Yong did this simply because he hoped that after they got together, Qin would be able to conceive his child during the winter.
In winter, the snow was so heavy that hunting was impossible, so he thought he should make preparations in advance so that Qing wouldn't suffer any injustice.
Occasionally, he would pick beautiful flowers he saw in the forest.
This made Qing increasingly satisfied with him. Men in the tribe may not understand romance, but they would show their care for their partners through practical actions.
Time passed slowly, autumn was coming to an end, and the large-scale hunting activities ceased when the first snow fell.
When the first snow fell, the village prepared a celebration.
Each person takes some of the food they think is good to the square, where a large stone pot is used to cook all the food together.
Even if you bring the best things, cooking everything together is just too unrestrained and arbitrary.
Anyway, Qing had no appetite and wouldn't eat any more of that stuff. Since the autumn hunt, she had never received any food from the plaza and had always eaten in her own space.
Even though she had lowered her standards and stopped being so picky, she still couldn't get used to the food.
The absolute ritual is like a bonfire party, except that the tribe's bonfire is just a fire burning in the middle of the square, and then all the tribe's people, men, women, and children, dance wildly around the bonfire.
Even though I already have memories of being a little girl, this is the first time I've ever witnessed such a phenomenon. I feel so embarrassed that I could dig a villa out of my toes.
There's no aesthetic appeal whatsoever; you can twist and turn however you want, it's all haphazard, but everyone's still having a good time.
After the twisting ceremony, all the paired men and women came before the clan chief and elders to prepare for the pairing ceremony.
The chieftain held a leaf with a plant-based dye on it. He then dipped his finger in the dye and dabbed it on the foreheads of the paired men and women.
"You must contribute to the tribe in the future, and hopefully we can see your little cubs next spring."
It was practically an online marriage pressure session. Qing felt a little embarrassed, but the others didn't feel embarrassed at all.
He answered in a particularly loud voice, indicating that he would not disappoint the clan leader.
Qing has been in the army for so long, but he has always felt that he is not thick-skinned enough and is out of place with the rest of the tribe.
It seems I need to be a little more thick-skinned in the future.
After the pairing ceremony was completed, the warriors went to their own caves and moved all their belongings to the women's caves.
Yong had already moved most of his things away; all that was left were some small items that he could use regularly.
They got it done in one go, and then happily carried their things, heading towards the cave with Qing.
When the moment of truth arrives, I do get a little nervous. After all, I've been single for decades, so it's no wonder I'm nervous. Luckily, I'm an experienced person, just a little rusty.
"Yong, I'll boil some water, can you take a bath?"
It wasn't that they were disgusted; it was just to ease the awkwardness. Besides, the men in the tribe bathed in the river every day, so they weren't dirty at all.
The women also bathed in the river, just in different places. A large group of women gathered together to bathe, and they had long since lost any sense of shyness.
Yong didn't think much of it, just that she was about to give birth and needed to be clean, so she happily prepared to go outside.
"Qing, there's no need to boil water, I'll just wash in the river."
"Yong, the river water is too cold. It's snowing lightly now, and we don't know when the river will freeze. Let's take a hot bath instead!"
"Qing, don't worry. Even if you get frozen, you can break the ice to take a bath. We're used to it. All the men in the tribe have done it this way. Do you think I'm that thin and weak?"
Somewhat doubtful, did Qing feel that she was too thin and weak, and therefore not strong enough?
"Of course I don't think you're thin. If you want to take a cold shower, then go ahead and do it!"
Qing felt that her worries were unnecessary. Now that he had left, she would go to her space and take a good bath.
After taking a bath, looking at my clean and white appearance in the mirror, I felt that all the good things I had eaten over the past six months hadn't been for nothing.
Because she gradually became fair-skinned in front of everyone, no one suspected anything.
Sure enough, as long as you can get fairer skin, even if you look ordinary, you will look much more pleasing to the eye, and your overall appearance will seem to improve.
I've been drinking the medicinal wine for half a year now, but I don't know how effective it is. I've already finished two jars. I remember the old man saying that one jar was enough to have a good effect. I've drunk two jars, so the effect should be even better, right?
Worried that Yong would return soon, I washed myself clean and quickly came out of the space. The cave was particularly cold, so I quickly lit a fire in the stove so that it would be more comfortable to sleep on the kang at night.
When Yong first saw the stove, he was quite curious, but he didn't say much.
Qing did ask him why he didn't ask himself.
Yong's answer surprised me greatly: "This is your idea. If you don't want to say it, then don't say it. You can say it when you want to. I have no right to reveal the secret you've been keeping."
I feel that this person is particularly warm and considerate. Anyway, by next year, every household will have a kang (heated brick bed) and a stove, so what difference will it make whether we say it or not?
Moreover, the tribe has stored much more food this year than last year because everyone saw them drying wild vegetables.
Then, when everyone sees wild vegetables, they will try their best to pick them and bring them back. It doesn't take much effort to dry them in the sun, so they are willing to work a little harder to store up more.
This way, fewer people will die of hunger in the winter.
If even someone as incompetent as Qing has hoarded so much, imagine how much more capable the other people in the tribe have.
They hoarded even more, including firewood. Every day when they came back from collecting firewood, they would bring back a bundle of firewood. Gradually, they hoarded more and more, and everyone followed suit.
Just like a butterfly, the slightest flap of its small wings brings about tremendous changes.
In the past, some members of the clan would brave the snow to collect firewood in winter. Now that they store it in advance, they no longer need to brave the snow in winter.
This further reduced the number of owners who died in the wild while gathering firewood.
Anyway, Qing didn't specifically tell everyone what to do, but everyone's attitude towards Qing is definitely much better than before!
As the beneficiary, Qing didn't say much, and she tried her best not to ruin her public image.
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