Chapter 8 Chapter Eight: Granny Cao

Last winter was extremely cold and snowy.Several cattle died in the Dongfanghong brigade.No money to buy a new one.In the spring, there is very little tillage.But at this time, one of the most savage and powerful eunuchs in the brigade broke his leg bone, and it was a thigh bone, on a ridge when he was receiving the fence.A group of gigantic animals were lying pitifully under the ridge, with half of their bodies protruding above the ridge, with two huge eyes full of tears. Except for a few elderly people who sighed and sighed, most of the people gathered around, talking and watching the excitement: there is no cure, and if it is cured, it is also a waste.At that time, it will not be cattle for people, but people for cattle.Simply, give it a knife and save it from the crime of living... They are all waiting to eat meat.In the days of famine, if you can encounter the smell of meat, it is like celebrating the New Year.

Yin Daoyan, who had already been suspended from his job, did not know where he got the news, and rushed here profusely.He jumped into the bottom of the ridge at once, and shouted on his back: "If you don't want to go, find some sticks." Seeing that no one moved the stakes, Yin Daoyan became anxious, identified a few young people, and said, "I call you Laozi. Get it!" When he spoke, his eyes were bloodshot.Several people saw that he was really fighting, so they had no choice but to obey him. The cattle were taken out from the ridge and managed to be transported to the town. It was almost midnight.After finally knocking on the door of the township hospital, the person on duty said, "Please check the number plate clearly. This is the People's Hospital, which treats people." He closed the door without hesitation.Because people were sleepy, they cursed behind the door: "These people are not human, they are cows, animals!"

Yin Daoyan was so anxious that he had no choice but to think of Lao Yang, the leader of the working group. Lao Yang coughed and came out with his cotton-padded jacket on, and stood in the courtyard shivering in the cold wind in the middle of the night. While shaking, he said, "I can only try with Mrs. Cao." "Is it okay?" Yin Daoyan couldn't help shivering. "What do you think we should do? Isn't it important to save the cattle?" Lao Yang may have gritted his teeth hard because of the cold. Yin Daoyan followed Lao Yang, went to Granny Cao's room like a thief, and opened the door carefully.When Mrs. Cao saw Lao Yang, she followed without saying a word.

Granny Cao squatted on the black ground, stretched out her hand to touch the cow's leg, and said, "It's all right." Then, she stood up and told everyone to stay away from the cow. She stood on a stake, and slowly put her hands flat on her chest.It was dark, and everyone couldn't see her face clearly, only heard her let out a long breath, squatted down suddenly, and let out a soft but very powerful "Oh hoo", the cow that had collapsed on the ground before, Unexpectedly, following the low voice, "Hulong", he stood up again. "Still carry it back, rest for two days, it will be fine."

As Mrs. Cao was talking, she disappeared into the darkness just like when she came here just now. A group of middle-aged men stood in the dark, in a daze for a long time: the bone of the cow's foot was not broken, but the hip bone was dislocated.For a half-old woman, it was as easy as a slap in the face to put a cow's leg back in place.The people in the town had previously told Mrs. Cao very well in private, and it seemed that the rumor was true. two Go to the mouth of Boyang Lake, a hundred miles away from the town, which used to be a prosperous place between rivers and lakes.In ancient times, this was the only way to go from the Central Plains to Lingnan.There is a bay called Gutang at the mouth of the lake. The water is deep and sheltered from the wind. It is a good natural harbor.The boat trip going in and out of Boyang Lake must start here, rest at night, enjoy the breeze, and trade.As a result, Gutang is developed, with berthing ships, walls and masts, and houses row upon row.There is a good story that Qianlong went to the south of the Yangtze River and drove to Gutang admiringly. The first thing he did when he went ashore was to urinate a lot.This kindness was only known in the local area after he left.So I was grateful to Dade, and raised funds to erect a monument eight feet high on the urine mark, which was carried by a mouth.The inscription on the stele reads: The emperor's grace is mighty.This story is said to be very reliable.That monument is still there.First, it was collected by a large family and buried underground. It was dug out during the "Cultural Revolution", and it was too late to smash it, but it was quietly picked up in the middle of the night and the foundation of the reservoir was laid, which was regarded as ensuring the safety of the world.In short, there is no doubt that Gutang has a prosperous history.Because of its prosperity, it will be troublesome.On the Baishili Pohu Lake, Gutang is one of the favorite places for lake pirates to visit.The big households in the town have more beaters.Not all masters are top-notch, and there is no guarantee that they are all single-minded, so it is not easy to find a master.One family came up with a brilliant way to take a female beater from Jiangbei as a concubine.The matter immediately spread, but it aroused the curiosity of the strong.Soon someone came to experience the skill.

The people who came didn't dare to be reckless, and a group came together.Claiming to be here for business, but every move and foot is full of gangsters.The boss pretended to be false and let the "cheap" serve tea. When the tea bowls came up, the gangsters immediately stared straight at the eyes: the tea bowls were held on a plate that was used to grind soybean milk in the countryside.A quietly working woman held the handle of the milling pan firmly with one hand, and distributed the tea bowls on the milling pan to everyone one by one with the other hand, her face was full of spring breeze and her smile was pleasant, as if she was shaking a fan.

The bandits looked at each other in blank dismay, and then resigned knowingly.The boss and his "bitch" sent the "customers" out of the gate, and the gangsters walked a few steps away, and the boss sang another song behind them: Shunfeng.The gangsters turned their heads to answer the salute, but they saw the woman next to the boss, with her feet in the air and stuck to the door panel, her face was still full of spring breeze and her smile was pleasant.The bandits shrank their necks quickly, and the rats ran away. The family's home has been impregnable ever since. Several years passed, and one day, a cage seller came to Gutang. He looked shabby and shabby, squatting on the ground, without saying a word, singing a beggar's song:

The moon is thin, the moon is thin, Papa was famous. The previous episode gave me a handful of rice, Put it in a jute bag. bumped into a scorched dog, Moo bit the bottom of the bag. ... He looked interesting and attracted many people to watch.When doing business, he speaks loudly, saying that he can't stop pulling two bulls on his brown rope. A kind beater thought it was ridiculous, so he went up and grabbed a roll: "I'm afraid it's old and rotten?" "The brown was cut this year, and the cable was rubbed out yesterday." "Can I try?" "Can."

The brown rope is as thick as a finger, twisted into a coil like a twist, and each coil is as thick as an arm.The beating master took out one, wrapped it around his finger, tapped it lightly, and it broke.Another branch, another pier, and another break.In a blink of an eye, a roll of brown rope was broken in long and short lengths. "It's clearly a rotten thread." The teacher was very proud to hear the applause from all around him. The rope seller took a dark look at the master and said: "They are all living in the world, why bother." "You have to do it properly, you can't coax people."

"Since you don't know Chengdan like this, then I'll admit it." As the rope seller said, he took off a roll of the brown rope on the burden, and the brand new brown rope shone in the sun, exuding a fragrance.He grasped the thick coil with both hands, and twisted it lightly, and all the coils of brown rope were snapped.Another roll was taken off, twisted again, and all of them broke again.Not a few times, a load of brown ropes broke into a pile on the ground. The whole street was silent.The beater's face turned gray.When encountering such a thing in the arena, nine out of ten provocateurs will pay for it with their lives.

It was the female beater who settled the matter.She urged the boss to come forward to smooth things over, and asked the unlucky beater to hold a dozen tables of banquets, inviting all the prominent figures in Gutang, and set off a firecracker battle on the street for a whole day as an apology.Then he packed up his bedding and left Gutang, and the rope seller took his place. After a long time, people in Gutang found out that the female beating master and the brown rope seller were actually brothers and sisters.Back then, my mother and I couldn't hold back money (the Dabie Mountains in Jiangbei are notoriously poor), so I forced my daughter to be a concubine.The younger brother once wanted to leave.I didn't expect to be taken back leisurely after traveling thousands of miles. How many enemies are there in the world! Then of course something happened.The senior sister and younger brother didn't know how to find a credible excuse, so they hired a boat from time to time and swayed to the middle of Boyang Lake. There is a vast expanse of white water all around, and a bright moon is in the middle of the sky.In the boundless sky, a faint mist gradually floated up.A soft halo formed around the moon.The surface of the lake, as smooth as a mirror, is slightly turbulent due to the rise and fall of the lake water.The fishing fire in the distance flickered faintly, shining with a blurred light.Gezi Wuji, soaked in the strong aroma of wine, overflowed from the cabin: The lights on the wall are also red, Lang holds Sister Qing in his arms. Lang is the sun and sister is the moon, The elder sister is Yang Liulang and the wind. Shout out to my sister, my body trembles, It's like a carp play flower basket. Carp play in the flower basket, Easy to get in and hard to get out. ... Not far away, a shoe-shaped mountain is vaguely shadowed.Legend has it that it was the embroidered shoe that Sanshenggu, the younger sister of the god Yang Chi, eloped to the world, was chased by her brother and left behind in a hurry.Now, this evidence of impoliteness stands quietly in the water, as if reliving the old dream, which is similar to all the old and old legends of that kind.The sky and the earth held their breath together and listened carefully. In those nights, the ship boss who had been bought in advance was only a board away from them.The song that burns like a fire makes people feel hot like a fire.The ship boss who was touched didn't let out a word at that time.No one noticed the cheating of senior sister and younger brother for a few years. The secret is disclosed by the younger brother himself.After the sister's boss was suppressed, the younger brother handed over a bag of gold and silver to the land reform team.It was the private house that the senior sister had handed over to him for his collection, for them to live after they eloped.As a result, the senior sister was classified as a landlord and charged with transferring floating wealth.The juniors were absorbed into government cadres. This senior sister is the later Mrs. Cao. three How did Mrs. Cao come to the town? No one deliberately pursued it.There are so many miraculous stories that the townspeople can't get enough of. For a long time, Mrs. Cao has been like a moon in water and a flower in a mist to the townspeople, and there is always a layer of estrangement.It's hard to buy a smile, he is indifferent to everyone, has lived in the town for decades, and has always been a stranger. The legendary Mrs. Cao was naturally like a flower when she was young. She dare not say that she is a country and a city, at least it was built within a hundred miles.This used to be a great local honor.Now it also adds a bit of glory to the town.Several Shuxie scholars even thought that with Mrs. Cao's existing charm, there is no problem in going to the county annals. Mrs. Cao is a controlled element in the town, and the rumors about her make people believe that she is a flirtatious person.So there is contempt, and there is fantasy.But as the long days passed, the young and old lovers in the town couldn't touch even a single hair of her hair.So, they had no choice but to be angry and resentful, and behind their backs they made up countless eclectic stories for her, portraying her as the world's number one slut, no less than Daji or Wu Zetian. However, resentment returns to resentment, and hatred returns to hatred.On the face of it, Mrs. Cao seemed to be ashamed all the time. Today's Mrs. Cao's hair should be gray, but it is not.The face still retains the outline of that year, which is unfamiliar, and it is impossible to recognize her actual age without looking closely.Her past, her sultry looks and stories, the turmoil and storms she caused will never be forgotten.Many new stories, new entanglements, and new novels can't obliterate her and her past.She sits in the street all day long, always wearing a gray-black straw hat on her head, which covers the sun in fine weather, blocks the dust and sand in windy weather, and acts as an umbrella when it rains.After staying in the rain for a long time, the rainwater seeped through the gaps in the straw, and then the entire bottom of the hat was covered with water droplets.More water gathered on the top of the hat on the back of the head into a trickle, and fell on her still straight back.At the same time, a large and complete piece of transparent plastic sheet, which was obviously bought with determination, covered the snack stall.In this way, even if it rains, business will not be interrupted. However, there is something special about her snacks.If Mrs. Cao was once famous for her beauty and martial arts, then this snack stall is the glory of her later years.Among them, salted boiled peanuts and dried potato chips are especially good.The peanuts are carefully selected one by one, the size is very uniform, the shell is round and white, there is no damage, no roots and other sundries.It is said to be boiled in salt water, but it tastes crunchier and refreshing than stir-frying. Potato chips are not the usual stir-frying method, but the sweet potatoes are first peeled and cooked, then kneaded in flour, eggs, sesame and sugar, and cut into thin slices. Return to the pan and fry.Regardless of its taste, just looking at the size and thickness of each piece, which is almost equal, shows the depth of kung fu. There is red eye.Criticize capitalism.No food stalls allowed.Mrs. Cao raised pigs, and went down to open up wasteland on a sloping graveyard far away from the town.Life is still delicious.Occasionally, someone even heard her humming a song: Green bamboo can't be ridden as a horse, How does a rabbit plow a field and carry a plow, Paddle pole rowing across the river, A good lady is not a wife, There is always a split time later. ... Years later, Mrs. Cao and her younger brother are still inseparable, the bones and tendons of their feet are broken, and the old love is not over.Her younger brother later worked as a traumatologist in a big hospital in the city, and it is said that he was also the head of the department.Every spring, he would secretly come to the town to meet Mrs. Cao.Every time I come and go at night, I think I do it secretly, I don't know that there are people with poisonous eyes in the town. When the sub-districts in the town were running cooperative medical care, Lao Yang, the deputy mayor in charge of culture, education and health, once asked whether Mrs. Cao could come out to the trauma department to do traumatic injuries and use her skills.But because of those rumors, the mayor Li Furong disagreed.It is said that this woman is so heartbroken that Dongmao cannot be used.Hospitals are places where human life is at stake. If poor and lower-middle peasants suffer class revenge, who will be responsible? Lao Yang could only keep silent.