When talking to Xiaomi, Chen Zhi tried his best to sound natural and calm, and Pang Wei seemed to be okay, holding a newspaper and reading it. Both of them looked very casual.
Xiaomi obviously didn't think much about it. He took the note from Chen Zhi, took it over and looked at it again and again, and then laughed sheepishly.
"Oops! I'm sorry, boss.
In fact, I was really showing off just now. When I was young, my family really forced me to learn some Sogdian, but because I was too playful, I basically gave up without learning a few words.
The last time I saw the two characters "??", I recognized them because I could always see them on the boxes during ancestor worship, so I kept them in my mind.
I don’t know the others at all!”
"So that's it..." Chen Zhi nodded slightly, still calm, as if he was just asking unintentionally.
“Then do you know who else knows this Sogdian language?
It’s good to know a few words.”
"Well...",
Xiaomi scratched his head and said a little embarrassed,
"To be honest, no one should have used this kind of broken writing long ago. When my father was alive, it was still a treasure.
When you mentioned it, I remembered that my father forced me to learn it when I was a child, saying that I should not forget my ancestors. I really hated it.
But he said that if I don't inherit this language, I'm afraid it will become extinct in the future. But I think this crap thing can't be exchanged for money, so if it becomes extinct, it will become extinct! What's there to miss?
If you ask who still knows this language... I guess it’s only my great-grandmother, but she has Alzheimer’s disease, so I don’t know how much she can remember.”,
When Xiaomi said this, he spread his hands and smiled.
"Let me tell you, the two bosses, stop messing with these old-fashioned things. Why do we modern people care about the past?
Come with me to the souvenir shop to have a look, that is the real good stuff..."
"Well, we must buy some of those souvenirs!",
Chen Zhi put down his cup at this time and looked at Xiaomi seriously:
"But I'm dissatisfied with you saying that my interest is not here!
As I said just now, I have some interest in archeology, and now I am very fascinated by the history of Guazhou. I want to write a special paper on the ancient Sogdian culture of Guazhou.
It talks about these languages. If you can recommend your great-grandmother to help us translate, I can pay you a fee for the translation!"
"This fee...",
When Chen Zhi said this, he thought for a moment, thinking that the fee should not be too much, so as not to let the little tour guide notice anything, and not too little, so that he would not be interested.
"If she can translate it, I am willing to pay you 8,000 yuan for the translation!
Of course...if this job is done well, I can add more!"
"Yeah?",
When Xiaomi heard this, his eyes immediately lit up.
"The boss is so polite. Although it's a simple effort, not many people know this old symbol. I'm not bragging. Except for my grandma, no one else knows about it!
Let's do this, I'll take you back, I'll have a good talk with her, and see if she can translate it for you.
But let’s talk it over first. I have to work all day long. I have labor expenses and gas expenses. My family lives far away. Regardless of whether it is translated or not, you all have to give me money for running errands.
Woolen cloth!"
"Oh, don't worry!",
Fat Wei put down the newspaper and pretended not to care and said to the little tour guide:
"Looking at the way you are obsessed with money, you fell in love with my fat man.
Even if the translation doesn't come out, I'll give you 3,000. If the translation comes out, I'll give you more. Is that okay this time?
To tell you the truth, if it weren't for my buddy having nothing to do and insisting on studying old-fashioned stuff, I wouldn't care about this nonsense.
As you said, what are you doing studying these crappy things? It’s just because you’re full..."
"Okay, okay!",
The little tour guide nodded in succession:
"The boss is a cultured person, and he does great things! To carry forward our national culture in Guazhou, everyone is responsible, everyone is responsible!
The two bosses will eat first, and I will take you there in the afternoon..."
Xiaomi then went down happily, while Chen Zhi and Pang Wei looked at each other, and the stone in their hearts fell to the ground.
Happiness always comes so suddenly!
Xiaomi came to tell them in the afternoon that he had just made a phone call and that his grandma was in particularly good spirits today. Not only did she recognize who he was, but she could also remember what happened to him when he was a child. He expected to gain something unexpected if he went there today!
So, in the afternoon, they got on Xiaomi's van and headed to Xiaomi's hometown, Hulin Town, a suburb of Guazhou City.
Xiaomi really didn't lie. This small town was really remote and poor. When they finally turned around, Chen Zhi and others were confused.
Fat Wei even wondered for a while whether this kid had taken some black money and wanted to sell some of them or something like that?
Finally, after passing two almost deserted dirt roads, we entered the town of Hulin.
This Hulin Town, although its name is a town, is actually the size of a village, and it looks very poor, without even a decent road.
Most of the people walking back and forth in the village have dark complexions, dirty clothes, obvious curly hair, and not very dark eyes, which are characteristics of people from the Western Regions.
The village is in a remote location, and cars are rarely seen on weekdays. After they entered the village, they were chased by children.
Xiaomi waved frequently in the car and talked to the villagers on the roadside without knowing what to say. It looked very beautiful.
Finally, after much stumbling, we finally arrived at their home.
It can be seen that Xiaomi is considered a promising young man in this village, and his family is considered wealthy here.
Among the many old houses, their house is the most decent. Although it is not a two-story building, it has a large yard and the walls have been renovated.
And in front of the door of the house, you can see an extremely old lady from a distance, leaning on a cane, her face so wrinkled that she can no longer see her eyes, greeting them at the door...