Chapter 1171, The Astonished Sisters

Translator: Silavin

 

Snow was still falling steadily. The Flame Dragon Tribe paid it no mind.

 

If anything, the Tribe was in good spirits. Some had already begun holding little gatherings. Three or five friends would gather then eat and chat. The whole scene was warm and easy.

 

Life had become something none of them could have imagined before, especially during the snow season. Food enough. Charcoal enough. A snow season one could actually pass through full and warm.

 

That had never existed before. Not once.

 

“Elder Sister, did the Shaman really give all of this to us?” Wen asked, lifting her head carefully. She stared at the table. It was piled with food. She was not quite sure what to do with herself.

 

She had never seen so much food in one place. And certainly not during a snow season. During the snow season, one would be counted fortunate to have even a little. They hid that little away and were grateful for it.

 

They did not think about a table looking like this.

 

That was why Wen felt so overwhelmed.

 

“Of course the Shaman gave it to us. I didn’t quite believe it myself at first, but he kept insisting we take it.” Min had only just steadied herself. When she had first received it all, she’d stood there frozen for a good while.

 

If Yu Ying hadn’t been so patient in explaining, Min genuinely would not have accepted any of it.

 

More than ten kilograms of dried meat. Some dried fruit. Preserved meat. Salt. Other seasonings. On top of that, several Animal Hides so the two Sisters could sew themselves warmer clothes. And two thick quilts.

 

The snow season was truly cold. Without quilts, how did one get through it?

 

“But we already receive food for working each day,” Wen said. “And they give us currency notes on a regular basis too. We could use those to buy things.”

 

She shook her head slowly, her voice still soft and round with disbelief. “We’ve even saved up some currency notes already. So why would the Shaman still give us all of this?”

 

Meng Li was teaching the Tribe’s children to paint, so she received a monthly wage. Three meals a day were included as well. Her Older Sister worked in the kitchen and received the same wages. They also had a room to live in.

 

They had initially been offered rooms in the Yong’an Building. The two Sisters had declined.

 

Not because they disliked it. Quite the opposite. The Yong’an Building was simply too great. They dared not accept it.

 

So instead they were given a room in the house nearest to the Yong’an Building, a place where many of the building’s maids lived. It suited them well enough.

 

“I’m not entirely sure either,” Min said, thinking back over what she had been told. “The Shaman called it something like a year-end bonus. He said it gets given out every snow season, on top of everything else.”

 

Yu Ying explained it further while preparing the gifts. She had been careful to say there was no need to feel burdened by it. This was simply a reward from the Shaman. Ordinary people didn’t even receive it. Only those with work in the Yong’an Building, and a few of the higher-ups would receive it.

 

Besides, both Sisters were working for the Tribe. One of them was teaching children to paint, which was a skilled thing. It was perfectly natural to give a little extra during the snow season.

 

“It’s just that we’ve received so much all at once,” Wen said, still uneasy. “We haven’t even finished the food we saved before. And now there’s all this on top of it.”

 

It was the sudden goodness of it all that unsettled her. A stable job. A proper place to live. She had not yet managed to step back out from the warmth of that before she was dropped into another jar of honey.

 

Wen’s worry was a simple one. If she grew accustomed to living well and then one day it was taken from her, the memory of this good life would only become a source of pain. Better not to reach for too much. Better to stay modest, stay careful, not court comfort she might lose.

 

“Relax.” Min said, doing her best to persuade her. “The Shaman said we shouldn’t feel any burden. As long as we work honestly and do our part, that’s enough. She said this is what we deserve. And apparently there’ll be more benefits coming later too.”

 

She leaned toward her Sister. “Besides, you work hard every day, don’t you? You’re up early and back late. This is just so you can keep your strength up.”

 

Min thought her Little Sister’s work was actually harder than her own. She only cooked in the kitchen each day. Wen had to face an entire classroom of children, and children were difficult to manage at the best of times. Wen was not even that much older than some of them.

 

“All right,” Wen said at last. “We really can accept all of this without worrying?”

 

She still was not certain. The food on that table was enough for more than twenty days, even eating their fill. Even spending the whole snow season on it would be no trouble at all.

 

“Trust me.” Min said gently. “The Shaman even told us to eat as much as we want. And he said something else is coming for us soon.”

 

“Something else? What sort of something else?”

 

“I don’t know. He said we would find out when the time came.” Min shook her head.

 

“Hmm…” Wen sat up a little straighter. “I still have lessons soon. I’ll work a little harder with the children these next few days. That can be my way of giving back to the Tribe.”

 

She meant it.

 

She felt she absolutely could not accept the Tribe’s generosity for nothing. All her life, her sketching and scribbling had been unwelcomed everywhere she went. The Flame Dragon Tribe had not only accepted her, they had given her work and paid her for it, included her meals, given her a roof, and now this.

 

It was unthinkable. And so, Wen had quietly decided that she would give this Tribe everything she had, for as long as she lived.

 

“Take me along to watch,” Min said, smiling. “I’ve never seen you teach. And I could stand to learn a few things myself.”

 

“Ah? Don’t you need to help at the Yong’an Building today?”

 

“They said I only need to come for the midday meal. Yu Ying will handle the evening. Apparently it’s a special snow season holiday for me.” Min’s voice was soft with wonder.

 

“What!? How can they be so good to us?” Wen could not believe what she had just heard.

 

Extra food was one thing. But now she was being given so much time to rest as well. No need to arrive early. No need to stay late. Just a little work at midday, and then the rest was hers.

 

“So we haven’t followed the wrong person,” Min said, her smile breaking into something full and genuine. “And we haven’t joined the wrong Tribe. Being traded to this Tribe was the best thing that happened to us.”

 

“I think so too.” Wen said, and showed the little gap in her teeth when she grinned.