Chapter 4

The sand barrier was built, and Yun Zheng was extremely happy. He turned to He Jianqiang, who looked curious, and said, "Just bear with it a little longer, we'll have fish to eat soon, six or seven fish, enough for a hearty meal."

Yun Zheng jumped into the water and continuously stirred up the mud and sand. When the water became murky, he started to catch the fish. The fish were very stupid, swimming with their heads close to the surface. Yun Zheng quickly caught six fish by hand. He looked regretfully at the small pool, where only some finger-length small fish remained, then climbed up to the beach and started a fire to cook the fish.

The fish meat was delicious, but the roasting skills were poor. He Jianqiang ate two fish and was finally full. In the hot weather, it was impossible to preserve food, so Yun Zheng ate the remaining four fish. This was the first time in two days that his stomach felt full.

While washing his hands, the bored He Jianqiang suddenly shouted, pointing to the cliff and calling Yun Zheng to look. Yun Zheng shielded his eyes and looked carefully. It turned out that the cliff was densely covered with hanging coffins.

Yun Zheng knew about the hanging coffins of the Bo people. He was very happy, as he finally knew where he was. Only heaven knew why he had suddenly been transported from the barren city in the northwest to Yanshui County at the border of Sichuan and Yunnan. When he had traveled to Yunnan, he had visited Yanshui County and specifically admired the hanging coffins of the Bo people. The mountains looked somewhat similar, but why were there so many coffins here? The most he had seen before were only a dozen or so.

Thinking about the arrowhead he had found, Yun Zheng had already prepared for the worst. The Chishui River Basin was never a developed area, from ancient times to the present.

Yun Zheng, carrying He Jianqiang, finally reached a large river and saw a group of people, but he didn't dare to approach them easily. He sat under a mulberry tree, hugging He Jianqiang, and worried.

"Slap me! I can't do it myself," Yun Zheng said to He Jianqiang.

He Jianqiang punched Yun Zheng's nose, and the teary-eyed Yun Zheng suddenly remembered that this kind of hemp clothing was only worn on a large scale before the Yuan and Ming dynasties. After the widespread use of cotton, people started wearing cotton clothes.

"We might be in the Song Dynasty," Yun Zheng said to He Jianqiang.

He Jianqiang didn't seem to care. He used his childlike face to ask the woman in the tree for mulberries and succeeded. The mulberries rained down, and the women had already taken a liking to the chubby He Jianqiang.

The two of them sat on the ground and kept eating mulberries. After a while, He Jianqiang seemed interested in the food in the basket of the mulberry pickers. He stood up, ran to the basket, took two rice balls, and quickly ran back, giving one to Yun Zheng. Watching the laughing mulberry pickers, Yun Zheng felt embarrassed and his face turned red.

"Eat, we haven't had proper food for a long time. Now that we have it, we should eat quickly. I'm so small, no one will blame me," He Jianqiang said, taking a big bite of the rice ball and encouraging Yun Zheng to eat faster.

Being young and innocent had its advantages. Who knew how He Jianqiang communicated with the mulberry pickers, but he managed to get two eggs, which were precious food at this time.

"Why don't you marry one of them? We made your fiancée disappear, and now I'll help you trick another one. Look at that little girl, even though she has a few freckles, she's still quite pretty. I asked, and her family is wealthy. If you marry her, we'll immediately have a good life," He Jianqiang said.

Yun Zheng didn't say anything, but kicked He Jianqiang in the buttocks. For a moment, he forgot that the guy had become a three- or four-year-old child and was kicked flying.

He Jianqiang immediately burst into tears, and a group of mulberry pickers rushed over, picked up He Jianqiang, and surrounded Yun Zheng, scolding him. He Jianqiang comfortably lay in the arms of the mulberry picker and winked at Yun Zheng.

A tall mulberry picker carried He Jianqiang and walked towards the village. Yun Zheng tried to get He Jianqiang back, but they wouldn't give him, and the language barrier made communication impossible. He had no choice but to follow them into the village.

The small basin was dotted with thirty to fifty bamboo houses. Yellow dogs with curled tails lazily basked in the sun, barking at Yun Zheng, the stranger, and then continuing to sunbathe.

The mulberry picker came to the largest bamboo house, called out a few times with a clear and melodious voice, but Yun Zheng couldn't understand what she was saying.

An old man with a black headscarf and white hair and beard appeared at the bamboo house. Seeing Yun Zheng, he was stunned for a moment, then quickly walked down and asked in a heavy Guanzhong accent, "Why has a Han man ended up here?"

"I and my younger brother have unfortunately been separated from our family. May I ask, is this place under the jurisdiction of Dousha Pass?" Yun Zheng awkwardly bowed.

By the river, Yun Zheng had seen the four large characters "Dousha Gu Yi" carved on a stone stele. He had seen this in the future and knew that this was the original appearance of the famous Dousha Ancient Town, with the Dousha Pass not far away.

Nature's craftsmanship had carved the majestic pass that controlled the passage between Yunnan and Sichuan, a key route for the "Five-Foot Road" of the Qin and Han dynasties. The cliff on the opposite side was split into two by the Guan River, forming a huge stone gate that locked the ancient road between Yunnan and Sichuan, hence it was also called "Shimen Pass."

The old man looked at the disheveled Yun Zheng and the He Jianqiang lying in the mulberry picker's arms, sighed, and said, "You're right, this is Dousha Ancient Town under the jurisdiction of Dousha Pass. The Five-Foot Road has become increasingly unsafe. Two years ago, there were tigers, and merchants stopped for half a year. After the tiger menace was gone, bandits occupied Wushan. Since you and your brother have nothing, you can settle in the village for now, and we'll discuss the matter further."

The old man's words suited Yun Zheng's wishes, and he thanked him repeatedly.

The people here were very simple, so simple that Yun Zheng didn't know what to say. There was an unoccupied old bamboo house in the village where the two brothers would settle. The villagers gave them a scoop of rice from one house, a scoop of beans from another, and the bedding, though old, was very clean. The old clan leader even gave Yun Zheng an iron pot and a small bag of salt, which was a generous gift, especially when Yun Zheng realized it was the fourth year of the Qingli era of the Song Dynasty.

The mulberry pickers helped Yun Zheng clean the bamboo house thoroughly and burned mugwort to fumigate it. He Jianqiang was terrified to see centipedes and various insects fleeing from the cracks in the bamboo house. The most shocking was a green snake as thick as He Jianqiang's arm that also escaped from the bamboo house.

Yun Zheng and He Jianqiang were afraid, but the mulberry pickers were not. A round-eyed little girl caught the green snake and threw it back into the bamboo house, muttering to herself.

The old clan leader smiled at Yun Zheng and said, "Don't be afraid, this is a house snake, harmless, and it eats rats and insects. Without it, you can't live in the bamboo house."

The tall mulberry picker blushed and placed a small yellow dog in front of Yun Zheng and ran away. The old clan leader laughed heartily, and the other mulberry pickers cheered. He Jianqiang laughed slyly, while Yun Zheng was puzzled.

As the sun was about to set, smoke rose from the old bamboo house. The fire in the hearth crackled, and the bamboo house was already very dark. The flames reddened their faces, and the aroma of rice from the iron pot made He Jianqiang swallow hard. He said to Yun Zheng, "The Song Dynasty isn't bad, right?"

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