Dampness urges the wall to fall, and sadness urges people to grow old.

- Turkish proverb

Ali and Sauron followed Badr into Zhongdu (present-day Beijing) and continued to serve Badr's family.

With Badr becoming politically frustrated, he had plenty of time to reflect on what he had done, his temper became much softer, and his tone of voice was no longer commanding to lead troops into battle, and he was willing to talk to the people around him about the trivial matters of life, as if he had stepped from his military kingdom into the world of ordinary people.

The relationship between the two families has gradually changed from a simple relationship between superiors and subordinates to a complex relationship that is both superior and subordinate and contains more or less special family affection.

After Sauron came to Zhongdu, he gave birth to several children successively, although the housework became more and more complicated, but also very happy and happy, it really fulfilled the folk proverb "the family has three treasures - the rooster crows and the dog barks and the doll makes trouble".

Ali's mind was not as simple as Sauron's. As he grew older, his longing for Khorazm and his hometown relatives became stronger day by day. At this time, he would take out the pebble from the banks of the Zeravshan River and stare at it for a long time, as if he saw his hometown and relatives in the interior of the stone.

After hesitating and thinking for many days, Ali finally opened his mouth and made his request to Badr: "Sir, the years are not forgiving. I am also getting older day by day, and my energy is becoming less and less, and I am often worried about delaying the big things of the chief. If you can choose another suitable person to serve you in my place, I can leave the barracks with peace of mind. ”

Badr is also in his 50s, and he understands Ali's mood at this moment, and after thinking for a while, he said: "I should have given you freedom a long time ago, but I have been used to you for decades, so I have been reluctant to let you leave." I can promise you to leave the barracks and live your own life. The question is, where do you move to live? ”

Ali replied: "I often go to the Cattle Street in the south of the city because I go out to buy beef and mutton, and I see that there are many Hui and Salta people in the Cattle Street, and there are also all kinds of goods and food. I think it would be easier to move there. Niu Street is not too far from the prefect's barracks, and it is very convenient to come and go for anything. ”

Badr smiled and said, "You are so familiar with Niu Street, it seems that you have been planning to leave me for a long time." Well, I will allocate you a silver tael for the purchase of family property, so that you will have food and clothing for the rest of your life. ”

Ali thanked him again and again.

Badr rolled his eyes and immediately said, "But ah, I've always had a doubt in my heart. ”

Ali was afraid that Badr would change his mind temporarily, so he hurriedly asked, "What other doubts do you have?" ”

Badr took a sip of the milk tea bowl, and then said: "I am the righteous son of Genghis Khan, and I am the elder of the current Great Khan. Although the Khan position was transferred from the Ogedai family back to the Tulei family, it was very beneficial to me. However, since ancient times, emperors have been fickle and suspicious, fearing that others will covet their throne. In order to avoid the suspicion of the nephews such as Möngke and Kublai Khan, I intend to send my son Dalai and your son Nuhai to serve as soldiers under the Great Khan. ”

Although Ali was very reluctant to let his son become a soldier, he reluctantly agreed for the safety of the whole family and the stability of the Badr family.

Ali returned to his house and relayed Badr's words to Sauron.

Unexpectedly, Sauron's attitude was very simple: "Nuhai will be 20 years old soon. His parents raised a boy so that when he grew up, he would ride a horse into battle and heroically kill enemies for his country. ”

Ali stared at his big pale yellow eyes in astonishment, as if he was the first time he had met his wife who had been with him for more than 20 years. In his heart, he had to secretly admire the brave and warlike Mongols in his bones and his wife, who was usually inconspicuous.

Time flies, Ali is in his 50s, and it has been almost 30 years since he came to the East. His heart has always longed for his homeland Khorezm and his hometown of Samarkand, and he has repeatedly planned to return to Samarkand with his wife and children. Now, Nuhai and Dalai have followed Kublai Khan to the front line to fight, and the other children are still young, so they will definitely not be able to return to their hometowns.

Ali temporarily dismissed the idea of returning to China, took his other sons to Niujie in Nancheng, carefully selected a courtyard house facing the street, bought it with the silver taels that Badr had bought for him, simply cleaned up, and the family moved in.

Legend has it that there was originally a pomegranate orchard in Niu Street, and people called this street Grenade Street. Since the Tang and Song dynasties, some Muslims from Central and West Asia have lived here. In 996, when the Liao State ruled here, the Hui people built a worship temple on Durian Street, which combined the ancient palace style of the Central Plains with the Arabic architectural style. Since the Hui people have always liked to live around the mosque, the number of Hui residents in Durian Street has increased. They set up shop here and did business, forming a thriving market. In particular, the Hui people are good at cooking beef and mutton, and the beef they make is very delicious and famous all over the city. In addition, "cow" and "pomegranate" are homophonic, and over time, people have called Durian Street Cow Street with false rumors.

Ali has been running around for most of his life, and finally has a stable home. He often sits under the big locust tree in the courtyard and drinks tea. During the day, he would take out the pebble and rub it gently while chatting with Sauron and his children, telling the story of Khorezm; In the evening, he looked up in the chaise longue and looked up at the twinkling stars in the sky, thinking of his impermanent family and friends.

Ali turned a house on the street into a shop and started his old business of tea. Perhaps it was because of the experience gained in doing business in Samarkand in the past, or perhaps because the Salta people had a talent for doing business, Ali's tea shop actually came from behind and became the number one shop on Bull Street, which was very prosperous.

One day, Ali's youngest son, Arslan, came home from the street crying.

Ali saw that Arslan's hair was messy and his clothes were also covered with muddy water, and it was estimated that the children did not control the heat and finally turned their faces, so he beckoned his wife Sauron to quickly wash the children's faces and change into clean clothes.

Sauron hurriedly dropped his work, took out a clean set of clothes for Arslan to change, and then poured warm water into a soup bottle (a jug used by Muslims for washing), poured it into his own hand, and gently scrubbed the child's face.

Sauron patiently advised, "Children are not allowed to play in muddy soup in the future, remember?" ”

Arslan argued, "Ana, I didn't play in the mud soup!" ”

Ali reprimanded: "Didn't play in the mud soup? Where does the muddy water on your face and body come from? Could it be that the muddy water flew to you on its own? ”

Arslan walked over to Ali's side after washing up, tears still sparkling on his long eyelashes. He said aggrievedly: "I caught crickets with Hussein and Mustafa on the edge of the small river ditch, and I didn't provoke anyone. A few big dolls on East Street came, insisting that we leave immediately, and scolded us for being wild seeds from Fanguo! ”

When Ali heard this, he couldn't help but get angry, stood up suddenly, and asked loudly: "Is it a doll from a newly moved Beizhou family on East Street?" Two days ago, I went to the store to sneak around and look around, but I didn't buy tea, and I took the money and ran away when I wasn't paying attention, so I was scared away. These wild people of the northern states do not know how to educate their dolls! I'll go to their adults. ”

Sauron hurriedly tugged at Ali's sleeve and persuaded, "You know that they are savages, why do you want to meet them in the same way? Just avoid them in the future. ”

Ali asked puzzledly: "Why is your Mongolian arrogance wilting these days?" ”

Sauron smiled and said, "The pride of our Mongols is used in national affairs. Dolls fighting is a trivial and common thing, and adults don't have to worry about it. ”

Ali snorted unconvinced.

Sauron continued to laugh and say, "What are you humming? How did the Khorezm Empire fall? It's that your king is too narrow-minded and delays the affairs of the country. ”

Ali's eyes widened suddenly, and he shouted at Sauron, "You are not allowed to slander Khorezm!" Nor will you slander our great king, Aladdin Mahamad! ”

It was the first time for Sauron to see Ali so angry with him, and he hurriedly said, "Okay. Good. Don't slander, I don't slander. Arslan, let's go, Ana will take you to buy some groceries. ”

Ali watched Sauron lead Arslan out of the courtyard gate, and sat on the chaise longue under the big locust tree in a huff, unable to calm down for a long time.

In fact, the residents on Niu Street are all from all over the world, and they all know each other's basic situation, and there is no mutual exclusion in ordinary times. On the contrary, there are a few old local families living on the adjacent East Street, who often claim to be the orthodox nobles of the community, regard the immigrants on Niu Street as "barbarians, Yi, Rong, and Di", and sneer at the foreign immigrants' clothing, living customs, and religions, and always have a sense of psychological superiority, and at the same time have an inexplicable panic. Usually, everyone lives their own lives and has nothing to do with each other. Occasionally, because of business disputes or fights between children, the conflicts will instantly intensify, and even cause fights between groups.

The name of outsiders is the most sensitive place in Ali's heart. Although he knows that his background, appearance, beliefs and locals are different, but today's hard-won country also has a credit to my Ali. I am also the founder and builder of this country. What's more, my son Nuhai is still on the front line to defend his family and country.

In addition to meticulously running the tea business, in order to forget the bloody and brutal killing scenes he had witnessed countless times, get rid of those terrifying nightmares that endlessly haunt him, and redeem his soul in the depths of his heart, Ali began to devote himself to studying religious scriptures, hoping to find the true meaning of life and pray that he would devote himself to the Lord and return to God in the second half of his life.

Five times a day, Ali did not fall every time. He would come to the mosque in Niujie on time and pray, and at the same time meet believers of different nationalities here.

Since the language of the Sartars itself is a mixture of Mongolian and Chinese, belonging to the same Iranian language family as Iranian, and close to Arabic, Ali was free to talk to them, exchange religious experiences, learn about the outside world, and listen to any news of his homeland.

Abdullah was a merchant from Khorezm Bukhara. He came here after the resumption of the east-west trade route after the Mongol army's westward expedition, and ran a grain and condiment business.

Abdullah told Ali: "The farmers of the Khitan (some countries in Eurasia use the Khitan to refer to ancient China) are industrious and intelligent, they cultivate the land intensively, take good care of the crops as if they were their own children, the grain harvested is full, and the flour is chewy, which is very popular in many places." ”

Mousaviyah is a stall merchant from Qom, Iran. He shipped the world-famous Iranian carpets to the East, sold them to the princes and nobles of the Great Mongolian Kingdom, and then purchased medicinal herbs and silk from the East and shipped them back to Qom.

Mousaviyah gave Ali a carpet from Qom.

Ali carefully examined the plant patterns on the carpet and found that it was very similar to the one in his home in Samarkand, so he said: "The carpet of your country is too similar to the carpet of our Khorezm!" ”

Mousavieh explained with a smile: "We in Iran and Khorezm have always been a community of destiny, and we are relatively similar in all aspects of nature. However, each country has its own strengths. You see, our Iranian carpets are loved by people for their fine textures, simple and elegant patterns, and exquisite craftsmanship. One of the special features of our carpets is that the dyes are extracted from natural plants and minerals, and the color does not fade after dyeing. The composition is dominated by abstract plants, text from religious proverbs, and geometric patterns. The silk of the Khitan people is magnificent in color, delicate in texture, elegant in style, and is also unique in the world. ”

Mubarak was a porcelain merchant from Arabia. Every spring, he took a steamer from Jeddah on the Red Sea to Tianjin Wei along the Maritime Silk Road, and then overland to Zhongdu to sell the Arabian products he had brought in. After spending the summer, he used the income to buy large quantities of oriental porcelain, which he shipped back to Arabia by ship to sell.

On one occasion, Ali warmly invited Mubarak to his home.

Mubarak looked at the teacup brought by Sauron for a while, and said with certainty: "This is porcelain from Jingdezhen. ”

Ali asked, "How so?" ”

Mubarak said: "The Khitan is the birthplace of porcelain, and it is also the best production area. The porcelain of the Great Song Dynasty has been improved in terms of fetal quality, glaze and production technology, and the porcelain firing technology has reached a full maturity in addition to the five famous kilns of Ru kiln, Guan kiln, Ge kiln, Jun kiln, Ding kiln, as well as Yaozhou kiln (in today's Tongchuan, Shaanxi), Cizhou kiln (in today's Pengcheng, Hebei), Jingdezhen kiln, Longquan kiln, Yue kiln, and Jianyao kiln. Yaozhou kiln products are exquisite, the fetal bone is very thin, and the glaze layer is uniform. Cizhou kiln uses magnet clay as a blank, so porcelain is also called magnetic. Cizhou kilns mostly produce porcelain with black flowers on a white background. The products of Jingdezhen kiln are light and thin, color-rich, and exquisite, and the whiteness and transmittance are promoted as the representative of porcelain in the Great Song Dynasty. Most of the products of Longquan kiln are pink or emerald green, and the glaze is beautiful and bright. The porcelain fired in the Yue kiln is thin and delicate, and the luster is beautiful. The black porcelain and black glaze produced by the kiln are as bright as lacquer. Ru kiln is the crown of the five famous kilns, and the glaze color of porcelain is light blue as the main color, and the color is clear and moist. The official kiln is the official kiln of Bianjing, which specializes in firing porcelain for the imperial court. There are many colored porcelains fired in Jun kilns, and the porcelain with carmine and green and ink color is also good. The porcelain produced by the kiln is fine, thin and bright, the porcelain color is moist, and the white glaze is like powder. ”

Ali couldn't help but admire: "You, a foreign guest, are really good at talking about porcelain." ”

Sauron and several of his sons and daughters also sighed and looked at Mubarak with admiration.

Mubarak smiled modestly: "I am a general who dances a big sword in front of me, and I can't do it myself." ”

Ali lived a peaceful life in the east, but his hometown, Khorezm, in the west, was not peaceful.