Chapter 37 chapter eight

It was raining continuously, the roads were cut off, the river was swollen, and none of the vehicles from other provinces came to buy the big peaches produced in my hometown. Every household has picked peaches.Some were packed in baskets, piled up like hills, covered with plastic sheets to keep out the rain.Some are piled up in the yard scatteredly, letting the rain beat and soak.Juicy peaches are not resistant to storage. In previous years, the large trucks that bought peaches drove directly to the edge of the peach forest, picked them and then loaded them with weights. Those drivers who were not afraid of hard work drove overnight, and the peaches could be transported thousands of miles the next morning. other cities.This year, God seems to be punishing those who have had peach luck for several years in a row. From the time the peaches ripen, there is hardly a complete sunny day. Heavy rain alternates between rain and light rain. Even if you don’t pick peaches, they will rot on the trees.If you take it off, there may be a glimmer of life: as soon as the sky clears and the car comes in, load it and leave.But today, there is no sign of clearing up at all.

My family only planted 30 peach trees, because my father was old and neglected to manage them, so the yield was not high, but he picked nearly 6,000 catties.There are few fruit cages in my house, only 16 cages are installed, and they are placed in the wing room. The rest are covered with a plastic sheet and piled up in the yard.My father would go out in the rain from time to time, uncover the plastic sheeting, and pick up peaches to watch.Whenever he lifted the plastic sheeting, we could smell rotten peaches. I am newly married to a little lion, and my daughter is brought by my father.The father went into the yard in the rain, and the daughter ran out after him.She is holding a small umbrella with many animals printed on it.

The daughter was very cold to us, but remained polite enough.The little lion gave her candy, but she hid her hands behind her back and refused to take it, but said: Thank you, auntie. I said: call mom. My daughter stared at me in surprise. The little lion said: Don't bark, don't bark for anything.People call me little lion—she pointed to the little lion on the umbrella—you call me big lion. Do you eat children? asked the daughter. I don't eat children, the little lion said, I am dedicated to protecting children. Father put in a pile of half-rotten peaches in a bamboo hat, and peeled them with a rusty knife, sighing as he peeled.

Eat what you want, I said. It's all money! My father said, today, I don't show compassion to the common people at all. Dad—the lion cub just changed his tune, and his barking was a little awkward, and it sounded awkward—the government won't ignore it, they must be actively thinking of a way. The government knows about family planning, so it doesn't care about other things! My father said not without complaint. At this moment, the tweeter of the village committee rang.Father was afraid that he might not be able to hear clearly, so he ran to the yard in a hurry and listened carefully.

A notification was played on the loudspeaker, saying that the commune had contacted Qingdao, Yantai and other cities, and they had dispatched a convoy to the Wujiaqiao ferry fifty miles away to set up a stall to buy peaches from Northeast Gaomi Township.The commune called on the people to transport the peaches to Wujiaqiao by land and water. Although the price was half cheaper than in previous years, it was better than turning into mud. As soon as the broadcast was over, the village was boiling.I know that it is not only our village that is boiling, but all the villages in Northeast Gaomi Township.

Although there are big rivers here, the number of boats is very small. In the past, there were several small wooden boats in each production team, but after the production was contracted to the households, these boats disappeared. It is true that there is boundless creativity in the masses of the people.Father ran to the wing room, took four gourds from the beams of the house, and then carried out four more logs, pulled out ropes, and made a raft in the yard.I took off my coat, only wearing a trousers vest, and helped my father with his work.The little lion held an umbrella to protect me from the rain.The daughter held her little umbrella and ran around in the yard.I signaled the little lion to hold an umbrella for my father to avoid the rain, but my father said no.The father had a plastic sheet draped over his shoulders, his head was bald, and the rain mixed with sweat was running down his face.An old farmer like my father concentrates his attention on work, and his hands are precise and powerful, without any unnecessary movements.The raft was soon made.

When we carried the raft out, the embankment was already bustling with activity.Those wooden boats that disappeared suddenly appeared. There were also dozens of rafts that went into the water at the same time as the wooden boat. Those tied to the rafts included gourds, fully inflated carriage inner tubes, and white foam plastic.I don't know who made a big wooden basin.Boats and rafts are fixed to the willow trees on the river bank with ropes.In every alley, there are people walking in a hurry carrying peach baskets. Those who kept mules and donkeys at home had loaded pans full of peaches on their backs.Dozens of large animals lined up on the embankment.

There was a commune cadre swimming over, wearing a raincoat, trousers rolled up, and sandals in his hand, standing on the embankment and shouting loudly. I saw that in front of my family's raft, there was an almost gorgeously lashed raft.Four thick fir trees are tied with cowhide ropes to form a "well" shape.The gap in the middle is made of logs with thick sickle handles, and four red inner tubes of fully inflated carriages are tied to the bottom of the raft.Although more than a dozen baskets of peaches had been loaded on the raft, the raft was very shallow, which showed that the four tires had strong buoyancy.Five standing logs were tied to the four corners and the middle of the raft, and light blue plastic film was supported on the standing logs to provide shade from the sun and, of course, shelter from the rain.Such a raft cannot be made in half a day.

Wang Jiao was wearing a coir raincoat and a bamboo hat, squatting in front of the raft, like a fisherman fishing. There were only six baskets of peaches on my family's raft, and the draft was already very deep.Father insisted on loading two more baskets.I said: It's fine to put two more baskets, but you don't want to go, I will go alone. My father may have considered that the little lion and I were married on the second day, so he insisted on going by himself. I said, "Father, stop arguing. Look at the people on the embankment. How can anyone go down the river at your age to support a raft?" Father Said: Then you be careful.

I said: Don't worry, I can't do anything else, and the water is fine. In case there is a big storm, just throw the peaches into the water.said father. Take it easy, I said. I waved to the little lion standing on the embankment with my daughter. The little lion also waved to me. Father untied the cable from the tree and threw it to me. I caught the cable, pulled it up, picked up the long pole, poked the river bank, and supported it hard, and the heavy raft moved forward slowly. Be careful! Be careful! I control the raft and slowly drift forward along the place closer to the embankment.

The mules and donkeys walked alongside us on the shore.The heavy pans made the animals heavy on their feet.Several well-crafted heads of households tied copper bells around the necks of their animals, making tinkling and whistling sounds.The old people and children on the shore followed the cattle team for a while, and when they reached the head of the village, they all stood still. The big river turned a sharp bend at the head of the village.Boat and raft, enter the rapids here.The king foot of the raft, which had been propped up in front of me, did not go down with the current, but propped the raft into the steady water at the bend of the river.On the embankment over there, there are luxuriant shrubs, and there are many cicadas singing on the branches.From the moment I saw King's Foot's luxurious raft, I knew something was going to happen.Sure enough, Wang Jiao lifted the peach basket on the raft into the water, and the basket floated on the water, obviously there were no peaches in it.He propped the raft into the bushes, and I saw that the tall Chen Nose jumped onto the raft with his big belly in his arms.Behind him, Wang Gan hugged Chen Er and jumped onto the raft. They then lowered the plastic sheeting from the top of the raft to form a curtain.Holding a wooden pole in his feet, the king regained the majestic posture of standing on the shaft of the chariot with a long whip in his hand and driving his horse forward.His waist is straight, it can be seen that his hunched back is completely fake, just like what my aunt said.And the so-called "father and son break up friendship" is obviously an angry statement. When the critical moment comes, father and son soldiers are still needed to go into battle.But no matter what, I still bless them from the bottom of my heart, hoping that they can carry Wang Dan and escape to where they want to go.Of course, when I think of the countless efforts my aunt has put into this matter, I feel a little regretful. King's Foot's raft was buoyant and light, and soon overtook us. In the villages on both banks, there are rafts and boats launched into the water.When we floated to Dongfeng Village, where my aunt was bleeding, hundreds of rafts and dozens of wooden boats gathered in the middle of the river to form a long dragon and flowed down the river. My eyes have been following the raft of the Wang family.Although it has surpassed us, it has never disappeared from my vision. The Wang family's raft was undoubtedly the proudest raft that day, like a "Hummer" among the mediocre cars. It is not only proud but also mysterious.Those who have seen the scene at the bend of the river naturally know the secrets hidden in the plastic curtain, while those who have not seen this scene will inevitably look sideways and feel puzzled.Because no matter from which angle you look at it, the raft is not loaded with peaches. Now, when I think about it, when my aunt’s special family planning boat sailed past our raft at full speed, I felt an inexplicable excitement in my heart.This boat is no longer the earth-built machine boat of the 1970s, but a milky white, streamlined speedboat.In front of the semi-enclosed cab is transparent plexiglass. It is still the same Qin He who is driving the new boat, but his head has already been spent.My aunt and my new wife, Little Lion, stood with their hands on the railing behind the driver's cab, and the wind made their clothes swing back.I saw the ball-like chest of a little lion, and I had mixed feelings in my heart.Behind them, four men sat facing each other in seats on either side of the boat.The spray from their boats splashed on to our raft, and the eddies their boats made threw our raft up and down.I believe the lion cub saw me as the boat passed close to my raft, but she didn't even say hello to me. The lion cub who had just married me seemed to be another person.A dreamlike feeling floated in my heart, everything that happened before seemed to be a scene in a dream.The little lion's indifference made my heart quickly turn to the fugitive, Wang Dan, run away! Wang Jiao, stay fast! My aunt's boat slanted across the raft team and rushed towards the Wang family's raft floating alone in front of the right. Auntie's boat did not overtake Wang's raft, but paralleled it.The motorboat slowed down, and the sound of the motor was barely audible.There is a distance of about two or three meters between the boat and the raft.The boat continued to approach the raft, evidently intending in this way to force the raft against the embankment.Wang's feet were holding the wooden pole and supporting the side of the engine boat. He probably wanted to get out of danger, but amidst the surging waves, her shrill cry sounded from time to time: Auntie, please hold your hand high and let us live. ! Just as the raft was getting away from the boat, the little lion leaped in the direction of the raft and landed in the river with a plop.She doesn't know how to swim and floats in the water.My aunt yelled for help.Taking advantage of this opportunity, Chen Bi and Wang Gan paddled vigorously, making the raft sink into the midstream again. It took quite a long time to rescue the lion cub.When the man on the boat offered her the wooden pole and dragged her to the side of the boat, she reached out and grabbed the man's leg and dragged him into the water.This is another poor swimmer.The people on the boat had no choice but to jump into the water to save them, and Qin He, who was driving the boat, seemed to have lost his standard.My aunt was so angry that she jumped on the boat and cursed.The people on the raft and wooden boat have no one to help.But the little lion is my wife after all. I tried my best to divert the water from the pole and tried to get the raft closer to her, but a raft behind me rushed up diagonally and almost knocked my raft over.Seeing that the lion cub showed less and less time in the water, I abandoned the raft and the peaches, jumped into the rapids, and swung forward to save my wife. The moment the little lion jumped into the water, a big question mark was drawn in my heart.Afterwards, the little lion told me that she smelled blood, the holy blood smell unique to pregnant women.She also saw the blood on Wang Dan's leg.She deliberately jumped into the water—of course, this behavior can also be explained in other ways—to delay time, and she risked being drowned to delay time. She said she prayed to the gods in the river: Wang Dan, hurry up Time, give birth soon, give birth soon, as long as the child is out of the "pot door", it is a life, a citizen of the People's Republic of China, and will be protected. The child is the flower of the motherland, and the child is the future of the motherland.Of course, she said, with this little cleverness, I can't hide it from my aunt. As soon as I poke my tail, my aunt will know what shit I'm going to do. By the time we rescued the little lion and another family planning cadre on board the plane, the Wang family's raft had already been rowed at least three miles away.At this time, the motor boat turned off again, and Qin He was sweating profusely, starting the machine over and over again.The aunt was furious, and the little lion and the family planning cadre lay on the side of the boat with their heads overboard, spitting water. My aunt danced for a while, then suddenly calmed down.A sad smile appeared on her face.A ray of sunlight shot out from the clouds, shining on my aunt's face, and also on the turbulent river surface, making my aunt look like a desperate hero.Sitting on the side of the boat, she whispered to Qin He: Don't pretend, don't even pretend. Qin He was stunned for a moment, and started the machine at once.The engine boat was like an arrow leaving the string, heading straight for the Wang family's raft. I patted the little lion's back and peeked at my aunt, who sometimes lowered her eyebrows and sometimes grinned.What was she thinking? It suddenly occurred to me that my aunt was forty-seven years old, and her youth had long since ended. Now, she was walking on the road to middle age, but her face, which had been through vicissitudes, already showed the desolation of an old man.I remembered that my mother said more than once before she was alive, what is a woman born to do? In the final analysis, a woman is here to bear children.The status of a woman is born out of childbirth, the dignity of a woman is also born out of childbirth, and the happiness and glory of a woman are also born out of childbirth.It is the greatest pain for a woman not to have children. A woman is not a complete woman without children. Moreover, if a woman does not have children, her heart will harden. If she does not have children, she will grow old very quickly.What the mother said was aimed at the aunt, but the mother never said it in front of the aunt.Is it true that my aunt’s old age has something to do with her lack of children? My aunt is already forty-seven years old. If I seize the time to get married, is it possible to have children? But where is the man who can become my aunt’s husband? The boat quickly caught up with Wang's raft.When approaching the raft, Qin He slowed down and approached cautiously. Wang Jiao stood at the stern of the raft, holding a long pole, and King Kong glared, assuming a desperate posture. Wang Gan hugged Chen Er and sat on the head of the raft. Chen Bi was in the raft, holding Wang Dan in his arms, crying, laughing, and shouting, "Wang Dan, give birth soon! Come soon! When you are born, you have a life! They dare not let us crush you to death!" Wan Xin, little lion, you are defeated! Haha, you are defeated! Tears rolled down the bearded man's face line by line. At the same time, Wang Dan uttered a horrifying, liver-piercing cry. When the engine boat and the raft were close together, my aunt leaned forward and held out a hand. Chen Bi took out a knife and said fiercely: "Pull your devil's claw back!" My aunt said calmly: "This is not a devil's claw, this is the hand of an obstetrician and gynecologist." I had a sore nose, felt a sudden thought in my heart, and shouted: Chen Bi, quickly pick up Auntie on the raft! Let Auntie deliver Wang Dan's baby! I hooked a wooden pole to the uprights of the raft.My aunt moved her heavy body and boarded the raft. The little lion lifted the medicine box and jumped onto the raft. When they used scissors to open Wang Dan's blood-soaked trousers, I turned my back, but my hands firmly held the wooden pole behind me, making it difficult to separate the raft from the engine boat. The image of Wang Dan that I saw for a moment appeared in my mind: she was lying on the raft, her lower body soaked in blood.With a short body and a high belly, it looks like an angry and frightened dolphin. The big river is rolling, day and night.The heavy clouds cracked, and the sun was like lightning.The peach-carrying raft team shook its head and wagged its tail, and my raft went down the river without anyone in control. I look forward to it.I am looking forward to the cries of Wang Dan, to the sound of the surging waves, to the high-pitched braying of donkeys on the shore. From the raft came the hoarse cry of a baby. I turned around suddenly and saw my aunt holding the premature baby in both hands, and the little lion wrapped the baby's abdomen with a piece of gauze. Another girl, said the aunt. Chen Bi drooped his head like a flat tire.He hit his head with both fists in turn, and said in great pain: "I am the god... I am the god... The fifth generation of the old Chen family passed on alone, but I did not expect to be in my hands..." The aunt said: You bastard! Although the aunt's boat was carrying Wang Dan and the newborn baby on its way back, it failed to save Wang Dan's life. According to the little lion, before his death, Wang Dan regained his consciousness and regained consciousness for a while.Her blood was gone, and her face was like gold paper.She smiled at her aunt, and seemed to be mumbling something.Aunt leaned her body closer and listened to her words. The little lion said that she didn't hear what Wang Dan said to her aunt, but she must have heard clearly.The golden color on Wang Dan's face faded, turning into grayish white.Her eyes were wide open, but they couldn't shine anymore.Her body curled up, like a shriveled sack that has been drained of food, and like an empty cocoon that has emerged from a moth.Auntie sat next to Wang Dan, her head bowed deeply. After a long time, my aunt stood up and sighed a long time, as if asking the little lion, but also talking to herself: What's the matter? Under the care, he finally passed the dangerous period and survived.