Firmament

It's better to be full.

- Jing proverb

The

descendants of Ali and Abbas of the Sarthals, the descendants of the Bukhara Saydianchi Gainsdin, the descendants of Hassan of the Salurians, and the descendants of Gong Shixiang and Wang Chen, the Orientals, are like a handful of white and crystal pearls scattered on the earth, and they live an ordinary life at the end of the world.

In the western frontier of River State, Ali's descendant, Hasim's youngest son, Doro, has reached his prime, and lives in a mansion with his younger son, Said's family. He is in good health and has an optimistic and open-minded personality. Every day, he followed his father's instructions to attend regular services.

They lived in the same street with the Hui and served as the main hemp in the same worship mosque (Salta). They communicate with their own people in the Salta language, and when they talk to foreigners, they use the southern dialect. They no longer insist that they are Khorezmians, but they call themselves Sartas, as they are called by the steppe people.

Sade and his wife, Amina, run a grocery store on the high street, selling tea, dried fruits, and silk.

One afternoon in mid-May, Syd and Amina went home uncharacteristically early.

Seeing that his son and daughter-in-law were very abnormal, Doro asked strangely, "Ahh

Seid, while patting the dust on his clothes with his horse's tail tassels, replied, "Ada, I just saw a group of steppe people entering the city. "

Doro asked suspiciously, "It's been decades since the northern kingdom perished. This is a steppe man from Ali?".

Said replied, "They are wearing the robes of the steppe people, but they have gone to the Nanguan Worship Monastery to do ghusl and follow us in style." "

Dora felt even more strange, and hurriedly asked, "Our words are the same as those of the grassland." You didn't even ask, what the hell are they doing?".

Seid, washing his hands with a bottle of soup and water, replied, "Yes." "

The

anxious Doro angrily counted down his son and said: "Look at you, you will be 40 years old soon, and you are also a person who is going to be a grandfather. "

Said took the bowl of tea from his daughter-in-law, made a grimace secretly, did not answer his father's question immediately, and drank a large sip of tea before saying with a hippie smile

"Ada, are you in a hurry? Listen to me give you a quiet noise to the old man (Northwest dialect, chat). I heard them say that they are descendants of Lord Ananda.

"Lord Ananda was raised by the Saimu people since he was a child, and he is very close to the Saimu people. In that year, the adults led 150,000 people to garrison the Tang Wu people in the Hexi Corridor. There were a lot of returnees in his ranks. Adults believe in the religion of the Saime people. His soldiers followed him and converted to the sect.

"After the impermanence of the king of the northern kingdom, there was no son who succeeded to the throne. The Lord and the Queen prepare to stage a coup d'état to seize the throne. Their plans were leaked. The lord was killed by the newly enthroned king. "

"The son of the adult wants to avenge Ada, and unites the people of Saimu to rebel, but he is also suppressed by the king. "

Doro said eagerly, "I know this matter better than you! Does it have anything to do with the steppe people who have entered the city today?"

Said with a smile

"Ada, they have a lot to do with each other. In that year, they migrated eastward together, first to Zhenfan, and then to split into two routes, one of which crossed the river to the south and came to Dongxiang in Hezhou, where they lived together with the Salta people, and the other crossed the Helan Mountains and settled in Hetao. The grassland people who entered the city today came from Hetao to visit their relatives in Dongxiang. "

Doro couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

He was silent for a long time, and then sighed heartily: "Alas, coming from such a distant place to visit relatives shows how sincere their hearts are! By the way, your grandfather said before that the descendants of Abbas Baba and Aunt Ayisha are called Yunus, who live in Longjialiang in Dongxiang. Your grandfather specially settled our two families to come and go frequently, and we can't break the relationship between our ancestors. We haven't seen each other in a long time. Alas, I don't know what you're busy with all day long! You have a spare time in the past two days, and we will go to Dongxiang to visit them. "

Knowing that his father was an emotional man, Syd agreed to his request.

At present, the demographic composition of Hezhou City has changed a lot. The loss of the Sarta is very serious. Once upon a time, the Salta fled from the city of Hezhou to escape the war and fled to a remote ravine in Dongxiang. They lie dormant in the mountains, struggling to survive on the barren loess slopes, maintaining their traditional way of life and pursuing temporary peace. There are very few Sartars who live in the city like Doro.

Early in the morning on Friday, Said, fearing that his anxious father was in a hurry, got up early and ran to Manet's house, where he rented out livestock, and rented two tall maroon mules.

Said intended for his father to ride the more docile mule. He put a thick saddle on the mule's back, covered it with a cotton wool mattress, and rode it up with the well-dressed Doro. He saw the sun shining in the sky, and for fear that the sun would catch his father, he quickly asked Amina to bring a straw hat and put it on Doro's head.

Said joked, "Look, doesn't Ada look like an old man who grows crops?"

Without waiting for the others to speak, Doro shouted, "It's almost noon!

Seid arranged for his father, packed tea, rock sugar, and prayer blankets into his coat, put them on the back of the mule he was riding, and then jumped lightly on the mule's back.

"Drive. Said shouted, and set off with Doro.

The old and young of the family stood at the gate of the compound, and told Doro and Said's backs with concern, "Walk slowly on the road." Have a safe journey. "

The

father and son walked out of the east gate of Hezhou City, flowed across the clear Daxia River, climbed a steep mountain beam, and entered the undulating Dongxiang Mountains.

Doro and Said stopped their mules and stood on the high slope of the loess, looking ahead.

The eyes are full of endless yellow mountains and rivers. The uneven loess slopes and the vertical and horizontal sunken ravines seem to be the body of a beggar, skinny, dry and empty, and the green tendons are protruding. The hillside was bare, not a single tree growing, and there was not a single grass in sight, like a poor man naked. There were no rushing rivers or babbling streams in the narrow, winding ravines, and they were as dry as a desert. A few palm-sized fields are planted with sparse buds and artichokes. The dilapidated and low-rise house hangs high on the hillside, and it feels like it is going to collapse at any moment.

Said looked at the lonely dilapidated house, and felt sour in his heart. He thought that if someone came out at night to relieve himself, he would fall into the ditch if he didn't pay attention in a daze.

Puzzled, he asked Doro, "Ada, how can the Amen (Salta) feed people in such a bad place?"

Doro listened to his son's complaints, and his face instantly turned gloomy.

He said solemnly

"Burn (Northwest dialect, stupid) Gava, who will live in this poor ravine if there is a way? Is Pingchuan on the edge of the Daxia River good? Of course it is good! But Pingchuan has already had an owner. Are Xichuan and Beiyuan good? Very good! However, there are also masters there. Is the grassland on the green hills good? Of course it is! That's where the Tibetans graze.

"The Sarthas came here relatively late, and this poor place is the only one left to stand on. You say there is a way, Amen? This is Ali, and the sparrow is killed, and the snake is rolled. The mountain is high and the monk's head is high, and there is no water flowing in the deep ditch. "

Said, unable to answer his father's lesson, shouted at the mule and continued on his way.

The

father and son walked down the ground for an hour with their heads down, and came to a small village called Woto.

Doro asked Said, "Gava, do you know that Wotu is Amen?".

Said replied honestly, "I've heard of Woto, but I really don't know what it means. Ada, tell me about it. "

A look of pride appeared on Doro's face.

He cleared his hoarse throat and said proudly: "Orientals like farming. The steppe people like to herd sheep. They don't like to do business. We Sarthas have been good at buying and selling for generations. When the ancestors came here, the steppe country let the Sarta people play their strengths. The government set aside a fixed location for Salta to be responsible for buying and selling grain, medicinal herbs, livestock, tea, and furs to meet the living needs of the steppe, oriental, and Tibetan peoples. Hezhou City was originally a commodity distribution center for east and west, south and north. After the entry of the Sartas, trade became even more prosperous. A little further up the mountain, there are many theories about the place name. "

Said hurriedly asked, "Ada, haven't you made it clear to me what Amen means?"

Doro patted his head and said with a smile: "Ah, I said that I was confused! Wo Tu originally meant a businessman who specialized in trading for the government, but later it was changed to a place name and an official name. "

Said asked, "Ada, you just said that the name of the place in front of you has changed. Amen, a change?".

Doro replied, "The Pools of Waigu, the Pools of Alou, the Pools of Tomu, the Pools of Iha, the Pools of Arasu, and the Pond of Noktu. Do you know that these place names mean Amen?".

Said said with great confidence, "Yes." These place names are all in the Salta language. The ancient pond is a silversmith. Alouchi is a weaver. Tomike is a blacksmith. Ihachi is a bowl nailer. Alasu Chi is a cobbler. Noktu is a weaver. Ada, am I right?".

Doro said, "Yes, yes. Have you ever thought that these names are going to be called by the Amen in the mountains?".

Seid shook his head in confusion.

Doro proudly boasted: "In the past, the governor of the steppe country placed the relocated sarta craftsmen to work in different places according to different types of work, so different villages were formed. Each village was given the same name according to the name of the artisan. "

Said suddenly realized, "I see. So, the Pond is where the silversmith lives?".

Doro said, "Yes. These villages are all on Longjialiang and Alouchiliang. That's the place we're going to today. "

Said, who usually thinks that his father is old and long-winded, listened to Doro's endless narration today, and he had to admire the old man's rich knowledge and be full of admiration for him.

He thought to himself, every old man of Sarta is a living history.

In the evening, the sun sets in the west. Brilliant red glows floated in the sky. The golden sun shines on the rolling mountain beams, whitewashing the desolate and dry loess slopes as if they were golden and glorious like paradise.

When Said saw a young man from Sarta driving a flock of sheep on the mountain road in front of him, he quickened his pace to catch up, first said "Seran" to him, and then asked, "Gava, is the Zhuangzi in front of you a free ancient pool?"

The

shepherd replied, "Yes." Are you looking for a man who is free of the ancient pool?".

Said said: "Father Yunus, the descendant of Abbas Baba and Aunt Aishher. "

The little shepherd smiled and said, "Yunus is my Ada. Follow me. "

Doro and Said followed Yunus's son into the twilight village of Fujichi.

At this time, Yunus was packing up in the main hall of the mosque and preparing to go home for dinner. He appeared to be in his 60s, wore a pale yellow taysdal turban around his head, wore a calf-length black mid-white (a mid-length tunic embroidered on the placket), and a pair of dark brown patent leather socks on his feet.

Yunus is a teacher at the Fuguchi Worship Monastery and regularly lectures religious knowledge to the parishioners and students in the village every day. He likes to explain profound philosophical truths in plain language that the farmer can understand, so he is very popular with the villagers. Because he had made a pilgrimage to the holy city, the villagers affectionately called him Yunus Aji.

Yunus saw through the window his youngest grandson, Juma, running into the temple gates. Among his grandchildren, he loves the clever Juma the most, always leaves him with something delicious, and plans to train him to be his successor.

Yunus thought that his grandson had come to call him home for dinner, a kind smile appeared on his face, and he asked in a gentle tone, "Jumazi, is your grandma ready for dinner at home?"

Juma ran out of breath and shouted in a milky voice, "Grandpa, grandpa, hurry up and go home." There are guests in the house. "

Yunus asked, "Where is Ali's guest?"

Juma replied, "I don't know either. Anyway, it's a guest from afar. "

Yunus thought to himself: In these years of war and chaos, distant relatives have cut off contact. What about Amen, who came from a dream today? He quickly stood up and walked home after his little grandson.

Yunus suddenly saw Doro and his son, and he was so excited that he couldn't speak for a while. He stepped forward and took Doro's hands, warmly invited the guests into the house, and let them sit down on the big kang.

Although it is said that it is already summer, the night in the mountains is still cool and swishing.

Yunus, Doro, and Said sat cross-legged on a warm woolen blanket, sipping gaiwan tea, and greeting everyone in each other's house, asking about their situation with concern.

Yunus's daughter-in-law brought bowls of steaming food.

Yunus greeted the guests and said, "Brother, nephew, you have been walking on the dry beach road for a day, and your stomach has long been empty. Grab your chopsticks and take a few bites of your hair while it's hot (a soup dish made by the Sarthas from animal offal). "