Chapter 3 Twelve thorns on the feet

Mother fell ill in the twelfth lunar month of that year. When he was twelve years old, his mother got choking disease.It was a very strange disease. I couldn't eat, and I vomited when I ate, and the rest was just living up to the day. Once my mother got sick, she never got out of bed again.At the beginning, she could still drink a little water, but there was "chicken, chicken" in her throat, and it was very difficult to swallow.Going down, even the water can't be poured in.Day by day, the mother slowly dried up and became a piece of skin, with wrinkled and wrinkled stretch marks on the skin, and the cracks opened the mouth. People say that is "" Snowskin".At that time, mother always called the five brothers to the bed, looked at this, touched that, and finally, with tears in her eyes, mother said softly: "Gangdaner, you are the boss, you need to help me?" ah!"

He nodded silently and had nothing to say. In the last days, Niang just wanted to fart.Mother said, if only I could fart! That day, my father invited "Joe's three needles" again. "Qiao Sanzhen" can be regarded as the "Mr." of Chinese medicine in the village. "Mr." sat down and took his pulse first, and then asked in a flat voice: "Is there a 'Xu Gong'?" The father was in a daze, not knowing what to say. "Joe Three Needles" was in a hurry, and said in a rough voice: "Hey, just fart?!" Niang shook her head with difficulty. "Sir" sighed, put away the needle box, and said nothing more.It wasn't until he went out that he said to his father: "It won't last for a few days, let's prepare for the funeral."

At that time, sweet potatoes were used as food for half a year, and the whole village was full of stinky farts.But Niang's only wish is to fart like ordinary people.Mother said, why can't I fart?The mother was lying on the bed, skinny and skinny, and there was a layer of white flakes like dry snow hanging on the skin, which fell off when she touched it.At this time, the strength on the mother's body was gone, and the little light in the eye socket was shocking!My mother, that impression poured into the depths of his heart like lead.After many days, he realized that once life reached the final juncture, it would be very difficult to fart!

Mother died seven days later. Before she died, the mother stared straight at the roof, then lowered her eyes, opened her mouth slightly, and wanted to shout something, but she didn't cry out... He grabbed the mother's hand, but the mother's hand was already cold up. After the mother died, the father seemed to be stupid. He squatted on the threshold and couldn't stand up again.It was he who hurried to call for Da Jin, who opened her mother's eyelids, looked at her, and said silently: "The man is missing." Afterwards, Da Jin took his hand and sold him on credit at the consignment point in the village. A piece of white cloth was laid down.Walking on the road, Da Jin looked at him in surprise and said, "Gang Dan, why don't you know how to cry?" He was silent, but he couldn't cry, but he was crying in his heart.Back home, Da Jin called his five brothers together, put a white cloth on each of their heads, and said to him: "Gang Dan, you are the boss, lead your brother to 'send filial piety'." He raised his head and looked at Da Jin silently... Da Jin said: "'Send filial piety' is to announce the funeral. Go ahead, lead your brothers, and walk one by one. When you enter the yard, you don't need to say much, just kneel down and kowtow. Remember, kowtow to the door, don't stand up unless you are pulled... Go, go now."

So, he led his brothers to "send filial piety".After going out, the third son Goudan smiled and said, "Brother, are you crying or not?" He stopped, turned around, "Slap, slap, slap, slap!" One of them slapped his face!Then there was crying. Kowtow door by door, family by family... Is this a notice of death, an announcement before a funeral, begging, asking for help, or mourning?After a long time, he gradually realized that kneeling on the ground means "surrender".In the countryside of the plains, "surrender" is almost an art, and the greatest art at that.Life and death are accomplished in countless "surrenders".Sometimes, you have to "surrender", you have to "surrender".Only with this form of "surrender" can there be living content.In this way, he knocked out the villagers one by one.There was only one house, and he didn't go, it was the nearest one, Tonghammer's house.He won't go.

Mother's funeral was completed with the help of the villagers.At the funeral, as the eldest son, under the leadership of his uncle, he continued to learn the art of "surrender".That is an advanced form of "surrender" - "twenty-four kowtows." "Twenty-four kowtows" is an almost courtly performance, and it is a "surrender" with a ceremonial nature.In the country, this is the most advanced, most elegant "surrender"!That is to ask him to kowtow twenty-four times in different positions and postures, back and forth, left and right, and kowtow to make a big "hui".As he kowtowed, he heard people laughing at him.Yes, at the funeral, people roared with laughter that he was not up to par.What people admire is Baocan, and Baocan is the most vivid!Every advance and retreat, every move and every move is enviable: kneeling deeply, standing squarely, and sawing the legs as soon as they say it... It's not like a funeral, but like performing a unique skill!But he couldn't, his heart was already numb. When he stood up after kowtowing these twenty-four heads, his eyes went dark and he almost fell to the ground.But he still stood still, but his knees were hot and bloody!

He is the eldest son, and he also threw his mother's "basin". Five holes were drilled in the "basin", which are called "children holes", which were drilled by the five brothers with the tip of scissors.The fifth child was too young, so he held his hand drill.The mother is already dead, why should I throw the "prison basin"?What is a "prison basin"?Life is a "prison", and death is also a "prison"?Drilling those holes, is it to leak a little sunlight to the mother? Then there is "Xie Xiao" (also known as Xie Xiao).Still kowtow family by family... Many years later, he still remembers the scene when he knelt down and kowtowed to others.There was a moment when he looked at the sky from his crotch!He still remembers the moment when he looked at the sky from his crotch, and he will never forget that moment.At that moment, a puff of air suddenly rose from his crotch, and that puff pushed him up all at once. He was kneeling, but his heart stood up.

When my mother was here, no one felt how important she was. Once my mother left, the family would not feel like a home.At that time, my father had thought of remarrying.However, there are five eggs in the family and a bunch of mouths, who would be willing to be dragged down like this?So, my father would often lie on the bed, sighing one after another. Mother is gone, and there will be no shoes in the future. Soon, the shoes of the five of them were worn out, and there were no more shoes. That summer, while mowing, he took the four brothers into a valley.In the valley, he made iron eggs, dog eggs, melon eggs, and non-eggs stand in a row in front of him, and then said: "Listen, mother is gone, no one will make shoes for you. Now, I will make shoes for each of you." a pair of shoes."

The four brothers looked at him in surprise, and they all looked happy.Tie Dan said, "Brother, can you still make shoes?" He didn't speak, just sat down on the spot, stretched out his hand, and showed the six thorns he was holding.Going down, he bent his legs and showed his feet. He patted the dirt on his feet with his hands and said, "Everyone is watching—" After saying this, "Puff, puff, puff" three times , He first planted three terriers on the heel of his left foot; then, with three clicks of "poof, poof, poof", he also planted three terrestris on the heel of his right foot!Then, he stood up, put his hands behind his back, and walked around the valley in a big way.

The four brothers looked at him blankly, and Tie Dan said, "This is called a shoe?" He said, "Shoes, iron shoes." Goudan said, "It hurts, does it hurt?" He raised one foot so that they could see the thorns on the foot clearly, and then said: "It will hurt a little at first, but after grinding out the sole of the foot, the pain will go away." Then, he said: "Anyone who dares to wear it will have a spoonful of rice for lunch." Then, all four pairs of little feet showed up, stretching out in front of him one by one. He first took a look at Tie Dan's foot, and a thorn was stuck on one of his feet. Tie Dan frowned and said deliberately, "It doesn't hurt." Then it was Goudan, who scratched the foot , Goudan grinned, and wanted to shrink back, but he grabbed hold of it and tied him up.When he arrived at Guadan, he didn't say a word, but turned his face away... Nudan is still young, looking at Nudan's little feet, he hesitated for a moment, and said: "Forget it, Nudan is still young." Nudan said tenderly: "Brother, I want to 'pain' too." So he said, "Okay, Nudan is the most obedient." Then, he took out two strips of white cloth from his pocket and wrapped the thorns in it. In the cloth strips, one was tied to him.When he was about to stand up, Tie Dan suddenly said: "Brother, I want another one, add two spoonfuls of rice for lunch! Is that okay?"

He ignored him and said, "Stand up, everyone stand up. Stand up and walk around." The four eggs stood up one by one, all with their feet sideways... He stood aside and said, "Let's go, you have to be able to walk, let's see who is the bravest!" So under the sun, the team with thistles on their feet started walking in the valley with one side twisted. He said: "Look forward, don't think about the pain. If you don't think about it, it won't hurt." Goudan turned his head and said, "Brother, when will you stop piercing?" He said: "When there is 'iron' on the feet, there is no need to pierce them." Throughout the summer, the children of the "Old Uncle" family carried straw bales one by one and walked on the dirt roads in the countryside with their teeth bared.What surprised the villagers in particular was how could they all walk with their feet crooked?Ask, don't say anything, don't tell anyone.On the upper beam, it is like a strange scenery, every dusk, one by one egg will come out of the orange sunset, unload the straw bales on the body one by one in the wheat field, and then Show off your feet, spit on your feet one by one... The four eggs are all waiting for the "iron", where is the "iron"? ! By the autumn of this year, the four eggs could already walk on flat feet.They surrounded the boss and said one by one: "Brother, does this count as 'iron'?" So, one evening, he took them all to the bare field, and said in a "father" tone: "Sit down." After they all sat down, he stretched out his feet and waved them in front of their eyes. Once again, say: "Touch." They also obediently stretched out their hands to touch it again... He asked: "Is it hard?" The eggs said: "Hard." Then, he stretched out his hand and showed Twelve thorns in my hand!Let them see each one clearly, and then he stuck the thorns on his feet one by one. After he had tied them all, he took a deep breath in front of them, and jumped on the ground with a stride. On the stone roller!Then, he just stood on the stone roller and said to them: "This is called 'iron'!" At this time, Goudan suddenly screamed: "Brother, there is blood on your feet!" He glared at him and said flatly, "That's not blood, that's rust." Twelve thorns were pierced on his feet, but he insisted on showing them how to walk around in the arena.The footboard was a little wooden, but he said in his heart, sometimes life is just so painful.You can't be afraid of pain, you have to step on the day, step by step like this. The four brothers all looked at him, dumbfounded!They never asked again.They finally know what "iron" is... At the same time, he also told them a trick: at noon, put your feet in the ruts on the road, and bury them with the hot soil that was run over by the car, and use this fine flour to bury them. Cover the hot soil like this, cover it tightly, bury it for an hour or two, and steam it well, then the feet will not hurt so much, and the most important thing is that the "iron" will come out quickly. Therefore, in the following days, the "eggs" of the Feng family would often put down the bales they carried on their shoulders, sit on the side of the road, put their feet into the ruts, and cover them with hot soil to "bathe their feet" ...this is a rare joy!When you "bath" your feet in the hot soil, you will feel the scalding warmth, the softness like fine noodles, the itchy slippery, and the cool air slowly rising from the feet, and you will feel the warmth of closing your eyes. when.Make them have a wine-like intoxication.How wonderful! "Foot bath".In those days, "foot bathing" became the highest enjoyment for the "eggs" of the Feng family. After the "bath", they will pull out their feet from the hot soil at the same time, first let them dry for a while, and then, you can touch my soles and I will touch yours to see which one is harder. This is called "iron". Yes, the "iron" is growing slowly, but one or two small thorns will grow out of the growing "iron" from time to time, which are the thorns on the thorns, and sometimes the thorns are broken on the ground. In the flesh, along with the growth of "iron", it will bring some heart-stopping pains.It doesn't matter, just pull it out.When pulling out, there will be some nameless happiness.Think about it, pinching, pinching... Finally pinching something out, the little pain is gone all at once, crispy, numb, a little more itchy, how good it is! Father's eyelids collapsed.Father's waist also collapsed.Not many years later, the handsome father turned into a hunchback.His father had never said anything about his behavior since relinquishing the "diplomatic" powers of the family.However, on the day when twelve thorns were stuck on his feet, his father, who was squatting in the stove to light the fire, suddenly ran out of the stove and shouted strangely: "Son, what are you doing—what?" He even looked at his father with contempt, and said proudly: "Walking!" This is too abrupt!It is abrupt with a sense of betrayal.This is his declaration, facing his father, this is the most direct declaration.Walking is the way of life, this is my way, I "walk" mine. Father is dumb.That was the first time his father called him "son", and his father never called him that again. In the winter of this year, when the first snow fell, it was also the time when he tried "iron".He didn't wear the wooden "croakboard" that his father made, so he walked out of the house barefoot.The snow was still falling, there was no one on the road, the surroundings were completely silent, and the boundless white snow was like pairs of "that kind of shoes" flying towards him!"That shoe" of the day!Those shoes (later he knew they were called "tennis shoes") were worn by a relative of Qiu Sheng's family. They were white, pink and white, even the laces were white!He is from the city, and he wears them on his feet when he comes to visit relatives in the countryside. He can see them as he walks. He also has nylon socks... He just walked in the snow, trying the "iron" step by step. .At the beginning, when the feet stepped on it, the snow was very warm, even a little hot, warm and hot.But when walking down, it is lingering, and there is still a little bounce, a little bounce.Under the feet, the snow meat is hot, or like tofu in a hot pot. The feet become a knife. When you cut it, the soft feeling is very comfortable and incomparable. Comfortable!If you walk again, there will be some mud on your feet.At this moment, he understood that Xue was afraid of his feet.The snow was afraid of him, the "iron" had already come out of the foot, and the snow would melt when it touched the foot, and it dared not refuse to melt.In the great winter, his feet completely defeated the snow!No pain, really, no pain at all, no slight pain.Just joy, the joy that gushes from the soles of your feet, cat licking joy!That joy aroused in him a strong desire to conquer, and he ran in great strides in the snow, yelling as he ran, and his cries spread far and wide in the wilderness!Then, he crossed the field and walked up to the embankment step by step. Standing on the embankment, he looked at the flying snow in the distance. The snow hung an upside-down flying curtain on the south bank of the river. The curtain was dancing in the wind, at this moment, he suddenly had the feeling of flying, a hot current surged up from his feet, it was very hot! At that time, he said solemnly: There will be shoes.