Chapter 1526: Calendar System (Part 6)

"Grain Rain... Grain Rain..." Baifeng muttered to himself, then explained to the crowd: "I know of such Solar Terms; there are twenty-four in total. Each Solar Term has its own name, and its name represents what changes will occur in Heaven and Earth starting from this day. For example, look, this day, this Solar Term, is called Awakening of Insects."

Baifeng pointed his finger at that circle: "Awakening of Insects means that from this day on, thunderstorms will gradually increase, the temperature will begin to rise, and it will startle the insects hibernating in the ground, waking them up."

"Linglun, did you record whether there was thunder and rain on this day, or the two days before or after?"

Linglun immediately flipped through his records, took a look, and said with extreme shock: "On the evening of the day before, there was indeed a thunderstorm!"

Everyone was greatly astonished; could it really be this accurate?

"Look, the insects have all come out now. That damned fly over there has been buzzing non-stop; before Awakening of Insects, it wouldn't have been there. This is a Solar Term, and so are the names of the Solar Terms."

Xuanyuan pulled on Baifeng's arm: "Baifeng, what are the names of the remaining twenty-three? What do they mean, and what do they represent?"

Baifeng asked for paper and pen, and starting from Beginning of Spring, he wrote down all twenty-four Solar Terms one by one. Then he introduced their meanings to them and taught them a mnemonic, the one Baifeng had recited: "Spring rain brings spring, clear, and grain days; summer fills the grain, summer heat follows; autumn brings dew, autumn cold, frost descends; winter snow, snow, winter, minor and major cold."

If not for this mnemonic, Baifeng might not have been able to remember these twenty-four Solar Terms clearly; after all, so many years had passed. Fortunately, he had memorized them back in elementary school and remembered them exceptionally clearly; even after all these years, he hadn't forgotten them.

Now that this was done, the Solar Terms were established, the moon's orbital cycle was established, and the three hundred and sixty-five days were determined.

As for the four stars that the Moon Group observed appearing in the southern sky—the Bird Star, the Great Fire, the Void Star, and the Mao Star—they would reach the south in the second month of each season. However, because they could not determine where true south was, they had only discovered this pattern, and the four stars would continue to rotate in this way.

But now there was another thing: the Compass. It could just happen to fill this gap. In view of the Moon Group's great contribution, Baifeng immediately made the decision to gift Xihe a compass so that she could better observe the celestial phenomena in the future and make more accurate observations.

But this immediately angered Xuanyuan. When he wanted one, he had to pay a whole boat of Tea Leaves, yet now it was gifted directly to Xihe, which showed that the compass wasn't that precious at all!

But although angry, he felt he had no reason to be. Xihe was a member of the Xuanyuan Tribe; gifting it to Xihe was equivalent to gifting it to the Xuanyuan Tribe. Xuanyuan could only swallow this bitter pill, knowing he had definitely been swindled by Baifeng, yet he couldn't vent this anger.

Now all the necessary conditions for creating a calendar were completely satisfied. Next, they only needed to determine the issue of the Leap Month. How exactly should the Leap Month be arranged so that it would neither affect the lunar phases nor the Solar Terms? This problem was not exactly difficult, but if one couldn't find the knack, one might have to struggle for several more years.

Baifeng, who was in control of the overall situation, immediately stated: "Xuanyuan, we are requisitioning this office of yours. Now, first arrange a good meal for us so we can eat our fill and rest well, and then we are going to start working hard."

"If I don't get this calendar made, I'm not leaving. You arrange all the food and such for us; can you do it?"

Baifeng's posture was so imposing that for a moment, Xuanyuan didn't even know who the master of this place was. But the matter was of great importance, and Baifeng was the key figure, so he could only yield to Baifeng.

"Fine, Baifeng, I will arrange for people to slaughter sheep and roast meat now so you can eat your fill and eat well. You stay here and calculate the calendar; I will not let anyone disturb you. You work for a day, and the mutton will be supplied for a day, until you have calculated the calendar."

Baifeng slapped the table: "Good! That is the attitude I want. I think this day will certainly not be too far off!"

Subsequently, under Xuanyuan's arrangement, everyone had a whole-lamb feast. The others wanted to start immediately, but Baifeng said: "Next, we may have to calculate without sleep day and night, because that kind of inspiration must not be interrupted. So, now you must rest well to ensure your minds are at their clearest and in the best state; there is no need to rush for these one or two hours."

Huaxia was not idle either; he carried many Oil Lamps and many candlesticks out of the Embassy and placed them all into the office. He brought the lamp oil himself and was fully prepared to stay awake all night.

Outside the office, piles of firewood had already been set up, and mugwort had been prepared; they would be lit at night to provide heat and light while also driving away mosquitoes.

In the afternoon, everyone was full of energy, and under Baifeng's summons, they all crowded into the conference room, arranged the tables in a row, prepared a high stack of paper, and began to work.

It wouldn't take long for a sheet of paper to be covered in circles and set aside. On the row of tables behind them were the files accumulated by several departments over the years, which Xuanyuan had already ordered people to bring over.

The conference room was extremely lively, with discussions rising one after another, and it did not stop even when night fell. The oil lamps and candles were lit, making the entire conference room as bright as day. In the middle of the night, Baifeng suddenly called out to the outside to have food sent in. The people who had been waiting outside the door hurriedly went to find the prepared mutton, brought it in, and then quickly left, not daring to disturb them too much.

Xuanyuan and a crowd of other officials had come by several times, but they only dared to take a look from outside the door, fearing they would disturb the people inside and interrupt their train of thought.

Late at night, some people lay down to sleep in the nearby area, while others continued to calculate and discuss.

In the latter half of the night, Baifeng could no longer hold on; he pushed several chairs together and took a short nap. High-intensity mental activity was truly too exhausting.

All night long, everyone took turns working and sleeping, never stopping.

Baifeng also woke up just after the sun began to rise, went out to ask for some water, washed up casually to clear his head, ate something, and then went back in to work.

When Xuanyuan came over during the day, what he saw was still the same scene as last night. He beckoned gently and called over a Soldier who was already exhausted: "Did they not sleep at all last night?"

The Soldier struggled to keep his eyes open: "Tribal Chief, they really didn't sleep at all last night; even King Huaxia didn't sleep."