Just as Mu Achen was about to go watch Gou Dan sing folk songs to find a wife, cheers erupted from Huashanchang.
"Thank you, Ah Chen! Thank you, Holy Maiden!"
Around the flower field, hundreds of young men and women bowed and offered their greetings in unison towards Achen and Amo.
At this moment, the Miao people already knew that Achen and the Holy Maiden had arrived.
Not only that, Ah Chen also offered silver bars as a reward for the winner.
The silver bar, a reward from the future Miao King, will hold extraordinary significance for whichever Miao person wins it.
With Ah Chen's prize being offered, the atmosphere at Huashan venue completely exploded.
Because of the generous prizes, the difficulty of the competition naturally increases.
The contestants who climb backwards and those who climb forwards meet in one group. The winner receives a silver bar in addition to the original prize.
So when the drums and gongs sounded, all nine Miao men in the competition gave it their all.
Ah Chen, watching the exciting and competitive scene and hearing the cheers and encouragement from the sidelines, felt a strong urge to join in. He simply turned around and went to the other side of the Lusheng field, out of sight, out of mind, and also to see how Gou Dan was doing.
Seeing Ah Chen scratching his head in frustration, Ah Mo smiled, a charming smile.
"Once you've fully recovered and are feeling better, you can go play again if you want. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future."
"Why!"
Mu Achen's long sigh probably stemmed from some regret about ruining his health, as it had prevented him from doing much important work.
It's mainly about Amo.
But as soon as Amo saw Mu Achen's smile, she knew that Mu Achen must be overthinking things again.
There were also several hundred people at the Lusheng field.
Every year at the Flower Mountain Festival, in addition to climbing flower poles, there are also bullfighting, antiphonal singing, and other activities.
Standing on high ground, Ah Chen, guided by Ah Mo, successfully spotted Gou Dan in the crowd.
At this moment, Gou Dan was walking around looking at the girls, his shifty eyes clearly indicating that he was looking for a target.
"Dog Egg is a bit young! But if he meets a girl he likes, they can get engaged first," Amo said.
Ah Chen remarked with emotion, "I watched him pee and play in the mud, I never imagined he'd be singing folk songs and getting engaged to a girl."
“Especially this year, he grew very tall.”
Amo didn't bother to pay attention to the words Achen was using. Anyway, it was just her and Achen in their spot, so they weren't afraid of being overheard by the other Miao people.
"Dog Egg wasn't this tall last year during the Drum Festival, but why do you all call him Dog Egg? I don't think that's his real name."
"His name is A-Jun! Mu A-Jun! When he was little, he always barked like a dog to scare the other kids, so we've called him Dog Egg ever since."
Amo suddenly realized what was going on and immediately looked down at the lively Lusheng field.
“Look, Ah Chen, Gou Dan has already started singing folk songs with the girl from Xi Que Miao! Although we can’t hear the lyrics, look at the girl’s reaction. Gou Dan might not succeed.”
The antiphonal singing at the Flower Mountain Festival is actually a way for young women and unmarried Miao men to get to know each other, understand each other, and express their affection.
Whether they succeed depends on whether the lyrics of the Miao folk songs they sing are sincere.
However, during this period, if unmarried Miao men and women take a liking to each other, and the Miao men express their affections, they will immediately exchange tokens of love.
This token is also an important step in the engagement process.
Then comes a series of customary rituals, until the couple is engaged and their lives are settled.
Miao weddings are simply complicated in terms of etiquette, but they lack the material realities of those outside the mountains that are tied to money.
In Miao areas, people are free to choose their partners and marry freely.
The parents will only offer their opinions and will not interfere; the girl can choose whatever she likes herself.
Among the Miao people, there are no divorces, only widowhoods.
In remote mountain villages, where only sons-in-law are accepted, the girls give the young men a dowry and so on.
The procession to fetch the bride was led by the girl, and the girl carried the Miao groom home on her back.
However, among the different marriage customs of the Miao people, the one that Mu Achen disapproves of the most is the walking marriage.
He had only seen the customs of some branches of the twelve tribes.
But when Mu Achen saw the scene on the road, he didn't feel any joy; instead, he felt a desolate and heartbreaking feeling.
"What's wrong, Ah Chen?"
Amo noticed that Achen's mood had dipped for a moment, so she quickly asked him what was wrong and even paid attention to Achen's expression.
"It's nothing, I just suddenly thought of something else."
Ah Chen waved his hand, shifting his gaze from Gou Dan in the crowd, and said to Ah Mo, "Gou Dan has been circling around that girl from the Magpie Miao tribe. I guess he's taken a liking to her. Let's find out which village of the Magpie Miao tribe that girl is from!"
"What, you want to help Gou Dan steal it?"
"Moon Creek Village of the Magpie Miao is an indispensable part of our ambitious plan, so when the time comes, I want to go there in person. If the girl that Gou Dan likes is from that area, wouldn't it be perfect to snatch her away!"
Hearing this, Amo nodded with a smile, "Why do you always like to snatch things? How about Amo lets you snatch one this time? So you won't always be thinking about snatching!"
"I'll never steal again in my life!"
"I'll steal it again in my next life."
"I'll steal it in my next life!"
*Pfft*
Amo smiled and pinched Achen's cheek. "Little prince, how can you be so cute! You've even thought about your next life."
The "stealing" that Mu Achen mentioned refers to the clandestine marriage among the Miao people.
Stealing a marriage is also a custom among the Miao people.
Whether it's stealing or robbing, the atmosphere is pretty much the same, but a clandestine marriage is more exciting.
While they were talking about these things, cheers and applause erupted from Huashan Field, lasting for a long time.
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