When the weather gets cold enough and the sky clears, the Northern Lights often shine throughout the night.
The first snow of winter fell not long ago, but the snow did not melt after it fell. More snow awaits the Rus in the fjords in the foreseeable future, as winter has begun.
This winter is no longer monotonous, and everyone is full of hope for the future.
Now, the people of the tribe are eagerly looking forward to the mass wedding expected on Frige Day.
Before that day comes, many newcomers are already making preparations.
For Arik, marriage to Peravina represents a new beginning!
After his father died in the war, Arik moved to his uncle's house, but the old wooden house where he lived for many years was still maintained by Xiu Shan. The wooden house has long been used as a warehouse, but now it is regaining its popularity.
In a sense, the Viking tribes all had huge similarities in their housing. A house is a place to sleep, it is also a kitchen, and it is also a warehouse for storing messy daily necessities. Every family, especially women, makes a lot of smoked fish, bacon, and pickles all kinds of food, and all the food is piled in their longhouses. Therefore, don't expect fresh air in a house.
They can completely tolerate the smell of food, but they cannot tolerate the stench of feces.
They are a group of people who love cleanliness more than Western Europeans. Therefore, when the residents of London, Paris and other "big cities" developed due to the active Germanic people in this time and space were still defecating in the open, the Vikings were already growing Build a separate toilet next to the house!
The Rus, who also belong to a branch of the Vikings, also follow this hygiene tradition.
They are better at maintaining hygiene, but they never realize that human and animal excrement, and even rotting fish, can nourish crops and make fertilizer.
Not to mention making farmyard manure, the Danes, who control the richest land in Northern Europe, do not know how to use fertilizers or water conservancy and irrigation technology.
But they still built family toilets. The origin is still their warrior culture.
If a warrior is dirty, dirty and smelly, no matter how brave he is, he will not be chosen by the wandering Valkyrie in winter.
Arik quickly took care of his hometown and spent his first night back in Fort Ross with his wife as he set up his own business.
Arik lit the oil lamp, then used a large amount of deerskin to make a bed on the floor, and waved to his stunned wife: "Come on, we will sleep here tonight."
Peravina did not resist, her hands naturally drooped, watching all her husband's actions
"Do I want to sleep on the ground like a beast? Can't it be like my hometown?" Peravina boldly questioned.
"Sleeping on those wooden boards?" Arik also asked strangely.
"why not?"
Arik shrugged, then sat on the deerskin, patting the furry hides with a smile: "Sit down, like me. You will get used to it! If you don't like it, after a while, we can like Like where you come from, make some boards.”
The people of the tribe are accustomed to sleeping on the ground. They have lived this way since ancient times. It was not until they met the people of Novgorod in a distant place that they realized that there were actually people sleeping on wooden boards.
Arik's current mentality has changed very drastically. He left his uncle to start his own business, and he will need to work hard on his own in the future. Fortunately, I still have my newlywed wife by my side. When a smart man faces such a situation, he will certainly listen to his wife's advice and meet her reasonable requests.
According to the rules of the Ross tribe, there is no possibility of divorce here, and the lightest punishment for betrayal of marriage is banishment. People simply think that these situations are incredible, so it is part of the rules for women to take care of their husband's wealth. But women also have a major obligation to take good care of the family's wealth, especially the family's food. The husband is responsible for fishing, hunting, and even manning the longboat to plunder other tribes. Women must process and store food obtained from all sources properly so that the whole family does not go hungry.
It was cold, but his old house still leaked air. In order to get more warmth, Arik lit some charcoal fires.
Charcoal fires may cause carbon monoxide poisoning, but people today have no concept of this. It is rare for people in the Ross tribe to die mysteriously in their sleep. Because, nowadays, there are really very few longhouses that can be sealed as much as possible. They are houses made of piles, planks and animal skins, with at most some earth and straw mats attached.
The fighting prowess of the Russian warriors was incredible, but in terms of the quality of their houses, they were simply not as good as the Novgorodians who paid tribute to them.
Even with the charcoal fire, the room was still relatively cool. Peravina wore her own cloth and a fur coat made of whole animal skins, thus keeping enough warmth.
Peravina has made mental preparations tonight, and she understands her responsibilities as a married woman very well.
But, tonight everything is calm!
Maybe the newlywed husband is too tired? Or for other reasons.
She didn't feel the cold at all, and because the animal hide was so thick, sleeping on the ground felt very comfortable. This was an experience she had never had in her hometown of Novgorod.
The foundation of the city of Novgorod is composed of small families in various family estates. The small families also live in a wooden house that is very cold-proof, but there is only one wooden bed put together in the wooden house, and the whole family sleeps on it. it's here.
The wooden boards are hard, with some thatch added at most. People with some wealth will buy a piece of linen to use as a mattress.
But they only have wealthy households like the clan leader who can afford to use animal skins as mattresses.
"They are not barbarians! They Varangians know how to live well..."
For the first time, Peravina had a new understanding of "savages".
The whole Rosburg fell into silence. Even the tribal boys who returned with the Sveg girls from Novgorod had great urgent requirements to become the fathers of their children, but the tribal rules made an excellent decision here. constraints.
Because before the wedding ceremony, the female priest Vilia and her female assistants would check the purity of the bride. If it is found that the bride's fiancé has done something in advance, it will be regarded as shameful and blasphemous by the entire tribe, and may even be exiled.
Arik felt itchy in his heart, and he knew that what he wanted to do was only legal after passing the Frigg Day.
At dawn, to Arik's disbelief, it was Peravina who raised the question.
"Aric, why? I thought I was going to be a woman."
Her expression didn't change at all when she asked, but Arik became rather embarrassed.
Eric held it in for a while before asking: "Are you so eager to be a mother?"
"Isn't that what it should be?"
Arik was choked up for a moment. He really didn't expect that he originally longed for marriage, but now after completing the local wedding ceremony at his wife's natal home, he suddenly felt that marriage brought happiness, but also a huge test. For the first time, he felt that The adults of the tribe need to bear a lot of pressure.
Unexpectedly, my wife, who was far away from her hometown in Novgorod, had immediately accepted her new life.
While Arik was hesitating, tears actually appeared in the corners of his eyes.
"You...you're crying?"
When Peravina asked, Aric could no longer control his emotions. What made a young warrior cry? It's touching!
Arik wiped away his tears with his sleeves, first explained to his wife, and then stood up: "I'm going to cut some bacon and cook it first. After we finish eating, we have to go to my father's grave."
"Is it Jisao?"
"It's a ritual that must be done." As he said that, he pulled his wife up and solemnly told her: "You are the same as us. Next, you must follow the Russian rituals. When I get to my father's grave in a while, I will Dig a hole, place my sword in it, and cover it with soil. I will do this, and you will dig out the sword yourself."
"Okay. I...can I ask why?"
"My father is your father. It symbolizes my father's blessing to you. At the wedding, you also know that I will hand the sword you dug out into your hand again. This means that only you will give birth to a child. My son will inherit this sword from his grandfather."
Hearing all this, Peravina took a breath: "You Varangians really cherish your swords."
"Hey." Ali took his wife's hand, "It's us! You are already a Varyag."
