Chapter 14 Section 13: The Little Shepherd in Mazha Village

Ahematijiang saw a lot of people entering the village while herding sheep today. Mazha Village is a tourist attraction and a holy place, but Ahematijiang felt that these people were neither here for pilgrimage nor for tourism.He drove the sheep back to the sheepfold, and as he walked, he wondered what those people were doing. Ahematjiang is 12 years old this year, and he is in the sixth grade of primary school. The primary school in the village closes early. Since summer, he has an extra task after school every afternoon, which is to take the 20 or so sheep at home to graze.Originally, a half-agricultural and half-pastoral family like theirs had already raised sheep in captivity, but in summer, it would be a pity not to let the sheep eat the green grass all over the mountains and plains!So the children in the village almost have this task after school.Don't look at Ahematjiang's young age, he is a shepherd with 7 years of "shepherd age".

These people who entered the village came by car, and they all took high-powered off-road vehicles.Since the development of tourism in the village, Ahemaitijiang's vision has become more and more open. His little head is analyzing, and his sheep are walking on the way home obediently.He saw that those people did not come out after entering the village, and sat on a big bluestone at the entrance of the village to rest. He wanted to wait for those people to come out and see if the car was a brand he recognized. "Hey—Ahematjiang, what are you doing sitting here?!" At this moment, Chu Feng and his car entered the entrance of the village.

"Uncle Muhemaiti, you're back! Where's my father? Has he come back?" Ahemaitijiang saw the village chief's eyes light up. "Your father and the others are behind and will be there soon. What are you doing sitting here? Go back quickly and help your mother with work. Go back quickly!" Only then did Chu Feng know that the village head was called Muhemaiti. The car quickly drove past Ahemaiti River and arrived at the village chief's house in a while.This is a typical Uyghur farmhouse: a low earth embryo house with a yard in front of the house, a sheepfold behind the house, and a drying room for drying raisins on the left side of the yard.

After entering the house, the inside of the house is still quite clean. The floor is paved with tiles, and the door is a big Kang. On the Kang table, there is a table on the Kang. There are also brightly colored blankets.Although it has a slight fishy smell, it is really beautiful. Before Chu Feng could finish looking at the room, a Uighur woman who appeared to be in her 40s came in with a pot of milk tea and a plate of naan. Chu Feng guessed that she might be the wife of the village chief, and when he asked, she was indeed. The village chief's figure is fairly slender, and his wife's waist is a little thinner than a bucket, but she can vaguely see her youthful appearance.

When Chu Feng saw the naan and milk tea, he knew that this was today's dinner. The folk customs here are like this. Eat on the kang, and when you are done eating, remove the kang table and go to sleep.After thanking the village chief's wife, he and the driver Xiao Wang took off their shoes and went to the kang.At this time, the village chief came in. He didn't know what kind of an official the professor was, but seeing the Han people who heard that Chu Feng was a professor at the scene today, they all showed respect, so he knew that the person in front of him must have a lot of background, so he came in very politely and said : "Uh—— respected guest, today we have no preparations, no sheep slaughter, just now I heard that my brother's house slaughtered sheep today, please wait a moment, I will go to my brother's house to get some mutton and stew it, for today's dinner It's getting late, if the guests are hungry, drink some milk tea and eat some naan first!"

Chu Feng knew that the nomads' meals were very simple. They usually eat naan with milk tea, and sometimes some raisins and fruits.If a guest comes, the sheep will be slaughtered for entertainment.He came very suddenly. If the sheep is slaughtered and stewed now, it will be really late for dinner. He hastily declined, saying that it is good to just eat these, so there is no need to trouble yourself.Muhemaiti refused, and insisted on stewing mutton, so he went. Xiao Wang said to Chu Feng: "It's okay, Professor Chu, this is how we are here. When we come to their house, we are their guests. If you don't eat, he will be unhappy instead!" A bowl of milk tea.

Chu Feng is actually not interested in mutton now, he wants to eat some fruit, but it seems that this wish is a bit extravagant.Now the newest fruits in the city include early-maturing apricots and strawberries from various places. There are no strawberries in the local area, and the apricots may not be ripe yet.He listened to Xiao Wang's words and didn't say anything. Seeing that Chu Feng picked up the milk tea and drank it, Xiao Wang didn't feel uncomfortable at all. Therefore, he was told by the captain before that he was from the south, and now he looked at Chu Feng with a little surprise.Chu Feng came back to his senses, saw his eyes, and understood what he was thinking.He smiled and didn't explain.

Xiao Wang thinks this professor is very strange. First of all, he is very young, not as young as a professor. Secondly, he does not have the arrogance and airs of a cultural person. Before they came, they had set up a tent together. Chu Feng's movements were very skillful. Obviously did the job.Again, his speech was not as profound as those professors I had met before.But if Chu Feng doesn't smile, the people facing him will feel pressure. He has also felt this kind of pressure when Captain Sangbu was in a state of rage, so he thinks this is very strange. On the way, Chu Feng already knew that Xiao Wang’s name was Wang Cong, and he was only 24 years old this year. When he told his real age, Chu Feng was startled, because from the outside, he must be over 30 anyway. This shows the hard work of field archaeological work.

He probably knew what Xiao Wang was thinking, and smiled inwardly, without explaining. Xiao Wang decided to take the initiative to break the silence: "Professor Chu, are you from the south?" Chu Feng nodded: "Yes, I am from the south, but I was a soldier in Xinjiang before." "So that's the case!" Xiao Wang finally resolved his doubts. The two ate something to make a cushion, and Chu Feng looked at the sky outside. Although the sun had already set, it was not dark yet, so he wanted to take a walk in the village.Xiao Wang was afraid that he would make a mistake, so he followed him.

On both sides of the main road in the village, there are low earth embryo houses built with yellow clay, which are similar to those of the village chief's house.This kind of construction retains the construction habits of the traditional Western Regions that have been passed down for thousands of years.There are also newer brick houses, which stand out among a group of earth buildings like a group of chickens. After only a few steps, Chu Feng saw a mosque with a dome.This mosque is not very big, it has about two to three thousand square meters, and many people do "Namaz" (worship) in it - the mosques in Xinjiang can really be regarded as the largest in the world, with 2 large and small mosques. More than 4,000.Hearing the rhythmic chanting from inside, Chu Feng couldn't help speeding up his pace.

This chanting is also a kind of knowledge. There are often singing competitions among Muslims. If you sing well, you can really sing with a sense of music.Chu Feng still had a little understanding of Islam. When he heard the voice, he knew that the chanter was of extraordinary skill. He might be a great imam. He didn't want to cause misunderstanding, so he left the mosque quickly. The village head's house was not far from the village entrance, and after walking a few steps to the village entrance, Chu Feng saw that the little boy they saw when they entered the village was still sitting on the big blue stone.He walked over, looked at the boy and smiled, but the boy ignored him, and he focused on a certain corner of the village. In fact, Ahematjiang was wondering: why did those people not come out after waiting for so long.Although there are several Thousand-Buddha Caves in the back of the village, the murals inside have been pried away long ago, and the damp ones have been wiped out, leaving only bare caves. What is there to see, many people go around It will come out, it will take less than an hour.But now that group of people has been in the village for three hours, and they haven't come out yet. On the contrary, the two Han people who had entered the village with the village chief, Uncle Muhemaiti, came out. They looked like they were just wandering around with nothing to do. "Hmph, I don't care about him!" Ahematjiang thought to himself. Chu Feng didn't know the little boy's psychology. He quickly climbed up to the big bluestone weighing at least several tons, stood on the big bluestone, and looked at the slightly lower village.At this time, the last ray of the sun was shining on the mountain behind the village, and that mountain was also red. At this moment, it was emitting multicolored rays of light, covering the sky above the village, and it really had a sacred taste.It is the evening cooking time in the village, and the smoke rises from the chimneys of every household. The leaves of the poplar and apple trees in front of and behind the houses sway gently with the breeze, and the whole village is simple and quiet. Chu Feng stared at this ancient village with a history of at least 1,700 years, felt the evening wind blowing on his face, and couldn't help but open his arms suddenly to hug it.He felt a kind of sincere joy from the bottom of his heart, and couldn't help showing a smile on his face. Ahematjiang was taken aback by Chu Feng's expression and movements behind him, "chiliu" slid down the big bluestone and ran home. When Chu Feng saw the little boy's movements, he didn't know that he was frightened by himself, and the smile on his face became wider. Chu Feng stretched his body on the stone, and couldn't help but praise in his heart: This is really a holy place outside the world. It was getting dark, and the village chief hurriedly called them back: dinner is ready! The village head put a lot of effort into this meal. In addition to a pot of stewed mutton, there was also a plate of pilaf and two side dishes on the table.Uyghurs themselves do not grow vegetables, they have to buy small vegetables outside, and this village is cut off from the outside world by the Tuyugou Grand Canyon, so it is not easy to go out.This side dish is also very precious. The whole family of the village chief also got on the kang. Chu Feng knew the custom of the Uighurs to pray before eating. When he entered the country, he followed the family and raised his hands. It's ready to eat! Not to mention, these meals are very delicious, allowing Chu Feng and Xiao Wang to feast on them.Seeing them like this, the village chief was quite satisfied and kept smiling. Chu Feng knew that Uighurs like to eat while enjoying singing and dancing, so he asked, "Uncle Muhemaiti, why don't you sing anymore? Are you a little shy to see outsiders like us here?" Hearing him say this, Muhemaiti made a slight noise: "Ah! Distinguished guests from afar, I'm really sorry, old man, I thought you had a hard day today, and you should rest early! The hospitality is not good! That's it! If the guests don't mind , I’ll sing you a piece of Muqam!” Then, he turned around and took down the Dutar hanging on the wall and began to sing. Since the Uyghur Twelve Muqams were included in the list of intangible cultural heritage by the United Nations, the Twelve Muqams have become famous.But few people know that there are some regional variants of the Twelve Muqam, and this Turpan Muqam is very distinctive.Some of its tunes are very similar to the tunes of the Han nationality in the interior, and folk tunes from Shaanxi and Gansu are often mixed. Here Uncle Muhemaiti played Dutar. His eldest son, a 17-year-old boy, also went back to his room to fetch the Dongba drum and a tambourine, and joined his father’s music with his eight-year-old brother. among. As soon as the drum idea came to mind, the aunt and her little daughter couldn't sit still, and jumped up happily to the rhythm.This Uyghur muqam all contains the part of Maixilaifu. Maixilaifu means dance party. This section has a bright rhythm, which makes everyone dance happily.Seeing everyone dancing happily, Xiao Wang couldn't help but also jumped up from the seat, and Chu Feng also clapped vigorously in time with the beat. Uyghurs already have the habit of visiting the house. When the music played in this house, the neighbors could not sit still. They came one after another. Some sat down to eat, and some danced to the music. Suddenly, this small courtyard How lively! This meal was a joy for both the host and the guests. When everyone dispersed and it was time to rest at night, Chu Feng found an opportunity to ask Wang Cong, "Xiao Wang, there is one thing that I am very puzzled about, and I have always wanted to ask you!" Xiao Wang said: "What's the matter?" "That vertical burial opening, why did Captain Sangbu fill it in? He knew there was nothing inside without even looking at it?" Hearing this question, Xiao Wang gritted his teeth: "Fill it in today, and dig it up tomorrow. It's all because of those grave robbers!" "Tomb robbers?" Chu Feng knew that in this industry, tomb robbers were common, and the country repeatedly banned them, but he didn't know that the tomb robbers in Xinjiang had already become so rampant. "What is this! The tomb robbers in Xinjiang are rampant. There are roads everywhere in this big Gobi stall. You can't block it, and you can't prevent it. Those guys are now following us. They bought some obsolete Beijing Jeeps, after modification, can come and go freely on the Gobi Desert, if we ignore them, we will rob graves recklessly, call the police to catch them, and at most we can catch a scrap car." "Car?" Chu Feng asked, "Why only cars? People?" "People have already run away! These people are very slippery. As long as there is a policeman, if the momentum is wrong, they will abandon the car and run away. Who knows where he is hiding in such a big Gobi Desert? The policemen are also people, so they can't do nothing. Do a big search on the Gobi Desert, so I tell them to escape every time. It’s also crazy, how do these people know the Gobi Desert so well, and they don’t get lost, otherwise, they would die of thirst.” Chu Feng knew that this was probably due to the help of high technology: "With a GPS, it is not easy to get lost!" Xiao Wang glanced at him, did not refute, and continued: "Maybe you are right! In short, these people have brought Chairman Mao's guerrilla warfare strategy to the extreme. If we advance, they will retreat; if we retreat, they will retreat." Go in. If the vertical burial hole is not filled, even though it is right in front of our camp, those people would dare to go down in the middle of the night to steal things! So Boss Sang can only order it to be filled. Now, those people may be right here Somewhere around us, it's staring at us." Hearing what he said, Chu Feng was startled when he thought of the stone tablet in Lop Nur: "They also entered Lop Nur?" "Enter——Why don't you enter! They dare to go anywhere as long as they can make a fortune. However, there are many people who go to that place and many people die, so many people dare not go. Moreover, every time they go there to investigate , They are all going in a big team, with armed police guarding them, but those people dare not follow, they can only pick up some leftovers to eat after we leave!" Chu Feng was even more worried when he thought of that stone tablet!Xiao Wang also went to the stele last time. Seeing the worried expression on Chu Feng's face, he said nonchalantly, "Don't worry about that stele. We can't take it away. They just found it. I can only stare blankly!" "I'm just looking forward to something good coming out tomorrow, so that we can apply for the support of the armed police, otherwise, we will be bullied to death by these bastards." After Xiao Wang finished speaking, he lay down on the bed, good guy, after 5 seconds, he started snoring. Chu Feng was stunned, but he also envied him for falling asleep so fast, he was such a careless young man.