Crossing the Sixers

Fortunately, Thorne's soup was worthy of his status as a witch doctor. Li Shihao recovered within a few days after drinking it, leaving only a faint scar on his thigh.But after this incident, Bai Yufei would rather be hungry than allow him to go hunting, and even followed him to the animal shed to grab food.

In fact, going out to hunt has become impossible.The snow kept falling and the weather was suddenly cold. Even a strong male like Atu couldn't stand it, so he tried to stay out of the house as little as possible.

But it’s okay if you don’t hunt for a day or two. The snow season lasts for four long months, and it’s only been one month now. What do you eat for the rest of the time?

Finally, under the coordination of the leader Su Mo, several groups of the Yihe Tribe redistributed food, and those who had enough in the family gave some to those who were not.The males headed by An Lie, Atu, Huo Ying, etc. formed a hunting group to catch as many large animals as possible, such as pigs and cattle.

An Lie was not at home, Xu Jian was a little bored.Li Shihao's face was cold and his heart was hot, and Xiaobai was kind-hearted by nature, so the two of them pulled him along, and Murong and Gao Shuai visited the elderly living alone in several settlements of the Yihe tribe.After two days, they found that the problem was quite serious.

The food supply of the Yihe tribe is not enough to starve the elderly and children, and the place where they live is not enough to freeze people to death, but the severe cold is indeed not something that the elderly can endure. Several elderly females Been sick, and an elderly male who was injured when he was young, as were several children.They had no relatives, and they couldn't hire a witch doctor when they fell ill in bed. However, Thorne, the witch doctor, liked to shut himself at home and would not take the initiative to come to the door.

Xu Jian ran back and forth to invite Thorne several times. He didn't know what he was busy with, and every time he was interrupted, he angrily opened the door with a gloomy face.No matter how thick-skinned Xu Jian was, he couldn't take it anymore, so he simply took some herbs from his pharmacy and handed them to Bai Yufei for processing.

After a few days of busy work, the young and old of the Yihe tribe finally realized the serious consequences of colds, the prevention that should be prevented, and the treatment that should be treated.Disabled males, half males and females who live alone are assigned to families to take care of them. Some elderly and children who were ill before were cured and soon recovered, except for an elderly male named Artest, who was better than the witch doctor Thorne. Even older, I can no longer walk steadily and steadily, and my eyes are somewhat blurred.After this cold, he did not get better after taking the decoction, and he lay down on the bed dying, thin to a handful of bones.

The most pitiful thing is that he obviously still has a breath, but because he can't chew the meat and can't eat, he is about to starve to death.

When Xu Jian heard what Bai Yufei said, he immediately ran back to the small villa.

In fact, he has a relationship with this old male named Artest.When they came to the Yihe tribe before, they were regarded as different by the old people here, squeezed out, questioned, and even insulted. Only Artest showed kindness to them.That day when Xu Jian went to dig vegetables, he was chased by an elderly female who scolded them for bringing disaster and told them to get out.Xu Jian couldn't care less about an old woman, so the old male who was sitting at the door of his dilapidated house basking in the sun stood up tremblingly and scolded the old female.

Later Xu Jian met Artest several times.He has no relatives, and all his friends of the same age have passed away. Usually, he can only eat some broth and vegetable soup from his neighbors, sit at the door and bask in the sun. Occasionally, when a child passes by, he makes a small thing made of straw and rattan by himself. Give it to the children.

Xu Jian delivered food to Artest several times, and also washed his clothes and cleaned up the house for him, just like visiting the elderly in the nursing home when he was doing public welfare in college.But what Artest returned to him was not only thanks, but also his nearly [-]-year-old experience.

It was also from Atai that Xu Jian knew that there was a Shixia tribe to the east of the Black Lake, a Yinsha tribe to the northeast of the Yihe tribe, and a Longshi tribe to the northeast, and a Liuzhi tribe to the north of the Chisha tribe. The male has six fingers on each hand... Passing through the canyon on the southwest edge of the Dothan tribe, one month away from the Yihe tribe is the endless sea. It is said that the people of the tribe by the sea can turn their lower body into scaly something like a fish...

Artest can sing many songs, which he said were passed down from his ancestors, which means praising the Yi River, praising the forest, and praising the two mountains to the south and north of the Yi River.

Artest was a good hunter when he was young. He used to wander around, saw many ferocious beasts, and knew how to deal with the unpredictable dangers in the forest.He even drew some pictures to show Xu Jian, poisonous insects, giant pythons, birds in the forest... and plants that can kill people, Artest told Xu Jian how to deal with these dangers.

Such an old man is actually a rare wise man in the Yihe tribe.

He was experienced, insightful, impartial, and quick-witted, just too old.

Although he was about to die from the aging brought by the long years, Xu Jian still felt guilty that he didn't care enough for the old man.Although such severe cold is the power of nature, there is also an unshirkable responsibility for people who get sick and eventually die due to the severe cold.Xu Jian didn't think he was doing well enough, he couldn't save the old man's life, but he couldn't let Artest go through the cold and then suffer from hunger.

When Xu Jian was making noodles, An Lie and the others came back from hunting, and the harvest seemed to be not small, at least hundreds of people would not be hungry for several days.An Lie followed him to the small villa, and after hearing Murong and the others talk about Artest, he went to the kitchen to help Xu Jian.

Artest had given the young An Lie a few meals back then, and An Lie thought he should also contribute.

There was not much flour left, so Xu Jian made a noodle soup for Artai, and An Lie cooked a porridge, which boiled the rice grains into pieces, so they could be swallowed without chewing.

On the way to Artest's house with food, Xu Jian was depressed and didn't say a word.

An Lie hugged him by the shoulders to comfort him: "Grandpa Artai is 170 years old, and there are no people his age in the neighboring tribes. Everyone he knows has gone to see the beast god, but he is actually very lonely in his life. I think he should be very happy to be able to reunite with his relatives and good friends at the Beast God."

"Didn't you say that natural death is the real destination..."

"Ajian, you have to remember that he was sick because he was too old, and he was about to die, not because of the cold. So many old people died silently? No? Yes, their bodies were old, and they died of all sorts of indistinct diseases. It's just that they died without pain."

"...I hope he can eat these things, even if... he can leave happily."

"Grandpa Artest will like it."

In fact, Artest really likes it.He had eaten the white steamed buns sent by Xu Jian before, but the steamed buns were a bit difficult for his teeth to bite.The noodles Xu Jian sent were so rotten that they had to be eaten with a spoon, but they tasted so good that Artest ate them all, and even drank half a bowl of rice porridge.

After dinner, Xu Jian and An Lie talked with him, Artest leaned against the head of the bed, shaking his hands tremblingly, expressing his regret.

"It's a pity that I didn't learn the characters you taught me, Ajian, otherwise I could write everything in my head... So many songs, so many things from a long time ago... and the female A Yuan from the tribe by the sea, hehe, She insisted on me staying... Maybe her grandsons have all given birth to grandchildren..."

"Grandpa Artai, when we have the opportunity to go to the tribe you mentioned, we will help you ask that female named A Yuan."

"Okay. Then remember to help me go to her grave and give her a flower. I want a red one...Can you help me give my partner one too? He likes blue ones..."

"it is good."

Artest fell asleep contentedly, and suddenly woke up in the middle of the night, embarrassed to say that he was a little hungry, and asked Xu Jian, who was standing by, if he had any noodles left.Fortunately, Xu Jian prepared an extra serving, so he took it to Artest's kitchen to heat it up, let it cool outside, and fed him with a spoon.

After Artest finished eating the noodles, he sincerely praised "Your Earth Tribe is such a good place".Before going to bed, he still muttered, saying that the Earth Tribe must be too far away so he hadn’t been there, otherwise he would have stayed there to eat noodles every day.

Artest did not forget to tell Xu Jian—"If one day you want to return to the earth tribe, remember to take An Lie away...he is really a good boy..."

Xu Jian held back his tears.An Lie stood behind him, with one arm around his shoulder, shaking slightly.

After suffering all night, Xu Jian fell asleep at dawn.It seemed that it didn't take long for him to be awakened by An Lie's shaking.An Lie's expression was dignified, with a bit of sadness, Xu Jian immediately understood.

On the bed, Artest closed his eyes tightly, and seemed to be sleeping very peacefully, with a smile on his lips.

But he has indeed left this world.

Artai's funeral is very simple. In the cemetery in the tribal custom, a pit is dug, a person is buried in it, a stone is pressed on it, and a mark is made on the stone so that relatives and friends can worship.Beside him is Artest's half-male companion, who has been dead for many years.

There were no flowers in the snow season, so Xu Jian asked An Lie to carve a rose flower out of wood, and Bai Yufei to help make it blue with gum, and put one in front of the tombs of Artest and his partner.

According to the Chinese custom, Xu Jian gave Artest a sacrifice, which was a bowl of chicken noodle soup with vegetables and poached eggs. The fragrance wafted in the wind and snow and spread far, far away.

"Grandpa Artai, don't worry. I will record what you told me and give it to the children of the tribe. From now on, this will be the history of the Yihe tribe... Also, no matter where I am, I will always take it with me. Anlie, don't worry."

He looked up at An Lie, and the two of them looked into each other's eyes and showed bright smiles at the same time.