The next morning, while Jing Shi was still sleeping, he heard a series of banging sounds outside, making it extremely noisy. He didn't wash up last night, he just put on his clothes and lay down. When he woke up, he just put on his hair towel and stood up to open the door.
There were three people standing outside the door. The one at the head was Gu'erwan, and behind him were two people who looked like peach blossoms, judging from their clothing and appearance. The two people were hiding behind Gu'erwan, their faces still full of laughter, and they kept biting each other's ears. They didn't know what kind of private things they could talk about endlessly. At this moment, when they saw Jing Shi looking at him, they immediately shouted in unison, turned around and fled away.
Jing Shi watched the two brothers run away, not knowing how to react, so he turned to look at Gu'er Bowl. Gu'er Wan snorted and said: "Two little things are so ignorant, so what's so scary?" He waved a stick and said: "New official, it's convenient for old man Huazhou today. I'll take you everywhere." Let’s take a walk so that everyone can get to know each other.”
Yesterday, Jing Shi talked with Hui Zhou and found out that there are two other village settlements on this island. In addition, water sources, fields, pastures and other important places are also scattered along the island. At this moment, as soon as he was invited by Guerwan, he immediately nodded and said: "I have nothing to do today, so let's go now."
Gu'erwan was happy when he heard this, and suddenly looked at Jing Shi and said: "Xin Guan'er, I heard that people on land are the most troublesome. They put on a big show, but are very clumsy and can't endure hardship. Now it seems , although you are a weirdo, you do things quite smoothly and you are not too troublesome."
Jing Shi didn't expect that he had become a "weirdo" in the eyes of Gu'erwan when he just arrived. He didn't know whether to be happy or worried. He nodded and said, "You have met other inland people before."
Gu'erwan said: "There were two or three big sacrifices in the past. Old Man Huizhou took me to the city to do business. Occasionally, I saw a few big arrogances. But those people talked little, were good-tempered, and were indifferent. , I only want to talk to the priests. I think if everyone in the mainland was like this, it would be boring. Fortunately, Xin Guaner, you are fine."
When Jing Shi heard what he said, he knew that the country of Yihui was located on the coast, so there would be no ordinary people coming and going. The "big airs" mentioned by Gu'erwan were either officials from various countries who were ordered to come to reconcile, or it could only be the Qingdu monks who came in person, and they would not be able to show off their relatives.
While the two were talking, they didn't stop for a moment. In a blink of an eye, they left the narrow fence at the boundary of the village and headed towards the sparse forest to the east. Not long after walking, I saw a huge tree in the center, with a skin as black as iron and covered with moss, which had grown dark with age. Iron ropes were hung from the high branches, and a dozen iron rings were strung to the ground. The tops were hidden deep inside the leaf covers, making it difficult to see what was going on inside.
Guerwan walked to the tree, jumped up, and jumped up the iron rope lightly. He stepped on the rope and the iron ring with his feet. While swinging back and forth like a swing, he shouted: "Old woman, the new official is here."
When Jing Shi heard him shouting, he immediately remembered the medicine official Shui Hua he met yesterday. Sure enough, not long after Guerwan shouted, he saw the leaves swaying on the branches above, and a thin monkey face poked out.
Jing Shi originally had an excellent memory, but recently he saw hundreds of people, at least hundreds of them, and he gradually discerned the details of their facial features. At this moment, when he looked at the face of the monkey on the top of the tree, he immediately felt that its cheeks were a little thin and bony, and its eyes were droopy and its nose was thin. It was Shui Hua, the medicine official whom he met by chance yesterday. He immediately raised his hand and said, "Mr. Shui Hua, I'm sorry to bother you."
The man at the top of the tree heard the sound and put his head out. He leaned his upper body out of the tree crown and looked at the grass ring on his clothes. Sure enough, it was a splash of water. She ignored the bone bowl hanging on the rope and said to Jing Shi, "You are welcome, sir. Do you have any instructions for me to come today?"
Jing Shi shook his head and said: "Today I am patrolling the island to know the way. I stopped by to say hello to you sir."
Gu'er Wan also interjected: "Old lady, Xin Guan'er and I are going to Dongquan later. If you have any medicine, give it to me as soon as possible, so that it can be sent together."
Shui Hua first nodded slightly to Jing Shi, bowed as a salute, and then said coldly to the bone bowl on the rope: "Po'er, if you tear off another branch, you will have to build this house from the beginning one by one." "
The Gu'er Bowl was swinging excitedly on the rope. When he heard this, he immediately let go of his hands, somersaulted back to the ground and said, "That's so long-winded, I won't play anymore."
Shuihua glanced at him, as if she wanted to sigh, but in the end she just shook her head and retracted her body behind Ye Gai. After a while, the leaves moved slightly, and a small cloth bag fell out. Gu'er Bowl stretched out his stick to pick it up, then hooked the cloth bag on the head of the stick, shook it and said, "These are the only ones."
The sound of water splashing on the tree said coldly: "Pingye gets three, and Qiaoxi Green gets two. I won't give it to anyone else, and you're not allowed to steal it."
Hearing this, Gu'erwan immediately held his head high and said loudly: "I've never eaten it before."
Shui Hua snorted, then got out his head and said to Jing Shi: "I have been busy recently and have no time to entertain you. I will see you again in the future. You have just come to this place for the first time, and you don't know the soil and water. Do not eat wild fruits on the island for fear of being poisonous. If necessary, , just tell Guerwan to do it."
Jing Shi nodded and said, "I don't have to."
Shui Hua looked at him, said nothing, and turned back to the leaves. Seeing her like this, Jing Shi was about to leave, but he heard a series of rustling sounds, and two fist-sized red balls fell from the top of the tree. Guerwan reacted very quickly. When he saw the red ball, he immediately jumped up high, took one in each hand, and held it in front of Jingshi.
Jing Shi took one and put it in his hand, only to realize that the red ball was some kind of fruit. It is bright red in color and glossy, resembling a tomato, but has a round pointed pedicle and a tasteless smell. I don't know what kind of fruit it is. While he was observing, the water flower on the tree poked his head out again and said: "This is a red eggplant. Although it is bright in color, it is actually non-toxic. You can eat it with confidence. I guess this boy is so wild that he will not remember to offer food or water. There is no need for you to be polite, just go ahead and eat it." Make it clear to him."
As soon as Guerwan heard this, he immediately jumped on the ground, wanting to argue, but he didn't seem to dare to talk back to Shuihua, so he had no choice but to poke at the ground with a stick. Jing Shi just ignored this, accepted Zhu Jie and said, "Thank you, Mr. Shui Hua, for your concern."
Shui Hua said: "Your Excellency, you are very polite." Then she retracted her body into the leaves and did not hear the slightest sound again. Jing Shi stared under the tree for a long time, then he lowered his head and patted the bone bowl and said, "Let's go to the Dongquan you just mentioned."
After the water splash disappeared from the Gu'er bowl, he pointed at the tree house and cursed. However, he had all the posture, but there was no sound in his throat, and he seemed like a mute singing opera. He was enjoying his performance when he was suddenly slapped on the head by a thorn stone. He was suddenly excited, waved his stick and said: "Let's go, let's go. Don't stay in this unlucky place." After saying that, he stuffed the red eggplant in his hand into his mouth, and walked forward with his head held high. , continue heading east.
Jing Shi followed him slowly, took out the red eggplant and took a look at it. He peeled off the thin outer skin and saw that the flesh inside was also bright red and moist, similar in texture to peaches and plums.
He had just peeled off three pieces of skin, and the skull bowl in front of his mouth had already chewed the fruit cleanly. When he turned around and saw the slow work on his hands, he couldn't help but rolled his eyes, turned around and said, "Xin Guan'er, this is The peel doesn't stop you from eating it, so you can tear it off and do whatever you want."
Jing Shi kept holding his hand and said, "I'm used to it." After finishing his words, he peeled off the red eggplant in his hand and took a brief taste. He felt that the fruit was soft and fine, sweet and slightly sour, and it was considered a delicacy. Since he landed on the island yesterday, all he has been thinking about is the wonders of the country. He has not even touched a drop of water or eaten a drop of rice. He is completely unaware of it. It is only now that the sweet syrup enters his throat that he feels a little hungry. .
Seeing that he was eating slowly and leisurely, Gu'er Wan scratched his ears and cheeks and said, "Xin Guan'er, I heard that you Lu people are very greedy and eat three meals a day. But when I brought you to see someone yesterday, I didn't even hear you say anything. I forgot about this. If you feel confused next time, just say it directly so that I don’t have to remember it again and again."
Jing Shi finished eating the fruit in his hand and then replied: "It's okay. I live alone and don't eat according to the time. How are you doing on weekdays?"
Gu'er Wan said: "I live alone and eat when I'm hungry. Those little guys in the village don't learn this well and insist on eating on time, which is really boring." After saying that, he suddenly jumped up and snatched the peel from Jing Shi's hand. Zhang took a look in his hand and saw that the skin was peeled off very neatly. It was divided into six parts from the top to the pedicle. They were even and smooth, as straight as a ruler to measure and cut with a knife. He couldn't help but exclaimed: "Xin Guan'er, what kind of magic is this?" "
Jing Shi said: "It's not a magic spell. I was used to it like this when I was a child."
Gu'erwan played with the flap of skin in his hand for a while, raised his hand and was about to throw it away, but seemed to find it rare and reluctant to part with it. After thinking about it, he simply put it on his head as a six-flowered hat. , and said to Jing Shi: "The new official is so particular about everything he eats. Could it be that he comes from the emperor's family?"
Jing Shi watched him doing all kinds of mischief and just smiled lightly and said: "I think only servants of the emperor's family can learn this."
Gu'erwan said: "Then it's fun to be a servant." He was still bouncing around, completely unfazed. Jing Shi watched his movements quietly behind him, and felt that even though he was a hundred years old, he still thought and acted like a naughty boy. He was not the only one who was like this. Among the people he had seen so far, except for the white-robed people, abandoned boats, and water splashes in the city, As soon as the officials arrived, the rest of the people also behaved in a different way. It was not so much a country of small people as a country of naughty children. It is really strange to think that such a land with no army and no king can survive for thousands of years.
The two chatted all the way, and before they knew it, they had walked three or four miles. Walking to a depression, I saw the water was clear and the reeds were green. There is a shallow pile of rocks in the middle of the depression, on which the water ripples and gurgls, like an underground spring gushing out, which is the so-called East Spring.
Yesterday, Jing Shi had a conversation with the troublemaker, Huizhou, and specifically asked about the source of the water. He learned that fresh water comes from three places on the island, and the East Spring is especially clean. There are more than a hundred people living next to the water, forming a village.
Although the people of Nonghui are good at enduring hunger and thirst, they are not Vajra bodies after all. They cherish this drinking spring very much and only keep it for drinking, and do not allow it to be washed or polluted. Despite the stubbornness of Guerwan, he became a little more honest when he saw this spring. He ran to pick two big leaves to draw water, drank a handful each from Jingshi, and went on the road again.
A hundred steps past the spring is Dongquan Village. The layout and appearance are not very different from the Zhongcun Village where Jing Shi lives, except that there are slightly more houses. As soon as the people in the village saw the two of them visiting, they all called their friends and gathered around to watch. For a while, the houses were empty and the alleys were so crowded that the village was filled to the brim.
Jingshi was blocked by these people, making it difficult to advance or retreat. He was about to say something to ask for permission to give way, but he heard them chattering in local dialect, and they probably couldn't understand the mainland Mandarin. Fortunately, Gu'erwan was familiar with the people of this village. He jumped up and shouted loudly. Sometimes he pointed at himself, sometimes he touched the wattle stones, and he raised his stick and danced a few times. He looked quite impressive. Everyone below seemed to be fascinated by what he heard, their eyes never blinking as they stared at him dancing with sticks and feet.
After he finished speaking in native dialect, the people were amazed several times, with admiration in their eyes, and they all headed towards the Gu'er bowl. Jing Shigu didn't know what he said, but he noticed something fishy by observing his words. He gently patted the head of Gu'er's bowl and said, "What did you just say to them?"
Gu'erwan looked away and said, "What I can say is just to tell them that the new official is here. If there is any trouble in the future, I will come to find you."
Jing Shi smiled and said, "Then why do they always look at you?"
When Gu'erwan caught a glimpse of his expression, his eyes wandered, and his speed was really suspicious. When Jing Shi saw this, he knew that there must be flower heads in it, but Gu'er refused to let go. He had no choice but to do anything. He was not in a hurry to investigate, and just said: "I don't understand your dialect. Since you can speak Mandarin, you can teach me." I'm just saying that." After saying that, he strode towards the village.
The people at the entrance of the village knew that he was on his way to appoint a new official and did not dare to stop him. When they saw him approaching, they all gave way to him and followed suit. Gu'erwan jumped around and said: "Xin Guan'er, I learned how to speak like you mainlanders, but it took me a few years, and I got beaten up a lot by the old lady Shuihua. If you want to learn what I say here, it will take you five or six years to speak less." In the next month, when you have learned the words, you will go back to the land. Why bother? Anyway, I have been ordered to accompany you for a day on any given day. If you have anything to say, I will convey it to you. Abandoned Boat The old man is soft-hearted, and the end of Dongquan is left to fools. They don't know much, and what they say is stupid, and it's all in vain for you to listen."
Jing Shi said as he walked: "Is that so? It turns out that Shui Hua taught you Mandarin. Why do I hear something different when I hear you speak?"
Gu'erwan scratched his head and said, "I don't think there's much difference."
Jing Shi glanced at him and smiled lightly. Instead of delving into it, he said, "I have some experience in learning native language. Just teach me. I will understand you in a month at the latest, so I don't need to bother you." Always follow.”
After hearing this, Gu'erwan didn't quite believe it. He moved his head quickly and shook it for more than ten times before stopping and saying: "Xin Guan'er, you don't think your head is easy to use, so you brag nonsense. Back then, Old Guan'er I also wanted to learn the language from the old man Huizhou, but you mainlanders don’t have good ears. It’s obviously two different tunes, but he couldn’t hear it. In the end, he didn’t learn it. I see that your ears are the same size as his, so you probably won’t be able to learn it. .”
Jing Shi said: "You will know after you try it."
The two of them walked around the village while talking to each other. The villagers were surprised at first, but after following them for a few steps and seeing that they were just wandering around, they gradually lost interest, and after a while they had dispersed. Seeing this, Guerwan said: "The new official is waiting here. I will deliver the medicine to the old lady Shuihua first. I will come back after I go." He drew a circle on the ground with a wooden stick and surrounded the Jingshi. , and then he jumped onto the roof.
Jing Shi had previously talked with Hui Zhou and asked about the position of medicine official. Because there is no real government in the country of Zuohui, except for the sacrifices in the Banming City, there are three officials left. Among them, life and death are great gifts, which can be ignored. Only the "medicine officials" are heard to be similar to the medical duties, but they can be regarded as equals. The position of the third official seems quite strange. He asked Huizhou about this, and the answer he received was also very ominous. He only said that Yiguo was born with a hidden disease, which in most cases never occurs throughout his life, but once it occurs, it can be fatal. This disease was passed down from the ancestors of Yuhui, and there is no cure. The only way to delay the harm is to use medicine. Therefore, a special post of "medicine official" was created to take care of this matter.
Although there are many doubts about this answer, Jing Shi has just arrived and knows that this place is abnormal. He cannot deduce it based on conventional knowledge, so he has to leave it alone. Thinking about this at this time, I also saw that the wind and scenery were bright today, the waves were rising and falling in the distance, and a black line was faintly exposed at the end of the blue waves, which should be the place where Zhang Duan lives. However, I think that this country has an empty name, but in fact it is close to the barbarian wilderness, and its people are mostly monkey-like, and they cannot be tamed by articles and education. Lou Jian, Wang Li and others broke into a foreign land, and I really don’t know what the situation is like now. As for Zhang Duangui, a lady from an aristocratic family, entering the island for the test may be a bit more difficult than the other men, which is worrying to think about.
He was feeling ups and downs when he suddenly heard a soft clicking sound above his head, but Gu'er's bowl stepped on the eaves and returned. He turned over and landed in front of him, and said: "The new official is homesick."
Jing Shi said: "No." Then he moved forward. Gu'er Wan followed him, asking himself endless questions. Jing Shi was so troubled by him that he casually said, "Have you ever seen wild cats in the village?"
He asked the question unintentionally, but when Guerwan heard this, he suddenly showed disgust, shook his head and said: "How could you allow that kind of thing to come in? Xin Guan'er, the old man Huizhou said that you mainlanders have pigs at home." Cat, I can agree with you in advance that you Chinese people have poor ears and are not afraid of harm. I can't stand the noise of that thing. It makes my head hurt when I hear it. If you are bored, you can raise chickens and pigs. You just can't raise that damn thing, otherwise I will definitely catch it and put it in the pot."
Jing Shi didn't expect that Gu'er Wan was so strong that he could fly over eaves and walls, but he couldn't bear to hear a cat meow, so he could only smile and said, "I don't plan to raise animals."
Gu'erwan was still worried and kept talking to him about how ugly and terrifying the cat looked. If you don't know what it means and just listen to it, it won't sound like it's talking about a wild cat, but more like it's talking about a flood bird. Jingshi will be surprised when he hears it. However, he knew that there is a folk custom of worshiping and fearing cats. It is often said that cats and dogs have keen senses and their eyes can communicate with yin and yang. Although this is a rumor among the people, it is groundless and there must be a reason for it. It is reasonable to say that Juhui's body is unique and he can detect things that ordinary people are not aware of.
The two of them talked as they walked, leaving the boundary of Dongquan and heading towards the top of the mountain. Although Hamosuoluo Island is not a vast territory, it is not possible to visit it in one day. However, since the center to the north of the island is mostly mountainous, the three settlements are all located on the flat land in the south of the island, and pastures and water sources are also there. You don't need to travel all over the island to get to and from the southern peak. If you have a tight schedule in one day, it will be enough.
Although the Ruohui Kingdom is isolated in the secluded sea, it is still a state belonging to the emperor in name, and it also respects the laws of the Bin Kingdom. There is a dedicated person in Banming City to teach the mysterious sounds of the bird character and promote the teachings in Luzhong. As long as all the priests who taught various studies since childhood can speak Luzhong language, the high priest sent someone to translate before, which was also limited by etiquette. It was not that he really couldn't understand what Young Master Yu was saying. But the situation in the islands is different. The local people on the islands are confined to their land all their lives. They don't know what's going on outside the islands. They are just like ignorant children, and they have no desire to learn and seek truth. Even if there are three officials who teach part-time, there is nothing they can do if the islanders have no intention of imitating it. And the dialect comes naturally, almost from birth, and it is easy to learn. As time goes by, more and more people naturally use the dialect.
Jing Shi first talked with Huizhou and then visited the village in person. Although the time was short, he already had a rough idea of the situation. Considering that I will serve here for many years, if I want to do something useful, I really must learn this dialect. As soon as he left Dongquan Village, he mentioned the matter to Guerwan again. Although Gu'erwan didn't believe he could learn, he was very excited to be a teacher. He immediately started gesticulating and making weird noises, wishing he could show off all his inner abilities.
He did it on a whim, purely based on his own thoughts. He wanted to teach Jing Shi how to read the names of local people on the island, but then he felt that learning it was boring, so he wanted to teach him how to yell and curse. After struggling for a long time, he still couldn't say anything. Come to the door. Jing Shi listened to his high and low screams and knew that this person was definitely not a good teacher. He immediately cut off the other party's conversation and asked questions one by one according to what he was thinking, and then he finally clarified it a little bit.
It turns out that the local dialect of Zuohui is different from the Mandarin in Luzhong. There are very few phonetic changes. The semantic distinction is judged by the pitch of the tone, and there is no correspondence between words. Xuan Le's correct tone only has four main tones, which is extremely difficult to learn. However, the single tones of Xuanhui Mandarin range from six to fifteen tones. Unless an ordinary person has a very sharp ear and is proficient in music, Taoism, and folk arts, it is really difficult. Know the difference.
Jing Shi originally wanted to learn the dialect, but was not sure yet. Now that he knew the difficulty, he had a plan in mind and no longer struggled with it. He just let Gu'erwan recite the fifteen tones back and forth, and picked up the common words to listen to the news one by one. After an hour or two of this, I realized that the fifteen tones seemed complicated, but in fact, high tones expressed happiness, low tones expressed sadness, flat tones were auspicious, and melody was dangerous. The categories were clear and they were not applied randomly. According to this rule, it is not difficult to calculate. Memorize.
He memorized it silently in his heart, and classified the words and phrases he knew into categories, looking for the secret. His mind was spinning like this, but his face didn't show it at all. Gu'erwan didn't know what he was thinking. Seeing that he didn't say a word and walked dully, he felt bored. He stabbed his calf with a stick and said, "Xin Guan'er, when I imitate you Chinese people in speaking, I can't remember all those strange words." , the old lady Shuihua forced me to speak Chinese every day. The more I spoke, the more I naturally remembered it. I see you are just listening like this. When will I be able to use you? Say a few words and let me hear the tune. ." After saying that, he squeaked for a while, and then poked Jingshi's calf with a stick, asking him to follow suit.
Jing Shi stepped back slightly to avoid being hit by the wooden stick, and then smiled and said: "No need. Since you are walking with me during this period, you don't need me to speak. I just want you to understand. What you just said I understand. If you ask me to repeat it, I'm afraid I won't be able to pronounce it that way."
But Gu'erwan didn't believe what he said. He glanced at him sideways and said, "Xin Guan'er has understood what I just said."
Jing Shi nodded and said, "I probably understand. You said I look stupid when I walk, like a newborn wild boar."
Gu'erwan said nothing after hearing the sound, only shook his head, then picked up the wooden stick as if nothing had happened, and moved forward to clear the way, clearing the thorns on the left, and irrigating the fields on the right. He was busy and could not talk to each other. Jing Shi followed behind, saying nothing, just looking at him and smiling.
