The dust settles

Chapter 12

The first snow fell and Charles was on his way.At this time, he and Weng Boyixi also became friends, exchanging a donkey for the other's strong mule.He picked the stones he picked down the mountain many times, put them in cowhide sacks, and now put them on the mule's back.The dry snow is as powdery as sand.Charles looked towards Mount Faraday, in the direction of the cave where Umboisi lived, and said: "My friend cannot feed his big cattle, but I hope he can feed himself and his gentle donkey."

I said, "You traded with the donkey because the donkey couldn't carry the stone."

Charles smiled and said, "Master is an interesting man. I like you."

He took me in his arms, and I smelled very strongly of cattle from him.He also whispered into my ear: "If you have a chance to be a toast, we will be very good friends."

There was a smile in those blue eyes.I think he didn't see that I was a fool.The others haven't had time to tell him I'm an idiot either.

What Charles said to the chieftain when they parted was: "I think you'd better not make such pious people suffer, and fate will repay you."

After speaking, he put on his gloves, patted the mule's buttocks, and walked into the silently falling snowflakes.It was a long time after his tall figure disappeared that the mule's hooves stopped.Everyone let out a long breath like letting go of a huge burden.

They said it was time for the special commissioner to come, and he would come before the snow closed the mountain.

And I thought of Umboisi.I suddenly found it very interesting to be a monk who preached teachings that no one accepted.There is no one around, only the donkey grazing around, and only the snow fluttering at the entrance of the cave, like a beautiful curtain.At this time, I experienced a kind of pleasure of being abandoned by people and the whole world.

11. Silver
Regarding silver, don't think that we only have an understanding of its monetary meaning.

Anyone who thinks that our love of silver is our love of wealth will never understand us.Just as Charles was baffled that we rejected his religion and then Umboisi's teaching.Why, he asked, would you rather have a bad religion than a good one.He also said, if you are as worried about foreigners as the Chinese, isn't the sect of Wengboyisi very good?
Isn't that the teaching of your spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama?

Let's talk about silver.

Our people have long mastered the art of mining precious metals.Such as gold, such as silver.The yellow color of gold is religious.For example, the gold powder on the face of Buddha statues, or the silk shirts worn by lamas under the purple cassocks.Knowing that gold is worth more than silver, we prefer silver.white silver.Never ask a chieftain, whether an official member of the chieftain's family particularly likes silver.The person who asks this question will not only get no answer, but will also become a guy who is guarded against.The answer the man got was that we like our people and our territory.

An ancestor of my family had a penchant for writing.He said that to be a ruler and a king, one must either be the smartest guy in the world, or simply be a fool.

I find his ideas very interesting.Because I am a stupid guy that everyone thinks, my brother has been learning from teachers since he was a child; because he must become a smart person, because he will be another maize toast after his father.So far I have had the benefit of being thought a fool.My brother is very kind to me.Because he doesn't have to guard against each other for future power like his predecessors did between brothers.

My brother loves me for being a fool.

I love him for being a fool.

My father has also said many times that he has less trouble on this issue than many toasts he used to.He himself spent a lot of money to settle down that uncle whom I have never met."My son won't worry me about it," he said many times.

Whenever he said this, the mother's face would show pain.Mother knew I was a fool, but there was still a little hope hidden in her heart.It was this hidden hope that made her miserable, and hopeless.I seem to have said before that when I was there, my father was drunk.The ancestor who wrote the Tusi rule did not think of using this method to prevent power struggles among the descendants.

Today, my father said this again.

The pained expression appeared on the mother's face again.This time, she stroked my head and said to the chieftain, "I didn't give birth to a son that would keep you awake. But what about that woman?"

Yes, in our village, there is a woman named Yang Zong who is pregnant with Mai Qi's child.No one thinks that Yang Zong is a scourge. They say that she has already killed a man, let's see who else she will kill.But she didn't hurt anyone anymore.Therefore, when the chieftain stopped being close to her, people sympathized with her again.It is said that this woman had no crime in the first place, but it was a fateful relationship that brought her to this end.After Yang Zong vomited a few times, he said to the butler, I have a child of the master, and I am going to give him a little toast.The toast has not been with her for a long time.The third wife, Yang Zong, was pregnant with her child in the chieftain's room.People say that such a crazy relationship almost burns adults to ashes, and they will be born a lunatic.There are too many people talking about this matter, Yangzong said that someone wanted to kill the son in her belly, and refused to go out again.

Now it's time to talk about silver.

Let's talk about our white dream first.

How many years ago—how many years ago, we no longer know.

But at least more than 1000 years ago, our ancestors came here from far away Tibet and encountered desperate resistance from the local natives.When the legend talks about these barbarians, they all say that they are as agile as monkeys and as fierce as leopards.Besides, they are more numerous than we are.We are few in number, but we are prepared to be rulers.To rule them you must first conquer them.One of the ancestors had a dream.The silver-bearded old man in the dream asked our men to use white quartz stones as weapons the next day.At the same time, the silver-bearded old man called the resisting natives also had a dream, asking them to use white snowballs to deal with us.So, we triumphed and became rulers of this land.The person who dreamed of the silver-bearded old man became the first "Galpo"—the first king of our Maiqi family.

Later, the kingdom of Tibet collapsed.The nobles who came here on an expedition almost forgot that Tibet is our hometown.Not only that, but we have gradually forgotten the language of our hometown.We now speak the languages ​​of the indigenous peoples we have conquered.Of course, it is not ruled out that there are some shadows of our original language, but it is only a very thin shadow.We are still the kings in our own territory, and the title of chieftain was bestowed by the Central Plains Dynasty.

Another use of quartz stones is also very important. They, together with sharp crescent-shaped iron pieces, and some rush flower fluff are packed in the purse on the waist of a man, and they become tools for making fire.I get a good feeling whenever I see white quartz and gray iron flakes collide.Seeing the sparks fly from the impact, I feel myself as soft and dry as a rush, burning happily.Sometimes I think if I'm the first Maggie to see the birth of fire, then I'm a great man.Of course, I'm not that Maggie, so I'm not a great person, so my thoughts are those of a fool.

What I want to ask is, am I the stupidest person in this world since the Maggie family?

I don't know if I don't answer.I have nothing to say on this subject.But I believe I am a descendant of fire.Otherwise, it can't explain why seeing it is as cordial as meeting grandpa, grandpa's grandpa.As soon as this thought came out, they—the father, the brother, the housekeeper, and even the maid Sangji Dolma—all laughed.Mother was a little angry, but still smiled.

Dolma reminded me: "The young master should go to the scripture hall to see the murals."

Of course I know there are paintings in the scripture hall.Those paintings tell all Maggies that our family came from the giant eggs of Feng and Mipeng.The painting says that when there is nothing in the sky and on the ground, there is only the wind blowing.When there was nothing, a god-man appeared in the wind, and he said, "Ha!"

The wind blew out a world, spinning in the surrounding void.God said "Ha!"

And something new was born.At that time, Kamito didn't know why he kept "ha" all the time.Finally, I said "Ha!" and it turned out that nine toasts were "ha" out of the giant egg laid by the Mipeng bird in the sky.The toasts are next to each other.My daughter married your son, and your son married my daughter.Between the toast.They are all relatives.

The chieftains are enemies at the same time, for the sake of the land and the people.Although the chieftains claim to be kings themselves, they still have to kneel to the big shots when they arrive in Beijing and Lhasa.

Yes, no mention of silver yet.

But I thought I had said it.Silver has the function of gold, which is already pleasing to people, and it is even more pleasing to the eye when it is white, which once brought us good luck.

There are already two reasons for this.But let's make it three.The third is that silver can be processed into various ornaments.The small ones are rings, bracelets, earrings, scabbards, milk hooks, finger cots, and tooth trays.The big ones are belts, scripture boxes, complete saddles, a complete set of tableware, a complete set of ritual utensils, and so on.

In the territory of the chieftains, there are not many silver mines, and there is no silver mine at all in the territory of Mai Qi's family.It's just that there is gold in the sand by the river.The chieftain organized people to dig out gold, only kept a little bit for his own use, and exchanged the rest for silver, and put boxes in the basement near the dungeon in the official village.The keys to the treasury were placed in a multi-layered cabinet.The key to the cabinet hung on my father's waist.The key on the waist was recited by the lama, and it was connected to a certain place on the chieftain's body.There was a spot on him where he felt like a bug bite when the key wasn't with him.

In recent years, one of the reasons why Living Buddha Jiga has not been welcomed by the chieftain is that he once said that since he has so much money, he should stop digging for gold in the river to destroy Feng Shui.He said, what is there in the house, what is there is real in the field.If there is land in the land and good feng shui, the chieftain's foundation will be stable, and this land is a treasure land for raising people.But it was difficult for the chieftain to listen to these words.Although we have a lot of silver, our official village also exudes a special sweet smell that can only be obtained after a lot of money has been piled up over the years.But compared to other chieftains, our Maiqi chieftain family is not rich.Well now, we're going to be the richest of all toasts.We planted so many poppies.Now, the harvest season is long over.The person sent by Commissioner Huang to refine opium did a rough calculation for us, and surprised everyone with a number.Unexpectedly, a thin old Han man would bring such a huge wealth to the Maiqi family.The chieftain said: "Why is the God of Wealth a thin old man?"

Commissioner Huang came when everyone was looking forward to him.

On this day, rain fell from the deep sky.Winter was approaching, and icy rain was pouring down from tall gray clouds.It rained all morning and turned into snowflakes in the afternoon.The snow falls to the ground and becomes water again.At this time, the horses of Commissioner Huang and his entourage came chugging along the puddles of snow on the road.Commissioner Huang wore a felt hat that was the only snow that could survive this season, and rode to the Maiqi family on horseback.The butler was busy arranging the guards of honor that had been prepared.

Commissioner Huang said: "No need, I'm dying of cold!"

He was crowded to sit down in front of the brazier, and he sneezed loudly twice.Many kinds of things that can prevent colds were handed to him, and he shook his head and said, "My wife still knows what I'm thinking. After all, I'm from the Han nationality."

Mrs. Toast offered the smoking set and said: "It is the fruit of the seeds you brought, and you sent someone to refine it. Please try it."

Commissioner Huang took a deep breath, swallowed it into his stomach, closed his eyes for a long time before opening them, and said, "Good stuff, good stuff!"

The chieftain asked impatiently, "How much silver can I get?"

The mother signaled to the father not to worry.Commissioner Huang smiled: "Madam doesn't have to be like that. I like Toast's straightforwardness. He can get so much money that he can't imagine."

The toast asked how much it was.

Commissioner Huang asked back: "Please tell the chieftain how many people there are in the official village, don't say too much, let alone say less."

The chieftain asked people to back off and tell how much money he had in his official village.

After hearing this, the dispatcher Huang stroked his yellow beard and pondered, "It's a lot, but not too much. I'll give you the same amount of silver, but you have to agree to use half and half to buy new weapons from me." Arm your men."

Toast readily agreed.

Commissioner Huang had dinner and wine, and watched singing and dancing. Mrs. Toast ordered a servant girl to accompany him to eat cigarettes and wait for him to sleep.The family got together again.What to do together, have a meeting.Yes, we also have meetings.It’s just that we don’t say, um, we have a meeting today, what issues are we going to discuss today.We decided to expand the silver bank.That night, messengers were sent out to ask the headmen of each village to send stonemasons and handymen.The servants were also called out from the bunkers, and the chieftain ordered the prisoners in the dungeon to be regrouped to make room for the large amount of silver that was about to be acquired.It is a bit crowded to squeeze the people in three cells into other cells.A guy who's been in prison for over 20 years is not happy.He asked himself that after staying in a spacious room for so many years, did he meet a toast worse than the previous one?
Word spread upstairs immediately.

The chieftain took a sip of his wine and said, "Tell him, don't rely on the old to sell the old, there will be a spacious place for him to live in from now on."

Maiqi will have so much money that other chieftains never dreamed of, and Maiqi's family will be richer than the richest chieftain in history.The prisoner didn't know this. He said: "Don't tell me what tomorrow will be like. It is still dark, but I see that I am worse than before dark."

After hearing this, the chieftain smiled and said, "He can't see the dawn, well, call the executioner and send him to a relatively spacious place."

At this time, my eyelids became very heavy.Even the pillars used to support the house cannot support it.It was a very lively night, but I kept yawning, and my mother looked at me with disappointed eyes.But I don't even want to say I'm sorry.At this time, even the maid Dolma didn't want to send me back to my room to sleep.But she had no choice but to accompany me back to the room.I told her not to go away, or I would be frightened at the thought of mice alone.She pinched me and said, "Then why didn't you think of the mouse just now?"

I said: "I was not alone at that time, and I only thought of mice when I was alone."

She couldn't help laughing.I like Dolma.I like how she smells like a cow.The smell came from her crotch and breasts.Of course I don't tell her that.Then she will feel great.I just pointed out that there is no need for her to be as excited as her father and the others for the upcoming increase in money from the Tusi family.Because the silver is not hers.This sentence was very effective. She stood in front of the bed for a long time in the dark, sighed, and fell asleep without taking off her clothes.

When I got up in the morning, the prisoner who was suspected of being crowded had been killed.

Whenever someone is tortured or killed, there will be a special atmosphere in our house.Everyone seemed normal.The chieftain coughed loudly before eating, and Mrs. Chieftain covered her heart with her hands, as if it could not stand the shock, otherwise her heart would fall to the ground.The older brother always blows his pre-dinner whistle.It's the same thing this morning, but I know there's always something unnatural in them.We are not afraid of killing, but after killing, there will always be something unclear in our hearts.It is wrong to say that the chieftain likes to kill people.Chieftains sometimes have to kill.When the common people have unavoidable things, the same is true for being a chieftain.If you don't believe me, just think about it, if the chieftain likes to kill, why does he have a family of executioners.If you still don't believe me, you should come and have a meal with us at our house after you have just given the order to the executioner.You will find that compared with the usual meal, you drink more water, eat less food, and eat less meat. Everyone just eats one or two slices for a symbolic meal.

Only my appetite was unaffected, and it was the same this morning.

I still make a lot of noises from my mouth when I eat.Dolma said it was like someone walking in mud.Mother said, it's like a pig, blah blah.The voice in my mouth became louder.Father frowned.The mother immediately said: "What do you want to be a fool?" The father was speechless.But how can a chieftain be speechless all at once?After a while, the chieftain said angrily, "Why don't Han people wake up? Do Han people like to lie in bed in the morning?"

My mother is Han. When she is free, she always sleeps longer than others and does not have breakfast with her family.Mrs. Toast just smiled when she heard this, and said, "Don't do that, the money hasn't arrived yet. You woke up so early and coughed hard to tear your heart and lungs. It's better to sleep quietly for a while."

When encountering such a situation, anyone who thinks that the relationship between the chieftain and his wife is not good is wrong.When they are bad, they are very polite to each other, and when they are good, they are willing to bicker like this.

The chieftain said: "Look, it is our language that makes you able to speak it." What my father meant was that a good language can make people speak fluently, and our language is exactly such a language.

Mrs. Toast said: "If the language is not so simple, if you understand Chinese, I will teach you what it means to have a strong mouth."

Dolma leaned into my ear and said, "Young master, believe it or not, the master and wife did that last night."

I swallowed a large piece of meat, opened my mouth and smiled.

My brother asked me why I was laughing.I said, "Dolma said she wanted to pee."

Mother scolded: "What!"

I said to Dolma: "You go, don't be afraid."

Zhuoma, the maid who was being teased, blushed and retreated, and the chieftain laughed loudly: "Oh!

My idiot son has grown up too! He told his elder brother, "Go and see if the dispatcher has arrived. The blood has already flowed. If you don't do anything today, it will be unlucky." "

(End of this chapter)