"Well, speaking of which, there is indeed someone in our clan who is proficient in ancient writing... Hehe, old guy, I often go to him to drink and chat."
Xu Fei touched the stubble on his chin and said with a smile: "He doesn't have a big name. People in the tribe call him 'Gu Laosou'. This old boy is a foreigner. He passed by Songguo Mountain a few years ago and suddenly...
He fell ill at the foot of the mountain due to an emergency. I happened to meet him when I was returning from mining, so I rescued him and brought him home. Unexpectedly, this person was quite interesting."
"The patriarch is absolutely right."
Bi Beiqi said next to him: "Mr. Gu is humorous, well-spoken, and proficient in writing. Therefore, after Mr. Gu recovered from his illness, the patriarch kept him and asked the children in the village to learn from him.
Learn to write, lest you become a rough guy like us who doesn’t know a basket of characters."
"Well, the old guy wasn't too happy at first. It took me a lot of effort to get him to agree."
Xu Fei said at this time: "It's just after dusk now. Lao Gu didn't go to bed that early. He must still be scribbling at home. If you want to translate the words on the armband, Guan Heng, go find him."
When he said this, the patriarch's wife who had just walked in said with a smile: "Are you going to find Old Man Gu? It just so happened that the green apricot tree in the yard was bearing fruit. I picked some and planned to send them to him. Who is willing to help?
Shall I do it for you?"
"Then let me go. I just happen to be visiting Mr. Gu with the young master."
Ruotao said and took the small bamboo basket handed by the patriarch's wife. Xu Fei muttered at this time: "This green apricot is sour and not delicious at all, but the old man Gu who doesn't have many teeth likes it."
Is it possible that people who know how to read like this sour taste?"
"Pfft..." Hearing this, Guan Heng almost laughed out loud. Agou and Tianlin looked at each other, and the latter rushed to say: "Then you go, I am meeting Xiao Hu at Elder Wang's house.
After playing for a long time, I want to go back to sleep."
…
A short while later, Guan Heng and Ruotao came to the thatched hut located in the southwest corner of the village. Old Man Gu had no children and lived alone here. When they walked nearby, they saw candlelight flickering in the window lattice and figures.
The shaking showed that Old Man Gu had not rested yet.
Guan Heng stepped over and knocked on the door softly: "Mr. Gu, a junior is here to visit."
"Oh? Come in." Hearing an old and steady voice, Guan Heng and Ruotao immediately opened the door and walked in.
"Who are you two little guys?"
Old Man Gu was tall and tall, with a pale face, but he was still energetic. Hearing his question, Guan Heng immediately explained his purpose. Old Man Gu laughed and said, "There are objects that record ancient writings? That's very rare.
Yes, take it out quickly and let me take a look."
"Crack." After taking a bite of the green apricot he took out from the bamboo basket, Old Man Gu flicked his golden armband with his fingers. He muttered: "This thing is quite old. At least it is one, two, or three years old."
, four... hundreds of years of history."
"That's right." Guan Heng said with a slight chin: "According to our judgment, this object was passed down from the Tianwu Kingdom that was very prosperous hundreds of years ago, and it can be regarded as an antique."
"Alas, the handwriting on it is small and blurry, but I can still understand most of it." Old Man Gu shook his head and said, "I would like to translate what I understand for you, but now, I am working for someone.
It’s an important thing and I have a headache, and I really can’t take care of it.”
"What exactly is going on?" Ruotao said, "Don't worry, Uncle Gu. If possible, we will also come to help."
"Well, this is it."
Gu Laosou pointed to the bamboo slices on the table and said: "You all know that the way to record words is to carve them on bamboo slices, but I am old and my eyes are dim, and I can't use a carving knife with my fingers.
It's either scratched or carved wrongly. It's really a headache. I'm trying to think of a solution."
"So that's it." Guan Heng thought for a moment and said, "If it's a less important text, you can just erase it, right?"
Old Man Gu frowned slightly: "Yes, the reason why I made so many bamboo slices is to teach children how to read. The carved bamboo slices cannot be said to be very important, but they are indispensable."
"That's easy. I have an idea."
Guan Heng flicked his fingers and said: "To write the modern Chinese characters, you can use a sand table or wooden sticks instead of bamboo knives. The handwriting on the sand can be easily written now. If you have memorized the writing method, you can do it at any time.
Erase it and write something else."
"Eh? Sand table, wooden sticks?" Old Man Gu read it carefully several times, then suddenly slapped his thigh: "Yes, this is a good idea."
Guan Heng suggested: "As long as you find a round or square plate and cover it with a layer of sand, this simple 'teaching tool' is complete. It is very convenient to have the materials available anywhere."
"Hey, hey, boy, you are really smart. These simple methods are actually very simple, but as the first person who thinks of them, you are worthy of admiration."
Old Man Gu twisted his beard and laughed: "Okay, you can keep the golden armband. I will stay up all night tonight and try my best to translate the content for you. Even if there is something I don't understand, I will
I can introduce you to someone else... these are things for later, you go ahead."
After Guan Heng and Ruotao put their armbands on the table, they respectfully said in unison: "Thank you, Old Man Gu, for your help." "Hahaha, I should be the one to say thank you." Old Man Gu waved his hand nonchalantly.
: "Thanks to Guan Heng's idea, I will save a lot of trouble in the future."
…
The night passed quickly. Guan Heng, who got up early in the morning, first took Ruotao to Mr. Gu to get the text he had translated.
According to the old man, the text on the armband was upside down and difficult to read. It related to an ancient way of writing cipher text. This kind of text was pieced together through the "well" pattern and could only be deciphered a second time.
Know the actual content.
However, Gu Laosou didn't know how to do this, but he mentioned that when he was traveling around in the past, he once passed through the small village of Duanlongpo a hundred miles away, where there lived a clan named "Shi", all of whom were proficient in ancient writing.
Gu Laosou suggested that Guan Heng go and ask them about the people who read the cipher text.
After accepting Old Man Gu's suggestion, everyone went to Xu Fei's home again. The leader of the Weishui tribe had already put in the forged "Treasure-Inlaid Ape King Helmet" and all the tokens that the clan must show when entering the royal capital to pay tribute.
He picked up the exquisite copper box and asked Agou to carry it on his back.
According to Agou, since this thing is a tribute, he should keep it by himself to avoid accidents. After all, no one dares to easily provoke him, a black spirit tyrant.
Finally, it was time to say goodbye to everyone in the Weishui tribe. Xu Fei, Xu Bai and the Bi family brothers sent Guan Heng and the others to the foot of Songuo Mountain, and reluctantly walked out for more than ten miles. Guan Heng watched
Tears appeared in Tianlin's eyes, so they started talking.