They all became widows on that night in the summer of 1944.Since then, Shitun has had nine widows in Mood for Love; the oldest is only twenty years old.The youngest is only fourteen, called Wang Putao.Later, the widows had titles, called "heroic widows", except for the grapes.Every year when wheat and grain are harvested, people in the village put together five buckets and ten buckets to give to the heroes and widows, but there is no share for grapes.Later, the government acted as a big matchmaker to find good homes for young widows, and Putao still made her own bed and slept in her own pure sleep.

In the evening of that summer, people in the village watched a few daughters play swings with Mrs. Wei at the fair.Mrs. Wei is seventy years old, and she puts on the ring every year.A pair of little feet can't stand up anymore, and I can kneel on the pedals with two knees, and when I get crazy, I can swing the swing rope into a perfect circle.Just as Mrs. Wei was swinging her pomegranate skirt upside down, covering her upper body and face, a gunshot rang out.They were still choking on the sound of yelling, but Mrs. Wei had already fallen to their feet, turning into a puddle of flesh and blood. No one cared to see if the old woman was still alive. A street was empty in the blink of an eye, only Mrs. Wei's pink and green pomegranate skirt Fan it suddenly, fan it again.

If the grapes were on the street that day, Mrs. Wei might have played on the swing for a few more years.Putao is here, and Putao often hangs on the swing, so anxious that Mrs. Wei scolds from below.Putao would not fall headfirst when he heard the gunshot, and beat people into blood and flesh.For grapes, there is no big deal in the world.Hearing people say: "Hundreds of thousands of national troops were wiped out by 100,000 Japanese devils, and Los Angeles has fallen!" She said, "Oh, it has fallen." What she thought was that the word "sinking" seemed to come from another place. , from a big place.

Putao went to collect the bill for her father-in-law that day.Her father-in-law took a fancy to her stubbornness, and she would never forgive anyone who didn't pay back the debt. She pushed on the wall of the kiln yard, and she watched eagerly as the people in the kiln yard below were grinding, lighting the fire, and cooking.Sometimes from morning to night, three meals have been served in the kiln yard, and she is still cooking there.Ask her: "Aren't you hungry?" She said: "You are hungry." If someone said: "Come down and have a bowl of soup." She replied: "My father said that if you eat people with short mouths, you will not be able to collect your bills." I'm back." The man said, "Don't you owe your father two catties of 'beautiful prisoner' money?" She said, "My family owes two catties, and my family can't even drink soup."

Grape's father-in-law is Sun Huaiqing, the second eldest in his family, and he is a big family in the Shitun area. He farms more than 50 mu of land and runs a shop. The front sells department stores, and the back makes pastries, soy sauce and vinegar.The forty surrounding villages often come to Sun Erda's store to sell sesame seeds, walnut kernels, and soybeans, and to buy back lamp oil, raw lacquer, rendan, and ten drops of water.For festivals, weddings and funerals, dim sum and soy sauce are all ordered from Sun's shop.Before harvesting the crops, Sun Erda would always pay on credit if he had no cash.The account is to harvest the summer crops once, and harvest the autumn crops again.Seeing that the autumn crops are about to turn yellow, there are still debts that cannot be repaid.Sun Huaiqing asked his son to collect it.Sun Huaiqing thought his son was too meaty, and often ran away for a few days without getting back the money.If you force him again, he will pretend to have a headache.Putao said that day: "I'll go." At night, he put the money back.There are many gossips in the village, saying that Sun Huaiqing has forgotten the rules in his old age, how could a young daughter-in-law dare to run outside the village.Sun Erda pretended not to hear.

Walking up the hill in Wei Po, Putao heard gunshots.There is a slope between Weicun and Shitun. The soil on the slope is weird, forming a straight up and down earth cliff. There are no big trees forming a forest, and some irrigation soil grows horizontally from the cliff.These earthy cliffs and shrubs became barriers, and after turning a corner, they found that the person who was walking was already in front of them.Putao stood still, watching the sparrows startled by the gunshots covering the sky.Last night a few "bad boys" ran out of the mountains and came to look for food on Shitun Street. They didn't pay for the food until the next afternoon. When they were about to go back to the mountain, they ran into two devils pulling telephone lines and killed them. .Unexpectedly, there was a ghost on the top of the telephone pole, and the news was sent back to the devil's barracks through the phone.When people were looking at the swings on Shitun Street, a company of devils had already surrounded them, and all the official roads and private roads were sealed off.

Putao lowered his gaze and saw a figure flashing from the side of the earth cliff.This is a young man in a yellow military uniform, smaller than her man's iron brain, and the black hair on his lips has not been razored.This is a ghost.After fighting for seven or eight years, it was the first time she faced a devil face to face and stared.The young devil said something to her, and the bayonet pointed out.She didn't understand and still looked at him.He took half a step forward, turned the point of the bayonet across, and pushed it out a few times with the barrel of the gun. His face became impatient, and his teeth bared out.Teeth are really white.Grape took a step back.

He pushed forward again, and the gun was pushed back again. Putao understood that he was pushing her out and not letting her go back to Shitun.She was in a hurry, forgetting that the devil didn't understand what she said, and said loudly: "I'm going home to cook!" The devil replied to her, very nasty.She made a gesture of holding a bowl to drink porridge, sucking and sucking with her mouth.The devil understood, withdrew his gun and waved his head, and she walked over.Before going downhill, I saw devils from all directions driving the villagers to the empty field.The small stage at one end of the venue has not been dismantled, it was set up by Xia Zhuangjia after he took it over to run a social fire.

There are no girls in the crowd, they are all daughters-in-law.The daughters are all hidden under the mill roads or in the wells of various houses, and the food is also hidden there. Putao stood on one side of the arena with the daughters-in-law and wives in the village, and the men stood on the other side.One or two hundred devils, drenched in sweat, with bayonets attached to their guns, surrounded the arena.After a few steps, everyone felt that the back of the head was swollen from the gunpoint. Putao's man, Tie Nao, was like all men, holding the back of his head with both hands and squatting on the ground.The men's feet were tied with cables as thick as a finger, and four or five men were strung together in a string.Roasted frogs are sold in the market, just this way of dressing, Putao thought to himself.

Between men and women, keep a distance of twenty steps.There were two people walking in the middle, one with a long knife and the other with a short gun.The two walked over and over, neither fast nor slow, as if they were discussing each other when they stretched their right legs and stretched their right legs.After two bags of cigarettes, both men and women left them distraught and short of breath. The man with the long knife stopped suddenly, the man with the short gun didn't pay attention, he had already taken a step, but quickly retreated, with both knees bouncing.The man with the long knife said a word to him, but no one heard the sound.The man with the short gun raised his voice and said, "Masters and ladies, brothers and sisters-in-law!"

It turned out that this guy was Chinese.People in the village didn't know that there was a job as a translator, so they just called him in their hearts "the one who can interpret devil's words".Everyone gradually understood what the devil who turned it over said: Among the hundreds of people on the field, there were a dozen or so Eighth Route Army guerrillas, and they were the murderers who killed the imperial army.If the imperial army sets up telephone lines there, you will kill them.Can the good citizens let the murderer escape punishment? No! Listening to it further down, people's eyelids are drooping and their legs are weak.The devil wants the daughters-in-law to claim their man. The daughters-in-law were all motionless, not breathing.No need to look at the face, just look at the feet to know who is born and who is familiar.A dozen or so "old eight" are whiter than their men, because they rest during the day and go out at night, they are not as tough as their men, they eat too much, and their hunger and fill are uneven.The wives recognized the old men in their fifties and sixties. The only ones left on the field are young and middle-aged people.A young daughter-in-law stood up, head down, and walked towards the man stupidly.Her name is Cai Amber, and she was married the year before last. When she was pregnant with her first child, she turned the potter's wheel to soften the hands of the well-drilling water, and the potter's wheel beat it back, aborting the six-month-old boy in her stomach.The second child gave birth to a girl, and from then on her parents-in-law asked her to pull the mill, saving the animals and letting them graze in the wild every day.She walked five or six steps, stopped, and sent the daughter in her arms to her mother-in-law.Then she looked up.Men had never seen what her eyes looked like, she always hid them behind shyness, humility, and thick, swollen eyes.This time they saw her eyes.Her eyes turned out to be the same as black colored glaze beads resting on white porcelain chess pieces, round and beautiful.She walked the eyes over them again and hid them behind the lids again.Then she quickened her pace, walked past the first row of men, and missed her man without hitting her face.She lowered her head and buried her face, dragged the "old eighth" who was in his thirties and left. The interpreter saw that the man's hand was caught in the young daughter-in-law's.But the translator didn't say anything.It's not his business.One more thing is worse than one less thing, and go back to Los Angeles as soon as the matter is over.Cai Amber led the man to the south of the field, her eyes darkened, and her head fell on the man's shoulder.The eight "old eight" were all rescued.A wife spat on the ground.Her daughter-in-law recognized her as an "old eighth" and left her son as a scapegoat. She wished she could immediately curse her to death. Then came out the grapes.As soon as Putao took a step, he saw Tie Nao squatting at the end of the first row.He squatted low, his upper body was almost on his thighs, and he held the back of his head with both hands, looking like he was suffering.He glanced at Putao, then lowered his head.Putao must be relieved of his hatred. He has ignored her and played tricks on her for so many years. All kinds of hatred for Putao can be relieved today.She recognized a "old eight" and vented her anger ever since.He didn't even get angry with her when they consummated the house two months ago.For Tie Nao, it is not shameful to lose face, it is called Wang Putao.Now the grapes are about to vent their anger. Grapes go slowly.Maybe people are anxious and feel that she is walking slowly.Seen from her back, Putao is still a little girl, not too small.On the day of consummation, the Sun family built a dozen guest sheds, and the "pepper eyes" on the edge of the sheds were all newly enlarged with indanthrene blue cloth.On the day of the wedding, three Bafeng stoves were set up in the yard, and two chefs in charge of spoons and one baker from Los Angeles were invited, and the water table was eaten from noon to night.I borrowed all the benches and tables in the village, but it was still not enough. Before the banquet, I went to the elementary school on the street to borrow them.Putao has no natal family, and was brought to Shitun by a group of people who fled from the Yellow River.It wasn't until the day she consummated the house that no one in the village remembered that Sun Huaiqing bought a little girl many years ago.Putao was carried in a sedan chair for a walk on Shitun Street. Tie Nao's uncle rode a big red horse and commanded the welcoming people. The sedan chair bearers, sedan chair guards, chicken bearers, and blankets were all men surnamed Sun.Putao married without any grievances or indifferences, and the scene was no less than that of any big family in this area marrying daughters.After the sedan chair stopped and the curtains were drawn up, the whole village saw that Wang Putao came down without a veil, but with two black glasses covering his eyes, and his hair was not combed into a bun. Red velvet crown.Some people in the village who have been to Xi’an and Zhengzhou said that this is a fashionable new daughter-in-law’s headgear in Shanghai. What kind of head is it covered? Before getting married in a big place, they have not only seen their faces, but also kissed them.Grapes and iron brains are eaten in a pot, and they have been in the pit for seven or eight years. Do you still use the hijab? But people think that wearing a pair of black glasses can ruin a handsome face. Grape was two steps away from the men.She didn't leave, and said to Tie Nao: "Not getting up yet!" Tie Nao quickly raised his head and glanced at her.I want to see who Putao talks to in such an aggressive tone.Look at who she is so close to, she actually came up with a nasty voice to talk to him.He found that Putao was staring at him. "I'm calling you, Tie Nao!" Putao stepped forward and pulled Tie Nao, who was three years older than her. Tie Nao waited for a ghost to come up and untie the cables tied to his feet.Whenever he forgot to play with the boys in the jujube grove, Putao would call over from afar.She shouted: "I saw you, Tie Nao! Where are you going to hide?...Going home for dinner!...Let's eat noodles!...Egg droplet!...There is a lot of oil! Are you coming back?... ...Calling you, Tie Nao!..." At that time, she was eight or nine years old, and he was eleven or two.When walking from one end of the field to the other, Putao didn't hold hands with Tie Nao, unlike the eight young wives who rescued Lao Ba earlier.If the person who told the devil's story knew the rules of this area, he must have noticed something strange: women here, no matter how old or young, are the ones behind the man's buttocks;Putao, as usual, took a step away from Tie Nao, he walked in front, she followed.Tie Nao went to school on Shitun Street, and Putao just followed, carrying his steamed bun, schoolbag, and research box in his hand.There were only two exceptions, they were watching a play, Putao was short, and Tie Nao carried her on his neck.While carrying her on his shoulders, she swears: "Next time I take you to the theater, I will be a turtle." The second time she flattered him, she rode on his back and said, "I will save all the oil buns for you to eat." Enough?" "Then what do you want? Make you a pair of shoes?" "You know how to make shoes? Don't you use the heel as a shoe face?" Putao made the first pair of shoes for Tie Nao when he was twelve years old. , the foundation is harder than the board. Putao didn't feel that everyone was looking at her.The devil with the long knife said a few words to the translator in a polite manner. When his polite words were translated, it was yelling: "Stop!...don't move!" All the devils convulsed, and the shoe soles and gun barrels made a cold and hard sound. "Who are you?" the translator asked Putao. "daughter in law." The interpreter introduced the relationship between the boy and the boy to the devil with the long knife, talking, nodding, bending knees, bumping buttocks, and doing several things together.The devil walked towards Putao with his hand on the handle of the knife.He was nearly fifty years old, and he used to be an officer specializing in drawing maps. The serious officer almost died, and he was sent to the front line.He looked at the Chinese girl, with two horns tied into her sunburnt hair and a gray roundworm spot on her cheekbone.A daughter-in-law needs to wear a bun, and he still has this bit of knowledge.His knife was drawn slowly.The point of the knife remained in the sheath. "Are there any witnesses?" the devil asked Putao through an interpreter. People saw that Tie Nao was already a dead face.They gloated a little: Your old grandson's family has lost all their good luck? It's the same with the devils, whether you have money or not. "Everyone in my village can prove it," said Putao. "Ask them if you don't believe me. After accepting the wheat, they all came to my house to have a wedding wine." At this time, people discovered that the woman Putao was not a normal person.What is she short of.What's missing is very, very important.It is fear.This is a woman who is born without fear.Who lacks fear? Crazy.No wonder she was as crazy as Mrs. Wei when she got on the swing for the first time.A child, whose mouth was not blocked by a nipple, began to cry. "Can you testify against them?" the interpreter said to the four hundred or so Sternites. He didn't make a sound, his head drooped very low. "No one will testify to you." Putao stopped talking and looked at the translator, meaning: "Then what can I do?" The devil's knife was all out of its sheath.The translator hurriedly asked, "Can your father-in-law take care of you?" Putao said, "Yes." The translator shouted at the crowd, "Who is their old man? Come out." "Stop shouting, they're going to Xi'an. The second brother is graduating." "Where's the security chief here? Let him protect you." "My father is the chief security officer." Tie Nao's two calves melted into cold water, and somehow he didn't fall down.He only hopes that all the tongue-twisting will end immediately, and if he is given a gun, he will be spared.He was afraid that if the long knife was not fast, he would have to pull it back and forth around his neck, which would be troublesome.However, there are places where the gun can't hit, and it doesn't look good if you turn your eyes and kick your legs.Maybe it's still sharp.The knife is just like Lengsou's weak force when it comes up, and there will be a "chi" sound when the blade bites into the flesh.It's better to use a gun, just don't beat your head into a watermelon, Tie Nao is a very decent person. The devil said a word.The translator said: "Little girl, you are lying." The devil said again. "There are consequences for lying." Putao asked, "What do you mean by 'consequences'?" The devil asked the translator, "Huh?"The translator translated Putao's words into devil's words. With a sound of "shua", the knife lay across the side of Putao's neck.The translator said: "It's called 'consequences.' Let's be honest." Putao twitched her shoulders and squeezed her eyes, waiting for the knife to fall on her.The movements of the whole village were exactly the same as hers, they all twitched their shoulders and squeezed their eyelids tightly.The old people regretted in their hearts that they could have done something to save lives and accumulate virtue. The devil suddenly lifted the tip of the knife, and people saw that one of the grape's horns was cut off and fell to the ground.Look at the long knife again, it has been hanging down.He spoke a few words with the interpreter, his eyes fixed on the grapes. "If a little girl like you can give up your relatives to save your anti-Japanese elements, then you, a lowly and rotten nation, shouldn't perish." Few people understood what he was talking about.Everyone only knew that they could breathe a sigh of relief, and Putao finally didn't fall victim to the sword. Eight of Stern's young men were taken away.It is to be a master to repair fortifications, carry shells, and dig coal.Those who are not exhausted will starve to death, and those who are strong will be stabbed and shot at the end of their lives.They walked so that you tugged at each other, and the cables on their feet tripped people from time to time.The women all wept silently, except for a low moaning sound deep in their throats.She didn't even wipe her tears, for fear that the men who walked by would see her wiping her tears.The site is on a slightly higher ground, and people who were tied up by cables can be seen walking through the street where the kilns are most concentrated. One of them can clearly see that one of them is looking at a tung tree coming up from the director of the kiln with a crooked face. Hang a broken kite. People heard Lao Ba, who was in his thirties, speak.His eyes were red and his nose was also puffy. He said, "I have to rescue them no matter what." No one said anything.The devils in yellow clothes covered the eight Shitun men.The old eight said again: "As long as we old eights live one day, we will remember who gave it to us." Still no one said anything.Whether it's a devil or a man from Shitun, they all disappeared in front of the more than 400 people in Shitun. "The devil came so accurately today, of course he was tipped off. Everyone in the village knows that Lao Ba is the most fair: rewards for meritorious deeds, rewards for kindness, and eradicate traitors!" People began to turn their minds to the matter of "elimination of adultery", and they stopped crying.The devils were right in their attacks, why did they surround Shitun as soon as they came, instead of Weipo and Hezhen? The elders are about to leave after taking the food they have prepared.Everyone still said a few words to keep guests; at least let's go after dinner.The elders can't say no, they have already received the great kindness and virtue of the fellow villagers.They still let the villagers understand the true meaning, how dare we treat your village?And let the spy win back? After Lao Ba left, no kiln smoked from cooking.They didn't light the lamps either, the moonlight was clear gray, but very bright.If a person goes up to the highest slope, the hundred kiln yards in Shitun will look like huge wellheads with four squares.The teenage boys still slept on the yard, but no one told them "Seven Heroes and Five Righteousness" or "Liaozhai" that night.The old men slept in the courtyard because they were afraid that the kiln would be stuffy, and they would not be able to hear the noise from the official road, and the devils would not be able to escape.A few old men lay on the broken straw mat with their faces facing the stars, and put their efforts to the boss. Who said: "How can I save it? Look at the devil's weapon." What! It’s not the same as ours.” Tie Nao also slept on the yard.The kiln house was dripping with humidity this season, so he used to sleep in the yard in summer.Before the dew fell, people were awakened by two gunshots.One or two hundred dogs raised their voices and barked together.Putao wore shorts and a vest, and jumped off the bed with a pair of bare feet.The gunshots were on the yard, and she knew it when she woke up. The people in the village also got up, quietly fumbled for their clothes and put them on, while telling the dog to shut up.The dog barked his throat tonight.When the dog gradually calmed down, who suddenly heard the cry.That cry sounded like half a female ghost and half a wolf cub, crying so hard that no one lived there, and forty villages and towns were turned into a wilderness through the ages.People slowly gathered around the yard, and saw Putao kneeling there, with dark blood all over his body and arms.The moonlight shone obliquely, and people could clearly see that there was a human figure on her legs without head and face.Those two shots smashed Tie Nao's head off, turning him into a watermelon he didn't want to make. The seven-year-old girl told people her name is Wang Putao.She is eloquent, but only answers when asked.Those who escaped from the Yellow River built reed sheds on the river beach outside the village, and weaved reed mats to make walls.People from Shitun went over and gave them half a bag of dried sweet potatoes or a bowl of persimmon bran noodles, and asked, "Will the little girl sell it?"The whole family of the little girl Wang Putao was swept away by the yellow water, who will count the money if she sells her? After a few days, people in Shitun saw strings of fish hanging on the ropes stretched beside the reed sheds on the river beach.Why do they eat these smelly things? There was a dog in the village who ate fish, and the spines got stuck.The Shitun people concluded that the lives of these people living by the Yellow River were cheaper than theirs.Shi Tun, who can't even eat persimmon bran noodles, will not endure a mouthful of stinky fish with half a thorn in it. The news that Sun Kexian wanted to buy the little girl's queen grapes spread immediately on Stern Street.Sun Huaiqing was teaching two apprentices how to make soy sauce at the back of the store. Hearing this, he took off his apron, rolled off his two sleeves while running, and threw them on the ground one after the other.He asked the accountant Xie Zhezhi to load two bags of white flour into the cart and push it to the river to look for him.Fearing that he would not be able to make it in time, he called two truant boys on the street and said, "Run quickly to your second grandpa—go to the river beach and tell Sun Kexian that donkey to wait there. His second elder has something to say to him." Say." As he spoke, he tossed two copper coins to the boys. Sun Kexian is one year younger than Sun Huaiqing and is his nephew.Sun Huaiqing knew that Sun Kexian spent half of his money on Sister Yao.His wife is seven years older than him, and after buying a little girl, he will send his wife away.When they rushed to the river, they saw that the person fleeing from the Yellow River was paying money with Sun Kexian to deliver the goods.He roared: "Sun Kexian!" Sun Kexian didn't move when he heard it.He understood that Sun Erda was actually yelling: "You bastard!" Sun Huaiqing seemed to be unable to see him.He first took a look at the little girl named Wang Putao.What can you see? There is only one pair of eyes left on one face.He said to the seven or eight people who fled the Yellow River: "Everyone is the master together, right?" Those people said with a foreign accent that she should be kept, and she survived.Let her keep up with the beggars, they themselves are not sure where to go, how far they can go. Only then did Sun Huaiqing formally meet Sun Kexian.He looked at him and nodded to himself.Sun Kexian immediately understood what the Second University meant: Well, you will beat up such a small girl.Sun Kexian has some family business and has read books, but when he sees women's money and money, he doesn't want books. "Pick up the ingots? Are you selling two bags of flour?" The second eldest asked the eldest nephew. Sun Kexian heard that the second eldest was actually saying: two bags of white flour money, you can use her in a few years, pick the eldest for a bargain. "Borrowed. I don't care about emergency and difficult things." Sun Kexian said. Sun Huaiqing saw that this eldest nephew was going to take Shameless to the end.He also put on a shameless face.People know that Sun Erda is good at teasing, but later people realize that his truth is hidden in teasing.Sun Kexian is so fine, you can hear the words in the two big words when you come up. "Your three sons have all called their daughters-in-law, why do you buy her?" Sun Kexian's smile became ugly.His face was ugly for a long time, but he still wanted to speak back. "I just want to give the child's mother a hand in command." "Oh." Sun Huaiqing nodded and smiled. Sun Kexian then heard the words under the "Oh": "Your wife has seen how shameless you are: peeing under the wall in front of your daughter-in-law." Sun Huaiqing said, "I bought it, little girl." Sun Kexian was so anxious that he couldn't speak: "Hey, Second University!..." "I'm not engaged yet," Sun Huaiqing said. Sun Kexian said: "The iron-brained family lives in glory and wealth, and they still study! This girl is worthless, puppies and cats, how is she a good match?" Sun Huaiqing turned to the person fleeing from Huangshui, "Did you say the price?" "Two bags of white flour," said an old man fleeing the Yellow River. "Then how much do you give the shopkeeper?" "It's also two bags of flour." Sun Huaiqing said. "The face is the same face." Sun Kexian kept shaking his hands that were smoky from the paper: "Second University, we should have someone who comes first..." Sun Huaiqing still smiled and said, "Didn't you want to honor your Second University?" Sun Kexian understood what he said The words in it are: When looking for a strong man, your boss won the lottery.The old eight came to recruit people to serve as soldiers, and I helped you deal with it. Putao followed Sun Huaiqing back to the village.Tie Nao Ma came up to compare her crotch, pinched her armpits, and looked at her feet.She said: "Well, I will be tall in the future. I am good at watching operas. I have thick shoulders and can carry a plow. Do you have the character horoscope?" Putao told her that her mother only said that she was born in the middle of the night and belonged to the horse.The next day, Tienao's mother said: "Bazi and Tienao are also compatible. Let's keep it and see. At most two bags of white flour will be lost." Putao went to the pot after dinner the first day.The pot table was at her chin, and she held up the broom with both hands to scrub the pot "hula hula", brushing the vegetable leaves and oil stars all over her head and face.The grapes were washed in the pot, and the whole body smelled like the water in the pot, and a piece of red pepper skin was stained on the eyebrows.Erda sniffled, glanced at her, pointed at her red pepper eyebrows and smiled.After dinner the next day, Putao went to the stove to clean the pot, and found a solid wooden stool in front of the stove.She stepped on the stool and heard the voice of the second big smoking bag at the door of the kitchen: "Is the stool high enough?" "Enough." "Don't fall off." "Yes." After that, Putao and Erda never spoke again.Putao has learned to rub tidbits since she was eight years old.She often sat at the door of her house, rubbing her hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes until they turned white. The Erda passed by and saw her quickly roll cotton onto the sorghum stalks with both hands, rubbing them quickly and rhythmically, and she was very busy. She didn't bother to raise her eyes to greet him.Not long after, I heard Tie Nao Ma ask her: "Pao, how many slivers of tidbits were spun yesterday?" "Twenty-seven." The most capable eldest girl in the village only spins twenty-five strands a day. When Erda talked to Putao for the second time, she was eleven.In the evening, she was washing clothes by Pochi, and Er Da came over to drink his cattle.He said, "Grape, eleven?" "Ok." "I'm twelve years old." The grape pours the water scooped up from the slope pool into the copper basin.In the basin were Tie Nao Ma's foot wraps and Er Da's old gown. "Did anything come out of the laundry?" Erda asked her. She turned her head and looked at Er Da.Er Da was startled, why did this girl stare at people like this? Er Da avoided her piercing eyes, but was annoyed in her heart; what was she avoiding? I was afraid of her? I felt bad? "Hasn't anything been washed out?" He looked at the old cow's mouth and said. "what's that?" "One penny, two pennies, a piece of worthless little jewelry." Putao still looked at him.He still looked at the moving cow's mouth.As soon as Putao woke up, he grabbed the gown and shook it. He really shook out two copper coins. "Look." Sun Huaiqing said. "Someone is testing your virtue. Remember, don't take anything out of the laundry in the future. Don't dare to take it, understand?" Later, Grape washed out many things: a string of glass bead bracelets, a banknote, and two balls of red wool.In short, it is a favorite object of little girls.Once, after rubbing the clothes, Putao found a small hard lump. When I opened it, it was a foreign candy wrapped in cellophane, which almost disappeared.She quickly brought the basin and ran home.Tie Nao Ma was taking a nap, Putao put the empty candy on the armrest of her reclining chair. Next year's Dragon Boat Festival, Tie Nao's mother took out three small red gowns, which were dyed by tearing out pockets of foreign noodles.She said that among the three gowns, there was one from Tie Nao's sister, one from Tie Nao's uncle's daughter, and one from Putao.The grapes are only twelve, and she eats all the food from the Sun family. She eats a bunch of grapes early. She is not much shorter than Tie Nao's sister, Manao, but thin.Tie Nao Ma said that Putao was the youngest, and she was the first to choose a small jacket.Putao saw that the three identical gowns were actually different: the black code printed on the pocket of the foreign face was not covered by the red dye, and fell on the back of one gown.Whoever wants the gown with the code will be at a disadvantage.At this moment, she caught a glimpse of Er Da's eyes squeezed, and smiled coercively.She understood, and when she picked the one with the code, her nose was red with grievances.Er Da was afraid that she would cry, so he winked his eyes and slanted his mouth, secretly teasing her.He understands Putao, and no hardships are hard for her, but losses are hard to bear. Soon Grape won't need a second reminder.Several times, Tie Nao Ma asked her to deliver tea and food to the laborers in the field.When the food was served, there was a "click" in the teapot when pouring the tea. At first glance, there were two boiled eggs in the pot.She put both eggs in a bowl and called the clerk for lunch.When Tie Nao Ma saw the guy at night, she asked him if his lunch was good, and there was nothing good, but he had to eat enough.The guy replied that he was full! Two salted eggs are worth four steamed buns, so you won’t be hungry all afternoon! Putao developed flowers at the age of thirteen, and had a high fever for seven days.Tie Nao's mother said: "I'm afraid I won't win, look at that little face? Cover a piece of paper, dare to let the mourning woman howl." The second eldest said that this girl's life is hard, and she still looks for folk remedies everywhere, please Langzhong.On the evening of the eighth day, a matchmaker came with a bag of thick snacks and a foot of red cloth, saying that she was entrusted by Shi Dongxi's mother in the village to make a ghost marriage for Dongxi's younger brother Qiuxi who died of tuberculosis last year.She took out Qiuxi's horoscope and said that Putao is three years older than Qiuxi, a third-year girl, holding a gold brick, and as soon as Putao dies, she kisses the ghost, and the two families also want to be auspicious.The matchmaker talked and danced, saying that Qiuxi was the most filial and kind among the three children of the Shi family, and would listen to Putao when they formed a ghost couple, and that Putao was in charge of everything, and couldn't stand it.The second university said that the master is the master, even if she is a ghost grape, she can't rest, and she has to show her man a pissing film every day. Qiuxi really dares to urinate, and she urinates until she is eleven years old.Er Da is to expose Shi Jia's lie: in order to be able to form a ghost relationship with Putao, Shi Jia lied about Qiuxi's age as one year old.The matchmaker was not embarrassed either, and said with a smile, she just likes Putao's hard work, so she can do it! The second university exposed her again: In fact, the historians wanted to see Putao without a natal family, and no one competed with them for more dowry gifts. Zhang comes.The matchmaker took the dim sum and a foot of red cloth back, added a pack of dim sum the next day, and came again.Erda said that she was running errands for nothing, and Putao was still alive.The matchmaker said that he was fine anyway, just sit in the yard, wait, talk.Erda told her not to wait, it would have to wait sixty or seventy years; sixty or seventy years later, Putao was still kneeling on the swing like Mrs. Wei.The historian couldn't wait for Putao, so he told Qiu Xi about Wei Po's daughter who had been dead for six years, and became a ghost relative.On the day Qiuxi married a ghost daughter-in-law, the Shijia hired a team of sounders who had fled famine, and all the children in the village ran with them.Dongxi came out to meet the ghost bride's empty sedan chair, and when he passed the two families, he saw grapes as thin as ghosts sitting at the gate of the yard spinning flowers. In the future, Sun Huaiqing even handed over the errands of collecting the bills to Putao.Collecting the bills was originally done by Xie Zhizhi, his accountant. Xie Zhizhi has no face, and no one can offend him. Some accounts can be delayed for years.Neither does Iron Brain.Sun Huaiqing didn't expect anything from this youngest son, saying that he was a whip made of dog shit-no literature (smell) or martial arts (dance).Putao went out to run, and soon someone in the village said that Putao was taught so badly, whose daughter ran out of the village all day long?Tie Nao Ma taught Sun Huaiqing the words.The second university said that it is not easy for eight daughters to become daughters-in-law?Consummation chant. Sun Huaiqing came back from Xi'an alone.He had already heard about Tie Nao at the station.Went to pick up his accountant, Xie Zhizhi, and waited for him to get on the mule cart before saying, "Second University, you have to hold on... the iron brain is gone."Next, Xie Zhezhi briefly talked about the incident at dusk, and nine widows were added to the village at once.He said that the villagers judged that Tie Nao was killed as a spy.When the car was about to enter the village, she saw Putao leading the old donkey back from the water mill of the Sun family on the river. She called out and asked, "Where is my mother?" At this moment, Sun Huaiqing began to cry "woo woo".In just two months, he lost two people.Tie Nao Ma was killed when the devils air raided the railway.Xie Zhizhi thought to himself, he was only thinking about how to report Tie Nao's death to shopkeeper Sun, but he didn't even ask Tie Nao's mother and didn't come back together. After the wheat was planted, people saw that Sun Huaiqing was working in his shop again.He is still the same, his hands are not empty, his legs are not resting, and his mouth is not idle.When he comes in and out, he always brings something with him, such as a door panel that needs to be repainted, and then he brings out a bucket of freshly filled vinegar, or picks up a knife and cuts a few knives of yellow watch paper.He loves to chat while doing work, chatting with two clerks and one accountant, and chatting with customers who come to buy things.There was really no one to talk to, so he sang by himself, reciting the libretto with gongs and drums.Sometimes he would growl while singing: "You son of a bitch, where are you slipping? I can't see you by slipping down the wall?" A few dry laughs came out from the shadow of the opposite wall, and said, "Oh, Erda, you're always back?" Sun Huaiqing said that if he didn't come back, the devil would blow up the train and kill them. That would be the end of the two, right? Big words are always unpleasant, and people still have a face.Er Da said that credit is his second great benevolence, and not credit is still his second great benevolence.It's not Erda's benevolence and righteousness-- Erda is reluctant to let his nephew smash the pot, isn't he? Erda said that smashing the pot is a benevolence and righteousness, otherwise it is a woman's benevolence and righteousness.Then delay the nephew for three days before smashing it.The day is not slow.The man kissed the second eldest and kissed the second eldest, saying that this time it was a real ring.What do you say if you don't quit again? If you don't quit, it's a day of hell. Sun Huaiqing watched the man slip away with his tattered gown fanned.He looked down on the few gentlemen on Stun Street the least. They didn't know how to grow books and didn't use them for reading.Three of the five gentlemen smoked opium, so that only a long gown was left. In winter, they stuffed it with cotton wool to make cotton robes, and in summer they pulled out the cotton wool to make single coats.Opium was bought on credit from clerks.Guys can't stand their deadbeats.The most difficult one among them is Shi Xiuyang. Ten years ago, he taught 20 private school students. Now no one asks their children to learn from him.史修阳一来，伙计们就到后面作坊去叫孙怀清。孙怀清若不在，他们赶紧拨算盘的拨算盘，称盐巴的称盐巴，装作忙得看不见他。 除了孙怀清，只有葡萄能对付这几位先生。一听要赊账，她马上把称一撂说：没钱别买。若是回她：你公公都赊账。他是他，我不赊账。你当你公公的家? 我谁的家也不当，买得起，买，买不起，饿着，光想肚皮不受罪，不想想脸皮多受罪。 一回来了个外乡人，穿着制服，手里拿着帽子。他要买一盒烟卷里的五枝烟。葡萄说那剩的卖谁呀?外乡人笑眯眯打量她。说爱卖谁卖谁，反正他只买五支。他说话就把一张钞票拍在桌上。葡萄说没有钱找。外乡人还是笑眯眯的，说那我没零钱。就算你老哥揩你油吧。葡萄说等等，她把钞票拿过来，撕下一个角。外乡人不笑眯眯了，说你这臭了头蛋子，撕了一个角，这钱不废了?葡萄眼睛直逼逼地看着他，说那正合适：你剩下一多半钱，我剩下了一多半烟卷。 外乡人一下子分了神，是葡萄的目光让他分神的。这是一双又大又黑又溜圆的眼，假如黄一些就是山猫的了。这双眼看着你，让你想到山里幼年野物，它自以为是占山为王的。它尚不知山里有虎有狮有熊，个个都比它有资格称王，它自在而威风，理直气壮，以为把世面都见了，什么都不在它话下。 两个伙计赶忙上来圆场，说葡萄才十五岁，老总别跟她一般见识。两人不露声色地把烟盒揣入老总的手里。老总也觉得有必要找回点面子，笑笑说谁家小姑娘，挺识逗哩。 老总走了以后，两个伙计对葡萄说哎呀，少奶奶，你惹谁不行去惹中央军呐?他们来洛城给鬼子授降的，个个都觉着是功臣呢! 葡萄说哦。过一会她问：谁是中央军? 就是咱中国军队呗。扒花园口的? 对呀！扒了花园口，他们就抗日打仗去了。Oh.葡萄点头，又想起什么：那老八呢? 老八也抗日啊。都抗日，老八和中央打啥呢? 伙计们想，她又死心眼上了。一个伙计说，葡萄，老八和中央军不一事儿；老八是老共的军队。 . .他话没说完，葡萄已经走开去砸冰糖了。 从那天之后，镇上热闹起来，好几个军队进进出出，你占了镇子我撤，我打回来你再败退。店家都上了门板，只留个缝，让顾客买急用的东西。中央军、地方军、八路军游击队，民团，都要参加授降。日本军却说，他们只给一家军队投降，就是中央军。八路军游击队神出鬼没，在授降那天的清晨包围了洛阳和中央军驻地，说中央军哪里打过鬼子，洛阳沦陷后就溃不成军，早不知逃哪儿去了。坚持和鬼子打游击的只有八路军。中央军说八路军一半人是土匪。不错，八路军是改造了一批土匪，现在他们不再是土匪，是英勇善战的抗日勇士了。谈判没有结果，日本军指挥官说话了。他说他接到的命令是投降国军第十四军。八路军说十四军偷盗抗日志士的胜利果实。日本指挥官说抱歉，他只服从上级命令。假如八路军一定要授降，那么日本军只有打。 授降之后的中央军到史屯镇上逛悠，进馆子要馆子老板请他们吃贺功酒，进剃头店澡堂子也要求白给他们搓背、剃头、修鸡眼。史屯街上有几家打酒馆旗的娼馆，大军进去，也要窑姐们请他们睡几夜。正经生意都不敢大开张，全象孙怀清的店一样，留一块门板不上，货物也是些药品和盐，再就是生漆、桐油之类，都是拿去也吃不成，和不成的东西。 白天他只留一个伙计做买卖，葡萄早就不露面。到了晚上，店里人反而多了。孙怀清知道史屯街上热闹成这样，就是劫难要来了。夜里上上铺板后，两个伙计，一个账房都住在店里。他和葡萄看守货仓，账房看守前店堂，两个伙计守着作坊。后门口放着一把铡刀，从那儿爬进来的歹人一伸头，正好一刀。 一天早上，天下小雨，葡萄听见后院有响动。后院是块铺了石板的空地，用来晒黄豆，晒糟子，做枣泥也在那里晒枣和核桃仁。葡萄掂着份量，挪步到后门，从大张嘴的铡刀看出去。门缝外满是人腿，全打着布绑腿。也有穿马靴的。她听见的话音全是外乡音。 孙怀清这时披着夹袍走来，见葡萄跪在地上，眼睛挤住门缝，便压低嗓音问她在弄啥。 “外头腿都满了!”葡萄说。 “谁的腿?” “光见腿了!” 孙怀清不再问什么，使个眼色叫她还去守货仓。他怕她没深没浅，再得罪门外的老总们。 从此后葡萄常常在清晨听见后院有响动。后院是史屯街上最光溜最干净的一块地皮，所以常让各种军队当成宿营地。枪声也时而发生，一拨人把另一拨人打跑了，再过两天，又一拨人打回来，成了占领军。谁赢谁输，孙家店铺后的大院子总是空闲不住，总有人在那里安营扎寨，点火做饭，拉胡琴吹笙，捉虱子抖跳蚤，裹伤口换绷带。葡萄从门缝看出去，都是同样的人腿，不过是绑腿布不一样罢了。有时是灰色，有时是黄色，有时不灰不黄，和这里的泥土一个色。 孙怀清一见葡萄趴在地上，眼睛挤住门缝就“啧”一下嘴，恐吓她也是责备她。她总是一样地瞪大眼告诉他：“外头腿都满了!” 这天早上，葡萄正要趴下去往外观望，听见有人敲门。葡萄不吭气，手把铡刀把紧紧握住。门外的人说：“可能没人在。”说话的人是个女的。另一个人说：“那你去街上别人家看看，能不能借到个脸盆。”葡萄想，这些打绑腿的和前一邦子不同，不是要东西也不是抢东西，是“借”东西。门里门外互不相扰地到了上午，葡萄打开后门，走出去，手里拿着两个盛大酱的瓦盆。她把瓦盆往地上一放，看看周围的大兵们，这些人都穿着大布，补丁红红绿绿的。 大兵们说原来真是有人躲在里面呢。葡萄还是一个个地看他们，说“你们咋穿这么赖的衣裳?” 大兵们全笑起来。这时她看见他们手里拿的菜疙瘩，麸面搁的比史屯最穷的人家还少。她又说：“吃的也赁赖。” 大兵们更是笑得快活。有个胡子拉茬的汉子说：“你看我们人赖不赖。” 葡萄没直接回答。 她说：“我当你们是老八呢。” 胡子拉茬的汉子说：“我们就是老八呀。” 大兵们笑得满嘴是绿黑的菜疙瘩。 史屯街上太平了下来，又飘起水煎包子、烙油馍的香味。孙家作坊的蜜三刀、开口笑、金丝糕的油甜香味把一个镇子的空气都弄得粘腻起来。葡萄从街上回到村里。家家都种上麦了，孙怀清的地还空着，葡萄驾牛，孙怀清扶犁，种下十多亩小麦。剩下的三十多亩地，就全赁了出去。孙怀清一直是靠自家种的麦供应自家的作坊，家里一下少两口人，就是再雇短工也照应不过来。 正卸牲口时听见前院的台阶上有脚步声。葡萄一回头，见七、八个穿破旧军服的人撵着一只花兔子进到院里来。花兔子奇大奇肥，跑起来肚皮蹭地。还有几个没下来的大兵扒在墙上往下看，哇啦哇啦地叫，叫谁谁谁快开枪。所有的鸡都飞成小鹰了。七、八个人把兔子撵得直打跌。其中一个问葡萄，兔子是她家的不是。 葡萄不说话。兔子是史六妗子家的。是个兔种，皮毛贵重，说是养一窝兔能换五斗麦。扒在拦马墙上的几个人叫了：都闪开点啊! 下面的人也叫：甭乱开枪，打着人! 不闪开晚上喝不上兔子汤咧!…… 枪没响一个人就把浑身打颤的大母兔扑着了。他拎着兔耳朵站起来，黄军装前襟一大片灰绿的鸡粪，就像没看见葡萄似的，自问自答地说：厨房就是这儿吧?得找点辣子啥的。另一个人大声补充：还要口锅!看看有大号的锅没有? 剩下的几个人东顾西盼地进了中院，说哎唷，还是读书的人哩，屋里有书柜子！是个财主? 是也不大，这地方就没见一个大财主。 葡萄直是奇怪，他们怎么这么好意思，连晾在椿树下的红铜便桶都歪过头、偏过脸地看。有个大兵进了茅房，尿着就把脸伸在墙头上跟其他人说：这家阔着哩，屙屎都使纸擦腚。 他们在厨房里拿了一串干红椒，一辫子蒜，一大碗盐巴，一口铁锅。 葡萄不顾二大的训戒，张口便说：“老八不是不抢人家东西吗?” 大兵们一楞，似乎突然发现这三进的院子不是无人之境。他们看着葡萄，又相互看看。葡萄并不知自己十七岁的身体已长熟了，细看看脸蛋也是个标致人儿。她见这些大兵笑了，眼睛也在她身上从上往下走。他们怎么和洛阳城里的二流子一模一样的笑法呢? 这些兵笑过了说：“你家住过老八?” 葡萄说：“没住过--唉，你那脚别踩了晒的柿饼!”大兵们问她：“那你看我们咋象老八?”“ 穿得老赖。枪也老赖。”他们一块哈哈大笑。他们这样笑就不象二流子了， 和老八笑得一样。他们笑过说：“老八早叫我们打跑了。”“谁管你们谁把谁打跑了，反正你不能揭俺家的锅。” “揭了咋着? ”说着一个兵就伸手来揭葡萄的前衣襟。 葡萄猛古丁地抓起碗口粗的抵门杠，两脚叉得开开的，挡在台阶口。“不搁下锅，我夯死他!” 大兵们可找着个跟他们耍闹的人了，这个俊俏女子要“夯死”谁，真让他们肝尖儿作痒心尖儿打颤。本来是不想碰她的，这下她不是给了口实，好让他们朝她一扑腾，拧住她的嫩胳膊，撕碎那小花袄? 他们一步一步往台阶上上，她一步一步退上去，每退一步她都掂掂手上的抵门杠。 这时他们发现这个女子有一点不对劲。那两只眼睛不太对劲——缺了点什么。他们互相对视一下，沉默地商量：她是个疯子不是?眼眼不会避人，没有胆怯，不知轻重。要是个疯子就没滋味了。你去扒一个女疯子的裤子，那不作贱自个?那不造几辈子孽? “把锅放下!”葡萄说着，手上的抵门杠在两个掌间转了转。她背后就是大门，脚踏在最上一层台阶上。几个兵见扒在栏马墙上的同伙打算从葡萄背后袭击她，他们飞快使了个眼色，叫他们别动。葡萄一下子明白自己腹背受敌，迅速回头看一眼，一手握住杠子，另一只手把门边的铜钟打响了。那是防匪的钟，谁家都有，遭遇土匪就打。 钟声让村里冒出几百扛农具的人。原先扎下营的五十四旅也都挎上武器，拉出了队伍。长官们问警戒哨发生了什么情况，明哨暗哨都说所有的路上都空无一人一马，一切太平。很快有人向长官们报告了打钟的原因，是为一口铁锅。长官们又好气又好笑，把抓兔子揭锅的几个兵绑下，当着史屯人装佯地训斥了几句，还把牛皮带丢给葡萄和史六妗子，让她们自己抽打几下出出气。 五十四旅在史屯整天就是开庆功会，也不知都去哪里打了胜仗。一庆功就雇戏班子来唱梆子，白天晚上都唱。四十个村子的人都来看戏，街上比过节还热闹，所有作坊都是大风箱拉得呼嗒呼嗒响，伙计们汗珠子落进炸货的大油锅，溅得噼里啪啦响。孙怀清是个梆子迷，却忙得离不开作坊，看戏的人都喜欢吃点心，他揉面擀面手腕子都要折了。 葡萄也好看戏，但作坊生意太红火，她得不断地磨面。一条河流过十个村子，河上有二十架水磨。在河上游看，二十架大风车一齐打转，远远近近都呀呀地响，谁都会突然在心里生出莫名的情致。葡萄蹬了一天的磨面机，两腿闪失着走出磨坊。河水里还有阳光天上却没了。她吐了口干掉的唾沫，就想唱一句什么。葡萄是个没什么心思的人，但在这副景色里站着，她真想有一点心思。 葡萄是立冬后的一个早晨开始有心思的。那天天还早，葡萄刚刚把灶烧起来。二大已起床了，披着棉袍在圈门口看他的牲口。这时有个人在门外叫门。声音很规矩，不象那些兵。他叫：大爷，给开开门吧。他一定从栏马墙往下看，看见了二大。孙怀清也没有问是谁，就上到台阶上面，把两扇大门打开一扇。葡萄听那个规规矩矩的嗓音说：想借大爷家的磨使使。 进来吧进来吧。孙二大把客人让了进来，叫他看着点台阶。 来的人是个十八九岁的小伙子。一张长白脸，眉毛好整齐眼睛好干净。他穿一件黑色长衫，围一条格子围巾，背有点驮。孙二大说：磨就在那棚子里，会推不会? 小伙子笑笑，说推是推过，多少年不推了。一边说话，他从长衫里拿出个手巾包。葡萄在一旁看着，对二大说：爹，你跟他说，他就别沾手了。我给他推。小伙子说：那哪能呢?大爷您让妹子给指点一下就行。 葡萄走过去，从他手里拿过手巾包。她约摸有一斤麦子，磨出来再箩一箩，蒸两个馍就不错。她对二大说，爹你让他等着吧，一会就推完了。 她刚走进磨棚，孙怀清跟了进来，悄声说：他那点麦，溜磨缝还不够。他从墙角的一个口袋捧出一捧麦来，兑进磨眼。看着磨盘转起来，他说：唱戏的真不值啥，唱一天一宿混不上两个白馍。葡萄心想，难怪他和她见的小伙子们都不一样，是个唱戏的。后来小伙子天天来借磨，葡萄天天往他麦里添一半自家的新麦。渐渐也就了解到小伙子是开封人，自幼学琴，在剧团是头一把琴师。因为他得肺痨，老板才让他吃点偏食，每天给他额外的一斤小麦。小伙子从来不和葡萄说话，葡萄也不理他，两人却谈得颇热闹，句句话都是通过孙二大讲的。 葡萄这天说：“爹，你问他有个各儿没有?” 小伙子回答：“大爷，我姓朱，单名梅。” 葡萄又说：“爹，他还能在咱这唱几天戏?” 小伙子说：“大爷，我们后天一早就走了。这儿的队伍也要开拔了去打老共了。” 晚上葡萄到作坊帮忙，二大说：“朱梅这孩子命苦，痨病不轻哩。” “可是不轻，”葡萄说，“听他说话嗓子底下拉着个小风箱。” “拽一天琴弓子，也不省力。才挣俩馍。咱村五合也比他挣得多。”孙二大又说。 葡萄认识五合。五合来给孙二大打过短工，本来想让他学徒做糕点做酱油，就是治不了他的偷嘴，拉倒了。 “孩子是个好孩子。我说朱梅。谁家闺女说给他谁倒楣，看他拿什么养活媳妇?再说寿也太浅了。 葡萄手在油酥面上揉着，心里满是心思。 第二天村里有一家娶媳妇，趁着戏班子还没走，雇他们唱几段堂会。新郎原是抽上签去顶壮丁的，家里借了几十块大洋，找了个壮丁替身，所以娶亲就显出凑合来。也没有买白灰刷墙，只在新打的窑洞里用新麦秸加泥抹了一下。葡萄听见吹响器就耽不住了，赶忙把磨成的面装了口袋，扛上驴车，从河边赶回家，换上一身新做的棉袄。日本人投了降，日本货在史屯集上还总是俏销。孙二大店里进了日本产的假缎子，若他不先剪一块给葡萄留着，就让闺女、媳妇们抢光了。葡萄做的这件假缎子棉袄是粉底白花，颜色太娇她一直不想穿。这时把它套上，跑出门，又跑回来，照照镜子，心里没底得很。自己是个守寡女人，穿这么娇艳是要作怪去了。但葡萄怕谁呢?她胸一挺，下巴一抬，我葡萄是风流寡妇又怎样?铁脑刚死的时候，她一边头发长，一边头发短，在街上给人指戳说成是“奸细媳妇”，她当街叫板：“你不是孬货站到我面前来!敢当我面叫我奸细媳妇不敢!” 葡萄跑到娶亲的那家，见朱梅也穿了件红砍肩，坐在窑院里拉琴。他看葡萄一眼，马上把头低下来。葡萄却不饶他，眼睛等在原地，等他再一次抬头来看她。朱梅的脸也不白了，腮帮上涂了胭脂似的。虽然不敢正眼看葡萄，但葡萄知道他琴就是拉给她一人听的。琴弓上长长的白色马鬃和他油乎乎的黑色半长头发一块甩动，文文静静一个人竞也会撒人来疯。 到了闹洞房的时间，葡萄挤在大叫大笑的人群里，感觉一股文弱气息就吹在她脖梗上。葡萄不是不敢回头，是怕一回头吓住他。他吹在她脖梗上的温乎气儿带一点他的味道。是苦丝丝的药腥味道。 朱梅突然说话了。他说：“你看，葡萄，往那边墙上看!”洞房里点着十几支红腊烛，他的手扯了一下她的手，要她往右边看。 烛焰里葡萄看见墙上长出的麦苗来。那是漏在麦秸里的麦粒掺和到抹墙的泥里了。所有人都没看见这道奇观，只有朱梅和葡萄看见了。葡萄用力扯了扯朱梅的手。 两人前后隔了两百步，从河下游往上走。村里的狗都去新窑周围凑热闹了。河上的风车吱呀吱呀地响，葡萄慢下步子来， 满心的心思乱的很。和铁脑入洞房她没有象这时的感觉，肠子都要化成水了。 朱梅赶了上来，嗓子底下的小风箱拉得可紧。葡萄心里疼他，后悔自己走得太快，又尽是上坡砍。河上风利，可别把他病吹犯了。她虽是这么一肚子柔肠地疼他，话还是直戳戳的： 也不知叫一声!一叫我不就停下等你了? 朱梅脸是红的，嘴唇青白。他就那样青白着一张嘴笑笑，活活一个梁山伯。 葡萄的身子不舒服起来，有个地方在受熬煎。她说：“咋办哩?” 朱梅明白她指什么，回答道：“你说咋办就咋办。” “你能和我公公去说说不能?” “ 我说啥呀?” 葡萄一看，没指望了，他已经怕成这样。她说：“那我去说吧。” “葡萄，”朱梅走近来，鼻尖对鼻尖和她站着。“你跟了我，老受罪。” “我可爱受罪。我是受罪坯子。” “你婆家待你好吧?” 葡萄不正面回答，说：“俺爹就是那人，看着老恶。你怕他，我去和他说。” 朱梅看着这个一身胀鼓鼓的全是血性的年轻寡妇，心里忽悠一下，脑子一片昏暗。再来看看，他两个胳膊已经把她箍在怀里了。 葡萄的嘴唇也涨满了汁水似的，麻酥酥的。可朱梅的嘴唇到处地躲，只把它们对在她鬓角上，耳垂上。他把话吹进她耳朵眼儿：“我病没好哩。别把病给你了。” 葡萄一听，心里疼坏了。一下子拧过脸来，嘴挤住他的嘴，一股劲地唆起来。 两人大喘一口气，脸贴脸地抱住对方。 再也没什