Most of the happiness of childhood is related to the two small rivers in front of the village, which are carried by them. The mountain is too big, the mountain range is long, the mountain is a valley under the ridge, the spring water is collected, it becomes a stream, and the two small rivers in front of the village are formed in this way.

We call them rivers in our mouths, and those who prepare them can only be regarded as streams. However, it is deeper and wider than the stream in the mountains, and has some characteristics of a river, can swim, can build embankments for irrigation, and can rise floods, but not as good as large river floods, and is called rising water here.

When the water rises, it will impact some deep pools, which are generally near the boulders, and the boulders cannot be washed away, and the sediment under them is washed away, and it becomes a deep pool. Sediment usually accumulates a short distance downstream to become a sandy beach, and the sand is generally very fine and very soft.

The deep pool will also appear in the embankment, in that era, the water conservancy was overhauled, and the embankment built on the small river can often be seen, and the granite is piled up on the spot, and the cement is bonded, which is particularly firm, and the place where it is enclosed often appears in the deep pool.

It is said to be a deep pool, but in fact it is not too deep, and it is good that there can be one person deep in the deepest place, and the area is also small. Because of the rising water, the position is not fixed and changes from time to time, but this does not bother us, and every time there is a change, it will be discovered in time.

The creek has no name, and the one to the south is farther away, and the fields can only be reached through four or five hundred meters of machine plowing roads. The name of the machine farming road is estimated to come from the slogan of agricultural mechanization put forward at that time, and it was not used until he left the mountain village when he grew up.

The machine plow road is straighter and wider, crossing more than 100 acres of rice fields, the rice fields of the Phoenix Mountain team are basically here, this machine plow road is the main channel of field labor, compared with the fields in the field, we call it the big road.

Although this road is wide, it is essentially a dirt road, and it is strong after walking a lot, but it is difficult to walk on rainy days, and it is often walked barefoot in the fields, and it is slippery step by step when you step on it. In such a step-by-step slip, I don't know how many times I have driven the cow, and I don't know how many things have been picked.

The river to the south is actually very rare, and a high flood control levee has been built on the riverbank, and the embankment is overgrown with reeds, and it is difficult to see a figure through it. There is a small road on the river embankment, and there is a single-plank bridge on the side of the mountain, which becomes a shortcut from Dengjia Mountain to Shixiang.

The mountain on the other side of the river, half of the property rights belong to Dengjia Mountain, and half belong to Shixiang, and the people of Phoenix Mountain can go here to cut firewood. The dry land at the foot of the mountain belongs to Phoenix Mountain, with a total of more than ten acres, and there is an old port at the foot of the mountain.

The river to the east is relatively close, and it is less than 100 meters east along the road in front of the house. As a transportation artery for nearby villagers, a stone bridge was built over the river, which was once washed away by floods in memory, and was later rebuilt, which was quite strong and never collapsed again.

The river we talk about generally refers to the river in the east, which is easy to walk from the short road, and this is our playground, and it is also a place where adults often come, washing clothes and vegetables, and bathing here in summer.

The stone bridge above, forming a natural rain and sun barrier, the bridge is divided into two holes, under the river washing, a hole often has a large amount of sand piled up, a hole is the water flow continuously, next to the steps, specially prepared for squatting and washing items.

The foundation of the bridge is sturdy, there is a hole in the water, there is knee-deep water all the year round, it flows slowly, sometimes you fish here, sometimes you swim here, and the inelegant "dog planing style" is learned here.

Not only learned the "dog planing style", but also learned to swim backstroke, floating on the surface of the water will not sink, but also learned to dive, can swim underwater for more than half a minute, so I thought that the water was okay, and later when I came to Yiyang's cousin's house to play, I knew how bad my water nature was.

The plain lake is wide and cannot be seen on the opposite side, and the three cousins can cross the lake for several miles, swim to the small island in the middle of the lake, and a fierce man plunges into the water, and when he appears, he is already more than 100 meters away. I tried to swim more than ten meters, but I couldn't swim anymore.

To the east, there is also a section of the old port. Later, after listening to the adults, I learned that the old port was the original river, which was too tortuous, and it was easy to destroy farmland when the water was rising, so the brigade concentrated manpower and re-excavated the river, and the previous river was called the old port.

The old port is waterlogged, overgrown with plants and trees, and inaccessible to people, especially suitable for the growth of fish and shrimp, and can often grow big fish. Sometimes we go to the old port to catch fish, sometimes we go directly to catch fish, and adults often participate.

Hook fishing is most suitable for children's active nature, a thin line, one end of the fish hook put on a small frog or earthworm, the other end of the bamboo or branch to tie up, find a deep water where the fish may be hidden, wait for the fish to hook on the line, do not delay the play.

The mountain is particularly suitable for a kind of fish called "inch star", the fish body is wide and flattened and yellowish, and the two sides are arranged with small black dots, just like the star on the scale, so it is named, and it belongs to a kind of catfish.

The swimming speed is very fast, and there is mucus on the body surface, which is difficult to catch. Small insects like to eat frogs and earthworms, they are very ferocious to eat, once they are found to be swallowed, there are tiny barrikers on the hook, and it is difficult to break free after being swallowed.

The hook is generally in the evening, and the fish come out to eat at night, and it is easy to take the hook. "Cun Xing" has tenacious vitality, and it is still alive after taking it out overnight, but it is not very big, and it is quite large to catch half a catty.

In addition to "Cun Xing", there is also a fish called "Yellow Girl", which is also easy to catch and does not grow too big. The shape of the "Yellow Girl" is similar to that of the "Inch Star", you should be especially careful when grabbing it, the two fins at the front end of it are as hard as thorns, and the attack power is strong.

Catch fish in the old port, choose a section of deep water, cut off the soil at both ends, wash the water dry with a bucket or basin, the fish will appear, step on the silt one by one, and you can touch many loaches in the silt, not necessarily how much you can catch, but the process is extremely happy.

Sometimes we also fish in small rivers, and the fishing equipment is taken from this, and the hooks are generally made of iron wire, sharpened at one end, and bent into a hook shape. The fishing rod is made of slender bamboo, the fishing line is made of long cotton, the fish float is made of reed rod, and the cotton thread is tied at the appropriate position according to the depth of the river, and the bait is used to catch small frogs or dig earthworms.

Placed in a stream with more fish and calmer water, sometimes sneaking to other people's fish ponds, lack of patience in childhood, as a joke, rarely able to calm down and wait for the fish to take the bait, rarely caught fish, most of the bait is missing, only the empty hook remains.

You can also touch shrimp in the river, carefully turn over the stones in the river, there will be small river shrimp hidden in it, both hands one after the other, slowly and gently approach, when you are about to approach, you can catch it with all your strength.

The shrimp is very alert, the slightest shaking of the water surface will cause it to be alarmed, the shrimp tail is stretched out, and immediately disappears without a trace, so you have to be very careful, and the judgment should be very accurate, novel and exciting.

Adults wash and wash rice in the river, small fish will gather in a large area, roll up their trouser legs and stand barefoot in the water, small fish will peck around on their feet, itchy, there is a sense of numbness and comfort, but even if it is at the feet, it is difficult to catch.

The bare sand in the creek, with its fine and soft sand, is a place where we like to play, where we can dig a sand pit and write and draw on it.

More often than not, it is a test of courage, the hole in the stone bridge without water and the beach has become the place with the most competition, comparing who dares to jump, who jumps farther, and who has the courage and the carp to decide who is the bravest and the strongest.

The green grass by the river is lush and verdant, which is most suitable for herding cattle, as long as you pay a little attention to prevent the cattle from coming ashore to eat the seedlings or vegetable fields, and you can play at other times.

There are also clumps of tall and dense reeds on the beach, in which you can often find birds' nests, sometimes you can find birds' eggs, and sometimes you can catch small birds. The eggs are taken home and roasted and eaten, and the birds are kept as pets, but they are never successfully raised.

With the help of the cover of reeds, you can also steal melons and fruits, and the harvest is the most abundant in autumn. Cucumbers, gourds, pears, tomatoes, these are from the vegetable patch. There are also fruit trees that grow, such as chestnuts, plums, dates, and so on.

There are no melons and fruits, and you can also barbecue. Pile up a few rocks on the beach, build a stove in a simple way, find some dead thatch, and after lighting it, you can grill anything, such as sweet potatoes, cold potatoes, edamame, lentils, peas, etc.

The best arrows are made of bamboo, and the reed pole is the best arrow, which will not hurt people and will not affect the effectiveness of archery. It is often compared to who makes the best bow and arrow, and who shoots the right shot far.

Children herd cattle, play very heavy, the river side of the water and grass is abundant, the cattle rope is very long, one end is tied to the stake, to the river a plug, the cow can gnaw in one place for half a day. Sometimes the heart is too heavy, a place is tied for too long, and the fun is enjoyed, but the cattle are not fed, and they have to be reprimanded and scolded by adults when they go home.

During this period, pranks are essential, in addition to stealing fruits and vegetables, the most prank is to dig a pit in the path as a trap, and put thin wooden sticks on the pit surface, and the wooden sticks are spread tightly with weeds, and then sprinkled with soil, and someone will step on the pit if they are not careful.

Stealing fruits and vegetables is often discovered by the owner, accompanied by loud scolding, then we will hide carefully, and wait for the adults to leave in fear. The life of a cowherd baby is so colorful that she plays until dark and then rides the cow home.

The small river in his hometown still hides soft-shelled turtles, and the spiny soft-shelled turtles are my father's best skills. A long bamboo pole with a slender steel bar or iron rod tied to one end will stab through the sand and gravel at the bottom of the river, and it will soon be possible to detect soft-shelled turtles.

The principle is actually very simple, soft-shelled turtles generally hibernate in the sand and gravel at the bottom of the ditch, hide relatively shallowly, and do not eat or drink without moving. Iron rods or steel bars can easily pierce into the sand and gravel, and you can judge whether it is a soft-shelled turtle by the feel of spying.

The shell of wild soft-shelled turtle is hard and tough, and once it is detected, it has a feeling of touching a hard object and is slightly elastic, which is very similar to the feeling of rubber with an iron rod, which is still very easy to judge.

The intensity of the spying should be controlled, as it may penetrate the shell of the soft-shelled turtle if it is heavy, and penetrate a lot of sand and gravel if it is light, and it will not feel elastic. Some people have a convenient picture, and after they are spied, they will directly pierce and bring it up, and some people will turn the soft-shelled turtle out by hand, so that the picture is fresh and complete and easy to preserve.

Sometimes there are errors in judgment, such as stabbing rubber that feels very similar, rural streams are mostly discarded soles, and sometimes old trees that have been buried in the mud and sand for a long time can also have a similar feel.

The back of the wild soft-shelled turtle shell is dark brown, mixed with the stream, and the color of the silt and moss is integrated. Later, I learned to spy on soft-shelled turtles, and I caught a lot of them, and I was also slipped away by a few soft-shelled turtles.

This kind of spying is actually relatively blind, because we don't know where the soft-shelled turtle is hiding, and we can only make a rough judgment based on experience, so every time we spy on the soft-shelled turtle, we often have to probe along the stream for a whole day before we can get something.

When I was a child, I felt that there were still a lot of soft-shelled turtles in the stream, and whenever there were guests at home, my father who came back from school asked the guests to wait a while, and lifted the bamboo pole to walk around the stream next to it, and soon I could catch a few fat soft-shelled turtles.

After the reform and opening up to invigorate the economy, I don't know where the rumors came from, saying that soft-shelled turtles can fight cancer. In the early 90s, I heard that Ma Jiajun, who set a world record for women's 10,000 meters, usually eats soft-shelled turtle blood.

Traders who buy soft-shelled turtles also began to appear in the countryside, and the purchase price was quite expensive, and the villagers, whether young or strong, flocked to the streams to spy on the soft-shelled turtles, and some also used medicines, and the number of soft-shelled turtles began to decrease sharply.

You must know that in the past, my father used this method to catch soft-shelled turtles, and then used a large wooden barrel to fill Gu Kang, and buried the captured soft-shelled turtles in Gu Kang, and the soft-shelled turtles would continue to hibernate after being caught, hiding in Gu Kang and not moving.

I remember when I was a child, I went to visit my grandparents, and there was nothing else decent to show filial piety, so my father often filled two snakeskin bags and sent them on a bicycle.

There are many childhood toys, adults help us make them, and we will do them ourselves, such as windmills, bamboo wheels, small **, water guns, pushing iron hoops, etc., all made of reed poles, bamboo, branches, etc.

In the era of poverty and lack of materials, our childhood has never lacked toys and fun.