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With a "pfft," the copper cauldron, its barely patched crack unable to withstand the fire's heat, split open again in defiance. Water gushed out, dousing the small campfire instantly.
Furious, Ada yanked the cauldron from its rack, raising it to smash it on the ground. But he stopped himself, staring at it, his brows and beard twisting together in frustration.
The cauldron was old, stained with oil, never properly cleaned. A thick layer of ash and grease clung to its rim. The issue wasn't the rim, though—it was the base, where a pinhole from faulty casting had grown over time, splitting into a wide crack…
Yesterday, Ada had spent an entire day meticulously piecing the crack together, wrapping the rim with hemp rope to hold it tight, hoping pressure would restore it. But today's test proved his efforts futile.
The crack mocked him like a sneering mouth.
The Hu primarily ate meat, which brought issues like constipation…
The human body has enzymes to digest animal proteins, so meat is theoretically fully digestible. But intestinal movement needs plant fiber, and a meat-heavy diet causes vitamin deficiencies.
On the steppe, illness often meant constipation—bloating—or complications from vitamin shortages…
Ada once had four children, but two died young. Now, his eldest was sick, belly swollen like a drum, unable to eat even fragrant roasted lamb. Older tribesmen said it was bloating and suggested brewing tea to ease it.
But where was tea in this region?
Not even tea dust!
Ada and his wife scoured the grasslands for wild chives and herbs, hoping to boil something—anything—to try…
Ada was an ordinary Hu, with a dozen sheep, three or four horses, a tent, a rough-handed wife, and two half-grown children. Compared to the chieftains with hundreds or thousands of livestock, he was nothing. The copper cauldron was their only cooking vessel, now useless.
It had been leaking for ages, but Ada couldn't bear to discard it. He'd brought it out for his son's illness, only to waste his efforts…
The spilled water extinguished the campfire, sending smoke billowing into the tent. A Hu woman coughed, stepping out to see the mess and freezing.
"How about… borrowing a cauldron from Bada?" she suggested.
Ada muttered, "Went there two days ago, forgot?"
The Hu followed water and grass, so their homes weren't as close-knit as the Han's. Even the nearest neighbor might be an hour or two's ride away, the farthest half a day or more.
"Then… what about Zhagu? He's farther…"
"Moved. Said he went south a while back…"
"What… what do we do then?" the woman murmured.
"Do? Do? How should I know!" Ada roared, hurling the cauldron at her and kicking the extinguished campfire's remains, scattering them.
Stumbling from the cauldron's weight, the woman clutched it and shouted back, "You're the man! You're supposed to know!"
Already irritated, Ada's temper flared at her retort. He grabbed a piece of firewood and swung.
The woman dodged, clutching the cauldron, shouting as she ran, "Who broke the cauldron last time? You want to hit again? Just kill me and the kids already!"
Ada, fuming, chased her, waving the stick but never truly striking hard, aiming only for fleshier parts.
As their squabble peaked, a horse galloped from afar, its rider shouting before arriving, "Ada… there's hope… there's hope…"
"It's Bada!" Ada dropped the stick and strode forward.
Bada slowed his horse, dismounting before it fully stopped, jogging a few steps to shed momentum. He embraced Ada, exclaiming, "There's hope! Your little colt is saved!"
Catching his breath, Bada continued, "The Han… the Han opened a new market in the south! An official Han market! Haha, they'll have cauldrons for sure! Maybe even tea bricks! Your little colt's saved!"
"Really?!" Ada's excitement surged, then dimmed. "The Han always cheat us. Good sheepskins, they call damaged…"
Bada fell silent, then said, "No choice… we have to try…"
Since six years ago, Shangjun—and all of Bingzhou—had closed official markets to the Hu, cutting off their access to daily goods. Stored pelts, neglected, grew moth-eaten and were discarded…
Ada dug out some sheepskins, tossed them onto his horse, then grabbed a sheep from the pen, tying it to the saddle. He shouted to his wife, "Watch the house! I'll deal with you when I'm back!"
The woman muttered, then ran into the tent, emerging with a water skin she tossed to Ada.
Ada and Bada rode south, crossing gullies, meadows, and rivers. Suddenly, as if sprouting from the earth, a massive camp appeared along the Xinshui River. Nearby, three rows of thatched shelters stood, brimming with goods that dazzled Ada's eyes…