"What other activities are there?"
After watching several adrenaline-pumping events in a row, Song Shuxi, who usually likes quietness, felt a little dizzy and urgently needed to find a quiet place to rest for a while.
Wei Jianguo entrusted the two children to Liu Xinguo and his wife, and stayed to accompany his wife.
Seeing his wife looking a little dazed, Wei Jianguo suggested, "Why don't we go back to the car and take a nap? There will be an archery competition later. It's a traditional fixed-target archery competition. Do you want to participate?"
"Should we shoot arrows while standing at a designated position, or shoot arrows while riding a horse?"
"The kind that stands in a designated position."
After hearing this answer, Song Shuqian suddenly lost interest. She felt that this kind of archery was not fun at all.
"It's a rare trip out, I don't want to rest. Let's walk around. I saw there seems to be a place for exchanging things over there."
Song Shuxi was talking about a small market near Nadam.
We all know that herders live far away from each other, so if they want to meet each other, they need to ride horses.
In addition, supplies are scarce now, and the nearest supply and marketing cooperative is 10 kilometers away.
This makes it extremely inconvenient for herders to buy things.
The five production teams discussed privately and decided to hold a small market at the same time as the Nadam Festival.
It is convenient for everyone to exchange the daily necessities they need.
Song Shuqian and Wei Jianguo arrived nearby and saw the herdsmen placing the things they had brought on the ground.
She loves visiting such markets the most because there are always some unexpected little surprises.
"Honey, let's start from here."
When she came here, Song Shuqian felt that all her discomfort disappeared.
Wei Jianguo's task today was to accompany her and protect her, so naturally he had no objection.
The two started from the beginning and looked at each stall one by one.
The first person who caught Song Shuqian's attention was an old lady. Time was like a skilled yet ruthless sculptor, carving deep wrinkles on her weather-beaten face.
However, when the corners of her mouth turned up and she smiled, her whole body glowed. Like the rising sun on the grassland, warm and kind.
At first sight, Song Shuqian fell in love with this old man full of stories.
Then I noticed the things placed in front of her: a lucky knot made of ropes, a tapestry, a small basket...
This was the first time Song Shuxi had seen these things and she was full of curiosity.
"Hello, can I pick it up and have a look?"
The old man in front of him didn't understand Chinese and replied a few words in Mongolian.
Fortunately, in order to accompany An An in studying, she also mastered the language. Automatically switch to Mongolian mode and talk to the elderly.
The girl in front of me is obviously not Mongolian, but she wears Mongolian clothes, participates in their Mongolian activities, and can communicate in Mongolian language.
The relationship between me and the old man was immediately strengthened.
The old man handed Song Shuxi a tapestry, which was her masterpiece and took her two years to make.
Picking up the tapestry, Song Shuqian was filled with amazement. The sky is woven with blue ropes, the clouds are woven with white ropes, and in between are yurts, horses and sheep woven with colorful ropes, vividly showing the life scenes on the grassland.
"What is this made of?"
The old man explained that this kind of rope is made of twisted wool. The weaving techniques are complex and varied. Some use flat knot weaving to make the tapestry surface smooth and the pattern regular; some use oblique knot weaving to make the pattern more three-dimensional.
The tapestry in Song Shuqian's hand features three-dimensional yurts, horses and sheep.
That's why it looks so beautiful.
There are also requirements for the ropes. Some need to be made of coarse wool, while some places can only use very fine wool.
The old man also has colorful knots for weaving on horse reins. Song Shuqian chose a double coin knot, which is woven in red and yellow and is particularly eye-catching on the reins.
Looking at these things, she simply couldn't let them go.
"Honey, please help me choose. I like them so much. There are many that I want to take back."
Wei Jianguo and she chose together the tapestry they had just seen, as well as the decorative knots for Lizai and Chiyun, and four baskets of different sizes, one for each child, to hold their messy little things or dirty clothes.
The old man's eyes were filled with joy that someone appreciated the fruits of his labor and was willing to pay for it.
Song Shuxi was given some small things for free, such as a rope-woven goat, a pony toy, and colorful rope balls.
Wei Jianguo casually changed to a backpack, packed his things in it, and continued shopping with his wife.
Not far away was a dark-skinned man with three sheep tied in front of him.
Song Shuxi pulled Wei Jianguo's hand and said, "Do you want to exchange two sheep?"
"No, we killed the two in winter. If we exchange some meat with the Saren family, we will have enough to eat."
"All right".
Song Shuqian discovered that very few people were exchanging meat at this market.
Yes, most of the people here are herdsmen. They have no shortage of meat, but they lack other food and vegetables.
What made her stop again was the horse gear. The saddle, reins, bridle, and stirrup leather were all made of cowhide. They were not as exquisite as hers, but they were also good things at this time.
Song Shuqian bought a set, although it is of no use now.
But her willingness is priceless.
Then she noticed a middle-aged man exchanging skins. In front of him were relatively rare skins, two tanned deerskins and a piece of cowhide.
Song Shuxi pulled Wei Jianguo's hand, indicating that she wanted it.
Wei Jianguo talked to the man and took the things down.
It was indeed a good thing. He planned to make two pieces of clothing for Song Shuxi, and the remaining scraps could be made into gloves or belts. For smaller ones, you can make some small toys for children.
No waste at all.
The couple basically takes whatever they like.
Soon attracted the attention of others.
An old man came to them on his own initiative, holding a basket filled with processed Cistanche deserticola.
Cistanche deserticola is known as the "desert ginseng". It is a parasitic plant that lives on the roots of the desert tree Haloxylon ammodendron and is very precious.
The Cistanches in the old man’s basket are all dried. He must have found something he was reluctant to eat, so he used it to exchange for something else.
Song Shuxi accepted them all without hesitation, and also agreed with the old woman that she could give her some new ones in the future.
"Wife, come here."
Wei Jianguo stood in front of a boot-changing stall. The stall owners are a couple in their thirties.
"Our boots are very good and can last 10 years." The young woman said.
Song Shuqian liked a pair of black shoes that reached the calf. Such shoes were very wind-resistant and looked good.
Another pair was custom-made for Wei Jianguo, also in black, imitating the style of military boots.
After a round of shopping, the two people gained a lot.
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