It was another peaceful late night, and Rurik's little head was still dreaming about the study during the day.
He was muttering some strange things in his sleep, and involuntarily snuggled up to the leather blanket wrapped around him.
The new day begins with the hard work of the lower-level priests, who are cooking today's breakfast in the huge wooden house.
It is not much different from the past. Bread is very precious, and the daily meals of the priests are mostly fish. In recent days, everyone has been eating some venison every day.
But not everyone eats much. The priests are used to a life of half-starvation and half-full. A small piece of cooked meat is the so-called breakfast.
After waking up, Rurik ate the meat immediately without any psychological burden.
Only his servant Rumia looked at the pieces of meat in the rough wooden bowl with many thoughts.
"Eat. If you don't eat, you will be hungry." Rurik muttered the ancient Sami vocabulary he had learned in the past few days. Without any rhetoric, he just used the most basic vocabulary to express himself. meaning.
"Okay."
Rumia was cruel. Now things have changed, even though the venison in this bowl was once her own live deer. , that has nothing to do with me anymore.
Actually, Rumia doesn’t quite know what the concept of “servant” is. As long as she works for them, she is a servant, right?
After a few days of contact, she understood one thing. As long as she obeyed this little boy, she seemed to be treated well.
She took a few bites of the venison sprinkled with coarse salt, and the refreshing salty taste deeply stimulated her mind.
She suddenly stumbled and asked: "Today, shall we study?"
"Yes. I also need to learn your language. You also need to learn our language."< /p>
"Okay. I, study."
Anyone is smart, and people can distinguish the core content of Chinese language. As long as they master these core contents, two people with different mother tongues can People can barely communicate.
Rurik originally thought that today would be another peaceful study day. Due to the bad wind and snow outside, he naturally continued to be protected by the towering priest's wooden house.
Not long after he had breakfast, a "white" strong man wearing a white bear skin hurried into the wooden house.
The person who came was none other than leader Otto.
Behind him were several of his close associates.
Otto's sudden appearance made Vilia a little dissatisfied. She suspended her translation work and also suspended the language education of Rurik and Rumia.
"My leader, you should be gentler. Don't make too much noise and spare me, an old man."
"Oh, I'm sorry, great priest. I'm just here Picking up my son."
"Rurik? What's wrong? I'm teaching him personally."
"Otto's eyes widened.Know what the Son and his servants are doing.
Otto supported his son's study, but due to the limitations of the times, he believed that it was enough to be better than others after studying.
He stepped forward and muttered: "Great priest, I came here just to take Rurik away to clear the snow. Now that the snowstorm is basically over, we must remove as much snow as possible from all the houses. Including this big wooden house.”
“Ah! I almost forgot.” Vilia patted her forehead, “It’s time to clear the snow, Bona, help me up!”
After Vilia was helped up, she felt that snow removal work was imperative.
"Just like in previous years, we cleared the snow from the roof. And the snow on the road, all cleared aside. Bona, bring my leather jacket, and then tell the others to take action Let's go."
Otto nodded with satisfaction: "Rurik, let's go too, take your servant with you."
" Mission?”
Rurik was filled with confusion. Could it have something to do with snow removal?
Soon, he understood his so-called mission.
Ruririk pulled Rumia's thin arm. At this moment, both of them were wearing the traditional clothes of tribal children, which were actually lined with linen. They were covered with coats cut from animal skins, and their feet were Boots made from a variety of leathers.
But the biggest difference between Rurik and other children is that he wears underwear.
The Ross tribe, they are like other tribes, even the Frankish Kingdom further south.
All residents have no concept of pants until now.
Only those grassland peoples invented trousers out of basic necessity.
In this era, only the Frankish cavalry would wear some leather-like trousers.
Rurik couldn't stand the life without pants. When he was old enough, he asked his mother Niya to cut and sew a piece of linen into a pair of shorts. This thing has a greater significance in concealing shame, and now it also has a little more value in keeping out the cold.
He stood in the snow under his wooden house. The thickness of the snow on the roof was really amazing.
Otto came carrying two pairs of small oars. One of them was handed over to his son’s leader gently, and the other was thrown to Rumia more roughly.
He gave orders more casually; "Hey! Girl, follow your master to the roof in a moment and push all the snow down!"
Just look at this tall guy Rumia was afraid of such a strong guy. And she could see clearly that this man was not only a murderer who hurt his relatives, but he was also wearing a genuine bearskin! The terrifying bear head and the terrifying fangs were all hanging down on the man's back.
This man actually killed a bear!
She couldn’t quite understand the man’s orders. In short, this man was very scary. Rumia subconsciously held the wooden oar and approached her master Rurik., slightly shaking his head in fear.
"Dad, you are too cruel to her." Rurik muttered impatiently.
"Huh? Did I disgust you?"
"No! Look at Rumia's face, she is scared."
"This That’s right. This deer herder girl should be afraid of me. She will climb onto the roof soon.”
Rurik nodded: “I understand, but dad, you see I’m so weak.” , you expect me to clear away all the snow?"
"No need." Otto smiled awkwardly: "If I follow us up, the roof will be fine. The roof collapsed. My child, you can be the future leader, so don’t be afraid of this difficulty. It doesn’t matter if you don’t want to. It’s reasonable for your servants to climb up and complete these tasks.”
“That’s crazy!”
Rurik raised his head and looked at the snow, which was about half a meter thick, and couldn’t help but pout and shake his head.
He glanced at his servant again from the corner of his eyes, hoping that the girl would complete her work. I am afraid that even if she pushed away all the snowflakes with a wooden paddle, she would be exhausted and paralyzed.
Given the attitude of his parents towards the girl, Rurik really didn’t dare to think too much.
Humanistic care? Pooh! The parents must simply treat Rumia as a tool.
He gritted his teeth and said to his father: "What is this difficulty? But you have to prepare some food for me. Well...Mom!"
With some complexity Niya responded: "What's wrong?"
"Can you make some porridge for me? I'm preparing some dry bread cubes. I'll eat these when I finish my work."
"Okay. But Rurik, you have to be careful. Come down when you are really tired. I am different from your father. I will not force..."
"Shut up!" Otto He stopped his wife angrily and said, "Go and prepare wheat porridge! You have to believe in your son. He is the man who will be the future leader. If he can't clear the snow off the roof, what ability will he have to face many enemies in the future?" Defeat them?"
Rurik wanted to laugh, as if the snowflakes were the enemy and sweeping the snow was also a kind of battle.
If you think about it carefully, similar father roles are really common. A strong father will always ask his son to challenge the impossible, and only the mother of the child will be worried at the rear.
So, how to climb to the roof?
The roofs of ordinary houses in Roseburg are made of pieces of wood, with a layer of grass containing soil laid on top. Some people also put a layer of animal skin on the bottom layer for better protection from rain.
No buildings have tiles, and the roofs also have a certain slope.
Rurik could not climb the roof without using a ladder, and Otto did not prepare a ladder for this purpose because he felt it would be unnecessary.
After all, my son is only seven years old. As long as I hold him, I can easily throw him to the roof.
In this way, Rurik was thrown into the snow nest on the roof, and the next person thrown up was Rumia.
"You start!" Otto on the ground ordered.
"Okay!" After Rurik finished speaking, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and use ancient Sami vocabulary to instruct Rumia, "Rumia, start! Finish, you and I, eat. Eat. Bread.”
Bread? In fact, Rumia was lucky enough to eat bread for the first time in the priest's cabin after being captured.
It was Rurik who broke off a small piece of dry whole-wheat bread to her. In fact, in his opinion, this bread was not only a filling thing, but also a good way to clean teeth.
It is really a real whole-wheat bread, with a lot of wheat bran in it! Even so, it has more energy than the meat you usually eat. Whenever you do physical work, eating wheat is the first food to restore your physical strength.
Looking at the snow on the entire roof, Rurik estimated that today was really the busiest day since he traveled through time.
Is there anything more annoying than asking a seven-year-old boy and a ten-year-old girl to complete such a task while adults watch the show and call it a challenge?
Fortunately, the snow was quite soft and the bottom was already frozen.
As the work began, Rurik personally felt the busyness of the work. After careful consideration, it was not unacceptable.
The oars of the long boats of the Ross tribe are not only wider, but also have a bit of exquisite design.
Including small oars for some small boats, they are all carved from oak into special shapes, that is, grooves are deliberately carved out in the center of the oars.
This little invention will give you some advantages when paddling, and it will be more efficient than a smooth paddle.
Then, using this paddle to break up loose snowflakes is also very efficient.
It’s just that the snow is still too thick. The two light children worked hard and a lot of snow was pushed to the ground.
Rurik took a closer look and saw that his father was certainly not just a spectator. He was also using a wooden paddle as a shovel to push aside the snow he had pushed down.
He looked around again and saw many black shadows swaying on the roof of the huge Roseburg. Today's snow clearing seemed like a festival.
Too much snow can collapse a house, and as the snow gets less and less, the likelihood of a collapse decreases.
Most of the work must be completed in the short day. Seeing that the work was over and dressing up, the panting Rurik was happy to see that Rumia was still pushing the snow hard.
"Hey! Rumia, rest!"
"No. It's over, Snow, rest."
Rurik understood what she meant, This servant really proved his obedience through practical actions. After all, she is just a ten-year-old child. She should not have any more ideas in her mind. Given some promises, she will work hard to complete the work.
Rurik thought a lot at this moment. He sat on the roof to take a rest, looked at the girl’s struggling figure, and estimatedWhen she grows up, she will be a good helper for me.
Although Rumia is just a child, I can teach her a lot. In the future, such a person will be an excellent right hand, even if she is a woman who will be looked down upon.
After resting for a while, Rurik subconsciously held his stomach.
"Oh, I'm really hungry. They should be cooking porridge now, I can smell it. Finish the work early, and I'll eat early."
Compared with other children of the same age, Rurik can be said to be "pampered". Although he is only seven years old, Rurik's weak body still has a lot of muscle strength. He is stronger than other children. In comparison, Rumia's body is much weaker.
Rumia was really afraid of that man. She didn’t know how much protection the little boy around her would give her. It was obvious that if she couldn’t complete her work well, she would definitely be punished by the evil man.
Punishment must be something terrifying!
Rumia has no intention of resting at all. She just wants to finish her work as soon as possible, but she doesn't realize at all how excessive labor is damaging to the body.
Except for Rurik, everyone in the tribe has no concept of pants. The means to protect the lower body from the cold are longer leather jackets that can submerge the knees, and high-top boots that extend to the knees. Normally, the combination of these two types of clothing would be enough to keep out the cold, but Rumia's new clothes didn't fit that well.
She was so thin that some of her skin was always exposed to the cold. She was also afraid of being punished and worked hard. This work was indeed very successful. Otto, who was clearing snow on the ground, also monitored her work from time to time. Otto said nothing and was very satisfied with the work of the girl Rumia.
She is indeed an obedient tool.
Gradually Rumia felt the heat, and the animal skin covering her body felt like a heavy burden.
Rurik kept pushing the snow with his head sullen, but when he raised his head again, he was surprised to see Rumia actually getting rid of the shackles of the animal skin. The cold-resistant leather coat was only tied to the waist with hemp rope.
This child was actually wearing a lined linen shirt, and her two arms were directly exposed to the cold wind from the Arctic.
Rurik was shocked.
He ran over in a hurry, with a look of intense astonishment on his face: "Rumia, what are you doing! Put your clothes back on quickly."
Rumia basically understood this. Following the command in Norse, she reluctantly explained: "I...I'm hot. I'm fine now."
"Very good?!"
Rurik Go touch her arm, where is the heat! Her arm was like an ice cube!
After being greatly frightened, he touched the girl's forehead with his hand, and her head became cold.
How can you feel hot when your whole body is cold?
Suddenly, an extremely bad situation emerged in his mind. Rurik waited for the girl’s big eyes and directly snatched the wooden paddle from her hand: “Rumia, it’s over.. You put on your clothes and go to the ground to eat. "
"I...I'm okay. "
"Enough! ”
Rurik stopped talking nonsense. He directly threw down both pairs of wooden oars, then took Rumia’s cold hand and sat on the ice on the roof, looking at the ground without any immediate The cleared snow fell directly.
Then the two fell onto the snow pile.
"Hey! Rurik, why did you come down before you finished your work? ! "Otto was very dissatisfied with his son's decision, "You still can't stand this little exertion? ! "
"Dad! Something happened. Rurik shouted with a horrified face: "Hurry up and give Rumia hot water." If she worked any longer, she would freeze to death. ”
At this point, Rurik stopped talking nonsense. He smelled that porridge was indeed being cooked in his house. It had a comfortable smell of wheat.
But Rumia’s current situation It was already very bad, and what was even worse was that the girl didn't realize that she was almost dead.
Rumia was dragged away. She was still feeling hot all over, but she seemed to be walking without energy. The lubricated machinery made her whole body look very stiff.
Her body consumed too much heat, and her mind became numb. Her brain mistakenly believed that she was very hot, but in fact she was almost freezing.
Many drunk people in winter lie on the roadside and sleep soundly. As the sun rises, people who get up early are surprised to find that these hungover people are being beaten. The clothes were lifted and the body was frozen.
This is what Rurik thought of. Rumia was clearly confused by the cold and could not tell what was hot and what was cold! /p>
Only he has more knowledge in his mind. It would be bad if Rumia listens to his words.
He pulled the girl to the door of his house and casually walked her there. The sleeping nest made of animal skins and hay was tossed, and then he came close to the mother who was squatting and boiling wheat in an iron pot and said: "Mom, the wheat looks almost ready. Give me a bowl quickly. "
"Don't worry, I'll serve it for you, be careful it's very hot. "Seeing that the child was well, Niya was in a great mood.
She calmly filled a bowl for her son. The son picked up a wooden spoon and ran to the girl with the bowl in hand. Next to her.
Niya was surprised to see that her son was actually feeding the servant!
At this moment, Niya suddenly thought of many things. She didn’t understand what a servant could do. How could De He be so noble that the future leader would feed her?
Afterwards, Otto also curiously returned to the house to see clearly the actions of the two children. "Rurik what are you doing? "Otto asked strangely.
"Father, mother, Rumia has no idea that she almost froze to death. Mom, prepare some more bread cubes and bake some meat quickly. Dad, please help me and carry her to the campfire. I don’t want her to freeze to death, nor do I want her to get sick! quick! ”