Chapter 4: The Wilderness (Part 4)

After thinking about it, Xu Dayan was very curious about the life experience of Aunt Qing in the girl's mouth, and began to ask about the other party's life experience outside the words. How could the two girls of the Xia tribe have the scheming of him, a person who has been specially trained since childhood, seeing that Xu Dayan was finally willing to take the initiative to speak, he happily told him what he knew like pouring beans into a bamboo tube.

The result of the questioning made Xu Dayan very disappointed. Although the girls have no reservations, the Aunt Qing mentioned in their mouths is just how they were saved by their father back then, and how they became their father's little wife. Later, how to teach myself to speak the Central Plains dialect, how to teach the women in the tribe to cut clothes and pickle wild vegetables. As for important details such as where Aunt Qing's hometown is in the Central Plains and whether there are any relatives at home, the two girls have never cared about it, and naturally they don't know anything.

"Aunt Qing's name is Chen Wanqing, I haven't heard her say that she has other names. She said that your Central Plains is a big place and there are many tribes, so everyone has their own surname! The yellow-shirted girl Eru said with a frown when she saw that Xu was talking with big eyes and did not leave Aunt Qing. A name is just a pronoun for a person, and it's good to know that when someone calls Wanqing, it's her who is called, so why ask her if she has another name? ”

Xu Dayan was afraid that Eru would be suspicious in his heart, so he didn't dare to continue to ask. casually told a few jokes about the names of the Central Plains to cover up, and cleverly diverted the topic. At the mention of the meaning of the Han name, the blue-shirted girl was aroused again, clapped her hands, and showed off very happily: "Sister Eru and I still have a Han name, which was also given by Aunt Qing!" ”

If Xu Dayan and Li Xu were teenagers on the grassland, they would definitely follow up on the topic and ask what the girl's Han name was. But both of them were Sven people who had read books, were influenced by Confucianism, and had good conduct. The creed in my heart is: when you meet a woman of the same age, if others don't take the initiative to say their names, you must not ask them.

There was a sudden cold scene between the guests and the hosts, and the blue-shirted girl looked at Li Xu and Xu with wide eyes, and seeing that the other party still refused to ask each other, she lowered her head and said with some frustration: "Don't you want to know our names?" It's easier for everyone to call each other! ”

"Xiao Ke's surname is Xu, and his name is world-famous. Dare to ask the names of the two girls! Xu Da saw that the girl was angry, so he quickly stood still and asked each other according to the courtesy.

"Under Li Xu! I don't know if the girl's name can be told! Li Xu arched his hand and asked.

The two girls were asked, and immediately burst out laughing, causing people to look sideways, wondering what was going on here.

Although the yellow-shirted girl Eru was a little calm, she was also amused by the solemn demeanor of Xu and Li. The blue-shirted girl bent over, laughing, and pointed at Xu and Li and said, "Ha, haha, laugh, laugh at me." Hahaha, are you, haha, talking like this when people from the Central Plains speak? ”

"We?" Xu and Li were a little confused by laughter, and only then did they realize what the problem was when they heard the girl ask each other. After thinking about it, I laughed too. While laughing, he explained to the two girls: "We are not allowed to ask the woman's name casually, otherwise we will be scolded by others, and if we don't get it right, we will be chased and beaten as a bad person!" Therefore, when I asked about your name, I had to be more solemn! ”

"We ask casually here, and if people are unhappy, they will naturally not tell you. The body will not be cut out, what are you afraid of! Blue Shirt said with a smile.

"I think it's because they're used to each other. The elders said that when Aunt Qing first came, she also easily did not talk to others! Eru slowly retracted her smile and said very understandingly.

She was born beautiful, she smiled very simply, her smile was natural, and she was a little more considerate than the girl in the blue shirt when she spoke, so it was easy to make people feel close.

Xu Dayan sighed secretly in his heart, but he still had a calm smile on his face, and asked in a low voice, "You two haven't told you the name of the Central Plains yet?" I remember both Aru and Tocoto, but they don't sound as good as you say! ”

After asking, there was a faint sense of anticipation in my heart.

Without waiting for Eru to speak, the outspoken blue-shirted girl replied first: "It's Eru and Tao Kuotuosi, in our Turkic dialect, her name is Golden Lotus, and my name is Blue Feather Bird!" ”

With the girl's colorful explanation, Xu Dayan and Li Xu knew the meaning of Eru and Tao Kuodesi. Nasturtium is a wildflower commonly found in the depths of the grasslands. The buds are not large, but they bloom beautifully. In particular, it is set against the green sea of grass, which is as bright and dazzling as a jewel. The blue-feathered bird is a bird that is said to resemble a peacock, with colorful plumage and a graceful body, and the place where it appears means that the wind and rain are good and the pastures are prosperous. And their Han Chinese names also come from this, the name of the girl in the yellow shirt is Zuiju, and the name of the girl in the blue shirt is Broken Blue.

"Aunt Qing, she must be a good painter!" Xu Dayan listened to the girl's introduction and speculated with great certainty.

"Huh, how do you know?" The blue-shirted girl asked in surprise. The yellow-shirted girl's eyes widened, her eyes full of admiration.

Seeing the soft light in Zuiju's eyes, Xu Dayan was a little proud, and explained with a smile: "Can a person who can get such a picture of his name not have a painting in his heart?" You, Aunt Qing, I'm afraid you're a master of Danqing! ”

"Yes, Aunt Qing can even draw the traces of the wind blowing on the grass!" The girl said admiringly.

The group is a young man, and after having a common topic, they quickly became acquainted. The girl Sha Lan told a few more interesting stories about Aunt Qing's first appearance and shocking skills, and suddenly the topic changed, and asked with a somewhat proud expression: "The two of us have learned to write and draw with Aunt Qing since childhood, according to the rules of your Central Plains, we should be regarded as Aunt Qing's disciples?" ”

"It should be a descendant disciple, a successor to the mantle!" Xu Dayan replied with a somewhat flattering tone. The first emperor of the Great Sui Dynasty re-educated, and in addition to the barbaric places that were too far away, almost every county and county set up government-run schools. In these schools, teachers were hired at the expense of the imperial court, and the government was responsible for providing room and board for the students. Li Xu and he have both benefited from this policy, and they are deeply touched when they think about it.

After the popularization of county schools, each student had several teachers, and each teacher also had several students. But among them, they can be called each other's master and disciples, but they talk about selflessness. And once it is called by this title, it means that the teacher is ready to pass on what he has learned all his life to a certain student. The student, on the other hand, regards the teacher as his father for the rest of his life and never turns his back.

"What is a mantle heir?" The girls didn't understand Xu Dayan's compliments, and asked with wide eyes.

"Literally, she gave you all her clothes and jobs, which can be understood as your acceptance of the skills she relies on to make a living!" Xu Dayan replied with a wry smile, secretly scolding himself for being confused. Dropping the text with two interracial girls is purely to find guilt for yourself.

"Passed on to me the skills you make a living from?" The girl in the blue shirt blinked her eyes and thought about it, but still didn't understand the connotation, "Did you teach others that you have to starve?" So you have to use clothes and rice bowls as metaphors? ”

"We have a lot of people in the Central Plains, and if anyone knows a craft, they won't be able to make money. It's like your leather goods on the prairie, the more you have, the less valuable it is! Li Xu found an example to explain.

Shattered Blue laughed softly, clapped her hands, and sighed, "I understand." Fortunately, Aunt Qing doesn't live by selling paintings! After thinking about it, he smiled and added: "But, who has the painting skills to the point that Aunt Qing did?" If she is really willing to paint portraits of people, I am afraid that if she sells 500 raw skins, people will rush to buy them! ”

The people were accustomed to bartering, and there is still no complete concept of coins. Traders today trade hides and skins for most of their goods, so girls also use hides as a metaphor for the master's master's skill in painting.

"Aunt Qing's painting skills are so high, then aren't the two of you famous teachers and apprentices!" Xu Dayan couldn't help but compliment, but he was more and more surprised in his heart. The journey of learning to paint is quite difficult. Unless it is a genius, he was born with a wonderful pen. Otherwise, from the beginning of writing and ink learning, to being able to capture people's faces and demeanors in an instant, it is difficult to achieve it without ten years of hard work. And painting is not as good as learning characters, and you can't use a branch dipped in water to repair its charm on a stone tablet. So the paper money wasted every year alone is a very expensive expense. The girl's Aunt Qing has such superb painting skills, I am afraid it will not be an ordinary folk girl who was abducted and trafficked to the grassland.

"Of course, Aunt Qing's painting skills are high, but neither of us has learned it. The paper you Han people sell is too expensive, and the sheepskin is not as easy to ink as paper! The blue-shirted girl pouted and replied with some suddenness.

The experience of helping the family do business told Xu Dayan that the girl was telling the truth. The paper is thin, but the weight is staggering. A half-foot square stack of paper tends to be much heavier than a brick of the same thickness. And that thing is rarely used on the grassland, and the traders think that it is slow to ship, and they are afraid of fire and tide when they are pressed in their hands. Therefore, it is not worth working at all to sell paper on the grassland without twenty times the profit.

Thinking of this, Xu Dayan patted his chest and promised: "Next spring, I will definitely have someone bring a batch of good paper over and send it to you to learn to paint!" “

He was born in a wealthy family, and he can take out the arrogance of spending a lot of money and a smile, and the price of this paper is naturally not in his eyes. The two girls of the Xia clan were overjoyed, looking at Xu with big eyes, their faces full of disbelief: "Really? Don't you make money anymore? ”

"May the carriage and horses be lightly clothed and .....!" Xu Dayan quoted half of the Analects, and forcefully suffocated the second half of the sentence back into his stomach. This is what Zilu said to Confucius back then, "May the carriage and horses, the clothes be light, and the friends will be together, and there will be no regrets!" When he was studying, Xu Dayan's favorite thing was Zilu's honest and bold character, and unconsciously, his behavior was affected by him. But it is certainly not appropriate to say these things to two young girls, first, the other party is not his friend. Second, when she had said that, the maiden would surely ask again where his carriage was hidden.

However, Li Xu was really half a step forward and explained to the two girls in a low voice: "Paper is not as expensive as it is on the grassland in our Central Plains. Everyone is reluctant to bring it, mainly because few people here buy it. If the paper seller doesn't raise the price very high, he will definitely lose money. ”

"I won't let my friends suffer, if you bring me two packs of paper next year, I'll give you the fastest colt!" The girl named Broken Blue was the most bold, patted Li Xu's back, and said.

After a shot, Li Xu's face was flushed again. The two girls were happy, and the men of the Han people were actually shyer than the women of the Xia tribe. In the midst of laughter, the four of them became more and more familiar, and before they knew it, they had already walked to the deepest part of the Su Sibu camp with laughter.