Chapter 1179 Nenets (1/2)

Looking for things on the endless ice sheet was a hard job. Apart from the physical

fatigue, the excessive dullness of it caused mental exhaustion.

Therefore, the group of people took a long noon break, during which they could feel free

to drink and eat, play cards while chatting, and relax by entertaining themselves.

Li Du quickly won the favor of the hunters, not only because he saved a number of

people who fell into the water, and not only due to his admirable drinking skills, but also

thanks to his temperament and character.

Meteorite hunters were essentially the same kind of people as treasure hunters. The

Ford brothers and Steve were born with a lot of money. The way they spoke sounded

very well-bred and classy.

This distanced them from the hunters, who were considered by both sides to be

mercenaries, which, of course, they were, so the hunters did not have casual chitchat

with their employers.

Unlike them, Li Du was a treasure hunter and knew how to deal with these people.

Both sides quickly got to know each other, chatting over fragrant roast chicken and

warm liquor.

The hunters were not as educated as he was, but in the way of real-world experience,

all of them were intelligent.

Seeing that Li Du had gone out of his way to be friendly with them, one of the hunters

asked over a glass of wine, ”Li, you seem to be interested in us? Don't deny it, I can feel

your interest.”

Li Du made no secret of it and said with a big smile, ”Yes, I heard you had been to

Siberia? I plan to go there after a while, so I want to ask, do you know Siberia?”

At this, the hunters burst into laughter.

Hankway said, ”Do we know anything about Siberia? Guys, tell him who we are!”

”We are Nenets, Li, so do you think we know anything about Siberia?” they laughed

loudly.

The young man who had taunted him earlier, Hudi, was now so eager to be friendly that

he asked, ”What do you want to know about Siberia? We Nenets can tell you anything.”

In the morning, when Li Du and Hankway spoke, he briefly heard Hankway mention the

word 'Nenets'.

However, with the man's moderate English and vague accent, Li Du couldn't quite make

out what he was talking about. Now that he heard the babble of the other people, he

knew who they were.

The Nenets were one of the indigenous peoples of Siberia.

After deciding to go to Siberia, he began to learn about the vast, frigid region, among

them the Nenets Okrug.

'Nenets' was a native word which simply meant 'people', but because so few people

knew the Nenets language, and the Nenets have never been an important part of

humankind, both the people and the area they came from had become known by that

name.

Many years ago, the Nenets, who call themselves the Samnite, explored history, tracing

their origins back to the Ding Ling, one of China's ancient northern peoples.

During the Han dynasty in China, a group of Ding Ling people migrated northward along

the Yenisei River to reach the coast of the arctic ocean. Some of them crossed the Ural

Mountains.

Later, these people absorbed the language and cultural elements of some of the local

residents and gradually formed a new nation, the Samnite, now known as the Nenets.