Chapter 260: Green Sparrow Year 1
Winter nights always seem endless, and the people of the Green Sparrow Tribe rarely stay up late. Even if they need to stand guard at night, they do so in shifts, and staying up all night like this is very rare.
Therefore, by the time the latter half of the night arrived, many people had already nodded off.
Han Cheng was fine, partly because of his nostalgia for the New Year and partly because of his experience staying up late. For him, this level of wakefulness was just a minor inconvenience.
After a while, these exhausted Green Sparrow Tribe members finally followed Han Cheng's suggestion, and half of them went back to their rooms to sleep.
After sleeping for a while, they would then switch with the other half.
Although the shaman wanted to stay up all night, he couldn't resist the drowsiness and went back to sleep.
But Fire Two and Shi Tou, one old and one young, remained spirited.
Fire Two used to tend the fire at night in the Green Sparrow Tribe, so staying up late was a habit he developed long ago. He looked even more energetic at night than during the day.
As for Shi Tou, he had been spending a lot of time drawing the moon at night, gradually showing signs of becoming a night owl.
The drum would sound occasionally, and the fire in the pit never diminished because Fire Two would occasionally add firewood.
They ate when it wasn't dark yet. Although they were quite full at the time, the food in their stomachs had almost been digested by now.
Han Cheng asked the Eldest Senior Brother, who insisted on staying awake, to fetch some meat and share it with the others who stayed behind. They used tree branches to skewer the meat and roasted it slowly by the fire, which was delightful.
This was the first time the people of the Green Sparrow Tribe had eaten supper, and it felt even more marvelous.
During these days of the New Year, they suddenly experienced many strange and unforgettable things they had never thought of before.
After eating a piece of roasted meat, Shi Tou carefully brought over the two clay tablets he had drawn and looked at them carefully in the firelight.
Now, he attached even more importance to these two clay tablets. Based on the moon he had drawn on them, the Divine Child could determine the days when the "Year" would come, and their tribe could prepare everything in advance.
During the long night, there was always something to discuss to pass the time. Han Cheng told a simple story, which astonished the people of the Green Sparrow Tribe. As they continued chatting, the topic shifted to the "Year" and "Month."
Influenced by the Divine Child, Shi Tou, who loved naming things, suddenly had the idea of giving the newly appeared "Year" a name.
Because this was the first year after the rough calendar had been established, he named this year "First Year" and then asked Han Cheng's opinion.
Shi Tou's method of naming the Year reminded Han Cheng that they needed to give a name to the Year. Otherwise, although they could distinguish the recent years using terms like "the year before last," "last year," and "this year," it would be easy to get confused once time passed.
"First Year" could have referred to this year, but it didn't sound very appealing.
With this in mind, Han Cheng suddenly had a playful idea. He smiled and said, "Let's call it Green Sparrow Third Year."
"Green Sparrow Third Year?"
Shi Tou repeated Han Cheng's words, his eyes shining excitedly, but soon he became puzzled again.
"Green Sparrow" referred to their Green Sparrow Tribe, and naming the Year after their tribe was a good idea. Just by hearing it, one would know it was something from their Green Sparrow Tribe, much nicer than the "First Year" they had named.
However, this is only the first year since the "Year" appeared. Why did the Divine Child not call this year Green Sparrow One Year but Green Sparrow Three Years?
This left Shi Tou quite puzzled. He thought hard but couldn't figure out this confusing question, so he asked the Divine Child.
Han Cheng just smiled smugly without explaining.
This further puzzled Shi Tou, but he could only inwardly agonize over it and try to figure out the reasons himself.
Shi Tou's eyes suddenly lit up as he absentmindedly drew on the ground with a stick. After a while, he raised his voice and said excitedly, "I got it! When the Divine Child arrived, it was autumn. That year was Green Sparrow Year One, the previous year was Green Sparrow Year Two, and this year is Green Sparrow Year Three."
After speaking, he looked at Han Cheng expectantly.
Some of his thoughts had been spoken out loud. Even though Han Cheng had a thick skin, he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. Luckily, it was nighttime, the flames were flickering, and no one noticed his reaction.
Shi Tou, on the other hand, was ecstatic, feeling that naming the year this way was ingenious.
Their tribe underwent earth-shaking changes after the arrival of the Divine Child. Therefore, it was logical to consider the year of the Divine Childs arrival as the first year.
Shi Tou and others who gradually understood or didn't understand the situation thought it was an excellent idea to consider the year of the Divine Childs arrival as the first year.
Thus, the Green Sparrow Tribe's method of reckoning years was established. The Divine Child's arrival year was designated as Green Sparrow First Year, and so on, leading up to the current Green Sparrow Year Three.
Han Cheng proposed calling the first year Green Sparrow Element Year. He explained to Shi Tou and the others that "First" and "One" meant the same thing at this time.
They didn't understand why. They still needed to call the first year Green Sparrow First Year if they meant the same thing. Wouldn't it be simpler to call it Green Sparrow Year One?
Of course, they just thought about it in their minds.
Since the Divine Child said, it was Green Sparrow First Year, then Green Sparrow First Year it was.
The darkness before dawn gradually faded away, and dawn arrived as the sky began to lighten. The terrifying Nian still hadn't appeared, indicating that they had frightened it off. They had defeated the terrifying Nian!
The people couldn't help but cheer, and the drums thundered.
Those who were still sleeping were awakened by the drumming. Remembering it was the "New Year," they quickly got up.
When the children opened their eyes to see the new clothes beside the heated brick bed, they couldn't help but smile joyfully. The Divine Child was right. After sleeping, they woke up the next day with new clothes!
Eager to wear their new clothes, they ran out one by one, wishing every day could be New Year's Day.
Not only was there an abundance of delicious food but there were also new clothes to wear.
The adults also changed into their new clothes. Although they appeared more dignified than the children, their joy was no less.
In this atmosphere, Green Sparrow Three Year quietly passed away, and now they welcomed the brand new Green Sparrow Year Four.
Ordinary days immediately became different because of the appearance of the calendar and the year.
"Shaman, Happy New Year!"
Han Cheng greeted Shaman, who had also come out of his room wearing new clothes, with a bow and a smile.
Shaman felt awkward about the Divine Child's sudden strange behavior and words. After thinking for a moment, he roughly understood its meaning and awkwardly followed Han Cheng's example, bowing to him and saying, " Divine Child, Happy New Year!"
Imitating and learning are things people do consciously or unconsciously, especially towards those they respect.
After Han Cheng greeted the tribe's people with bows and New Year wishes, this novel greeting and blessing quickly spread throughout the Green Sparrow Tribe.
Soon, mutual bowing and New Year wishes filled the air.
Han Cheng's face was constantly smiling, especially when Shaman led the people in unevenly bowing to him and wishing him a Happy New Year. His smile became even more pronounced.
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