Chapter 3 The Seven Savages and the Last Chinese New Year

To welcome the Spring Festival, all the men belonging to Beixi Village got drunk from home-brewed shochu. It is said that in a certain city, heavy drinking has become a forbidden thing, because there are officials there, and with officials, anything close to absurdity is completely forbidden.Where there are officials, it will gradually prosper. Morality and customs have infected everything of the Han people. The candor and generosity of the race will be wiped out. The prohibition of drinking in the Spring Festival is a trivial matter. It is not a pity. Everything will be different. !In the future, Beixi may have an official day, right?At that time, everyone will pay taxes all day long, pay public debts all day long, and run a station all day long. Children know how to be afraid of soldiers, dogs know how not to bark at people in gray clothes, and everyone in the local area knows some prohibitions. , in order to escape the law, everyone has learned to cheat, and this day will eventually come.When Beixi will become that kind of situation is unknown, but young people can probably see it on this day.Locally, people as brave as lions can fight wild boars with bare hands, and they cannot stop the evolution of the locality.Young and virtuous elders are helpless when they see good customs being invaded and destroyed by metropolitan civilization.Anyone with a bit of status knows that new habits are about to grow in people's hearts and replace the old ones. It is common to get drunk with soju during the Spring Festival!If they want to get drunk, stop caring about things, and lose their threats while drunk, then they can still get the joy that this festival should give them in their dreams.

It is still plowing, chopping firewood and planting vegetables. The new local progress only requires them to pay donations, and requires them to walk and eat under all extremely trivial and difficult-to-remember rules.When there is a civil war, it is to the benefit of the common people when there is a government that they draw men who can work in their prime to fight.Who wants this benefit?The patriarch, the township covenant or broker, the butcher who sells meat, the boss who sells wine, does he get happiness when he has a government?Those who work in fields, fish, practice witchcraft, and sell medicine and cloth, can the government make their lives a little more stable?

What they want to know is whether there will be plagues for cattle and sheep where there are officials?Bitter cattle and sheep still have plague, which proves that there is no need to care about officials.But at this time, they can still eat home-brewed wine that is not taxable, and they can still hold the custom that has been preserved in this festival, gathering all young men and women to sing and have fun, and gathering all the old people to tell various stories in the festival. With glorious history and knowledge of fishing and agriculture, men are not yet able to go out to serve as soldiers, and women are not yet able to be prostitutes, and the elderly are better able to fulfill their responsibilities.Who knows about the future?It is natural that the past is irreversible and the future cannot be resisted! "Those who are drunk, go to sleep, and those who have not passed out, pour the wine from the gourd into their stomachs." This song has recently become a sad mourning song, losing its original meaning. ?

There are too many people who get themselves drunk in this way.There is only one place where a group of men will not get drunk, and there is no wine or wine gourd in front of them, just a pile of red-hot fire.There were seven of them in total, six of them were young, and only one was about forty-five years old.A pile of firewood was burned in the big house, and seven people sat around the fire, and small sounds burst out from time to time in the fire.The older man used a long iron chopstick to stir the unburned firewood, and it fell into the center of the fire. There is not a single lamp in the room, but the raging firelight has already illuminated these seven simple faces, and has drawn irregular shadows on each person's body in all directions.

The older man stoked the fire for a while, then suddenly squeezed the iron chopsticks firmly to the ground, and said angrily: "Everything is over, this Spring Festival should be the last one. Everything is... drink , drunk, how many people still think this way! They are willing to die drunk and don’t ask about tomorrow’s affairs. They don’t want to see people in livery come here! They all understand that from now on, the men in the tribe will fall and the women will be lazy They understand many, many things better than we do. The new system will replace the old habits, and then their status and property will be shaken. . . . But drink these things! Drink!"

The whole room was silent, and after the old man finished speaking, there was only the faint sound of sparks bursting in the room. In the silence, the shouts and singing of neighbors can be heard.Many people snore on the table in a situation of one cup or two cups.Many people went home with their sons on their shoulders, dizzy from drinking.Many people were crying and singing while drunk.These people, in normal times, are completely decent people with karma and knowledge. On this day of the year, the indulgence that has always been approved by God, the only absurdity, has turned these people into another race.

Strange that it is the same everywhere, but it is the same with all the people in this room.It is extremely unreasonable for the elders not to fall to the ground drunk at this time, and for the young ones to be no more than a good woman singing and playing the flute, and just silently sitting beside a fire! The Spring Festival is the last one, even as it is said, for others, it is even more necessary to bid farewell to the only remaining good habit with intoxicating carnival.Here, seven people and seven hearts are only on a pile of fire, and when the sparks burst, they finally disappear. The silence of the people, in which the room can be described for the reader.The house is an earthen kiln house, as tall as a government office, and as spacious as a public office.The roof is so high that it is a smoke vent, and the smoke from the fire in the house rushes upwards.The three sides of the house are sealed with large earthen bricks, and one side is made of raw cowhide as a curtain, and the outside of the curtain is a large flat.In addition to four wooden beds, several pieces of rough wooden furniture and a large wooden cabinet, the walls are full of military weapons and animal skins.A freshly peeled tiger skin is hung in the middle of the wall, and the tiger's head is dragged to the ground when it reaches the end of the roof.There are also pheasants and rabbits, a large pile, hanging from the big vine hook hanging from the roof.Judging from all the furnishings, this family is undoubtedly a hunter.

The owner of the earthen house is the older one beside the fire.He hunts for a living, and the tiger skin on the wall was shot to death by himself with a shotgun last month.The remaining six people are all apprentices of this person.Apprentices came from wealthy families of various ethnic groups and learned how to set traps and all kinds of boxing and medicine. This learned person spent his prime of life as a master tirelessly.He led these young people up the mountain every day, and when he was at home, he gathered the young people together to talk about all useful knowledge.He set an example in all things, and patiently toiled, so that the young people, too, could train their dispositions to be extremely useful.He does not forbid young people to drink and sing, but he teaches young people to make every effort to make progress. Wine and women can only be approached in moderation.As for the six disciples?Bravery and honesty, original talent, honed by the master's virtues, cultivated by knowledge and wisdom, everything that a perfect person should have, is not lacking in any apprentice.They regard the elder as their father and their companions as their brothers, obeying all restrictions, living in harmony without suspicion, and living in joy every day.They go up the mountain to hunt, and come down the mountain to make fair deals with people.They traded the birds and beasts on the mountain for everything they needed: bullets, gunpowder, arrows, and medicinal wine, all of which were exchanged for the birds and beasts they got.When they are lucky, they can also exchange for rings and woolen hats shipped from afar.They work and eat, and live freely in the world without all suffering.They hunted birds and beasts with bullets, and led women to the mountains with singing.

This person belongs to another world, and because he heard that there was an official establishment nearby, he remembered that this situation would affect Beixi in the near future, so these young people should wear new clothes to welcome the Spring Festival. All pheasants, fur rabbits, mountain mushrooms, fruit cats, etc. were sent to the homes of women whom everyone knew well, and they did not go.This master should have gone to the temple altar to drink with the elders until he was drunk, so he didn't go. The six young people obeyed the master's order, and did not leave the door at night, and gathered around the fire to listen to the master's chat.When the master talked about the change of place, he talked a lot about the situation in other places that he knew because of the law. The indignation in the master's heart soon turned into the indignation of several young people.The young people said nothing, but everyone had a kind of indifference to the law at this time.

At this point, the older man spoke again. He said, "What use is it that we need an officer and a team of soldiers here? What do we want them to protect? When tigers come or locusts come, officials can't control them. The place is on fire. , or if the water rises, officials cannot be responsible. We have no debtors here, but where there are officials, there are debtors. We don’t know that cheating can make a living here, and where there are officials, everyone can rely on it. I have learned how to cheat people to live. We all have to work for young men and women here. There are government places, which is completely different. We don’t have beggars and thieves here. There are government places, which are completely opposite. They use the protection of civilians to impose taxes on us. gone."

Officials are useless things, and everyone agrees on this. In the end, they agreed that if someone from Beixi came to set up an official, they would unanimously deny this absurd reform.They are willing to live freely and equally by themselves, and would rather make the ruler an ignorant god than an official.Because God is always just, officials are not always reliable.Moreover, what they mean is that after there are officials in the local area, everything becomes troublesome.They feel that life is not lived for many troubles, so only the race that likes troubles should have the need to establish a government. As for the people of Beixi, they are generally afraid of troubles and don't need this thing! For the inevitable bad luck and the invasion of powerful forces, several young people overwhelmed themselves and put the responsibility of resistance on their shoulders.They swore together that day that they would shed the last drop of blood on this resistance.They talked well, and it was already midnight, and they each fell asleep. If someone can investigate the various places in Beixi, they can understand that the amount of alcohol consumed in this Spring Festival celebration is really special, more than any other Spring Festival celebration in the past.New Year's Eve soon. Soon spring came. In spring, it was only February, the hillsides were all green, the trees sprouted buds, the birds hatched their eggs, the new rain was over, and then the warm sun came, and it was clear for many days, and the mountains and fields were full of people doing things and singing at the same time people.In this season, someone from the border county was sent to investigate the establishment of officials.There were two people who came. After meeting the local parties, the leaders of the parties went to check everywhere.The housewives with their children to keep warm in the sun gathered together to talk about it.The visitor asked countless questions, measured the land of the community, recorded the well stove, watched it for two days, and then left. The second time there were five people, the situation was a little different: the last time was a visit, this time it was a formal arrangement.Special attention was paid to women. Every family went to investigate women. Everyone was frightened and didn't know how to deal with it. One of the hunter's apprentices knew about it and told the master.The master gathered six young people together to discuss the first step of opposition. The old man said, "Things happened as we expected. The day when our whole village will be destroyed has come. This responsibility is our responsibility. What should we do? The young people can put forward their own opinions for discussion. We will never admit it." To be managed by officials." The first said, "Let's get rid of him." The second said, "We drive these people away." The third, fourth, fifth and sixth opinions are all like this.Now that it's here, don't, it seems that the only way is to drive it away.They can't be driven away, if force or blood is needed, they will not hesitate to sacrifice for this matter.Pure consciousness, no matter who you ask, doesn't need officials. Since you don't want this thing at all, this thing is still strong, and the unreasonableness should be on the other side. In the minds of these young and simple minds, the power of officials is only slightly more powerful than tigers and leopards at this time, and they can still be driven away as long as they are united.Others are unknown, but as for these seven people, it is useless to have any doubts, they are in the same mind. However, the appointment of officials is still going on.All investigations and arrangements will not be stopped because of these seven people.The seven people expressly resisted, deliberately hindered the investigators from proceeding, did not allow villagers to lead the way, and did not allow anyone to communicate with the investigators. All resistance was futile, and at the end of March, the tax bureau and government offices were all arranged.All the plans of the seven people failed, and they moved to the cave together.As usual, those who live in caves can be regarded as savages, do not pay food taxes, do not issue public debts, and are not under the jurisdiction of the land protection. They did this. Local officials are busy collecting taxes and other eating and drinking matters, so the behavior of these savages will not attract the attention of these state officials.Although some people know that they are not yet naturalized, the king's law is not as good as temples and caves as a rule, and even if they live in caves, they don't deliberately deny the king's law, of course they go as far as they can. Since the few of them moved to the cave, their life is still hunting.Everything that was hunted was not sold in the market, only those who wanted game, took oil, salt, cloth, clothes and tobacco in exchange.They made deals with everyone in front of the cave fairly, and entertained the people who came here with home-brewed shochu.They donated the extra animal skins to the most brave and beautiful men in the whole village, and hunted white rabbits for the most beautiful women in the whole village, and skinned them to make sleeve cages for these women. All young lovers can come here to spend the night, because there are also several small caves, which after some tidying up, are specially prepared by this savage for young lovers. In the cave, there are not only dry straw and leather mattresses, but also fresh cold water and simmered yams smelling like roses.The men and women who came to spend the night in these caves enjoyed themselves for a while with no one disturbing them, then hugged them tightly and slept comfortably until dawn.Due to other reasons, it is not uncommon for the master to take care of him and leave without saying thanks. As for themselves, needless to say, they are not very leisurely and lonely, because the meaning of living in this cave is not for practicing.During the day, they either sit in the cave and sharpen their knives to practice martial arts, or plant vegetables and water beside the cave, or go out to sing in the valley of Shanpotou Bay.One of their duties is to grab the hearts of women with some wonderful and loud songs, and lure those young women who only know how to sing for fun into the cave. Do something happy and refreshing, and then accompany the woman to transfer and send the woman down the mountain.Although they are convenient, they know how to be temperate, and there will be no harm to food or disease. The underwear and suede pockets worn by these young people are made by the needlework of these passionate women.They give women nothing more than mountain flowers and fruits, and small mountain raccoon skins.Before the few of them go hunting, they can also make an appointment together, and if they get a goat, they will give it to the woman they met recently, and if they get a wild dog, they will be the property of that woman.Apart from kissing, their mouths sing songs praising lust and nature, unlike other Chinese people who also use it to tell lies.Each of them does his due work to the best of his ability, not understanding that the idleness of the rest of the world is a reason for happiness.They regard each day as a newborn day, so apart from sitting in the hole, the rest of the people have to adjust very well physically and emotionally, and prepare to accept this day that they don't know. of happiness and disaster.They are not superstitious about fate, but they are not stubborn about failures.For example, they may not be able to meet a small pheasant in the middle of a day, and they will still return to the cave at that time, and will not stick to it.Another example is when singing fails, no matter who they are, they know that this matter is hopeless, but they never think of using force and property to force a woman to fall in love with her. Because everything is average and fair, their jealousy is also very weak, almost invisible. The master, in addition to teaching these young people martial arts and knowledge of fishing and hunting, also taught these young people the magic weapon for conquering women.In order to make lovers fall in love and feel close to the satisfaction in the future, he tells them what songs to sing under what circumstances, and the technique of adjusting their voices.He also told them how to train his mistress to make women happy.He also told them how to take care of themselves in order to become a man who is loyal to love.He taught them how to sing like a master who taught poetry, how to deal with women like an instructor who taught gymnastics tactics, and finally warned them not to deceive women's love and other people's trust by improper means like an oracle. The master leads by example in everything, so every morning he wakes up early.He must be the first to fight a tiger.When catching a snake, he chooses the big one.Swimming He was the first to swim across the river.Climbing a tree is extremely difficult for him.Even for women, he does not lose his courage and enthusiasm because of his age!Whenever a woman orders a few young men to do it, and a woman who is close to him asks him to do it, she will never deliberately avoid it. The leader of mankind, such a leader is really worthy of admiration! The days passed day by day, and they didn't think there was any disadvantage in being a savage.As for the obvious advantage, they never spend a penny on those who sit back and enjoy themselves.They don't tease him, they don't provoke him, they still respect this kind of classy person who sits in the big tile house all day long to hear cases, fine him, and spank his ass. They understand the dignity of the country, but they don't need to be proud of anyone in their lives, they don't need to judge, and they don't need others to be imprisoned and beaten. Therefore, they don't need to be managed by officials, and they can take care of themselves and survive for a lifetime. They survived happily. As for the rest of Beixi? Beixi changed its division, all the places are the land of the emperor, and all the people are the subjects of the emperor. It is true that it will soon be different from before.Getting drunk during the Spring Festival is officially banned, and other collectives have also banned it.Those who usually believe in heaven are now ordered to believe in the king, because the retribution of heaven is unreliable, but the king brought countless officials and soldiers to sit in the extremely tall and luxurious imperial city, and anyone who wants to drink can drink lightly With a soft snort, someone can be gutted and heartbroken immediately, so it doesn't matter if you don't believe in the king. Another difference is that this place gradually looks like other places, and soon there will be people who can eat without working.There is another great gentleman who deceives people by telling lies.Another great man who gained fame and fortune by cunning and killing people.There are also population trading markets and large-scale government opium dens.The place is indeed booming very fast, and the second year is almost completely different from Beixi in the first year. In the blink of an eye the next year, the Spring Festival came again, and absurd indulging picnics were not allowed, and anyone who disobeyed the state's laws and regulations would be severely punished, and there would be no mercy.On the day of welcoming the Spring Festival, anyone who is nostalgic for the old custom and feels that it is necessary to think about it once, everyone thinks of the savage in the cave.The people who have returned have the obligation to abide by the laws and regulations, but if they go to the cave, they will no longer be bound.So countless people went to the cave for a meeting, the number of people was nearly two hundred. After arriving there, the host saw so many people, so he took the civets, wild boars, white cotton, pheasants, etc. he had hunted. Smoked, roasted, stewed and fried into six pots of delicacies, young people are required to go to another cellar to carry out four or five cylinders of old shochu, divide the people into several groups, and everyone uses wooden bowls and melon ladles to scoop up the wine and drink, and grabs the vegetables with their hands. eat.Those who are polite are worthy of starvation, and those who are brave are heroes. The crowd sang while drinking, and those who were drunk covered their heads with wooden bowls, and those who said that they were emperors put a hat on their heads, and the hat was made of gold. The head is full of wooden bowls and gourds, even a piece of pig teeth and bones, and the hands are holding goat leg bones, pheasant feet and other things, as utensils for officials and emperors, laughing and jumping around, not knowing what will happen tomorrow Something happened. The next day was fine. On the third day, the people in Beixi were still in their dreams. There were seventy soldiers with guns and knives, dispatched by a commanding officer with a command knife, and surrounded the Savage Cave.Ten soldiers were used to serve a savage, so seven corpses were left in the cave, and the seven heads were brought back to Beixi and hung on the big tree in front of the tax gate.The announcement was an attempt to overthrow the government, and he had a rebellious heart, so he was killed. Anyone who turned himself in to drink would be punished with a fine. People in Beixi soon forgot this story because the place has improved. Made in Shanghai in March 1929