The dust settles

Chapter 14

Before dinner was served, my brother patted my head and my father gave me a big gem.Tana was behind me like a shadow, and when I sat down, she knelt behind me and clicked sideways.Our dining room is a rectangular room.The chieftain and his wife sat at the head, and my brother and I sat on both sides.There are soft cushions for everyone to sit on, and in summer there are Persian carpets with beautiful patterns.In winter, it's bearskin.In front of each person is a strip of red lacquer and gold.Maiqi's family made a fortune growing opium, and the tableware was immediately upgraded.All the utensils were replaced by silver wine glasses with coral.We also shipped a lot of wax from the Han people, and invited specialized craftsmen from the Han people to make a lot of candles.There is a candlestick in front of each person, and several candles are flickering on each candlestick.Not to mention how brightly they shone, and when the weather wasn't too cold, the light of those candles warmed the room.The wall behind us is one closet after another, in addition to storing all kinds of tableware, there are also some strange things.Two gilt telephones were British, a camera was German, three radios were American, there was even a microscope, and some square flashlights with handles.There are many such things.We can't use them, and the reason why they are displayed is because other toasts don't have these things.If one day something disappears from the shelf, it's not because someone stole it, but because a chieftain has this kind of thing in his hands.Recently, several chime bells have disappeared as a result.We got word that the missionary, Charles, left us and went to the grounds of several more toasts, giving them the same gift.My brother had someone drop the primer of two [-]-point shells, and put them in the vacancy vacated by the chime bell.The paint on the shells gleamed, and the tails were pretty.

The toast family began to eat.

There are not many dishes, but there are plenty of oil and water, and they are steaming hot.The servants brought the dishes from the kitchen.Then the personal servants kneeling behind each of us handed it to the front of us.After the meal that day, Dolma came in suddenly.Holding a big bowl in her hand, she knelt on the floor and moved in front of each master with her knees.On the first day she came out of the kitchen, she specially made cheese for the master.This Dolma is no longer that Dolma.The fragrance on her body disappeared, and the satin clothes became linen with sparse warp and weft.She knelt down in front of me and said, "Please, young master." Her voice seemed old, and it could no longer evoke the good feelings I used to have.Yesterday, Dolma was still a girl wearing bright clothes and exuding fragrance.Be a low handmaid today.She knelt down to serve us cheese, the smoky smell of a kitchen all over her.She said in a low voice, "Master, please." I didn't answer, but I felt sad.I watched her step back from the light into the darkness, and for the first time in my life felt something disappear from my life and never appear again.Before that, I thought something was born there and always was there.Thinking that once they appear, they will not disappear.The Maggie family was full, and when they picked their teeth and yawned, the personal servants began to eat.Tana ate too.She chews things very fast, chug, chug chug chug chug chug makes a sound like a mouse.Thinking of the rat, my vest went numb and I almost jumped off the cushion.When I turned around, Tana saw me watching her eat, and almost dropped her spoon on the ground in a panic.

I said, "Don't be afraid." She nodded, but she could tell she didn't want me to watch her eat.I pointed to the meat and said, "You eat." She ate the meat, but there was no sound of a mouse eating.I pointed to the boiled broad beans on the plate again: "Eat some more of this." She fed a few broad beans into her mouth, this time, no matter how tightly she closed her small mouth, as soon as she moved her teeth, the rat would eat again. The sound came, chugging, chugging, chugging.I watched her laugh, and Tana got scared. This time, the spoon in her hand actually fell to the floor.

I said loudly: "I'm not afraid of mice anymore!"

Everyone looked at me with strange eyes.As if I meant the sky above was gone.I said loudly again: "I, no, afraid, old, rat!"

People were still silent, so I pointed to Tana and said, "She eats like a mouse, squeaks, squeaks..."

People still want me to be silent in an embarrassing way.

Even I have to wonder if I am really not afraid of mice.The father burst out laughing, and said, "Son, I know what you said is true." Then, he whispered to Mrs. Toast in a low voice that everyone could hear: "Why do men want women? Women can make men change." Become a real man, he cured himself of his own problems."

Back in the room, Tana asked, "How did the young master remember that?"

I said, "I remembered it all at once, aren't you angry?"

She said she wasn't angry, the father who fed the horses said she looked like a mouse.Whenever a good horse was offered to the chieftain below, and she was a little surprised, her father would always ask her to get up in the middle of the night to feed, saying that she was like a little mouse, and the animals would not be frightened.We went to bed, asked for one, and when it was over, she was giggling as she put on her underwear.She said that this thing is so good, why don't they do those things.

I asked her what.The mares, and her mother, were always reluctant to do such things, she said.When I asked her again, she had already fallen asleep with a contented expression.

I blew out the lamp.Usually, no matter what time of day it is, as long as I'm in a dark place, I'll fall asleep right away.But this day was a little different.Lights went out.I heard the wind whistling across the roof.It felt like flocks of big birds were flying overhead.

In the morning, my mother looked at my blue eyes and said, "Didn't sleep well yesterday?"

I knew what she was referring to, and I didn't want her to blame Tana.Let's just say I couldn't sleep last night.The wife asked me why.I said no reason, but the sound of the wind passing over the roof was disturbing.Mrs. Toast said, "I thought it was something."

She said, "Son, even if we are chieftains, we can't keep the wind from blowing over the roof."

I asked her, "Doesn't Dolma know what to do?"

She smiled and said, "I know it's not as simple as the matter of Feng. You said Zhuoma didn't know what to do."

"Doesn't she know that she has to wear such shabby clothes, with so much dust and bad smell?"

"she knows."

"Then why is she still going down?"

The mother's tone suddenly became cold, and said: "Because she will go down after all. If you go early, you can find a man, but if you go late, there will be no one."

We were talking, when the butler came in to tell me, and my nurse came back.The nanny Deqin Motso and a group of people went to Tibet for a pilgrimage to the Buddha, and when they went there was nothing but mud. To be honest, we all forgot about her.It is very unwise for a person to come back when people have forgotten her.Because everything before has been written off in oblivion.We all talked about her when she first left.It is said that the old woman will die on the way to Buddha.Before leaving, we prepared a package of fifty silver dollars for her.But she only needs five.She was very stubborn and refused to take one more.She said that she had to go to five temples, and it was enough to offer one coin to each temple. What Buddha wants is the heart of a poor old woman, not the money of a poor old woman.Asked why she only went to five temples, she said, because she only dreamed of five temples in her life.As for the journey, she said that no one who sincerely went to Buddha would spend money on the journey. She said that even rich people would not spend money on the journey.What she said was true.It is generally believed that if one does not beg on the road or seek alms everywhere, such pilgrimage to Buddha is tantamount to no pilgrimage.This is one of the reasons why us chieftains can't make up our minds to go to Lhasa for pilgrimage. Earlier, a chieftain Maiqi went there, but a large group of his subordinates came back, but he himself did not come back.Toast is the most unbearable.After my nanny Deqin Mocuo left, we gradually forgot about her.It shows that none of us like her.She stepped inside, almost astonishing.The road was high and the water was cold, and she, an old woman, not only walked over; her hunched waist became straighter, and the layers of wrinkles on her face also decreased a lot.In front of us is no longer the old sick old woman.A tall woman with a dark red face came in from the door.She kissed me on the cheek and brought me a taste of many distant days and places.

Her voice was already loud, but now it is even louder: "Madam, I want to die, young master!"

The wife did not speak.

She said again: "Ma'am, I'm back. I counted it. I counted it when it was almost yesterday. I was away for a whole year and fourteen days."

The wife said: "Go down and rest." But she ignored it.She shed a little tears and said: "Unexpectedly, the young master can use a personal maid and grow into an adult."

The wife said, "Yes, he has grown up, so don't worry about him anymore."

But the nanny said, "You still have to worry about it. A child is still a child no matter how old it is." She wanted to see Tana, and Madam sent for her.The old woman touched her face, touched the bones of her body, and said bluntly: "She is not worthy of the young master."

The wife turned cold: "You talk too much, go down."

The nanny opened her mouth wide, unable to recover.She didn't know that everyone thought she would die on the road, so she had long been forgotten.She shouldn't have come back when everyone had forgotten about her.She didn't know this, she said: "I have to go and see the master and the young master. I haven't seen them for a year and fourteen days."

The wife said, "I don't think it's necessary."

The old woman said again: "I'll go and see that little hoof of Sangye Dolma."

I told her that Sangye Drolma was married to the silversmith Quza.It seems that Chaofo only changed her appearance, but not her temper.She said: "This little hoof has been trying to seduce the young master, well, it has come to this end."

So I yelled at her too: "Go downstairs, you witch!"

Let's call the story of this unimportant person an early end.

Taking advantage of my anger, I issued the first important order in my life.I ordered the nanny's things to be taken upstairs and downstairs.Tell her never to go to places above the third floor in the official village.I heard her weeping in the yard below.I added, give her a separate room down there, a separate cooker set, and don't ask her to do anything other than cook for herself.It seems that my order is in line with everyone's wishes.Otherwise, father, mother, elder brother, any one of them can come out and overthrow him.The old lady is idle down there, talking about my childhood and her journey to Buddha in the ears of the working slaves all day long.After I knew it, I issued another order to supplement the previous one.Tell her to only talk about the things on the way to the Buddha, not about the young master when he was a child.It was an order she had to carry out.When I saw the white hair on her head getting more and more day by day, I also thought about taking it back.But seeing her keep spitting on the shadow I cast into the courtyard from above, I dismissed the idea of ​​mercy.

Later, when she was so old that she forgot to spit at my shadow, I didn't care about her anymore.It took me a year to find out about her death.Even so, people still say that the Maggie family is worthy of a nanny to a fool's son.

I think so too.

When the weather is fine, I look at the stars in the sky and think like this. At night when the weather is bad, I sleep in bed and think like this while listening to the river rushing to the distance.Later, I stopped thinking about her, and thought about the new monk, Weng Boyixi, who was not accepted by the chieftain.He had a donkey that he bought with a mule, he had some scriptures that he regarded as rare, and he lived in a cave.

When the wind turns, the willow branches on the river bank will turn green, and clusters of velvet flowers will bloom, and the white catkins will be blown by the wind.Yes, spring comes as soon as it is said, and it comes faster than winter.

14. Head
Just for some gray poppy seeds, Maiqi chieftain became the object of hatred of other chieftains.

One toast after another hit a wall in our place, but it can't stop the next toast from trying his luck.The nearest chieftain said that if we unite and become stronger, we can make other chieftains bow their heads and submit to the throne and dominate the world.Toast Maiqi replied, I just want to make myself and the people rich, and I have no intention of seeking hegemony.The distant chieftain said, there is such a wide distance between us, even if we become stronger, you can rest assured.Chieftain Maggie said: "For a giant, there is no river that cannot be crossed."

When spring came, my father said, "No one will come again."

The elder brother reminded the father: "There is still a chieftain who hasn't shown up yet."

Chieftain Maiqi shook his finger for a long time. In the past, including Maiqi, there were eighteen chieftains.

Later, the Han emperor wiped out the three families.Another battle between brothers for the throne turned one chieftain into three.There was a chieftain who had no heirs. As a result, the wife and the housekeeper divided the territory into two. As a result, there were eighteen chieftains including Maiqi's family.Sixteen chieftains have come here one after another, and the one that didn't come is Chieftain Wangbo who fought with us not long ago.Father said: "They won't come, they don't have that face."

My brother said, "They will come."

"If he goes to the enemy's door for such a small thing, he is not a Tibetan.

Those chieftains who hate us will also look down on him. "

"Gosh, father, how old-fashioned your thinking is."

"Old school? What do you mean old school?"

"It's not interesting. He doesn't have to come to us hunched over. He can use other methods."

Father shouted: "He is the defeated general under my command, will he come to snatch it?

Hasn't his courage been frightened yet? "

In fact, Chief Maiqi had already thought of what his son was going to say to him.He felt a pang almost of despair, as if he had seen the precious seed scatter in all directions, blossoming endlessly in someone else's land.

I felt the intense pain in my father's heart, tasted the bitter taste in his mouth, and felt his reluctance to mention that word.We all know that's what the toasts do, and there's nothing we can do to prevent it.So, if you mention something we can't do anything about, it's useless except to increase your own pain.

The smart brother has fully exposed the stupidity of smart people on this issue.He can see complexities in simple problems that others would not think of.On this day, our future Maiqi toast also behaved like this.He said triumphantly, "They will come and steal!"

The word was so powerful that it hit Toast Maggie like a bullet.But he didn't get angry with his brother, he just asked, "Is there anything you can do?"

My brother has a way. He asked the chieftain to order all the poppy seeds to be harvested, and they will be distributed uniformly when they are sown.Then the chieftain said in a sarcastic tone: "The seeds are about to be planted, so if you collect the seeds at this time, won't the people below feel that they will lose trust?
Besides, if they were going to steal it, they should have done so long ago.Let me tell you, they can actually use other means, such as buying. "

The future chieftain looked at the present chieftain, speechless.

Faced with this embarrassing situation, Mrs. Toast showed a happy expression on her face.

The chieftain said again: "Now that I think about it, I still have to take precautions, at least I have to be worthy of myself."

The mother smiled at the elder brother: "You can do this matter, why bother your father."

The future chieftain worked hard to do this.

Orders are passed down layer by layer with fast horses, and seeds are passed up layer by layer with fast horses.As for how much was hidden, and whether some fell into the hands of other chieftains before then, I can't go into it.While harvesting the seeds, the Yinguoluo headman caught the thief who stole the poppy seeds.

They are the people of Chieftain Wang Po.The headman sent someone to ask if he wanted to send it to Tusi's official village.

The elder brother shouted: "Send it! Why don't you send it? I knew they would come to steal it. I knew they wanted to steal it but they didn't do it. Send it and tell the executioner to get ready and let us see what these bold thieves look like." Bar!"

The executioner Eryi came.

The square in front of Guanzhai is a fixed execution place.

On the right side of the square are a few horse tying posts, and on the left side of the square stands an execution post; besides its practical purpose, the execution post stands there, and it is also a symbol of the chieftain's authority.The execution post is a solid piece of wood with a funnel at the top, which is used to contain poisonous insects. For several crimes, it is tied to the post and let poisonous insects bite.An iron hoop under the funnel, which can be opened from behind with a lock, is used to fix the prisoner's neck.Under the iron hoop, the execution post grows two horizontally raised arms, and with the funnel above it, from a distance, the execution post looks like a straw man erected in the ground to scare the birds, which enhances the idyllic scenery around our official village. the taste of.In fact, it was an iron rod that passed through the execution post, and the prisoner was asked to raise his hand and not put it down again.Some people say that this is to make the prisoner pose to fly towards heaven.Near the ground are two hoops that hold the heels in place.There were other things around the execution post: large metallic boulders, troughs dug out of hollow cedar, and some smaller and more fragmented things, forming a strange landscape, and the execution post was the center of this landscape.If there is no executioner Eryi in this scene, it will lose a lot of meaning.

Now, they are here, old Eryi is walking in front, and little Eryi is following behind.

Both had long arms and legs, their feet twitched like shambling sheep, and their outstretched necks turned around like frightened deer.Since the inheritance of chieftain Maiqi, this executioner's family has followed suit.For hundreds of years, the Maiqi family has never looked like each other, but the Eryis have always looked the same, with long hands and long legs, and a trembling look.They lived by executing people—whipping, mutilating, killing them in various ways.Many people are willing to pretend that there is no Eryi family in this world.But they are there, with a very powerful silence.The executioner walked towards the square in front of the official village.Lao Eryi was carrying a larger leather bag, and Eryi was carrying a smaller leather bag.I've been in the executioner's house and know what's in there.

(End of this chapter)