought here, dirt poor and without any possessions. Even if she coveted these things, she couldn't afford them.

She could only eye the shop with envy...

An Jile, once again, took delight in her newfound status, deliberately twirling around. Sutai immediately noticed that An Jile was adorned with gold and silver jewelry, and her face was carefully made up with rouge and powder.

She couldn't help but exclaim, "An Jile, how do you have so much money to buy all these things?"

In her eyes, being a hostage was little different from being a beast of burden; how could one possibly have money to spend?

An Jile beamed. "My son is very capable! He opened a wool textile factory here. My husband sends wool from the steppe, and my son's factory processes it into fabric for sale, earning a great deal of money..."

Nangnang and Sutai exchanged glances, both thinking: *Hostages can do this? The Han people are quite lenient with hostages.*

While the three women awkwardly chatted and shopped, the two boys were having their own conversation.

E'zhe was still very young, only seven years old.

Zhebu was a little older, at ten.

The children's perspective was entirely different from the adults'.

E'zhe pointed, "Brother Zhebu, look ahead! There's a shop selling fine blades. These swords are so beautiful."

Zhebu, with a somewhat boastful air, declared, "Do you like them? I'll buy one for you."

E'zhe stammered, "Ah? How can I accept this?"

Zhebu chuckled. "Before, I was the only Mongolian child here, and I always felt something was missing. Now that you're here, I have a companion, and I'm so happy! Giving you a sword is nothing."

E'zhe whispered, "But we're hostages, prisoners. Can we carry swords?"

Zhebu explained, "Of course you can! Swords are nothing here. The Han people's real weapons are firearms, and they're incredibly powerful. With a 'bang,' they can take down an enemy from hundreds of meters away. They don't need to worry about us buying swords."

E'zhe blinked.

"Ah, look, my sworn brother is here!" Zhebu suddenly waved towards the street ahead, shouting in Han Chinese, "Brother Maopao!"

Liu Maopao walked over with a smile.

Before coming, he had already inquired about the Mongolian hostages arriving today—from the Golden Family, no less! But he feigned ignorance, walking up with a puzzled look: "Brother Zhebu, this person beside you... seems to be Mongolian too. Why don't you introduce him to me?"