When the Yellow River crossed the loop eastward, it came across a mountain range that lay on the ground, and then turned around and roared southward. This mountain range is the famous Luliang Mountain Range. In the southern section of the Luliang Mountains, there is a little-known hill called Jiwang Mountain. The eastern and western foothills of Jiwang Mountain are connected to the rolling hills, forming a huge arc. To the north and west of the foothills and hills are endless loess along the ravines and along the riverbank.

I don't know when many persimmon trees appeared in this area. There are not only many persimmon trees here, all over the fields, but also large, with a thick body, a large crown, and lush branches. In the Mid-Autumn Festival, the small red lantern-like persimmons hang all over the branches, and in the early winter, when the cold wind blows, the green persimmon leaves gradually turn red. Standing on a high place, looking from a distance, the fiery red persimmon leaves of the tree are like the red glow falling from the sky, which is extremely beautiful. Because of this, some people vividly call this area "Persimmon Bay".

In the southern part of Persimmon Bay, that is, about 20 miles north of Jiwang Mountain, there is a village called Liuwan. I heard that the name of the village of Liuwan evolved from "Liujiawan". The village is surrounded by ditches on three sides, and is connected to a large field only in the west, with a rammed city wall made of loess and a city gate tower made of bricks and stones. There is a small square in front of the city gate tower on the west side, on the west side of the square, there is a big photo wall built in the Ming Dynasty on the west side of the city gate tower, there is a stele tower that records the donation of silver to build the temple in the early years on the north side of the city gate, and the south side is an old locust tree.

The village of Liuwan is not large, and there are only dozens of families at this time. However, there are many old houses in the village, with exquisite brick carvings, lifelike wood carvings, stone lions with different expressions in front of the door, and horse tethered stakes with longevity peaches. I heard that most of these old houses were left by the Liu family in the early years.

In the middle of the village, there is a large pond surrounded by willows and white ducks playing. On the west bank of the pond stands a large photo wall. When it rains heavily, the water in the alleys gathers and gushes out from the arches under the wall, and the naughty children gather on the stone slope to play in the water, which is also a scenery of the quiet village.

The wall sits east and faces west, and the base is connected to a small earthen platform. There are brick and stone steps around the earthen platform, and two old locust trees stand on both sides of the earthen platform, covering each other. The large photo wall faces the square. On the south side of the square, there is a large stage facing north, and the people here call it a stage. Older people say that the platform is close to the pond and has the effect of amplifying sound. In the early years, there was no loudspeaker, but the dialogue and singing on the stage could be heard from afar.

Before movies and television entered the countryside, listening to books, making social fires, and watching dramas were the favorite forms of entertainment for Zhuanghu people. The area of Persimmon Bay, which belonged to Puzhou in ancient times, has been circulating here since ancient times a local opera called Pu Opera, also called Puzhou Bangzi or South Road Bangzi. Pu opera, singing high, simple and unrestrained, good at portraying lyrical characters and emotions, good at expressing impassioned, tragic and poignant heroic historical dramas.

There are amateur troupes in the villages and villages around Persimmon Bay. The script and tunes are passed down from generation to generation, as long as you have a good voice, be literate, sing along with each tone, and learn one move at a time. Even if you are not an actor, you can hum a few words after watching more plays and enjoy yourself. As for the accompaniment, in addition to the orchestra conductor who plays the board, the erhu, the banhu, the flute or something, that's the same, follow the song by tune, practice repeatedly, and you will be able to do it. I heard that there is a banhu in Liuwan, and people don't know the simple score and staves, but the banhu is particularly good. If you can sing, people can play it, and if you sing it, they can play it, and it's very harmonious, it's really a god.

As in previous years, this Spring Festival, Liuwan will sing a big drama for a few days. No, several sets of curtains have been hung up, and even the gas lamps for the evening show have been prepared. On the third day of the Lunar New Year, after breakfast, I walked to the stage in twos and threes. On the small square in front of the stage, circle chairs, backrest chairs, benches, square benches, round piers, mazars, long and short, tall and short, all kinds of benches and chairs are lined up one after another. Men and women, old and young, those who support the old and the young, those who take care of their relatives and the deceased, those from their own village and those from other villages. All of them are brand new, brand new Chinese clothes.

Those who shout and sell candy gourds walk around in the crowd. On the wall at the edge of the small square, there are those who sell needles, threads, heads, ropes, and hair pockets, as well as trousers, trousers, jackets, shoes, shoes, hats, and hats; there are those who sell candy people, those who incite bad mormo, those who sell haggis, and those who set up hexagram stalls.

The play has not yet started, the curtain on the stage is tightly closed, and the sound of banhu and erhu tuning is heard from time to time, and occasionally Zhang Luo comes out from behind the scenes. There was a peaceful atmosphere in the audience, some of them paid New Year's greetings, some chatted, some laughed, and some gathered around the stalls to ask this and that, and the crowds were crowded, and the sound of laughter was endless.

"Hey, old man, let's do a hexagram. A man in his thirties came to the hexagram stall and said to the fortune teller while unbuttoning the buckle on his chest to take out something. is a big New Year, but this person is dressed in clean old cotton clothes, which is very conspicuous in the crowd. After the man finished speaking, he saw the fortune teller wearing a melon-skin hat and a black robe pick up the round lens hanging from his chest, read the note that seemed to be handed over by the man, and pinched his fingers and counted it with words. He looked at the person's expression while pinching, and said with a full strip: "Well, according to the forehead (the persimmon bay area calls me the forehead, the same below), you are not crooked in the first half of your life." ”

"What?", "Not crooked?", "Oh, you're a fool." "A blind man can see it, haha. The people around him sneered and asked rhetorically. And what about the man, he looked up at the fortune teller, but he didn't squeak. "Hehe, don't believe it, people are not crooked in the first half of their lives. The fortune teller said calmly. "Hey, old man, are you going to count on the hell?" someone mocked from the side. "You're in a hurry, you haven't finished yet. The fortune teller said unhurriedly. The man remained silent.

"Judging from your eight characters, the first half of your life is indeed not crooked. It's just that...... It was only a few years ago that it was killed. The fortune teller said as he smiled and looked at the man's expression. "Huh?" said the people around him. But the man still didn't say anything. "However, according to the forehead, it doesn't matter, in the next two years, it will be over. Moreover, your luck in the future will not be crooked. "Hey, I can't feel it. The man shook his head and finally spoke. "I don't believe it, but I can take nine out of ten, hehe. "Oh. ”

"But ......", "What?" the people around him leaned over curiously. "It's just...... Hehe, forget it, I'll send you a sentence: the flowers bloom and the spring is cold, and the seeds fall thousands of miles away. The fortune teller said mysteriously to the man. "What do you mean?", "Hehe, I'll know when the time comes." "Oh, this old man is still selling Guanzi. The people around him said with a smile.

"Hey, yes, listen to his nonsense. I don't know when a stunned young man came and interrupted You'er's hexagram. "Hey, listen to the old man's words. You'er smiled and said to the young man. "Well, I don't believe it. The young man interjected and continued: "Hey, old man, do you know how to count?" You'er saw this posture, so he put down a few small coins and left the hexagram stall.

"This baby, it's not easy for an old man, how can you flirt with people during the New Year. A middle-aged man persuaded the young man. "If you can't do it, what are you doing with this stall?" said the fortune teller, glancing at the young man. "Hmph, the hexagram just now is 108,000 miles away. "Haha. As soon as he heard this, the people around him couldn't help laughing. "Oops, it can't be. The fortune teller said confidently. "The flying insects are dead until May and June, and their bodies are thin and their mouths are hard. The young man continued to tease. "You're talking about a fool. "Not yet. Then, let's calculate the amount and see when you will get rich?" The people around laughed again. "There are times in life that must be there, and there are times when there is no time to force it. The fortune teller smiled at the young man. "Fate, if you don't have it, you still give it to others?" the young man asked rhetorically.

At this moment, a man in his fifties wearing a disc tea glass, a scarf around his neck, and a robe and horse coat came over and interjected: "Hey, you're teasing the old man." Uh, let's ask something. "Fortune or children?" said the fortune teller with a smile. "Hehe, I don't care about wealth, and I don't care about my children. The man said slowly. "Haha. Everyone around laughed. "Then what are you asking?" "Just ask, this army is in chaos, who do you think is the real dragon emperor?" "Haha." "There's a meaning. "The people around me were happy. "After talking for a long time, even if it's this?" said the fortune teller disdainfully. "Yes, Elder Liu, even if it's this. "Look at the old man's calculations. The people around him came over to tease the fortune teller and said. "Haha, don't you have a hard mouth now, right?" Liu Lao said with a contemptuous smile. "What's so hard about this? "Then you do the math. ”

"He wears an octagonal hat and an eight-gown coat. The fortune teller said mysteriously. "What do you mean?" "Eight coats, and an octagonal hat?" "What do you mean?" asked the people around him, puzzled. "Don't even understand this?" "Oh, you just say it." "Hehe, the secret of heaven must not be revealed. The fortune teller said with a smile. "Haha, this old man has a meaning. Liu Yunhu, who was also called Liu Lao by everyone, smiled and left the hexagram stall.

As soon as the words fell, the big drama over there started, and the fortune teller also put away the hexagram stall and watched the play. Naturally, he also returned to his seat and watched the play with his family, only occasionally looking back at the fortune teller, who seemed to regret the fortune teller just now.

In early spring, although it is still a little cold, I can already feel the breath of spring. The words on the stage are round, and the audience is full of relish, and they shout from time to time. The people who sold rock sugar gourds and jugglers walked around the crowd, doing small business. The business of selling haggis is also good, and from time to time there are old people who bring their children to eat. Sitting on the small Maza, put it on the small table, talking and laughing with hot air in the mouth, a peaceful atmosphere.

After watching the play in the afternoon, it was already the second half of the day, and everyone in the village had to go home for dinner. You'er's family also dispersed with the crowd. Bypassing the big photo wall, along the north bank of the pond to the east to the end, there is a large doorway opening on the earthen wall. Out of the doorway, it is the dirt slope leading to the north ditch. Walk along the slope to the north ditch, not long after, then fork out a path to Dongping, at the end is a small chaimen, this is the child's home.

This courtyard is four or five zhang lower than the village lane, the yard is not big, and a wall built of loess ramming is built along the ditch. The cave dug on the two-hole earthen cliff sits in the south and faces north, the kiln on the east side is only equipped with a large window, but there is no door, and the kiln on the west side is a window and a door, and there are small holes between the two kilns to form a suite that combines inside and outside. It seems that this cave is some years old, the mud on the walls of the kiln is a little peeled off, and the furniture inside is very simple and very shabby.

That night, after eating, You'er lay on the kang and couldn't fall asleep for a while, and remembered the words of the fortune teller during the day, and half-believed, tossing and turning for a while before falling asleep. In the haze, it seemed that he put on a long shirt and a top hat again, went out, called a rickshaw, and went to talk about business...... When I woke up, I realized that it was a dream.

But since he counted the hexagrams, some old people felt that the people in the village seemed to be talking about him, and since the past things in his family, he said to himself and regretted: "Alas, this is not the case, what kind of hexagram is it to calculate well?

On this day, when you woke up, the window paper was bright, he put on his clothes and walked to the kiln, pushed down the door but did not push it open, it turned out that there was a heavy snowfall last night, and the kiln door was blocked by snow. It's been spring and it snows so heavily, which is rare in previous years.