Chapter Twenty-Six, Old Man
With apprehension, I got into Da Niu's beloved "caravan", and Lao Zhao and Ah Guang also followed me and Da Niu to Xue'er's township.
Xue'er's township is only a few miles away from our Sanyuan Village.
Da Niu drove his old BAIC Jeep, Da Niu's car was really like a caravan, and the sound of driving was louder than the sound of a tractor. Da Niu also planted a small red flag in the front left corner of the car, and the word caravan was also sprayed on the side.
This is a typical first-generation old BAIC jeep, or a very primitive manual gear, the steering wheel has no hydraulics, and the big bull has to spend a lot of "bull power" when the car turns. However, walking in the green countryside, the beige tarpaulin roof looks a little clumsy caravan, but it is set off with a simple, clumsy primitive beauty, which seems to be very suitable.
In the car with the window open, you can also breathe in the "wild" fresh air, the air in Sanjiang Town is really fresh and pleasant, this is a unique place in Sanjiang Town, and the natural environment surrounded by rivers is unique. Lao Zhao and Ah Guang also praised all the way, joking that when they were old, they would come to Sanjiang Town to retire.
Da Niu also told me all the way that when I got there, I would first go to Xue'er's cousin to find out what the chandelier brother said about Xue'er's return to her hometown, because Xue'er's cousin is the village chief of Xue'er Village, and last year he was recommended by more than a dozen village sages in their village and then elected by the villagers.
Along the way, we enjoyed the pristine countryside: the patchwork of greenery and the crisscrossing of irrigation channels created a natural picture. Small bridges and flowing water, fences and melon sheds, and plantain bamboo forests dot the farmhouses scattered in the greenery, which is natural and friendly. Walking in this picturesque field, people and nature are suddenly closer, which makes people feel comfortable, and before we know it, we are in Xue'er's village.
Lao Zhao and Ah Guang were attracted by the natural pastoral beauty of our countryside, they took a sketchbook to sketch, and I went to the office address in this village with Da Niu.
At present, most of the office addresses at the grassroots level in the countryside are old houses, and the conditions are indeed very simple. Under the introduction of Da Niu, I met Xue'er's cousin, a typical simple countryman, about the age of his early fifties; wearing a white shirt, blue and black trousers, his thin body made people feel capable, his face was full of kindness, and his eyes were full of energy, which formed a strong contrast with Ah Gou'er! Although they were both village cadres, Xue'er's cousin, who was born as a teacher, was different.
"Brother Pu Ruo, Han Zhe is Xue'er's classmate, we grew up together, and now we are big painters in BJ, this time a few people came to Sanjiang Town to collect style and sketch. I just arrived in your village today, and I told him that you are Xue'er's cousin, so you might as well come in and have a cup of tea, so I took the liberty to come to the door to ask for a cup of tea, please do a lot of Haihan. After Da Niu said, he also made a series of fists.
"Welcome, welcome, distinguished guests, the tent is shining! Pu Ruo got up from the chair he was sitting on and shook hands with Da Niu, then held my hand and smiled at me and said, "Mr. Daming, I have heard of it for a long time, and today I learned about the king's face, and I am very lucky." Mr. went back to his hometown to collect style, it is really to see Mr. Sangzi's feelings, respectable and respectable!" Pu Ruo said and politely invited me to sit down.
"Brother Park Ruo has won the award, and the big cow Miao praises. Brother is a gentleman, thanks to the great love and hospitality, Hanzhe is grateful, very grateful! Please also ask Brother Park Ruo to bear with me. I also said in the tone of Cher's cousin. I looked at the calligraphy "Lao Qian" written by himself on the wall behind his desk, and then said: "Brother Pu Ruo is a real literati, and the word Lao Qian is uploaded from the words of "Zhou Yi", and it is well written!" On the calligraphy, there are some small characters to explain: "Zi said, hard work is not felling, meritorious but not virtuous, and thick to the extreme." I thought to myself: This Pu Ruo must have studied the book "Zhou Yi". I then said, "Brother Shi is high and bright, admire!
"Mr. smiled, yes, from "Zhou Yi". Pu Ruonai has an axe, and the vassal elegance is also. However, in front of Mr., ashamed, ashamed. Pu Ruo laughed self-deprecatingly after saying this, and then handed a cigarette to Da Niu, who smoked Double Happiness.
Da Niu said: "Brother Pu Ruo, smoke mine, lotus, I can't buy it, it was given by Hanzhe's friend, just a pack, and a few more, I will keep it for you." "This big bull is really good at taking advantage of the topic, and he speaks in a low voice with a mysterious tone. Then the big cow raised his voice and said, "You two, don't talk like this, okay? After saying this, Da Niu habitually touched his bald head. When Da Niu said this, all three of us laughed heartily at the same time.
"Brother Pu Ruo, I heard that Xue'er came back two days ago? But Xue'er seems to have not been back for 20 years since she went to Shenzhen?" Da Niu asked very directly.
"Oh, it's here, come with my uncle. Cher is still so beautiful, she looks a big difference from her actual age, and she looks like she is in her thirties when she is well maintained. That's the case, the family is strict and returns to the west, and my uncle comes back to take care of it, but he goes back the next day. Pu Ruo replied with a slight sadness.
"I'm really embarrassed, I don't know how abrupt it is for Ling Zunxian to pass away, and I hope that Brother Pu Ruo will forgive me and mourn and change. "When I heard that Cher had returned, I was a little disappointed. But I still quickly picked up the topic, and then deliberately opened the topic, and continued: "Brother Pu Ruo, when I entered the village just now, I suddenly realized that the village looks very neat and tidy, which is different from other townships in Sanjiang Town, and it is not simple. It shows that my brother is under the rule of a good way! ”
Da Niu was also very interested in answering: "Yes, Hanzhe, you don't know, since Brother Pu Ruo came up to be the village head, he has spent a lot of effort to renovate the appearance of the village, green and build roads, sewage and cleaning, everything is very good, it is a model of our city's new countryside, and a farmer's library has been built." Holding free housekeeping, labor skills, computers, and calligraphy training are all within the ability of Brother Park. Moreover, he also personally gave lectures in the ancestral hall, talking about traditional culture such as "Di Zi Gui", "Tao Te Ching", "Leisurely Travel", "Analects", and "Filial Piety Classic". This is a typical example of the new rural cadres, and the city has also promoted its experience to the whole city, and it has also been rated as the only provincial-level famous village in Hai Duong. ”
"The stationmaster is very loving, and he has won awards. Do what you can, do your best, is my original intention. Pu Ruo said with an unhurried smile.
I don't know anything about the way of doing politics, but the complex contradictions at the grassroots level in the rural areas are indeed very conspicuous at present, and it is very difficult! Grassroots cadres like Brother Pu Ruo, who have the quality of traditional culture, are too lacking! The ancients said that half of the treatise on ruling the world was a treatise, but in the past few decades, from the Great Revolution to the era of opening up, the traditional Chinese culture has been lost! There is no faith, no inheritance, and even no honesty between people...... It's a pity!" I took a sip of tea after I said, looked at Pu Ruo and said: "It's not easy for Brother Pu Ruo to do this!
"Shame on meagre strength, gentleman's opinion is very good. However, in today's situation, the social environment is impetuous, the gap between the rich and the poor is very wide, polarization, and the poor are getting poorer! A large amount of urbanization is not necessarily a good thing, and it is not clear whether the people who wash their feet and go to the fields will be able to adapt to it. And the increasingly indifferent interpersonal relationship really responds to the phenomenon of 'Zhumen dog meat stinks, and there are frozen bones on the road'. If we can retro and respect the virtuous, clean up the source, and in time, the soul of the nation will be valued and return to the right path. What do you think of Mr. Unknown?" Pu Ruo also put forward his own opinion.
"What Brother Pu Ruo said is extremely true!" I said as I gave a thumbs up to Pu Ruo.
"Yes, I feel the same way about culture. But this is at the high-end level, so we shouldn't talk about it deeply. 'Words and deeds, cardinal of a gentleman, don't be careful'!" Da Niu also said. After all, he was in a different position, and he still deliberately diverted the topic, and then he handed a lotus cigarette to Pu Ruo, and when he saw that we were talking about these words more sensitively, he suggested that I might as well go out for a walk in the fields. I said very well, and I went to see the big cow Aguang.
Da Niu and I quit Pu Ruo and came out together.
After quitting Pu Ruo, Da Niu and I went sightseeing everywhere, and when we walked to the big fishing pond in front of a banana forest, we suddenly saw the old man sitting by the fishing pond and smoking. I wondered why the old man had come here, so I went up and talked to him:
"Brother, why are you running here?" I asked curiously, as I approached the old man.
"Great painter, you're here to do a new year, oh, you're here to paint, aren't you?" As the old man spoke, he showed his jagged teeth with a thick layer of tea stains, and the gaps between the teeth were also very large, and his speech was a little leaky.
"yes, let's paint. I replied with a smile.
"Great painter, can you paint a picture for me?" said the old man, who also smiled, but I did not answer immediately. When he saw that I didn't answer, he continued, "Are you painting and selling it for money?"
"It's okay to sell for money, it's good to be able to live a daily life, why do you want so much money? "It's really hard for me to answer the old man's question. Then I sat down next to the old man and continued, "You haven't answered me yet, what are you doing here?"
"Grab the snail, sell it for money, I just got up in the water, take a break and smoke a cigarette, you see, my pants are still wet." Looting ten catties and eight catties of stone snails a day, selling twenty or thirty dollars to buy vegetables and salt, will live a long life, and I will starve to death, and I will be talking about two soft years. "The old man smoked Qi He (tide language, one big and one small cigarette rolled with paper and soil, like a horn, the local dialect of the tide people is called Qi He, and the northern people are called Sua. Cigarette, pointing to the small bucket next to him, about three or four catties of small stone snails.
"Oh, isn't there a civil administration to take care of it? The village should also be responsible, they really don't have the ability to take care of themselves. I was puzzled and asked the old man:
"The civil administration gives a few hundred yuan a month, and three people eat and make New Year's goods to live? I help the township collect garbage, and it is only a thousand foreign silver a month, and sometimes some villagers do not pay back the garbage fee of a month of ghost silver. Look at the way of the world! I really shouldn't have fallen for the dead ghost plus two and Ah Gou'er to take care of these two soft years. ”
As the old man spoke, his other hand reached into the fork of his trousers to scratch the itch, and the action was really a little indecent. His little crosses are what the countrymen on our side of the country call ball pants, a thin blue-green knit with a wide leg that rolls white edging. The old man's itchy hand in the crotch rhythmically scratched, back and forth non-stop, he scratched the itchy joint is very skillful, at a glance you know that it is often like this, scratching the itch with a noisy sound, the range of the joint is also large, the hand shakes, the old man will reveal the brown black flesh sac and curly wave hair, but the old man scratches the itch as if no one is around.
"There are also fish ponds in my township, aren't there many fish ponds there, how can you run so far?" I asked the old man even more incomprehensibly.
"Don't mention that the chandelier brother is only a weak person, and he is angry!" the old man said that his mouth opened into a round shape, poured into his throat and inhaled, and his mouth made a very ugly strange sound, and then forcefully sputum in his throat into the pool "Bah", and spit out a mouthful of turbid phlegm into the pool, very loudly, spit out a small yellow and white phlegm, floating on the water, and this phlegm soon had a small fish swim over to eat.
I watched him scratch and spit, which was particularly disgusting, very indecent, and it was really not a taste in my heart. But I don't look down on the old man at all, on the contrary, I feel that people like the old man are very normal.
The old man also seemed to notice that I was looking at him, and was embarrassed to look at me, and made a smirk and said:
"Great painter, don't you know, Brother Yachandeli is supported by a dog, Tian Tian doesn't pay me a garbage fee, full of scum. In the past, Tian deceived people to gamble and detained him, and the villagers said that the chandelier brother was on behalf of Ah Gou'er, and he insisted that the gambling stall was his. How can such a person join the party? Become a village committee and a director of public security? In this world, I don't want to go to the north as a farmer. This gambling money stall, living in the township is smoky, the chickens and dogs are restless, and some family in-laws scold each other sweetly one day. ”
The old man said with disdain. He took a few puffs of cigarette and then said:
"I also deserve this decrepit person, eclipse and gamble all day long, occupy hundreds of acres of fishing ponds in the township, feed fish and don't know, and lazy insects, a person called Yi to do black worms, people black, lazy insects, live called black worms. The water in the Yiyu pond has not been changed for several years, and the mud in the pond has been accumulated for too long, so don't drop some things and then dig the pool deeper, and the pool water is re-put into the new water, and the fish are having a clean environment. Ya is like Yi, several years do not go to things, the pond is shallow, the water is poisonous and smelly, the fish are all fed, never scrape the grass, or choose some leftover leaves after selling vegetables in the vegetable field for the fish to eat, bullfrogs are also used feed plus hormones, the weather changes on a hot day, the wind and rain are fried, and the fish live and love to die. After the chandelier brother got the dead fish up, he dug a big pit by the fishing pond and buried the dead fish, so that after being exposed to the hot sun, the poisonous insects crawled into the pond and let the fish eat them, and it was strange that the fish died every year!
He also deceived people sweetly, made a fish box by the Han River, caught the fish in the fish pond and put it in the fish box in the Han River for a few days, so that the scales on the outside of the fish became lighter and not so black, so he said that it was the Han River fish. This guy is such an old pit man! Damn it, bah, this guy deserves it, and a whole bunch of fish have died this year. This chandelier brother who has suffered thousands of knives, seeing that I was born with a small (soft) year in my family, is good-looking, and I always describe that I have no home, and I love to bully my family for a small (soft) year. The old man said that he threw the cigarette butt on the ground and stepped on it fiercely, as if it was the chandelier brother under his feet.
"Oh, so much learning?"
"Yes, why do you think I'm running so far? The boss of the fishing pond told me to collect a cart of vegetable leaves every few days for his fish to eat, and then promised me to catch some stone snails in his pond to sell. He pointed to the half-barrel of snails and said proudly.
"Are there any stone snails in the pond in our village?" I asked curiously.
"Yes, the stone snail poison in the chandelier brother's pool, after eating it, I love diarrhea, and no one likes to buy it. Once I sent two catties of stone snails to my ninth uncle, Yi asked me if I was from the chandelier brother's pool, and as soon as I heard that it was, I immediately poured it into the stinky ditch. He didn't look down on me, he said that the stone snail was poisonous and he had diarrhea after eating it last time. Since then, I have never gone to the chandelier's fishing pond to touch the snails. ”
"I see. Then why did Ah Gou'er let the chandelier brother be the sheriff?" I asked the old man.
The old man thought about it and said: "This, I don't know this, I don't understand, but now in the countryside, people who are vying to join the party are not people who have knowledge and culture and are admired, and many of them are selfish people who want to mix in the countryside." You see, in our village, the election is all the production team accountant to each household, and the election fee of one yuan per person is divided, and then the accountant returns to the office of Ah Gou'er in the township, and fills in the name of the person designated by the government leader. In the last few years, Ah Gou'er also got a fake monk, and scattered things with Dahan Mu, and the chandelier brother made dog legs, and the things didn't look like a dog in the township!
The old man's words made me feel very uncomfortable after listening to them, as disgusting as accidentally eating a dead fly during a meal. I unconsciously touched my chest, and it seemed to feel a dull pain inside. He finally mentioned the matter of Ah Gou'er and the third sister-in-law of the monk Buzhen, I heard it from the fifth brother, and I didn't want to hear him anymore, so I reached out and patted the old man's shoulder and said:
"Brother Member, don't catch a cold, go back early. After I said that, I went to find the big bull Lao Zhao and them.
The three of us painters are going to cooperate on a big painting tonight to make a souvenir for Da Niu, and tomorrow I will ask Da Niu to send Lao Zhao and Ah Guang back to Beijing, and then I will go to Suicheng by myself.