Chapter 5 Section five

Rural people are used to working in the fields first when they get up in the morning, and they don’t go home for breakfast until eight or nine o’clock.In winter, the dawn is late, and breakfast is postponed until more than ten o'clock.The work of turning sand and gravel on the beach is too heavy, and it is generally difficult for people to sustain it until meal time, when they are thirsty and hungry.Therefore, between dawn and breakfast, people who do heavy work have an extra meal, which is called "tie shang" in the countryside.Now, it's the time for lunch, and there are women or dolls, carrying bamboo cages, covered with checked towels, and carrying hot water bottles, walking down the river bank from the riverbank.

Seeing that he hadn't moved, the uncle Changcai hurried over, without any explanation, took the shovel from his hand, threw it on the ground, pulled his arm, pushed his back, and clumsily stirred his long tongue in his big mouth: " Take a break! People are like iron and rice is steel! An old man like me is starving, let alone you young guy..." Runsheng looked up at the embankment. His mother hadn't brought him food yet, but he couldn't resist the sincere invitation from the talented uncle. He picked up his cotton-padded jacket from the sand, put it on his body, and went with him.

Bamboo cages filled with baked yellow dough pot helmets and white porcelain pots filled with tea, all placed on the sandy ground.As soon as Runsheng squatted down, Aunt Changcai stuffed a piece of pot helmet into his hand, and moved the dish of shredded green and white radish mixed with spicy peppers to his feet.Uncle Changcai handed over the teapot with both hands, and said regretfully, "Drink first. If you don't have a tea bowl, just drink from the spout! We peasants can't talk about hygiene... People in the city are very particular, and they don't misuse tea bowls." ..."

"Go up the mountain to collect firewood, cross the river and take off your shoes—talk wherever you go!" Aunt Changcai said cheerfully, "Run baby, eat and drink as much as you want! We farmers don't pay attention to hygiene, but the black porcelain is very strong. " Runwa smiled, but said nothing, no matter how narrow-minded Aunt Changcai's words were, the smell of the pot helmet was really delicious!The skin is thin, crispy, and the flesh is soft, and it is very comfortable to serve with cool shredded radish.Although she is so stupid that she doesn't believe in the principle of hygiene, the skill of making pot helmets is really superb!

"Runba, ho! So Runwa—" Uncle Changcai chewed on the shredded radish with a crackling sound, calling his name inarticulately, and sighed loudly, always giving people a sense of affection and sincerity He said words of gratitude to those who have benefited him, "Your old nephew, what a style! Hoo!" "Isn't it just that I sold a load of stones for you?" Runsheng said indifferently, "I'll sell it a few days later, and I'm not in a hurry to spend the money. If you are in a hurry to use the money, sell it first, so what does it matter!" "Ha! See how easy it is for you to say!" Uncle Changcai stared, shook his head, and said with even more emotion, "Look at this beach, in order to sell stones, so that my son will not recognize me! Who would give away the ticket?" Put it in someone else's pocket? So, your old nephew really..."

"The main reason is that I don't need money right now." Runsheng said lightly. "Looking at Runwa's good ideas, it's really a waste of talent to put them on the river beach to fish for rocks!" The uncle Changcai stared at his wife and said, the purpose is to win supporters, "I said, Runwa should go to the commune to be a cadre. He is a good cadre!" After hearing this, Runsheng couldn't help laughing.He didn't sell a load of stones, and gave the opportunity to sell it to Uncle Changcai. He was so moved that he gave him pot helmets, drank tea, praised him endlessly, and even said that he should be a cadre in the village. Dream talk... so sincere it makes people laugh!

"What are you laughing at? Tell the truth!" Uncle Changcai became more serious, "At least...you shouldn't be fishing for stones like a fool like Uncle..." "If I don't fish for stones, I can't make money!" Runsheng said. "You shouldn't be earning such stupid money, really. You should sell mutton, which is quicker and more profitable." Uncle Changcai said, "The gang of mutton sellers in our village will go to Shangen to buy meat today. I went down to goats, killed them in the afternoon, and brought them to Xi’an in the morning, sold them, and came back after dark. Once every two days, I earned this amount—” He stretched out his index and middle fingers, “Earn more than 20 yuan in two days. How much do you earn every month? I’m so jealous, it’s just that we don’t know how to ride a bicycle…”

"I did it once." Runsheng said with a smile. "Why don't you do it anymore?" the old man asked. "It's a rotten bag!" Runsheng said mockingly, "We don't know what to buy. When we buy sheep, we can't figure out how fat or thin it is. The meat we kill is so little that it almost rots away our capital...We can't do it with our hands!" "That's true." Uncle Changcai nodded and nodded, "You have to see it with your eyes, and pinch the fat with your fingers. You can't do it without this skill..." Runsheng turned his head and saw that the entire beach was now resting. The noisy brushing sounds stopped, like the sudden interruption of the drums in a Qin opera opera, and the natural tranquility that is known in the river beach .Here and there, the peasants fishing for stones are sitting or squatting to eat, and their women or daughters are passing them buns, pouring water, and talking slowly.There were only a few guys who worked desperately, and they still didn't stop, not even missing the time to eat a meal or smoke a pot of dry tobacco.

"Runwa, uncle, tell you the truth—" Uncle Changcai blinked mysteriously, and lowered his voice, "You are a literate person, you can read and write, tell me, will this policy change now? ?” "Shouting on the loudspeaker all the time, this is the basic national policy!" Seeing the mysterious expression of the long-cai uncle's soft voice, Runsheng thought it was funny, raised his voice deliberately, and said loudly, "What time is it, you Also asked 'changed'!" The long-cai aunt curled her lips, looked at the man with disdain, and said to Runsheng: "Don't look at your uncle's loud voice, he is too timid to look like a man. He always asks 'change' when he sees people, and it has become a problem." Let me tell you! We didn’t do anything illegal, we used our clumsy efforts to earn money, but the policy has changed, what crime can we ask..."

"Don't be stubborn!" Uncle Changcai twisted his neck, and his voice became louder again, "They confiscated your eggs back then, why didn't you be stubborn? That should be the chicken you took pains to raise! They said that it would be good for the baby! The old sow raised by Dad is 'spontaneous', you say, Runwa, your dad dares to be stubborn..." "The old imperial calendar!" Runsheng unconsciously showed the air of an old pedant, "The current policies are all written into the constitution..." "As long as it stays the same!" Uncle Changcai nodded, "We won't traffic long distances, we won't even be able to find the train station when we go far away! Second, we won't play tricks and make trouble, and we won't be able to find the way! As long as we are allowed to fish for stones, This beach is Cao Changcai's cash cow, the golden basin! To put it in fashion, it is our passbook!"

Aunt Changcai smiled generously: "He is such a stupid person, he thinks stupid ideas, says stupid things..." "True truth!" Uncle Changcai became excited for no reason, couldn't restrain himself, and spoke out his heartfelt words to a junior who was far from the same age, "I'm here to fish for stones, don't pay a lot of money, don't worry about the market going up and down You don’t have to run around here and there, you have hot meals every day, and you sleep on a bed at night, and you can’t catch all the stones on the beach in ten or eight years. One stone a day, five or six yuan, where can I find such a good livelihood? Of course it’s more tiring, are we stupid peasants afraid of working hard and sweating?” "That's right." Runsheng nodded. Uncle Changcai was telling the truth, and this was the whole reason why the beach attracted so many farmers.Those few people who dare to travel north and south to engage in long-distance trafficking earn a lot of money, perhaps tens of thousands in a month, but there is always a certain risk and an element of instability.Peasants like senior uncles who are used to the small-scale peasant economy are still afraid to let go of their hands and feet. They can get a square of stones a day and earn five or six dollars, which is already very satisfying. hold on.He can work for a year at most, and when he earns enough money to buy ten boxes of Italian honey bees in Dongyang Village, he will go to collect the stalls, and go all over the world to release bees. In any case, the monotonous work of fishing for stones cannot compare of. "Runwa, have you heard of it?" Uncle Changcai said enthusiastically, "In the year just after liberation, a row of soldiers in gray uniforms walked past our river beach and rushed to Nanyuan. At one time, someone said, "Hey! One river beach silver dollar, one river beach ocean noodles!" The old man Cao Er who was mowing the grass by the river heard it. The legend spread, and people couldn't understand it. It was obviously sand and stones all over the river beach. Why would the People’s Liberation Army say that it’s silver dollars and foreign noodles? Now, everyone is unraveling this! Do you think it’s a god?” Listening to this legendary story, Runsheng smiled, hiccupped, clapped his hands, and was about to stand up and leave.At this time, a girl stuffed him with a piece of food wrapped in a towel, saying that his mother brought it for you, and she was too busy to take it off.Runsheng untied the towel, and there were three steamed buns with peppers sandwiched between them.He shook the towel and poured the three buns into Aunt Changcai's bamboo cage. "What does this count as?" Aunt Changcai asked. "If you don't want to return it, you can take it to my mother." Runsheng said, "I'm already full." Uncle Changcai smacked on the dry tobacco, smoked it happily, and stuffed a Golden Monkey brand cigarette into his hand.Runsheng couldn't refuse, so he lit it and took a puff of the cigarette, which made him cough, so he quickly squeezed it out. "Runwa, uncle still wants to say something to you, so don't leave in a hurry." Uncle Changcai said a little embarrassedly, "Uncle told you, I ordered a wife for that broken goods, and I was in a hurry to spend money, so I had to help uncle." Selling stones!" "No mada." Runsheng said boldly, "I'll stop the car and sell it to you first." "Don't you have a classmate... in the management station?" Uncle Changcai finally expressed his intentions, "You go to her and ask her to give us a few buses, all problems will be solved!" "Hmm..." Runsheng pondered for a moment, a little embarrassed.He originally planned to find Xiaolan later, but not to let her take a few more trips. "Uncle's eyes are dark, and he doesn't have a single acquaintance at the management station," the elder uncle lamented. "Those people in the management station are doing things for their acquaintances. Let's bring liquor and cigarettes, and we won't be able to get along! Recklessly Send it away, but it fell out instead. In fact, no one knows what they are doing behind the scenes! Alright! Your classmates are billing at the management station, and there are people from us..." "Give her a gift?" Runsheng asked with a smile. "Of course." Uncle Changcai said in a low voice, "I will do the work for me, and I will give you the gift. Uncle buys a suitable gift, and it will be decent for you to give it to others..." "Forget it, forget it!" Runsheng was a little annoyed, "If you really go to her, I won't take any presents." "Stupid boy! Now you're so happy!" Uncle Changcai said, "You just came back from school, and you don't understand human feelings! There is no way, there is no way to go!" "Don't worry about it!" Runsheng said, "I'll just go find her."