Targeted Customers: college students, young adults, high school students, who are hoping to improve their communication skills

Platform: Dingtallk groups

Teachers: Han Chee / Kam Chan

Assistants: Minnie / Julian Luo

Class 5: typical dingtalk groups, up to 500 students, 

Class 1: up to 100 students, they get more chances practicing debating,

only teachers /assistants are allowed to speak freely in these groups. Most students can only listen, or watching 8 students debating.

Students take turns to debate, day by day. Assistants are responsible to arrange that.

Debate Schedule

There will be two debates each day.

8:00PM – 8:45 PM (Class 5: large group)

9:00PM – 9:45 PM (Class 1: smaller group)

Each debate is divided into three sections, after 10 mins of debating, teachers gives 3 mins of coaching, and assistants will need 2 mins to translate his words;

TUITION FEE

Class 5: 49 Yuan per month; [max. 50 x 500 x 90%= ￥22,500]

Class 1: 199 Yuan per month; [max. 200 x 100 x 90% = ￥18,000]

We will open more classes when needed.

Profit Split

• Han Chee gets 5% of the total profit by recruiting and training coaches/teachers.
• each teachers/coach gets 25% of the profit, (including Han Chee/ Kam Chan / Philip Hyatt) (two coaches in one debate)
• each assistant gets 15% of it (one bilingual assistant in one debate);
• inMountains School gets 25% of total profit by handling marketing and administration.
• 25% + 25% + 15% + 30% + 5% = 100%

Payment Methods

Students pay inMountains School monthly, while inMountains pay teahers and assistants weekly.

Payments are made through PayPal (foreign teachers), and Alipay(assistants).

DEBATE LOGS

In each class, the teachers and students should present something that can be shown to others as achivements, marketing materials, such as videos or audio files. 

Assistants or teachers will need to learn how to combine some audio files of the students reading/speaking together, as a log, the assistant should add a message at the beginning of such audio file, like this 

[今天是2020年10月23日，这里是 山水英语课堂高级口语班，内容是在线辩论和沟通技巧，今天有（）等几个同学参与了辩论，辩题是（正方：）（反方：）。] 

and the teachers should also add his remarks at the end of the log file, regarding students’ performace in the debate, etc..

[如果你也想参加我们的英文辩论，请在手机上下载钉钉，然后搜索群号 34134516，进去咨询。See you next time.]

Typically four students and one teacher form a team, every day there will be two debates. The teachers join the debate and demonstrate their communication skills.

Questions and Answers

1. Why do we need assistants in the classroom?

• Because some students may need a translator, or the teachers need a translator,
• Assistants talk to students after class, and communicate with the school staff,
• Assistants collect tuition fee from students, make payments to the coaches;
• Assistants move out students that are rude or offensive, out of the group, or make the debater silent.

2. How to recruit students

• Upload the logs of students debating in English to TicTok, Bilibili, etc.
• We offer discount to those who help to spread the messages.
• We organize different activities, such as online English debating, to get attentions.
• Cooperate with various organizations to organize English language debating.

3. What if the students are not satisfied

We will need to creat a poll which allows the students to vote anytime they want, so we get feedbacks from them in time, and improve our teaching methods. Wechat and Dingtalk both have this function available.

(to be discussed and updated)

What is a newsroom?

Dingtalk is an app similar to Wechat, and newsroom is a dingtalk group, we are going to teach our students English by encouraging them to comment on the news. It is more fun and exciting than learning the textbooks. It will also help to improve their Chinese writing skills.

What will your job be?

Getting on Dingtalk for about one hour a day, talking to the students in the group, correcting their English, that’s basically your job.

How many students to teach

Up to 50 students each day. There will be up to 1,000 members in the group, and we will allow 50 students to speak to teachers in the class, and they take turns.

Your Income Expectation

20% of the total tuition fee

Idealy, there will be 900 students in the class, and the total tuition fee will be 900 x 100 x 0.9 = ￥81,000 per month; And your share will be ￥16,000/month

If we have 100 paying students, then the total tuition fee will be 100 x 100 x 0.9 = 9,000 per month, and your share will be ￥1,800.

We will hire about 2-3 English teachers plus assistants and volunteers if there will be 900 students.

Schedule

8:00PM – 8:45 PM, teaching time

8:45-9:00 PM, post a piece of news found on the internet, and the pictures, in the groups. 

Classroom is closed until 2:00 PM the next day (18 hours), only you and your assistants/staff will be able to speak in the classroom, and post additional instructions to the group, for the students to read. 

the next day

3:00 PM – 8:00 PM, all students preparing/discussing hours (classroom is open for you in this period of five hours.)

How to teach in Dingtalk Group

1. 8:45 PM – 9:00 PM, post a piece of news, add a few pictures;
2. Write down a list of questions for the students to answer, after you post the news story in the group;
3. Say something about the class that just finished, with only your voice.
4. the next day 8:00 PM – 8:45 PM
5. Up to 50 students will be allowed to speak to you, ask them about their opinions in English; read the messages they posted in the previous 5 hours, and respond to them.

New Words

• Find three frequently used words/phrases in the story, and post them in the dingtalk classroom, ask each student to make a couple of sentences using them.
• Post the six words or phrases that they learned in previous two classes, as well, for them to memorize.
• At the beginning of each class, review the six words you taught them in previous classes;
• Then learn the three new words, ask them to repeat after you, one by one, correct their pronunciation;

Discussion

1. Read the news story slowly, sentence by sentence, phrase by phrase, and ask the students to repeat after you;
2. Some students have made sentences of the new words, and given opinions to the news before the class begins, please correct their sentences. Ask the assistant to help to explain why you corrected their sentences that way.
3. Ask the the speaking students deeper questions, regarding the story.
4. Review the nine words once again, ask everyone repeat after you.
5. Ask the speaking student to read the English news story, one student a sentence, like this [Mary Liu reads this: xxxxxxxx]. Mark the audio file in the group. We will need it to make a large audio file of the entire class, to present it to the parents.
6. Write down some sentences based on the comments the students made, like this [Leo reads this: xxxxxxxx].
7. Ask them to remove the unqualified recordings from the group.
8. If you have more time, say something about the discipline, the rules, their behaviors, performance, the cultural background, etc.
9. Dismiss the class.

After the class

Step one, Record the following message as a audio log beginning, on your phone or computer

(Like this:

—–

today is July 22nd, 2021, Monday. 今天 jintian 是 Shir 2021年7月22日，my name is Philip Hyatt, 我wo 叫 Jiao 菲利普Philip 海特Hyatt。

This is Class 71H, we have 9 students in the class, and we discussed about this story…),

Step two, combine all the audio files together, your above message and the students’ reading, post the combined audio log to Dingtalk classroom and the inmountains reception lobby.

How do you get paid

We pay our teachers every week, on Monday. Typically it is through Alipay, sometimes Paypal.

Besides your salary, you get a share of the tuition fee amount, 

Please note that most students join our classes with a discount because they helped spreading the message, also they may join as a group. 

Each of the teachers will have a wechat page showing your weekly income, it will be updated daily.

Please provide your Alipay account, or Paypal account to our director  whose Dingtalk ID is inmountains.

Discipline and Rules

In most cases, a large group requires discipline and rules, while your assistants are responsible for the majority of such work, you are often the first person noticing such behavior, and we hope you tell the students to behave properly.

What is not allowed to talk or teach in the class

Do not talk about Chinese politics;

No sex related adult content;

No nasty words;

What topics are encouraged to talk

Nature, technology, AI, future, education, science, ecnonomy, American politics, lifestyles, organic foods, health, etc.

Who to talk to if you need to complain about something

Julian Luo, who is the owner of inMountains, has a Wechat account, which is amasia;

currently, the dingtalk account inmountains is also managed by Julian, but it may be someone else in the team.

——–

FAQ

What if a student gets really naughty or even rude in the class? What do I do?

Typically the assistant will handle it. If she or he cannot handle it, then the student will be removed from the classroom, and taken to the grand classroom where students are not allowed to speak, only listen to teachers.

What if I cannot make the schedule one day, when I am sick  or unavailable?

Let your assistant and the director know that in advance, through Dingtalk, and she/he will find a replacement, such as Julian Luo. If you can find someone to replace you, let your assistant talk to him or her, to make sure your replacement teacher is qualified to teacher, and knows the basic rules/processes. He or she will also need to be reviewed by the trainer of the school.

What if a student or his parent wants to add me on Dingtalk? Should I refuse?

Yes, just say it is not allowed by the school rules.

I would like to learn Chinese from someone, can I get help from you?

Yes, Julian and other Mandarin speaking teachers can help you. We have a classroom just for this purpose, and it is free to learn if you are a teacher. The way we teach Mandarin is just like you teach English, we discuss about the world news. We will teach in a Wechat group. If you are signed in our school, you will be taken to that group called inMountains Jinjing.

I do not speak Mandarin, and the students hardly speak any English, how do I communicate with them?

Type before you speak, so that the students can get translation before you speak.

Also, ask the students do the same, type before they speak English.

I do not know much of English grammar, to be frank, how do I teach them grammar?

You don’t. Let your assistant do it. You focus on their speaking skills, and correct their writing, and introduce the big world to them.

把森林当成幼儿园这种教育方式在重视培养孩子的独立自主意识的欧美国家出现很多年了，其主要特点是让孩子自己去观察花草树木和虫子泥土，捡石头，玩游戏，交流，家长和幼儿园辅导员只负责后勤和安全工作，让大自然当老师。将小朋友放到森林中去触摸大地、观察自然、游戏、欢笑和歌唱，让他们在一个安全而充满惊奇的大自然中学习和成长。

不安排亲子活动，家长如果忙，可以不来，方便。

重点是幼儿与大自然之间的感情链接和认知，不是亲子关系。我们也没有老师的讲课，大自然是唯一的老师。

除非天气不好，必须临时安排在营地室内花园进行。幼儿园老师、部分跟着来的家长和我们营地的辅导员围坐在森林周围，把孩子围在中间，让他们自己拿着放大镜、铲子桶子、镜子、彩笔、小白板等等去观察和描绘草丛里、石头下、泥土里的昆虫、微观世界、小草小树，自己去玩过家家、玩游戏、爬高、奔跑追逐、交流。大人不仅仅不参与，而且要尽量不出声，即使看到有孩子哭也不要轻易出手，让他们学会独立思考、自己应付各种情况。让小孩子们在可控情况下认识危险，判断形势。

我们有一些攀爬用的麻绳网，绑在树林间，宝宝们可以自己决定要不要去爬。学会在可控环境下判断危险，并应付危险。

一次性给予孩子足够长的时间独立应付野外环境，不是浅尝辄止，他们能够通过摸索学习到比较深入的自然知识。

大部分时间，家长和辅导员围在一片树林或者草地周围，孩子们在中间做自己的事情，家长尽量不干涉，不指导，即使孩子茫然不知道干什么也不插手，培养他们的独立意识。

一般孩子很快就会找到事做，或者一个人玩，或者找人一起玩。即使家长觉得他们做错了、无聊、吵闹或者有点小危险也不要干涉。给他们一个独立成长的机会。

寻宝：

将孩子们分成几个小组，在树林中根据线索寻宝。同样，家长基本上不参与，让大自然来当唯一的老师。我们会准备好放大镜等工具，让他们观察虫子🐛、树叶、苔藓、泥土等，用瓶子抓蚂蚁昆虫，培养对大自然的感情，建立和谐连接。

过家家；

用树棍泥巴建一个小房子、树屋、庄园、城堡；爬树、爬竹子；抓虫子蝴蝶；收集不同的树叶做标本、做贺卡；唱歌；跳舞；做鸟巢； 用手机拍摄；绘画；捉迷藏等；观察蚂蚁虫子等是如何采食、生活、繁殖；观察菌类、蘑菇、木耳的形态、纹理、结构；看溪流是如何形成的，顺着溪流往上寻找到山顶的最后一米。

亲子活动，下面是参考：

牵手前行 –

父亲或者母亲用帽子或者围巾蒙上双眼，让孩子牵着在山里从一个地方走到另外一个地方：上坡、下坡、垮过小溪、饶过石头和荆棘，在坑坑洼洼的泥巴路上行走，由孩子指挥，父母必须绝对信任他/她。

追本溯源：

大冲有一条小溪，在我们的营地周围是溪流形成的地方，有数条分支从四面山上流下来，每家人负责一条分支的观察、测绘，将距离、溪边植被、虫鸟等用手机、纸笔仔细记录下来，收集标本、形成一篇图文并茂的科学报告。父母负责不断提问，保护孩子安全，不参与测绘和记录。可能需要使用绳索协助爬坡。

煮汤烤火：

这个分组活动的目标是野外生存技能，包括捡柴、用石头堆灶、在泥地上挖灶、在小溪里打水、洗菜、洗水果、洗碗、生火等等。我们的中餐在山里野炊，带面包、包子馒头做主食，在山里煮汤。两个家庭负责煮一个汤，合在一起吃。吃完饭以后休息的时候可以围着火堆烤火、家长小孩一起故事接龙。

营地建设：

每一期森林幼儿园都有一个环节是为后来的小朋友，或者自己以后再来，做一点建设，包括用石头、树干、毛竹、尼龙绳、泥巴、雨布、油毛毡等做一个森林小屋。不需要一次将小屋做好，争取每次都多少贡献一点，让孩子体会什么叫做 “前人种树后人乘凉” 的美德。油毛毡等材料由我们事先准备好，用电动车送进山，毛竹、树干、石头、藤等由父母带着孩子去山里找可用材料。

跷跷板、吊床、秋千安装：

这也是锻炼孩子的创造能力，而不仅仅是享受别人创造的成果。跷跷板、吊床、秋千都是给幼儿园小朋友玩的，尺寸比较小，设计安装不会很复杂，材料不会很难找。父母完全可以带领他们亲手做一个。大部分的材料都在山里面找，尼龙绳等我们会带上去，父母可以教孩子通过手机百度查如何打绳结，如何安装。相信绝大多数孩子做好一个后会很自豪，而不仅仅是开心。

开荒堆肥种菜：

体验古人是如何开荒的，并且利用国际先进的园艺知识种菜，方便以后再来的时候有新鲜蔬菜可以吃。不过大冲里有野猪和野兔，所以蔬菜的品种需要家长事先查找，当然我们幼儿园的老师也会提供最后的指导。由于我们的森林幼儿园的活动会产生一些垃圾，堆肥种菜是消除垃圾的一种好方法。

制作鸟巢：

山里有很多各种各样的藤，加上我们带去的雨布和剪刀、尼龙绳，还有在山里捡来的树棍，可以制作出各种各样的鸟巢，防水防风，可大可小。身手敏捷的父母正好可以在孩子面前展示自己勇敢而能干的另外一面，将鸟巢绑在高高的树上。

种树：

我们可以提前网购一些适合本地气候的树种，在营地周围种下去。锄头、铲子等工具我们会事先准备好，用电动车送到营地里。

登山比赛：

营地周围都是山，带着小朋友爬上任意一侧的山都很具有挑战性，但是也很刺激，带给孩子的感受可能是永生难忘的。

保护麂子：

大冲森林幼儿园周围的大山里有一种小鹿，叫麂子。它们的数量不多，有时候鹿妈妈鹿爸爸会被猎人打死，留下可怜的小鹿在窝里饿死。我们会制作几个路牌，插在路边醒目的地方，号召当地猎人们不要伤害它们。森林幼儿园强调孩子的探险精神，部分活动有可能会让孩子很紧张甚至害怕，但是一旦克服这种恐惧，将会是很难得的进步和收获，当然是否参加还是家长做主。举例来说，我们会鼓励孩子从树上跳下，然后父母在下面接住；另外，我们希望孩子能创作或者参与建造一些功能性的建筑：树屋、鸟巢、工具房、生态小屋等等。

特别适合有问题的孩子

这种设在森林中的幼儿园对那些有唐氏综合征、多动症、抑郁症、自闭症的孩子有特别好的效果，在森林中待过一段时间后，他们的自信心、交流沟通能力等都会大幅度上升。

双语解读，慢速英语，欢迎下载我们的中英双语故事+语音课程，边玩边学，边做作业边听，帮助中小学生更有效地利用时间，提高学习效率。

《丑小鸭》系列 | 《小猪佩琪》系列 |

意思是：敞开心门，思想开明，推开暗门，当然这只是我们山水学堂自己的翻译版本。关于 doors，可以有很多种理解，我选择翻译为暗门是因为大家身边有很多未知世界，等待一代又一代人去发现。

Open hearts 敞开心门

现代社会，尤其是中国大陆，人多地少，相互之间戒备心很强，我们这样的小学堂无法改变这种僧多粥少的社会现实，但是作为一名教育工作者，我们不能听之任之，让孩子们躲在自己的小世界里不出来。

宝宝的心扉是完全开放的，然后随着年龄增长，慢慢闭紧，与河蚌一样，关闭是为了保护自己，当父母的言语神态伤害到他们的时候，就选择关闭。自闭症儿童就是一种极端的表现，因为害怕的东西太多，无处不在，无法处理，于是自我封闭。在自闭症与正常人之间并没有绝对的界限，有相当多的儿童是处于两者之间的，其中有一些被说成了内向，或者害羞，其实都是一种自我保护的表现。

有句话说：“教育就是老师学着做孩子，同时鼓励孩子做大人。” 说得很精确。 老师如何学着做孩子？比如说和幼儿一样打开自己的心扉，说说自己童年的故事，在孩子面前做一个坦诚的人。 比如说，和孩子一起来写一个童话故事。还比如说，站在孩子一边，用他的逻辑和标准去批评一个人，一个动画片里的角色。

如果我们能够和自闭症儿童沟通，能够打开他们的心门，这个老师就没有白当。

Open minds 思想开明

思想开明的人，愿意接受新事物、新观念、不一样的性格。

包括不一样的政治观点。

政治对我们每个人的生活品质和人生意义都有影响。但很遗憾，对于这个环节，我们大部分人都是缺失的。最麻烦的是，我作为老师，每次和学生讲我的政治观点，都很担心他们回去说给家长听，然后家长会在微信上对我一顿埋怨。不要以为这是多余的担忧，我的初中同学，一起长大的老邻居，还有二十年前认识的老朋友，都曾经因为政治观点，在朋友圈里对我说出很不客气的话。哪怕我的文章并没有直接发给他们，我只是在朋友圈里说而已。

在中国，民主已经消失了几十年，想在成年人家长的心中播下民主的种子有时候还真不知道如何下手，但为了我的学生，这样的播种和持续浇灌是必须的，只有一个个家庭里民主的种子发芽了，社会才能长出一片正义的森林，没有社会正义我们的下一代永远不能真正平安过一辈子，他们随时可能大难临头，不管你是从商，还是从政。

翠鸟

Open doors 推开暗门

Open doors 是推开一重又一重门的意思，每次推开一扇门，就打开一个新世界，离人生目标也会更接近。

推门需要力气也需要智慧，因为每间屋子就是一个生活场景，这段生活里可能有多扇门，并且大部分是暗门，其中极少数会通向幸福，而只有少部分人拥有智慧的钥匙。

暗门背后有财富，有名声，有捷径，还有陷阱。我希望学堂能够培养出文物双全的学生，不仅仅有体力，推得动一扇扇门，也要有思辨能力，识别门后面的陷阱。对于那些用某某主义纸糊起来的假门，要敢于一脚踹过去。

文革给我们这个时代带来的后遗症之一是，大家都多多少少有一种不安和无力感，因此不敢去探索，也不敢放手让孩子去独立。这样的时代创伤需要很多年的愈合，但权宜之计还是有的，我们把学堂的孩子绑在一块，让他们成为一生的朋友，家长们就会放心很多了。除了学堂的同学，还有网络上的笔友，其中可能有不少是家境不错，有一定社会地位，能够供养孩子学汉语的家庭，有了这些同龄人的互相扶持，他们的未来是不需要担心的。

张清一山长写过一篇文章，是给他的子孙们的，详细解释他如何为子孙后代做好了打算，从另一方面来说，这篇文章也是家长焦虑心态的一种普遍反映。我们都希望孩子的身边一直有一个好圈子，最好都是精英，可如果都呆在体制内教育的圈子里不出来，那里的精英子弟越来越少，你叫孩子们如何去选择朋友？

在日常生活中贯彻校训所代表的精神

首先，做一个诚实的人。所有的学校都会把这个词作为自己的校训，但不是所有的老师和校长都是诚实之人，因为在体制内讲诚实往往成本很高，学校是这样，大学也是如此。而在学堂，我们的机构比较单一，只有学生、老师、家长三个利益体，缺少了教育部门这个强势的利益体，我们诚实的成本低很多。

每日反省：每天学堂都有一个自我反省的环节，包括老师和学生都要反省，把反省结果写到自己的博客里去，翻译成英语，再录入到山水广播节目中。为什么要这么做？因为反省就是训练诚实的人格，养成诚实的习惯，并且培养开明的头脑。固执的人从来不反省。那为什么要翻译然后还要录入到广播节目中？因为我们希望听众、笔友们来倾听我们最诚实的声音。只有诚实的人才能获得长久的友谊。

每天三次餐后会议，及时把需要做的事情和烦心事解决，也是一种反省，是集体的反省和整理。

辩论赛：这是一个让我们保持公平公正和清醒头脑的训练方法，辩论赛每天坚持，低年级的学生当评委。时间不长，但是一般要求提前准备辩词，查阅资料。同样地，我们会把辩词翻译成英语，让外国笔友知道我们的思维高度。

经常历练：我们给学生的历练来自于让学生参与或者主持的各项活动，包括经常参加的户外活动、社会实践、编书，还有出国游学。新教育的学堂与体制内学校在这些方面有很大的不同，因为我们可以给予学生多得多的锻炼机会，甚至比大多数家庭给予的历练机会更多。这些历练带来的不仅仅是明辨是非的能力，也是勇气和自信。

行动派

大部分校训都是形容词，但是我决定采用三个动词词组，这样对于低年级学生来说更容易理解。因为形象，将来可以讲一系列故事，也能更快激起采取行动的决心。不要左思右想，瞻前顾后，先做了再说。

如果您家里有旧书，欢迎捐给我们山水学堂，我们出运费。抱歉目前我们还没有资金向您购买。

地址如下:

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湖南省长沙县金井镇，金惠路，大坡岭村王家祠堂410144

收货人: 罗军 15111203556

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这个乡村公益图书室已经建好，对所有人开放，包括学堂的学生，和本地农村孩子。

山水学堂位于长沙县金井镇，镇上有4万人，但一家书店都没有。有个公立的图书室，也是做样子的，所以农村学生们接触到的书都很少。冬夏令营期间，每晚都会举办辩论，表现最出色的基本上都是城市孩子，原因之一就是看书比较多。

乡下父母基本上一辈子都不看书，在这样的家庭氛围下，即使买书给了孩子，他们也难得看完，造成浪费，何况大部分家庭都不会专门买书给孩子。我们建立这么一个图书室，部分原因就是想培养金井镇的读书氛围。

如何培养这里的读书氛围?

我想实行读书俱乐部会员制，

只有通过了俱乐部几个核心成员的考核，熟悉了相关规则，本地人才能成为俱乐部的会员，可以进来读书，不会吵吵闹闹，影响其他读者。有神秘感和稀缺性，本地学生才会积极参与。

读书俱乐部的核心管理成员都是孩子，每周末固定时间开碰头会，并每个礼拜组织一场

公益辩论赛。

学堂学生、本地大人、孩子，和旅馆的游客都可以混合组队参加辩论，要求所有人先写辩词，组织者根据辩词准备情况选人参赛，保证辩论的效果。写辩词的时候正好在公益图书室查资料。

年龄小的和不喜欢辩论的可以去看书。

我会把所有相关角色的组织发言模板写好，放在公众号上，和微信群里，组织者和志愿者到时候照着念，稍加发挥就可以把辩论会组织得很好了。

山水乡村图书室设在山水学堂一楼，咨询微信 amasia。

欢迎转发。

昨天的冬令营活动是环绕金井湖，徒步18km，从上午8:30出发，一个半小时之后来到了金井湖边。

冬天干涸的金井湖水位下降了好多，岸边露出了一些淤泥和沙滩，两个男生不小心陷入了淤泥里，幸好不是烂泥巴，没有把裤子全部打湿。

湖边的人家对这些小男孩都很爱护，听罗老师说要借几条旧裤子给他们换上，纷纷去找，还给他们找来了旧鞋子，旧袜子，坐在火塘边烤火，奶奶还给他们把鞋子都系上。

由于地球的自转，金井湖的西边没有淤泥，主要是沙滩，很好玩，沙滩上露出来很多青花瓷片，看不出年代。有一个小王同学捡到一块宋朝的裂纹青瓷片，罗老师感觉至少它是有价值的。

小王还捡到一只古代的靴子，从岸边的一座古墓里面被水冲出来的，这只靴子有两排金属纽扣，也许是清朝的东西。

。。 。。。