Tian Ye is over 60 years old, has no children, no daughters, and is a widow, born as a poor peasant for more than six generations.

In order to take care of him, the production team made him a cowherd in the team, and the main task was to take care of the five ploughing cattle on the team.

In the spring and summer when the grass is full of grass, every afternoon, the cowherd Tian Ye will always drive the cattle to the mountain opposite the new river, where the pasture of the whole brigade and all the production teams are common.

The buffalo that ploughed the fields in the Jianghuai hilly area always wore a hole in the nostrils and then tied it with hemp rope.

Therefore, when grazing, the average small herd cow can only take care of two old cows at most.

And Tian Ye alone has to take care of five heads at the same time, and can take care of the obedience and fat body, the trick is not more than ten years of cattle herding experience, it is impossible to learn.

Due to his long-term dealings with old cows, Tian Ye's body always exudes a strange smell of straw, grass, and cow dung.

Coupled with the pockmarked smallpox on his face, the whole old man looked fierce and pickled, and ordinary children were reluctant to approach him.

Tian Ye's home is on the edge of the mass grave, two low thatched huts, and there is an old plum tree in front of the house.

Several people couldn't hug each other, and the branches and leaves were luxuriant, and the lush canopy was like a giant umbrella that was opened, leaving a cool and open shade.

Every morning, before going up the mountain to herd cattle, Tian Ye would always shake the pu fan and close his eyes under the plum tree to recuperate.

In the afternoon of midsummer, the members of the club will choose this shady place to rest.

Smoke a bag of dry tobacco, drink a few bowls of turbid tea made from a mixture of hawthorn and old tea leaves, and talk about a few wild and bloody country jokes, and the day's work will be mixed.

Adults say that this plum tree is hundreds of years old, and it is the only ancient tree in the entire commune that has survived the 58-year steel smelting.

At that time, the working group came to Tian Ye's house and encouraged him to cut down old trees and contribute to the three red flags.

Tian Ye is dead or alive, he said that in the evil old society, the old Tian family has been poor peasants for generations. In the years of famine, it was this fruit tree that survived. Cutting down the plum tree is digging his family's ancestral grave.

In the face of this old poor peasant who has no oil and salt, red roots and seedlings, and no children and no daughters, the working group has no way to deal with him.

This hundred-year-old tree has survived by luck.

Tian Ye usually seems to be fierce, but he is indeed an old man with a bodhisattva's heart.

Every year when the wheat harvest plums are ripe, Tian Ye will always carry a bamboo basket and send three catties and five catties to taste the fresh head from door to door.

But those cat-like thieves in the village can't wait for this time.

After the spring equinox, the plum blossoms fell, and the fruit on the branches was just green, and the babies began to pay attention to the old tree.

Tian Ye is not ambiguous, and every morning he is like a door god, guarding under the plum tree.

When he went out to herd cattle in the afternoon, he would call a mute from the same village to take care of him.

The mute is calculated according to the generation, and he is still the distant uncle of Dachengzi.

can't speak, his head still has a tendon, and he is more concerned about the errands that Tian Ye has assigned than his own.

The babies are not too afraid of Tian Ye, every time they steal plums and are caught by this old man, at most they admit their mistakes.

Tian Ye will also smile and say, next time you will break your rabbit cub's calf, and kick it as a ball in the eyes of P!

Dumb is different, falling into his hands is a crazy flat that I don't know the severity!

Beat the babies to the ground, two Buddhas ascended to heaven, and for a long time in the future, when they see the thatched hut of Tian Ye's family, they will touch their brains and walk around the road.

It was another boring morning, Dachengzi, Gangzi, and Goudan, three little babies with open crotch pants, fell under the elm tree at the entrance of the village for a long time.

Bang bang mud splashed everywhere, and even each baby's chick was covered with yellow mud.

The sun hung on the branches, the sound of cicadas in all directions, the mud cannon finally got tired of playing, and the three of them finally stood up from the yellow plaster.

"The old cowherd's plums are almost ripe!"

The adults haven't gotten off work yet, grandma's lunch hasn't been cooked yet, and the thief suddenly said something from outside the village.

"Yesterday I passed by with my grandmother with a goose, and the plums on the trees were yellowed!" echoed Dogdan.

"Prunes are delicious! Better than dates!"

Between the words, Dachengzi's saliva was about to flow out, I don't know if it was gluttonous, or it was sour by the plum that didn't reach his mouth.

The three little babies hit it off, slipped out of the village, and quietly walked towards the entrance of Tian Ye's house along the ridge full of wheat fragrance.

When they were almost under the old tree, they left the ridge and went into a field of wheat more than a man high.

The wheat was about to be harvested, and the sharp wheat mangs were itching and aching unbearably on the children's bare cheeks and arms.

The sour plums are close in front of them, and even if the hornets and vicious dogs in front of them are in front of them, they will also move forward bravely, and they will not be able to deal with just Maimang!

Although many times the fruit that is taken at risk is not ripe and bitter, most of it is discarded and wasted.

But this process is more exciting for the babies than wearing new clothes for the New Year.

Gangzi stepped forward, the dog egg was in the center, and Chengzi was behind.

Like a devil entering the village, one foot high and one foot low through the wheat ridges, slowly approaching in the direction of the plum tree.

Tian Ye's thunderous snoring faintly came, and the opportunity was not to be missed, they came at the right time.

"Chengzi, you go up to the tree to pick plums and throw them into the wheat field! Dogdan, you are responsible for picking up the fruits that have been thrown down! I'll cover for you both!"

Gangzi whispered to Chengzi and Goudan to lean over and assign them specific tasks.

He is the oldest, and he is also the most slippery, usually stealing melons and touching dates, fried cow dung, pounding hornet's nest and other errands, and always instigating Dachengzi and dogs to do it.

These two little babies are chaotic and curious, don't know the dangers of the world, and are reckless and not afraid of big things.

Anything new wants to touch it, whether it's a red-hot briquette or a sharp knife edge.

They even stuff their discarded batteries into their stomachs as candy.

Wang Jiacheng sometimes thinks that it is a miracle that he can grow up healthy and happy in those years when he lacks adult care.

Therefore, the two little babies did not have any objections to the tasks assigned by Gangzi.

The adult cat came to the plum tree, stepped on the rough and raised bark bumps, and climbed to the top of the old tree in three or two clicks.

Sit down firmly in the middle of the branches, and treat yourself first.

Dachengzi picked two reddish fruits in his hand, rubbed them on his bare belly a few times, and then couldn't wait to stuff them into his mouth.

I bit down on it, and almost didn't pour out all the last baby teeth that were left.

If you can't eat it, pick it, and the adult began to throw the half-ripe fruit into the wheat field under the tree like a mud cannon.

Seeing that the good thing was almost over, Tian Ye woke up from his dream.

He rushed into the field in two or two, caught the dog's eggs, and slipped them out like sheaves of wheat, and threw them under the old trees.

Gangzi, who was in charge of covering, slipped like a loach and was long gone.

And the big adult who is still on the tree has no way to go to the sky and no door to the ground, and he can't come down, and he can't come down.

"Get me down, little bunny!"

Tian Ye held a wooden stick and yelled at Chengzi viciously.

"Tian Ye, if you don't beat me, I'll come down!"

Dachengzi was desperate, and begged Tian Ye to let him go.

"Little bunny, come down and cut your legs!"

"Woooo

The little babies of the whole production team knew Tian Ye's special phrase to scare the children, and Chengzi cried loudly.

"Little rabbit cub, I know I'm scared! Come down! This Tian Ye will spare you! Come down!"

Tian Ye was worried that something would happen if he was scared again, so he put down the wooden stick, and his voice was softer.

Listening to the old cowherd say that he would let him live, the adult macaque slid down the tree like a monkey.

The dog is usually beaten by his parents at home, and he doesn't eat water and rice for threats to adults.

This will sit on the ground coawardly, watching the confrontation between Tian Ye and Dachengzi coldly.

"You two ruined little rabbits! These five ripe plums can sour their teeth, and the pigs won't eat them!

Tian Ye raised the wooden stick again, pointed at the green fruits all over the ground, and roared in distress.

The two little babies didn't argue, but habitually hugged their heads with their hands.

It is the age at which even dogs are suspicious, and preaching is useless for them.

Today, Tian Ye let the two of them go, and if they don't take care of them tomorrow, they will still come over the wall to pick fruits.

These babies are not actually for the taste of fresh fruit, but to enjoy the process.

If you don't do some damage every day, for these peasant children who don't have a kindergarten to go to, life will not be able to live.

"I'll talk to your parents in the afternoon, let them clean you up, little bunny!"

Dachengzi and Goudan each ate five green plums by Tian Ye, and they were about to vomit out their internal organs.

Leaving the rice field of Tian Ye's house in a gray manner, the old man's hideous laughter came from behind him.

This last parting message is the most threatening.

The little babies are not afraid of heaven and earth, they are afraid that others will talk to their parents.

Especially these deeds of stealing melons and dates, I am most afraid of reaching the ears of my parents.

Rural parents have no education, and the most simple way to teach their children is not to steal or rob people.

So of all corporal punishments, this punishment has always been the heaviest.

And it is usually the father with heavy hands to enforce the family law, which can often beat the babies all over the ground to find teeth.

On the way back to the village, Dachengzi whined and cried again.

The dog didn't care, so he said that Gangzi told us to do it.

After leaving this comforting word, the fucking kid didn't wait for the child to be a child, and trotted home.

Tian Ye is a lonely old man, and scaring the babies is actually for fun, of course he will not tell their parents about the children stealing the fruit.

Moreover, the fruit of this tree is finally prepared for the babies of the whole production team, and he is just a temporary guardian.

In the evening, my father's corporal punishment did not come in a stormy manner as expected.

Two days later, the babies had healed their scars and forgot the pain, and began to think about the plum trees of the old cowherd's house again.

And this time, they have more allies.

The wheat in the fields is golden, and the plums are ripe.

In the middle of countless wheat ridges, the babies in all four miles and eight towns are waiting to move, affectionately watching the century-old tree of Tian Ye's house.