Time always moves faster than human feeling. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

A clanging sound poured Xiao Ming out of the soft cradle, could it be dawn so soon? Rubbing his dry eyes, really, countless faint cyan morning rays had penetrated through the cracks in the panes. The wooden door was open, and the boys around them were getting up from the bunks one after another, and the figures were interspersed. Ah Shen pulled Xiao Ming, "Hey, it's dawn, get up and eat quickly." ”

"Oh." Xiao Ming was pulled out of the door before he had time to stretch his waist, who probably knocked over the basin or something just now, it turned out that as soon as he went out, he found that there were still a lot of people here. The house they lived in was only a corner of the big wooden house, and the rest seemed to be inhabited by old people, widows, and so on. The yard was noisy early in the morning, and at the back of the house was the kitchen, where pots and pans were mixed with the sound of conversation and laughter. Xiao Ming followed his companions to take some water from the big water tank, drank two sips, wiped his face again, and went to the kitchen. The kitchen was large, and people were each holding a bowl and taking something from the stove that looked quite fragrant, and they were sitting at the door and eating it. Xiao Ming glanced at other people's bowls, some green and some white. "Hey, I'm eating rice cakes today." I don't know who said it. Rice cake? The last time I ate it was still in Sangyuan Village, Chunxi made it. The rice cakes are cooked glutinously and chewed in the mouth. Xiao Ming looked around while eating. People seemed to be very happy, and his companions also chatted with these people, and Xiao Ming couldn't understand the thick Quanzhou accent, so he sat on the side and ate by himself. After a while, I found that Ah Liang was sitting not far away and didn't speak, so he couldn't be out of town, right? After eating in a hurry, everyone handed over the bowls to a few rough mothers-in-law and went to work.

Xiao Ming followed his companions out of the Zhang family's compound through the back door. Everyone carried long wooden rakes and big brooms, Xiao Ming and a few younger ones each carried a few large bamboo dustpans, and Ah Liang carried a large bundle of ropes, not knowing what to do. Everyone was not idle along the way, and Xiao Ming also interjected a sentence or two from time to time. Although he was the youngest among them, he had a lot of knowledge, and he soon became acquainted with them. It turned out that they were all orphans in the vicinity, Zhang Wanfa's Baihetan salt farm had a big business, and there was a shortage of manpower, so everyone was recruited, they did some chores in the salt field on weekdays, and they worked as a maid in Zhang's house during the New Year's holidays.

The river beach is just a stone's throw away, and there are low-rise huts about a few hundred along the shore, jagged on the wooded slopes. The sky was thick with clouds, and I heard my companions say that you can easily have a day without the sun. Xiao Ming breathed in the slightly salty air, his heart was a little leisurely, and in a blink of an eye he saw Ah Liang walking on the side, he was only ten years old at most, short and small, it was like five bamboo poles supporting a head, his hair was rarely very yellow, and he was tied into a loose bun on the top of his head, which was very pitiful.

The White River Beach Salt Works lives up to its name. From a distance, thousands of acres of salt pans are covered with white flowers, and the raised dark diversion soil trough in the middle divides the salt pans into square or trapezoidal pieces, which are connected together like nets. When Xiao Ming saw such a place for the first time, he couldn't help but be curious. It was still early, and there were only a few people working in the salt pans, with their trouser legs rolled up and holding large rakes taller than men, all of whom seemed to be young men. In a short time they had reached the edge of the field, and their companions got up and went down to the field. Ah Shen said to Xiao Ming: "You probably haven't done it before, in this way, anyway, there is not much to live now, you first take the rope with Ah Liang and sweep the salt, it's easy, you will see it in two days." Xiao Ming looked back at Ah Liang, he was putting down the rope, and when Ah Shen said this, he smiled at Xiao Ming.

Ah Shen picked up the wooden rake and went down to the field, Xiao Ming walked over, took the long rope in Ah Liang's hand, and asked with a smile, "What is this for?" ”

"Well, it's very simple," Ah Liang's accent was strange, Xiao Ming had never heard of it, "That's it." I saw him untie the rope and walk down the field with his head pulled, Xiao Ming found that there was a wooden stake in each field, Ah Liang tied the rope to the stake, turned his head to Xiao Ming and said, "You drag the rope around the water and circle around the field." Ah Liang's voice was crisp and a little short of breath.

"Is that so?" Xiao Ming pulled the rope and walked forward along the soil trough.

"yes, a little looser." Ah Liang picked up another rope and walked down to the field next to him.

"Ah Liang, what are you doing like this?" Xiao Ming had already turned a dirt groove. Ah Liang replied, his voice was too small for Xiao Ming to hear. At this time, Ah Liang also pulled the rope and spun around. Xiao Ming had an idea, and ran quickly through a soil trough, and when Ah Liang came around, the two of them happened to walk in the same direction, so every time they went around, the two could talk for a while.

"You go slower so you can sweep everywhere."

"Can you turn salt out of this way?"

"Where is it, it is fine when the salt is turned."

"Oh-" Xiao Ming suddenly realized. "Ah Liang, where are you from?"

"My hometown is in Nanyue."

"How long have you been here?"

"It's been more than half a year."

The other boys used rakes and brooms to sweep the salt from the field to one place, then put it in a large dustpan and pick it up to the top of the field to build a small pile of salt. At this time, there were more people in the salt fields, and although it was the New Year's Day, the small salt farmers still did not want to let go of a day without rain. Each salt farmer has a given field, which is of different sizes, but this entire salt field is the property of the Zhang family, so there are overseers on weekdays. Now that the Chinese New Year is approaching, only a few overseers are lazily wandering around the fields, but officials can often be seen. Xiao Ming was puzzled, and after turning around, he asked a lot of questions. Only then did I know that the salt fields were all under the management of the Quanzhou government, and the Chinese New Year was scarce, and Zhang Wanfa's fields were large, and he was afraid that people would steal salt, so there were often official messengers to inspect. Xiao Ming remembered the fat man and the thin man last night, those two fools, and found a job for him. As their companions had said, it was an easy day, for at noon food was delivered, and the boys sat with the overseers, who did not pay much attention to them. Xiao Ming is very satisfied, the work here is not bad, but there is no salary, so let's wait for the New Year.

Zhang's ancestor was originally a landlord in Quanzhou, but Zhang Wanfa turned to agriculture and business, and used his family's land to open the first salt farm in Quanzhou under the name of Futai, and the prefect collected no less than 10,000 taels of salt tax from Baihetan Salt Farm every year, so he naturally supported Zhangjia Salt Farm. But Zhang Wanfa himself is not a person who pays attention to small sections, although the family has a lot of money, the house of the family has not been repaired for several generations, and the clothing, food, housing and transportation are not particular, the fat man in his forties dragged a faded satin cotton jacket at home, holding a brass hookah, and his memory of trivial things is always bad, so he is never harsh on the servants, but I heard that no one can compare to the big account of this small-eyed and mustachioed master. A few days later, the Chinese New Year, the salt works were all suspended, Xiao Ming and they did some miscellaneous work in Zhang's house to carry water and serve dishes.

As soon as the weather cleared after New Year's Day, on the morning of the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, Zhang Wanfa, who was full of red light, finished eating the rice balls and said to the sun-basking housekeeper in the corridor: "Lao Liang, I think it will start tomorrow." ”

In the early morning of the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, Xiao Ming stuffed a small bag of hawthorn strips in his pocket and came to the salt field with his partners talking and laughing. The breeze blew gently, the salt water half a foot deep rippled, Xiao Ming and Ah Liang were chatting while turning around in the two fields side by side with a rope, the morning sun was bright, there were more and more people in the salt fields, and many children of the salt farmers were also working with them.

"Eat hawthorn." Xiao Ming took out a hawthorn strip from his arms and handed it to Ah Liang.

Ah Liang just put the hawthorn in his mouth and suddenly frowned.

"What's wrong?" Xiao Ming asked.

Ah Liang pointed to the two people who were walking over from the field, one tall and one short, both fifteen or sixteen years old, "They often come to bully people. Xiao Ming couldn't help but look at them a few times, but he bumped into the eyes of the tall young man, who said a few words to his companion and walked towards Xiao Ming and them. At this time, Xiao Ming and Ah Liang walked to the end of a trough and separated to both sides, and the young man crossed a field and shouted to Xiao Ming, "Hey, you are new? Xiao Ming nodded.

"Come here." The young man was so domineering, but looking strong and not easy to mess with, Xiao Ming moved over slowly.

The young man ripped off the rope in Xiao Ming's hand, threw it into the water, and said with slanted eyebrows: "Do you know how to be lazy on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year?" After that, he gestured to the young man who had come with him just now, "Xiaofeng, bring a big one." After a while, the short, black-faced young man carried a long and big wooden rake, handed it to the tall one, and said, "Brother A Liang, give it." He glanced at Xiao Ming with a few winks.

"Take it, do what you have to do."

"I haven't done this." Xiao Ming picked up a large wooden rake much taller than him.

"Look, like this." The boy pushed him to the side, and Xiao Ming almost fell. The young man casually pushed a few times with a rake, and then handed it to Xiao Mingdao: "Work hard, don't want to be lazy." "Turn around and go. Xiao Ming grabbed the wooden rake that he couldn't hold in one hand, it was so heavy that he couldn't use it at all, and while he was secretly cursing, the young man turned back again, "You come here." He shouted at Xiao Ming. Xiao Ming walked over very reluctantly, probably the young man saw his dissatisfied expression, the corners of his mouth showed a sly smile, pulled up the top of the wooden rake, and said: "Use two hands, one up and down, hold on, and then push forward-" Before the word "push" was finished, he sent the wooden rake forward, Xiao Ming was unprepared, his feet slipped, he did not stand firmly, he rushed forward, and fell face down in the salt pan. Hearing a burst of laughter in his ears, Xiao Ming touched his face and turned his head to look, four or five teenagers were pointing and watching him sit on the ground covered in salt water, and the black face was also in the middle. "Ah Liang, don't be like him."

The tall boy clapped his hands, pouted, and said, "Let's go, let's go." ”

Ah Liang, I seem to have heard of it. Xiao Ming vaguely recalled seeing the bruise on Ah Shen's arm the night before he arrived here. He glanced back at Ah Liang, and saw that he was laughing with a few overseers on the edge of the field, so he lowered his head and the big guy and pushed slowly, his clothes were wet, and Xiao Ming shivered when the wind blew, and he sneezed a few big sneeze coldly, and quickly worked hard to gather some heat. It's a pity that the bag of hawthorn strips, soaked in salt water, is probably too salty to eat.

Finally, when the clothes are half dry, a lot of salt can be sprinkled with a flick of the hand, the sun is high, and those who live close to home for dinner, and there are also wives and children who deliver food. Xiao Ming saw from a distance that the Zhang family's rice delivery person was walking towards this side with two large baskets of food, and everyone put down their tools and gathered at the edge of the field. Xiao Ming and Ah Liang sat together. Xiao Ming took a big bite of food while asking Ah Liang about a few teenagers. According to Ah Liang, the leading boy Ah Liang is the oldest child in the nursing home, and he is very restless by nature after hearing others say that he escaped from home. Ah Liang relied on his tall and strong strength to gradually become the leader of these boys. In the past, he was still working in the salt factory, but later he often mixed with the land scoundrels on the Quanzhou territory, stealing chickens and dogs, and fighting and brawling were commonplace. The most annoying thing is that Ah Liang and his gang like to bully the weak, especially the new children. Seeing that these people are getting older, they are becoming more and more like local snakes. When Xiao Ming heard this, he secretly wrote down in his heart that he would be cautious in the future, and don't provoke these people.

In the morning, his clothes were wet with salt water, and in the evening, Xiao Ming felt that his limbs were sore and his mouth was dry, as if he was infected with wind and cold. The next day, the fever began. So, instead of going to work in the salt works, he lay in bed for two days. Fortunately, he was not seriously ill, and he was almost fine on the third day. Xiao Ming remembered that during the Chinese New Year, Zhang Wanfa sent some New Year's money to everyone in the nursing home, although it was not much, but it was enough to buy a few books. Since escaping from Sangyuan Village, I haven't studied my homework, and I lost the book that Mr. Huang gave me, so I might as well take advantage of the market to take a look at it today.

Xiao Ming carried some copper coins and came to the downtown with joy. This is the second time I've come back here, and I still remember stealing buns last time, but this time it's different, I have money on me, and I feel confident when I walk. Xiao Ming found a bookstore, which had a lot of newly printed books, and when he flipped through them, they were all chapters back to the story, but he remembered that Mr. Huang said that these idle books were the most misleading children, and they should not be indulged in them, so he put them back, turned around and took a copy of "Analects" and a copy of "Book of Songs", and paid for it. Seeing that he was studious at a young age and spoke very politely, the shopkeeper gave him a copy of "Chu Ci".