The warm memories are now irrepressible, but the aftertaste of repeated chewing is bitter.

One of the things that I remember most deeply is the lunch I had with Xiaowei in the factory staff canteen. That year, when he and Xiaowei and Tie Dan began to form good partners, Xiao Wei led him and Tie Dan to take a bus from the county seat to the state-owned factory on the outer edge of the city circle. Xiaowei's father worked as a worker in this factory. At the end of the day, both men and women wore dark gray overalls, and many of them walked in one direction with aluminum lunch boxes in their hands, and the sound of joy overwhelmed the scales.

This is the first time he has walked into a factory, and his initial understanding of the factory and its workers is here, which is too different from the village where he grew up. Tiedan's parents are also farmers, and it was the first time they went to the city and the factory, and their walking steps were messy. Only Xiaowei is the most privileged and proud of the three, although his family is also in the countryside, although his mother is also a farmer, but his father is a worker, a worker who wears work clothes and eats commodity grain and receives monthly wages. Xiaowei is not only uninhibited, but more comfortable and happy than at school, as happy as entering his own home. Xiao Wei led them to his father's dormitory. His father was washing his face in the basin, his hands full of soap foam. Xiao Wei introduced the scales and iron eggs to his father, and coquettishly proclaimed: "We are the brothers of the Taoyuan Three Alliances!" His father wiped his face and eyes and made a look of surprise: "Add another female classmate and you will become '***'!" and then laughed. Everyone laughed, and the scales suddenly felt relaxed.

Xiaowei's father led the three children to the staff canteen to eat. The rice is a meal, each person has a bowl of chowder mixed with meat slices, meatballs, pork skin, tofu, vermicelli, cabbage, two big white steamed buns, around a table, that fragrant!

"Uncle, do you eat white buns and meat dishes every day?" asked the scale.

"When it comes to the festival dinner, eight dishes and one soup. Xiao Wei said.

"You're celebrating the New Year every day!" said the scale.

Up to that time, all the memories of life stored for the twelve- or thirteen-year-old were that he could only eat pure white flour buns or buns, meaty meat dishes or dumplings mixed with minced meat for a few days during the Chinese New Year. The village doll needs to look forward to these delicious foods for a year, and in the staff canteen of Xiaowei's father's factory, every day. Junior high school students, who had already learned the difference between urban and rural areas and between workers and peasants, experienced for the first time this huge difference that should be eliminated as a political ideal for the future, and left an impression that cannot be erased to this day. Such a desirable worker now needs to celebrate the Spring Festival with a sack of rice, a string of pork and the 200 yuan in an envelope. Although Xiao Wei, the male lover, refused to admit the poor households and repeatedly refused relief items, he could not reproduce his father's superiority and self-confidence when he was a worker.

After graduating from junior high school, only Tie Dan barely reached the high school admission score line, and Liang Tong and Xiaowei both returned to their respective villages. There was a boom in building houses in the countryside that had begun to come alive, and he learned the craft from a master bricklayer for several years, and finally only reached the level where he could build walls and plaster, and no matter how complicated the process was, he couldn't get it. As soon as the rural housing boom passed, Bang Bang completely threw away the brick knife, bought a four-wheeled tractor to run transportation, and earned a handful of money to build the three new cement floor bungalows where he and Xinghua live now. Xiaowei waited for about three or four years to return to his hometown, and when his father retired early and let him take over, he suddenly became a worker who looked like a New Year every day. Tiedan's high school graduation was not enough to meet the college admission score line, but he was able to reach a secondary professional and technical school, and he actually went to a school in the province that specializes in training police, graduated in three years, and became a policeman in the city. Only the scales are still in the countryside and continue the life of the villagers. The workers still have to rely on a sack of rice, a bunch of meat, and 200 yuan in relief to celebrate the New Year? This is something that the villagers cannot imagine and can hardly believe......

The warm winter sun always gives people the illusion of spring. Weighing and apricot blossoms, along with father and mother, dig up the last carrot in the carrot field that can be sold for money. He was alone in front of him with a double thorn head, and the carrots covered with a layer of fine soil were dug out, showing a bright red and bright water color in the sun. Father and mother sat behind him with Maza, peeling off the dirt from the carrots. Xinghua squatted and waved a knife to cut off the leaves on the top of the carrot.

"You sent the leg of mutton to Xiaowei Tie Dan a few days ago?"

"Delivered. Weighing said.

"How did those two dolls get along?"

"Almost. Not bad. ”

"It's still a mess in the city!"

"Those who can mix well can mix well, and those who can't mix are difficult to mix. ”

"It's better than the township!"

"Not necessarily. Not really. ”

"Even if you don't know how to mix, there are people in the city who take care of it! No matter how well the people in the countryside mix it or not, no one cares!"

"I will give you 20 catties of rice and a string of meat for 200 yuan for you to celebrate the New Year, but no matter what happens after the New Year, how many days can you eat 20 catties of rice?"

"That's right. People say that the year is good, the festival is good, and life is the saddest. You said there are still lords in the city who rely on that little thing for the New Year?"

"Oh! I heard ......"

The scales said that the facts that happened in Xiaowei's house were vague, so that his father would not ask again. He didn't want to dry Xiaowei's predicament in front of his father and the whole family, he was a positive person.

In winter, there is no farm work in the northern fields, and there are almost no people, and the silence is easy to make people tired and dreary, and the sound of motorcycles is particularly shocking. When he saw the motorcycle coming from the village to the field road, and then ran into the narrow path towards his carrot field, he threw his head and shouted, "Iron eggs!"

As soon as the words fell, the iron egg reached the ground, and he shook his arm like a handshake and a high-five, and then greeted the old man and the apricot blossom one by one, and then squatted with the uncle and aunt to wipe the soil of the carrots. Weighing Stone's father resolutely stopped it, and said half-jokingly: "How can such a clean and thin white hand do this rough work!" You go back to the house with Tiedan. There's not even saliva here. ”

The scales straddle the back seat of the Iron Egg Motorcycle. Tie Dan told him that when he came home from the south last night, Xiaowei's daughter-in-law came to the door at dawn and said that Xiaowei had been arrested last night. The scales were surprised and asked what was wrong. Tie Dan saw that he had driven to the entrance of the village, so he kept silent. When the two of them entered the gate of the weighing stone and sat down in the front room, Tie Dan spoke again, "Steal." On the contrary, he didn't want to ask any more questions, such as what to steal, where to steal, and how to get caught, it didn't seem to be interesting. It doesn't make a difference no matter where you steal and what you steal, the key is to steal and get caught. Tie Dan still gave him a brief introduction to what happened according to his thinking habits: Xiaowei and two rural youths on the outskirts of the city teamed up to steal two fat pigs from farmers, and they happened to be bumped into by the patrolling police, and the two local farmers ran away, and Xiaowei, who was not familiar with the terrain, was caught-

When he heard this, he was a little anxious, and hurriedly asked, "Did you come to report this murder to me?"

"Hey......! Hey!" Tie Dan sighed three times, his face flushed with anxiety, "Look at Xiaowei...... What's going on...... Hey......"

"Alright. You said it. It's better not to say it than to say it thoroughly. The scale lit a cigarette, "You just say what to do!"

Tie Dan still broke the barrier that was difficult to exit: "It was a coincidence that day, the patrol police expanded the patrol area during the Spring Festival according to the instructions of the bureau, and happened to bump into our little guard." caught the nearby police station for interrogation, Xiaowei confessed that he had stolen four times, all of them were farmers' pigs, sheep and cows...... Now Xiaowei's biggest stress is stealing your cow......"

The scales let out a sigh of relief, there was not a trace of surprise to solve the case, and even the surprise that had just happened was lost at this moment. This is just the incredible surprise before smoking half a cigarette, and when it is certain that this kind of thing has happened, the wry smile of the scales is difficult to describe. He asked, "What now?"

"I'm here to discuss this with you. Tie Dan said.

Tie Dan told him that the police station asked Xiaowei to immediately hand over the stolen pigs, sheep and cows, and no matter how much money he sold at the actual price, he would be compensated according to the market purchase price and returned to the farmers. In addition, a fine will be imposed...... About nearly 10,000 yuan.

"I don't want to return my cow money. The scales said immediately.

"Xiaowei's daughter-in-law asked me to come to you, that's what it means. Tie Dan said, "Xiaowei's daughter-in-law said that the cow money will definitely be repaid in the future, but she is too nervous at the moment." ”

"Don't. "Don't talk about it again." Hurry up and let Xiaowei go home quickly - there are only a few days left for the New Year. ”

Tie Dan said: "I will make up a sum of money for Xiaowei's daughter-in-law first, and quickly redeem the person." ”

"I still have a thousand in my hand, and you can give it to Xiaowei's daughter-in-law by the way. The weight said, "I won't leave you to eat, Xiaowei's daughter-in-law must be waiting for you!"

Tie Dan rode away on a police motorcycle.

The scales returned to the carrot field.

"Iron eggs?" asked my father.

"Let's go. The scales replied.

"Leaving without eating?"

"The police are always busy. ”

"What's the matter?"

"It's nothing. ”

"What are you doing all the time?"

"Friend. ”

"I see you're talking cold?"

"Blame you for not teaching me how to speak hot. ”

Originally below, 8 March 2002