Walk a thousand miles and see the first step.

- Gelao proverb

Mai Liyan had just returned to the house to rest, when she suddenly felt a pain in her abdomen, and hurriedly shouted outside the house: "'Isa, go and call Hayche Ayig (Auntie)." I'm afraid I'm going to give birth. ”

When 'Isa heard these words, he was pleasantly surprised, and with a word of agreement, he hurried to the house of Hatch Ayig.

Hatcher Ayig is the most famous midwife in the palanquin, and almost all the children in the ditch are delivered by her. When she and 'Isa arrived, Maileyam had already laid the child on a pile of dry soil on the kang.

At that time, the Sarta people regarded female childbirth as a filthy thing, and the sanitary conditions were very limited, so the enlightened people poured a basket of white clay on the kang and gave birth to their children on the white clay. Families who are particular about it give birth to their children directly in pits and livestock pens. Women also do not get enough rest after giving birth, and have to work in the fields after two or three days. As a result, there is a high incidence of maternal illness and a high infant mortality rate.

Hatcher Ayig delivered babies with great skill, and took care of the baby and the mother in a matter of moments. She lifted the curtain and poked her head out, smiled and said to the anxious 'Isa, "Congratulations, 'Isazi! Mai Liyan gave birth to a son for you. ”

When 'Isa's parents, who were hiding in the main house, heard that a son had been born, they also cracked their mouths and laughed, and said happily to 'Isa's younger brothers: "You will be fathers (uncles) from now on!" ”

Five days later, 'Isa invited Ahun from the mosque to give the child a scripture named Ibraham.

Ibrahim thrived under the love of his parents. He was intelligent and studious, had a strong memory, and was able to memorize large passages of scripture by the age of 5.

The villagers all praised: "'Isa, this Gawa will be Ahong in the future." You and Mai Liyan will sit at home and eat oil and enjoy the blessings! ”

Jesus replied with a smile, "Who knows what will happen in the future." ”

The villagers said: "There is no problem with Ma! Have you forgotten what the old people said? 'Three years old is big, seven years old is old'. ”

Since he was a child, Ibrahim has followed his father to work in the fields, plowing the fields, sowing seeds, hoeing weeds, thinning seedlings, harvesting, and planting, and he can do it all in style.

Back home, he helped Ana (mother) take care of her younger brothers.

One day, Ibrahim was in the mosque and listened to Ah Hong explain several sects of Islam, especially the stories of Jehe Ninya and Ma Mingxin, which intrigued him. After returning home, he asked his father about what happened after Ma Mingxin's death.

'Isa said: "I have also heard legends from the people, and I don't know if they are accurate or not. ”

Next, Isa began to tell his son the story of 1781 after the failure of the 43rd anti-Qing uprising of the Jeheren Yepai.

Since Ma Mingxin was the founder of the Zhehe Ninja sect, he became the first offender of this uprising. Although he had been killed by the government, his family and more than 200 relatives and friends were all killed. The young and middle-aged men of the Ma family were killed without leaking.

Ma Mingxin had three sons, except for the second son, who died at an early age, and the third son, who was only eight years old, went to Yunnan to fill the army and died of illness in a place called Baomujing (today's Jinggu County, Yunnan Province).

The eldest son, Abdullah (Ma Shunqing), was also sent to Yunnan to fill the army. He met his father's student, the ancient city Sanye Ma Xuecheng, in Mojiang County.

Ma Xuecheng carried out a rescue operation and helped him escape from the tiger's mouth. When he grew up, Ma Xuecheng arranged a marriage for him and settled him in Donggou in Hexi County (today's Hexi Town, Tonghai County, Yunnan Province).

Ma Mingxin's two-room wife, Caoyagou Zhang, and the Salar Han, three daughters, and an adult goddaughter, like all the women, were packed in a prisoner cart pulled by oxen and embarked on the difficult road to return to Ili to fill the army.

The 12-year-old eldest daughter fell ill due to soil and water adaptation. When she arrived at Toudaohezi, west of Turpan, she became impermanent prematurely because of no medical treatment.

Toudaohezi is located in the middle of the Great Gobi Desert, and there are no burial conditions and no tools for digging graves. The Niang'er and the others dug a shallow pit with their hands, put her body in the pit, covered it with a wooden board and a white coat, and hastily finished the matter.

Ma Mingxin's goddaughter was repeatedly molested by the detainees during the trip. She was a fierce woman who was going to die. She proposed to Mrs. Zhang in Toudaohezi to accompany her eldest sister.

Mrs. Zhang said: "It's not a place yet. There is a big tomb of yours in that place. ”

Later, they went to Santai Haizi (Sailim Lake).

Mrs. Zhang said to her goddaughter, "Your place has arrived!"

The goddaughter calmly saluted Mrs. Zhang and Mrs. Han, turned around and jumped into the icy lake.

The place where she dived was on the cliff next to the road to Ili, opposite a mountain in the middle of the lake. Legend has it that the lake in front of the cliff no longer freezes in winter. In order to commemorate her, later generations often went to the cliff to chant and pray for her.

Ma Mingxin's widow and daughters were sad and sad, and they didn't know how much they suffered along the way, and they arrived in Yili at the beginning of the lunar month of this year.

Mrs. Zhang was assigned to a family with a red top as a flag official (full flag official) as a slave. The 9-year-old second daughter was assigned to the Xibe official family in Qapqar as a maid.

Mrs. Han and her third daughter, who were only 6 or 7 years old, were assigned to a Mongolian official family living in Yemadu on the west bank of the Ili River.

Mrs. Zhang worked as a slave in the flag official's house and found out that the flag officer was a pervert, so she took strict precautions against him at all times.

The flag officer saw that Mrs. Zhang was a little beautiful, and openly forced her to be a concubine.

On the occasion of the Chinese New Year's Eve of the Lunar New Year, the flag officer took advantage of Mrs. Zhang's work to force her to ask for pleasure.

Mrs. Zhang forced a smile and said to the flag officer: "Master, when I make a meal and celebrate Chinese New Year's Eve with my family, I will marry you." ”

The flag officer believed her words and settled down.

Mrs. Zhang filled a table full of wine and food, forced a smile, and frequently toasted to the flag officer.

The flag officer was so happy that he was drunk.

At this time, Mrs. Zhang took out the kitchen knife that had already been sharpened from her waist and hacked the flag officer to death in a daze. Then, she killed all the old and young members of the flag officer's family.

The next day is the first day of the Lunar New Year. Mrs. Zhang ran to the gate of the government to beat a drum and surrendered, recounted the murder to the county official, and then said: "The law of the Qing Dynasty stipulates that female prisoners who are confiscated into the army can only be slaves, not concubines. I was bullied by the flag officer so much that I had no choice but to kill someone. ”

The county magistrate was very sympathetic to her plight, but said that there was no way to save the murder.

Mrs. Zhang said, "Since I came, I have no intention of surviving. If the magistrate had given me the grace to die quickly, I would have been grateful. ”

The county magistrate complied with her request.

On the way to the court, Mrs. Zhang suddenly spotted Su Ahong, who was watching the excitement, and shouted at him loudly: "What are you looking at? Have you forgotten what Vigaya Tunlahai (Ma Mingxin's scripture name) said to you? Recite me the scriptures! ”

Su Ahong is a student of Ma Mingxin. Only then did he see that the woman who walked to the execution ground turned out to be the wife of Guan Chuan Erzezi (a nobleman), and hurriedly knelt on the side of the road and read a confession (confession) for Mrs. Zhang.

After Mrs. Zhang was killed, Su Ahong buried her body by the Ili River.

Later, the Ili River was diverted. Mrs. Zhang's grave was flooded by the river.

Ma Mingxin's second daughter worked as an envoy in the Xibe official's house.

The family was compassionate and had never abused the 8 or 9-year-old girl. When she grew up, she also married her as her own daughter to the son of another local Xibe official.

After marriage, she gave birth to three sons.

She had lived in Xibeguan's family for decades, and no one knew that she was the daughter of Guan Chuan Erzezi.

When she was old and felt that her life would not be long, she called her three adult sons to her bedside, told them about her life and experiences, and asked them to bury her according to Muslim rituals.

The three sons hired a sedan chair and carried her across the river as their mother had instructed, and found an Ahong in the place where the Hui people lived, explained to him what had happened, and asked him to preside over his mother's funeral.

When Ah Hong heard that it was Guan Chuan's daughter Erzezi, he couldn't help but be timid, and he didn't answer for a long time.

She asked her son to invite Ah Hong to the sedan chair and said to Ah Hong, "I am a real person. I am a Muslim, and after I die, I cannot accept burning incense and prostrating, and I have to follow the rites of Islam to handle the aftermath. Please find me a house where I will live and recuperate. When I'm impermanent, you give me a funeral. - The cost is borne by my son. ”

After a pause, she added, "It's good that you do what I ask." If not, let us meet in the Hereafter! ”

Ah Hong shuddered when he heard this, and quickly agreed.

Soon, she became impermanent.

Her sons brought a large herd of cattle and sheep and gave them to Ah Hong as expenses for the funeral.

On the 37th, 47th, 100th day, and anniversary, her sons rushed to give cattle and sheep to Ah Hong.

The imam became rich as a result.

Ma Mingxin's other wife, Grandma Sarah, and his third daughter herd cattle in the Mongolian government of Yemadu.

The mother and daughter depend on each other for their lives, and they have to go to the grassland to graze and work every day. Mrs. Han had no time to bind her daughter's feet, but she agreed with her daughter's unwillingness to bind her feet.

Although the status of official slaves is lowly and there is no freedom, they can breathe freely in this vast grassland, which makes them have some joy since childhood.

Time flies, and before they know it, they have spent 30 spring and autumn on the grassland.

At this time, Mrs. Han was already aging, and her third daughter had changed from a 6 or 7-year-old girl to an old girl in her 30s.

One day, they were grazing on the grassland as usual. Mrs. Han saw that her daughter, who was over 30 years old, was sad in her heart, and suddenly cried bitterly.

The daughter wept bitterly for some reason and went forward to comfort and inquire.

Mrs. Han choked up and said, "I originally wanted to be your companion and survive the early days." However, now that it has been 30 years, when will the hard times be? Now that I'm old, my health is getting worse day by day, and I don't know that day will suddenly be impermanent. There are two things I can't let go of. The first is a string of prayer beads left by the old man (referring to Ma Mingxin), which has not yet been explained. The second thing is your marriage. If you can go to a place where there are returnees, both of these things will be settled. ”

Mrs. Han gave her daughter the secret she had thought of and asked her to escape as soon as possible.

The next day, according to Mrs. Han's instructions, the daughter drove a cow all the way to the east. She stopped as she ran to the banks of the Ili River and stacked the bag of clothes she had worn on the river's edge.

She drove the oxen into the river and crossed the Ili River with their tails in tow.

After coming ashore, she continued to run eastward, and finally ran to the place where the Hui people lived.

Mrs. Han watched her daughter cross the Ili River, and finally got rid of what she had been worrying about. However, if the daughter runs away without permission, the official family will definitely track it down. Thinking of this, in order to avoid being beaten and insulted, she committed suicide by throwing herself into the river.

The place where the third daughter fled was Suiding County (today's Huocheng County).

A man surnamed Yang was chanting when he suddenly saw the guard dog break the leash and pounce outside. He was afraid that the dog would run out and bite people, so he hurriedly followed out the door, and saw the menacing watchdog running to a Mongolian girl, but he was honest all of a sudden.

Yang Ahong stepped forward and asked questions in Mongolian.

The girl spoke Chinese.

Yang Ahong was surprised.

She told Yang Ahong about her life and situation, and asked the old man to hide her.

Yang Ahong asked her to eat something first, and then took her to the wheat straw stack, and dug a deep hole in the wheat straw stack, allowing her to burrow into it and hide inside.

The Mongolian employees soon discovered that Mrs. Han had committed suicide and her daughter had escaped, and immediately sent men to chase after her.

When the pursuers reached the banks of the Ili River, they saw a pile of clothes on the riverside, presumably the girl jumped into the river and drowned.

However, they were still not at ease, and crossed the Ili River to continue their search.

They walked to Yang Ahong's house and asked.

Yang Ahong said: "I have never seen a Mongolian girl. ”

The searchers did not find anyone, so they had to go back.

Afterwards, Yang Ahong changed the clothes of the third daughter to the back girl. In order to get long-term security, Yang Ahong persuaded her to marry a Hui man surnamed He.

The man surnamed He was originally from Ningxia and is now working as an errand boy in the Yamen of Suiding County. He is known as Homanla.

So, after the third daughter married Hemanla, she entrusted her life experience and the rosary to her husband.

Homanla was a devout Muslim and a devotee of Jerkhrenya.

In order for the Taoist ancestor to have a place for the rosary, he asked the yamen for leave under the pretext of going back to his hometown to visit relatives, and returned to Ningxia with the rosary.

At this time, the sect leader of Zhehe Ninjaya had changed for several generations.

After Ma Ming's impermanence, he was replaced by Pingliang's Mu Xianzhang, and Pingliang Mu Impermanence was replaced by the shipyard master Ma Tian, and the shipyard master was replaced by his son Ma Yide, the eighth master of April.

When He Manla returned to Ningxia, it was April 8 when the eighth master was coaching. He gave the rosary to the eighth master of April.

He Manla's trip to Ningxia also brought Zhehe Renye in Xinjiang into contact with the sect leader. Since then, the head of the sect has continuously appointed Reis (patriarch) to Xinjiang to preside over the affairs of the church.

After listening to his father's story, Ibrahim thought for a while with his big bright eyes, and then continued to ask: "Ada, they are all one scripture, why are they divided into so many factions?" ”

'Isa replied: "Everyone thinks that their thoughts are correct, and they are not convinced by each other, so they become a courtier." ”

Ibrahim sighed helplessly and said to himself: "If I have the opportunity in the future, I will also want to Xinjiang to see the Toudao River and the Ili River." ”

In all fairness.

On the evening of the same day that Ibrahim was born in 1900, in Dongguan, Xining Prefecture, 130 kilometers northwest of Dongxiang, Gong Chen, the wife of Gong Deren, the wife of Gong Huaizhou's descendant, also gave birth to a boy named Gong Guoyuan.

Gong Deren is the youngest son of Gong Zhixian during the Tongzhi period. After Gong Zhixian got older, Gong Deren inherited the meager family business, lived in the old house in Dongguan with his parents, planted a few acres of thin fields by the Huangshui River, and taught literacy to the children of the surrounding families in his spare time to earn some pocket money.

Gong Deren's wife's name is Gong Chen, and she is the daughter of Chen's blacksmith in Nianbo City. For hundreds of years, the daughter-in-law of the Gong family has been like a person poured out of a mold, all of them are pungent by nature, capable and hard-working, and have a great temper.

The first child born to Gong Chen was a boy, not only did she herself be very happy, but she also smiled at the usually gentle and introverted Gong family, and tried to make a way to make food to comfort Gong Chen.

Gong Zhixian's second daughter-in-law, Gong Yang, carried a basket of white-flour steamed buns to her in-laws' house to visit Gong Chen, who was in confinement.

Gong Yang is a straightforward person. She hugged Gong Guoyuan around the house twice, and suddenly said loudly: "Oh, this Ga Wa has white and tender skin and looks rare (cute)." The fly in the ointment is that the bridge of the nose is not high, and it is impossible to keep money. The ears are also so soft, and if you listen to your daughter-in-law in the future, you won't be able to be a family. ”

Gong Chen has always had a strong personality and refuses to be half a cut lower than others everywhere. After listening to Gong Yang's words, his heart was naturally uncomfortable, and a black cloud was piled up on his face. She said unhappily: "Second sister-in-law, when did you become a fortune-teller!" How could such a shrewd person marry an unsuccessful second brother? Could it be that he didn't give his second brother a hexagram before getting married! ”

Gong Chen's number of words relieved his anger, but he offended a house of people.

Gong Zhixian and his wife saw that their second son was ridiculed and ridiculed by their little daughter-in-law Gong Chen, and they naturally felt very uncomfortable.

Gong Yang's face was a little unbearable when he saw the concubine fighting in front of everyone, and secretly blamed himself for not speaking and angering the family.

Gong Lao Er was so angry that his face was crooked, but he couldn't attack his younger daughter-in-law Gong Chen, so he could only stare at his daughter-in-law with big eyes like a cow.

Gong Deren was very unhappy with the second sister-in-law's words, but because of the face of his parents and the second brother, it was difficult to turn his face, so he had to lose his temper at his daughter-in-law and said: "A mother-in-law's family, why is there so much nonsense?" ”

The little daughter-in-law, Gong Chen, shouted unrelentingly: "I am annoyed by my mother-in-law, I will take Gawa back to my parents' house now." ”

The second daughter-in-law, Gong Yang, hurriedly relieved the siege and said, "Oh, I haven't finished talking yet." This Gawa is full of heaven, and he will definitely be a big official in the future! It's all my fault for this crooked mouth, which makes everyone unhappy. ”

Gong Zhixian's wife ordered loudly: "Don't even chatter." The eldest daughter-in-law cooked everything in the kitchen. Hurry up and don't go to the meal! ”

From then on, the people of the Gong family had to think twice before speaking, for fear of saying the wrong thing and causing disharmony between relatives.

Gong Guoyuan has also become a distressed little baby in the Gong family.