Chapter 588 A Strange Nation

Chapter 588 Strange Nation

Nong Lan was squatting under the tree and thinking about something. There was a rustle of leaves, and Zhao Jianhui appeared in front of her with a bag of clothes in his hand.

Nong Lan opened the small bag and took a look, only to see inside it a white coat, black knee-length trousers, flat sandals with straps... Wrapping these clothes was actually a bright red turban.

Zhao Jianhui was already wearing a white coat, straight pants, a pink ribbon tied around his waist, and a pair of camouflage high-waisted canvas shoes. That look is really ridiculous no matter how you look at it.

"Hurry up and try it on to see if it fits. I went through several stores before I found it." Zhao Jianhui sat under the tree and took out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Seeing Nong Lan looking over, he smiled a little embarrassedly and said: "Anyway, I became a thief once. Stealing clothes is also stealing, stealing cigarettes is also stealing. I'm just taking advantage of others."

"What are you thinking about? I want to say that you must keep this lighter, maybe you can use it if you go forward." Nong Lan hid behind a big tree and said while still wearing clothes. What surprised her was that after she put on the clothes and shoes, she found that the size was just right for her figure, and even the shoes were neither too big nor too small.

Only then did I remember what he had just said, "Hurry up and try it on to see if it fits you. I went through several stores before I found it." This man really means it. It's hard to believe that he didn't measure his body or the size of his little feet, but the stolen item actually fit him so well.

Seeing Nong Lan walking out from behind the tree after passing on his clothes, Zhao Jianhui laughed happily: "Well, it's not bad. If your neck grows longer, wear some shining gold necklaces, just like the ones in the village. You look more like a woman. No, you are much whiter than those people, and you are also more beautiful than those people..."

Nong Lan listened to his muttering to himself, and there was a hint of praise in his voice for his good looks. He couldn't help but smile to himself, and then he suddenly reacted and asked in surprise: "What did you say? You said that inside this village Most women wear gold necklaces and have long necks, right?”

"Yes, the women here all wear a bunch of gold collars around their necks, and they all look like giraffes. What's wrong? Is there something wrong?"

"Oh, it turns out it's them. What you met is a very strange nation. It's just that there are very few people in this nation, probably only a few hundred people." Nong Lan said with a smile.

The so-called peculiarity is because women of this nation start to put rings around their necks when they are four to five years old. There are six rings in one layer. As they grow older, the number of layers increases. The more rings, the more beautiful they are. The longest neck is 70 centimeters, which is as long as 36 collars. The largest neck rings can weigh more than ten kilograms. Their collars are usually made of brass or pure gold. After wearing the collar on their necks for more than ten years, they have become accustomed to this kind of support, and once the collar is removed, they will suffocate to death.

Tribes of this ethnic group generally choose gold-producing rivers and mountains as their residences, and their people make a living by panning for gold. The chiefs lead the men to pan for gold in remote mountains, following the secret gold-producing traces passed down from their ancestors by word of mouth, and the gold is distributed evenly. Men took gold to Buddhist temples and exchanged it with monks to support their families. Women weave at home, take care of their children, and collect wild fruits. They believe in animism and worship nature. Men are good at alchemy and witchcraft, and women are good at singing and dancing. Women are quite independent in marriage. Each woman initially determines her lover based on dreams, and then finalizes it through a divination method.

"So, as long as there is a place where this ethnic group lives, it must be in the remote mountains and old forests that are inaccessible. So how long will it take for us to go out?" Zhao Jianhui asked a little worried.

"I can't say that." Nong Lan shook his head and said.

"By the way, since women will suffocate to death if they take off the collar, why do they still wear such a heavy copper collar?" Zhao Jianhui asked in confusion.

Nong Lan looked at the thatched houses at the foot of the mountain and said quietly: "Actually, no one knows the real reason why women of this nation wear so many collars around their necks, but there is a legend that has always been circulated in our country. This is a very desolate and tragic legend.”

"This ethnic group is called the Butang tribe. They have lived in the mountains of the Golden Triangle for generations and gathered in the form of tribes. The background of the time was social unrest, with tribes fighting for each other and the weak and the strong. Everyone wanted to occupy one side and dominate the world. The Butang tribe is a tribe with a very small number of people, and they have wealth from gold mining. They may be invaded at any time. In this vulnerable situation, they have no choice but to flee into the deep mountains and forests. "

"When foreigners invaded, once a woman was caught, she would be chopped off from the neck to vent the anger of the men when they fought. In order to better protect their wives and daughters from this harm, the Butang tribe invented the method of killing women. Neck collars are copper collars or gold collars that are more flexible than other metals, and this custom continues to this day.”

"Nowadays, this custom has evolved into an aesthetic demand. In order to meet this weird aesthetic standard, women in Butang do not hesitate to destroy their bodies. This is exactly the same as the bad custom of binding feet that was popular in ancient times in your country. I personally think this is The tragedy of the male-dominated world’s spiritual domination and even physical destruction of women.”

"That makes sense. I didn't expect you to know so many things." Zhao Jianhui looked at Nong Lan and smiled.

Nong Lan snorted from his nose: "What do you think? I am well-educated, and my grades in Oxford are among the best."

Only then did Zhao Jianhui realize that the woman in front of him was not really a drug dealer, but some kind of princess. "Can we go now, Princess Nonglan? Let's go down and find someone to ask for directions and find some necessary things. Otherwise, do you really want to catch fish all the way back to Mae Sai Town?"

"Do you want to go to Mae Sai Town? You don't know where this place is yet. Anyway, let's go back to Thailand first." Nong Lan said, glanced at Zhao Jianhui, and whispered: "You dare to go down, you just stole If you take off other people’s clothes, it would be terrible if someone recognizes you.”

"It's not a big deal, right? I just got the things from the house in the west. Let's go to the house in the east to ask. I found that there are almost no men in this village. They are all women weaving at home. Babysitting. Even if we are discovered, it’s not a problem for the two of us to run away, right?”

"Well, it's true. Speaking of which, the Butang women are quite pitiful. Their men all go to the primitive mountains and forests to pan for gold, and they can only return home after four, five months or even half a year. In the tribe, except for a few men who stay behind for protection, , only women and children are at home..." The two people said as they went down the mountain, and soon they arrived at a house in the easternmost mountain forest.

There are three women of very different ages in this family. They wear self-woven white homespun cloth, with colorful lace on the collar and corners. Their thick black hair is wrapped in emerald green headscarves, and their clothes are bright and eye-catching. Of course, the most eye-catching thing is their long necks stretched by layers of metal collars.

Zhao Jianhui observed carefully and found that the faces of these women with long necks, whether they were little girls or adult women, were oppressed by the cold metal collars around their necks. Their facial features were squeezed so close together that they were so deformed that they could not see their beauty. Zhao Jianhui laughed secretly in his heart, thinking that maybe it was because my aesthetic point of view was not enough. How could this be beautiful? It was simply extremely smelly.

What Zhao Jianhui didn't expect was that these long-necked women were very hospitable. Zhao Jianhui and Nong Lan were warmly received as soon as they entered their hut. They took out the wild fruit preserves in a familiar manner, and when they saw the grown man Zhao Jianhui, they enthusiastically took out their home-brewed rice wine and poured it for him to drink. Just now, the two of them only shared one piece of fish and walked on the mountain road for nearly two hours. Now Zhao Jianhui was really hungry, so he took it over and started eating and drinking.

While Zhao Jianhui and Nong Lan were eating and drinking, a woman went out to gather five or six beautiful girls and performed an original song and dance for them. They banged on the tiles and bronze instruments and sang together at the top of their voices. Their high-pitched and exciting voices were like a strong spring breeze passing through the narrow aisle, with passionate and powerful penetrating power. They danced and simply imitated the movements of worshiping the sky, worshiping fire, digging the ground, sowing seeds, weaving, giving birth, as well as some insects and animals playing and mating, vividly expressing primitive life forms such as sacrifice and labor. It's really hard for them, with such a heavy collar on their necks, they can still put on such a wonderful performance.

Nong Lan quietly touched Zhao Jianhui's shoulder and whispered: "If I was asked to carry such a heavy thing, it would be better to die directly." Looking at the girls, Zhao Jianhui also felt that his neck was heavy and his mood was heavy. Then it became heavy.

Amid the singing and dancing, night has begun to fall. Zhao Jianhui stood up and wanted to ask where this place was. A long-necked woman thought Zhao Jianhui was leaving, so she came over and put her hand on his shoulder. She said with a smile: "In the name of the mountain god, as long as we meet in the mountains, we are destined. Distinguished guests, please stay here until the sun rises tomorrow."

While talking, someone served delicious food. It turned out that it was just an appetizer before the meal. Zhao Jianhui and Nong Lan looked at each other and were dumbfounded when they saw the food on the table. They had eaten so much just now that they were almost full. Now where should they put so much food?

After the meal, these long-necked women cleared the table very quickly. What is quite surprising is that there is a small generator in the bamboo building for power supply. An electric water heater is installed on the bamboo terrace. The bamboo tube diverts spring water. The nozzle is in the open air, so you can bathe with hot water at any time.

It's just that in this bamboo building bathroom, with the bamboo frame with large gaps about two meters above the ground, the starry sky above, and the surroundings covered with banana leaves, this is pure naturalism with an unobstructed view.

The flowers have been withering these days, please support me.