The sun sets in the west.
Xu Fenglei stood outside the tent, looking at the vast grassland, feeling the cool breeze on the field, and closed his eyes comfortably.
"The grassland does have its charm."
He praised,
"Cheng Qian, how does this vast grassland and the cattle and sheep over there compare with what you imagined?"
Li Chengqian raised his head and looked at the stars in the sky.
"……very good."
He thought for a long time, and finally came out with two words in his mouth.
When he first came out of Shuofang, the grass was all bare and desolate, which disappointed him.
But when he followed Tuduo and his daughter back to the real grassland, he discovered that this was the real grassland!
There are all kinds of elements in his fantasy!
Of course, the only thing that bothers people is the feces everywhere. The key is that they are still hidden under the green grass, so you can't find them at all. Only when you step on them and feel the soft feeling under your feet do you realize——
Damn it, I’ve been tricked!
At this point, it's too late.
"Uncle Xu, Li Gaoming, it's time to eat!"
Tuduo came out of the tent and shouted to the two of them.
"Okay, here we come!"
Xu Fenglei turned around with a smile, looking expectant.
This was also the first time he ate at an ordinary Turkic home. Previously, Jieli Khan and the others only ate roasted mutton, roasted beef and the like. They were extremely luxurious and did not represent the people at the bottom.
Now this meal is a real Turkic specialty.
The two of them entered the tent, where the firewood had already been lit and crackling.
Tudor's mother's name is Shezhe, which means pearl in Turkic language.
I saw her holding a few rough bowls, beating a few bowls of sticky vegetables from the bucket, and handed them to Xu Fenglei and Li Chengqian.
Tudor distributed the cheese to the two of them.
"Dear guest, poor hospitality."
She Zhe said apologetically,
"Originally, there were distinguished guests coming to our house. According to our Turkic custom, the lambs were to be slaughtered, but this year's sheep have not given birth yet. Tuduo's father and brother have gone to herd far away, and it may take a few days before they come back."
"So...that's all I can do, please forgive me."
"You two wait a moment, I'm going to get a piece of bacon."
After saying that, she got up to get the meat.
"no, I'm fine."
Xu Fenglei continued,
"We are here to experience life. What we want is the daily food of ordinary Turkic people. If you make it too rich, our experience will be bad."
"Besides, there is little salt on the grassland. It is not easy for you to get some bacon. Don't waste it."
"Come, come, sit down."
"Is this a lotus root soup? It smells quite fragrant!"
He turned to look at Li Chengqian and said:
"Chengqian, try it."
Li Chengqian looked at the bowl of thick agarwood soup. There seemed to be some slime in it. He didn't know what it was.
He was a little embarrassed, but under Xu Fenglei's gaze, he reluctantly took a sip.
"Ahem! Ahem! Ahem..."
"What does this taste like! It's so bitter, so bitter..."
He almost vomited it while eating it!
This cabbage is mushy and has not been cooked at all! He suspected that no salt was even added!
If you just eat the original taste of the ingredients, can it be delicious?
"this……"
She Zhe pinched the hem of her skirt, feeling a little embarrassed.
"Try cheese. Cheese is better."
Seeing that he was finding it hard to swallow, Tuduo thoughtfully offered him cheese.
Li Chengqian hurriedly took the cheese and took a bite——
Good guy, my face has been completely deformed!
This cheese is so sour...his teeth are going to fall out!
"You kid, you are used to fine clothes and fine food, and I don't treat you badly even when you go out. Now, are you not used to eating the food of ordinary Turkic people?"
Xu Fenglei smiled and said,
"Although this mugwort is unpalatable, it is a rare vegetable for people on the grassland. It is just a little bitter, and everything else has its advantages."
Chiliu.
As he spoke, he took a big sip.
When I was in Moyu Mountain, I had three simple meals a day, which were similar to this.
It’s good if it can fill your stomach, but what else do you need a bicycle?
"And this cheese, you may not be able to get used to it for a while, but if you chew it, you will be happy with it."
Xu Fenglei broke off another piece of cheese and put it into his mouth, chewed it twice and said,
"Well, like me, the more you chew, the better it tastes."
Li Chengqian listened to his words and slowly tried to chew. After chewing... his face finally relaxed.
"It seems...it's really not that bad."
He scratched his head and chuckled.
Seeing him smile, mother and daughter Shezhe and Tuduo also laughed.
The four of them sat around the firewood pile, and the atmosphere was quite harmonious.
"By the way, I have a question."
Li Chengqian chewed cheese and said,
"Why is there so much feces on the pasture? Don't you even clean it up?"
"It's so disgusting to step on it...it can't be washed off, you guys don't seem to have any water..."
Tuduo pursed his lips and smiled.
"Feces is very precious!"
She explained,
"It makes the grass grow more vigorously and the cattle and sheep eat more!"
"Why should we clean up such a good thing? In the past, people would come and steal feces at night! My father beat them away!"
Li Chengqian: "???"
Stealing...feces? !
Did someone actually steal this thing?
This was really beyond his imagination.
"Don't make such a fuss. This situation exists not only in the Turks, but also in the Tang Dynasty."
Xu Fenglei said,
"Feces can increase the fertility of the land! Although it smells bad, it is a good thing!"
"Whether it is pasture or farmland, it needs the support of fertility to grow good things!"
"In the countryside of the Tang Dynasty, there was even a profession called the Dung Bao! It specialized in monopolizing feces. Even if you pooped, you had to go to the place designated by the Dung Bao, otherwise he would bully you! This is A precious resource."
Li Chengqian's eyes widened.
Do you have to control your poop?
This time he really had a knife in his butt - his eyes were opened!
"It seems that my understanding of the world is still too little, too shallow."
Li Chengqian shook his head and said,
"The world is so big and full of wonders! There is more to see!"
Xu Fenglei smiled.
"Your father may not understand this matter. After all, he is from a noble family, and he still knows too little about things in the countryside."
He said,
"Fortunately, your master and I are from a farmer's family, so I basically understand a little bit."
Li Chengqian nodded convinced.
Master knows everything about astronomy and geography, so there is nothing he doesn’t understand!
When She Zhe heard the conversation between the two, her eyes could not help but shine.
Just the words 'noble origin' contain a lot of information!
"Aunt Shezhe, then I still have a doubt."
Li Chengqian said again,
"Why do you want to go far away for grazing? I think the pasture here is very fertile."
"Isn't it allowed to graze outside the house?"
She Zhe came back to her senses when she heard Li Chengqian calling her.
"Tuduo knows this."
She smiled and said,
"Tuduo, tell him."
Tu Duo nodded, turned to look at Li Chengqian, and said:
"Because sheep eat grass roots! If you keep sheep grazing near your home, the grass here will be eaten up very quickly! It will be bare!"
"So...the sheep must be herded in circles and where the grass grows high! We Turks have rules!"
When Li Chengqian heard this, he suddenly realized.
"I see, I've learned a lot..."
He nodded repeatedly and asked again,
"Then there are a few more questions. Where are you going to get water?"
"Also, besides selling things at the market, what else do you do on weekdays? Do you have any other activities? Do you go horse riding on the grassland?"
"besides……"
Li Chengqian now turned into a curious baby and caught Tuduo and asked him several questions.
Tuduo was also very patient and answered them one by one.
Seeing the two boys and girls chatting enthusiastically, Xu Fenglei and She Zhe didn't bother them. They both ate mugwort, gnawed cheese, and listened to their conversation.
She Zhe also glanced at Li Chengqian from time to time, with a bit of a smile in his eyes.
…
That night.
She Zhe held two blankets and placed them in front of Li Chengqian and Xu Fenglei.
"This is his father's old blanket, and his brother's. The distinguished guest will make do with it."
"It's cold in the grassland at night. Let's put some fires next to you. Let's sleep outside."
As she spoke, she casually pulled up a curtain.
A tent that was not big in the first place was split into two.
Inside, there were Xu Fenglei and Li Chengqian, and a fire that was still warm.
Outside, there were She Zhe and Tu Duo. They were close to the door and huddled in a blanket.
Obviously, they plan to suffer a little while letting their guests have a relatively comfortable sleeping environment.
"Why is this so embarrassing?"
Xu Fenglei declined and said,
"Why should we two grown men sleep outside? You girls should sleep inside. It's safer and warmer."
She Zhe smiled and shook his head.
"You guys go to sleep, we can't let our guests sleep outside."
She said,
"Also, her father doesn't know when he will come back. If he comes back at night and doesn't see us, but sees two strange men, it would be dangerous."
"So it's better for us to sleep outside so that we can explain it later."
"Two distinguished guests, please go to bed early. The deeper the night, the harder it will be to sleep."
Tuduo also nodded.
"Brother Gao Ming, go to sleep!"
"I'll take you riding tomorrow! My little pony is so happy!"
The friendship between boys and girls always develops quickly. At this moment, brothers and sisters are calling.
When Li Chengqian heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up.
"Okay, okay! I'm going to sleep now! I'm going to ride a horse tomorrow!"
He happily crossed the curtain and lay down inside.
Xu Fenglei slightly arched his hands and said politely:
"Then it's all down to you two to entertain us."
"Where is your distinguished guest?"
The two sides exchanged polite words, and he also went behind the curtain.
However, unlike Li Chengqian, Xu Fenglei did not choose to lie down, but crossed his legs and began to meditate.
When you go out and live in a place like this, you must be vigilant.
Instead of being on guard against Shezhe Tuduo and her daughter, they also had to be on guard against other unexpected events. After all, this was on the grassland, and the guards following them were far away, so it would be impossible to arrive immediately if something happened.
Therefore, he planned to let Li Chengqian have a good sleep.
I followed the cultivation method Sun Simiao taught me, put my hands together, supported the Laogong point with my thumbs, and meditated cross-legged.
"What is the first step in meditation?"
"Uh...get rid of distracting thoughts?"
Xu Fenglei muttered in his heart and closed his eyes.
After a while, a voice came:
"Master, what are you doing?"
The sound was very low, like the chirping of a mosquito, and only Xu Fenglei could hear it.
"You're not sleeping yet, what are you doing?"
Xu Fenglei raised his eyelids slightly and said,
"Go to sleep! Aren't you going to go horse riding tomorrow?"
Li Chengqian rubbed his eyes.
"That blanket stinks so much that I can't sleep..."
"I heard from Tuduo that Turkic people don't take a few baths in their lives. It's terrible..."
he muttered.
Xu Fenglei smiled.
It's normal for this delicate prince to be uncomfortable living here.
"Then what are you going to do?" he asked.
"Master, let's have a chat..."
Li Chengqian whispered,
"It's more peaceful to rely on you."
"What do you think of this grassland?"
The corners of Xu Fenglei's mouth raised slightly.
"It's in line with expectations. After all, I have spent a lot of time here and conquered this land."
He smiled lightly and said,
"What do you think?"
Li Chengqian looked bitter.
"I feel...not very comfortable."
His voice became even lower, for fear of being heard by Tu Duo and She Zhe.
"Didn't I want to be a Turkic chief before? Now it seems that being a Turk is too hard."
"It's delicious even though I don't have anything to eat, and I have to sleep in a tent like this. The howling at night and the wind are so noisy!"
"The most important thing is... I can't take a shower yet! I'm sweating today and my body is sticky, but I still have to sleep in that smelly blanket."
“I feel like it’s not as comfortable as an ordinary person in Chang’an.”
Xu Fenglei chuckled lightly.
"But... to say it is good, there are also good points."
Li Chengqian said again,
"For example, the wind here is really comfortable, the grassland is really wide, and it makes people feel relaxed and happy!"
"When you look up, you can see the sky full of stars! The stars here are brighter than those in Chang'an!"
"Going to the pasture and galloping horses, it must be very happy!"
"...All in all, there are beautiful things, but many things I never thought of before coming here, but they are the real life that I want to experience."
Xu Fenglei nodded slightly and listened quietly.
At this time, he just needs to be a good listener.
"The comfort is temporary, and the joy is temporary. At other times, there are many difficulties and hardships to face."
Li Chengqian said,
"So... I don't want to be a Turkic chief anymore."
"If possible, I would like to come and have some fun in the future, ride a horse and see the grassland."
Xu Fenglei raised his eyebrows.
"Really?" he said seriously.
"Really! More real than gold!"
Li Chengqian said hurriedly,
"My child will never think about such unrealistic things again! Master, please rest assured!"
"Now I feel... my family is the best!"
Xu Fenglei laughed and touched his head.
"If you think so, it's not in vain for your master to accompany you for a walk."
He said,
"Okay, go and rest, you're tired."
"Let's make do with one night's sleep. After the horseback riding tomorrow, we will return to Chang'an. I'm afraid your father and mother will already be thinking about you!"
(End of chapter)
