Chapter 58 Migratory Birds 753
Gojo Satoru didn't stay in the village for long. After laying the anti-slip tiles in the basement, he left the next day.
Gong Zhili just thought he was passing by and wanted to eat for free. One meal in exchange for the basement floor was a good deal. She didn't care what Gojo was going to do. After all, she also found out that in addition to ordering the people around him around, Gojo also left her with a lot of difficult tasks.
But those are things to consider later. Gong Zhili decided to let things take their course. Her basement is about to be completed, and that is the most important thing right now!
With the finishing touches on the basement floor complete, she began checking drainage, installing doors and window panes, lighting, and bringing in shelving.
The basement light strip is simple because it has natural light from the windows and only requires lighting on the innermost wall.
In the innermost corner, she built a cement pool about half a meter high and one meter long and wide, and covered it with clean sand. This place will be used to store vegetables in the future. Straw is all that is needed to keep it warm. Carrots, pumpkins, potatoes, and cabbages can all be placed here, and they are easy to separate.
This pool occupies the innermost corner, and one meter away from it is a sealed storage cabinet that occupies the remaining half of the wall. Camphor wood strips are placed inside to prevent insects. Gong Zhili puts the mats that are not used now and the quilts that have been made in excess in it, and also hangs the summer clothes of the five children in it. With three more children in the family, the number of daily necessities and clothes has almost exploded. As soon as the basement was repaired, she quickly hung all the clothes in the cabinet. This kind of cabinet was specially made by her in the style of the student cabinets in school. The space above is for bedding and the space below is for hanging children's clothes. Of course, it is much larger than the narrow cabinets in school. Everyone's cabinet is tall enough. In another corner, she has equipped it with a movable step ladder. When they grow up, they will have to organize their own cabinets.
In the center of the room, she placed several parallel, movable shelves, leaving ample walking space between them. As usual, the shelves were divided into spaces of varying sizes. This time, she installed sliding doors with locks—the most expensive part! However, for the children's safety, they would come to the basement to get things, so the shelves had to be organized.
These shelves are the main storage for household items. The items on each shelf are clearly classified, including daily necessities such as food and clothing, rice, flour, oil and dry goods, tools, electrical appliances, and daily materials. Even in the basement, Gong Zhili is very picky about organization. Not only are the shelves divided, but they are also labeled. Several children have helped her run errands between the house and the basement in the past few days. They are not only familiar with the arrangement of the shelves, but also with the types of items in the house. Gong Zhili believes that asking them to help get things in the future will save her a lot of trouble.
There are two bright windows in the basement, one on either side of the door. She installed a folding workbench under the east window. The table top is a flip-top table that can be folded and fixed against the wall when not in use. On the other side, she made a drying rod hanging from the ceiling. When there is sunshine in winter, she can take out the clothes in the closet and dry them in the sun.
Thinking of this, she added a schedule to her plan to make a few more drying poles. There were so many mattresses at home, and it would take a lot of space just to dry them.
She took all the children through the various functions of the basement. Finally, she stood at the basement door with a very leadership style and gave a speech to the children: "...So, you should participate more in family activities in the future. Everyone is a part of the family!"
The little kids, with an average age of less than four, waved their fists: "Oh!"
In fact, he didn't understand much, but he was happy when he heard the word "family". Megumi Fushiguro also didn't understand much but inexplicably agreed with it; Miki Fushiguro was worried about whether it was really okay for her younger brothers and sisters to work; and the twins who now have more strength than their other sisters and brothers. They live happily every day and are happy to agree with whatever Miya Chiri says.
Gong Zhili had his fill of public speaking and was ready to take them into the mountains to look for succulents.
The weather is getting colder, and if I wait any longer, I won't be able to plant pots for my three children. What? You said there are more important things to do before winter comes? For example, the carrots, water spinach, garlic sprouts, and cabbage in the fields are all harvested, so I shouldn't waste time on fun?
Gong Zhili said that she had already set the harvest time and was just waiting for the students from the technical college to arrive.
The forests at this time are more active than usual. In order to survive the winter, animals come out to forage in large numbers, either to store food or fat. From time to time, squirrels run across the treetops above their heads. They also watched a group of macaques gathering together to look for nuts and even migrate down the mountain.
When food was scarce, they would venture close to human settlements to look for food, but after Gong Zhili arrived, they no longer lacked food. They moved downwards purely because their natural enemies had also become stronger. They went to lower places because there was a richer variety of food there.
Watching the macaques moving in groups of three or five and listening to Gong Zhili's explanation, the children became excited. Tiger Stick asked, "Are there wild boars in the mountains?"
Gong Zhili then patiently taught them again how to identify animal footprints in the forest, marks left on trees, and the ground dug up by wild boars' noses.
They also saw a Japanese marten coming out of a tree hole. Tsu Miki held his breath and watched it disappear among the bushes, asking, "Why aren't they afraid of us?" They were not far away when they observed it.
Gong Zhili smiled: "Because I am next to you, they will subconsciously ignore us."
Just a little trick, not worth mentioning.
After digging up the plants they wanted, they saw another scene when they returned to the village.
At first, a low, continuous humming sound came from the sky, quickly expanding to fill the space above the valley. It was not wind, but the sound of countless wings flapping.
At this time, everyone who was still outside stopped what they were doing. Gong Zhili put his hand on Tsu Miki's shoulder and said, "Pay attention to the sky."
Deep in the sky, as far as they could see, a few shifting shadows emerged, then rapidly spread and converged. A vast flock of birds, like a surging tide, poured down from the northern skyline. There were geese, forming their signature wedge formations; there were flocks of wild ducks, in even denser and more chaotic formations; and there were even larger swans, their long necks and broad wings spread out.
This migrating torrent, carrying the fatigue of a long flight and an unquestionable purpose, headed straight for the vast and beautiful lake in the village.
The leading geese lowered their altitude, their massive formation circling and disbanding. High-pitched, short honking calls crisscrossed the air, guiding and echoing. The first goose folded its wings, creating ripples as it landed on the water. Then came the second, the third... thousands upon thousands!
It was as if the sky was collapsing onto the lake. Countless dark shadows descended like a torrential downpour. Suddenly, the sounds of "splash" and "thump" of water cascading into the water echoed, shattering the tranquil surface of the lake, stirring up endless ripples and tiny splashes.
They barely paused; once in the water, they plunged into a frantic foraging frenzy. The entire lake became a vast, boisterous feeding ground. The splashing of wings, the low, contented chirps, and the occasional short, sharp cry of competition for food, mixed with the clatter of the water and echoed in the chilly twilight. The air was filled with the scent of water vapor, birds, and lake mud.
This grand scene made everyone who witnessed it stop and stare for a long time. It was not until the sky darkened and they could hardly see their movements that Gong Zhili said, "Go back."
The village was lit up in the deepening night, and the children were discussing these long-distance travelers enthusiastically.
They wanted to know what kind of birds these were, why they came here, how long they stayed there, what they ate, were they well fed, and could they feed them?
The children had so many questions that the dinner table had never been so lively. After Gong Zhili acted as an "encyclopedia", he decided to send them to kindergarten next year to torture the teachers.
After they finish primary school in the village and learn some social common sense, they go to the school founded by Gojo for middle school.
Gong Zhili looked at the children in front of him who had finally quieted down and were eating, and planned their future in his mind.
The next day, when she went to the village to participate in the children's Shichi-Go-San shrine, the villagers beamed with gratitude and thanked her once again. Miya Chiri asked the village chief what was going on, and he smiled back, explaining, "In the past, the migratory birds in the village only stayed overnight before flying away. But this time, they were still resting and feeding in the lake during the day. Everyone said it was because the lake was rich in food, so they stayed longer, and it was a good omen."
Especially since the timing happened to be when they were taking their children to visit the shrine, it was a very auspicious thing. They generally believed that their children would grow up better in this fertile land.
Gong Zhili: In a sense, it makes sense.
This time on Shichigosan, the children visited a recently built shrine in the village. It had everything one would expect, and enshrined the well-behaved Amaterasu. When they were building the shrine, they asked Miya Chiri if they wanted to move to the back of the shrine, but Miya Chiri refused.
The shrine is now cleaned and maintained by the villagers, and she doesn't want to be a shrine maiden and sweep the floor in the shrine every day.
However, since she came to the shrine today to bless the children, she still wore her newly bought shrine maiden costume.
Her hair was meticulously tied back, and her loose white dress and long red hakama completely reshaped her silhouette, obscuring her slender curves and leaving only a solemn, simple geometric sense. The neckline was raised high, revealing only her well-defined jawline and light-colored lips.
The village lacked a priest, simplifying the process. Miya Chiri, dressed in a clean red and white miko robe, stood alone before the shrine's simple prayer hall. Sunlight filtered through the branches of the ancient trees, casting dappled spots of light at her feet. Children, dressed in vibrant kimonos or haori hakama, approached her one by one, hand-in-hand with their families, a mixture of curiosity and nervousness.
Gong Zhili nodded slightly, and holding a thin and long purification string, she gently waved it left and right over the child's head and in front of his body, silently reciting a few short purification words.
There was supposed to be a prayer to the gods, but Miyajima herself didn't believe in them. She felt the village children's prayers would be more effective if they addressed her rather than the gods, so she skipped that step. No one objected. Then, from the lacquer tray she had prepared beside her, she took a long, long-lived candy. It was meticulously wrapped in a red and white paper bag with auspicious patterns and tied with a string. She crouched slightly, bringing her eyes to the child's level, and handed the candy to him.
"Please accept this blessing." Her voice was low, clear and gentle, like water flowing over pebbles. "The village will bless you with health, prosperity, peace and happiness, year after year."
The village = her territory. Living in her territory, as a lord, she would take time to visit them and ensure that they would not suffer too much misfortune.
No villager refuted her words. They really felt that living in the village was better than anywhere else.
They could believe in the gods, but they also had to be pragmatic. The child accepted the Chitose candy and, as instructed by their parents, bowed briefly to the shrine maiden. Miya Chiri bowed slightly in return, a warm, encouraging smile on her face. The ceremony was complete.
Some of the children in the village can participate in the Shichigosan, while some, because of their age, can only stand by the open space and watch. The child whose turn it will be to participate in the Shichigosan next year is envious and expectant. He grabs his mother's hand and asks, "Can I also wear new clothes and get the Thousand Years Candy from Lord Gong next year?" His eyes are full of warm anticipation. After receiving an affirmative answer from his parents, he can't help but tiptoe to look forward, as if he can see himself standing there next year.
An eight-year-old girl, who celebrated Shichi-Go-San last year, was a bit depressed. She had celebrated Shichi-Go-San at the town shrine last year, and she wanted to be blessed by the palace...
Even the most mischievous boys would quiet down at this time and would not laugh at the children in the ceremony.
Itadori said to Megumi Fushiguro, "We will be able to participate next year."
Fushiguro Megumi murmured "hmm" softly. Nanako, her elder sister Mimiko and Tsumiki at home had to grow up to seven years old before they could participate in the ceremony presided over by their elder sister Chiri. The two of them would be able to participate next year, which made him feel a little embarrassed and secretly happy.
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The author has something to say: La la la la eating ~
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