It was another peaceful night, and Rurik's little mind was still dreaming about the day's study.
He was muttering some strange things in his sleep, and couldn't help but snuggle up to the leather blanket wrapped around him.
The new day begins with the hard work of the lower-level priests, who are cooking today's breakfast in the huge wooden house.
It was not much different from the past. Bread was very precious, and the priests' daily meals mostly consisted of fish. In recent days, everyone has been eating some venison every day.
But not everyone ate much. The priests were used to a life of half-starvation and half-full. A small piece of cooked meat was the so-called breakfast.
After waking up, Rurik ate the meat immediately without any psychological burden.
Only his servant Rumia looked at the pieces of meat in the rough wooden bowl with many thoughts.
"Eat. If you don't eat, you will be hungry." Rurik muttered the ancient Sami vocabulary he had learned in the past few days. Without any rhetoric, he used the most basic vocabulary to express what he meant.
"OK."
Rumia felt cruel, now things have changed, even if the venison in this bowl was once her own live deer, it has nothing to do with her anymore.
In fact, Rumia didn't quite understand what a "servant" meant. As long as she worked for them, she was a servant, right?
After a few days of contact, she understood one thing. As long as she obeyed this little boy, she seemed to be treated well.
She took a few bites of the venison sprinkled with coarse salt, and the refreshing salty taste deeply stimulated her mind.
She suddenly stumbled and asked: "Today, shall we study?"
"Yes. I also need to learn your language. You also need to learn our language."
"Okay. I, study."
Everyone is smart, and people can distinguish the core contents of Chinese languages. As long as they master these core contents, two people with different native languages can barely communicate.
Rurik thought that today would be another peaceful study day. Due to the bad wind and snow outside, he naturally continued to be protected by the towering priest's wooden house.
Not long after he had eaten breakfast, a "white" strong man wearing a white bear skin hurried into the wooden house.
The person who came was none other than the leader Otto.
Behind him were several of his closest associates.
Otto's sudden appearance made Vilia a little dissatisfied. She suspended her translation work and also suspended the language education of Rurik and Rumia.
"My leader, you should be gentler. Don't make too much noise. Spare me, an old man."
"Oh, I'm sorry, great priest. I'm just here to pick up my son."
"Rurik? What's the matter? I'm teaching him personally."
"This..." Otto's eyes widened. He knew what his son and his servant were doing.
Otto supported his son's study, but due to the limitations of the times, he believed that it was enough to be better than others after studying.
He stepped forward and muttered: "Great priest, I came here just to take Rurik away to clear the snow. Now that the snowstorm is basically over, we must remove as much snow as possible from all the houses, including this big wooden house."
"Ah! I almost forgot." Vilia patted her forehead, "It's for snow removal, Bona, help me up!"
After Vilia was helped up, she felt that snow removal work was imperative.
"Just like in previous years, we have cleared the snow from the roof. And the snow on the road, all cleared to one side. Bona, bring my leather coat, and then tell the others to take action."
Otto nodded with satisfaction: "Rurik, let's go too, and take your servant with you. This time, you have another mission."
"Task?"
Rurik was filled with confusion. Could it have something to do with snow removal?
Soon, he understood his so-called mission.
Ryuri pulled Rumia's slender arm. At this moment, both of them were wearing traditional clothes of tribal children, which were actually lined with linen. They wore coats cut from animal skins, and their feet were made of various leathers. boots.
But the biggest difference between Rurik and other children is that he wears underwear.
The Ross tribe, they are like other tribes, even the Frankish Kingdom further south.
All residents have no concept of pants until now.
Only those grassland peoples invented trousers out of basic necessity.
At this time, only the Frankish cavalry would wear some leather-like trousers.
Rurik couldn't stand the life without pants. When he was old enough, he asked his mother Niya to cut and sew a piece of linen into a pair of shorts. This thing has a greater significance in concealing shame, and now it also has a little more value in keeping out the cold.
He was standing in the snow under his wooden house. The thickness of the snow on the roof was really amazing.
Otto came with two pairs of small oars, one of which he handed to his son's leader gently, and the other which he threw to Rumia more roughly.
He gave orders more casually: "Hey! Girl, follow your master to the roof in a moment and push all the snow down!"
Just looking at this tall guy made Rumia feel scared from the bottom of her heart. And she could see clearly that this man was not only a murderer who hurt his relatives, but he was also wearing a genuine bearskin! The terrifying bear head and the terrifying fangs were all hanging down on the man's back.
This man actually killed a bear!
She couldn't quite understand the man's orders. In short, this man was very scary. Rumia subconsciously held the wooden oar and approached her master Rurik, slightly tilting her head in fear.
"Dad, you are too cruel to her." Rurik muttered impatiently.
"Huh? Did I annoy you?"
"No! Look at Rumia's face, she's scared."
"That's right. This deer herder girl should be afraid of me. She'll be climbing on the roof soon."
Rurik nodded: "I understand, but Dad, you think I'm so weak, you expect me to clear all the snow? Maybe you should follow us to the roof."
"No need." Otto smiled awkwardly: "If I follow you up, the roof will collapse. My child, you can be the future leader. Don't be afraid because of this difficulty. If you are not happy, then It doesn’t matter, it’s reasonable for your servants to climb up and complete these tasks.”
"That's crazy!"
Rurik raised his head and looked at the snow, which was about half a meter thick. He couldn't help pouting and shaking his head.
He glanced at his servant again from the corner of his eyes, hoping that the girl would complete her work. I was afraid that even if she pushed away all the snowflakes with a wooden paddle, she would be exhausted and paralyzed.
Due to the attitude of his parents towards the girl, Rurik really didn't dare to think too much.
Humanistic care? Pooh! The parents must simply treat Rumia as a tool.
He gritted his teeth and said to his father: "What is this difficulty? But you have to prepare some food for me. Well...Mom!"
Niya responded with a somewhat complicated expression: "What's wrong?"
"Can you make some porridge for me? I'm preparing some dry bread cubes for when I finish my work."
"Okay. But Rurik, you have to be careful. Come down when you are really tired. I am different from your father. I will not force..."
"Shut up!" Otto stopped his wife angrily: "Go prepare the porridge! You have to believe in your son. He is the man who will be the future leader. If he cannot clear the snow from the roof, he will face many problems in the future. How can the enemy defeat them?!"
Rurik wanted to laugh when he heard it, as if the snowflakes were the enemy, and clearing the snow was also a kind of battle.
If you think about it carefully, similar father roles are really common. A strong father will always ask his son to challenge the impossible, and only the child's mother will be worried behind the scenes.
So, how do you get up to the roof?
The roofs of ordinary houses in Roseburg are made of pieces of wood, with a layer of grass containing soil laid on top. Some people also put a layer of animal skin on the bottom layer for better protection from rain.
All buildings have no tiles, and the roofs also have a certain slope.
Rurik could not climb the roof without using a ladder, and Otto did not prepare a ladder for this purpose because he felt it would be unnecessary.
After all, my son is only seven years old. As long as I hold him, I can easily throw him to the roof.
In this way, Rurik was thrown into the snow nest on the roof, and the next person thrown up was Rumia.
"You guys start!" Otto on the ground ordered.
"Okay!" After Rurik finished speaking, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and use ancient Sami vocabulary to instruct Rumia, "Rumia, start! Finish, you and I, eat. Eat bread."
bread? In fact, Rumia was lucky enough to eat bread for the first time in the priest's cabin after being captured.
It was Rurik who broke off a small piece of dry whole-wheat bread for her. In fact, in his opinion, this bread was not only a filling thing, but also a good way to clean teeth.
It is really a real whole-wheat bread, with a lot of wheat bran in it! Even so, it has more energy than the meat you usually eat. Whenever you do physical work, eating wheat is the first food to restore your physical strength.
Looking at the snow on the entire roof, Rurik estimated that today was really the busiest day since he traveled through time.
Is there anything more annoying than asking a seven-year-old boy and a ten-year-old girl to complete such a task while adults watch the show and call it a challenge?
Fortunately, the snow was quite soft and the bottom was already frozen.
As the work began, Rurik personally felt the busyness of the work. After careful consideration, it was not unacceptable.
The oars of the Ross tribe's longships are not only wider, but also have some ingenious design.
Including some small oars for small boats, they are all carved from oak into special shapes, that is, grooves are deliberately carved out in the center of the oars.
This little invention will give you some advantages when paddling, making it more efficient than a smooth paddle.
Then, it is also very efficient to use this paddle to break up loose snowflakes.
But the snow was still too thick. The two light children worked hard and pushed a lot of snow to the ground.
Rurik took a closer look and saw that his father was certainly not just a spectator. He was also using a wooden paddle as a shovel to push aside the snow he had pushed down.
He looked around again and saw many black shadows swaying on the roofs of the huge Rossburg. Today's snow clearing seemed like a festival.
Too much snow can collapse a house, and as the snow becomes less dense, the likelihood of a collapse decreases.
Most of the work must be completed in the short daytime. Seeing that the work was over and dressing up, the panting Rurik was happy to see that Rumia was still pushing the snow hard.
"Hey! Rumia, rest!"
"No. Over, Snow, rest."
Rurik understood what she meant. This servant indeed proved his obedience with practical actions. After all, she is just a ten-year-old child, and she should not have any more ideas in her mind. Given some promises, she will work hard to complete the work.
Rurik thought a lot at this moment. He sat on the roof to take a rest, looking at the girl's struggling figure, and estimated that when she grew up, she would be a good helper for him.
Although Rumia is just a child, he can teach her a lot. In the future, someone like this will be an excellent right-hand man, even if she is a woman who will be looked down upon.
After resting for a while, Rurik subconsciously held his stomach.
"Oh, I'm really hungry. They should be cooking porridge now, I can smell it. Finish the work early, and I'll eat early."
Compared with other children of the same age, Rurik can be said to be "pampered". Although he is only seven years old, Rurik's weak body still has a lot of muscle strength. He is stronger than other children. In comparison, Rumia's body is much weaker.
Rumia was really afraid of that man. She didn't know how much protection the little boy around her would give her. It was obvious that if she couldn't complete her job well, she would definitely be punished by the evil man.
Punishment must be something terrifying!
Rumia had no intention of resting at all. She just wanted to finish her work as soon as possible, but she didn't realize at all how excessive labor was damaging to the body.
Except for Rurik, everyone in the tribe has no concept of pants. The way to protect the lower body from the cold is a longer leather jacket that can submerge the knees, and high-top boots that extend to the knees. Normally, the combination of these two types of clothing would be enough to keep out the cold, but Rumia's new clothes didn't fit that well.
She was so thin that some of her skin was constantly exposed to the cold. She was also afraid of being punished and worked hard. This work was indeed very successful. Otto, who was clearing snow on the ground, also monitored her work from time to time. Otto said nothing and was very satisfied with the work of the girl Rumia.
She is indeed an obedient tool.
Gradually, Rumia felt the heat, and the animal skin covering her body felt like a heavy burden.
Rurik kept pushing the snow with his head down, but when he raised his head again, he was surprised to see Rumia actually getting rid of the shackles of the animal skin. The cold-resistant leather jacket was only tied around the waist with hemp rope.
This child was actually wearing a lined linen shirt, and her two arms were directly exposed to the cold wind from the Arctic.
Rurik was shocked.
He hurried over, his face full of shock: "Lumia, what are you doing! Put your clothes back on quickly."
Rumia basically understood the command in Norse, and she reluctantly explained: "I...I'm hot. I'm fine now."
"very good?!"
Rurik went to touch her arm. How could it be so hot? Her arm was like an ice cube!
Hugely frightened, he touched the girl's forehead with his hand, and her head became cold.
How can you feel hot when your whole body is obviously cold?
Suddenly, an extremely bad situation came to mind. Rurik waited for the girl's big eyes and snatched the wooden paddle from her hand: "Rumia, it's over. You put on your clothes and go to the ground to eat. .”
"I...I'm okay."
"enough!"
Rurik stopped talking nonsense. He threw down both pairs of wooden paddles. Then he took Rumia's cold hand and sat on the ice on the roof. He looked at the snow on the ground that had not been cleared immediately and slipped directly. Go down.
Then, the two fell onto a snowdrift.
"Hey! Rurik, why did you come down before the work was done?!" Otto was very dissatisfied with his son's decision, "You still can't stand this bit of exertion?!"
"Dad! Something happened." Rurik shouted with a frightened face: "Hurry up and give Rumia hot water. If she works for a little longer, she will freeze to death."
At this point, Rurik stopped talking nonsense. He smelled that porridge was indeed being cooked in his house. It has a comforting wheat aroma.
But Rumia's situation is already very bad. What's worse is that the girl doesn't realize that she is almost dead.
Rumia was dragged away. She was still feeling hot all over, but her walking was like a machine lacking lubricant. Her whole body looked very stiff.
She consumed so many calories that her mind became numb. Her brain mistakenly believed that she was very hot, but in fact she almost froze to death.
Many people who get drunk in winter lie on the roadside and sleep soundly. As the sun rises, people who get up early are surprised to find these hungover people with their clothes lifted and frozen. Body.
Rurik was thinking of such a terrible scene. Rumia was obviously so cold that her brain was confused and she couldn't tell what was hot and what was cold!
Only he has more knowledge in his mind. It would be terrible if Rumia who listened to him had both advantages and disadvantages!
He pulled the girl through the door of his house, tossed her to the sleeping nest made of animal skins and hay, and then approached his mother who was squatting and boiling wheat in an iron pot and said: "Mom, the wheat looks almost ripe. Give it to me quickly. bowl."
"Don't worry, I'll serve it for you, be careful it's very hot." Seeing that the child was well, Niya felt really good.
She calmly filled a bowl for her son, who picked up a wooden spoon and ran to the girl with the bowl in hand.
Niya was surprised to see that her son was actually feeding the servant himself!
At this moment, Niya suddenly thought of many things. She didn't understand how a servant He De could be so noble that the future leader would feed her?
Later, Otto also curiously returned to the house to see clearly the actions of the two children.
"Rurik what are you doing?" Otto asked strangely.
"Dad, Mom, Rumia didn't even know that she almost froze to death. Mom, prepare some more bread cubes and bake some meat quickly. Dad, help me and carry her to the campfire. I don't want her to freeze to death. I don’t want her to get sick either! Hurry!”
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Chapter 80 Snow Clearing Crisis
