When Ruxue and I arrived at the village, after ten hours of trekking through the mountains and forests, it was almost 5 pm when we arrived, close to dinner time.
Different from the previous village, in this village at this time, I saw that no one had the intention to light a fire and cook. Some children shouted hungry and were slapped back by adults.
I was looking for a place to stay for the night. It’s not easy for a girl to come forward with this kind of thing. Just when I was about to go up to talk, I found a villager walking from the entrance of the village. As he walked, he shouted: "Someone has come to the village to distribute food. Go Get the food, hurry up, you won’t be able to get it if it’s too late.”
What's the meaning? Someone comes to the village to distribute food? Ling Ruxue and I looked at each other, and both of us had the same intention, which was to go and have a look.
As the villager shouted, the village that was lifeless just now suddenly became lively, and the originally lazy people suddenly became lively. The nearest villager to me was a villager who was playing cards and gambling. When he heard the shout, he started playing cards. He stopped playing and just threw it away, stood up, and shouted: "I said it's time to distribute food. I'm going to cook a pound of meat bones to chew on today. I'll enjoy it."
While he was talking, I noticed that he was swallowing hard, and then running non-stop towards the entrance of a village. People were also heading in that direction, so they probably distributed food there.
Ling Ruxue and I followed that person almost in a tacit understanding. This village was weird and the villagers were rude. If we followed, he wouldn't care either.
The closer we walked to the entrance of the village, the more people there were. I couldn't imagine that such a poor village had as many as 1,000 people, probably more than 1,000 people. At this time, they were all surrounding the entrance of the village, waiting to receive the so-called food. .
Ling Ruxue and I were mixed in the crowd, and no one paid attention to us, but because there were too many people around, I couldn't see what was going on inside. I held Hui Gen'er, and I just wanted to tell Ling Ruxue, let's find a tall guy. Let’s take a look at a small place to see what’s going on inside
But I didn't expect that the villager who just said he wanted to chew a pound of meat and bones grabbed me. He asked me: "Brother, are you from outside?"
I looked at him in surprise, and heard that his accent was not Xiangxi accent at all, but pure Northern Jiangsu dialect, because Uncle Wang and I had wandered there before and heard the accent there.
However, the water in these villages is very deep. I can feel it myself without Ling Ruxue’s reminder, so before everything is clear, I don’t want to cause trouble or inquire more. So he just nodded and said, "Well, he came from outside just now."
"How about a cigarette?" The man looked at me, grinned and started asking for a cigarette. He also had black and yellow teeth, which reminded me of Lai Shun.
I didn’t say much and handed him a cigarette. He greedily put it to his nose and smelled it again and again. Then he looked at me and said, “Anyway, you still have a pack, so give me a few more.”
Are everyone here like this? I was speechless, took out a pack of cigarettes, and poured half a pack of cigarettes into him. It wasn't that I didn't want to give him more, but I found that some villagers around me had already noticed this place. To be precise, they noticed the cigarettes. I didn't want to stand out too much.
The man put away his cigarettes, lit one happily, took a long puff, and then said: "Don't think I am thick-skinned. In a few years, you will be like this too. You are a man, after you die , twenty years later, he is a good man again. I pity this beautiful and delicate girl like a flower."
Of course he was talking about Ling Ruxue. I said something perfunctory. On the surface, I was calm, but inside I was in a turmoil, because I heard what he said, as if he was not a local at all, and he had never lived here before. .
I heard him speak with a Northern Jiangsu accent before, and I wondered if his parents were from Northern Jiangsu. But now it seems that he is actually a Northern Jiangsu native.
Seeing my noncommittal look, this man became more enthusiastic and said: "I have seen the world. When I am outside, my food and clothing are no worse than yours..." But at this point, He looked quite scared again, glanced at me, and saw that I was still calm, he breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Forget it, after a while, you will be like this anyway, you can just brag about me." .”
I chuckled and didn't answer, but I firmly believed this in my heart. This villager was not an aborigine, and even many of the villagers were not aborigines. I originally thought they were lazy and indifferent, and they were indifferent when they saw us. It seemed that they were lazy and indifferent. There is another hidden story behind this matter.
That is, this village may not be short of outsiders! Judging from the scruple of this northern Jiangsu man talking too much, they must have received some kind of warning.
But what can I do? All I can do now is try to be calm, because I can't solve anything now.
People with the same thoughts as me naturally include Ling Ruxue. She also looked calm, but as she stood close to me, I clearly felt that she heard that person say that a few years ago, you were the same, His body trembled.
Maybe she is more calm than me on this matter!
I pulled Ling Ruxue out of the crowd, and then whispered to her: "Otherwise, we will follow these people to the village today. We will first see what they are doing and distribute food. They are very compassionate."
Ling Ruxue asked me calmly: "Is this compassion?"
I was silent, but she didn't object to us going to see what the people in the village were doing. She let me walk in front and led her to a higher place. After standing still, Ling Ruxue said to me : "Let's stay in this village tonight. For the Black Rock Miao Village, it is a big taboo to follow their people into the village rashly. We don't need to provoke them."
I really didn't know there was such a rule. It seems like it's good to have a 'knowledgeable' person around. Originally it was only an eight-point danger, but if it turned into a nine-point danger because of my own haste, it really wouldn't be worth it.
But what are the people in this village tabooed about? I glanced at Ling Ruxue, and she said casually: "Don't ask me, I don't know either. Most of our Miao villages have taboos, each of which is different. I can't possibly know the reason for every one of them, let alone the Black Rock Miao." A village like Zhai."
That's fine, I believe that the people in Heiyan Miao Village may not know that we are coming as we pass through two villages belonging to them along the way.
Let's see what tricks they want to play. As far as I know, Ling Ruxue said that she will come to this village every five years. They shouldn't have a falling out, right? As long as I don't break my heart, I'm happy to pretend to be confused. I pretend not to know anything about drawing marks or bloodline moths.
Only in this way can there be room for maneuver.
At the moment, we stopped talking. We just stood at this commanding height and looked at the crowd below. Because we stood high, our eyes could easily penetrate the crowd and see what was going on in the crowd.
The most conspicuous thing among the crowd were ten oxcarts, which were piled with things. Seven of the oxcarts contained linen sacks one after another. Judging from the opened pockets, there were a large number of potatoes inside, and there were also There are a small number of pockets of different colors containing rice.
As for the other three bullock carts, there were some animal carcasses piled on them, including deer, pigs, sheep, and some beef.
These ten bullock carts were driven here by a dozen men in black Miao uniforms. Looking at these men from a distance, you can feel that they are very strong. Facing the villagers surrounding them, their kind of The look of condescension and disdain is very obvious.
In other words, they don't want to hide it at all.
"What are you doing around here? You pigs, hurry up and line up. After I've finished my work, uncle, I'm rushing back to the village. I can feel the smell even if I'm close to where you pigs live. One minute longer." I don’t even want to stay.” A man who seemed to be the leader of the Miao people shouted loudly to the villagers. The words were insulting as much as they could, but these villagers seemed not to hear and stood numb.
At this time, there were even people who took the initiative to maintain order and asked people to line up. I noticed that the person maintaining order was the villager who came into the village to shout about the food distribution.
Although the place where Ling Ruyue and I were standing was high, there were too many villagers, and there were still some villagers nearby. I clearly heard someone whispering: "This Ma Wei is flattering again, does he want to get an extra pound of meat?"
"Yes, every time when food is distributed, he is waiting at the entrance of the village, notifying and helping the uncles maintain order. Isn't it just for meat? I think I am spineless enough, but his daughter ..." At this point, the villager fell silent.
I suddenly felt that they were not completely spineless, it was just that they were very scared, and they were suppressing something in fear.