Chapter 2 The first brilliant prison gate.1

1 Huang Huang is a very, very popular dog, his image is quite ordinary, and when it comes to feet, he is no more than the average level of the same kind.What is extraordinary about it is that it records many flaws of human beings. In Zhangjiayingzi, Huang Huang stared at Zhengdong, a day's journey away, from time to time.Especially when the sun is in the south, it often sees a prison standing coldly under the famous mountain where the people here place their hope of multiplying in the world.On the periphery of the prison gate, leisurely weeds grew.Needless to say, Kusama naturally bloomed many small flowers, white or yellow, pink or light purple, all kinds of colors, full of dazzling beauty.Huang Huang also found that the prison kept shooting criminals, and the cold gunshots, passing through a piece of warm red, scattered in all directions, and naturally entered its ears.At this moment, a chill will pass through its back.It got a cold shock, had to stand up from the ground, and barked furiously towards the east.

At this time, under the prison wall, wild thorn red, azalea red, imitation lotus red, golden bell red, mid-spring red, and even more morning glory all over the world, the pink is faint, and the red is endlessly flowing in the gunshots, covering the sky and covering the earth.There was a bright red gunshot, and when the Baiguoshu Mountain rose to the top of the prison, Huang Huang stared at the small tile temple on the mountainside, and saw a lonely monk sitting in the temple, with his hands folded on his chest, reciting Buddhist words, Crossing all living beings.Perhaps in his Purdue, the dead person may be a character in the next life, and it is also unknown.

The small temple on the mountain has long been in disrepair, and the crooked wall pillars tell you that its collapse will happen tomorrow if it is not today, and it will definitely not exceed the day after tomorrow.However, the small shop survived the storm for many years. It stood on the mountain with the prison day by day, but kept changing its owners.It is said that although the monk is not very authentic, he is also the same surname and family as the presiding officer of the Zhongzheng Hall of Lingshan Great Temple.Whether the situation is true, even Huang Huang is just hearsay. 2 At noon, the town appeared in Huang Huang's eyes.

Huang Huang came down from the mountain ridge and stood on a bridge.The town is indeed bigger than the village, and there is a building in the middle of the town, and the buses of the village drive in and out from there.The running water in March flows clear and emerald under the bridge, as comfortable as a piece of silk without head or tail.Under the bridge, there are women from the town. They put the washed clothes on the embankment by the river and on the trees. The cloth shirts and trousers that were dried first fluttered in the wind, making the sound of hunting. A woman said, "Did you hear that? The gunshots in the middle of the night last night."

Another woman said, "I heard that, it's very crisp." Huang Huang walked across the bridge, stepping on the sound of their voices, jumping lightly.Its two owners have also been on the bridge.The mountain ridges that passed by gradually descended behind them.Huang Huang bit her mother-in-law's trousers with its sharp beak, and tugged at her daughter-in-law's trousers, then jumped and ran to the bridge again.The daughter-in-law said that the town has arrived.Huang Huang glanced at the river bridge, then raised his head to look at the sun above his head.The sun is bright and clear.Very strange, the mother-in-law said, Mei, what time is it?Asking Mei's daughter-in-law to wipe off her sleeves, she continued.It's really strange, the mother-in-law changed the burden from one shoulder to another, and said that every time I came to the town from Zhangjiayingzi, whether I went out before dawn, or when the sun went to the village, it was always this time when I arrived at the bridge. spare no time.The daughter-in-law named Mei looked at her mother-in-law's face with doubts floating on her cheeks.Grandma said it was true.The last time I went to Zhaozi Temple, I left home after breakfast. When I arrived here, there were two daughters-in-law washing clothes and flags under the bridge.This time we got up in the middle of the night, and the sun did not rise after walking ten miles, but it was still at this hour when we arrived here, and there were two women washing clothes and flags.

The daughter-in-law laughed. The mother-in-law said with a serious face: "It's really like this." The daughter-in-law said: "Maybe I will lose money again today." The mother-in-law said: "The monk said that within three days, someone will definitely die in the prison." The daughter-in-law smiled and entered the town. The straight north-south avenues in the town have broken down many houses, lying roughly in the center of the town.A crowd of people parading through the street passed by, majestic and desolate. Huang Huang barked wildly at the crowd who were showing the public.The daughter-in-law said Huang Huang, you are crazy!

The mother-in-law said, "Forget about going to Zhaozi Temple." 3 The town at noon was still somewhat deserted, not to mention that it was the time for people to eat.However, in Huanghuang's eyes, it was far more bustling than Zhangjiayingzi, the place where it borrowed.At least in Zhangjiayingzi, there were no crowds, and another person was tied up, a card was hung on his chest, and he was made to beat the gong upside down behind his back, and slowly cross the street.And the other bystanders, who seemed to be escorting, were actually behind that person, and they were smoking cigarettes and chatting about some topic. Thinking of kicking his ass, or taking a freshly lit cigarette butt, and carefully poking it at the hand holding the hammer.Burn it once, and the man will jump once, and the gong will be struck loudly and evenly, so that the whole street will be filled with the sound of copper rolling.As long as the copper sound is loud, the group of people will all be kind, talking and laughing, as leisurely as a walk.This kind of scenery is unique in Zhangjiayingzi. Even the educated youth named Fox killed all six cattle in Zhangjiaying village, and no one in the village touched him.

Huang Huang followed the parading crowd, running and running until they reached a well platform by the side of the road, and then suddenly remembered that he and his master were going to the Zhaozi Temple on Baiguoshu Mountain, not this town for the market.Looking back, the two masters were walking far behind, so it had to sit on the bluestone strip of the well platform, panting for a while and waiting for them to come, showing regretful and lost. Speaking of going to the Zhaozi Temple in the prison, Huang Huang has long been familiar with this secret.Although he is an animal, nothing more than a yellow dog, but it is an extremely important member of the owner's family.It takes everything in its heart about anything that happened in Zhangjiayingzi.Any matter that shakes the master's house, its chest will rise and fall urgently.Speaking of it, it walked into Zhang's house together with the hostess named Mei, and became a real member of the Zhang family.In fact, the Zhang family knew more detailed and specific things than the young Mei.

However, it is always silent, what it knows, you can only see it from its pair of small round eyes.Those round eyes kept revealing all the holes in its hidden secrets.At this time, it was sitting upright at a corner of the well platform, the cold stone strips immediately dissipated the heat along the way, and its eyes looked mysterious and serene.The white tail hangs at the end, stretched and attached to the stone bar, exuding the excitement of its heart, very much like when it was lying next to its young master last night. It was after dinner at that time, and the village was silent, except for the sound of the water in the ditch below the village, who was struggling to climb up the hillside, and tried his feet in various courtyards, and the sound of bats flying overhead at night.Mei tidied up the pots and bowls, while the hostess was in the room grading the students' homework. The mother-in-law came out of the room, hesitated for a moment in the moonlight, called Mei out of the stove, and sat beside Huang Huang.

The mother-in-law said, "Mei, you have been married for two years." The daughter-in-law said, "Is there something wrong?" The mother-in-law said, "I want to go to Zhaozi Temple in Baiguoshu Mountain tomorrow." The daughter-in-law fell silent as the hazy moonlight washed her face.The thinness of her face is like a yellow leaf in autumn, full of sorrows about to fall.The story of Zhaozi Temple, before going to the countryside, was originally the talk of the city people mocking the rural society. When I was young, I heard it and laughed it off, and the rest is just my inner contempt for the ignorance of the country people.Now that the situation is changing and the society is in turmoil, I have to become a private teacher in the countryside. Marrying Teacher Zhang is also for the relief of fate, for the sake of stability, even if I don't return to the city for the rest of my life, as long as I can have leisure in my heart That's fine.The educated youth who came to settle down together returned to Zhengzhou intermittently. The fastest one only went to the countryside for three months before returning to the provincial capital to work as a waiter in a department store.You must know that due to the political situation at that time, supplies were extremely scarce, and countrymen could not buy matches, so they had to hit iron sickles with stones to make fire, which was a common thing.But the classmate who worked as a waiter specialized in daily necessities such as matches, kerosene, and cloth. When the news came, the eyes of the eight educated youths who came to Zhangjiaying in the same car all turned red for a while.The one who left Zhangjiaying last worked as a worker in a factory for three years.Although the work is tiring, the salary is surprisingly high. I am still in the apprenticeship stage, and I get sixty-seven yuan a month.The rest of her stayed alone in Zhangjiaying for three full years. There were people returning to the city every year, but there was always no place in front of her.At the age of twenty-eight, even if you say this number in the city, the other party will secretly ouch.With the mentality of simply being a farmer, they were married for two years, but they never got pregnant.Of course, she will not give up on herself because of this like ordinary women.The doctor at the hospital made it clear that both your husband and wife are physiologically normal, but you are getting older.Carry out married life in an organized manner with confidence, but menstruation always arrives as scheduled, never missing a day, and there is never even the false appearance of pregnancy.Now that they are married, they certainly desire to have children.Seriously speaking, I am not afraid of having no daughters and no children. My husband is an old private teacher in the village. With three points, she is really infertile, and I don't think she will criticize and scold Huai like ordinary people.But I can't bear the loneliness of not having children.

She combed the fluff on Huang Huang's back with her hands.Ask Po said: "Haven't you already been to Zhaozi Temple?" "The monk said that there is no death and no life. It's not the right time to go." "Who are we waiting for?" "People are dying in that prison all the time." Her hands froze suddenly on Huang Huang's back, and the moonlight cast a layer of blue on her face.The crickets under the wall of the house clucked and made a crisp sound like cutting vegetables with a knife.The footsteps walking on the village street, kicking and stamping, trampled the sound of running water climbing up from the ditch, like pieces of moonlight leaking from the canopy of trees.As the footsteps gradually receded, and the sound of running water filled the courtyard again, she said, "Let me go with you, because I really want to see the tricks of the monk Zhaozi." 4 According to the saying in the countryside, it is of course better to go in person to recruit a child.At least this makes it more pious.Mei came with her mother-in-law. Teacher Zhang said, I said Yamei, why did you believe this. She smiled, Mother has already gone there a few times by herself, I should accompany her once.The truth of language and the filial piety in it are beyond the ability of a native woman.But in essence, on the other side of the matter, I am afraid that apart from being the daughter-in-law, there is only Huang Huang who is speechless, and I understand one thing in my heart: She wanted to visit the educated youth named Fox once in prison. Fox has been in prison for five full years. One dry afternoon, the villagers suddenly discovered that the six cattle under the shed were all down in the bright red blood.Under the cow's neck, there is a bloody hole like a fist, black and deep, like a hole suddenly protruding from a cliff halfway up a mountain.The cows are all dead. Even newborn calves were not spared.Strictly speaking, this is probably the biggest cattle killing case since the founding of the country.For this reason, the newly-appointed director of the Provincial Revolutionary Committee gave his approval on the case; the commissioner of the district specially gave some instructions to the secretary of the county party committee to be quick and strict. The mighty lived in Zhangjiayingzi. Three days later, the fox was caught.Huang Huang remembered Mei at that time, standing behind the crowd, tears streaming down her face.That year was the beginning of the return of the educated youth to the city. Of the eight educated youths in Zhangjiayingzi, five had left, and only its owner, Mei, Fox, and one other person remained.Mei seemed to have known that it was the fox that killed the farm cattle, and it was a matter of time to catch them early and late, but being caught was a certainty.So she was not surprised, but only felt the confusion of the fox and the sorrow of being handcuffed.The same train transported them out of the provincial capital, the same car transported them to the county seat, and the same ox cart pulled them to this family camp.So far, what should be east is east, what should be west is west; those who have returned to the city have returned to the city, and those who are in prison are walking towards the prison cart.The remaining ones and this family camp will still work at sunrise and rest at sunset in the future.The desolation of the world, at this moment, is like a dark cloud before the rain, covering the sky above the platform.More than one meter below the ground is the loess, which is regarded as the cultural layer. The people standing on this soil are dead and silent, only the footsteps of the fox walking towards the prison car, blasting the ground.The fox was walking on the passage that the villagers kept out of the way. When the back door of the prison car was opened to him, he grabbed the door with his hands. The sound of the handcuffs colliding with the iron door was as crisp as iron hitting the river.It seems that he walked very resolutely.However, when he was about to get into the car, he suddenly turned around and searched the crowd. A male educated youth and Mei crowded over. The fox said to the male educated youth: "Know my whereabouts, give me a pack of cigarettes." The male educated youth nodded. The fox said to May again: "Yamei, visit me once before returning to the city." May also nodded. The fox said again: "As a last resort, I can't marry Zhang Tianyuan." Mei didn't nod, but her tears fell on the stage floor. 5 The town is very old, Huang Huang felt that the birth of the town took not five hundred years, but three hundred years.When it was very young, when it stepped into this town, some parts of the street were once new houses and houses, the walls were clean and smooth, and the country people who went to the market all over the street had pink smiles on their faces.Laughter is the tangy scent of ripened autumn, with the dry burnt of fallen fruits and straw, beating in the town and anywhere there are people outside the town.When you walk out onto the street, you can hear the sound of friendly business transactions.The entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative is like the intersection of a temple fair. The crowds coming in and out smell of salty sweat. There are also canteens, steamed bun shops, pancake sheds, steamed stuffed bun restaurants, Yangji iron shops, needlework shops, egg markets, vegetable markets, pig and sheep shops. The cattle and horse market, dyeing shop, grain shop, dentist's room, photo room, Chinese medicine store, foreign goods store, etc. are miscellaneous, chaotic and bustling in the town, which is chaotic but has its own rules.On the wall facing the street, rows of foreign nails are nailed, and many animal skins for sale are hung. But these are all gone today.Although it is still lively, it is definitely not a taste.Huang Huang was walking on the street, staring with amazed eyes, thinking, how could there be such earth-shattering changes within three hundred years?It kneels in front of the master for a while, and follows behind the master for a while, looking around, its appearance looks like searching for old impressions. This is halfway down the street, and the original restaurants and shops are all closed, with crossed white seals pasted on the gates.They were standing in front of a restaurant, and May said: "It's all sealed." Po said: "Why?" May said: "Revolution." Po said: "Revolution." May said: "This is not Zhangjiayingzi, keep your voice down." The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law started to move forward again.Huang Huang ran back and forth between them.It is not enough to say that the streets are deserted, and there are still many idlers.Their clothes have already begun to be elegant, the styles and colors, workmanship and fabrics are already ahead of the times in the rural society, but now, they are not so much, and they are not so particular.The men are all green and blue, and the women are all green and blue; the old people have a slight change, but they are just more black.Men don't comb their hair, no matter they are young or old, they are all bald or crew-cut. Walking on the street, they look like bad apples and pears left on the tree, black and withered.But it is bright and bright in the empty sky.The women, young and old, all had their hair cut in the same color and wore a crimson square scarf.This single scene can't help but make people feel old-fashioned and ridiculous.In comparison, although Mei is a more remote and desolate countryman than the town, she grew up in the provincial capital until she was seventeen or eighteen years old, and her temperament and charm are all signs of a big city.Although the lower body is made of imitation military green cloth trousers cut in the countryside, the trousers are at least three inches thinner. Although the top is an old school clothes, it is made of corduroy after all. A two-inch wide red velvet cloth was attached to the hem, and it was so red that it burned her eyes, as if a circle of fire was burning around her body, which was even more eye-catching, so that people could tell at a glance that she was a student from the city and a student from the countryside. educated youth.When they passed by on the street, many people turned their heads to look at her. At this time, the sense of superiority and the sadness of not being able to return to the city were mixed on their faces.In order not to let her mother-in-law see it, she approached her mother-in-law to take the burden from her shoulders, not wanting her mother-in-law to hold the burden even tighter.Suddenly said Mei, do you have anything else to do at the Zhaozi Temple Fair? She suddenly stepped down, and Huang Huang, who was following behind her, bumped into her leg inadvertently. "I just want to see what the monk looks like." Having said that, Mei Leng Ding'er regretted not saying anything, such as wanting to see the fox.Don't tell the truth right now, how can you say it at the gate of the prison? Mei's heart became moist and gloomy because of this. 6 Huang Huang is also very familiar with the character of the fox.Huang Huang's hometown is actually the educated youth spot to the west of Zhangjiayingzi.The houses in the educated youth spot are a few clay tile houses standing on the ground like a new family.Huang Huang was born in summer, and Ji Shi was in mid-winter.Winter is the color of white, ice and snow.The mountain ridge behind the village was originally not considered tall, and there were few huge rocks and trees. In the bright white snow, it was as bare as a white bun.There is no sun, but there is a layer of faintness on the mountain.That is snow light.In snowy days, the village cats are at home, or they gather in a house with a fire to listen to ancient music.Educated youths will never stay with the villagers, and they will never be confused with the peasants. They are urbanites from the city, and sooner or later they will return to the provincial capital to live a civilized life.However, loneliness is not always so easy to resolve.A man and a woman have returned to the city.Another man accidentally impregnated a woman, and they all went back to the city to take care of his body.There is another couple left, Mei and Fox, and the situation is very clear: the other couple has long claimed that they will go back to the city today and go through the marriage formalities tomorrow.In fact, she couldn't help herself, and the grim situation brought Mei and the fox together.Huang has no way of knowing what happened before.All Huang knew was that this winter, when the educated youth spot finally arrived, it collapsed. Once, when Mei was cooking breakfast, the fox got up and came in, lifted the lid of the pot and took a look, and said that he had rolled on a bed and fell asleep, and you are here to serve him.Mei said that I was supposed to cook this month. The kitchen is a thatched hut under the gable of the tile-roofed house. Coal and firewood are piled up on the floor, although it is messy, it is red, warm and comfortable.Even the bowls and chopsticks that had been eaten last night were thrown casually on the table, everything was like a family that had just had a fight: although the fight was over, it still contained the warmth of home.Their condition was not so much a result of idleness as a protest against time and life.A quiet and delicate woman like Lian Mei also went to the countryside to adapt to this rural way of life.You know, when I was a student in the provincial capital a few years ago, dust and dust were absolutely not allowed on the bed in my small world. When I saw a fly on the kitchen table, I would have to quarrel with my father who was cooking.Now, get used to it.Society's term is, transformed.The fox went into the kitchen, threw himself on the woodpile, looked at Mei who was clearing the chopping board, and said: "Everyone lives together." Mei received one of the bowls and chopsticks on the table. "What does it have to do with us?" The fox played with a stick in his hand. "Why do we have to be so poor." Mei put the bowl in a basin and washed it. "What trouble do we have?" The fox threw the stick on the ground. "Everyone sleeps together like husband and wife." Mei washed the bowl in the water with a cold and hard sound. "That's their business." The fox stood up. "What about our business?" May didn't turn around. "Let's talk about it when we return to the city." The fox stood on the woodpile for a while, then walked out resolutely, his anger splashing from his body and falling to the ground.At that time, Huang Huang, who was just half a year old, was lying on the woodpile to keep warm, and was frightened by the fox's behavior and stood up, looking at what had just happened in horror.However, Mei is indifferent to all this, her indifference is like the snow outside the door without a trace of enthusiasm, she looks as if she has been weather-beaten, suffered a lot in love, has many flawed lessons, and even wants to take advantage of the cold and lonely life, trying to forget the flaws in life.When the fox left angrily, Meiru was completely ignorant and didn't even look at him.However, the fox only took a few steps in the snow outside the door, then turned around and stood at the door of the kitchen. He said, "What's the matter with you, Li Yamei?" He called her by her full name—Li Yamei, which showed that her anger was by no means superficial. She said, "Not much. You shouldn't have touched me in front of me yesterday." He said: "But people, those who are pregnant are pregnant, and those who live together live together." "That's my family," she said. He said, "You despise me?" She said, "No, I look down on myself. I don't want to treat myself like a beast." Then, the fox was silent.Outside the door, the winter north wind blew across the back of the house in a hurry, leaving behind an icy sound, whipped on the wall like cowhide strips, and rang in the house.It was coal, and there was smoky gas in the kitchen.The sun has come out, shining a bright thin light at the door.Behind the fox, the sparrow yelled a clear stream, jingling and flowing in the snow.The fox said can you have a good talk with me?I'm going crazy! Mei said that I am not talking with you. Walking into the house again, Mei was cutting radishes with a knife, preparing to mix shredded radishes as a side dish for the morning. The sound of the shattering knife filled the corners of the kitchen, like small hailstones that descended in late autumn, hitting the radishes one by one. Fox's face.In order to warm the hailstones, the fox hugged Huang Huang up.Huang Huang felt the fox's hands dripping with sweat through her fluff.He wiped the sweat of his hands onto Huang Huang's hair, but it looked like he was combing Huang Huang's hair.His hands trembled a little, as if holding a bowl of hot boiling water.In fact, he said that I just held your hand. We are city people and cannot be feudal like this countryman.She said that if you say I am feudal, it is considered feudal.I don't think this camp is feudal, and in summer there are people digging into the cracks in the straw piles.That's right, his hands stopped shaking suddenly, and sweat stuck to his yellow belly hair.People are like this, he said that I just held your hand. Mei stopped what she was doing, and Banban was spinning around. She said, "Are you really good to me?" He said, "Do you also believe in swearing?" She said, "For me, why didn't you vote for me when I was recommended to go to college last time?" "You didn't vote for me either," he said. "Out of the six, you voted for yourself," she said. The fox didn't speak for now, put Huang Huang on the ground, put his hands in his trouser pockets and stood there for a while, as if after a while of deep thinking.In fact, he just stood there, scraped his upper and lower lips with his teeth, and said resolutely, if you agree to marry me, I will not hesitate to let me die for you.Mei stood still, and let's talk about whether to marry or not. So many educated youths who went to the countryside, paired up in the countryside, vowed to each other, and were a thousand times stronger than Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai. Those who enter the factory enter the factory, those who enter the organization enter the organization, and the result?A couple didn't make it either.When the environment changes, everything changes. 7 The fox went to beat the slope.In the Funiu Mountains in western Henan, hunting is called hunting slopes.There are also people who talk about hunting. Those are the words of people who can read and write and always want to jump out of the folk customs.Foxes always wear yellow when hitting slopes.It doesn't depend on Huang Huang being able to help, but carrying a shotgun and following a dog behind him, even if it's a puppy, is always a demeanor.On this day, the matter was so delicate that only Huang Huang knew the details. If Huang Huang told the fox a few words, the fox would never have killed six cattle in one go, causing Zhangjiayingzi to miss a season of plowing, and more than seventy cattle Humans have to go out to flee famine to beg for food, and the fox will not go to prison and die in such an inexplicable and colorless manner.At breakfast, because of Mei's gentle face, the fox had a whim, saying that he would leave his job and go to hunt slopes, and shoot a rabbit to steam it.Mei said that there was a lot of snow, and the fox said that it would be better if there was a lot of snow, so you can go too, otherwise you will be bored at home.It was agreed to go.Leaving their jobs behind, Huang Huang and Mei followed the fox and came to the beam one step at a time.The snow fell a few days ago, and there is a faint road on the beam.Mei and Huang Huang wandered on Liang Road.The fox wore a pair of deep-waisted rubber shoes, and struggled to pull himself out of the ditch at the head of the cliff.Needless to say, the scenery is good, the sun is bright and clean, as thin as a piece of bright paper, there is a sound of cracking when stepped on.As for the river water in Xigou, the snow accumulated a few days ago melted, and a strip of jade liquid flowed out.The top forest by the river is covered with snow, you think it is suddenly filled with solidified clouds, sinking into the mid-air of a ditch, but suddenly, a northerly wind comes from the ditch, the snow falls and the clouds disperse and stay on the treetops What sounded were a few chirping birds.The fox walked towards the ditch, and Mei stared at his thief-like figure from the beam.At this moment, a figure swayed from the beam. When I got closer, I saw that it was the postman who came every two weeks.The postman in the country is of course not as comfortable as the postman in the provincial capital. When the sun comes out, he rides a bicycle, turns around the streets and alleys, and stuffs the newspapers into the cracks of people’s doors or the mailboxes at the door. subsidy.The postman in the country, regardless of wind, frost, snow and rain, has to trek fifty miles of mountain roads every day. If he meets an acquaintance on the way and can deliver newspapers and letters to the village, it should be a happy thing for him.Therefore, he walked up to Liangzi and saw Mei on the road, so he came over like an amnesty, asked a few common words, and knew that he was an educated youth from Zhangjiayingzi, so he entrusted more than ten newspapers and a letter to be forwarded, and hurriedly returned Went to other villages. The letter is from Teacher Zhang, and the signature is from the editorial department of the provincial newspaper.The newspaper is a provincial newspaper, the only newspaper subscribed to each educated youth station by each commune with special funds for educated youth. "Everything seems to be arranged by heaven. When Mei read the first newspaper, she opened it and saw an essay on the top of the third page. It was signed by Teacher Zhang: Zhang Tianyuan. Huang Huang came back from catching the little bird and looked at her. Holding the newspaper in her hand, her face glowed red with excitement. The red light seemed to be smeared oil paint, bright and ruddy, reflecting the white snow around her faintly. In this countryside, she said to herself, she really couldn’t see She came out. She laughed, a small laugh, like a breath of hot air exhaled from her mouth. After laughing, she called Huang Huang to her side, and stroked her hands gently, over and over again, like combing her own hair. Next, She then exposed the letter to the sunlight and squeezed the envelope again and again. She already understood that the letter was a sample report to Zhang Tianyuan. Inexplicable joy and surprise burned her like fire—she suddenly called out to the bottom of the ditch: "Fox—come up!" The gun went off.Huang Huang shuddered on the beam.From the bottom of the ditch came the fox's reply: "It's hit—" After a while, the fox came up.The shotgun was slung over his shoulder, but a chicken was on the barrel of the gun.Hen, white hen.His face was sweating, and his legs were covered with snow. When he pulled up to the half slope, he yelled at the beam, saying plums——steamed chicken at noon today. May said, "A hit?" He said, "Hit." May said, "It's a pheasant." He said, "Chicken." When they got closer, Mei recognized that the chicken was Mr. Zhang's chicken. The fox said: "It is what it deserves." Mei said, "Fox, is there anyone in this world that you don't hate?" The fox said: "In the outer villages, all the educated youths go to the countryside to teach, and the young people who return to the village go to farm, but the mother Zhangjiayingzi is upside down." May stared at the fox's face. "Can you teach?" The fox sneered. "I'm not as good as you, Li Yamei, but I'm not as good as Zhang Tianyuan." Mei opened her mouth, and Huang Huang saw that she swallowed back the words she was holding, put the letter in her pocket, and rolled more than ten newspapers into a roll, and then fell silent. Here, Huang Huang remembered the flaws in the love between Fox and Mei. 8 Huang Huang lay under the dining table in the town's state-run canteen, watching its owners eat.The spring light of March crawled over to bask in its face.It was a little tired, with half-closed eyes, facing the young mistress. Mei said, "Mr. Zhang, I have a letter from you." "Where did it come from?" "Newspaper." "Newspaper?" "Your article is in the newspaper." "Don't talk nonsense that I don't know anyone from the newspaper." "Look, the third edition." "Oh……" 9 Mei said, "Teacher Zhang has published an article in the provincial newspaper." "Really?!" The fox was startled, "No way?" "The newspaper on the 2nd of this month, I press you under my pillow to read it." "You read?" "I watched it four or five times in a row." "OK?" "it is good." "So what? Are you still a farmer?" "What happened to the farmer?" "Don't look at me like that." "It's strange, your eyes squint when you talk about peasants." "I don't want you to mention Zhang Tianyuan." "What happened to Zhang Tianyuan?" "I found that his eyes are bright and bright when you talk about it." "I don't feel that way myself." "Someone in the village said that Zhang Tianyuan wanted to marry you." "Zhang Tianyuan wanted to marry me, how would they know?" "It is said that his mother introduced him to three partners, and he disagrees." "Is this why you want to marry me?" "People say he is comparing those girls with you." "He knew that I would not end up in this country for the rest of my life." "If it wasn't for this, he would have knelt down and proposed to you long ago." "To be honest, Zhang Tianyuan is really nice." "Having both ability and political integrity, you are popular and professional, aren't you?" "You say that I really should marry him." "I'm afraid that with my fox around, he won't dare to marry you." 10 Coming out of the cafeteria, Huang Huang saw the mountains outside the town, both green and black, as if written in a landscape painting in March, the scenery and objects all have an aura of clear water and clear mountains.Pass through the ditch through the scenery, follow the gravel road on the river beach, and climb over two stone bridges, then you will arrive at the prison under Baiguoshu Mountain. Three days ago, when Huang Huang and his old master went to Zhaozi Temple, they walked past the prison and bumped into the scene. Huang still vividly remembers the scene today.At that time, although it had only been three days, spring did not seem to be very obvious. The mountains were still bare gray, and there was a rotten smell of the end of winter.If you don't look carefully, you will hardly realize that there are green sprouts on the barren grass slopes, and the catkins and willows on the willow trees are not floating in front of you, and you will never think that spring is actually in front of you and behind you.The weather was still a little cold. Half a month ago, there was still a sleet of snow and rain. At that time, people hadn't taken off their cotton clothes, cotton trousers, or fleece trousers.They walked for a day, and when they arrived in front of the prison, it was just at sunset. At this time, they saw a group of people coming back from the ravine. The road looks neat, as if it is not supervised by someone, but the mountain road is only one foot wide and narrow, and if it is not neat, it will jump into the ravine below you.In fact, the road is wide enough to drive the car away with bumps and bumps.It can be seen from this that the team is also very well-educated, no less than the ranks or soldiers of ancient and modern times. That's the prisoner calling it a day. Huang stood behind her mother-in-law, stood still at a distance, and gave way to the team.The team was very long, and all of them wore dry grass-colored linen jackets, with big and unique serial numbers on the back.When they passed by, no one looked at Huang Huang more because they rarely saw outsiders.However, Huang recognized the fox in the team. For the next three days, Mr. Huang was always by Mei's side. Whether he was serving food in the kitchen, teaching at Zhangjiaying Primary School, or going to the toilet to relieve his urgency, he walked up and down, tripping over her legs.However, she would never know what Huang was going to tell her.The day before yesterday afternoon, Mei went to the village well to fetch water.Putting down the burden, Huang came out from nowhere, ran to the well platform, bit Mei's trousers, and groaned and dragged her up the mountain ridge.Mei was stunned, and kicked Huang in the stomach. Huang sat sadly by the well, looking endlessly in the direction of Baiguoshu Mountain. Two lines of tears flowed from his eyes. Mei stared at Huang's tears in astonishment, and followed the direction indicated by Huang, but only saw the top of the ginkgo tree, which was black on top of a mountain peak. Looking further, it was just a blur.In fact, the turning point of this matter was yesterday when a female educated youth from the Siping educated youth spot, ten miles away, carried her child to Zhangjiaying Primary School, and called Mei to the primary school, smiling. Said Comrade Li Yamei, I'm going back to the city, we this group of educated youths, you are almost the only one left behind. Mei hugged someone else's child, thinking that she got married in the same year as her, and now that she is a mother, the child is one year old, and she can call auntie auntie, but she still looks innocent like a girl, so she can't help but feel a little embarrassed The color is not because she is eager to become a mother, or because she feels that she is approaching the age of thirty, and if she does not have children, she is afraid of the pain of sudden pregnancy in the future, but because she has a clear and unreasonable doubt about whether she will have children.On the other hand, marrying Mrs. Zhang, the conscience of heaven and earth can be proved, and I am still a virgin. If anyone says that he is feudal and old-fashioned, and he is not like the cheerful and generous female students in the provincial capital, that is quite reasonable. But it really wronged people.Even so, the problem was so serious that on the wedding night with Mr. Zhang, I didn't see any popularity, even though Mr. Zhang said, why do you still care about this.Maybe you are different from the country girls, the heavy work in the country should have hurt your body long ago.可是，话又说回，自己同狐狸相好那些日子，却是村人皆知，如果自己果真不能怀孕，别人心里能不有杂七杂八之念？现在，抱着同学的孩子，同学却忽然说你可真聪明，结婚二年，不生孩子，返城时轻轻快快，说走就走，看我，返城手续办好了，因为这孩子还小，丈夫却不和我离婚。 梅说：“你真的要离？” 同学说：“走投无路。” 梅说：“什么时间走？” 同学说：“再在这替他养半年孩子。” 梅说：“你一走，咱们这批知青怕只有我了。” 同学说：“还有一直和你同班同座的狐狸嘛。” 至此，梅突然惊着，问狐狸在哪，同学反而一怔，说原来你还不知道狐狸在哪？狐狸在半年之前，不知从哪被转押到了白果树山下的监狱。说：据说是白果树山那儿，有大片荒地要开垦，有很多犯人被转押过去劳动改造，开荒种田。至最后，同学说狐狸最恨的农村和土地，没想到连蹲监也得同农民一样去种地。这时候，黄正蹲在梅的身边，两只尖尖的耳朵，椿叶一样竖直起来。藉此，梅想起，黄这些天总引她朝白果树山的方向望，想起三日之前，黄曾同婆婆去过一次监狱那儿的招子庙，心里禁不住一个寒颤，生发了许多对黄的信任和感激。然可待她扭头去望黄，黄却从她身边如释重负地伸个懒腰，扭扭脖子，慢慢往张家营子的方向去了。 11 梅子和张老师过往日渐甚密，有人以为是那年冬末的事情。而黄黄所知，事情的起因，大概要推算到春节的时候。台子地知青点的他们，久旱盼雨般等到了腊月，有条件的便早早打点行李，回省会过团圆年去了。这里的所谓条件，就是路费盘缠，一来一回，火车汽车，车费要花二十多元。加之过年的喜日，自己久不回去，当然不可以两手空空，虽然乡下买不到什么好的东西，可带点大枣、核桃、板栗之类的土特产，细加划算，没有十元二十元，也难以拿它下来。倘若再买一斤木耳什么，没有八十元钱的开支，决然打发不了一趟回家过年的所须。五年以后，人们说八十元钱，就如说自己丢了一支钢笔；十年以后，再说八十元钱，在省城也就是一顿饭钱。然在七十年代末那段特殊岁月，谁家有辆自行车，便是上等的富余人家。藉此可想，八十元钱对于一个下乡的知青，实则是一笔巨额开支。而家里那边，母亲因病早故，父亲是一家煤厂的工人，弟弟在大街上闲荡着待业，如此贫寒的家境，如何也承受不了一笔额外的负担。父亲来信说，梅呀，家里一切都好勿念，不能回来过年就不要回了。在哪儿都是一样，一副对联就算过了一个春节。梅读这封家信的时候，暗自哭了许久，和狐狸说起此事，语气却淡得如水。她说你走吧，我不回了，来回的汽车火车，我受不了晕车那个滋味。说时是在女知青宿舍，黄黄被梅抱在怀里，搂得十分暖和，它望着她的脸，如望着一湖平静寡淡的水，而那水中究竟有多少苦涩的隐含，就只有她自己心明了。狐狸说你是因为钱吧，这样由我把你车票买了，好坏我父母各给我寄了一百。 梅说：“我家也给我寄了一百，可我不想走。” 狐狸说：“你不走我也不走了。” 梅笑笑，你这何苦，狐狸说不能把你一人留在乡下呀。我又不是三岁小孩，梅说这儿有吃有住，倒还清净。如此，狐狸便同其余一道走了，落梅一个孤零，独自守在台子地的知青房。春节下了大雪，漫天飘舞，银白世界，沟沟壑壑都堆着白的颜色。梅原本也是准备了过年的米面菜蔬，可遇了这场落雪，心境分外凄寒，独自躺在床上，或坐在火边抱着黄黄，便倍感人生的孤冷，有时候，泪会怆然而下，滴在黄的头上。黄黄由此，也领略了人世沧桑。梅索性不做饭了，它就陪她饿着，有时一天无食，也没有一声叫饿。可没有料到，到了年三十的下午，张家营子喜庆的鞭炮声断断续续。各户人家，都开始在门上贴了大红对联，在门框上方两角，插了柏枝，平常不见的香炉，也都不知从哪取了出来，装满黄沙、红土，或以糖米代沙，将毛主席的伟像清到一边，把祖宗的牌位遗像放在原先伟人的位置，再或干脆，使两者并列起来，平等于桌上，燃起了三炷草香，插在香炉，青烟缭缭。而知青点这儿，梅在床上，扯被子盖了双腿。依偎着枕头，默默地半坐半躺，双眼茫茫地瞅着窗外的皑皑白雪，任孤独冷寞，乌云样压在屋顶，侵入屋里，笼罩着自己。就这个当儿，黄黄从她身边离开了，不久黄黄领着张老师的母亲走了来。来请她去吃三十晚上的水饺。 梅便去了，领着黄黄。 走出知青房时，梅才看见张老师原来一直立在门外的雪地，飘落的雪花将他埋成一个白绒绒的雪人。他的双手端一盆浆糊，冻得红光灿灿要掉在雪里，和周围的银色相衬得十分艳亮，仿佛白的红的都是一种假的颜色。至此，梅才看见，知青点的各门，都有对联贴着，内容吗，自然是那个社会与时代惯用的春联，如：抓革命促生产欣欣向荣，斗私字材公字蒸蒸日上。再如：上山下乡红心一颗，广阔天地大有作为之类。可梅这门框的联句，意味却忽然变了。 上山易下山难山陡崖峭 出世易入世难好自为之 横批是：豁达人生 梅将这春联低声吟了一遍，不觉凄然心动。说是你写的天元？张老师说抄人家的。梅说字不错，搁解放前，你可以上街卖字。张老师脸上红了，说别笑话了，就结伴往村里走去。然仅此几句，大有灵性的黄黄，已经从那语气中听出梅对他的尊敬，深情厚谊是谈不上的，可说薄淡却是显然的不确。及至走进村庄，梅看到各家各户的门联，都是出自张老师之手，且内容都不是流行的俗话，譬如：不图家境余富，只求门第书香；乡壤人家乡壤人心乡壤操行，世外人家世外人心世外操行等等，说起来也都是抄写书联上的字句，可在这抄写之中，也就显出了张天元的不凡，什么门、什么人家，写了相应的句子，而不是随便的红纸黑字，表表一般吉祥而已。再说那字，在城里非书香门第，决然找不到有人写得如此苍劲。更不要说这个时代的一般青年了。就在他们这批下乡知青中，即便扩大到她那个高中学校的老师同学，也是人人提不起毛笔的。从村街上走过，你如同走在张天元美术作品展的长廊上。只可惜他是生在乡间，又在这个非常的年月。如长于都市，换一期时代，焉知他就不会成就了一番事业？ 梅说：“天元，你要是城里人就好了。” 张老师说：“农村也没有啥儿不好。” 长长地叹下一气，梅不再说啥，穿街而过，到张老师家去了。这一问一答，一声长叹，黄黄已经神会了那其中的滋味的涩苦。它不时地在雪地跑着扭头，望望张老师，又望望女主人，在他俩的腿上蹭来蹭去，亲眼于其中，陌生人看见，只能以为这人与黄黄，还有随后的那人，是一个家庭必然无疑。 12 始料不及的是，梅在张老师家过的这个春节，似乎胜于往年在省会过节的愉快。这一点，黄黄从她那总微带红晕的脸上能看将出来。有时候，黄在地上唤着，能嗅到女主人呼吸的急促和甜味，即便她和张老师在屋里相坐闲谈，而黄是在院落的哪儿卧着，只要耳朵是贴着地面，黄便能听到他们说了什么，其中闲言里的滋味，黄也能品尝得出。 及至从省城又返回张家营子的知青回到知青点，梅还断不了说出一件事来，到张老师家闲坐一会。当然，仅由这些情形判断，还不能说他们彼此有了爱情，而说有一些倾心的爱慕，也许不算为过。梅子在八岁时候离开母亲，父亲为了她和弟弟免遭继母之苦，虽刚过三十，却死下了续婚之念。在这样的家境里，作为姐姐的娅梅，十岁已经能烧饭洗衣，承担了一部分生活的重担。过早的成熟，使她一方面不失城里姑娘的单纯大方；另一方面，却因失去母爱而始终把自己或多或少地看做一个具有母爱的女孩，说起被家庭温暖融化一类的事，是从来没有尝过。这样，忽然置身于张老师这样的家庭，因为家里没有挑梁的男人，上房厢房，前院后院，无不笼罩着火光一样锃亮的母爱。进一步说去，第一是她来自省会，省会对伏牛山褶皱的荒僻异常的张家营子人，无异于一个国家的首都，第二是她恰巧是和张老师年龄相仿的姑娘，尽管当时一个乡壤之家，想娶一个省会姑娘作媳，实则是同流传于民间甚广的田螺姑娘之说无二，然处于本能，老人把她敬如儿媳的心理，却是浓重得很，不仅不让她进灶房洗锅洗碗，就连进灶房盛汤也是不行。本来，这是一种尴尬。可张老师在梅面前一再解释说，我娘年纪大了，说话做事如果伤了你，你就千万不要放在心上。如何会伤？也就是把她当做儿媳看待的一些作为。既然张天元没有这样非分之想，自己当然该十二分释然，如果扭扭捏捏，作派谨慎，语言小心，也就反倒显出了那种关系里的特殊。因此上，正月十五以前，梅懒得生火烧饭，几乎是每天都到张家合伙。当然，你说她纯粹是为了一碗饭吃，没有另外意思，那也决然不是她的操行，而其中含意的微妙，黄黄也能够体察明鉴，无非不言罢了。 一天，老人不在家里，梅可张老师坐在院落。雪早就化尽，地上光洁虚软，远处的山梁呈黄金之色。村落也静得不见声息。 梅说：“天元，你该订婚了。” 张老师笑笑：“压根没想过。” 梅也笑了：“你样子厚道，原来也还骗人。” 张老师厚下一脸正经：“真的没想过。” 梅也正经：“你没听过村人议论啥吗？” 张老师说：“议论啥么？” “就我们。” "No." “我听到了。” “啥儿？” “还能是啥。” 张老师默了一阵，他说你别信他们，农村人就这样，喜欢说三道四。梅说我不在乎这些，不过有件事我想给你说清天元。她说有人说村里有人给你介绍过两个对象，你都回绝了，他们说你是看不上她们，他们说你看不上她们是因为我。你别生气天元，我想我有话该直说：要你也是知青，也是郑州人，我倒觉得我们挺合适，挺般配。你知道知青都要返城的，不让我返城我受不了。我倒不是说农村不好，我是说怎么比省会都比这乡下好。让我一辈子呆在乡下，不说我能不能受得了，我父亲、弟弟都不会答应的。以前他们说，知青一到张家营子，你的眼界就高了，我听了直想笑。现在我知道……你先别吭，现在我知道，娶乡下的姑娘确实委屈了你。你别笑，是真的，也别脸红，咱们实话实说，都实事求是。你亲眼看着知青们都一批批返城了，没有一个女知青嫁到农村，也没有一个男知青娶一个农村姑娘。就是这么回事儿，没办法的事。我说你有合适的就订婚，要是因为我耽误了你终身大事，就是我返城了，想起来心里也不安。你别不好意思，我说的都是实话。你也实事求是地说，一是一，二是二，不添枝加叶，也别拐弯抹角，男大当婚，人之常情。 梅滔滔一口不绝的模样，张老师听起来先还一身的不安，至后，也就渐渐适了。 他说：“谁和你说了这些？” 她说：“狐狸。” 他说：“其实，你该和狐狸订婚。” 她说：“你真这样以为吗？” 他说：“你们般配。” 13 说起来，那年从省城返回知青点，倒是狐狸最先赶回来。他赶着回来同梅过正月十五节。正月十五吃元宵，他回来带了省会的一些名产特产，还着意捎了糯米面粉和元宵馅儿。张家营这方地场，土地不差，若风调雨顺也自会粮丰草足，但却是丝毫不出产水稻。南方人一日三餐的家常大米，只有年节时候，才偶有所谓的富裕人家吃上一顿咸米饭。至于元宵，更是几年不吃一次。即便吃了，粉是普通米粉，馅是一般黑糖白糖罢了，味道十二分的大众。狐狸一面向梅展示着带回的糕点、麻饼、小糖、山楂片儿等，在梅的床上散开一铺，一面说我还捎了元宵的粉馅，馅里有花生、核桃、红枣，咱们好好过一个正月十五。可他没意想到梅对这些，却不是他意想的欢天喜地。他将这些摆在梅的面前，梅又将它们收拾到他的包里。 狐狸说：“你吃吧，全是你的。” 梅却说：“我爸爸和弟弟好吗？” 狐狸怔着：“你没说让我去看看他们呀。” 盯着狐狸那略有怪责的脸，梅将那东西收拾干净，拉上包的拉链，再无话说。既没有埋怨狐狸一句，也没有称道狐狸一句，一时间心里的苍凉，便无穷无尽，仿佛一个无水的干湖，除了几丝杂草的肆意延势，连往日间清水绿色的一丝痕迹也寻它不着。相比之下，回想起仍在面前的张天元一家，细腻热情，更显出人与人之差别。无论家境如何贫寒，如母的父亲，知道有人返往远在他乡的张家营子，不会像狐狸样捎来许多省会的食物，但他亲手制作的油炸麻叶，无论如何会用塑料袋儿装来几片。比较说，那麻叶没有狐狸梢的任何一样东西好吃，可其中的父女之情，又没有任何东西能够替代。算起来除了在和张家相处的时间，每晚躺在床上，除了翻翻已看过的几本小说，大多时间，都是在等狐狸回来，等狐狸捎一些家里那些她常思常念的情况，等狐狸描摹一番父亲新近的面容和家庭的变化，比如又换了一张桌子，床是如何摆放，怎样和她上年春节所见不同。可他却一句你没说让我去你家看看他们，使梅哑然，而又心境凄寒，一方面恨自己当初忘了交待一句；另一面，又暗自抱怨狐狸，既然对我忠心不渝，却连这点常识之事都想不起来，未免也太真真假假。将床上的东西收拾干净，提起包儿递给狐狸，说： “掂你屋里去吧。” 狐狸急白：“都是给你捎的。” 梅说：“要吃了我去讨你要吧。” 几句话不见热冷，将狐狸送至门口，便闩门上床躺下了。也不见得睡着，只是为了仔细想想。要说想了什么，确又不明不白，只感到满心的空荡和失落无以填补。这样捱到日落西山，看见夕阳一片片掉进窗内，黄黄在床边叽叽的哼叫，想到外面自然中去，才想起元宵节的元宵，照习俗是十四的夜晚就该吃上一顿，便起床拿上那面和馅儿，走进山墙下的灶房，见案脏灶冷，一地狼藉，一屋孤寂的寒气，默默立了一歇，又提上面和馅儿，去了张天元的家。