In 1960, when I first came to Northeast China, there were two black and swarthy things hanging in the warehouse of the production team, which I didn't recognize.

My husband came a year before me, and I asked him, "What's that?" ”

The husband said, "That's a shoe." ”

I have never seen such shoes in Shandong, so I took a closer look - there is a lot of ash on the shoes, even the sole strap and upper are made of a piece of cowhide, and there are a bunch of pleats in front of the shoes, which are ugly and dead.

At that time, Anda was still a county. A few days later, I went to the county to buy scissors, buy some needlework, and went around and didn't buy anything. I have to buy a ticket, and I don't have any tickets.

Anda 4th Street and 5th Street are combined in Nanheng Street, like a human character. At the intersection of the herringbone intersection, I saw a rare thing: more than a dozen people were working on both sides of the road, and there were sacks on the ground, and the sacks were bulging, and I didn't know what to pack. They sat on sacks, holding a bundle of grass in their left hand and a hammer with a thick bowl in their right hand.

It was November, and it was very cold in the northeast, and these people were covered with grass foam on their hats, faces, and clothes, and their beards and dogskin hats were covered with frost of white flowers.

At noon, I went back to the production team's canteen to eat, and went to work in the team in the afternoon. The women's captain is in her fifties, she is the leader, and I call her the eldest mother.

When I was resting, I told her about this rarity, and she said, "That's not called herringbone road, it's called crotch street." Those people beat the indigo grass and sold it for money. Those who wear leather and rubber indigo buy indigo grass and put it in their shoes to keep it warm. They have no capital to do this business, so they go to the Dianzi in the autumn to cut the indigo grass back, dry it in the sun, and exchange it for money in the winter. ”

The women's captain also said: "It's okay now, most people wear a pair of socks. How could anyone have worn socks before? In the winter, I buy a pair of cotton indigo shoes, and then buy some indigo grass to put inside, and wear shoes barefoot. The skin is ugly, and it is not slow to frost (note: it is cold outside, not cold inside). The rubber indigo looks good, and the frost is slow (note: the outside is cold, and the inside is cold). What to do? When you go to bed at night, take out the indigo grass, put it on the kang to dry, and put it in your shoes the next day. ”

Heilongjiang is cold, and the doors and windows of every house are tightly pasted. Everyone's house smells of stinky feet, and I still wonder what happened.

I have an uncle and brother-in-law who opened a hotel at the east gate of Longqiji in Juye County, and his home is also in this courtyard. It was very cheap to live in this shop, and there was grass on the floor, and the men slept on it, and the women had another house, so they had to rent a quilt if they wanted it. The brother-in-law's surname is Cai, and his nickname is "three prohibitions".

There is a resident Nengla, he has been in the Northeast, and when it comes to the three treasures of the Northeast - ginseng, deer antler, and indigo grass, the more he talks, the more lively it becomes.

Three are not allowed to ask: "Are these three precious and expensive?" ”

The resident said: "Ginseng and deer antler velvet are expensive, but indigo grass is not expensive." ”

Three are not allowed to say: "My brother-in-law is in Heilongjiang, I asked him to give me a post of grass." ”

When I received his letter, I wanted to go back to my hometown, so I brought the indigo grass back and gave it to him.

A few days later, I went to Longqi to do errands, had dinner at my sister's house, and my brother-in-law's in-laws also came, and they drank together.

The brother-in-law said, "The indigo grass that his son brought me is so good." At night, I put the indigo grass into the cotton shoes, and it was so hot that the arms were pulled (note: knees). No wonder people say that there are three treasures in the Northeast, this indigo grass is really a treasure! ”

The in-laws said, "Third brother, you give me some." ”

The brother-in-law said, "If you want my life, I will give you three points." If you want my indigo, I won't give it to you. ”

Later, fewer and fewer people wore indigo shoes.

By 1970, there were still people wearing indigo shoes, but there was no one selling indigo. With felt socks and socks, even if someone sells indigo, no one buys it.