"Haha, the prawns here are so delicious! When we get back to the boat, this village will be on the chart and will be recorded as Shrimp Village, and this large lake rich in delicious food will be remembered as Prawn Lake!"
The sea breeze is refreshing and fragrant. After the group had eaten and drank enough, they prepared to return to the ship. Puap reached into his arms, touched for a while, and generously took out a handful of shining lake gems, and was about to pay for the feast that fed dozens of people. Unexpectedly, the gray-haired old village chief smiled humbly, bowed very low, and then carefully shook his head in rejection.
"Huh? What does he mean?"
Puap was startled and looked at the Mayan merchant Tikallo. Ti Carlo smiled slightly and explained.
"Captain Pu, this fishing village has very little communication with the outside world, and there is no divine descendant under its jurisdiction. They don't accept gems, they only accept usable currency."
"What? Currency that can be used?"
"Yes. Just like the salted fish, cotton cloth and cocoa that the fleet traded before."
"Uh...how much does that cost?"
"Just take two pieces of cloth. If you are satisfied, you can also add a basket of salted fish. There are not many people in their village and there are no tools. It is not easy to chop down trees and boil salt."
"Okay. Then pull out two rolls of cotton cloth and add two baskets of salted fish! The smell of the salted fish is too strong. Putting it on the boat will make the warriors dizzy!"
Huitu Puap waved his hand, and two warriors returned to the boat, bringing back snow-white cotton cloth and disgusting salted fish. The old village chief had no expression when he saw the cotton cloth, but when he smelled the smell of salted fish, his eyes suddenly lit up. He lowered his head, kowtowed to the ground, and thanked him repeatedly.
"Praise the God of Rain! The noble master who is bigger than the sky, thank you for your kindness! ... I will definitely convey the words you left, and I will not leave a single word behind!"
Seeing the old village chief kneeling respectfully, Puap smiled with satisfaction. Then, he had some doubts.
"Ti Carlo, what is he talking about? He has been talking about it for a long time!"
"Oh, Captain Pu. He is saying thank you to the gods and the noble Lord Kang! He also prays to the rain god and wishes us a smooth journey!"
Ti Carlo raised the corners of his mouth and translated respectfully. Hearing this, the main god priest Tomat beside him pondered for a moment, then stepped forward and personally lifted up the old Maya village chief. Then, under the frightened and bewildered gaze of the old village chief, he took out a sun hummingbird amulet of the main god and put it on the old village chief's neck.
"Praise the Lord God! She created such delicious prawns and let me eat them with your hard-working hands! This shows that you are loved by the Lord God. Come, wear this sun amulet and pray on time every day , the light will come naturally! Praise the Lord God! Huitzilopochtli!..."
While praying, Priest Tomat also took out a copy of the Ali Sutra with pictures and text, and stuffed it into the hands of the old village chief. This time, the old village chief was trembling with fear. He looked at the "sacred" picture and text in his hand and fell to his knees.
"Dear priest! I...I don't have sacred blood, I can still work...I won't accept your things anymore, please don't sacrifice me to the rain god!"
"First Evolution"
In the Mayan tribes with overpopulation and high and low status, when ordinary people are old enough and can no longer work, the fate waiting for them is to be abandoned by the tribe in the rain forest, or directly sacrificed to various gods. And this "aging" age is usually under forty years old.
"He...he is this?..."
Priest Thomas looked at the frightened old village chief with some surprise. He looked at Ti Carlo, who pursed his lips and translated the other person's words in a low voice. Priest Tomat laughed dumbly. Halfway through his laughter, he suddenly lowered his eyes and could no longer laugh.
Abandon the old and the weak, sacrifice to the gods, just like the law of the jungle. This is true for all tribes in the Maya. Is it not the same for all tribes on the martial plateau, in all tribes in the cruel wilderness, and in all tribes in the world where the average life expectancy is more than 20 years old? In this fishing village by the sea, the lagoon and the tide bring ready-made food every day. This old Mayan village chief is really lucky to live until his hair turns gray...
"The Lord God brings light! His Majesty the Divine Enlightenment leads all living beings!...Priests must study farming and strive to improve production capabilities. There must be more farmland in the world, and more corn must grow in the fields to feed more people. If there are more people, we should also let the elderly in each department live longer!... This is the greatest kindness of the Lord God!"
Priest Thomas closed his eyes, faced the sun in the sky, and prayed sincerely for a moment. This passage was also written by His Highness, but among the high priests in the lake capital, it was not taken seriously by many distinguished priests and elders. At this moment, Priest Thomas really had some insights and realized a rare ray of light in this cruel era.
"...the mercy of the Lord God?"
Hearing this, Mayanti Carlo raised his eyebrows and remained silent. Priest Tuomat finished praying and lifted the old village chief up again. Then, he stretched out his hand, shook the old village chief's hair kindly, left the scriptures and amulet behind, and turned around to leave.
The sun is setting in the west, and the longship sets sail. The Yucatan Peninsula turns north from here, and the coastline appears to the east of the kingdom's fleet. A few quarters of an hour later, the fleet that had come from afar disappeared at the end of the northern sea and sky, like a bubble that had never come before.
The old village chief sat on the beach, watching the warm bubbles disappear, not knowing what he was thinking. Then, wearing the amulet of the sun, he looked through the "divine book" that he had never seen before, looking at the pictures of gods inside, and it was evening in a flash.
In the evening, two more "bubbles" suddenly appeared at the end of the western coast. The old village chief looked at the flat hull for a moment and knew it was the familiar Mayan fleet. The two Mayan galleys rowed very fast and soon arrived at the fishing village on the sandbank by the sea. Then, several Mayan sailors jumped off the paddle boat, came to the old village chief, and asked in a deep voice.
"...Reached?"
"...arrive."
"...have they gone?"
"...gone."
"...Anything else to say?"
"...And that's all."
After listening, the Mayan sailors nodded. A sailor took out a small bag of medicinal tobacco from his arms and threw it at the feet of the old village chief. Then, everyone got on the boat again and disappeared to the end of the north under the cover of night.
The sun has gone down and the night is dark. The old village chief bowed his waist, rolled two pieces of tobacco leaves, took out a flint, and with difficulty made a lighter to light the tobacco leaves. Then, he took a puff of the cigarette, looked at the portrait of the Lord holding lightning in the scriptures, and continued to be silent with the light of the fire. It wasn't until a cigarette was almost burned out that he sighed, closed the book, and stammered in the ancient Toltec Nahua language.
"Praise...the Lord God! Vizi...Lobo...Chitli!..."
"The ancient...Kingdom of the Toltecs, perished. The Aztecs...called themselves Toltecs. The ancient...Kingdom of Mayapan, perished. The Tutulciu... Call themselves Mayapan. Now, the Aztecs are about to meet the Tuturxiu people. And between them is the last one, the Mayapan..."
The ancient Toltec Nahua language is recited in the wind, carrying indescribable vicissitudes, and is submerged in the sound of the ebbing tide. And when the tide comes again, what will be completely submerged?
The old village chief didn't know and didn't want to know the answer. He just stood up slowly, hunched over, and walked towards the village. Perhaps the young people in the village should read this scripture, and they may find it useful in the future. And the salted fish that the masters rewarded today must be dried under the eaves of the leeward house to prevent it from getting damp and wasting the precious salt~
