These madder roots are also called Su Mu, which can be used as traditional Chinese medicine. According to the habit of collecting herbs when they are seen on Bai Lu days, they must have been collected a long time ago, and now they are in handy.

So, after everything was ready, I followed the words Yunwen wrote on the wooden board with charcoal, and used a stone as a hammer to hammer and dig out the wood chips with the slanted chisel to form a hollow shape, but not through it. I tried to make the depth as uniform as possible, and continued the hammering and digging.

On the other side, Bai Lu and Yun Wen had crushed the madder roots and put them into an earthen basin, then poured in water and put it on the fire to boil. When they opened the basin again, the whole basin of water had turned dark red. If you put a piece of white cloth in it, it will be dyed red. After drying, the herbal dyeing will be completed, but we are not going to use it for dyeing cloth now.

After boiling the madder roots, the red dye was produced. The two wooden boards on my side were also carved soon, and all the characters were carved neatly. After the carving was completed, Yunwen went upstairs to get a brush. When I saw this brush, I was delighted. I saw that the pen holder was an ordinary wooden holder, and the material used for the brush hair was horse mane.

However, this brush has not been processed through the processes of cooking, selecting, and de-linting, so it looks rather rough. However, the bristles are trimmed at the tip and the roots are cut, so it looks neat. It should have been tied with a linen string and then stuffed into the pen holder. This is certainly not as good as the work of a professional craftsman, but it is probably still acceptable to use. At least it is absolutely no problem to tidy up the bristles of the brush and dip some charcoal in it to write some words.

At this moment, Yunwen is holding the brush she made and dipping it in dye, brushing the engraved words. Since this is an ancient dyeing method, the color will definitely be too light and unclear after one brush, so Yunwen brushes it repeatedly until the color is burned. We can't help and can only do other things.

Taking advantage of this time, Bai Lu and I cleaned the surroundings. We boiled some warm water, wiped everywhere with a cloth, and swept everywhere with the straw broom we had made earlier, just as if it was welcoming the New Year and getting rid of the old and welcoming the new.

We were busy until late afternoon, and it was getting dark. I heard Yunwen calling, so Bailu and I went to take a look. We saw that the gate had been dyed red, with eight big characters "Peace and blessings every year" in red, all in festive red tones. So I went outside, made some wooden nails, and nailed them to the door frame.

I saw eight more big characters under the four big characters "覓龍軍機". However, compared with the rigorous regular script engraved above, the eight characters below appeared elegant and round, adding a sense of joy here.

Under these eight words, we feel the fresh blood that we have brought to this courtyard, with a sense of pride in our hearts. The setting sun in the distance is glowing red, shining on the faces of the three of us, explaining the alternation of gold and red, which is the so-called rosy faces.

After a busy afternoon, everyone was hungry. Tonight, Bailu and Yunwen took advantage of the festive mood and prepared a fish dish for everyone. As the saying goes, there will be surplus every year, and the New Year is coming soon, so eating fish to add to the joy is just right.

I saw the two of them busying themselves, processing the fish entrails, discussing the cooking method, and then they decided to make fish balls. The method was similar to that of vegetable and meat balls, smashing the fish meat and wild vegetables and mixing them together. The pork bones were still in the pot, so they continued to stew it, put in the fish balls and seasonings, and divided the work between the two, one was responsible for kneading and the other for chopping the fish meat.

In addition to fish balls, there are three other things: wild vegetables, wild mushrooms, conches, shells, etc.

This is a pure pot of freshness.

After finishing, I called Yingchun to come down for dinner. The four of us sat around the table and started eating. Yingchun's mood improved and she rarely ruined everyone's interest. Everyone talked about their plans for the New Year tomorrow. They were all very excited and full of longing. Only I listened and laughed, but the uneasiness in my heart became even more agitated.

"I hope it doesn't come tomorrow, but a little later so that we can have a happy holiday." I muttered to myself unintentionally and unconsciously.

I don’t know if the girls heard me clearly or not, but they all turned to look at me, and the noise just now suddenly stopped.

"Zhou Bo, do you have something to do for us? I noticed something was wrong with you while we were working this afternoon. It's obviously a happy occasion, but you always seem to be frowning, and you're dazed from time to time. Do you think we're wasting too much food during the festival and it's affecting our survival?" Yunwen asked.

As Yunwen asked, the three girls looked at me intently, eager to get my answer. After all, they knew that something that worried me must not be simple.

"No, I just thought of the same thing as Yingchun, and felt sad about the death of the ugly brothers. These foods were all harvested by it, and it had a share, but it didn't have the pleasure to eat any more, so it was stunned." I said.

"Brother Zhou Bo is right. We should not only care about our own food and drink, but also be grateful in our hearts. I suggest that we put up a sign for the ugly monster first, and leave a portion for it when we eat tomorrow. I remember that there is still some aged wine in Brother Zhou Bo's metal cup, so why not pour some of it and use the wine and food as a sacrifice to express our gratitude and send the ugly monster off." Bai Lu said.

"I agree. Although it has done bad things to Zhou Bo, it has helped us more often. It is our loyal friend. Zhou Bo is right. As a friend, we should remember it and not ignore it." Yunwen said.

At this time, Yingchun stood up and said with tears in her eyes: "I agree too, a million times!"

I only hope these words can be heard by some mermaids hiding in the corners. I hope they can understand our intentions and not misunderstand us and regard us as enemies. But this wish sounds so illusory.

A full meal.

Yingchun lit the oil bowl and went upstairs to work on her puppet project. I didn't stop her. After the other girls finished washing up with me, we prepared to arrange our shifts so that we could take a break.

"The schedule for tonight is that I'm on the first shift, Bailu is on the second shift, Yunwen is on the third shift, and Yingchun is on vacation for a day. When it's your turn to be on duty, you must pay attention to unexpected situations. If there is any disturbance or you feel anything unusual, tell me immediately. No matter whether it's true or not, you can wake me up at any time, okay?" I said.

Yunwen and Bailu nodded, but each of them still had a puzzled look in their eyes.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Brother Zhou Bo, you are so careful today. Are you worried that they will come?" Bai Lu asked.

"I've always been very careful. Don't think too much and just go to sleep," I said.

Bai Lu nodded and walked over first, but Yun Wen stayed in front of me for a moment and said, "You are actually very concerned about that matter, right? One day, 'If the remains of the ghost ship are found, the curse of the sea will reappear in the world, and the raging waves will slaughter the world, and there will be a bloody storm again'. This is a prophecy of a mysterious witch in the Middle Ages. The Tian Cang Juan was compiled by a mysterious master in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and this sentence was left in it. This sentence has also been translated into various languages ​​and preserved in some ancient books. Sister Bai Lu and I have seen this sentence."

I nodded, but didn't care much. After all, the appearance of the dagger was not subjective, but a coincidence. It did not represent the certainty of those prophecies. What I was really worried about was other things, such as the brush marks on the cave wall and who left them.

"Yunwen, New Year's Day is coming soon, let's not think about these things, okay? After the New Year, we can discuss these things in detail. After all, ghosts, witches, ghost ships and the like are not very auspicious, what do you think?" I asked.

She looked at me, forced a smile, and said, "Okay, I'll listen to you."

After that, he went to sleep. When it was midnight, I was too sleepy, so I woke up the person on duty and went to sleep.