Upon hearing her words, Yan Jing'an also realized something. He coughed twice and asked in bewilderment, "Don't you find it strange? We've come all this way and only found a skeleton. Where did everyone else go?"
Then he said to Jiang Xi, "Could it be that you were right, and this is the only man left in the entire clan with a missing arm? And the rest, are they buried?"
That's possible.
Jiang Xi nodded and said, "After all, they have lived here for generations. Chinese people believe in the importance of being buried in the ground for peace, so they will definitely have their own cemetery."
If that's the case, they're actually safe.
Yan Zheng asked Jiang Xi behind him in a deep voice, "Can you determine the year of his death?"
Jiang Xi shook her head: "Judging the age based on the bones alone requires carbon-14 dating. Archaeological estimations of the tomb owner's age are mostly based on the shape of the tomb chamber and the burial objects, but this village has been isolated from the world for too long."
Traditional methods are ineffective in dealing with exceptional cases.
Yan Zheng nodded, glanced at the sky outside, and saw that it was almost afternoon: "Let's go, there's still one more courtyard."
Jiang Xi glanced at the remains on the bed, bit her lip, and said, "What about him?"
Perhaps it's a case of sympathy for one's own kind; now that they've come and seen it, they can't just sit idly by.
Jiang Xi seemed to sense his despair. All his clansmen were dead. In this deep mountain forest, the once-great family was now reduced to just him, with a broken arm, lying alone and forlorn on his bed, barely clinging to life.
Yan Zheng said, "We'll move their graves when we find them."
After a few breaths, he bowed his head to the skeleton and said, "I apologize for the inconvenience. I'll find you a better burial site next time I come."
As the three were leaving, Jiang Xi said, "Wait."
She went to the corner and took out the bow and arrow she had just seen.
The material looks like elm wood, and the bow and bowstring are already infested with insects.
Yan Zheng took it and tried it: "It's good stuff, what a pity."
Jiang Xi asked, "Can it be copied?"
Yan Zheng examined the joints closely and couldn't help but marvel at the ancient mortise and tenon craftsmanship. Every design was exquisite, far more professional than his own, a complete novice. He nodded, "I can try it later."
The last courtyard was on the west side of the village. Jiang Xi could see the towering jujube trees in the courtyard from dozens of meters away. The bright red jujubes were naturally dried and hung trembling on the trees.
The courtyard gate was not closed, and the snow was covered with red dates that had been blown down by the wind, leaving small craters in the snow.
Yan Jing'an picked a branch of red dates nearby and handed two to each person.
Jiang Xi took off her gloves, rubbed them clean, and took a bite. It was sweet, with a rich jujube aroma, just like the dried red dates she used to eat in Northwest China. Even the back of her tongue was sweet.
Having not eaten sweets for a long time, the aroma of red dates mixed with their sweetness improved my mood considerably.
That's great! It would be delicious if I made porridge with it. The red dates would melt in my mouth after being cooked until soft, and then I'd have a sip of rice porridge. Just thinking about it makes me feel warm.
I don't know if it was brought from outside or dug up from the mountains.
There was a shelf in front of the main house with some bowls and jars on it. Jiang Xi walked over and tapped it twice. They were unfired pottery blanks.
Pushing open the door of the main house, you can see a huge pottery kiln, made of bricks, in a semi-subterranean style, which occupies almost half of the room.
There was also a stove about half a person's height next to it, also made of bricks, with a pile of rotten firewood in the corner.
Like the other rooms, there was a brick shelf by the window with a dozen or so pottery jars and bowls, a stack of pottery basins on the floor, and a single wooden bed against the wall.
Jiang Xi said, "It seems that apart from the central courtyard, everyone else here has their own specific role."
There were blacksmiths, hunters, and potters, and perhaps carpenters, but not in this settlement.
Yan Zheng nodded: "This is just the work area. We haven't found their residence yet, but it should be nearby. I think we should rest here tonight and look around again tomorrow."
Jiang Xi had no objection, but there was only a wooden bed left.
Yan Jing'an said, "That's easy. We'll go to another house and bring over two more. I saw that their beds are made of elm wood, and they're very sturdy."
Yan Zheng took off his backpack, slung his bow and arrows over his shoulder, and said, "I'll take advantage of the daylight to try my luck in the surrounding area and see if I can hunt down anything."
So Jiang Xi took out pots and pans, picked up snow from the tree, boiled it, and then took two earthenware basins from the wall shelf. She washed them with warm water, poured the boiled snow water into them, and saved it for washing vegetables and wiping the bed.
I cooked another pot of root and yam porridge, and also washed two handfuls of red dates and threw them in.
Meanwhile, Yan Jing'an went to the blacksmith's shop, took out a few nails from the windowsill, found a hammer, and picked up a few planks from the various courtyards to nail the windows on both sides of the pottery kiln house shut to keep out the wind at night.
The fire was lit, and the temperature inside the house gradually rose. Just as dusk fell, Yan Zheng returned from outside, carrying a pheasant.
I ate two large bowls of thick, fragrant red date porridge with tender pheasant stewed in salt water.
After a long day, all three of them were exhausted. They didn't care how simple or shabby the room was. They carried two more beds from next door, placed them wherever there was space, wiped off the dust with a rag, and lay down fully clothed.
Yan Zheng added more fire to the stove, estimating it would last until the second half of the night. Yan Zheng and Jiang Xi slept on two beds against the wall, and the other bed closer to the stove was given to Yan Jing'an.
As night fell, Yan Jing'an coughed violently, and Yan Zheng threw his cloak to him, pulling his down jacket tighter around himself.
No one was in the mood to say anything. After a while, Yan Jing'an's muttered voice came through: "How long do you think we can hold out here?"
No one answered. A wind picked up outside, and the fire in the stove flickered. Yan Jing'an asked, "Are you all asleep?"
"without."
It was Yan Zheng's voice.
Nobody knows how long we can hold out, we'll just have to take it one day at a time.
Yan Jing'an then said, "I really admire you. I was thinking of killing you, but you kept me alive and searched for medicine for me everywhere."
"Cough cough, what are you after? If you leave one day, wouldn't it all benefit me?"
Yan Zheng was so angry he almost laughed. "You're really dreaming!" he thought, gritting his teeth as he said, "Do you have a terminal illness?"
"He's still not interested in the human world, otherwise why would he say something so suicidal?"
Jiang Xi, who had been pretending to be silent, chuckled softly upon hearing this.
These words were blunt, but Yan Jing'an found them comforting. He always felt uneasy accepting Yan Zheng's kindness alone, and felt more at ease this way.
After a long while, just as he was about to fall asleep, he heard Yan Zheng say, "As long as you're alive, it has meaning. If you die, you're dead, just like the neighbor next door."
"When you feel it's meaningless, just persevere a little longer."
In the darkness, Jiang Xi rested her head on her arm, quietly watching the flickering fire shadows on the wall, just like the candles lit when the power went out at her grandmother's house when she was a child.
Lost in thought, I drifted off to sleep.
Yan Zheng woke up as soon as it was getting light and got up to relight the stove.
Jiang Xi and Yan Jing'an also got up and packed. Time was tight today, and they had to go back tonight no matter what. Xiao Lu was alone in the wooden house, so they needed to replenish some dry food for her.
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