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"The descendants of the white swan greet the original brother!" At the front of the procession, more than 60 strong men of the Xia tribe wearing yellow sheepskin jackets, bare arms, and brass bells on the hems of their hair and clothes bowed down at the same time.

"The descendants of the white swan, the elder brother of the Central Plains came to visit his siblings!" Sun Jiu bent down in return. The vendors followed Sun Jiu's example and pressed their hands on their shoulders and leaned over to salute. The crappy Turkic dialect speaks in a southern and northern tone, and the neatness of the movements is far less than one-ten-thousandth of the other party.

Seeing the chaotic movements of the vendors, a smile bloomed on his face. Turning sideways, he beckoned back, and more than two dozen women in colorful brocade shirts with silver bells on the corners of their clothes immediately jumped off their horses and poured bowls of fragrant wine from their leather bags. The patriarch threw off the saddle, lifted the first copper bowl and sent it to Sun Jiuma, followed by the two women? , both hands pulled apart a white Hada.

More than 60 strong men dismounted at the same time, and came to the vendors with wine bowls, walking and singing. The song is so long and long that you can't make out the words, but the melody contains a strong sense of welcome.

Xu Dayan wanted to jump off the horse several times, but Li Xu firmly grabbed his arm. Before leaving for the north, his father had instilled many Turkic rules in Li Xu. Since the people are attached to the Turks, the rules must not be much different from those of the Turks. At this moment, if Xu Dayan jumps off the horse, he will definitely leave a bad impression on the owner. And although the other people in the caravan watched the two teenagers make a fool of themselves, once it affected their business, they would not forgive the young man's ignorance.

Sun Jiu took the wine bowl in the patriarch, bowed down, and first dipped a few drops with his fingers and sprinkled them into the blue sky. Repeat again, spilling the syrup on the ground. Finally, he picked up the wine bowl and thanked the patriarch: "Sun Jiu, a native of the Central Plains, thank Changshengtian for arranging this opportunity for you and me to meet." Sun Jiu, a native of the Central Plains, wishes the grassland to witness the friendship between you and me. Brother Susibu, let's drink this bowl together! ”

The patriarch saw that Sun Jiu and the others did not neglect the etiquette of the Xia clan at all, and the smile on his face became even stronger. Picked up the white Hada from the hands of the girl in the clan, raised her feet, and gently put it on Sun Jiu's neck. Sun Jiu bent over and calmly treated each other in an extremely uncomfortable posture. It wasn't until the patriarch finished riding Hada that he raised the wine bowl to drink with the patriarch, and then gently jumped off the horse.

The merchants waited for Sun Jiu and the patriarch to finish drinking the first bowl of wine, and also picked up the wine bowl to drink with the Su Si tribe. Then, they dismounted one after another, and with the help of the Xia people, led their mounts to the tribal settlement.

Dozens of women of the Xia tribe accompanied by singing, all the way to the first fence of the tribe. The enthusiastic men of the Xia tribe carried their goods on their shoulders and unloaded the goods of the vendors, neatly placing them in several large felt bags specially vacated by the tribe near the center of the tribe.

The vendors were treated as distinguished customers, and their tiredness was swept away. Especially Wang Mazi, Du Scarqi and others, since they finished drinking, their eyes didn't blink, staring at the women of the Xia tribe who poured wine. The women were not shy, but smiled back, and from time to time they used as simple Turkic words as possible to put together sentences with Wang Mazi and others.

"That bowl is dismount wine, you must not dismount before you drink it!" The two teenagers walked at the end of the line and exchanged words in a low voice. With his father's influence for many years, Li Xu also knows a sentence or two of Turkic language. The rules of the Turkic tribe and the conversation between Sun Jiu and the patriarch were probably introduced to Xu Dayan, and Xu Dayan was confused, confused, and curious.

"You stood up for me that day and beat Wang Mazi and Du Scar. A few of them have a grudge, and they must try their best to make a fool of the two of us. After a while, you enter the tent, you pay more attention. Although the grassland people are straight, they are very persistent in the rules of the clan. Li Xu whispered. Unconsciously, he and Xu Dayan have switched roles when taking care of each other.

Only then did the mount be settled, and the hospitable master brought water from the well with a copper basin and beckoned everyone to wash their hands and clean their faces. This move is in line with the meaning of "washing the dust" in Chinese, so Xu Dayan understands the truth without asking. Look at the people who put their hands into the copper basin in front of them, and also picked up the well water.

It's cold on the grassland, and the well water is cold. wiped it on his face, and it made everyone sober up a little. After everyone has washed their faces and changed into clean clothes. The tribal leaders warmly invited the vendors to serve tea in the big tent. For the good intentions of the master's family, Sun Jiu didn't dare to refuse, and followed behind the leader with words of thanks. At this moment, Zhang San, the deputy leader of the caravan who was supposed to follow behind Sun Jiu, suddenly lost his strength under his feet, and his steps became smaller and smaller. Seeing Zhang San like this, Wang Mazi, Du Scarqi and others glanced at each other, and slowed down their pace one after another. Soon, everyone "let Xu Dayan" behind Sun Jiu.

Xu Dayan knew that there were a few old traders with ill intentions, so he was careful in everything and changed his righteous attitude along the way. lest you accidentally take a wrong step and say the wrong word, and become the laughing stock of everyone in the future. But under all the caution, I didn't expect that there were tricks in the order of accounting. He followed Sun Jiu and walked slowly, and he came to the big tent. Li Xu said in his heart that it was not good, took two quick steps, and inserted it directly between Sun Jiu and Xu Dayan.

"Little bunny! Calling you good in a moment! Zhang San scolded in his heart. When drinking the "dismount" wine, he, Du Scarqi and others had already made up their minds to make Xu Dayan's ugliness. If he hadn't been pulled by Li Xu at that time, Xu Dayan would definitely have become the most unpopular villain in the Xiren tribe today. At this moment, seeing that Li Xu once again inserted a lever in the trap of everyone, the resentment against him in his heart was even deeper.

The host didn't know about these dirty things among the guests, and saw that Sun Jiu was not followed by the elders in the caravan but two relatively brightly dressed teenagers, and immediately thought that these two handsome young men were rich and noble figures among the merchants, smiled, pointed to the northwest corner of the big tent and said: "The distinguished guests came from afar, so that the cattle, sheep and pastures of the Su Si Department were contaminated with blessings, but please take a seat and drink a bowl of milk tea made by the little girl herself!" (Note 2)

Sun Jiu stepped forward with a smile and bowed three times to the northwest corner of the felt tent. Then, he took the master's hand and said, "It's me who came uninvited and caused trouble to the master's house." Dear Ejin, please take a seat and let me wait to receive the blessings of the elders! ”

After a few polite words between the guests and the hosts, the tribal leader himself sat down on a sheepskin bed in the north. As the brass bell rang, two old men of the Xia tribe with beards as long as their hair slowly entered and sat down next to the leader. When it was the turn of the ninth uncle, he chose the position due east, and then beckoned the vendors to sit down in turn.

The felt tent used by the tribe for hospitality was five times the size of an ordinary felt tent, surrounded by wooden strips and wrapped in snow-white felt. Large windows are opened in all directions of the dome and felt wall, and the windows are made of fine wooden lattices in the Central Plains, but they are not thick paper, but a thin and translucent film, so they appear to be extraordinarily bright.

According to Li Xu's speculation, that membrane should be something like animal urine bubbles. But he didn't dare to ask, his father Li Mao once warned him that Hu Ren was wild, and the change between hot and cold faces was often a matter of an instant. Therefore, if you can not offend other people's taboos, try not to offend. Don't ask anything strange when you encounter it, lest it be a tribal secret of the Hu people.

The vendors sat in a circle, gathered in a large circle. Only the northwest corner of the felt tent and the doorway for men to enter and exit were vacant, which the patriarch had previously indicated. Xu Dayan looked so strange, and he couldn't ask questions. When Zhengbai was scratching his heart, Li Xu quietly stretched out his hand and wrote the word "ancestor" on his back.

"It turns out that it is the place where they worship their ancestors, I don't know what doctrine it comes from!" Xu Dayan thought in surprise. Before his journey north, he had read many articles describing the tribes of the steppe. All the classics describe that the name of the Turks originated from the Golden Mountain, because the shape of this mountain resembles a Douqi, and the pronunciation of the Douqi in its language is Turkic, so the Turkic is used as the name of the entire tribe. During the Han Dynasty, this department died in the Xiongnu, and the whole clan was slaughtered. Only one of the children was young, and the Hun soldiers could not bear to kill him, so he was abandoned in the wilderness and left to fend for himself. The wolves gathered around and nursed the child, who took the wolf girl as his wife and gave birth to ten children. The eldest of them later became a Turkic king, surnamed Ajana (colostrum), so the Turks called themselves the descendants of wolves.

Although the tribe in front of him is attached to the Turks, the name of the tribe is similar to that of a large tribe in the Turks. But on its battle flags, felt tents, and the chief's seat, it was embroidered with swans.

"These two teenagers shouldn't be vendors!" The elders of the two tribes, who had read countless people, muttered in their hearts. The Turks regard the blue wolf as a totem and regard it as a sacred object for the whole clan. And the blue wolf on the grassland is extremely strong, if it is not for chance, few people can raise wolf cubs. Therefore, a young man who can have a blue wolf as a companion will definitely be regarded as an outstanding person in the clan.

And the wolf's fluff has not faded, but the hardness that has just been born faintly glows with a moonlight color. It was a coat color that only existed in an ancient legend, and the elders couldn't help but pay more attention to Li Xu.

His gaze swept over Li Xu's face, and he couldn't ignore Xu Dayan sitting beside him. Compared with Li Xu, who has a thick skeleton, rough skin, and is as calm as a stone, Xu Dayan gives people a completely different feeling. In the eyes of the elders, he is like an unruly white horse, no matter how big the herd, you can't ignore his presence. And this kind of character, whether in prosperous or troubled times, is destined to live a colorful life.

The guests and hosts politely talked about the weather, the journey, and the fat thickness of the cattle and sheep, but their eyes weighed each other's bottom carefully. After a few words of gossip, the patriarch clapped his hands gently, and with the crisp and melodious ringtone, a group of girls carried copper kettles inside. The patriarch of the Su Si tribe picked up the first bowl of tea, slowly left his seat, put his hands in front of Sun Jiu, and chanted like a song: "Big brother from afar, please drink a bowl of coarse milk tea." Although it is not as fine as the tea leaves of the Central Plains, it is also a treasure in my tribe! ”

"The brother of Su Sibu gave me the whitest milk, not the best in the grassland, but the colostrum of the cow. Give me the most fragrant tea, not the finest in the world, but the purest in the world! Sun Jiu also got up and sang harmony in Turkic. took the milk tea, but refused to drink it first, turned his head and handed it to his companion.

At this time, Sun Jiu noticed that the person closest to him was actually Li Xu, and he was slightly stunned. looked at Xu Dayan next to Li Xu, and immediately understood that someone was making trouble. Open-minded by nature, he didn't feel a little annoyed, but he didn't want to say much, just encouraged Li Xu and Xu Dayan with his eyes, and he must fight for this breath.

Li Xu nodded at Sun Jiu knowingly, and passed the copper bowl full of milk tea to Xu Dayan. Xu Dayan is such a clear character, seeing that Sun Jiu doesn't drink and Li Xu doesn't drink, he immediately understands the key. Chong Li Xu bowed slightly, turned around and passed the milk tea down. One by one, the merchants passed down until they reached their last companion, and then they stopped.

The patriarch was overjoyed to see that the merchants were meticulous in observing their own etiquette. Speed up, bowl after bowl of milk tea to Sun Jiu. Sun Jiu passed out the milk tea bowl after bowl, until everyone held a copper bowl in their hands, then picked up the last bowl of tea, and thanked the patriarch with his head bowed.

The patriarch of the Su Si tribe and several elders looked at each other and smiled, picked up the tea bowl, and took the lead in tasting it. Only then did the vendors begin to drink bitterly, and their thoughts of seeing Xu Dayan's ugliness fell again in vain.

The milk tea is made of fresh milk and coarse tea with salt, which is an indispensable treasure on the grassland. The merchants had a long journey, and they could just use it to nourish their bodies. The host family is a good intention, but not all guests are blessed. Especially Li Xu and Xu Dayan, who had only heard of the name of milk tea, and when they saw a big bowl of thick soup in their hands that was thick and oily mixed with the fragrance of tea and milk, their stomach and intestines immediately began to tumble. peeked around, and saw that Uncle Nine and the others were drinking sweetly, frowned, closed their eyes, raised their necks and poured them directly.

"It's like drinking medicine! Bitter mind! Xu thought with his eyes closed. A bowl of milk tea was poured clean, but I didn't know what it tasted like in my mouth.

The patriarch saw that the two teenagers had made a big bowl of milk tea in one go, his brows furrowed slightly, and his throat was rolling. I thought they were appreciating the taste of their own strong tea, and they were so happy that their hearts were overjoyed. Clapped his hands and ordered the girls to come forward and refill the tea for the two.

Xu and Li complained bitterly in their hearts, knowing that the host was so enthusiastic, they would not drink the first bowl of milk tea so quickly anyway. As he was thinking about how to stop swallowing the salty and fatty herbal soup, a chuckle like a silver bell suddenly sounded in his ears.

When the two of them heard the sound, they looked up and saw two pairs of eyes as clear as the lake and blue as the sky looking at them with a smile. The scalp exploded, and the body was numb on the spot as if it had been struck by lightning.

The owner of the eye has a slender nose and fair skin. One is dressed in goose yellow, and the other is dressed in light blue. Although, like the other Shan people, brown leather is inlaid on the edges of the clothes. The skirt was obviously cut into the bent shape often worn by women in the Central Plains. In addition to the Suzhou silk curly skirt, the two girls also put a yellow sheepskin cut on the upper body. The whole body is divided into four large pieces, each of which is embellished with gold threads. The shoulder corners are light, the waist is tight, and under the backdrop of the long curved skirt, it makes the whole person look slender and tall. (Note 3)