The place where Song Siyuan and the others stood was the highest stone platform in the village. There was only withered wild forest at higher places.
After climbing up, you can clearly see that most of the houses in the village have similar shapes. The "human" eaves on three sides slope downward, forming countless large and small "日" houses with yellow walls and gray tiles. They are scattered on stone platforms, like Buddhist niches and stone statues. They are arranged on the mountainside.
It was already dusk and the sun was setting, and countless withered winter trees left their shadows in the sun, like ghosts and beasts swaggering on the back of the yellow wall. It was dazzling to see, as if there were real shadows of ghosts and beasts circling and jumping.
They wanted to continue walking up the mountain, but something was falling overhead. Yue Guanchao touched his forehead, and the raindrops wiped the ground and felt cool.
"It looks like it's going to rain soon. Let's go back quickly."
Song Siyuan looked at Tang Dayang and asked curiously: "Raining? It just snowed a few days ago."
"Ms. Song, it only rains in the Qinling Mountains in winter. The mountains here are very foggy, and it's easy for hail to rain. This kind of rain mixed with snow particles is so cold that it can freeze people to death if it hits the body."
While Tang Dayang was talking, the icy rain gradually became thicker and pitter-pattered on them. Everyone had to hide from the rain while running to Old Man Tang's house. When they returned to the house, their faces and bodies were already soaked with a lot of snow and ice chips. Sure enough, It was so cold that even if I put on several layers of cotton-padded jackets, I could still feel the coldness, especially where the top of my head was directly hit by the rain. It was so cold that my scalp was numb.
In the backyard, Yue Guanchao picked up firewood and burned the fire walls of each house. When the fire walls warmed up a little, they felt that the room was not so cold.
"Big boy, there is ginger buried in the earthen jar in the kitchen. Go get a few pieces and boil them in water. It's not a joke to get your head wet in the freezing rain. Just drink the ginger water and cover your sweat."
After listening to this, Tang Dayang walked from the house under the eaves to the front yard. There was indeed a large vat near the stove. It was filled with soft loess, with ingredients such as onions, ginger, and garlic buried in it. The fertility of the soil was there, and as long as it was watered Moisturized, these vegetables are less likely to wilt and turn yellow.
He peeled and cut the ginger into pieces, boiled a large pot with brown sugar in a large iron pot, picked up a large bowl and filled them all with ginger water, and they were indeed much warmer after drinking it.
Song Siyuan stood by the window and looked outside the house. Ice rain was falling down, and she could see countless silver-white bead curtains rustling, falling from the clouds into the mundane world. Once they fell on the eaves, they would surely slip from the gray tiles and flow into the yard. There are low-lying ditches and there is no mud in the yard even if it rains.
"This house is in good repair. Rainwater flows into the ditch, probably into the wellhead."
When Song Siyuan first entered the yard, she inadvertently glanced inside the well. There were several square drainage outlets below the well head, which were probably where the yard's canals collected water.
Tang Dayang was heating the firewood stove and introduced: "These inward-sloping eaves are called herringbone eaves, which is a popular architectural style after the Tang Dynasty. The temperature on the Loess Plateau is high and the rain is scarce. Once it rains, it can be regarded as rain from the sky, and the people are not Not wanting to waste rainwater, we changed the eaves into a "half-fan shape". The eaves slope downward along the back wall, allowing all the rainwater to be directed into the yard.
"Some people will lead water channels into water cellars, and some will dig water wells to store them for daily use. It's okay near Xijing. There are many green plains and no shortage of water. Go to the Loess Plateau in northern Shaanxi and have a look. Every household there has a saliva cellar."
"But, nearby is the Taiyi River Valley, and there is no shortage of water here at all."
The Taiyi Valley Valley has abundant water, and even flows directly into Zhongnan Mountain. The valley where they are located also has water channels, so there is no shortage of water.
"Miss Song, it is true that water can be obtained from the Taiyi Valley River. However, the water is bitter and has a fishy smell. It can only be used for washing and washing. If you want to cook, it cannot be used at all. This sweet water well is only for drinking water. At the same time, once it is drained, It can also draw out excess rainwater and store it in wells, so that no matter whether it is a lean year or a good year, water can be guaranteed.”
Sun Daqiao listened to Tang Dayang's introduction. After drinking the ginger soup, his body gradually recovered and he complimented: "This is where the soil and water support the people."
"It's just that I don't understand why the mountain spring water is the clearest and sweetest. Why is the water in the Taiyi Valley so bitter and hard to swallow? Maybe it's also cursed by the Soul Palace."
After hearing what Sun Daqiao said, Tang Dayang quickly waved his hand: "That has nothing to do with the Soul Palace. The water in the Taiyi Valley is sour and bitter. Ordinary people will have abdominal pain after drinking it. Everyone in the tribe knows that this water is not drinkable, and no one has to take it. Cook with the water in the valley."
“I still don’t know why the water in this valley is not drinkable.”
Song Siyuan listened to his words and guessed casually: "The river water is sour and bitter. It may be because there are more metal impurities in it. Generally speaking, this kind of river water flows out of rock formations, which means that the rock formations are likely to contain some gold and silver ores." , their impurities melt into the water, making the river water so unpleasant to drink."
"Are you so sure?"
Yue Guanchao didn't quite believe her statement.
Song Siyuan nodded to everyone and explained quite seriously: "Of course, remember the Jinsha Creek we met in Tiesha Mountain. When we washed the lynx skins, the taste of the water was almost the same as here. I just It can be said that the guess is so, it is not surprising that there are many valleys in the Qinling Mountains and there are gold and silver ore rock formations."
