Chapter 16 Stealing Salt

We "settled" down in the mountains and lived a primitive life in caves. Working at sunrise and resting at sunset, like a pair of real savages. In Qinling in early summer, it is the day when poplar flowers bloom, as well as tung flowers and elm flowers, all of which are delicacies that can be eaten as soon as they are pulled down. The blue and white tung flowers are big and big, and the green elm flowers are small and small, each with its own sweetness.Zhong Chubo taught me not to pick too much greedily at one time, as long as there is enough for the day.Because the best way to store food is to let them stay on the branches and pick them as they eat, so that they can be delicious.

At dusk, he took me to the creek, and instead of using detonators to blow it up, he set up a net and hung it in the narrowest part of the river bed. After one night, naturally many silly little fish threw themselves into the net; Judging which stone may have small crabs under the humidity, boiled and eaten, is another delicious meal. He also made his own slingshot and used it to shoot sparrows. Although not every shot was perfect, it never missed.I wrapped the outside of the sparrow with mud and water, buried it in the soil, and lit a bonfire on it. After the fire went out, I pulled out the sparrow and tapped it lightly. The outer mud shell and feathers peeled off together, revealing tender red skin. Bite down the meat, wishing to swallow it with the tongue.

Once he even built a bird's nest, the taste of those delicious eggs, I believe I will never forget it in my next life. We went to Shanqianyuan and bought a lot of convenience food, but most of them were not needed. The fresh delicacies from mountains and seas alone were enough to fill our stomachs.At first I was worried that I would suffer from indigestion, but I didn't expect that my appetite would automatically become strong after entering the mountain, and it was actually much healthier than when I was at home. Gradually, I learned how to cook fish, shrimp and mushrooms. I also learned how to cut off the endless rabbit meat and hang it in the cave to dry for later use.

The two of us are like the brothers and sisters in the legend of the sister bird, eating mountains by the mountains, drinking water by the water, becoming one with nature, and living a life completely isolated from the world. When life returns to its most primitive state, our needs are no more than a flower, but water, sunlight and air. In the morning, he picked wild flowers with dew for me, twisted them into a flowering headband with three bends and seven twists.It is beautiful, with a mythical color.I instinctively moved my heart, but hesitated and refused to reach out to pick it up.Annoyed, he threw the wreath on the ground and raised his foot to step on it.I hurriedly shouted "no", quickly picked it up, and put it on my head.He immediately smiled, with a sly look in his eyes, like a bad boy who has succeeded in a scheme.

My heart skipped a beat.He is really good to me, and, deep in his heart, he still treasures beauty and innocence, and still has a trace of humanity, right? Now I clearly know how much Zhong Chubo cares about me, and it is reflected in every detail: a charred and delicious hare leg, a bunch of rare fresh wild flowers, a handful of the plump mulberries that are shiny black, It is all related to eating and drinking, reaching the core of life. Food is given by nature, and so is joy, and love. On the top of our bridal chamber grew an old pine tree, the roots of which were exposed to the ground, like withered but strong fingers, grasping deeply into the crevices of the rocks.Birds built their nests in the trees and flew in and out every day chirping.We shoot sparrows and dig out eggs, but we don't mess with them.Because it feels like they are not just birds, but our neighbors, acquaintances, and friends.

In the primitive mountain forest, people need warmth more than any tangible substance. During the day, my favorite thing to do is still watching the sunset.Whenever dusk comes, I do nothing, climb to the highest point of the mountain, sit on the rocks and watch the sunset rumble and roll down among the undulating mountains.That sublime moment is the happiest part of my day, and I can stay from sunset until the sky is full of stars and guess which star is my destination.Under the silent night sky, the earth becomes gentle and mysterious, and everything seems to be endowed with another meaning, which is unknown to us small human beings.

But if the day is cloudy and rainy, I won't be able to see the sunset, but I won't be sad or disappointed, because that means the cuckoo will sing.In the drizzle, deep in the mountains, one after another, "Brother! Brother!" Yiyi infinitely.At that time, I will think of it.If I can meet him again, if I think about it, I will call him "brother" in person.Throughout the ages, people have invented many nicknames for lovers, but now I think the phrase "brother" is the most simple and kindest.However, do I still have a chance to meet again with the same person alive?

Thinking of those quarrels and tears in the past, I now know how extravagant it was at that time.If I had known that the time of getting together is so short and the fate is so fragile, I would not be so self-willed and waste the time of holding hands and looking at each other in unnecessary quarrels and suspicions. Tears fell, I felt sad, but not alone, because all the sister birds in the mountains were crying for me. There is no time in the mountains, and I gradually no longer know the exact day to enter the mountains. It's always been a month, right?Because I saw that the flowers all over the mountains and plains are blooming, and the treetops are full of red and green wild fruits, which are sour and sweet.Of course, some of them may be poisonous, so you can't try them casually.The easiest way to distinguish is to crush the fruit and apply it on your hands. The brightly colored ones can be used as dyes. Most of them are poisonous, and the juices are rich and fall off as soon as they are washed. They are relatively safe.

Zhong Chubo's military watch has a clear date display.But I don't ask, and I don't care, because it doesn't make sense anymore. I haven't seen a single person in a long time except him. When I first entered the mountain, I was still thinking about running away, but I ran once, passed through one forest after another, fell down again and again, but the more I ran, the more frightened I was, and finally lost in the forest that covered the sky. There is no way back.I fell down and sat under the tree and cried bitterly. After crying, I raised my hand to wipe my tears, only to find Zhong Chubo standing in front of me.It turned out that he had been following me, but he refused to show his face, deliberately making fun of me.

After that, I completely gave up the idea of ​​escaping, and accepted my fate as a part of the mountain forest, as if I had lived in the Qinling Mountains since I was born, and I was only waiting to die of old age in the mountains in the future. After staying for dozens of days, the big trees, the rivers, and the wild flowers have all become my friends, so that I am no longer in a hurry.As long as you have them in your life, you are rich, and you don't need anything else. When I'm not busy with food, I try to transplant wild flowers, because I love the feeling of waking up in the fragrance of flowers, but I can't bear to pick those flowers that are stained with dew.I dug out the roots and soil of those flowers and planted them at the entrance of my cave, but for some reason, under the same sunshine and the same mountain, the transplanted flowers rarely survived.I felt sad, Zhong Chubo comforted me: "Those flowers live and die overnight, even if you don't pick them, they won't live for a few days."

I retorted: "But that is also life. Flowers also hurt, and they will be nostalgic." Zhong Chubo was silent.I suddenly realized that this is a murderer who doesn't even know how to cherish and respect human life, so how could he care about the life and death of a flower?Am I playing the piano to the cow? But I was wrong, he seemed genuinely moved and very interested in talking.He sat down next to me, helping digging, and said slowly, "You are such a special girl, soft and hard at the same time." "Soft? Hard?" I couldn't help but laugh, "How can you describe people like that?" "But that's how I feel. You are very kind, sensitive and sentimental, and shed tears at every turn when flowers and fish lose their temper; but when you get angry, you are so fierce that you can be tied up in the mountains by me. You can't forget to enjoy yourself in such an environment, busy making friends with flowers and birds, this kind of bravery is very rare among girls in the city." I blushed a little.I didn't expect that he never said compliments, but once he praised someone, he would be so nasty. But he is telling the truth, I have never experienced the true meaning of nature as deeply as I do now, and I have never loved it and relied on it as much as I do now.The singing of birds in the morning, the stream at noon, and the sunset in the evening are all my endless wealth, and they all make me linger intoxicated. However, just when my concept of human beings has become increasingly indifferent, and I have firmly regarded myself as a grass in the Qinling Mountains, an accident happened to reawaken my desire as a person, and my desire for civilization and cities. eager. That day, when we came back from catching fish by the stream and walked into the cave, I couldn't help screaming. Obviously, some beasts have visited our "bridal chamber". The cave was in a mess, the sleeping bag was torn to shreds, pots, bowls, chopsticks and dishes were scattered all over the floor, oil, salt, sauce and vinegar were overturned, and the worst thing was that the salt shaker was beaten into pieces. Broken, the white life-saving salt was scattered all over the ground, dripping in the water, and turned into nothing. Of course I understand what salt means to us in the days of living in the wild. Zhong Chubo and I looked at each other for a long time, and then uttered a word: "Steal!" "Steal" is a word for "person" plus a word for "Yu", and it is a confrontation between people. In other words, our prey is no longer elms, tung flowers or small fish and shrimps, but human beings. Because only people will provide us with oil, salt, sauce and vinegar.I have never heard that fish and shrimp can automatically cook themselves and serve them to the table. The Qinling Mountains is one of the rare wild mountains that are still cultivated by people in the deep mountains. Every afternoon, when we lie in the wild, we will see the smoke rising from the distance. There are about a dozen houses. When the sky is getting dark in the morning, a few rooster crows will be heard from a distance. But the same family is far away from each other. As the saying goes, the sound of chickens and dogs is heard, and they never communicate with each other. Zhong Chubo said: "It's very easy to find a place to live. It's right to walk in the direction of the smoke. The most troublesome thing is the dog. There are no people in the mountains who don't have dogs. But it doesn't matter. It's the busy farming season. It is estimated that the farmers in the morning They will all go to work in the fields, and most of them will take their dogs with them, and that is the best time for us to act." "But how do you know if anyone is staying in the room?" I asked. "You're so stupid. Don't you know if there is a latch on the courtyard door?" I finally got to deal with people again, and I couldn't help but feel excited and apprehensive. We set off in the morning and didn't arrive at the first family until noon. Sure enough, the courtyard gate was pinned with a horizontal stick. Zhong Chubo looked around, pulled me over calmly, unplugged the latch, pushed the door open and walked in.My heart is beating "poundingly", you know, this is a thief! But it was so quiet all around, enough to make one forget the nature of the action and just think of it as an adventure.I looked at the meadows, wells, and pigpens in the courtyard with novelty. This was the first time I walked into a real farmhouse, and I felt that everything in my eyes was both familiar and strange.Familiarity is because all these things seem familiar in novels and TV, and strangeness is because I never thought that one day I would actually be there in person. It feels like walking into a movie set by accident, with no sense of reality at all. While I was looking around, Zhong Chubo had entered the room without hesitation, successfully found a jar of coarse salt in the cabinet, took four steamed buns and a small bottle of oil by hand, and came out and said to me: "Okay, let's go." Right. You can have extra meals today, you don’t need to drink shepherd’s purse soup, you can stir-fry vegetables.” "Okay?" I was surprised.So calm and smooth?It went so smoothly that there was no danger at all. At this time, I saw a book on the window sill, still wrapped in a cover, and suddenly cheered as excitedly as Grandet picked up gold: "Book! Book!" He rushed over and hugged her in his arms, his eyes filled with tears. "What are you shouting for? Afraid people won't hear you?" I ignored it, and still screamed in the changed voice of a widowed widow for thirty years when she saw her first love: "Book! Book!" I opened it carefully, but just by looking at it, I saw it. I couldn't help being silly—it was a primary school algebra textbook. Zhong Chubo laughed loudly: "You don't want to review the multiplication table from the beginning, do you?" I was dejected and turned my anger on him: "You also said that you have everything you need in your treasure bag, and you don't even have anything with words in it. You are a savage!" "You still have a long time to live this savage life." He laughed, and after a while, he restrained his smile and asked me seriously, "Now you know why I must take you into the mountains, right?" "Why? Read me like a red treasure book three times a day?" "Almost. In this mountain, the most terrifying thing is not the cold or wild animals, but the loneliness. If I am the only one who enters the mountain, within half a year, I am afraid that I will be bored and crazy. So, you have to keep talking to me. Speak, otherwise, be careful to become dumb after leaving the mountain." I didn't speak, but I knew in my heart that what he said was true.Never in my life have I been so lonely and empty, never have I been more conscious of the loveliness and fullness of words. I recited Lu You's "Partridge Sky" again: The family lives in the Cang Yan Luo Zhao room, and the slightest dust has nothing to do with it. Pour the remaining jade liquid and walk through the bamboo, and roll it up and lie down in Huang Ting to watch the mountains. To be greedy and proud, to be weak, you might as well show your face everywhere. Yuan knows that the creation has a different heart, but the old man is like a hero. Oh, even if I have a volume of Buddhist scriptures and Taoism in my hand, as long as it has words, what I can study and recite is my Lunyin imperial decree.In this wilderness far away from civilization, it really feels like a day is like a year, and a year is just like a day, with red faces and white hair, but at the flick of a finger, chanting the phrase "old but heroic", my There was a moment of confusion in my heart. Zhong Chubo comforted me: "Why don't we steal a few more houses to see, there will always be someone who can read and write? Didn't a famous scholar say that 'stealing books is not stealing'?" I glared at him: "Kong Yiji said that, if a scholar steals a book, it's not considered stealing!" "That's right, that's right, that's what Kong Lao San said, stealing books! Does stealing books count as stealing?" I was confused again: "What Confucius?" "Confucius' surname is Kong, and Kong Yiji's surname is also Kong. Confucius is also called Kong's second child. Naturally, Kong Yiji can only be the third child." I was dumbfounded, seeing his serious look, and finally couldn't help it, and burst into laughter. So, in order to "steal" books, we visited several farmhouses deep in the Qinling Mountains one by one. Once I managed to steal a large stack of books, but after looking carefully, I found that they were all medical books, and I saw that the house was full of Chinese medicine. It turned out that the head of the household was an old Chinese doctor.I was worried that those books would be used to save lives, so although I was reluctant to part with them, I put them back where they belonged. Another time, when Zhong Chubo turned over a piece of paper while looking through the ledger, his expression suddenly changed, and he threw the piece of paper away like picking up a bomb.I asked what it was, and he replied that it was a child's scribbles, crumpled up and thrown into the stove under the kang.That night, he told me that I should be extra careful recently, and that in the short term, I should not be tempted again. He didn't know, but I had already noticed that piece of paper, on which were my mimeographed portraits of him and me, it was a wanted warrant. At that moment, my heart beat faster than ever.This arrest warrant reawakened my desire to flee.For a long time, I have almost forgotten that there is another world beyond the mountains, a kind of civilized and fulfilling urban life. Now, this wanted notice has awakened my memory of the city, my longing for my family, and my longing for a normal life. No, I can't stay in the mountains any longer, and become one with Zhong Chubo like this.I want to go back to the civilized world, where there are texts, TV, jokes and teahouses.I want to go back to them! I tried to persuade Zhong Chubo to surrender himself: "If you can choose again, do you want to have a more innocent life?" He squinted his eyes and looked at me: "What are you planning? Call the police? Submit to the case? What is on my head is a capital crime. That's not called surrender, it's called self-surrender. A person's road is walked out step by step on two legs. There is no second choice." I decided not to waste my words, but secretly planned to escape that night.