Chapter 3 strange places and people

"I like the river beach in Chenzhou. No matter whether the water falls or rises, there is always a time to walk on the river beach every day. Although there are so many boats and boats in that place, from the eyes of an expert, there will be no two identical Boats. I especially like those high-bellied and head-raised 'Guangbozi' that carry goods from the Chenxi area. They are always slanted and lonely in the yellow mud on the river beach. Little sailors carry pumpkins, eggplants, or The bundles of raw hemp, the black shiny round urn. On the dark brown stern of the ship, there are often women's faded vermilion trousers and jackets, and the background is yellow or light blue. Everything is clear. So harmonious, so sad.

"Beauty is always worrying about people. At that time, I might be very happy, but I used the word worrying. But in fact, every time I see this kind of scene, I must watch it silently for a long time. I want someone to say a word to me, I want one People I know best, come to discuss this situation with me..." ("Congwen Autobiography. Women's Difficulties") "The boat is still about 30 miles away from Chenzhou, and the hills on both sides of the bank are already small, and they are no longer standing on the wall. Gradually It has become a pile of black and light green mounds, the mountain is more peaceful, and the river is much gentler. There are more and more people on both sides of the bank, and green bamboo forests can be seen everywhere. There is no snow on the top of the mountain. Although the sun is not yet out, the weather is dry and cold, but the sky is bright and clear..." After the boat reached the long beach, it arrived at a small water village, and there were the sounds of hens laying eggs, and the sound of someone shouting across the river.The two mountains are not high but green and welcoming.Many small boats waiting to be repaired lie on the dry river beach.Someone was beating on the side of a boat, inserting hemp heads and tung oil lime into the seams of the boat.A small white wooden boat was also placed on the raft, slipping in Pingtan.More than a dozen sailors on the raft squatted in a corner of the raft and smoked.Suddenly there was the sound of firecrackers, suona, and gongs in the village. It turned out that the villagers were picking up their daughter-in-law and sending the bride's sedan chair out.With the sound of the gong, the ship repairers, rowers, and rafts all stopped their work and looked to the place where the gong sounded—what a beautiful picture, what a poem! ..."At about 2 o'clock in the afternoon, the small boat I was in had already carried the main beach water of the Chenhe River from Taoyuan to Yuanling, and arrived at a long and calm lake. Green, with clumps of bamboo growing by the water below the mountain, the landscape is as elegant and bright as the West Lake, but there is still a little bit of cleanness that the West Lake lacks. The boat is only ten miles away from Chenzhou. After crossing the mountain mouth, you can see the long flags fluttering on the tax customs.*

"I sat in the thin sunlight on the back hatch, and settled all my old accounts with the river and this place. It turned out that I had been away from this place for sixteen years. Thinking of the pile of days that came and went, Thinking of all the vicissitudes of life in these days, I sighed softly several times..." Looking at the flowing water, I seemed to have a sudden understanding of life in my heart, and at the same time, it seemed that I had gained something new from this river. Got a little wisdom.Indeed, the river water used to give me 'knowledge', but now it gives me 'wisdom'.The faint afternoon sun on the top of the mountain moved me, and the various colored round stones like chess pieces at the bottom of the water also moved me.There seems to be no dross in my heart, illuminated by transparent candles, I love everything in front of me, the boat puller and the small boats, and I love everything very warmly.My emotions have long been integrated into all the sights and sounds of this second hometown.I seem to be very small and humble, and I seem to be reaching out to me for all living and non-living things, and I said softly with a smile: "I am here, yes, I am still here as before. We are all the same You, Xiaohe Street, full of cow dung and tung oil smell,...It is very gratifying that we still know each other, because we used to be too familiar'." ("Xiangxing Sanji. 19 "January 18, 1934") was at this place, on a certain day in December 1937, at about two o'clock in the afternoon, there were three young men in college uniforms, with joy and surprise on their tired faces. At the bus station on the other side of the Changhe River in the county seat, walk towards the river wharf, ready to transition into the city.When they reached the high place beside the river, several people couldn't help shouting at the same time: "Ah! What a piece of water!"

Several people were originally students of the Central Political School. Because the school was ordered to move to Zhijiang County in the upper reaches of the Yuanshui River, some students took buses from Changsha, and some students went up from Changde by boat, and gathered after arriving in Yuanling. Take a bus to Zhijiang Main School.A few students happened to take a bus to Yuanling. When they were in Changsha, they read a small book that was almost like a guide, and they were full of a strange feeling for this place.Moreover, in Wuhan and Changsha, I have also heard many superstitious legends about Xiangxi, so when people come to this place, they always look at everything with different eyes.The purpose of entering the city is to prepare for sightseeing and to be ready to accept everything that you are not used to.A few people crossed the ferry, and not long after, they squeezed into the city from a wet pier among some rough legs and large buckets, and mixed with the crowd on the street.The streets are bustling with people coming and going from day to day, and there are soldiers, civil servants, boat owners, students, cooks and housewives, and country folks from all over the four townships who sell rice and charcoal from the city ten or twenty miles away. A small businessman who ran out of town for new year's goods.In the torrent of people, you can also see foreign nuns in twos and threes wearing gray sermon robes with black and white borders. When they walk, their necks are as straight as big gray geese.There are also Chinese nuns wearing round hats, their faces are red from the cold, and they are kind-hearted. Most of them carry small baskets and small jars, selling products from the nunnery, honey and eggs, hot and sour peppers and fermented bean curd.When selling cotton yarn, I also bring a bamboo basket and sell it together.In the quiet life of being devoid of love, Jiande still knows to take the energy storage out of the nunnery, go to the bustling market, and exchange some oil, salt or shoe upper cloth from ordinary transactions.

On the streets, the burdens are called dumpling bait, rice noodles or other hot and cold food are sold, and the burdens are parked under the eaves of others, waiting for customers.At that time, the business must be busy; when the business is cold, they will beat the small clappers and gongs, humming and singing in their mouths, and occasionally shake the lid of the pot on purpose, and use a small copper spoon to scoop up a couple of cups in the hot soup. Next, attract the attention of passers-by and add a little noise to the market. There are many large local merchants in the Jiangxi Gang, and the shop of Huasha brand is often full of people standing beside a rectangular counter. When selecting cloth, only the sound of tearing cloth, scissors and cloth, and the sound of counting money are heard.The counter faces the inside of the room, and the entrance extends to about three feet. Although the goods are piled up, there is still a large hall as usual.On the large armchair in front of the hall, occasionally sat a fat and white old lady in her sixties or seventies. She was dressed in the old style thirty years ago, wearing a satin and large woolen wind jacket with large sleeves and rolled edges, and a string of gold-plated jade inlaid on the skirt. Silver and three things.With aurora combed hair, he wears a black satin hat with a pearl or emerald jade in the middle of the hat.A pair of emerald jade bracelets are worn on the wrist, and two or three emerald rings inlaid with gold are put on the fingers with long nails.With straight feet, Zongzi stepped on a large Beijing-style cupronickel carved oven, holding a silver gooseneck-shaped hookah in his hand, smoking leisurely while admiring the street scene and seeing the various people in the shop taking care of business.The little girl under ten years old, whose name was either Lotus or Guixiang, stood next to the boss lady and poured tea with cigarettes as usual.Occasionally, I found a country woman among the people on the street, carrying a basket and basket. She knew that she was selling winter mushrooms, kudzu powder and other mountain products, so she asked the little girl to call her into the hall, just like Grandma Jia received Mrs. Liu in the Grand View Garden. He was so airy that he sat still, but let the little girl choose the goods in front of him and negotiate the price.

When the deal is made, maybe the little girl will be asked to fetch a few white rice cakes and give them to the children around the country woman.The country woman can also ask the old lady for a headache ointment and a few packs of Sha medicine.In short, according to the custom, there is also a flow of friendship in a small transaction, which is completely different from ordinary business. All kinds of shops have customers coming in and out, all kinds of goods are piled up like mountains, and the sailboats carrying new goods from the river are constantly unloading.Everything shows that this place is stimulated by the war, the population migrates inward, the material flows, and after the demand increases, the absorption and dispersion of goods are all carried out in an indescribable haste. For this prosperity, changes are taking place rapidly.To meet the needs of the war, general citizen training has been carried out one by one, and more and more shopkeepers are recruited by lottery for training, and some shops use "female shop assistants" to answer the door.Monks, nuns, Taoist priests, and women from ordinary families have all started trial training in accordance with the provincial order.This kind of trainee team can be found every morning and evening in the large empty flats outside the city and in the open space of the bus station across the river, and there are often parades of this kind of team on the streets.Calculated from the time, the capital Nanjing fell: it has been ×× days.

At that time, there was a sudden commotion on the street. The reason was that a small procession was crossing the street. The leader was a tall and strong woman, who was carrying a white flag six feet square. To my surprise, it turned out that it was the first parade after the parade in Da Cao Ping, the teacher-administered area outside the North Gate, where the local local prostitutes were conducting ambulance training.The little whores nicknamed "Guanyin" or "Mortar" all participated in blue cloth clothes according to the legal format.Followed by a large group of children, tracking the team, listening to them shouting slogans and singing.Those who watch the excitement often use a special interest to point out acquaintances in the team.After the parade was over, the pedestrians on the side of the road resumed their original disturbing activities, and they all took this kind of parade and the future of war as topics.According to the new policy held in the province, almost all citizens have to participate in training to prepare for the defense when the war turns to the Dongting Lake area.Although the training camp is very new, there are many inconveniences for people, especially when it is introduced to nuns and prostitutes without consideration.When carrying out this work, that is, those who preside over it, cannot help but feel an interest other than solemnity.But since all kinds of problems are active in a general enthusiasm, so in this place, it didn't take long to see a hint of all-out war, and life improved and adapted faster than in the past twenty years.There are many newcomers from other provinces on the street. Although most of them are from Nanjing and Wuhan, they are well-informed.Seeing this kind of parade must still be full of novel impressions.If he is a member of the government, he will know the local conscription situation and see this kind of preparation for a long-term war on the one hand, and he will have more enthusiasm and hope for the "Hunan style".In particular, if we compare this province with Anhui and Hubei, which are close to the war zone, we can see this Hunan spirit in the use of personnel. good impression.

Those few political school students, when they learned from the merchants that they had just died in the ranks of prostitutes, their personal experience was still a new thing.So one of the twenty-three-year-old youths took a small book with a gray cloth cover and hot silver in his hand, patted it lightly, and said to his companion with a smile: "Brother, not bad! We really came to Xiangxi." Yes. Let us prove the things mentioned in this book one by one. This is much more interesting than playing in Peach Blossom Land. This is really Peach Blossom Land! Look, how many sailors are rowing in this street, we want to see How do they have sex with women in Diaojiaolou, there are plenty of opportunities. If you rest for two more days, maybe you can meet some strange people."

Several companions laughed, and the other suddenly pointed to two countrymen who stopped in front of the small grocery store: "Hey, look at those two people!" Everyone looked together, and they turned out to be a couple of countrymen, young couples. The woman's face was brown with healthy red, her eyebrows were handsome, her nose was perfect, her forehead was smooth, her chin was pointed, and she was wearing a light blue jacket. She put on a green and purple cloth apron with a small black flower buttoned on it, and tied the apron behind her back with a thick silver chain with fingertips, and two small whitebait bells hung from one end of the silver chain.Carrying a thin bamboo cage, there were two little white rabbits inside, with red eyes and big ears that kept shaking.The man is thin and long, heroic and hearty, with a three-point wildness, which is usually called "mountain people's breath".Carrying a few pieces of spotted animal skins and a roll of big snake skins on their shoulders, they are selling them to merchants.A few young students have been tempted by a small book in their hands for half a month, and have already entered a completely strange society, and in a completely strange state, so they couldn't help themselves, and they moved to the two of them with curiosity. go.It wasn't until the two "mountain people" noticed that they were a little defensive, so they asked about the price of the snake skin under an excuse.Because of the language gap, they couldn't express each other's ideas, so they finally walked away.A student who looked like a philosopher wearing myopia glasses said in praise: "This is the character, it is life! Just think about how far life is from us!

Just like the lynx skin on his shoulders, it is a creature that grew completely in another dimension, a native hero, China's "Tarzan of the Apes"! " Several students couldn't help laughing when they heard this lyrical praise.It just so happened that four students from our team came to meet us, so everyone took what they saw and heard as a topic of conversation, chatting and laughing while walking away. Suddenly, a large group of people surrounded a shop a little ahead, as if arguing.It turned out to be a political school student who was arguing with people in the store, and another middle-aged man with the air of a thin, dirty little hooligan joined in too, hoarse and yelling.The reason for the dispute is still the language barrier.This thin and idle guy originally joined to solve problems, and there were too many people talking about it, but he had fallen into a position of needing others to solve problems without knowing it.I only heard this person say to the northern student in an impure northern dialect: "No, no, students should be reasonable. You can't beat people casually in this place! You say you are a student of the chairman, what is that! China There are tens of thousands of his students, you can’t use this to persuade people. If you have money, he has the goods, and if he doesn’t sell them, even the chairman himself can’t force them to buy.”

"You shouldn't scold people!" "What are you scolding? Tell me, you study politics. Is there a subject of 'beating people' in political science? Who taught it? Zhang Xiruo? Qian Duansheng?" The student saw such a wretched person, with a nosy air, and lectured him in front of everyone, and with a hint of ridicule, which caused the people around him to burst into laughter. He was so angry that he wanted to stretch out his hand and throw the talker to the ground , Stretching out his hand, he said: "Who are you, I'm going to beat you, what do you do to me!" Several students were crowding together at this time, thinking they had caught a thief, they also shouted to cheer: "Hit, hit, just hit!" Seeing that there are many people and many hands, the thin and small man is a little anxious because he doesn't want to suffer in front of him.Staring at a pair of small and misty eyes, he went to search for the speaker in the crowd, as if he wanted to see and see, recognize the other person, and was ready to learn.And as if he was really about to fight, he hurriedly took off his dirty and tattered blue woolen coat, put it on the counter, rolled up the sleeves of his short coat, raised his thin fist, and danced towards the void. "Okay, do you guys want to fight? I'm afraid you'll be weird, it's unreasonable. Give it a try and come one by one." The student who looked like a philosopher was looking at the little book in his hand and threw it over his head. At this moment, a young man who looked like a middle-ranking officer happened to pass by. It was "Mr. Big" who had a dispute with someone, so he withheld the student's book, and hurriedly stopped and said, "Comrade, I can't fight, I have something to say. What's the matter? This place is not the front, why is there no reason?" You must use force, have courage, go forward, and make trouble with us." Seeing that an active military officer was involved in the dispute, the student looked calm and composed, thinking he could get help.So he said: "This thing is annoying. When we buy something, he comes to interrupt and scold people, trying to blackmail people." "What did he scold you for? A mongrel dog, isn't it? Or... You said, he blackmailed you? What did he blackmail you, tell me." The student couldn't answer, and the rest of the students didn't have time to say anything, so the officer turned around and saluted respectfully, "Mister, what's the matter? Who dares to hit you!Breaking ground on the tiger's head, is it okay? "As a result, the spectators were stunned, and the students were even more stunned. Everyone's mood suddenly changed, because it was unexpected that the officer knew the little old man very well, and treated him very respectfully and affectionately. The wretched little old man saw that it was the head of the regiment stationed in the local area who came to rescue him, so he yelled in local dialect: "Okay, the brother of the regiment leader will come to comment. These foreign students are doing business with Boss Wang, and they quarreled. I passed by and saw him, kindly advised him not to make trouble, and said something clearly. I didn't think they would beat me up. I thought there were too many people, and there was a "central" behind him, relying on power to overwhelm others, and the sky was not afraid. I’m not afraid of the earth, I’m not afraid of anything. Is this possible?” (He then appointed the student who beat him with a book) “I know you are all from the political school. I also know how many people there are. You like to fight, okay, come to our place There are not many people to accompany you? I will go with you to meet the captain who is in charge of you, the head of education. We have made an agreement, and then we will pick out the contestants. Everyone will go to the river beach outside the city to have a good time. One against one, one hundred against one One hundred, as many as you have." After talking, I couldn't help laughing.Someone in the audience laughed too. The officer saw that the matter was very small, looked at the trivial matter and turned it into nothing, so he explained with a smile: "Mr. Big, who dares to beat you? Is it still true? What am I talking about? It turns out that the big thing about Douzi is out of my mind. homicide." Then he turned to the student and said, "Comrade, it's a small matter, don't make trouble. When you first came to our small place, you didn't understand the words, and you misunderstood, just explain it clearly, don't be like this. You say he scolded you." You, he blackmailed you, this is a joke. He will blackmail you students? This is our big gentleman, a well-known land father in the local area, who will swear at people casually? You will suffer if you are reasonable. Everyone is so brave, stay here tomorrow to meet the Japanese devils. We still have a long time to fight. Mr. Big, don’t you think so?” The skinny old man sneezed, put on the ragged coat, and said with a smile: "No! It's good to come to our Xiangxi to practice first. You are not you little bitches in Youjiaxiang, you still need to mobilize,' Avalokitesvara's 'mortars' are all parading! National Chengchi University studied politics, where did you learn it? Don't be shy!" In a word, all the spectators and those fighting were laughing. There was someone who knew Mr. Da next to him, and seeing that the matter would not expand, he interjected and said, "Okay, Mr. Da, don't be angry, you are busy with work all day, go do your work. Don't worry about these young people.If you have eyes but don't know Mount Tai, forget it. " "This is my business. The ancients said: When the road is injustice, draw your sword to help. This is my temper." The officer smiled and said, "What kind of knife should you draw? A pedicure knife or a paper knife? Grandpa, come on, you just want to go to the Kanto to be a bodyguard. Don't compete in martial arts. Let's go and have a drink in our regiment. There is a good Moutai !” At that time, I was still holding the small book I snatched from the student, and I glanced at the cover casually, and there were four silver characters stamped on the gray cloth cover, "Xiangxing Sanji".I thought to myself, "Okay, it's a coincidence that bricks are used to build a brick kiln." Smiling, he handed the book back to the student, "Comrade, return this to you. Do you read this? The book is for reading, not for beating people!" Without saying anything else, he dragged Mr. Da away. The idlers watching the excitement dispersed while chatting and laughing.The original Boss Wang seemed not to remember a local businessman's motto until this time: "Business cannot be done with righteousness." He took two cups and a teapot and put them on the counter to invite some students to drink tea.Using the tone of a businessman, he made friends with a few students. "Comrade, please drink tea! You have worked hard since you came from Nanjing. You don't know, we are a good man! You can't be judged by appearance, and the sea can't be measured. There is a lot of sun. I live in a big house in Lingguan Lane in the city. When you get off the car, you can see the house when you look up at the pier opposite the river. There are many flowers and trees in the two large yards! Don’t look at his narrow eyes. But he is very good at painting portraits, they are exactly the same! He has two brothers, one is teaching at the Northern University, and the other is leading the soldiers in the front line to fight. He is kind and has a quick temper. When he sees people quarreling, he will join in reasoning, and he can't hear clearly. , I can’t explain clearly. We don’t understand what we are saying, and it will be even worse when he comes to explain it. Don’t worry, comrades. There is a division fighting on the front line!" The students still half understood what the businessman said, but judging from their demeanor, they had finally achieved "peace" and it was not a big disgrace, so they naturally stopped asking what was going on and dispersed. Several people were excited for a while, even though they were shopping, they still kept the impression of a good thing "Hanako" in their minds, and they would definitely know each other when they met.But even in my dreams, I would never have imagined that I used it as a guide for Xiangxi, and I got a lot of happiness on the road. The little book that I wanted to use as a weapon was related to this Huazi-looking person in front of me.There are many problems in the book, if you want to prove them, you can only get satisfactory results by asking this little old man.As the saying goes, fate is unlucky, so you can't help but miss it in person. Mr. Da got an acquaintance with the officer to get out of the siege and walked together. The officer smiled and said as he walked: "Old man, why are you competing with that little student? You are too combative." , this is impossible!" "Hey, these students are really unreasonable. They are trying to beat people with the identity of the 'central government'. Seeing me participating, they want to beat up Lu Zhonglian too. Think about it, would I be afraid of them with the surname Shen? ? But there are too many people and too many hands. If you come to a dog to attack the sheep, if you really do it, I'm afraid I will be a little bit parry. Fortunately, you are here, the leader, and rescued him." "Do you know that you were almost hit by some magic weapon?" "It goes without saying that oranges and sugarcane are always produced in western Hunan and sold by the river." "Ha, it's not by the river, it's from your home——I saw that student was raising his hand, trying to knock a magic weapon on your head. Where can I find a wise man in the world? How dangerous! I snatched it right away. I took a good look at it, and it turned out to be the masterpiece of your second husband. What kind of record is there in Xiangxi? Injured, it's really good news in the newspaper, embarrassing to the political school!" "Really? Why didn't you tell me? I know this, but I have to confiscate that magic weapon, and I will be a witness in front of you, and I can't do anything about it." Even though he said that, the good man who is nosy, his heart changed. A thought, "If we don't know each other, maybe a few people are still hanging out on the street, I should invite them to have a cup of tea at home, and do a good job!" So Shan didn't know how to slip away from the officer and walked away.After a while, he was alone in the crowd of people on the street again.