Chapter 40: Waiting

Zi Yan was only slightly injured, but Qu Hao didn't dare to be sloppy, and rested in the inn for three days to recuperate for her, worried about wound infection, fortunately, there were anti-infection drugs in the first aid kit, and Zi Yan's wound healed in a few days, although there were three slight scars left on the upper left chest, and there was no danger.

After this incident, Zi Yan felt like she had done something wrong, and she didn't dare to look at Qu Hao's eyes, a girl who grew up in a traditional environment, felt that her secret body was seen by a big man who was not her relative, and her shyness was difficult to let go of no matter what.

But Qu Hao only treated her as a child, as if nothing had happened, which made Zi Yan feel more and more empty.

After suffering the loss of the black bear, the two of them also became more cautious in the later journey, trying to walk together with other people who were rushing together to avoid encountering fierce beasts again.

After walking for more than ten days and going through many hardships, I finally arrived at Zhuye, the capital of Chen.

The state of Chen was a small state sandwiched between the state of Chu and the state of Zheng and Cai. In the Spring and Autumn Period, in addition to relying on the influence of Zhou Tianzi to barely maintain and survive, small countries also served as a buffer between the big countries, and the big countries also deliberately retained some small countries, which could avoid direct wars between the big countries. The small states of Chen, Cai, and Zheng were the small states between the two great powers of Chu and Jin.

At this time, it was already winter, and the sky was as blue as a wash, and the sun shone through the cold wind on the earth, but it did not bring a warm feeling. The cold wind was blowing, and the bare trees, unable to withstand the attack of the northwest wind, swayed in the cold wind.

The cold wind in Zhuno also made people try to hide inside their houses as much as possible, and there were few people and cars on the streets, and there were not even a few hawkers.

For Qu Hao, if he wanted to find a carriage with an eagle engraved on the back of Chen Guo, without any clues, he could only take a chance and pray that the carriage would appear in his field of vision.

Qu Hao first found an inn near the main road, the most attractive thing about this inn is that there is a balcony facing the intersection of the main road, and the carriage on the road can be seen clearly from the balcony.

After more than ten days of hard work, Qu Hao and Ziyan could finally take a good rest, the two of them wrapped themselves tightly to resist the cold wind, sat on the balcony while drinking tea and watched the carriage coming and going on the road, waiting for the carriage with the eagle logo to appear.

After a lot of leisure time, Ziyan pestered Qu Hao to tell her a story.

"If you want to understand the story of me and Sister Mengyao, you must first understand my hometown." Qu Hao said.

"Okay, let's start with your hometown." Ziyan was very happy.

"My hometown is big and there are a lot of people. There, most of the people no longer have to grow food, and only a few remain in the fields. Qu Hao said.

"Can the farming of a small number of people meet the needs of all?" Zi Yan didn't understand.

"Yes, because we have a high grain production there, and we don't need oxen to do it anymore." Qu Hao said.

"Huh? What could be better livestock than an ox plowing a field? Ziyan can't imagine the production scene of modern society.

"Iron Bull. It is a cow made of the materials of the elder brother's sword, which does not eat grass and only burns oil, and the output of one person's farming is more than that of a hundred people in the Chu State. Qu Hao said.

"Really? So what do most people do when they don't farm? Zi Yan was surprised.

"They are engaged in all kinds of other things, some of them produce iron oxen, some of them produce oil for iron ox burning, some of them teach children to read like your grandfather, and some of them repair houses, sell houses, repair houses, and so on." Qu Hao tried not to say too many new words, worried that Ziyan would be difficult to understand.

"You said yesterday that there are still girls in the school, and they know how to read and write in order to marry a good family?" Ziyan asked.

"You can say that, but it's not the only purpose. In our hometown, boys and girls are on an equal footing, and girls have to do things when they grow up, and in some ways they take care of girls more, because they are weaker than men. Qu Hao said.

"Wow, it's so good, Sister Mengyao is so happy." Zi Yan admired.

"Sister Mengyao has been studying in school since she was six years old and has been studying for more than 14 years, and in our country, this is a common phenomenon." Qu Hao said.

"What should I do if I read a book for so long and get married?" Ziyan asked.

"In our hometown, girls marry very late, rarely marry in their teens, and generally marry a little more when they are twenty-five or six." Qu Hao said.

"So late? Some of the twenty-five women in our Chu State have become grandmothers. Ziyan didn't understand.

Zi Yan said this, it was Qu Hao's turn to sigh, and he couldn't imagine what kind of scene it would be like if modern women were all twenty-five years old and grandmothers.

"How so? Most of the girls in our hometown prefer to enjoy life, that is, they are more playful, and they don't want to get married until they are too old. Qu Hao said.

"What about the boys? Fun-loving too? Ziyan is very curious, why is she still fun-loving at such an age.

"Boys are more playful, and many of them don't think about getting married until they are in their thirties." Qu Hao replied.

"Isn't there a lot of fun stuff?" Ziyan asked, in her world, there was no concept of play at all.

"Yes, there are too many things to play with, so many young people are reluctant to work and rely on their parents to support them." Qu Hao said.

"Ah, that's all right?" Ziyan felt incredible.

"After talking so much about my hometown, you can also talk about your Chu country, okay?" Qu Hao asked.

Zi Yan thought for a while and said, "Okay." Then I'll start with farming. Our Chu country farms by using fire to cultivate and rake water. First burn the grass so that the land is fertile, and then go into the water to plant rice, and the grass grows with the rice, seven or eight inches high, but the rice grows taller than the grass, and the fields are irrigated with water, and the grass is drowned, so that only the rice grows until the ears of rice grow. ”。

"It takes a lot of water. However, Chu is a river basin with a lot of water. Qu Hao sighed.

"Our Chu country is more advanced than its neighbors in terms of bronze, and silk and wood are also very exquisite. The state of Chu is now a big country, but the current King of Chu Mu used to be the prince of Shangchen, and he came to the throne by forcing his father to commit suicide. During the reign of his father, King Chu Cheng, Shang Chen learned that his father King Chu Cheng wanted to change the princely position as the crown prince, so he led troops to surround the palace and forced King Chu Cheng to hang himself and establish himself as king. Ziyan said.

Although Qu Hao is not very clear about the history of King Chu Mu, he knows that the state of Chu was destroyed later, but it will be hundreds of years later.

"Then do you Chu people worship God?" Qu Hao asked.

"There are many kinds of gods that we Chu people worship, including heavenly gods, earth gods, and human ghosts. The gods of heaven have Taiyi, Dongjun, Yunzhongjun and so on. Because of the worship of heaven and belief in ghosts and gods, so the witch is very respected. Wu through the world, to the ghosts and gods, parasitic life. Ziyan said.

"Is witchcraft a profession?" Qu Hao asked,

"So to speak. However, witchcraft is not an ordinary profession, not only through the gods, but also in charge of affairs, generally understand medical skills, called witch doctors. Ziyan said.

"Oh, that means witches can divinate and heal." Qu Hao said.

"That's what it means." Ziyan said.

"Speaking of Wu, I still have a lot of fate with this word." Qu Hao said, took out the meteorite from his neck, and handed it to Ziyan.

"This is the text witch of our Chu State, where did my brother get it?" Ziyan was surprised.

"I brought it from my hometown, and I didn't know the meaning of witches before, but I just heard you say that I seem to understand a little." Qu Hao said.

"This shows that my brother has a relationship with our Chu country." Zi Yan said and returned the meteorite to Qu Hao.

"Of course it's fate, my surname is Qu, and the most famous person in your Chu State is Qu Yuan, who has the same surname as me. People in our hometown know him, and they commemorate him every year, rowing dragon boats and eating zongzi. Qu Hao said.

"Qu Yuan? How come I don't know this person, what is he doing in Chu State? Ziyan was very curious, the celebrities in her home country didn't know.

As soon as Qu Hao heard that she didn't know, he suddenly realized that Qu Yuan might not have been born yet, so he said, "Oh, maybe I'm mistaken, maybe he is not from Chu." ”

"My brother is bad, he specializes in lying to me." Zi Yan scolded with a smile.

While chatting, the two watched the carriages coming and going, secretly hoping that the carriage with the eagle carved on it would appear soon.