49: A group of young people went out and came back with only a sack of earrings.

The three of them walked towards the fire pit room.

After only two steps, Chen Fang remembered that they were here to experience life, cooking and eating with the villagers. So, after eating, there should be something else to do. He turned his head and asked, "Teacher Xie, do you like playing in the water?"

Xie Yunxuan proudly curled his lips, "I was a star in 'Idol Sports Meet' and won the 50-meter swimming, 4x50-meter swimming relay, and 3-meter springboard championships. If you let me go to the Olympics, at least I can keep the splashes down. How about that?"

Chen Fang praised him sincerely, "It seems you really like playing in the water."

Xie Yunxuan's smile became even brighter, "Of course I do. The most important thing I look for when buying a house is a swimming pool. What's wrong? Is the production team planning water-related activities?"

Chen Fang nodded, his expression firm, and his deep gaze patted him on the shoulder.

Xie Yunxuan felt a little embarrassed by the way Chen Fang looked at him. He had secretly been dissing Chen Fang in his heart. But Chen Fang seemed to want to entrust him with a heavy responsibility? Just like Pan Pengpeng took on the team's heavy burden this morning? Cough, Chen Fang was quite sensible after all.

Chen Fang said with a serious tone, sighing deeply, "I've been trying to figure out the director's thoughts, and I found that there is indeed a task."

Xie Yunxuan was very pleased with this kind of look that entrusted him with a heavy responsibility, as if he was indispensable. He straightened his back, "Don't worry, you've researched so much about corpse driving, Pan Pengpeng is in charge of cooking, and Teacher Zhao has taught a lot of cultural knowledge, so it's my turn to do something for everyone!"

Chen Fang, with eyes full of relief, patted him on the shoulder, "That's great, then washing the dishes will be up to you!"

"..."

[Xie Yunxuan's negative emotional value +555!]

Xie Yunxuan's smile froze on his face, wishing he could kick Chen Fang away.

Damn it! Chen Dog!

He really, really, really hated Chen Fang!

He wants him to wash the dishes, does he? You three better not come later, just let him wash! If you're not afraid of the audience scolding, just let him wash them himself!

"Okay!" Xie Yunxuan gritted his teeth and pulled out his phone to send a message to the director. He strongly insisted on washing the dishes! In short, he just loved washing dishes!

In the modern kitchen behind the three of them.

The director looked at his phone, his mind a little bewildered.

The live broadcast would stop after lunch, and the cleaning process wouldn't be broadcast either, so what was he doing?

Humans actually had such a peculiar hobby?

Uh, but since the guest had a need, then, then... just satisfy him.

...

Chen Fang and the other two walked to the fire pit room on one side of the main hall.

The walls of the fire pit room were built with bluestone and yellow mud, presenting a rustic gray.

Strings of red chili peppers and corn cobs hung at the entrance, gently swaying in the wind.

Stepping inside, the fire pit room was twenty to thirty square meters in size.

In the center of the room was a square pit, over a meter on each side, with bricks and stones piled around it. Flames burned wood in the pit, making crackling sounds. This was the fire pit locals used for cooking and heating.

Above the fire pit hung an iron tripod, on which sat a large iron pot. Steam was rising from the pot, emitting the aroma of radish and cured meat.

The production team was filming in a corner of the fire pit room. One villager was stirring a dish, one was cutting vegetables, and another was washing vegetables.

Meanwhile, Tian Gangwu was adding firewood to the fire pit.

"Teacher Tian, Uncle Liu, hello..." Chen Fang and the other two spoke, greeting them in turn.

"Hello, three teachers, please sit wherever you like and look around," the village chief and others said with a smile.

After Chen Fang nodded in greeting to a few people, he moved closer to the iron pot beside Tian Gangwu.

Cured meat stew with radish was being made in the pot. The cured meat was bright red, the radish was soft and flavorful, and the rich, thick soup was bubbling. The savory aroma of the cured meat and the sweet freshness of the radish diffused with the heat.

Chen Fang squatted down and helped Tian Gangwu add firewood, "Teacher Tian, is this a traditional Xiangxi dish?"

"It should be. This dish existed when I was a child. During festivals, my grandparents would make this dish. Conditions weren't wealthy back then, so they always put it in front of us younger ones." Tian Gangwu smiled, his gaze seemingly passing through the flames, looking back at the past.

Chen Fang nodded.

Tian Gangwu sat on a small stool and looked at Chen Fang, "Oh, by the way, my grandfather used to tell me a story. It's related to corpse driving."

"Please tell us."

Zhao Jin and Xie Yunxuan also moved closer when they heard this.

Tian Gangwu stood up, retrieved three small wooden stools from nearby, and placed them about two meters from the fire pit. "Please sit down, three teachers. In the past, we used to sit by the fire pit like this in winter to warm ourselves and chat."

Since the kitchen wasn't busy now and Chen Fang and the others weren't needed to help, they sat down at ease to listen to Tian Gangwu chat.

Tian Gangwu sat on the very end, his elbows resting on his knees, fingers intertwined, and began:

"When I was little, I heard my grandfather talk about his experiences when he was young. Let me tell you about it."

The three of them nodded.

Zhao Jin tentatively raised her hand, "Teacher Tian, I apologize for interrupting, but may I ask when your grandfather was born?"

"He," Tian Gangwu calculated, "I'm not sure if his age was by lunar or actual years, but he was probably born in 1910 or 1911."

Zhao Jin nodded, waiting for him to continue.

Tian Gangwu's tone became somber: "When he was young, it was wartime. Many people in the village went to fight in the war. If the grandfather was killed, the father went; if the father was killed, the grandson went. In some families, the wife also went."

The three fell silent.

The atmosphere in the fire pit room became somewhat heavy.

The netizens who had flooded into the villagers' live stream with the three also stopped their joking, and the atmosphere in the bullet comment section quieted down.

[That must be during the Anti-Japanese War, right?]

[Xiang Army, ah.]

[Generation after generation, so tragic, ah.]

In front of the camera, Tian Gangwu continued:

"People left, sacrificed themselves, but their families still hoped they could return to their roots, their souls returning to their hometowns. So every family pooled money, one family selling chickens, another selling oxen, to gather money for my grandfather and other masters, asking them to find a way to bring the bodies back."

"But the battlefield was cruel, many bodies were severely damaged and simply couldn't be brought back."

"But ethnic minorities wear earrings." Tian Gangwu pointed to Aunt Wang, who was cutting vegetables. Aunt Wang cooperated by tilting her head to show her silver earrings, about five or six centimeters in diameter.

Tian Gangwu turned back and continued, "They have unique designs that can help identify people. If the bodies really couldn't be brought back, my grandfather and the others would bring back the earrings."

Tian Gangwu paused, his voice growing heavier, "My grandfather said that at the most tragic times, a group of young people would go out alive, and only a sack of earrings would come back."

"When they walked back to the village entrance, the old people, children, and women would rush forward, one by one asking: 'Has my husband returned? Has my father returned? Has my child returned...'

Tian Gangwu's voice was very infectious. Amidst the crackling of the firewood, that era felt very close.

Zhao Jin's eyes reddened, and she raised her hand to cover her mouth.

She didn't want to interrupt Tian Gangwu, but the live stream was already filled with exclamations at this point.

[What they were asking for wasn't living people, just bodies, ah.]

[I can't hold it together, tearing up.]

[Our predecessors were so great, how many martyrs died in foreign lands, ah? Salute to the martyrs.]

[I'm easily moved to tears and am already crying. So the corpse drivings didn't bring back terrifying corpses, but our protectors.]

[Now I'm not scared at all.]

[corpse drivings are not easy either. I used to think zombie movies were eerie and spooky, but today I learned that it's a sacred profession.]

[I originally thought it was scary and didn't watch last week's live broadcast. Now I feel it's not scary at all, only sorrow and gratitude. ╥ ﹏ ╥]

[Thank you, the adventures, for changing our perception of corpse driving and letting me know the greatness of corpse drivings.]