Chapter 7 Spring Silkworm.1

Old Tongbao was sitting on a stone beside the "Tanglu", with a long pipe slanted beside him. The sun after the "Ching Ming" festival was already very powerful, and Lao Tongbao's back was hot, as if he was carrying a pot of fire. The Shaoxing people on the express boat pulling fiber on the "Tanglu" only wore a blue cloth single shirt, opened the big placket, bent over to pull, and sweat beads the size of soybeans fell to the ground on the forehead. Seeing the hard work of others, Old Tongbao felt that his body was getting hotter; it was so hot that it was a little itchy.He was still wearing the ragged cotton-padded jacket he had worn through the winter, and his jacket was still in the pawnshop, but it was just around the "Qingming" day, when it was so hot.

"The sky has changed!" Old Tongbao said in his heart, and spit out thick saliva.In the "Guan River" in front of him, the water is green and there are not many boats passing by. There are a few wrinkles or small eddies here and there on the mirror-like water surface. At that time, the reflection in the water The mud bank and the rows of mulberry trees on the bank were all swayed into a gray one.But not for long.Gradually, those tree shadows reappeared on the water surface, wriggling in bends and bends, like a drunk, and after a while, they finally stood still, still very clear reflections.The fist-shaped twigs are clustered with tender green leaves the size of a little finger.The dense layers of mulberry trees, looking along the "Guanhe River", seems to have no end.There are still only dry and cracked mud in the field, and this area is now the power of mulberry trees!Behind the old Tongbao, there is also a large mulberry forest, short and quiet. Under the hot sun, it seems that the tender green leaves on the "Mulberry Box" will grow bigger in a second.

Not far from where Old Tongbao sits, there is a gray and white building squatting beside the "tang road", which is the cocoon factory.The army was stationed more than ten days ago, and now there are a few short trenches in the fields over there.At that time, it was said that the Japanese soldiers were coming in, and all the rich people in the town had fled; now the soldiers have left again, and the cocoon factory is still closed there, waiting for the spring cocoons to be on the market.Old Tongbao also heard that the young master Chen's son in the town, Mr. Chen, said that Shanghai was not peaceful this year, and the silk factories were closed, and the cocoon factory here might not be able to open either; but old Tongbao refused to believe it.He has lived to be sixty years old, and has gone through several years of rebellion. He has never seen green mulberry leaves growing on trees until they become "dead leaves" to feed sheep; unless the "silkworm flowers" are not ripe, but that It is the "authority" of God, who can predict the future?

"Only at the edge of Qingming, the sky is so hot!" Old Tongbao looked at the little green leaves that grew up on the mulberry fist, thinking so again in his heart, a little surprised and a little happy at the same time.He remembered that when he was still young and in his twenties, he had to wear jackets during the "Qingming Festival" for one year, and later he was "twenty-four cents for silkworm flowers", and he became a family in this year.At that time, his family was "growing"; his father was like an old cow, knowing everything and doing everything; it was his grandfather who founded a family and started a business. Also getting older and tougher.At that time, not long after the death of the old master Chen, the young master Chen had not yet smoked opium, and the "Master Chen's house" was not as ugly as it is now.Old Tongbao believed that although his family and "Master Chen's family" were wealthy on the one hand and farmers on the other, the fate of the two families seemed to be linked by a thread.Not only was Lao Tongbao's grandfather and Master Chen taken captive by Changmao during the "Changmao Rebellion" and spent six or seven years together in Changmao's den, not only did they both escape from Changmao's camp at the same time, but also He stole a lot of Changmao's gold ingots—that's what people still say; and when Mr. Chen started his silk business, Mr. Tongbao's silkworm breeding was also successful every year, earning twenty mu in ten years. There are paddy fields and more than ten acres of mulberry land, and a flat house with three bays and two entrances.At that time, Old Tongbao's family was envied by everyone in the East Village, just like "Master Chen's family" was one of the largest and most powerful families in the town.But in the future, both of them can't do it anymore; Lao Tongbao now has no land of his own, and owes more than three hundred yuan in debt, and "Master Chen's family" has long since ended.People say that the "long-haired ghost" filed a lawsuit in the underworld, and King Yan Luo chased back the gold ingots from "Master Chen's family" to make a fortune, so he lost so quickly.This, Old Tong Bao also somewhat believed, it wasn't a coincidence, how could the well-behaved little old master Chen smoke opium?

But Lao Tongbao couldn't understand why the "defeat" of "Master Chen's family" would affect his family.He really knew that his family didn't get a windfall from Changmao.Although I heard from the dead old man, it seems that when the old grandfather escaped from Changmao's camp, he accidentally bumped into a little Changmao who was patrolling the road.However, ever since Old Tongbao became sensible, his family has burned paper ingots for this little long-haired ghost, praying to repentance and chanting Buddha. I can't remember how many times.This little wronged soul should have been reincarnated early.Although Old Tongbao didn't really remember how his grandfather "behaved", he had witnessed his father's diligence, thrift and loyalty;It's just that the youngest son, A Duo, is young and somewhat "unaware of bitterness and bitterness", but most young men are like this, so he can't be regarded as a "prodigal"!

Old Tongbao raised his scorched and wrinkled face, and looked at the river in front of him, the boats in the river, and the mulberry fields on both sides with distress.Everything is not much different from when he was in his twenties, but the "world" has changed after all.His own family often ate miscellaneous grains for a day, and owed more than 300 yuan in debt. Naruto!Woo, woo, woo-- The sound of the siren suddenly came from the bend of the river far away.Just over there, there is another cocoon factory squatting, and the neat stone "side bank" can be vaguely seen from a distance.A small steamer with a diesel engine came out from behind the cocoon factory majestically, dragged three big boats, and came head-on to Old Tongbao.The calm water of the full river immediately stirred up splashing waves, rolling towards the mud banks on both sides.A rural "naked boat" came to the shore quickly, and the people on the boat grabbed the roots of the trees on the mud bank. The boat and the people seemed to be playing on a swing there.The sound of whistling turbines and the smell of foreign oil scatter in this peaceful green field.Old Tongbao's face was full of hatred, he watched the small steamer come, watched it pass, until he turned another corner, whined a few more times, and couldn't see it.Old Tongbao has always hated foreign devils like small steamships!He had never seen a foreign devil, but he knew from his father that Old Master Chen had seen a foreign devil: red eyebrows, green eyes, and straight legs when he walked.Moreover, Mr. Chen also hated the foreign devils very much, and often said that "the copper tin was cheated by the foreign devils".Old Tongbao was only eight or nine years old when he saw Old Master Chen——now he remembers everything about Old Master Chen from what he heard, but he remembered the saying "All the copper coins were cheated by foreign devils", It was as if he had seen old master Chen shaking his head while stroking his beard.

Old Tongbao didn't quite understand why the foreign devils cheated out of money.But he believed that what old master Chen said must be right.And he himself clearly saw that since foreign yarn, foreign cloth, and foreign oil became available in the town, and there were small steamers in the river, the things grown in his own fields became worthless day by day, and Things in the town are getting more expensive day by day.The family property left by his father has become so small that it has become nothing, and now he is in debt.Old Tongbao hated foreign devils for no reason!His firm proposition is well-known in the village.Five years ago, someone told him: The dynasty has changed again, and the new dynasty will "defeat" the foreign devils.Old Tongbao didn't believe it.Because he went to town and saw the newly arrived young people who shouted "Down with the foreign devils" were all dressed in foreign devil clothes.He thought that this group of young people must have fornicated the foreign devils, but they deliberately came to deceive the country people.Later, as expected, they stopped shouting "Down with the foreign devils", and the things in the town became more expensive day by day, and the taxes paid to the countrymen also increased.Old Tongbao was convinced that this was all done in collusion with foreign devils.

However, what made Lao Tongbao even more angry last year was that the cocoons of foreign species were also sold at a good price; a load of cocoons of foreign species cost more than ten yuan more.Old Tongbao, who was always on good terms with his daughter-in-law, had a quarrel over this matter.My daughter-in-law, the fourth daughter-in-law, was going to raise foreign silkworms last year.The youngest son is with his sister-in-law, so although Ah Si doesn't say much, he still wants foreign seeds in his heart.Old Tongbao couldn't hold them back, so he had to give in in the end.Now he has five sheets of silkworm eggs in his house, four of which are from soil and one from foreign.

"The world is getting worse and worse! In a few years, they will even grow mulberry leaves! I'm tired of living!" Old Tongbao looked at those mulberry trees and said to himself, he picked up the long pipe beside him and beat the mud at his feet bitterly.The sun was right above his head now, and his shadow fell on the muddy floor, like a short piece of burnt wood, and he, who was still wearing a ragged cotton jacket, felt hot all over.He unbuttoned the lapel, grabbed the hem of his clothes and slapped it a few times, stood up and went home. Behind that piece of mulberry trees is the rice field.Now most of them are even, half-turned dry, cracked clods.Occasionally, some grains are planted, and the golden cauliflower exudes a strong fragrance.There is a cluster of houses in the distance, which is the village where Old Tongbao and his family have lived for three generations. Now white smoke is billowing from those houses.

Old Tongbao came out of the mulberry forest, went to the field, turned around and looked at the exploding green mulberry trees.Suddenly, a ten-year-old boy came jumping in the field, and shouted from a distance: "Father! Mom is waiting for you for lunch!" "Oh--" Old Tongbao knew it was his grandson Xiaobao, so he responded casually, still looking at the mulberry forest.Only at the "Qingming" side, the mulberry leaf was so twitched like a little finger, he only saw it twice in his life.This year's silkworm flowers are in good shape.How many cocoons can be harvested from three silkworm eggs?As long as it's not like last year, maybe some of his family's debts can be repaid.

Xiao Bao had already run to his father's side, and he also looked up at the green velvet fist; suddenly he jumped up and clapped his hands and sang: "Cut your mouth during the Qingming Festival, and watch Empress Cancicle clap her hands!" ① -------- ① This is a ballad-style idiom about "silkworm affairs" in the village where Lao Tongbao lives.The so-called "cut mouth" means that the mulberry leaves are pulled out like fingers; "Qingming cut mouth" means that the mulberry leaves have been drawn so big by the Qingming Festival. "Kan" is a dialect meaning the same as "feeding" or "educating".The whole sentence says that when the mulberry leaves bloom at the Qingming Festival, the ripening year can be predicted, so the silkworm women clap their hands for joy. ——Author's original note. A smile appeared on Old Tong Bao's wrinkled face.He thought it was a good sign.He put his hand on Xiaobao's "monk's head" and rubbed it, and his old heart, which had been numb by poverty, suddenly gave birth to new hope.