The land is the lover of the farmer, and the harvest is the wealth of the farmer. Farmers shoulder the sun and the moon, turn the world, deal with the land all their lives, and are full of attachment to the land.

Every time he sees the peasants cultivating the land they depend on for their survival, and sees them working hard, Min Haoran remembers the scene of his parents' trousers rolled up to their knees in the scorching sun.

My father didn't go around the field for a day, and when he looked at it, his heart was not steady, he felt that something was missing, and he couldn't eat or sleep. Regardless of whether there is work in the field or not, my father always has to go around the field with a shovel every day, just like taking care of an infant baby, for fear that there will be a headache and brain fever in the field.

When I was a child, I asked my mother where I came from, and my mother said that it was grown in the ground. Mother was joking, but now that I think about it, it's right. Which person is not grown in the ground, who is not living by eating grains, who can survive in this world without the land, and the ancestors have not continued to multiply because of the land.

The busy farming season has begun again, and the townships are planning to sow spring wheat.

In the field, the people are busy raising the ridges, and the land has been ploughed and leveled, just waiting to be sown. Before sowing, each to two acres should be separated by ridges to facilitate watering.

The south of Xinjiang belongs to the plain, the plot is flat and neat, a furrow is basically 30 acres, the terrain is slightly different, not separated by ridges, there will be water at one end and no water at one end when watering.

Xinjiang was mechanized earlier than in some places in the interior, ploughing, sowing, spraying, and harvesting.

Rows of aspen towering over the side of the road. Underneath the aspen, farmers used the vacant land to grow alfalfa, and dandelions grew in the alfalfa fields. Women in twos and threes, as well as people from the city, squatted in the ground to pull alfalfa seedlings and dig dandelions to cook and eat. Those who are diligent will pick more dandelions to dry and soak in water to drink, saying that they can clear away heat and detoxify, reduce swelling and dissipate knots, diuretic and drenching, and promote blood circulation and eliminate blood stasis.

Alfalfa can be made fresh, can also be used to wrap dumplings, noodles, delicious, is a very favorite delicacy of people, can also be washed and squeezed into a ball, put in the refrigerator at any time to cook.

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"This year, we want to make a fuss from the ground and let the people increase their income and get rich. There is a project that we want to pilot in our township. In this project, garlic is interplanted in a wheat field. This garlic seed is imported from the United States, the yield is very high, its life cycle is very consistent with wheat, sowing and fertilizing and watering together, and the boss will buy the garlic when it is ripe. I think in the eleventh village pilot, interplanting 1,000 acres, we and experts calculated, if the interplanting is successful, each mu can increase income by 1,000 yuan. At the township seed grabbing meeting, Tang Jiangbei, secretary of the township party committee, arranged work in fluent Uyghur.

Tang Jiangbei's father was a revolutionary soldier, his mother was a Turkut, his elder brother married a Uygur girl, his sister married a Uygur boy, and he himself married a Hui girl. Therefore, Tang Jiangbei speaks authentic Uyghur.

His mother's ancestor, the Turghut tribe, has a tragic story of returning to the east.

Turghut is an ancient tribe among the Mongolian people in China, and was bullied by the Dzungar tribe in the late Ming Dynasty.

At the beginning of the 17th century, in order to avoid the threat of the Dzungar tribe, the Turkuts, one of the four Oirat of the Erut tribe of Mongolia, migrated to the lower reaches of the Volga River, which was deserted and not yet part of the territory of Tsarist Russia, and began a new life, which lasted for nearly 200 years.

In the eighteenth century, the powerful Tsarist power expanded southward, brutally enslaving and oppressing the Turks, and inducing them to secede from China and submit to Tsarist Russia. Due to the heroic resistance of the Turks, Tsarist Russia never succeeded.

In order to control the Turks, Tsarist Russia recruited a large number of Turks to fight in other countries, and tens of thousands of Turks died on the battlefield.

Unable to endure the genocidal policy of the Tsarist Empire, the Turks revolted against Russia and returned to their homeland on January 15, 1771, at a critical moment of national survival, under the leadership of the young and brave Turk leader Wobasi.

Worbasi led 240,000 people on a difficult and dangerous journey to the east, and the Russian Empress Catherine II immediately sent a large number of Cossack cavalry to pursue and intercept them.

After seven months, hardships and dangers, thousands of miles of trekking, bloody battles, and deaths, less than 70,000 of the 240,000 tribesmen at the time of departure returned to the embrace of the motherland, completing the last tragic national migration in human history.

Min Haoran was a little puzzled, since the project is so good, why should it be interplanted, can't it be planted in pieces? Min Haoran shrugged his shoulders and shrugged Dawut Usman, the secretary of the eleventh village next to him, and Dawut smiled and said nothing.

Min Haoran doesn't know much about the agriculture in the township, and since the main leaders of the township have arranged it, he will do a good job of implementing it. Min Haoran took Yingerguli to squat in the eleventh village every day, from ploughing, leveling, ridges, drying, sowing, filming, and watering, all in accordance with the requirements of the township, for fear of a slight loss.

Yingerguli often invited Min Haoran to her home for dinner in the name of her parents. As long as Min Haoran agreed to go, Yingerguli happily shook her neck in front of Min Haoran like a little swallow, or twisted her waist to welcome in a unique way of Uyghurs. After coming and going, Min Haoran and Yingergul's family slowly became acquainted, and they honored Yingerguli's parents as "Atta, Ana".

"Yingergul, you see, these seedlings don't seem right. Min Haoran walked to the middle of the ground one day to check the growth of garlic seedlings and noticed that something was wrong.

"What's wrong?" Ingul looked in the direction Min Haoran pointed. To figure it out, the two walked to the point at the same time and crouched down to take a closer look.

"You see, this garlic seedling is not the same as the garlic seedling in the field on the roadside, a bit like wheat seedling. Min Haoran looked around at the garlic seedlings under his feet, stood up and kicked with his feet.

"Really, let's see if the farmer planted the wrong seed in other places. ”

Yingerguli also felt strange, and walked to the plot of Gengli with Min Haoran.

I looked at a few fields, and they were all the same. Min Haoran called Dawuti, the village party secretary, to the ground and asked him what was going on, but Dawuti timidly bowed his head and remained silent.

"What the hell is going on, this garlic seed was bought for more than 600 kilograms, how did it turn into wheat? Can't you eat the garlic seed? I don't think you want to be the village party secretary anymore, and if you don't make it clear, I'll ask the township party committee to dismiss you now." Min Haoran saw that Dawuti looked like a dead pig who was not afraid of boiling water, and yelled at Dawuti.

"Secretary Min, little... One thing, don't bloated your stomach. The garlic project looks like a project, and there is a stall thing, and the leaders on the ground look at it, and the one in the middle of the ground doesn't come. "Dawuti has been the branch secretary for many years, and he is an old fritter, and he is familiar with the road and is familiar with the deception in the township. Seeing that Min Haoran was chasing after him, he prevaricated at will.

"This is a very good project, if it is planted, it can increase the income by 1,000 yuan per mu, didn't you attend the meeting?" Min Haoran didn't expect that a village branch secretary didn't think about how to think about the people, but did it knowingly, and didn't care about it.

"Secretary Min, this is a show in the township, and the garlic is (ripe) for the boss. Last year, the interplanting of cabbage was rotten in the ground, and the people's loss was very large. Dawut quibbled.

The villagers of the 11th village obeyed the arrangement of the township and planted cabbage in the wheat fields last year. The cabbage seeds were also bought at a high price from the township, and no one came to buy the cabbage when it was rotten, and the villagers were helpless.

This year, the villagers were asked to interplant garlic, and the villagers did not agree with how to do the work. But the township issued a target, and Dawut had no choice, so he had to think of such a way to 'fool' the township with the villagers.

"Can't you sell the cabbage, don't you want to do anything in the township, don't you hold you responsible?" Min Haoran looked at Dawut in surprise.

"Oh jooo (interjection), blame? Is the secretary of the township party committee or the head of the township? These tasks are all arranged by them. Dawut was amused by Min Haoran's question.

"Then why do you have to do this?" Min Haoran certainly didn't understand the way inside.

"Secretary Min, let's be honest. This garlic seed is more than 600 kilograms? Is there such an expensive seed? Besides, whether it is in the village or in the township, it is only a good reason to increase income. Over the years, everyone has seen through it. Dawut tilted his head in reply, like a ruffian.

"Didn't the common people lose a lot of money, and they didn't plant such expensive seeds. Min Haoran felt that he and Dawut were like people from two worlds, their cognition was not on the same line, and their speech was not on the same channel.

"The common people don't plant Ziyang, and if they plant garlic, they don't believe it, if the people who buy garlic don't come, it will rot in the ground. The seed money paid by the village collectives does not need to be paid by the common people. ”

Dawuti knew in his heart that even if he wanted to let the people not suffer losses, he would also implement the arrangements of the township, and only have his brains to 'live' his brains, otherwise he would not be long in the village party secretary, and he would either be bombarded by the villagers or dismissed by the township party committee. But the village party secretary is a 'fat meat', and he is reluctant to give up, and he can only adopt a method that is not a solution.

"Aren't you afraid that the township will hold you accountable?" asked Min Haoran in confusion. Min Haoran didn't understand why the township interfered so much, because the land was the peasants' own land. Even if it is guided, it must be beneficial for the people.

"The township leaders know better than you and me. Dawut tore off a piece of newspaper, rolled up his cigarette and lit it, took a deep breath and spit it out. A choking smell of smoke and the smell of Dawuti's mouth made Min Haoran want to vomit.

Seeing that he couldn't tell Dawuti about a reason, Min Haoran called Shangyingguli to return to his hometown and report the matter to Tang Jiangbei to see if there was any possibility of remedy. What Min Haoran didn't expect was that after the report, Tang Jiangbei just said that he knew.

"Secretary Min, don't worry too much, there are more ridiculous things in the township, and you will know about it later. Go to my house, my mother made pilaf, you go and taste it, it's delicious. Yingerguli saw Min Haoran coming out of the Tangjiangbei office dejectedly, listless, so she stepped forward to be relieved.

Maimaitijiang likes to drink some wine, Min Haoran bought a bottle of Yili Laojiao on the street by the way, and went to her house with Yingergul, he also wanted to borrow some wine to kill his sorrows.

After eating the pilaf, Min Haoran and Mai Maitijiang drank stuffy wine with pilaf meat, a few plates of cold vegetables and peanuts. The habit in southern Xinjiang is to eat first and then drink.

In June, it was dark and slow in southern Xinjiang. After drinking, Min Haoran wanted to walk around the field, and he was kind to the crops in the field.

Seeing Min Haoran go out and walk into the field, Yingerguli followed. At this time, the sunset was like an enlarged egg yolk, and Yingergul's face was reflected by the sunlight so that it could pinch out water.

"Secretary Min, are you hot, I see a lot of sweat beads on your forehead. Yingergul said, and took out a towel from his pocket to help Min Haoran wipe it. Min Haoran was a little drunk, but it was not easy to refuse Yingerguli's kindness.

"I'll tell you a joke. Yingerguli saw that Min Haoran was still sullen and intended to tease him.

"There was a township leader who, when he went down to the village, gave candy to the little balangzi (boys) in the village, and at the same time told the little balangzi that when he saw the white car coming to call him, he would sleep under the tree on the side of the road. When he heard the little bus call out to him, he knew that the white car was coming, so he rolled in the ditch, and then lifted a handful of dust on his head, dressed himself in a gray face, and came to the car to say hello. Yingergul imitated and rolled while talking, although it looked funny, but Min Haoran was unmoved, and he couldn't be happy.

"Why? Min Haoran asked absentmindedly. Min Haoran was still thinking about garlic. What he couldn't understand was that when he reported to Tang Jiangbei, Tang Jiangbei didn't react at all, and he was unfathomably 'calm'.

Ingul's joke didn't attract much attention either. A joke is a joke after all, maybe it's ruining someone, and he doesn't believe that there are such people in real life.

"Hehe, I don't understand. In the white car, only the secretary of the township party committee and the township chief sat down, and he did this for the leaders to see, and when they saw him covered in dirt, the leaders would think that he was very serious, diligent, and down-to-earth. ”

"This is a real thing, this leader is from our township, and I heard from the little Balangzi in our village. Seeing that Min Haoran didn't believe it, Yingergul added.

Min Haoran smiled bitterly.

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The season of ripening melons and fruits has arrived. The watermelons in the field are like little dolls dressed in green and lying quietly on the ground, listening to the breath of Mother Earth, lying in their mother's arms and sucking their mother's milk.

A fellow braved the scorching sun in the field and stroked one by one, patting and slapping, listening attentively. The sound of crisp is cooked, and the sound of chaos is raw melon and eggs.

Some agricultural experts don't know how to pretend to understand and teach farmers to identify whether the melon is ripe or not, and they will talk a lot, whether the texture of the melon skin is divergent, and whether the melon is black from green to black, but the common people only need to listen to whether the melon is ripe, and the recognition rate is 100%. That's experience, more specialized than experts.

Seeing the watermelons sleeping soundly in the field, the villager's face was covered with honey.

Min Haoran and Yingergul rode their motorcycles on the village road. The fields are full of villagers who are busy picking watermelons, and from time to time some villagers call them to taste.

Today, Min Haoran and Yingergul are going to Dolikun Shabir's house to see how the cooperative is preparing.

Duolikun's family planted more than 60 acres of watermelons, and Min Haoran asked him to take the lead in setting up a cooperative, so that melon sellers from other places did not need to go door-to-door to collect them, and drove directly to Duolikun's house in a big truck. This is convenient for the masses, as long as the melon is ripe and handed over to Duolikun, saving a lot of unnecessary trouble. The melon dealer is also happy, with one hand of money and one hand of goods, he can pull the melon away as soon as he comes.

Dolikun's family also happily picked watermelons in the field. This year is a bumper harvest year, and the life of the Duolikun family will be comfortable.

Seeing Min Haoran and they stopped their motorcycles and walked towards him, Duo Likun eagerly greeted him and shook hands with Min Haoran to say hello. At this time, Dolikun's son had picked a large watermelon from the field and came over.

"This place is too hot, Tawuzi (watermelon) tastes ha, Bai Ke is very sweet (very sweet). Duo Likun took out a jacket (knife) from his waist and skillfully cut the melon into slices, and handed it to Min Haoran and Yingergul as he spoke.

Min Haoran and Yingerguli sat on the ridge, put their feet in the ditch, and ate watermelon.

"Secretary Min, this year's Tawuzi is very good, greatly... Yes, sweet... The price is also high... Yes, everyone is very happy. After speaking, Duo Likun took a bite in the middle of the bright red melon sac. He knows a little Chinese, but with a strong Uyghur accent.

"Yes, I saw that the villagers were busy working in the fields, and the villagers were all very happy, how are you preparing for this cooperative?" Min Haoran said as he beckoned Duo Likun to sit beside him.

Min Haoran is most concerned about whether the cooperative's purchase funds are in place and whether the warehouse is enough.

"Cadak York (no problem). The loan you helped me with, and the people have a hand of money and a handful of goods. Duo Likun picked up another tooth (slice) melon and sat down next to Min Haoran, and responded with confidence.

"That's good, you tell me if you have any difficulties. Min Haoran was relieved to hear what Duo Likun said.

After a while, Min Haoran got up to leave. At this time, the sky was covered with black veils at some point, and the wind slowly picked up, could it rain or not? Min Haoran muttered to himself.

It didn't take long to walk, and in an instant, dark clouds were thick, the sky was like splashing ink, and the wind carried sand and stones on the faces of the two people, and their eyes could not be opened. Yingerguli clung to Min Haoran's clothes and shouted behind for Min Haoran to take refuge in his fellow countrymen's house.

As soon as I stepped into the door of a villager's house, the wind carried hail the size of a quail egg and pounded on the villager's iron door urgently, "dinging" like a blacksmith shop.

The fellow silently looked at the watermelon in his field through the window in a daze. One by one, the watermelons were shot by hail, and the bright red melon pulps were as merciless as the machine guns of the devils swept by.

Min Haoran saw the fellow with a solemn expression and knew that his heart was bleeding, and Min Haoran felt the same way.

After the hail, the villagers walked slowly into the ground like frosted eggplants to see if there were any watermelons that had not been 'sacrificed'.

"On a hot day in June, why did it rain hail, did you want to go with the people? Min Haoran drove on the road, saw the sad faces of his fellow villagers, and couldn't wait to pull the sky down and beat him hard, stomp a few fucking feet, and muttered.

"The common people rely on the sky to eat, in March and April, afraid of strong winds, afraid of low temperatures, in May and June, afraid of sandstorms, in July and August, afraid of lack of water, in September and October, afraid of heavy rain, the villagers are 365 days a year, every day in the prayer for the wind and rain to be smooth, a little unsmooth, is a year of famine. Yingergul said uncomfortably. The dozen acres of watermelons his parents planted may have also suffered.

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There are so many strange phenomena in the township, and they are bizarre. This was something Min Haoran didn't expect. Every rural job is evaluated and ranked, and those that come back are fined.

Two rural jobs made Min Haoran cry and laugh.

One is silage. It is to crush the corn stalks, bury them with salty salt, and feed them to cattle and sheep when there is no grass in winter.

In order to complete the task, Min Haoran simply lived in the field and urged the farmers to speed up the progress of the weed. Although the machine does not stop 24 hours a day, the progress of each day is always at the back of the line.

Yingerguli saw it in her eyes and was anxious in her heart, but Min Haoran was not in a hurry. is about to be summarized, and the eleven villages contacted by Min Haoran will definitely be ranked last in this way, not only criticized, but also punished. Yingerguli decided to say it to Min Haoran, even if she was scolded.

On this day, after participating in the circumcision ceremony of Balangzi, a village cadre in Eleven Village, Min Haoran and Yingergul participated in it, and then came to the field to stare at the farmers and seize the time to make grass silage.

Circumcision is one of the 'four activities' (naming, circumcision, wedding, and funeral) of the Uyghur people. The Uyghur people regard circumcision as an important event as the naming of the child, and the Uyghur people are more particular about naming the child, and the naming ceremony is held on the seventh day after the birth of the child.

Women generally give birth to children in their parents' homes, especially the first child must be born in their parents' family, and the naming ceremony is also held in their parents' home. Astronomy and geography, the sun, moon and stars, melons and fruits, crops, tribes, animals, plants, and official titles can all be named.

Men are mostly named after places, official positions, and ferocious animals, such as: Yuruvasi (tiger), Xiri Ahong (lion), and Akmu (county magistrate), while women are mostly named after flowers and fruits, such as: Reyihangul (ten sisters), Tajigul (cockscomb), Anarhan (pomegranate).

In the Uyghur name, the father's name is used as the surname, the former is the first name, and the latter is the surname, which is passed down in turn, such as Yuruvas Siri Ahong, Xiri Ahong is the father of Yuruwas, and it is also the surname of Yuruvas.

"Secretary Min, it's useless for you to die day and night. Yingerguli walked up to Min Haoran, who was lying on the corn stalk pile, with his hands behind his back, and kicked the corn stalks with his left foot a little unnaturally, glanced at Min Haoran and said.

"Well, what can be done, just hating the machine is not enough. Min Haoran lay there indifferently and moved his body slightly.

"I have a solution, but you are not allowed to scold me, other villages do this. Yingergul simply approached Min Haoran and boldly sat next to Min Haoran.

"What's the solution, let's talk about it. Min Haoran was a little embarrassed, and sat up, thinking that Yingergul had some special function that could make the machine spin faster.

"How did the inspector calculate the amount of completion for the village?" Yingergul felt that Min Haoran was too simple, a little rigid and simple, and his brain was 'not allowed to turn'.

"It's very simple, measure the length, width, depth and number of silage pits. Min Haoran just kills time and chats about such simple and boring topics.

"You can see the length and width, can you still see the depth of the pit after burying the feed?" Yingerguli tried to slowly 'pry open' Min Haoran's unenlightened brain.

"What do you mean?" Min Haoran turned around and looked at Yingergulli with a sense of understanding.

"Don't dig the pit so deep according to the standard, and then the village will entertain the inspectors, pour two glasses of spirits, and ensure that the task can be completed. Yingergul raised her eyebrows and looked mischievously at Min Haoran's reaction.

"How do you know this?" Min Haoran asked in surprise.

"I've been in the township for several years, every year. These cadres in our township, you have to taste it slowly. "Although Yingergul hates this practice, what can be done, the 'climate' in the township is like this, and everyone is not surprised.

Min Haoran operated according to Yingerguli's method, and successfully completed the task.

Another thing that Min Haoran found incredible was to accumulate fertilizer. In winter, the village organizes farmers to go to the Gobi Desert to get all kinds of dead weeds and put them in the sheepfold, and ferment them into fertilizer with sheep dung. However, weeds should be piled up on the side of the road for a while before entering the sheepfold for inspection.

Min Haoran tried his best to get up early and go to the Gobi Desert with the peasants to pull out the dead grass, but he couldn't get other villages. Yingergul gave him another crooked trick: cut some willow branches from the side of the ditch, first build a scaffolding with willow branches on the roadside, and then spread a layer of grass on the top, all the way through, the weeds were piled up like mountains, one after another, looking magnificent.

"That's how the scaffolding came about. Min Haoran secretly laughed.

The wheat is almost ripe, and the plot where the garlic is planted is really beautiful, with rows of yellow and green, and the breeze blows, and the blue waves ripple. When the leaders above, Tang Jiangbei always accompanies them, and introduces the advantages of interplanting and the benefits of increasing income to the leaders.

"It's still that Comrade Jiangbei has ideas and ideas, and can think about the people, which is good. The leaders all praised Tang Jiangbei with a smile. Min Haoran followed behind without squeaking.

The big and small figures on it came and went, but none of them went into the middle of the ground.

In Pozilab Township, what made Min Haoran anxious was not only the way of working that made people laugh and cry, but also the 'people' and 'things' in Pozirap Township that made him physically and mentally exhausted, and he didn't know how to deal with it, and he was wandering at the crossroads of life and making uncertain choices.