Chapter 3 Thirty-three

The Yang family mill is beside Shanzui Road, one mile outside Baozi.The location of Baozi is in the bend of the mountain. The stream flows along to the foot of the mountain. The flat flow suddenly turns sharp at the bend of the mountain mouth. Therefore, someone used it very early and built a stone mill at the rapids. This mill, I don’t know why. Since then, it has been called Yangjia Nianfang. Looking up from the mill, you can see that the fortress is very prosperous with houses connected to walls and shaded by trees.Looking down, there are countless mountain fields in Jiaxi, like piles of steamed cakes, so the farmers borrowed water power to build countless waterwheels with big bamboo, and made horizontal shafts and pillars with toon wood, which are round like a gong and vary in size. Standing on the water's edge.This group of waterwheels, like a group of idlers, tirelessly babbled and sang vaguely meaningless songs day and night.

one There is only one mill like this in the castle, so all the rice milling in the castle is done by this mill. Every day, people take turns to pick the grain, pour the grain into the stone trough, remove the sluice board, and put it in the soap trough. The water moved the dark wheel below, and the stone millstone started to turn immediately with an emotional sound.So while talking about something, the master cleaned up the dustpan and sieve, wrapped a piece of white cloth around his head, took a long-handled broom, chased after the millstone, followed by a circle, and swept away the overflowing grains outside the trough, and then After that, the millet becomes white rice.

After the rice has been milled and sieved, and the rice bran is removed, the owner is covered with ashes, often like a glutinous rice ball rolled into soybean flour.However, this life is obviously more leisurely than that of many people in the fort, and it is envied by all the people in the fort. Anyone who went to the Yang family's mill to grind millet knew about the Yang family Sansan.My mother married Yang, who kept the mill, ten years ago. At the age of three or five, my father left the mill, mother and daughter, and died without saying a word.After her father died, her mother became the owner of the mill, and Sansan still lived in the mill, eating rice, vegetables, small fish and eggs, and her life was no different.Sansan first saw that his father was covered in chaff and ashes all day long, and then his father disappeared, and his mother was covered in chaff and ashes all day long... So Sansan grew up slowly while crying and laughing.

When her mother turned the milling trough, carrying a small oil bottle, to oil the wooden shaft and iron core of the milling pan, or sitting excitedly sitting in the corner pulling the sieve on the rack, Sansan always sat quietly in the other corner to play .In hot weather, I sit in a cool place to blow the wind, and use corn stalks to make small cages. In winter, I accompany my cat to squat in a fire barrel, peel ashes and stew chestnuts to eat.Or sometimes I get a suona made of reed pipes from a rice miller, and imitate the air of a magician playing the grand Nuo, blowing it in front of and behind the house, and never get tired of playing for a long time.

The walls of the outer house of this mill are covered with ivy, and the surrounding house is full of sunflowers and jujube trees. In the sparse woods, there are often three or three green clothes floating around.Because I was tired of playing alone in the house, I came out and sat on the waste rock trough and sprinkled rice heads for the chickens to eat.At this time, if any chicken bullied another chicken, Sansan had to drive away the unreasonable chicken until mother heard the sound of the chicken begging for mercy from behind the house. There is a pool upstream of the mill, surrounded by big trees and shade, so that the sun does not shine on the water in June.The owner of the mill raised a few white ducks in this pool, and there were more fish in the water than in the upper and lower streams.According to all customs, whoever depends on the water in front of his house is also a part of his property.Since the dams were all built for mills, a township agreement prohibits poisonous fish from being caught in the nets, so there are a lot of fish in this creek.When people I don’t know well come to fish, they see the quietness of the pool and want to squat for a while. When Sansan sees them, he always says to them, “No, this fish is raised in my pool. You can go fishing below. "If a person is naughty, hearing this is like not hearing it, and he still holds the long pole, puts it on the water surface and smokes the pipe leisurely, seeing the little girl laughing, makes Sansan anxious, and Sansan Calling her mother, she said in a loud voice: "Mother, mother, look, there is someone who does not follow the rules and catches our fish. Come and break his pole, come quickly!" Naturally, mother will not interfere with other people's fishing. .

The mother has never broken anyone's pole according to her daughter's wishes. As usual, she will say: "San San, there are a lot of fish, let others catch them. Fish can walk. The fish in the pond at the master's house above are happy with us here." All the water is coming.” As usual, Sansan should still remember dreaming at night, dreaming of a big fish jumping up from the water to eat ducks, upon hearing this, she had nothing to say, just watched quietly, See how many fish this unruly person has caught.She kept the number in her heart, so she could tell her mother later.

Sometimes because the fish is a bit too big, when I get on the hook, I don’t pull it properly, and I break the fishing rod. It was Sansan's turn to grin at the fisherman.But Sansan often ran back in a hurry and told her mother about it, and both mother and daughter laughed together. Sometimes the fisherman is an acquaintance. When they come fishing, they see Sansan and know her temper, so they don’t forget to ask as usual: "Sansan, allow me to fish." Sansan said, "The fish move around, and we don't raise them, so why can't we catch them?" When the fisherman was an acquaintance, Sansan would often move a small wooden stool and sit by the side to watch the fish take the bait, and tell this person the story of someone who broke the fishing rod at another time.Later, when the acquaintance returned to the mill, he distributed some of the big fish he got to the three or three families.Sansan watched her mother cut up the fish with a knife, (garbled characters)

The door should also be timed.But my mother had a little selfishness, she remembered what she signed once, and she didn't really believe what the matchmaker said, so there were still only mother and daughter in this mill, and no one was added. At the age of three and three, she is still the same as a child, and she has to stay close to her mother in everything.After the mother and daughter ate their meals, they washed their faces in the running water, and seeing the sun that was about to sink, they drove away in a day.Sometimes I heard the sound of gongs and drums in the castle, or someone was receiving a bride, or someone was doing fasting, "Mother, take me to see," said like an order or a request, if there is no other reason When she declined, the mother had to agree to go with her.Go for a while, or stop at someone's house to drink a cup of honey tea, stuff your wallet with hazelnuts and walnuts, and when you are ready to go home, you can walk home without using anything on a moonlit day.When the night was dark, I lit a firewood!Bibi peeling and cracking, there is nothing to be afraid of.If you go to play in the Zongye's stockade, the Zongye's long-term workers will play lanterns to see off the guests, and they will be sent outside the mill.Only such things are most interesting.Sansan couldn't often get the chance to hold a lantern and walk at night in the rain, but he often dreamed of a person holding a small red paper lantern and walking by the stream, as if only fish knew about it.

Seriously speaking, it is only natural that Yu knows a little more about Sansan than his mother should.Sansan was by her mother's side, and she spoke words that her mother could understand, and almost all the things that her mother didn't understand were said by the stream.Apart from the ducks, there are only fishes in the water beside the stream. The ducks squawk endlessly by themselves all day long, so they don’t even have ears to listen to other people’s words! This summer, after dinner, the mother and daughter would often go to someone's house in the fort until dusk, chatting with a girl who was about to marry far away, and listening to a man from Xiaozhai sing.One day, he went back to the castle as usual, but because he was talking about embroidery, he asked Sansan to come back to the mill to get a sample. Sansan hurried back to the mill by himself. In the shadow of a person, a person came under the tree, holding a pole, as if about to go fishing, Sansan thought that this must be someone who came to steal the fish, and shouted according to the rules: "No fishing is allowed, this fish has an owner! "On the one hand, I wanted to go forward to see who it was.

I heard a person say: "Who said that the fish in the stream also have an owner? Can fish be raised in the flowing water of the stream?" Another said: "This is just a joke of the little girl in the mill." Then the first person laughed. Immediately afterwards, I heard the second person say, "San San, San San, come here, you've caught all the fish!" Sansan was very upset when she heard someone making fun of her, the voice sounded like an acquaintance! He rushed over, ready to see who was acting wild here, so that he could report back to his mother.When I walked over, I realized that the person who spoke the second time was Mr. Zongye's housekeeper, and the same young man who had never met before.What the man was holding in his hand turned out to be a crutch, not a fishing rod.The steward is a well-known person in the castle, he knows Sansan, and Sansan also knows him, so when Sansan approached him, he made fun of him and said, "Sansan, why do you raise fish? How many fish do you raise?" ah!"

Sansan saw that it was Mr. Zongye's housekeeper, so she didn't say anything, just lowered her head and smiled.Although he lowered his head, he saw the white trousers and shoes of the man who seemed to be from the city, and heard the man say: "The girl is smart, beautiful, and not bad-looking." The manager said again: " This is the beauty in my castle." The man laughed when the two said this. By this time, she guessed that the man was looking at her and laughing!Sansan thought to herself: "Why are you laughing at me?" Then she thought: "People in your city are only afraid of dogs, and even when they see dogs, they are also afraid and laugh at people. It's a shame that you are not ashamed." She seemed to have said this sentence. He closed his mouth, because the man heard it, so he looked at it and ran away.The steward knew that she was going to run away in embarrassment, so he said, "San San, don't go, we are here to see your mill. Where is your mother?" "Mother is not here." "I went to the castle to listen to the people from Xiaozhai singing, didn't I?" "yes." "Why don't you like hearing that?" "How do you know I'm not happy?" The steward said with a smile: "Because seeing you coming back alone, I thought you were tired of listening to that song, and worried that the fish in the pond would be stolen, so..." Sansan said with the steward, slowly turning his head Lifting it up, I saw the face of the stranger, I seemed to have seen that white face somewhere before, so I guessed that this person was a young opera singer who forgot to wipe off the powder on his face, so it was so white...then Seeing that Sansan was no longer afraid of people, the man asked Sansan, "Is this your home?" Sansan said, "Why isn't it my house?" As the answer was very interesting, the man said: "You live by this ravine, aren't you afraid that the flood will wash you away?" "Hi," Sansan pursed her small beautiful lips, gave the strange man a hard look, and thought to herself, "The dog is here, the dog is here, if you fall into the water in fear, the water will wash away." Go to you." Thinking about the situation of really rushing, it must be very funny, ignored these two people, and ran away with a smile. Sansan took the pattern from the mill and walked back to the Baozi, went a little further up the edge of the pool, saw the two white shadows still ahead, and was upset that he was making trouble with the steward again, so he deliberately followed them Behind him, walk slowly.I heard two people talking about who and what happened in the city, about Kaihe, and about the School Affairs Bureau wanting the General Master to run a school, because neither of these two people knew that there was someone behind them, so I thought it was very interesting.When I arrived, I heard the steward talk about the mill and how nice my mother was, and I was even more delighted.After arriving, I heard the man from the city say: "The girl is really playful. According to your country habits, she should be released soon." The gentleman in charge said with a smile: "The young master is happy. If you want the master to make red leaves, you can talk about it. But this mill should be managed by the uncle." Sansan took a deep breath, paused, and tightly plugged her two fingers into her ears.But I still heard the laughter of those two people, and wanted to know what else the person who seemed to be singing Xiaosheng from the city was talking about, so I still followed after a while. I couldn't understand what the little boy was saying, so I just listened to the man in charge. The man in charge said: "The young master has become the owner of the mill. If nothing else, you can have fresh eggs all day long, which is very worthwhile!" Once finished, the two laughed again. Sansan couldn't keep up this time, so he sat on the rock by the stream, his face burning, and he was very angry.Thought: "You want me to marry you, but I won't marry you! Even if the chickens in my house have twenty eggs in the world, I will not give you one egg to eat. "After sitting for a while, the cool wind blowing on her face and the murmur of the water reminded her of the scene where the man was frightened by the dog and fell into the stream at first, but she was happy again, and she looked deep into the water in the stream. , one said to himself: "Why are you so useless!If the person in charge saves you, you can call him to save you! " When we arrived at the Song family, the aunt of the Song family was talking about something that had been talked about for a while, only to hear the wife of the Song family say: "...it's strange that they recuperate from their illnesses. ...with a face as white as a maiden's, she smiles when she sees people, ... Whoever said he was a relative of the General Master, you haven't seen the respectful look that the General Master saw him.The foreigners in the Gospel Church are still afraid of him, how many wives does he want! " My mother said, "Then what's wrong with him?" "Who knows what kind of disease it is? Hengshun takes those sweet medicines all day long, and lies in bed doing nothing. It is a blessing in the city, and it is also a blessing in the countryside. Lao Geng said that he suffered from the third stage of the disease, and said It's tuberculosis, I can't tell you clearly. Who knows the names of those diseases in the city. In my opinion, people in the city like to get sick, so there are so many names of the diseases; we can't delay things because of illness, so we only have fever and diarrhea. , the disease with another name never came to the countryside.” Another woman, who had suffered from scrofula, was not happy to accept the assertive words of the Song family woman, so she said: "I am not from the city, but I can also harm the city people." "Your aunt is from the city!" "What does my aunt care about me?" "You're as elegant as a city dweller, that's why you have bruises!" Saying this, everyone laughed. When the mother and daughter went back, they asked their mother repeatedly on the road: "Who is the man with a fair face?" The mother told Sansan according to what she heard someone said before, why did a person come to the master's house in the fort? The patients in the city are so beautiful in appearance and strange in temperament.The degree to which a countryman is alienated from the people in the city is clearly seen in those descriptions, so it is naturally very funny.In normal seasons, Sansan always felt that her mother's criticisms and slightly exaggerated descriptions in her narrations were extremely stilted and very interesting, but at this time she didn't know why, but she didn't quite believe her words. After walking for a while, Sansan suddenly asked: "Mother, mother, have you seen that white-faced man in the city?" Mom said: "How did I see him? I don't go to the master's house these days." Sansan thought to herself: "You didn't see what you said for so long." Sansan knew that her mother hadn't seen it, but she had seen it a long time ago, so she kept it a secret, but she was very happy, thinking that she was the only one who knew about it, and anyone else who talked about people in the city was not very reliable. When the two reached the edge of the pool, Sansan asked again: "Mother, have you seen Mr. Master's housekeeper?" If mother said she hadn't seen her before and asked her back, then Sansan was going to tell her everything about meeting the two people in the master's family before.But my mother was thinking of another question at this time, and she didn't care about Sansan's words at all, so Sansan kept the matter from her just now, without mentioning a word. The next day Sansan's mother went to the fort, and in front of the master's house, she ran into that white-faced visitor from the city, who was with the master's manager.The steward told her that yesterday they went for a walk in front of the mill and saw Sansan, and told Sansan's mother that this guest was from the city to recuperate.When they arrived, they told the guest that this person was Aunt Yang, the owner of the mill.The man said that he was very similar to Miss San.The man also said that Sansan was very good-looking, very intelligent, and a true blessing to be a mother. After talking for a while, he said that the old woman was happy, and a vision unfolded in his heart, remembering what he thought was a little confused, and hurried back to the mill, seeing Sansan laughing foolishly. Sansan didn't know why her mother was so happy today, so she asked her where she had been and who she had met. Mother thought about what to say, and after thinking for a long time, she said, "San San, who did you see yesterday?" Sansan said, "Who did I see? No." Mother laughed, "San San, remember, don't you see two people when it's dark at night?" Sansan thought that mother knew everything, so she hurriedly said, "There are two people, one is the gentleman in charge of the boss's family, and the other is a stranger... What?" "Not much. Let me tell you, that stranger is a gentleman from the city. I saw them today, and they said they already knew you. We talked a lot. The young master looks like a girl." The mother said up to this point It's funny to think of one thing. Sansan thought her mother was laughing at her, so she turned her head to look at the stove horse on the ground, ignoring her mother. Mother said: "They asked me for eggs, you can send twenty in the second half of the day, okay?" When Sansan heard about the eggs, she looked at the jokes the two men made yesterday, and her mother knew all the jokes. She felt very upset, and said: "Who is going to send them eggs, mother, mother, I say...they are bad people!" My mother was very surprised, and asked: "Why are you a bad person? Where is it bad?" Sansan blushed and refused to agree, her mother said: "San San, what are you talking about?" After a long time, Sansan finally said: "They secretly want to find the boss to be a matchmaker and marry me to that white-faced man." My mother didn't say anything when she heard the truth, and laughed for a while.Later, seeing that Sansan was about to run away, he pulled Sansan and said: "Small retribution, Mr. Manager and the others joked, are you angry? Who dares to bully you?..." Sansan was also laughed at later. Later, she told her how people in Niangcheng were afraid of dogs, but her mother was silent, and after a long time, she said, "Sansan, you really are like a little girl, you don't understand anything." The next day, my mother asked Sansan to send the chickens to the village, but Sansan shook her head without saying anything.Since my mother agreed, she had no choice but to deliver it herself.After her mother left, Sansan played alone in the mill, and when she got tired of playing, she went to the pond to see the white ducks. After watching the ducks for a while, she waited for her mother to come back, wondering if the steward had quarreled with her mother, or It's so hot that you get a fever on the road? ... Feeling very uncomfortable, I went back to the mill. But after a while, the mother still came back.Back at the mill, with a smile on her face, she straddled her feet like a man, sat on the small stool, and told Sansan how to meet the gentleman, and how the gentleman wanted her to sit on the soft chair made of coarse cloth, shaking Swinging like a cradle.He also talked about why the people in the city said Sansan didn't study, and all the women in the city did.Speaking of... Sansan was very unhappy because she had been waiting for her mother for a long time, but now she heard what her mother said, she was inexplicable, and she didn't want to listen anymore, so she left without letting her finish speaking.She went outside and stood by the bank of the stream, looked at the clear water, and remembered what someone told her before, saying that the water flowed down from the mountains for a hundred miles, and then flowed into the city.She was thinking at this moment... I will not let anyone know when I am, I will go to the city, and I will not come back once I get there.But if she really wanted to go, she would like that mill, those fish, those ducks, and that tabby cat to go with her.At the same time, she really wanted her mother to be with her forever so that she could sleep peacefully. My mother couldn't see Sansan, so she stood in front of the mill and shouted, "Sansan, Sansan, it's hot, your face is oily, don't go far, come back!" As Sansan walked back, she said softly to herself, "Sansan is not coming back!" It was hot in the afternoon, and I was very tired. Sansan lay on the bamboo bed in the corner of the room, listening to the lazy sound of waterwheels in the distance, squinting his eyes and seeing the bun on his mother's head, like a The face of the thin man became more lively as he looked at it, and then he fell asleep dimly. She also seemed to see her mother wearing a white veil, chasing the millstone with a broom, and circling around the house, when she heard someone talking outside and her name was mentioned. All I heard was: "Where did Sansan go, why didn't he come out?" She wondered that the voice was familiar, but couldn't remember whose voice it was, so she hurried out and stood by the door to look around, only to see that it was that white-faced man again, sitting there dignifiedly fishing.After taking a closer look, I saw that the fishing rod was the smoking rod of the steward's housekeeper, with smoke coming from one end. Fishing with a tobacco rod is a very new thing, but it seems that there are many fish around him, so Sansan is very strange.Just as I was about to sue my mother, suddenly the steward also came from there. It seemed to be the scene of that day again, the sky was full of red clouds, my mother was not at home, and I forgot to put the chicken in the cage when I came back, so I hurried back to catch the chicken.Now when I meet these two people, Mr. Steward and the white-faced city man are standing on the stone pier, quietly discussing a matter.The voices of these two people were very soft, but Sansan could tell that it was about an unfavorable behavior.Because when she heard these words, she couldn't bother others to walk away, and she couldn't walk away by herself, Sansan became very anxious, and felt that her face was also like the clouds in the sky. The gentleman in charge pretended to be a serious person and said, "We are here to buy eggs, so how much do you want?" The city man also raised his hand like an opera boy, and said, "You are wrong, as much gold as you want." Because people threatened her with gold, Sansan said, "But I won't sell it to you, and I don't want your money. You can bring your big piece of gold and go to the market to buy old crow eggs." The steward then said: "Aren't you selling your business? You are reluctant to give me an egg as a favor for me. Think about it. Mom will write Geng Posts in the future, so I don't want Mr. Steward?" Then the city man said: "If you want eggs from a stingy person, it's better to forget it." Sansan said angrily, "It's fine even if I'm stingy. I feed the eggs to shrimps, and I don't sell them to anyone! We don't envy other people's gold treasures. You can talk about gold with others, and scare them." But the two of them still hadn't left, Sansan felt a little anxious, and was very willing to have a dog jump at them.Just as he was looking at it, a big white dog suddenly jumped out from the house, barking loudly, rushing past him, and immediately the two villains fell into the water. As a result, the water in the stream had many splashes and big bubbles. The steward showed his bald head above the water, while the city man's long hair was wrapped around the willow tree roots close to the water. The scene was very interesting. But after a while, there was nothing on the surface of the water. It turned out that the two men touched many fish in the water and took them all away. Sansan wanted to tell her mother, but she slipped and fell. What happened just now turned out to be a dream.Mother seemed to be cooking lunch in the kitchen, and she was driven out because she heard Sansanmeng talking.Seeing that Sansan was awake, he shook her and asked, "Sansan, Sansan, who are you arguing with?" Sansan settled down for a while, looked at her mother with a smile, and said nothing. My mother said, "Get up and have a look. I will cook taro for you today. Go and look in the mirror, and your face will turn red from sleep!" Although I saw what my mother said, I went to look in the mirror, but I still didn't say a word.Although the person wakes up early, he still remembers all the scenes in the dream. Later, he remembered what his mother said about who he was arguing with, so he asked his mother what he heard about the quarrel.Mother naturally didn't pay attention to these things, so she couldn't hear clearly, so Sansan didn't ask any more questions. Until eating, mother still said that her face was flushed from sleep, so Sansan told the old man what dreams she had earlier, and mother laughed for a long time. The second time I sent eggs, Sansan also went.It was afternoon.After eating, the two entered the big courtyard of the master's house. In the courtyard on the east side, I saw the guest from the city lying on the wicker chair under the porch, watching the pigeons flying in the sky.The manager was not at home, and Sansan recognized the man, so she was embarrassed to go forward, so she let her mother go, and stood by the moon gate to wait.When his mother came to visit, Sansan came up with another idea and asked her to stand by the door and say loudly, "Here's the eggs," so that he would know.Mother naturally followed Sansan's idea to do everything. When Sansan heard her mother say this sentence, it was the third time that she caught the attention of the white-faced city man, and she laughed anxiously. Sansan was standing outside the moon gate at this time.Peeping in through the crack of the door, I saw the white-faced man stand up and sit down again, just like in the dream.At the same time, I heard this man talking to his mother, talking about the weather and other things, and while talking, my mother turned her head and looked to the side where Sansan was.The white-faced man thought she was going to leave, so he said: "Old lady, sit down, I have a good talk with you." Mother then sat down, but at the same time, the white-faced city man also noticed that there was a person waiting by the door, "Who is there, is it your little girl?" Seeing that the situation was not good, Sansan wanted to run away.But when he turned around, he saw Mr. Steward standing behind him for an unknown how long.It is naturally difficult to look around and escape, and when he arrived, he was pulled by the sleeves by the steward and led into the small courtyard. Hearing the man asking me to sit down, hearing the man telling his mother about seeing him by the stream that day, he glanced over to the other side and leaned over to his mother without saying a word, wishing to leave immediately, but Can't figure out how to leave. After sitting for a while, a strange woman in a white robe and white hat came out. Sansan thought it was a man at first, so she didn't dare to look closely.Later, I heard the woman talking, and saw her stand beside the city man, stuffed a small tube into the mouth of the white-faced man, then grabbed the man's hand and squeezed it for a long time. Something like a pen wrote some marks on a piece of paper.The gentleman asked, "How many beans?" He was answered, "Same as yesterday." And because of another sentence, he heard the man laugh, so he knew it was a woman.At this time, it seems that the mother, on the other hand, just realized that this is a woman, and she thought it was strange when she heard "how many beans", so the two looked at each other, and both pursed their lips and laughed. Seeing the estrangement between mother and daughter, the woman in white robe also found it funny, so she walked away immediately. The white-faced city man said, "Miss Zhou, you don't have any friends here, just be friends with this little girl. Her family has a good mill, and there is a beautiful water fountain at Xitou over there." Car, there is a good weir a little ahead, you can go there to play with her as a friend, and you can catch some fish back. You can play with her in the woods over there, let this little girl sue you The name of the flower and the name of the grass." This week, Miss Zhou came over with a smile, grabbed Sansan's hand, and wanted to take her away.Sansan didn't want to leave, but when she saw her mother, her mother pretended to ask her to go, she had to leave. But when they got there, the two became acquainted immediately.The nurse asked her a lot of questions about the countryside, and while she was answering, she wanted to ask the woman some things, but she couldn't find a word to ask, and was very surprised to see the white hat laughing.I feel so strange, how to put it on the head is not afraid of falling off. Afterwards, when she heard her mother calling her name over there, Sansan didn't know what else to say goodbye to the nurse, or what else to say. She just said that her mother called me to go back, and I was leaving, so she hurried back home alone. Beside my mother, I left with my mother. The mother and daughter returned to the road and walked through a bamboo forest. Just as the sunset was shining in the bamboo forest, the bamboo forest was full of golden light. Sansan put an empty basket on her head and pretended to be a fisherman. At the same time, she thought of the woman in the white hat who took care of the sick at Grandpa's house, so she said to her mother, "Mother, do you think that woman is good?" Mother said, "Which woman?" Sansan seemed to think that this answer was her mother deliberately pretending not to understand, so she was a little unhappy and walked forward. Mom said from behind, "San San, who are you talking about?" Sansan said, "Who am I talking about? I asked you about that woman from before, but you still asked me!" "How do I know who you're talking about? You're talking about that girl, her face is red and white, are you talking about her?" Only then did Sansan stop, waiting for her mother.And thinking of his unreasonableness, he smiled quietly.Mother caught up with Sansan and pushed her back, "Sansan, that girl looks so decent, don't you think?" Sansan already thought that this person was decent-looking, but when she heard her mother say it first, she purposely said, "What's decent? He's as tall as a melon, and he's also decent!" "She has read books, don't you think she can write?" "Mother, then you want her to ask you to be your godmother tomorrow. She has studied, and mother only likes reading recently." "Hey, look at you! You're offended when I say it's good to read. But... don't you like reading?" "It's okay for men to read, but it's annoying for women to read." "If you think she hates it, then we will hate her in the future." "No, why say 'Hate her?' You don't hate her!" "Then you just hate her." "I don't hate her either!" "Then who should hate her? Sansan, tell me." "I said, no one should hate her." Mother laughed when she thought about it, and Sansan also laughed when she thought about it. So Sansan hurried forward again, because the evening was so beautiful, Sansan stopped under the maple tree in front of her soon after, and asked her mother to sit with her for a while and send the cloud over before leaving.Mother will naturally not refuse.The two of them sat on the stone slab, Sansan took off the basket on her head and straightened her hair with her hands.Then I remembered that woman with short hair like a man.Mother said: "Sansan, you wipe your face with your apron, it's sweating." Sansan didn't seem to hear her mother's words, and looked at the other side, wondering why so many people's faces were as white as camellia.Unknowingly, she told her mother about it again, and her mother said, this is why they are called city people, and they always look white without powder. Sansan said, "That's not good-looking," and her mother said, "Of course it's not good-looking." Sansan said, "The Heizi girl from the Song family is really not good-looking." Because her mother didn't understand what Sansan meant, she couldn't hold it firmly. The direction of the wind, so I didn't dare to intervene anymore, I just listened attentively and let Sansan draw conclusions by herself. Sansan's conclusion was just deliberately disagreeing with her mother's, but if her mother didn't speak, she didn't need to draw conclusions, and she also kept her mouth shut. On another day, someone picked millet from Dazhai to grind it. After the man who picked the millet left, a woman was left to take care of everything.This woman has a talkative personality, and she just came back from a wedding in a village sixty miles away. She has a lot of stories and a lot of village news, and it's only comfortable to talk to one person, so she brought them to the miller's mother. The two women said. Because she has a daughter, the mother has some curious reasons and likes to ask people where they go to have wedding wine, what decent girls they see, and what good dowries they see.She also understood that Sansan was willing to listen to these stories as usual, so she asked the person this and that, asking him to tell them everything. Sansan sat quietly by the side, listening with her ears, without saying a word.Sometimes the woman thought that girls should not listen to what she was saying, and when her voice was low, Sansan would pretend not to pay attention, and play with strings, but in fact she could still hear clearly.After hearing those strange words, Sansan couldn't help laughing, but she turned her head and smiled quietly, so as not to let the gossip woman notice. At the end, the two old ladies naturally talked about the visitors at the master's house, and they also talked about the woman in the white robe and hat. The woman said: She heard people say that this woman with a white hat and a white robe was hired with money to take care of that gentleman, and it cost several taels of silver a day.But she thought that this was not very reliable, she thought that this person must be the young mistress or aunt from the city. Sansan's mother's opinion was exactly the opposite of that person's. She thought that the woman in the white robe was definitely not Young Mistress. The woman said, "How do you know it's not Young Mistress?" Sansan's mother said, "How could it be Young Mistress?" The man said, "tell me something." Sansan's mother said, "Of course it makes sense, but I can't tell." The man said, "If you don't see it, how would you know it?" Sansan's mother said, "Why didn't I see it?..." The two fought and couldn't solve it, and they couldn't explain the reasons completely, especially Sansan's mother, who forgot to say that she had heard the words of the one who called Miss Zhou as evidence.But Sansan remembered a lot of things, but she was not happy to talk to that woman, so Sansan used other methods to confuse the two people who couldn't explain clearly.Sansan said, "Mom, don't argue about these things, wash my hair for me, I'll go to the hot water." At last, the woman picked out the rice after grinding it.Sansan, who had finished heating the water, sat on the stool and loosened her hair, and complained to her mother, "Mother, you are so strange that you like talking empty words to the old lady." "What empty words did I say?" "If someone's daughter-in-law is not a daughter-in-law, it doesn't matter to you!" ………… My mother remembered something, she pursed her mouth in a daze for a long time, and then sighed softly. A few days later, the woman with the white hat and white robe came to the mill with a little girl from the master's house to play.Played for most of the day and talked a lot.Because it was the first time for my mother to have such a rare guest, she walked in and out, just wanted to kill a fat hen to keep the guest for dinner, but she didn't dare to speak, so she was very embarrassed. Sansan took the guests to a place with a waterwheel in the lower reaches of the stream, played for a while, and picked a lot of daylily flowers by the water, and when she came back, she took the fishing rod, moved the stool, and went to the stream to accompany the woman in the white hat. fishing. The fish in the stream also seemed to know how to make fun of it. The woman got four big crucian carp in a short time with one fishing rod, which made her very happy.到后应当回去了，女人不肯拿鱼回去，母亲可不答应，一定要她拿去。并且听白帽子女人说南瓜子好吃，就又为取了一口袋的生瓜子，要同来的那个小女孩代为拿着。 再过几天，那白脸人同总爷家管事先生，也来钓了一次鱼，又拿了许多礼物回去。 再过几天那病人却同女人在一块儿来了，来时送了一些用瓶子装的糖，还送了些别的东西，使主人不知如何措置手脚。因为不敢留这两个尊贵人吃饭，所以到两人临走时，三三母亲还捉了两只活鸡，一定要他们带回去。两人都说留到这里生蛋，用不着捉去，还不行，到后说等下一次来再杀鸡，那两只鸡才被开释放下了。 自从这两个客人到来后，碾坊里有点不同过去的样子，母女两人说话，提到“城里” 的事情就渐渐多了。城里是什么样子，城里有些什么好处，两人本来全不知道。两人只从那个白脸男子、白袍女人的神气，以及平常从乡下人听来的种种，作为想象的根据，摹拟到城里的一切景况，都以为城里是那么一种样子：一座极大的用石头垒就的城，这城里就有许多好房子。每一栋好房子里面住了一个老爷同一群少爷；每一个人家都有许多成天穿了花绸衣服的女人，装扮得同新娘子一样，坐在家里，什么事也不必作。每一个人家，屋子里一定还有许多跟班同丫头，跟班的坐在大门前接客人的名片，丫头便为老爷剥莲心去燕窝毛。城里一定有很多条大街，街上全是车马。城里有洋人，脚干直直的，就在这类大街上走来走去。城里还有大衙门，许多官如包龙图一样，威风凛凛，一天审案到夜，夜了还得点了灯审案。城里还有好些铺子，卖的是各样稀奇古怪的东西。城里一定还有许多大庙小庙，庙里成天有人唱戏，成天也有人看戏。看戏的全是坐在一条板凳上，一面看戏一面剥黑瓜子。坏女人想勾引人就向人打瞟瞟眼。城门口有好些屠户，都长得胖敦敦的。城门口还有个王铁嘴，专门为人算命打卦。 这些情形自然都是实在的。这想象中的都市，象一个故事一样动人，保留在母女两人心上，却永远不使两人痛苦。他们在自己习惯生活中得到幸福，却又从幻想中得到快乐，所以若说过去的生活是很好的，那到后来可说是更好了。 但是，从另外一些记忆上，三三的妈妈却另外还想起了一些事情，因此有好几回同三三说话到城里时，却忽然又住了口不说下去。三三问到这是什么意思，母亲就笑着，仿佛意思就只是想笑一会儿，什么别的意思也没有。 三三可看得出母亲笑中有原因，但总没有方法知道这另外原因究竟是什么。或者是妈妈预备要搬到城里，或者是作梦到过城里，或者是因为三三长大了，背影子已象一个新娘子了，妈妈惊讶着，这些躲在老人家心上一角儿的事可多着呐。三三自己也常常发笑，且不让母亲知道那个理由。每次到溪边玩，听母亲喊“三三你回来吧”，三三一面走一面总轻轻的说：“三三不回来了，三三永不回来了。”为什么说不回来，不回来又到些什么地方来落脚，三三并不曾认真打量过。 有时候两人都说到前一晚上梦中到过的城里，看到大衙门大庙的情形，三三总以为母亲到的是一个城里，她自己所到又是一个城里。城里自然有许多，同寨子差不多一样，这个是三三早就想到了的。三三所到的城里，一定比母亲那个还远一点，因为母亲凡是梦到城里时，总以为同总爷家那堡子差不多，只不过大了一点，却并不很大。三三因为听到那白帽子女人说过，一个城里看护至少就有两百，所以她梦到的，就是两百个白帽子女人的城里！ 妈妈每次进寨子送鸡蛋去，总说他们问三三，要三三去玩，三三却怪母亲不为她梳头。 但有时头上辫子很好，却又说应当换干净衣服才去。一切都好了，三三却常常临时又忽然不愿意去了。母亲自然是不强着三三的。但有几次母亲有点不高兴了，三三先说不去，到后又去；去到那里，两人是都很快乐的。 人虽不去大寨，等待妈妈回来时，三三总很愿意听听说到那一面的事情。母亲一面说，一面望到三三的眼睛，这老人家懂得到三三心事。她自己以为十分懂得三三，所以有时话说得也稍多了一点，譬如关于白帽子的女人，如何照料白脸的男子那一类事，母亲说时总十分温柔，同时看三三的眼睛，也照样十分温柔，于是，这母亲，忽然又想到了远远的什么一件事，不再说下去；三三也想到了另外一件事，不必妈妈说话了，这母女就沉默了。 砦子里人有次又过碾坊来了，来时三三已出到外边往下溪水车边采金针花去了。三三回碾坊时，望到母亲同那个管事先生商量什么似的在那里谈话，管事一见到三三，就笑着什么也不说。三三望望母亲的脸，从母亲脸上颜色，她看出象有些什么事，很有点蹊跷。 那管事先生见到三三就说：“三三，我问你，怎么不到堡子里去玩，有人等你！” 三三望到自己手上那一把黄花，头也不抬说，“谁也不等我。” 管事先生说：“你的朋友等你。” “没有人是我的朋友。” “一定有人！想想看，有一个人！” “你说有就有吧。” “你今年几岁，是不是属龙的？” 三三对这个谈话觉得有点古怪，就对妈妈看着，不即作答。 管事先生却说：“你不说我也知道，你妈妈还刚刚告我，四月十七，你看对不对？” 三三心想，四月十七，五月十八你都管不着，我又不希罕你为我拜寿。但因为听说是妈妈告的，三三就奇怪，为什么母亲同别人谈这些话。她就对母亲把小小嘴唇扁了一下，怪着她不该同人说到这些，本来折的花应送给母亲，也不高兴了，就把花放在休息着的碾盘旁，跑出到溪边，拾石子打飘飘梭去了。 不到一会儿，听到母亲送那管事先生出来了，三三赶忙用背对到大路，装着望到溪对岸那一边牛打架的样子，好让管事先生走去。管事先生见三三在水边，却停顿到路上，喊三姑娘，喊了好几声，三三还故意不理会，又才听到那管事先生笑着走了。 管事先生走后，母亲说：“三三，进屋里来，我同你说话。” 三三还是装作不听到，并不回头，也不作答。因为她似乎听到那个管事先生，临走时还说，“三三你还得请我喝酒，”这喝酒意思，她是懂得到的，所以不知为什么，今天却十分不高兴这个人。同时因为这个人同母亲一定还说了许多话，所以这时对母亲也似乎不高兴了。 到了晚上，母亲因为见到三三不说话，与平时完全不同了，母亲说：“三三，怎么，是不是生谁的气？” 三三口上轻轻的说：“没有，”心里却想哭一会儿。 过两天，三三又似乎仍然同母亲讲和了，把一切事都忘掉了，可是再也不提到大寨里去玩，再也不提醒母亲送鸡蛋给人了。同时母亲那一面，似乎也因为了一件事情，不大同三三提到城里的什么，不说是应当送鸡蛋到大寨去了。 日子慢慢的过着，许多人家田堤的新稻，为了好的日头同恰当的雨水，长出的禾穗皆垂了头。有些人家的新谷已上了仓，有些人家摘着早熟的禾线，春出新米各处送人尝新了。 因为寨子里那家嫁女的好日子快到了，搭了信来接母女两人过去陪新娘子。母亲正新为三三缝了一件葱绿布围裙要三三去住两天。三三没有什么理由可以说不去，所以母女二人就带了些礼物到寨子里来了。到了那个嫁女的家里，因为一乡的风气，在女人未出阁以前，有展览妆奁的习惯，一寨子的女人都可来看，就见到了那个白帽子的女人。她因为在乡下除了照料病人就无什么事情可作，所以一个月来在乡下就成天同乡下女人玩玩，如今随了别的女人来看嫁妆，所以就碰到了这母女两人。 one 紫色梦】 见面，这白帽子女人就用城里人的规矩，怪三三母亲，问为什么多久不到总爷家里来看他们；又问三三为什么忘了她。这母女两人自然什么也不好说，只按照到一个乡下人的方法，望到略显得黄瘦了的白帽子女人笑着。后来这白帽子的女人，就告给三三妈妈，说病人的病还不什么好，城里医生来了一次，以为秋天还要换换地方，预备八月里就回城去，再要到一个顶远的有海的地方养急。因为不久就要走了，所以她自己同病人，都很想母女两人，同那个小小碾坊。 这白帽子女人又说：曾托过人带信要她们来玩的，不知为什么他们不来。又说她很想再来碾坊那小潭边钓鱼，可是因为天气热了一点，不好出门。 这白帽子女人，望到三三的新围裙，裙上还扣了朵小花，式样秀美，就说：“三三，你这个围腰真美，妈妈自己作的是不是？” 三三却因为这女人一个月以来脸晒红多了，就望到这个人的红脸好笑，笑中包含了一种纯朴的友谊。 母亲说，“我们乡下人，要什么讲究东西，只要穿得上身就好了。”因为母亲的话不大实在，三三就轻轻的接下去说，“可是改了二次。” 那白帽子女人听到这个话，向母女笑着，“老太太你真有福气，做你女儿的也真有福气。” “这算福气吗？我们乡下人哪里比得城里人好。” 因为有两个人正抬了一盒礼过去，三三追了过去想看看是什么时，白帽子女人望着三三的背影，“老太太，你三姑娘陪嫁的，一定比这家还多。” 母亲也望那一方说，“我们是穷人，姑娘嫁不出去的。” 这些话三三都听到，所以看完了那一抬礼，还不即过来。 说了一阵话，白帽子女人想邀母女两人进砦子里去看看病人，母亲看到三三有点不高兴，同时且想起是空手，乡下人照例又不好意思空手进人家大门，所以就答应过两天再去。 又过了几天，母女二人在碾坊，因为谈到新娘子敷水粉的事情，想到白帽子女人的脸，一到乡下后就晒红了许多的情形，且想起那天曾答应人家的话了，所以妈妈问三三，什么时候高兴去寨子里看“城里人”。三三先是说不高兴，到后又想了一下，去也不什么要紧，就答应母亲不拘哪一天去都行。既然不拘什么时候，那么，自然第二天就可以去了。 因为记起那白帽子女人说的话，很想来碾坊玩，故三三要母亲早上同去，好就便邀客来，到了晚上再由三三送客回去。母亲却因为想到前次送那两只鸡，客人答应了下次来吃，所以还预备早早的回来，好杀鸡款客。 one 紫色梦】 早上，母女两人就提了一篮鸡蛋，向大砦走去。过桥，过竹林，过小小山坡，道旁露水还湿湿的，金铃子象敲钟一样，叮叮的从草里发出声音来，喜鹊喳喳的叫着从头上飞过去。母亲走在三三的后面，看到三三苗条如一根笋子，拿着棍儿一面走一面打道旁的草，记起从前总爷家管事先生问过她的话，不知道究竟是些什么意思。又想到几天以前，白帽子女人说及的话，就觉得这些从三三日益长大快要发生的事，不知还有许多。 她零零碎碎就记起一些属于别人的印象来了……一顶凤冠，用珠子穿好的，搁到谁的头上？二十抬贺礼，金锁金鱼，这是谁？ ……床上撒满了花，同百果莲子枣子，这是谁？ ... 那三三是不是城里人？……若不是滑了一下，向前一窜，这梦还不知如何放肆做下去。 因为听到妈妈口上连作呸呸，三三才回过头来，“娘，你怎么，想些什么，差点儿把鸡蛋篮子也摔了。你想些什么？” “我想我老了，不能进城去看世界了。” “你难道欢喜城里吗？” “你将来一定是要到城里去的！” “怎么一定？我偏不上城里去！” “那自然好极了。” 两人又走着，三三忽然又说：“娘，娘，为什么你说我要到城里去？你怎么想起这件事？” 母亲忙分辩说，“你不去城里，我也不去城里。城里天生是为城里人预备的，我们有我们的碾坊，自然不会离开。” 不到一会儿，就望到大寨那门楼了，门前有许多大榆树和梧桐。两人进了寨门向南走，快要走到时，就望见榆树下面，有许多人站立，好象在看热闹，其中还有一些人，忙手忙脚的搬移一些东西，看情形好象是发生了什么事情，或者来了远客，或者还是别的原因。 母女两人也不什么出奇，依然慢慢的走过去。三三一面走一面说：“莫非是衙门的委员来了，娘，我在这里等你，你先过去看看吧。”妈妈随随便便答应着，心里觉得有点蹊跷，就把篮子放下要三三等着，自己赶上前去了。 这时恰巧有个妇人抱了自己孩子向北走，预备回家去，看到三三了，就问，“三三，怎么你这样早，有些什么事。”但同时却看到了三三篮里的鸡蛋了，“三三，你送谁的礼呢？” 三三说：“随便带来的。”因为不想同这人说别的话，于是低下头去，用手盘弄那个盘云的绿围腰扣子。 那妇人又说，“你妈呢？” 三三还是低着头用手向南方指着，“过那边去了。” 那女人说，“那边死了人。” “是谁死了？” “就是上个月从城中搬来在总爷家养病的少爷，只说是病，前一些日子还常常出外面玩，谁知忽然就死了。” 三三听到这个，心里一跳，心想，难道是真话吗？ 这时节，母亲从那边也知道消息了，匆匆忙忙的跑回来，心门冬冬跳着，脸儿白白的，到了三三跟前，什么话也不说，拉着三三就走，好象是告三三，又象是自言自语的说，“就死了，就死了，真不象会死！” 但三三却立定了，问，“娘，那白脸先生死了吗？” “都说是死了的。” “我们难道就回去吗？” 母亲想想，真的，难道就回去？ 因此母女两人又商量了一下，还是到过去看看，好知道究竟是些什么原因。三三且想见见那白帽子女人，找到白帽子女人，一切就明白了。但一走进大门边，望见许多人站在那里，大门却敞敞的开着，两人又象怕人家知道他们是来送礼的，不敢进去。在那里就听到许多人说到这个白脸人的一切，说到那个白帽子女人，称呼她为病人的媳妇，又说到别的，都显然证明这些人并不和这两个城里人有什么熟识。 三三脸白白的拉着妈妈的衣角，低声的说“娘，走。”两人就走了。 到了磨坊，因为有人挑了谷子来在等着碾米，母亲提着蛋篮子进去了，三三站立溪边，望到一泓碧流，心里好象掉了什么东西，极力去记忆这失去的东西的名称，却数不出。 母亲想起三三了，在里面喊着三三的名字，三三说：“娘，我在看虾米呢。” “来把鸡蛋放到坛子里去，虾米在溪里可以成天看！”因为母亲那么说着，三三只好进去了。水闸门的闸板已提起，磨盘正开始在转动，母亲各处找寻油瓶，为碾盘轴木加油，三三知道那个油瓶挂在门背后，却不做声，尽母亲各处去找。三三望着那篮子，就蹲到地下去数着那篮里的鸡蛋，数了半天，到后碾米的人，问为什么那么早拿鸡蛋到别处去，送谁，三三好象不曾听到这个话，站起身来又跑出去了。 one 九三一年八月五日至九月十七日作于青岛