It is said that during the Qing Dynasty, an official surnamed Huang was sent from Yunnan to Tibet to investigate the source of the river. However, on his way west, he saw mountains stretching north and south blocking the way, so he named it Hengduan Mountain.
As we all know, many of the major mountains in China run east-west or approximately east-west, such as the Qinling Mountains, Nanling Mountains, Yinshan Mountains, Tianshan Mountains, etc. Therefore, the Han people in the Central Plains regard mountains running east-west as normal, while mountains running north-south are considered normal by the Han people.
It became "cross-cutting".
The caravan has a great reputation in this area. They took over our business, directly completed the work in the village, and even sent a boat to pick us up, which made us very embarrassed.
The leader of the caravan is a Kham man named Dunzhu. He is a nice and polite person. The reason why there are many ethnic minorities in the Hengduan Mountains is mainly because the north-south mountains are conducive to the penetration of warm and humid air brought by the southwest monsoon of the Indian Ocean in the summer.
, bringing abundant precipitation. For high mountains, as the altitude increases, the precipitation first increases and then decreases. There are many dry and hot valleys in the southwest, and the temperature keeps decreasing as the altitude increases, so the terrain
The huge height difference results in diverse configurations and combinations of water and heat at different altitudes, which also creates different ecological environments and provides the possibility for ethnic diversity. At the same time, transportation between mountains is inconvenient, regions are relatively closed, and there is a lack of culture
, economic and other exchanges, which are conducive to the formation of ethnic diversity.
"When you look at a few of them, they are foreigners. Our mountain style is simple and we are famous for our hospitality."
Although Ren Yonghai is a local, he has lived in the city all year round and has not had much contact with these mountain people. He has never seen such a lively floating market. It seems that he has even forgotten the purpose of his trip and only cares about meeting other people.
The ship's merchant bargained and bought a bunch of useless handicrafts.
"Now is the peak period for the evening market. Our boat is too eye-catching and we can't move it even if we want to. Let's have dinner first and rent a small boat to dock later." Dunzhu said.
"Brother, do you know what business we are in?" I said to Dundup.
Dunzhu glanced at me and said with a smile: "Those who come to our caravan to act as middlemen are all outsiders, but we have our own rules. We do not inquire about the privacy of our customers. Since we have accepted this business, we just show them the way."
As for the rest...it's better not to know."
Dunzhu's words were perfect, so I didn't say anything more. He planned to arrange for us to have dinner in a stilted building and inquire about the news. Although the area where we are now is already the Heiyun Village area, it is far away from where they live together.
The village is actually still far away, and the water village for dozens of miles around is just the periphery of Heiyun Village.
There are still quite a lot of foreigners walking here, and there are even many people who stay to do business. The people in Heiyun Village have no intention of expelling them. After all, they also need to communicate with the outside world.
The main reason why I am interested in Heiyun Village is the ancient tomb. According to Dunzhu, the Heiyun Village area is a very broad concept. It is divided into three layers inside and outside. The outermost layer is
The mountainous forest area stretches for hundreds of miles, and the ancient tomb is located here. The further you go in, the flatter the terrain becomes, and rivers and streams appear, which is where the water village is now. Further in from the water village,
It is also a dense jungle, and the legendary Heiyun Village is hidden in it.
A strange ancient tomb, a mysterious village, two mysterious things appear together in this geographical coordinates, it is difficult not to make a connection.
Dundup was very observant. When he saw that the four of us did not carry any goods at all, he said that we were here for business. Almost no one replied, but our purpose was clear, so we
We were going to find Heiyun Village, but he soon understood that we had another purpose for our trip.
The Diaojiaolou in Shuizhai is equivalent to our teahouse. Guests from all over the world gather here, and it is the place where news circulates the most. It is no exaggeration to say that as long as you dare to walk around inside, even the tea egg seller will be there the next day.
I know how many acres of land you have in your hometown.
Therefore, it was the most convenient option to go to the Diaojiaolou to inquire about news. We ate the bacon cooked by Grandma on the Water, and cooked a pot of Fenjiu in the small stove on the boat. When the moon came to the end, the Diaojiaolou was lit up and opened for business.
After reading the red lantern, we found a small awning boat to go ashore.
The road in the water village is narrower than the river, and most of the stilted buildings along the bank are half-standing in the water. The free water area downstairs can be used to rest boats and open shops. Even in the southern region known as the water town, there are few
Saw such a scene.
Dundup said that the road we are walking on now is the so-called South Street. If we go further, after passing a set of stone steps, we turn to the East Street. Business is done on South Street and people live on East Street, but most people are still used to living on the water.
live.
"This Heiyun Village has quite a reputation. With so many people coming and going, it can be regarded as a market town." Ren Yonghai said.
"It's not that Heiyun Village has a big reputation. These people have nothing to do with Heiyun Village. They are here just to make a living. Within hundreds of miles, this is the only place with such convenient land and water transportation.
, villages in all directions need this place." Dundup explained.
"Then Heiyun Village doesn't mind if someone makes noise in front of their house?"
"Heiyun Village is far away from here." Dunzhu said, "People here know the rules and will not go in if nothing happens. Follow this water and land into the mountain, and go all the way in to the forbidden area of ​​Heiyun Village. Outside it is
safe."
"I see."
The stilted building with red lanterns and gilded tassels that we are about to enter is the largest wine shop in the area. The wine shop does not have a signboard, but whenever the word "diaojiaolou" is mentioned in the local area, it must be referring to this place.
I looked at the pedestrians along the way. Most of them were dressed in black clothes and blue trousers. Some of them were carrying wild products on their shoulders. At a glance, I knew that they were ethnic minority hunters who came here to exchange money. There were also Han Chinese who were on the same path as us. Everyone agreed.
In a foreign land, even if we don't know each other far away, we can't help but feel a sense of intimacy and smile back from afar.
Dunzhu pulled me and Ren Yonghai and said: "You two, please don't be too enthusiastic. This is a deep mountain. Don't think that the people in the mountains are all simple and honest people. It's a place where the sky and the earth are not working.
, there are many criminals who commit fraud, and the number of Han people who die in Heiyunzhai every year is not hundreds, but dozens."
I was shocked and asked him how could this happen.
Dundup said: "Wherever there are people, there will be contradictions. The sky is high here and the emperor is far away. If there are a few people missing, who will care. Killing people and robbing wealth, or just to vent their anger. Deceive them to a dark place and wipe their necks.
Throw it into the water again, genius will know. You dressed like tourists are the easiest target for others. When you get to the stilted building later, be sure not to look around."
Ren Yonghai, a criminal policeman, was stunned at first when he heard such words. Then he felt a sense of justice and asked righteously: "Is there any law here?"
Not only him, Xu Yaxian also couldn't believe it. He probably didn't expect that in a place with such a pleasant scenery, such a murderous and swindling business would happen, and it would be regarded as a normal thing.
"There is no law, this is Heiyun Village." Dunzhu smiled contemptuously and said no more.
I looked up at the stilts
The big red lantern in front of the building became nervous for some reason.
Dunzup laughed and led the rest of us up the bamboo ladder in a familiar way. Listening to the "crunching" sound under our feet and looking at the crowds of people in the building, I suddenly had a hunch that this journey might be a long one.
It's more difficult than imagined.
This stilted building, which Dunzhu calls the number one, cannot be seen from a distance, but if you really enter its gate, you will understand what it means to be "number one". As soon as I entered the door, I was almost overwhelmed by the crowd of people rushing towards me.
I'm going to faint, my dear, the one hundred and ten square meter shop is filled with big red-painted tables, and every table is full of guests.
The places in the mountains are not as polite as those in the city. Everyone is red-faced after drinking, and many people have already gone naked to the waist. They hold coarse porcelain bowls in their hands, and drinking wine is no different from drinking water.
For a moment, my eyes were filled with heads and I didn’t know where to look.
"With so many people, won't the building collapse?" Xu Yaxian asked.
Before Dundup had time to answer, a strong man walking past us said: "Why won't it collapse? It has collapsed twice this year alone. Hahaha, they all fell into the water. I don't know how lively it is."
After saying that, he took the wine jar and ran away.
I saw that most of the people here were drunken lunatics, and I couldn't help but be skeptical about searching for news. I looked at the crowd inside and outside, but I didn't seem to find any useful information.
Dunzhu slapped us both: "What's the use of looking around, we have to look at the problem deeply." After saying that, he led us into the crowd.
As soon as I entered the wall, I heard a lot of people inside, and cheers came from time to time. When I looked carefully, I saw a thin old man wearing a long green shirt, sitting cross-legged on the big red table and talking nonstop.
He was wearing a straw hat and couldn't see his face clearly. He was shaking his head and talking very lively. The onlookers applauded him from time to time. After listening for a long time, I couldn't hear clearly what he was saying. I only knew what he was saying.
Definitely not Mandarin.
Dunzhu was not surprised and explained that this old man was from the water village. He often walked around several nearby villages and made a living by telling stories. He was speaking in the local dialect and was talking about the monster fox that happened in the Hengduan Mountains.
It's not surprising that we don't understand.
Although I didn’t understand which legend the old man was telling, I saw that all the listeners were in high spirits. It seemed that the story must be very exciting. I also thought that since the old man traveled all the way around the country all year round, his knowledge must be quite extensive, so I thought about it.
Zhu asked if he could ask him to ask some questions on his behalf.
Ren Yonghai asked me what I wanted to know. He is now extremely vigilant about everyone here. Basically everyone is a suspect in his eyes. Therefore, he felt that it was not the best idea for me to ask for information so rashly.
"Let's not ask about the ancient tomb first. Let's start with the beast that attacked us last time. To be honest, I have seen a lot of strange monsters, but after this trip, I really have too many doubts. If nothing else,
It has a pie face, a big mouth, and no eyes or nose, which is a rare anecdote in the world. I heard that this old man talked about ghosts and strange things, so I wanted to ask for advice and see if there is any solution."
Dunzhu accidentally overheard our conversation and asked the waiter in the store to whisper something, and then said to me: "Old man Guo's jokes are the signature here. Now we are getting into a hot place and we can't stop. Let's go upstairs and wait in the private room.
, he’ll be up in a moment.”
Chapter completed!