Chapter 255. New Tribal Leader
Translator: Fan Translation Studio
Tarico suddenly understood something.
He blew a whistle at the downhill. Hearing that, Mcginon looked up and found Tarico. Subconsciously, he hid the thing behind him nervously.
Tarico went downstairs with studied casualness and walked up to Mcginon. âArenât you going to herd goats? Why are you here?â
Mcginon hemmed and hawed, âIâ¦â
Suddenly, Tarico laughed. âI know youâre not slacking off. Everyone has his or her little secrets. Are you waiting for a woman?â
Mcginon sighed with relief.
Tarico went on, âIf youâve found someone you like, you should be brave to show your affection. Donât be so timid, or the woman may think youâre not reliable enough.â
Mcginon looked somewhat ashamed.
âIsnât it who you like? That woman forces you to marry her?â Tarico patted him on his shoulder. âBro, marriage is not a game. It must be based on mutual love, or youâll suffer a lot in the future. If a couple quarrel, the man may beat the woman, while the woman may kill the man. Perhaps sheâll poison him secretly.â
âRe-really?â Mcginon asked. He sweated all over and his face turned pale with fright.
Seeing that, Tarico was surer of his speculation.
Mahal must have promised Mcginon some benefits, and in return, Mcginon was required to do a bad deed for him.
And it must be about the camel team.
Tarico then said, âSure. How could you be happy in a forced marriage? Even if the woman may be nice to you, her parents wonât treat you well. They will take you as a puppet at their mercy. When you become useless to them, they will naturally kick you away.â ã
Mcginon sweated even more heavily.
Tarico added, âAs you know, although women are given relatively equal status with men in our tribe, men are still in a dominant position. If youâre bullied by your wife or her parents, youâll be looked down upon by other men. Youâd better find a woman of similar status and live happily with her.â
Mcginon fell into silence.
Tarico thought he had said enough. It was up to Mcginon how to take his next step.
Certainly, he would watch Mcginon closely, giving him no chance to hurt the camels.
â¦â¦
â¦
As a result, before it got dark, Mcginon went to Tarico with the poison given by Mahal.
He confessed that Mahal wanted to marry Guri to him and asked him to poison Tarico and the camels.
He said he had never thought about doing so, but Mahal promised to give him all the property, a temptation that was hard to reject.
But after hearing Taricoâs words, he suddenly realized that Mahal was just using him. If he really killed Tarico and the camels, Mahal might act like a deadbeat because no evidence could prove his crime.
Besides, he didnât like Guri, and her parents wouldnât treat him well, either. If they poisoned him to death, he would lose everything.
With brothers and salaries, he was now living such a good life. Why listen to Mahal and ruin the current peaceful life?
Tarico pretended as if he didnât know anything in advance. At the same time, he praised Mcginon for his righteousness and cleverness, which made Mcginon a little bashful.
â¦â¦
â¦
Soon, it was spring again.
Ye Xiaoxian liked this snow-melting, green-spreading season very much.
Once the season came, it meant the tribe would become lively again. The flocks of cattle and goats would be back from another pasture and they would celebrate the Festival of Sacrifice.
After the festival, they would go on with their business. All activities would be back on the track.
The day Tarico was back, Ye Xiaoxian went out to greet him joyfully. To be exact, she was there to check if the camels were fewer or thinner.
Fortunately, the camels were safe. After a long journey, none of them was lost.
Actually, after a winter of recuperation, they looked much stronger than before.
Seeing Ye Xiaoxian, Tarico appeared very happy. He gave her some nuts that he had picked along the way for her to eat at home.
He asked, âHow was your winter?â
His voice was more than gentle. Having separated from her for a long time, he missed her very much and couldnât hold his feelings.
She replied, âNothing particular happened. But weâve prepared a lot of products to be sold after the Festival of Sacrifice. Your work must be tougher.â
âIt was just fine. It was warmer there without ice or snow.â
The region here was vast with varying climates. If one rode for a day, he could experience two seasons. It might be spring on another pasture and it was winter here.
âNo wonder the camels have become so strong,â she said with a smile.
âI value their lives more than mine,â he joked.
âDonât say that way. Your own life is the most important.â
Then, she asked, âWas there any accident in the winter?â
âYes,â Tarico said. âAll our camels were almost dead.â
She was shocked. âWhy? What happened then?â
He smiled. âAre you worried about me?â
She paused and replied, âIâm worried about the camels.â
âYou said my life was the most important, but now you only care about the camels. Youâre so hypocritical.â Tarico said with a laugh.
Ye Xiaoxian also chuckled. âIâm so curious. Why were the camels almost dead? What happened then?â
But he said, âConsidering that you donât care about me, I decide to keep you in suspense. Youâll know after the Seventh King comes. Will he come this year?â
âYes, I suppose so. Itâll soon be the Festival of Sacrifice. Last time he left, he said he would come here two days before the festival.â
âGreat. Youâll know what happened after he comes. Oh yes, do you have anything to eat? Weâve stayed long there and now we miss your dishes very much.â
Ye Xiaoxian said generously, âThen come with your brothers tonight. Letâs have a reunion dinner together.â
â¦
Two days later, Li Chengru came again.
Wong Wen and Wong Wu told him the evil deed Guri had done, Tarico also told him Mahalâs attempt to buy Mcginon.
Irritated, Li Chengru immediately asked people to send Mahal and his family over.
Mahal had just returned from the second pasture.
He had been dragging his heels all the way because Mcginon, who had agreed to help him, suddenly turned his coat. He was afraid that Li Chengru would punish him for this.
He felt an impulse to escape.
But his roots were in the tribe where he had many goats and a home. Where could he escape?
Knowing that Li Chengru summoned him and his family, he couldnât even steady himself with his trembling legs.
He stammered, âWhy, why does the Seventh King wa-want to meet us?â
Wong Wen and Wong Wu said angrily, âYou know what wrongdoings youâve done! Why bother to ask us? Youâd better you go there immediately. The Seventh King has a fiery temper. If you provoke him, the consequences will be even worse.â
Mahal could only head for the Xiaosâ and the Liusâ yurts with Dati and Guri.
Apart from Mahal and his family, Li Chengru had also asked the tribal seniors and some respected elders over.
A country had its laws and a tribe also had its special rules. In the interrogation of any tribal member, these eldersâ partic.i.p.ation was necessary. They would join the discussion and reach a verdict together.
On entering the yurt, Mahal was dumbfounded.
Why were there so many people? All of them, including the tribal seniors, were looking at him with regret and dissatisfaction.
It seemed that he couldnât maintain his position this time.
Sitting in the middle, Li Chengru questioned, âMahal, what did you do on the second pasture? Fess up!â
Guri wanted to confess her guilt, so she said, âIt has nothing to do with my father. I did it all. I wanted to poison all the camels because I hated Tarico. I liked him so much before, but he always refused me and that made me feel very humiliated.â
Li Chengru said, âThis is just the first guilt. Even if your father didnât partic.i.p.ate, he bought Mcginon later and wanted him to poison the camels. Mcginon, tell us what happened.â
Scared as he was, Mcginon told them every detail of the thing.
Mahal didnât know how to refute it because that was the fact. Besides, no one would believe Mcginon was a liar.
Helplessly, Mahal confessed, âItâs all my fault. I heard that Tarico had earned much money by leading the camel team and was afraid that he would pose a threat to me. To secure my position, I bought Mcginon in a moment of madness. Fortunately, Mcginon didnât do as I told, or the consequences would be serious. Iâm willing to accept any punishment.â
Li Chengru looked at the other seniors. âHeâs admitted his guilt, so we donât wrong him. Mahal is sly and selfish. He doesnât deserve to be your tribal leader, so I decide to dismiss him. As a punishment, he also needs to give 100 goats to the camel team. Do you agree?â
Mahal didnât dare to oppose. Anyway, compensating was much better than being imprisoned downtown.
After a discussion, the seniors also said the punishment was reasonable.
But after Mahal was dismissed, the position would be vacant.
A senior said, âNow we have to elect a new tribal leader, but that needs time to prepare. Iâm afraid the election can only be held after the Festival of Sacrifice.â
Li Chengru said, âThis is your tribal business, so I wonât intervene. But the new leader must be righteous, charismatic and responsible. Besides, since the camel team is your key task, the new leader should be someone a.s.sociated with it.â
Hearing that, all the people looked at Tarico.