Chapter 28 Li people (3)

Approaching Lidong Village, some people in the team discovered a new thing on the roadside - cotton. Of course, some people had doubts about this completely tree-like plant: "Not all the cotton seen on TV is low and short.

Is the chest so high at most? Is this thing that’s taller than a human really made of cotton?”

Gao Huan from the Ministry of Agriculture was notified this morning that he was transferred from the labor camp to the special working group. As an expert on economic crops, he answered this question: "Cotton will grow into a perennial woody plant in the wild natural environment.

, it can even grow to a height of about six meters in tropical areas. Although this thing is inconspicuous, the Li brocade spun from this island cotton is quite famous. Everyone should know Huang Daopo, right? She is from Yazhou

I learned the textile technology of the Li people here and then brought it back to the Central Plains to spread it."

"Since cotton is produced here, does that mean we can open our own weaving factory soon?" someone asked excitedly.

Gao Huan shook his head and said: "It's not that easy. The Li people have not specially cultivated this kind of island cotton, and the output is very limited. It is possible to provide small-scale weaving, but it is definitely not possible to engage in industrial production. We have brought a lot of it.

There are improved varieties of Sea Island cotton, but it is not easy to find a place to promote their planting. Hainan is a mountainous inland area with almost no flat land, so the cost-effectiveness of growing cotton is not high enough."

"Didn't the labor camp open up a large area of ​​land on the east bank of Tiandu River? Can't we grow cotton there?" Someone else asked, unwilling to give up.

Gao Huan smiled bitterly and said: "You can plant it, but the monsoon period is coming soon, and it will last for several months. You should have seen the situation in Hainan that is hit by typhoons every year on the TV news before.

The land for camp development is right at the mouth of the sea. Planting cotton near the sea will easily result in no harvest if there is any disturbance. The only feasible way is to persuade the Li people to plant cotton in the valleys near their residences, and then every year

Use cotton to trade food with us. When it comes to growing food, we are invincible in this world. This is also the most important means for us to promote agriculture in the future. As long as we can provide enough food, I think we have a chance to convince the Li people.

"

Finally, we arrived outside Lidong Village. The middle-aged man who led the way asked the working group to wait outside the village. He wanted to go in first and report. At this time, many Li children without even wearing pants ran out of the village and were very interested in their dress.

The strange foreign visitors gathered to watch.

There are no stone or wooden walls outside the village. There is only a circle of thorn bushes that are obviously artificially planted. There are also various vines and bowl-sized bamboos mixed in the middle. They are densely packed and look quite strong, and the Li people use this

As a defensive barrier for the entire village, this barrier extends to the left and right until it disappears into the forest in the distance. It is impossible to see how big the village is at the moment.

Someone noticed that several old Li ladies sitting at the entrance of the village all had dark faces. They must be the custom of tattooing that Zhou Hengxing mentioned before. In addition to the complete disillusionment in their hearts, they could only sigh.

The ancestors of the Li people had a unique aesthetic sense.

After waiting for a while, the middle-aged man came out, but said that there were too many people here. In order not to disturb the villagers, they could not be allowed to enter the village together. Only five people were allowed in. After some bargaining,

In the end, the middle-aged man agreed to the request of ten people to go in. After a brief discussion among the leaders of the working group, Zhou Hengxing was appointed as the leader, along with Ning Qi, Gao Huan and seven members of the military and police department, who entered the village to trade with the Li people. Of course

Three former US soldiers also joined the team as reliable combatants.

Before crossing over, the executive committee had organized all members in batches to visit the folk village to visit the Li villages. Even several foreigners from the North American Gang were specially taken out to make up for this lesson after arriving in Sanya, so seeing this

When I saw the scene in Lidong Village, I was not too surprised. Most of the houses are similar to the boat-shaped houses seen in folk villages. The wood is tied into a frame with rattan, and the arched gable roof is covered with thick

Thick grass or sunflower leaves look like an upside-down boat from a distance. People live in this kind of house, and some poultry and livestock can be raised below. The elevated structure can also prevent moisture, miasma, and rain. There are also a few houses.

Instead of using elevated structures, houses were built with mud walls, which shows that they were influenced by the Han people.

The working group was taken to a large boat-shaped house in the center of the village. The base was neatly built with stones on the ground. There were steps made of logs at the door. Everyone entered the house along the steps and saw what was inside.

It was about forty square meters. There was a bamboo bed against the wall on one side of the room. A white-haired old man was sitting on it, and several other men stood around the old man. After seeing them come in, the old man made a gesture,

He indicated that they could sit on the other empty bamboo beds in the house. There were no extra living facilities in the house. It seemed that this house was not a residence, but was mostly a meeting place for the village.

The middle-aged man proudly introduced to the visitors that this old man was Fu Nuo, the owner of Fu Shan Cave. Fu Nuo also spoke, and Zhou Hengxing translated to his companions that within a hundred miles of this place,

, Fushandong is the largest Li village. If you want to do business with the Li people, you must abide by the rules of the Li people.

Zhou Hengxing first explained the purpose of his visit to the old cave owner, and then took the initiative to send gifts prepared in advance to express his goodwill: two Yangjiang imitation Kabbah 1218 sabers, two domestic ZIPPO knockoffs wholesaled from Yiwu, and two bottles of tear-off

The label weighs one pound of Luzhou Laojiao. The reason why two copies of each gift are prepared was suggested by Zhou Hengxing. According to him, the custom of the Li people also has the implication that good things come in pairs.

Fu Nuo carefully inspected the gifts presented by the working group with great interest. He was amazed by the sharpness of the two daggers and the sophistication of the lighter. When he finally saw the two bottles of white wine, the old man lost his composure at all - this wine was not bad at all.

Well, Lidong also has its own homemade glutinous rice wine, banana wine, and mountain fruit wine, but the bottles that hold the wine are actually transparent! These prodigal Han people actually use crystals to make wine bottles!

Then the middle-aged man who led the way brought up the transaction items and placed them on the floor in the middle of the room. The owner of the cave, Fu Nuo, inspected the goods again, nodded with satisfaction, and then actually said in an accent that was very close to southern Cantonese: "

Your goods are very good, and there is no such thing in Yazhou. Where do you come from, my guests?"

Most of the people here had stayed in Guangzhou for a few months before traveling through time. Even if they can't speak Cantonese, they can basically understand it. What Fu Nuo said is obviously within this range. Even Zhou Hengxing was surprised: "Dong

Lord, can you speak Mandarin?"

Fu Nuo nodded and said: "I went to Yazhou and Qiongzhou when I was young, and lived in Yazhou for a few years, but the Han people there would not trade these good things with us."

Zhou Hengxing had been trained for a long time and knew how to explain the origins of his group. He immediately repeated what the overseas Han people said, and at the end he included a solemn statement: "We are willing to trade with the Li people on the basis of equality. Both parties

You can get what you want through transactions on a voluntary basis.”

"Then what do you want?" Fu Nuo spread his hands: "We Li people don't have much silver, we only have wood, furs, jibeib and buffalo."

Ning Qi wanted to interrupt and say that we want people, all the living people in your village. But Zhou Hengxing had already responded before he could: "Okay, we accept all these things."

So soon someone brought bundles of cowhide, deerskin, wild boar skin, and pieces of self-spun jibe cloth. As for the buffalo, the deal can be concluded first, but the working group does not plan to collect the buffalo yet, because at the moment

The temporary cattle shed can no longer accommodate newcomers, and it will still be a burden to bring this thing back, at least until the Ministry of Agriculture's new poultry and livestock breeding base is built in a few days.

Of course, these superficial transactions were not actually what the working group valued, so there was not much bargaining with the Li people during the process, and an agreement was quickly reached. The cave owner Fu Nuo could provide these Han people with a much lower price.

He was also very satisfied with the prices of previous transactions - the price of salt and ironware in this transaction was even less than one-third of that of the previous Han traders. In his opinion, it was half-sold and half-given.

Then the two sides made an agreement. On the first, tenth, and twentieth days of each month, the Chuanchuang people would open a market near the No. 2 base to provide various materials needed by the Li people, and the Li people could also

Sell ​​what they can provide to the public at the negotiated price.

After completing this basic preparation, the relationship between the two parties became much closer. Fu Nuo ordered a banquet to be held in the village to entertain the guests, and at the same time, the outsiders who were still waiting for news at the entrance of the village were allowed to enter the village.

It was said to be a banquet, but in the opinion of the members of the working group, it was more like a picnic full of ethnic customs. The guests sat facing each other on the ground in the open space outside the big house. The owner of the cave, Fu Nuo, raised his wine bowl to invite the guests to drink, and then

After drinking it all, he served the homemade rice wine to the guests one by one. After the first one finished drinking, he walked to the next one. After inviting a round of wine, he announced the start of the banquet. This is the unique invitation of Li people.

Drinking ceremony.

The travelers were also lucky enough to eat the most authentic bamboo tube rice here. According to Fu Nuo, it is made of venison and wild boar meat mixed with glutinous rice and salt, put into a bamboo tube and burned. This kind of pure natural and pollution-free rice

As soon as the delicacy appeared, it was immediately enthusiastically sought after by the time-travelers who had suffered from various food poisonings in later generations. Some people even made a request on the spot after tasting it, hoping that Fu Nuo could arrange for a few people to go to Base 2 to make this kind of bamboo tube.

meal.

As for the various rice wines and fruit wines brewed by the Li people, they are not that great in the eyes of the public. After all, these Li people have not yet mastered the distillation technology and the alcohol concentration is not high. However, Fu Nuo later was instigated by Zhou Hengxing.

I opened a bottle of Luzhou Laojiao, and that bottle of wine knocked down six or seven Li people, including the owner of the cave, Fu Nuo.

This small accident also disrupted the working group's original arrangements. Ning Qi was originally planning to find an opportunity to talk to Fu Nuo about cooperation in Li Dong's labor export at the banquet, but the current situation definitely made it impossible to discuss. So.

That night, the working group set up camp in a Li village and stayed there, planning to wait until the next day to discuss with Fu Nuo.
Chapter completed!