Chapter 3: The Wilderness (Part 2b)

With a bang, Li Xu felt all the blood in his body rush to his head, exploding, and emitting countless golden stars. Big, small, pentagonal, cross, just like the moment when the bamboo bursts in the fire during the New Year, it is short, but it is gorgeous and colorful. He didn't dare to move, he didn't dare to move the girl's arm away, he only dared to lie there quietly, and even tried his best to control the rise and fall of his chest when he breathed.

Don't look at it, he told himself desperately in his heart. His gaze couldn't help but move slowly, sweeping over the top of the felt bag that was red by the flames, and slowly staring at the girl's face. It was a beautiful face, almost the most beautiful he had ever seen in the world. Delicate skin, long eyelashes, and a pair of delicate lips......

Li Xu looked at it, watched, just like looking at a precious piece of southern white porcelain, and didn't dare to touch it. lest the other party fall to the ground and be shattered if he touches it. I didn't dare to think about it, because the girl was so beautiful that it was hard to desecrate like a lotus flower. He could feel a hot and humid urge swelling in the depths of his soul, but he didn't know what he should do next.

I don't know how long it was, an hour? A hundred years? Or is it just a moment? In the end, Li Xu plucked up his courage again. He gently lifted the girl's arm with his hand and placed it under the blanket. Then, with the lightest, most subtle but extremely fast movements, he stood up and tiptoed out of the felt bag. It was too hot in the tent, and he needed a little cold wind to calm himself.

On the grassland, the stars are as big as heads. Watery starlight poured down from the nearby canopy, piercing his robe at once. The autumn wind howled in the wilderness, faintly mixed with the howls of wolves. This is the depths of the grassland, not his own home, Li Xu's mind is getting clearer and clearer.

The wine was blown away by the wind, and reason and feeling returned to his shell. He felt countless goosebumps on his arm grow rapidly, but he didn't have the courage to burrow into the felt tent again. Raising his eyes and looking into the distance, Li Xu saw that there were still fires in the several tents where the goods were placed. Maybe he should go there and take care of the cargo, and he finally found a good reason to run for his legs.

The tent curtain was gently opened, and the footsteps outside were heard inside, and they leaned out half of their bodies alertly. Is it Uncle Nine? Li Xu was very happy to see that broad shoulder. Regardless of the other party's surprised gaze, he broke into the tent, only to find that Xu Dayan and Hao Laodao were also here. There was also an iron pot on the ground, and the broth in the pot was bubbling hot.

"Woke up from Gentle Township so soon?" Xu Dayan saw Li Xu come out and asked mockingly.

"Me, me!" Li Xu didn't know what to say. He knew that his performance today was too bad, and he must have been classified by Xu Dayan as the same kind as Du Scar, Wang Mazi and others. But what did you do wrong? It seems that there is not a single thing to blame.

"You're not going to tell me you didn't do anything, are you?" Xu Dayan saw Li Xu's embarrassed appearance and asked with a frown. At the banquet, only he, Sun Jiu, and Hao Laodao persevered to the end. When he found that a woman had entered his companion's tent, he had read a lot of books, and Xu Dayan, who was sticking to the way of a gentleman, resolutely chose to accompany Uncle Nine to the vigil.

"Me?" Li Xu's face turned black and purple again. Things between men and women are too complicated and wonderful for a teenager in his early fourteens. He did nothing, but as a growing man, he didn't want to admit that he didn't know anything about it.

"You're still a chick?" This time, it was Hao Laodao's turn to go crazy. He jumped up, touched between Li Xu's legs, and then raised his head to the sky and let out a wolf-like howl: "My God! I thought that no one had practiced children's skills for a long time! With you, what does the caravan ask us swordsmen to do! ”

Li Xu was so ashamed that he was so hot that he couldn't wait to find a crack in the ground to drill in. turned around and wanted to go out of the door, but was pulled back by Uncle Jiu: "Ignore them, sit by the fire and drink a bowl of sobering soup." It's too cold in this place, and standing outside all night will definitely freeze out of the problem! ”

Li Xu couldn't break free, so he had to lean over and sit down next to Uncle Jiu. Xu Da saw that his face was full of embarrassment, but he was embarrassed, and forced the smile in his stomach to tilt his head away. Hao Laodao did not give up, his eyes swept Li Xu up and down, and he had to see what similarities and differences the muscles and bones of the people who practiced "Tongzigong" compared with others.

"Old knife, don't bully children. He is a scholar with a tender face! Uncle Nine stretched out his hand and pushed Hao Laodao, scolding with a smile.

"Reader, which scholar do you see who is the last one. Zi said, food, sex, sex, I want it, bear paws, I also want it! Hao Laodao was full of gibberish. He failed to study when he was young, so in addition to dancing with knives and sticks in his life, he took the most pleasure in distorting the words of the ancients.

"Then why don't Uncle Dao choose a tent to be happy, do you also practice children's skills?" Xu Dayan couldn't see Hao Laodao joking with the saint, so he jumped up to avenge the injustice of the patriarch.

"You think I don't want to, people think I'm ugly, don't drill into my tent!" Hao Laodao pretended to be stunned and said.

Everyone laughed, and the embarrassment faded. Li Xu breathed a sigh of relief, secretly looked at Hao Laodao, and saw that the other party was no longer embarrassed by him, raised his head, and asked Sun Jiu: "Uncle Jiu, when will the banquet be dispersed, why did you come to the vigil in person?" ”

"It's been less than half an hour since we dispersed, and everyone wanted to be merry and happy, so they had to let me, the old bone and the big-eyed gentleman, come to keep vigil. It's you, kid, who drank three empty leather bags, and everyone bet that you would be drunk until noon tomorrow, but I didn't expect to wake up so soon! Sun Jiu shook his head and replied with a smile.

I drank so much, Li Xu himself was a little surprised. He didn't remember anything other than singing and dancing in the second half of the banquet, and he never counted how many bowls of wine he drank casually. In my memory, I only felt that I was very drunk and comfortable, and I almost forgot all the unhappy things in the singing of the people.

"I think most of them were scared to wake up. Alas! Will the afterborn cubs be blessed and enjoyed? How! What a deal! Hao Laodao let out a series of long sighs sourly.

"He is not chaotic and has the style of the ancients!" Xu Dayan loudly defended his friend. After finishing speaking, I regretted it very much, talking to a rough person like Hao Laodao about Liu Xia Hui was simply a waste of knowledge.

"At a young age, I learned to be a hypocrite!" Hao Laodao compared the whiteness of Xu Dayan's eyeballs with Xu Dayan, and said with a sneer. Seeing that the other party refused to answer his own words, he continued: "Look at Du Scar, Wang Mazi and them, they haven't touched the wine much, waiting for this moment!" ”

Thinking about Wang Mazi's mouth full of big yellow teeth to hug the flower-like girl, Li Xu felt that his stomach and intestines were a little tumbling. frowned, and asked in a low voice: "Uncle Dao, everyone, everyone's tent is ......"

"What's in each tent?" Hao Laodao was waiting for Li Xu's words, and deliberately lengthened his voice to tease him.

After thinking about it for a long time, Li Xu didn't come up with a suitable word, so he changed his words: "Does everyone have a share?" ”

"You think the robbers share the spoils, and those who see them have a share!" Hao Laodao laughed, shook his head and said: "According to the custom of the Ministry of Heat, women over the age of thirteen and without a husband can choose a men's tent to drill into it at night. This is the power given to them by the Immortal Heaven, and even the patriarch and elder cannot interfere. Hehe, some people want to be beautiful today, and they probably want to rejoice all night! ”

"Immoral!" Xu scolded with a straight face. He was taught since he was a child that women should behave in a disciplined and dignified manner. Even if you grow up and start a family, it is "the order of your parents and the words of the matchmaker" to decide. Sensei said that taking the initiative to drill into a man's tent, even if he took the initiative to talk to a man, is a big rebellion. Although he also knew that the house of the rich and noble was a different one, which was completely different from what the book said. But those are all behind-the-scenes behaviors, and no one dares to openly publicize these "dirty deeds".

"This is a custom of other people, how can it be called a bad custom?" Hao Laodao became a heart and Xu raised the bar with big eyes.

Even though Xu Dayan was articulate, he was speechless when asked. The customs of the Hu people have been very different from those of the Han people since ancient times, and this is the territory of the Hu people, and it is true that they should not criticize the behavior of others from the point of view of a Han person.

"So, what about after tonight?" Li Xu didn't have as many principles in his heart as Xu Dayan, and after thinking for a while, he asked Nana. Half of the reason why he ran away was because he didn't seem to understand the affairs of men and women, and the other half was because he didn't know what kind of price he would pay if someone couldn't control it.

"After tonight, the sun will still come out in the east!" Hao Laodao's answer was like a charlatan's hexagram, full of mystery.

"What if I have a baby?" Li Xu continued to ask. Men and women living together will have children, and this is the only sure answer he can have about men and women.

"Raise it. The tribe would celebrate and increase the population. If the father of the child has a conscience and leaves some goods for the child in the course of his dealings, the women will be very happy. If the child's father has no conscience and disappears, they will not pester you! Hao Laodao's eyes gradually deepened, and he said quietly: "If you are willing to stay, women will be happier." There are only five months of green in a year, and it is icy and snowy, and it is not easy to live without men! ”

A child without a father! A little sympathy swelled up in Li Xu's heart. In the countryside, any family without a father is often the target of bullying by hooligans and rogue urchins. But how many of the vendors will stay? How many can be counted on having a conscience? Each of them has a large family to feed in the Central Plains, and tonight's romance is just a way for them to relieve the fatigue of the journey.

"There's no way around it!" Uncle Nine grabbed the leather bag, poured a sour horse**, and sighed and explained.

Accidentally, a few drops of wine fell into the charcoal basin and jumped, emitting a faint puff of smoke. It slowly rises and floats in the air, making everyone's face look hazy and very unreal.

"yes, no way!" Hao Laodao picked up charcoal with the eating guy, stared at the blue flame and said, "Every famine year in the tribe, there are constant wars. For a good pasture, a uncertain river (seasonal river), I don't know how many men will die. Without a man, how can a woman have a baby? Don't rely on a few passers-by to leave a seed for the tribe! ”

Li Xu froze, he never expected that the last resort in Uncle Jiu's mouth would be such a cruel reality. And Xu Dayan, who was sitting opposite him, put away his whole body of disdain, and replaced it with a face full of respect.

As a last resort, just for the continuation of the tribe. This is the whole answer behind the seemingly absurd and obscurantist behavior. The weak Xia Clan has been able to survive in this ice and snow until now, relying on this innate tenacity.

Li Xu suddenly understood why the singing voice of the people in the sun sounded so cheerful.

"Uncle Nine!" After being silent for a while, Li Xu shouted in a low voice.

"Say!" Sun Jiu fiddled with the charcoal fire and agreed without a word. The topic just now was too heavy, and it made everyone's hearts heavy. The women of the Hazard tribe will not hesitate to pay the price for the survival of the tribe. And the men of the Central Plains are also working hard for the continuation of the family. There are snowstorms, wars, and vendettas in the Mobei grassland. The villages of the Central Plains were pressed against the emperor, corrupt officials, and evil officials. Under the sun, the growth of every creature has to go through wind and frost. But every creature, every home, will still survive tenaciously.

"I, I'm going to stay in this tribe for a while, no, I won't follow the caravan back south!" Li Xu made up his mind and decided to explain the truth to Sun Jiu. The decision was made so hard that his voice sounded a little stuttering.

"Do you want to stay here as a son-in-law? Ha! Not a bad idea. I heard that the coppersmith in the tribe is a native of the Central Plains, who married his daughter-in-law more than ten years ago and has been staying until now! Hao Laodao joked with a smile. The story of the coppersmith king in the tribe was told by the tribal elders at the wine table in the afternoon. For this person's skill in making patterns on the hilt, the people admired it very much.

Li Xu shook his head and ignored Hao Laodao's ridicule. raised his voice slightly, and confessed to Sun Jiu: "My father, my father, he asked me to go out of the jam for him in order to evade military service." According to the second brother Zhao in the yamen, next year the emperor will personally recruit Goryeo, and the men of school age in the border counties will have to enlist in the army, regardless of their background! ”

"Your father told me about this a long time ago. Alas, in fact, the government will not be so unreasonable. You are the only child in the family, and you don't necessarily have to apply for a few dollars! Sun Jiu raised his head from the firelight and said in a low voice. It's okay for you to stay here, as if we have a landlord in the tribe. Everyone sells unclean goods for a while, and some people help to store them! ”

Sun Jiu's old face, which had gone through all the vicissitudes of life, reflected a faint red light under the light of the firelight, and looked very kind. This made Li Xu feel very warm in his heart, and the rhythm of his speech became smoother. "I, I should have told you earlier, it's just, it's just that there are a lot of people on the road. People don't like me in the first place......."

"They bully you because you look easy to bully!" Sun Jiu suddenly interrupted Li Xu's words, looked at the young man's somewhat aggrieved gaze, and reached out to pat him on the shoulder: "Stay, you stay." Big Eyes will definitely not follow us back south. The two of you have a look for each other here. In fact, Lao Zhang and Lao Du are not as bad as you think, and they have a hard time, so they naturally value money! ”

"Hmm!" Li Xu nodded lightly. He couldn't fully agree with Sun Jiu's opinion, but the old man's kindness couldn't make a contradiction.

"If you stay in the Horseman's Mansion, you might as well learn his craft from the coppersmith. Anyway, he won't go back to the Central Plains, and he is not afraid that the disciples of the church will starve to death to the master! Hao Laodao suddenly interjected. He often rolls on the tip of the knife, he is more optimistic than everyone else, and when he heard that Li Xu was going to stay, he immediately remembered a way to make a living for the other party.

"Pay more attention, the people of the people also have the knowledge of the people, and you will not suffer a loss when you learn it!" Sun Jiu smiled and admonished. He didn't have a long relationship with Li Xu, but the old man really regarded the young man in front of him as his junior. The separation is imminent, and the experience of life will inevitably be instilled in him. "Yiduo is not pressing, you are not bigger than the eyes, he was born with a golden spoon in his mouth, and he was born to do great things. As for you, no one has accumulated a lot of blessings in your previous life, so if you work hard in this life, you will eventually find a good job....."

"Hmm!" Li Xu nodded again and again, and the old man looked very much like his uncle. is also dyed white by the difficult life of the sideburns, and the same waist is straightened in front of and behind others. Whether you are rich or poor in this life, you must at least be a person like Uncle Jiu, upright, upright and strong.

"I'll help you bring your goods back. If you make a lot of money this time, you will definitely come back next year when the snow melts! Sun Jiu looked at the young man who was reluctant to give up on him, and once again advised, "If the conscription order is a rumor, you should go back to the Central Plains earlier." No matter how warm the felt bag here is, it is not our own home after all! ”

Home, Li Xu's eyes suddenly became hot. That distant courtyard, in his memory, was unusually clear.