If someone asks for help on "Zhihu" (a professional knowledge quiz platform): "What do you think is the most exciting, the happiest, the most nervous, and the most slightful group activity in your childhood, but afterwards you may be scolded by others, and even ask your parents to solve it?" ”

Then I first recommend "stealing" fun, which is a kind of group entertainment that started from childhood, prevailed in childhood, but I don't know when it will end, the most thrilling, and the most beautiful group entertainment, which can be called the favorite of many rural young people in childhood.

However, the so-called "stealing" fun is focused on "micro" rather than "heavy", and it will not steal other people's expensive property, nor will it steal other people's chickens, ducks, geese and sheep privately, let alone do something that hurts nature and morality, but only refers to "inviting seven or eight players to go to a collective "picnic" when a certain crop is harvested. However, although the materials for picnic cooking are available at home, they are not fun, and they are usually not taken from their own homes, but from other people's fields "on the spot", because this method is self-picking, and at the same time it is endlessly interesting, so it is called "stealing" fun. ”

"Stealing" fun can basically be divided into four modes: "spring stealing", "summer stealing", "autumn stealing", and "winter stealing", which can be said to be a regular activity that can be carried out in every seasonal season. Because the charm of "stealing" fun is special, it will make children full of interest, and also make children's passion linger for a long time.

The meaning of "stealing" fun, in addition to "micro", there is also "little", that is, only a little, will not "be a disaster", and can not bring a burden to the "owners", but children occasionally rise, try new, fight tooth sacrifices, commemorate the five internal organs of the temple, just play and play.

Because of "wide" (the species is much wider and longer), because of "have" (every family basically has), so the children's behavior, adults usually see in the eyes, generally will acquiesce, will not be investigated, who is not like this, adults are well aware, so often you pick my potatoes, I dig your sweet potatoes, everyone takes turns to repay, everyone takes turns to play, everyone takes turns to exchange, as long as it is not too bad, so that the crops are full of devastation.

In fact, because the production areas of these crops are near their own villages, these "owners" are more or less related to these children, and the children are either called uncles or aunts, and the adults are familiar with them, but the children were young at the time and did not know it. In fact, even if they are found and caught in the end, the children will not be punished too much, and often only one relative will be found, which will promote the relationship between the two families, which can be regarded as "clumsy and clumsy".

And "spring stealing", refers to the spring back to the earth, when a hundred flowers compete for beauty, children see the delicate blooming and can't hold back, will take advantage of the owner's inattention, secretly break one or two or three branches, each of them get home and insert it into a vase to raise, or specially made into dried flower specimens. Or, when the spring fruits are red and yellow, the children will only pick the sweet fruits that are exposed outside the wall because they are hungry (a kind of low wall that surrounds the house and plays a protective role, similar to a fence, because the rural households are close to each other, and they can climb any wall by stepping on two opposite walls), and only pick the sweet fruits that are exposed outside the wall, and the others usually do not interfere too much. Adults also know this "habit" among children, and they generally do not use pesticides to remove insects, so children can basically eat with confidence after simply wiping them with their hands. Even some lonely widows and elderly people in the village will deliberately open their fruit trees, just to attract children, and let them have someone to accompany them temporarily.

And "summer stealing", refers to the scorching heat, when the scorching stones, the children steal into the watermelon field because of dry mouth, pick one or two watermelons "group" to quench their thirst, although each child can only spread a watermelon pulp, and did not solve the summer heat, but at that time with their companions did such a "deed", is the children's most missed memory in the years to come. Of course, in addition to twisting some watermelons, "Xia Thief" will also touch some "crispy melon", "noodle melon", "apple melon", and even "red tomatoes", and the reason is that it tastes more fragrant at other people's homes (in fact, it tastes the same as home-grown melons and fruits).

Of course, "autumn stealing" refers to the autumn harvest season when the sky is high and the clouds are light, and the leaves are declining and yellow, several partners will invite each other to take advantage of the fact that the sugarcane is still purple, the sweet potato is red, and the corn stalk is green. Of course, not to your own house, but to someone else's field. For sugar cane and corn stalks, the main policy of "running after breaking and gnawing after running" is the main one, only chewing and sucking juice, which does not have much "charm". But the most anticipated thing is the creeping "sweet potato" buried under the ridge, also known as "sweet potato" and "red taro", which is a kind of farmhouse flavor that is most suitable for gathering people to roast.

Usually, children will take advantage of the good time after the morning, they will be interested in each other, and they will invite each other to "have a heart", and then bring their own tools to go to the "autumn stealing" activity, that is, to bake some sweet potatoes from other people's houses. Or, when everyone was wandering in the wild, they happened to see a field of sweet potato seedlings in other people's homes, and then they suddenly became interested and dug each other up for cooking. But no matter how the interest is raised, everyone can always "hit it off" and then "carry a shovel with a fire" (i.e., a small shovel and a lighter) and go to the pond or under a depleted ditch to carry out the mighty "pit roasting sweet potato project". Of course, it can also be replaced by just two simple bricks, "digging pits" is just a sense of ritual, not necessary, but the most authentic practice.

Generally speaking, everyone is divided into labor, and everyone has to move, for example, some people are responsible for collecting firewood, some people are responsible for digging pits, and no one is allowed to eat white food in terms of meritorious deeds. The standard of "firewood" should be dry, preferably some dry trees, resistant to burning, and not find some damp surfaces, which cannot be burned. The "burning pit" is usually a small prismatic pit on the mud slope, which requires the sweet potatoes to be able to hold them stably, and at the same time the internal space is sufficient to facilitate the fire and the ashes (if you don't do this, the sweet potatoes will be difficult to roast and unripe).

Therefore, when everything is finished, the final step of the barbecue work begins: the sweet potatoes are first spaced out to the top of the pit, and then the loose and dry wood is placed in the pit, ignited with a lighter, and then a large amount of dry wood is fed. Therefore, the curling smoke suddenly rose, and the fire began to flourish. When burning sweet potatoes, people need to keep in mind at all times, and remember to turn the sweet potatoes over halfway, so as not to be scorched (i.e., the food is burned), which will affect the final quality and taste.

As for sweet potatoes, when they are about to be roasted, in order to increase the taste and avoid the sweet potatoes from being roasted dry, they need to put the sweet potatoes together with the fire to make the soil tightly sealed and burned, so that the residual heat can simmer the sweet potatoes. After that, people get a steaming, fragrant result, not to mention how refreshing it is.

The final "winter thief" refers to the fact that children will sneak into people's fields before the frost falls, pick up a few "carrots" and pull a few "spicy radish", and enjoy it, which can be regarded as "proving" that they have been here.

Although "stealing" fun, to be honest, is not a good habit, at most it satisfies a certain "habit", but because every family in the countryside has it, this "loss" is harmless. Time flies, more than ten spring and autumn have passed, and now I think back to the "stealing" fun of the year, some are not guilty, but nostalgic, nostalgic for the safe time when we were advancing and retreating with everyone, childhood is really beautiful.

Of course, in addition to "stealing" fun in my childhood, there were also classic group sex entertainment methods such as the following:

1. Pull Maoru.

Ba Mao Ru, known in dialect as "Ba", is the most common ritual entertainment for rural children in the middle of spring. Usually, groups of children will go to the pond together when the spring grass is green and the pond water is warm, in order to find a sweet delicacy called "Maocao", which has become the "common custom" of countless rural children, and has also become the most unbridled fun in the weather of warblers flying and blooming.

"Mao", also known as "Maoru", "Maosu" or "Maoxian", is thatch still wrapped in flower spikes, not blooming, that is, in the period of Gu Di, generally in the shape of a thin cone, most of them are exposed outside the land, a little deep in the soil, therefore, there will be some Maoyi is particularly difficult to pull.

And "pulling the grass", also known as "pumping the grass", "lifting the grass needle", is a very test of skills and eyesight of the entertainment activities, not brute force can be universal, so it has become a way of competition between children, that is, to pull faster than who, lift more, to speed and number to win.

Usually looking for "thatch", people can go to the grass on the bank of the pond, or go to the sunny slope, as long as the "thatch" has been found before, it will continue to appear in the next year, because the thatch is a perennial herbaceous plant, so the new "thatch" will continue to be "slim" in the previous thatch, so it will be easy for people to find.

The fresh and tender "thatch" that is pulled out tastes like a light sweetness, mixed with the fragrance of earth and grass, because it has medicinal value, so it can also be said to be a kind of "natural treasure" flavor food. However, it should be noted that if the "Mao" is white and becomes hard, that is, the "Maocha" has become old, at this time it tastes quite a "chewy" feeling, and the taste is inaccurate, so it is usually better to eat "Mao" only when it is fresh and tender. However, if people miss the period of tasting "thatch", don't be resentful, because thatch, a strange plant, still has sweet "grass roots" waiting for people to come again, which is really "selfless dedication".

2. Kite flying.

Every year, when the cold of spring fades and the weather is still warm, in the open wheat fields in the countryside, there will be groups of people who release paper kites, and they are comparing each other's high and low. Or is it the crisp autumn weather, when there is no cloud in the Yan Dynasty, between the rural grasslands, there are now two or three people in a group to fly kites, and they take advantage of the warm sunshine to fly their youth.

I still remember that at that time, the little sister next door suddenly came out with a sentence "Don't you spoil (here refers to waste, scourge) my wheat", yes, I have unknowingly run to her wheat field to put paper kites, anyone will be angry. Therefore, this sentence has also become my most heartfelt impression of the paper kite - the experience of putting the paper kite without this sentence is incomplete.

In fact, there is a difference between "paper kites" and "kites": only bird-shaped kites are called "paper kites", and all "paper kites" belong to the category of "kites". However, in addition to the "bird" shape, the "kite" also has a variety of strange shapes such as "centipede", "dragon", and "goldfish".

Maybe people are born to like to control the fate of others or other things, so the fun of children's "kite flying" naturally falls on the words "control" and "drive", and even the word "skill". In particular, it is very comfortable to look at the kite you control and drive it according to your own ideas.

At that time, rural children obtained paper kites or kites by making their own hands or letting their brothers and sisters help make them, but most of them could not fly because the glued skeletons were too heavy. There are also stores to buy, more than a dozen yuan a piece, it is very easy to use, but the price is quite expensive, because at that time, it was not easy for rural children to have a yuan of pocket money, so in order to buy kites, it usually takes a long time to accumulate.

Therefore, at that time, if anyone owned a purchased kite, it became a symbol of their own wealth, and they could become the most popular person at that time, and it would be the envy of other children, so the rural children at that time loved to fly kites, in addition to their sincere love, more for the sake of "showing" (that is, "showing, showing off"), so that other children were jealous and red-eyed.

However, no matter what the purpose, paper kites or kites have long become indispensable props and good memories in their childhood for rural children, which will forever be engraved in their hearts and become the happiest soft part.

3. Drifting.

Playing in the water can be regarded as a very naïve way of entertainment among rural children, but it reflects skill and strength. But where the real fun lies, it is the layers of ripples stirred up by the stones, because this kind of momentary "beauty" cannot be grasped, just like human youth, it can only be experienced positively, not reflexively grasped, so it is particularly tiring to chase. There are no special rules for water rafting, and there is no need to deliberately find the Hongchi ditch, usually after encountering the pond and marsh ditch, the children gradually become interested, and then each pick up stones, farther than who throws, or can use stones to hit a few water drifts. It should be noted that when playing in the water, you need to use your arm force to throw correctly, rather than using your wrist force arbitrarily, otherwise the stone will not be thrown far, and your arm will be tired.

Of course, if you are lucky, you can also find traces of "hemp", a plant rich in dark green pigment, in the wild. Usually people mash the leaves of the hemp or nightshade leaves, and dip them in the capsule, which will leave the green juice on people's bodies and form a circle of prismatic patterns, which is also the most primitive way of tattooing.

I will especially remember the afternoon when I was rejoicing with my old friends. It's not like now, it's lonely, there's no one to talk to, it's really the older you get, the more lonely and helpless you become.

4. Blow bubbles.

Although there are a whole set of chic bubble-blowing props sold in the city, rural children who are good at DIY (meaning "hands-on") usually "adapt to local conditions" in order to save unnecessary expenses: first find a hollow rod, such as a discarded ballpoint pen, and take its barrel. Or go to the neighbor who owns the bamboo pole orchard, and after asking for their permission, cut the slender fresh bamboo pole, preferably if it is not thin or fat. Then quickly cut the knots, remove the two ends of the pipe, and also remove the film, leaving only a narrow and transparent empty cylinder for standby. Subsequently, go home and find an empty medicine bottle, put an appropriate amount of laundry detergent, or stuff some soap stars, add water and mix it carefully, stir it carefully and shake it thoroughly, so that it can produce white foam strings, and it becomes a veritable "bubble water", also known as "potion".

Then, hold a special hollow pole in your hand, and slightly dip the end farther away from your hand, that is, the "end of the pole", into the "bubble water", and then take it out to ensure that it is dipped in the "potion". Then, bring the head of the club closer to your mouth, sip slightly, and slowly breathe to ensure that the shape of the bubble hanging at the end of the club is complete and the size is appropriate. Because the "bubble" is very fragile and bursts when poked, it cannot be inflated like a balloon, but can only be slowly and slowly, so that the "bubble" can be born smoothly, and it can be regarded as a test of children's self-strength.

In fact, the most beautiful and memorable thing about blowing bubbles is the bubbles themselves. Because it is soapy water, it can form colorful bubbles, shining under the sun, colorful, just like neon in the shadow, it is only beautiful. But what is surprising is not only that, because the essence of the bubble is a trickle of "potion", the surface tension is small, so it can be embedded in a plurality, forming a honeycomb-shaped "bubble" mixture, and a single formed "bubble" is particularly light as a feather, when people blow it, it can dance with the wind, or fly to the branches between the flowers, and the follicle buds to have an affectionate hug, or shake up, straight to the sky, making it difficult to find traces of Miao, or deliberately rubbing people's cheeks, making a "pop" sound, making people can't help laughing.

Of course, if there is no wind, the sky is not beautiful, the "bubbles" can not dance with the wind, children can also use their mouths to blow slightly, so as to hold the "bubbles" suspended in the air. As a result, there is a conventional competition among children to see whose bubbles are blown by their mouths for a long time. Looking back now, it can be regarded as a kind of innocent competition that is "idle and boring", but can show a sense of self-achievement.

5. Falling houses.

The "wreaking house" is usually carried out in summer and autumn, and the general process is as follows: a few children take advantage of the rain and sunshine to find some moist and clean "yellow clay" (a kind of earthy yellow color, delicate structure, rich in minerals and other nutrients, and not easy to release). Or the scorching sun is like fire, and when there is no rain for a long time, they each find water or urine, and "harmonize" the soil into a wet mud mass. Then they are kneaded into a thin hollow-like depression, which resembles a basin shape or an inverted house shape. Immediately, each of them held the kneading mud cover with their hands, and then threw it to the ground, because the mud mass was affected by air resistance, you could hear the reverberation of "poof" or "pop" on the ground, and then they looked at each other in turn, and they could see that someone's mud roof was out from the inside out, and a mud thorn hole was drawn from the inside out, just like a balloon punctured by a needle, and the one with the largest hole in the mud cover was the winner.

The loser has to dig up the mud ball he owns to patch the holes on the winner's mud house until it is completed. However, if one player or multiple players have no broken mud house, and all other players have broken it, you need to fill the holes in the other players' mud house until one of the players loses the mud ball, and then the game is finished. Now that I think about it, the rural children's game of falling into the house is also the predecessor of the "plasticine" played by urban children, and the fun is basically the same. Although when they were children, children in the countryside did not know the pickling of "urine", and they also touched it with their hands, only as a prop, but at that time they were really happy, at least much more sincere than now, and they can be regarded as fearless for the ignorant.

6. Pick up stones.

撂石子, also known as 邷 mǒ é

It is a scoring entertainment game played with stones, that is, 1 stone counts as 1 point, 2 stones count as 2 points, and so on, the higher the total score wins.

The rules of the game are to pick a specific number of stones according to the law of increasing the number of stones in each round, that is, on the basis of having 1 starting stone, you must pick 1 stone in the first round, 2 stones in the second round, until you pick up more than one stone at a time. During the period, you can't touch other stones with your hands (except for the "one grab" situation), and you can't drop any stones, let alone lower than the number of stones that should be picked up each time in the previous round, and in addition to the hard rules of the first and second rounds, the rest of the rounds can't be picked up by more than two orders of magnitude, otherwise it will be counted as a failure, that is, the total score will be zero, and the series of rules will be valid throughout the whole process.

Usually take 7 small round ginger stones or prismatic gravel, and even if the family background is a little better, you can also ask your mother to use a few small sandbags (dialect, that is, "sewing").

The specific gameplay is to rock-paper-scissors first, so that the winner goes first. Then, the whole Gu fell (dialect, that is, "temporarily squatting") squatting, grasping 7 stones in his hand, throwing them slightly up to the range of eyebrows and eyes, and then quickly using the back of his hand with five fingers to catch the whole. If there is a leak, change the other party. If nothing is missed, proceed. Immediately, then throw a backhand, only catch 1 stone, let the rest scatter to the ground, can not be more or less connected, at this time 1 point is counted.

Then, lift the stone in the palm of your hand upward, and at the same time quickly pick up one stone on the ground, and then hold the picked up stone with the palm of your hand, and then firmly catch the one thrown before. If you successfully pick, hold, and catch, and do not touch the rest, you will be awarded another 1 point, 2 points will be awarded, and the game will continue, otherwise, the score will be cleared and the opponent will start.

Then, pinch the 1 stone obtained before with the palm of your hand, and at the same time, continue to throw it upward, and then pick up the 2 stones on the ground, be careful not to touch the other stones, if each step is successful again, then continue, this time counts as 4 points. However, if you only encounter one alone when grabbing 2 stones at a time, and you will inevitably encounter other stones, you can use any one of the 2 stones that has been obtained to leak to the side of it by dividing between your fingers to make up the same range of 2 stones, and then play as usual, which is called "laying eggs". Lay eggs, you can see 1~5 eggs.

If the above steps are successfully completed, then continue the game, that is, when there are 4 stones left on the ground, you need to catch at least 3 (or 4) at one time, if all are successful, it will be counted as 7 points (or 8 points). It should be noted that if there is still 1 stone left on the ground in the above way, that is, only 3 stones are caught at a time, you need to lay eggs again, and you can lay 3 or 4 or 5 eggs. That is, 3 points or 4 points or 5 points will be obtained, and the total score will be 10 points or 11 points or 12 points.

Of course, if you follow the normal operation, you don't lay any eggs, and there are only 3 stones left on the ground, and when you play the game, you can catch them all at once, and you can't drop stones. Upon completion, 3 points are counted, for a total of 7 points. However, if the remaining 3 stones are too far away to be picked up at the same time, you can take the method of "laying eggs" to get the 3 stones, otherwise, the score will be cleared and the other party will be replaced.

If there are still 2 stones left on the ground, that is, 2 eggs have been laid, then 2 more eggs will be laid, that is, 4 more stones need to be successfully picked up at one time, that is, 4 more points will be awarded, a total of 10 points, pay attention to the pickup, no stones can be dropped. But in this case, the 2 stones on the ground are far away from each other and cannot be picked up at the same time, then the eggs can be laid again, that is, 3 more eggs need to be laid, so as to make up the situation that 4 stones can be grabbed at one time, if it is successfully completed, you can get another 4 points, a total of 11 points, at this time, there is still 1 stone left on the ground.

In the same way, if there is still 1 stone left on the ground at this time, that is, multiple eggs have been laid before, then 5 eggs need to be laid at one time in this case (4 eggs can also be laid, but the difficulty coefficient of this situation is large, and there is no guarantee that the stones will not fall, so it is used sparingly), and then grab it all at once, pay attention to not have any mistakes, at this time, you can get 5 points (or 4 points), a total of 16 points (or 15 points).

If any of the above scenarios are successful, the game is counted as complete and it is the other person's turn to play, otherwise, all the points are cleared and someone else starts over. It should be noted that if the game is completed, there is a situation where the opponent's score is the same, that is, the lowest score of the same 7, or the same 10 points, or the same 11 points, or the same 12 points, or the same 15 points, or the highest score of the same 16, you need to compete again until the highest score is divided.

Because the operation of "throwing stones" often occurs in an instant, this scenario is the most important test of the player's flexibility and adaptability, and it can be regarded as one of the classic childhood games with a high degree of difficulty.

7. Catch tree worms, or gnats, or autumn worms.

Every summer and autumn, many cicadas will emerge on the trees in the countryside. The cicada is also a kind of living toy among rural children: adults usually pinch the wings of the cicada, and then pinch the stump wings and hand them to their children to play, or, adults find a cotton thread, and then tie it between the necks of the cicadas with intact wings, and then pinch the thread, let go of the cicadas, and let the cicadas fly with the leashed cicadas, so as to provide their children with happiness. But no matter what the way to play, the final result of the cicada insect is "fragrant and jade", or it is discarded by play, or it is fed to poultry.

There are many ways for people to catch cicadas and insects, among which the most non-damaging way to catch them is "hand covering" and "net buckle".

The so-called "hand covering" is that after people find the cicadas in the trees, because they do not have cicada catching tools around their bodies, and the cicadas are in a low position, they try to tiptoe, carefully get together from the side, and then take the lead in making cicadas, with lightning speed, and suddenly cover the cicadas on the tree with their hands, and therefore, they are often used by rural children to exercise and test their reaction ability and sensitivity.

The so-called "net buckle" is to use a net to catch cicadas, suitable for higher positions, people can not cover the cicada. Usually the inner mouth of a net bag is passed through with a long piece of iron wire, so as to form a spoon-shaped, and then the inner mouth is tied to make it tighter, and the excess iron wire that is left outside is thinly fixed on a bamboo pole with a rope, and then the cicadas in a higher position are captured by this tool, which is the way to catch cicadas in a higher position with this tool, and it is also a way to catch the largest number of cicadas without damage.

To this day, I still remember that in the past, rural areas were often inhabited by colorful wildlife because of their abundant vegetation, clear water sources, and abundant food, and they were also the most natural "fun bases" for rural children. Although at that time, the roads in the countryside would become muddy and dirty every time it rained, and people needed to wear heavy rubber shoes to walk.

I don't know whether it is social progress, or people are only money-oriented, and have become more and more impetuous, today's rural people, no longer maintain a sense of reverence for nature, no longer kind and simple, more wanton use of efficient pesticides, so many kinds of childhood "elf friends" are more or less, people can not find their figures, are slowly extinct, this is also a huge price under the change of the times.

But Rao is like this, until now, every year in the countryside from late spring to early winter, you can still hear, see and catch in the trees, which has spanned countless generations, and the loud singers and cicadas who love to drink the dew of the sky are the most.

Although cicadas need to endure underground for many spring and autumn before molting, because of their strong fecundity and large numbers, they can come every year as scheduled, accompany people on time, or turn into nutrients for people's bodies, and bond with people forever.

Because rural children have cicadas throughout their childhood, cicadas have indescribable emotional significance for rural children, and they are a kind of Peugeot creatures with a lot of fun. And when the tree worm (scientific name is cockroach) begins to chirp, it indicates the arrival of summer. Tree worm is a kind of delicate body, cute and charming cicada, with back wings, delicate feathers, and body color can be compared with the bark, so it is often hidden in the cracks of the bark ravines, in order to avoid the tracking of natural enemies.

Rural children's attitudes towards this insect have also changed from "coveting" to "disdainful of harm", at most, after the summer rains, picking out a few tree worm larvae to see, or during the prevalent period of tree worms, only catching a few to tease. But in the final analysis, it's just that children dislike this kind of small worm, because they have no meat and are more difficult to find, so the tree worm can live in the countryside, relatively free and savage, which can be regarded as a kind of luck.

And when the midsummer night falls, the sound of the tree worm is still high-pitched, under the tree in the countryside, there is a new insect that has been dormant for a long time, and it begins to move out of the ground, and then slowly climbs, step by step, it waves its chelicera, it struggles to climb up the trunk, it wants to ascend and metamorphosis, and complete the last step in its own life course, it is called "climbing monkey", it is the nymph period of the grub (that is, the bear cicada).

But because the "climbing monkey" has a high protein content and a lot of nutritional value, so greedy people often ignore its legend and turn into a bright miner's lamp and a long bamboo pole in every summer night every year, taking advantage of the night to grab its role existence, which is a catastrophe that "climbing monkey" must go through in order to realize its ideals.

And the "I" from now on is also a member of this group of diners, and if it weren't for the current sharp decline in the number of cicadas, I don't think I would have changed. At that time, I also followed the crowd to find the "climbing monkey" at night, and I also gained a lot, and I also tasted the "cicada chrysalis" that was only fried by my mother until it was browned and fragrant.

I still remember that cicadas have become the hottest summer seasonal food in the restaurant, and the price is one yuan each. To this day, I still remember that cicada molt is also a rare Chinese medicinal material, so people compete to collect it, so every year there will be many hawkers who come into the village to shout and buy. I still remember that in the folk saying at that time, it was said that the "climbing monkey" could not degenerate normally if it was immersed in water, although it was quite true. To this day, I still remember that the "climbing monkey" has a molting form called "Lao Bao", which is a state in which the "climbing monkey" is half-molted and will not come out, still adhered to the shell, and at the same time the shell is dripping with black juice. If it is found at this time, people will be stained with a puddle of "ink" on their hands, which is quite difficult to wash off, and it is said that the cicadas are disturbed and frightened by external forces in the process of metamorphosis, so this abnormal form and substance is produced. Because the appearance of the "climbing monkey" at this time is similar to that of "Bao Gong", and the skin color is also dark, it is affectionately called "Lao Bao" by people, which is also very appropriate.

As for the gnaths (i.e., the "reptilian monkeys" have metamorphosed into bear cicadas), people will not eat them, because the meat is already rough and unpalatable, so people will only catch them and feed them to cats at most.

The sound of the gnaths gradually thinned, the body began to rot white and mildew red, the weather became cooler and cooler, at this time, there was a kind of slender small worm, which could not wait to expose the soil, it was called "autumn frog", that is, the nymph period of "Mongolian cicada".

But rural children are not very familiar with this kind of cicada, and it can be said that they are very unfamiliar. The reason is that, on the one hand, because the cave of the autumn frog is long and deep, and people cannot reach it, and on the other hand, because the autumn frog's routine is contrary to people's rest, and often degenerates inadvertently, as if it can avoid people's observation.

And when the autumn cicada metamorphoses into the Mongolian chilled cicada, it begins to scream excitedly, from dawn to night, from night to dawn, basically rarely stops, all day long "hiss", even, often in groups of people are attracted by people's night lights, and then strayed into people's houses, are easily caught by people, pinch off their wings, and feed cats and dogs. All this, perhaps because it knew that its time was running out, so it was so happy that it chirped all day and night, without any regard for people's feelings. But this, unconsciously, has become a unique "taste" that only belongs to summer and autumn in people's hearts. If people really can't hear it any year, it's no wonder they will miss it.

Although "tree worms", "gnats" and "autumn worms" are pests that can damage trees and cause branches to wither and break, summer and autumn are also colorful and poetic because of them. Although their taste is pleasant, and people nowadays catch them in groups of two or three and catch them overnight, which has caused their numbers to drop sharply, they will always "come as scheduled" and come to people's side, which is always the case, which makes people look forward to it.

8. Pick sorbet sticks.

Sorbet sticks are stick-like hand-held objects left over after eating sorbet. In the countryside, even if it is a monotonous little stick, it can be played by children, especially the "ice cream stick" and "poplar stalk" as representatives.

The gameplay of "picking sorbet sticks" is simple, that is, it is more than who "picks" (uses a slender or pointed thing to open or pull out) sticks, and it is also difficult and very difficult to test people's carefulness, specifically: throw a bunch of sorbet sticks on the ground randomly, and then the player picks one out in turn according to the shape of the sorbet sticks, until the pick is finished, but each time the stick can not touch the others. If a player fails or makes a mistake, he keeps his sticks and continues with another player, and so on until all sticks are picked to play, and then the players can compare the number of sticks with each other. However, because every time the "ice cream sticks" are sprinkled on the ground, they will take on the shape of "branches" or overlap each other, increasing the difficulty of the game, so it is not easy for players to pick them all in one go, and it is basically impossible.

Of course, if there is no sorbet stick material, rural children will also use poplar leaf stalks to make a "sign", and then continue to "pick", or abandon this kind of play, and instead pull with stalks, that is, whose poplar leaf stalks are tougher, usually the old stalks will be more difficult to pull off than the new stalks, but there is no absolute, this depends on personal luck, and the stalk continues to win, and the stalk continues to be the king. It's also a natural form of entertainment.

Although the children at that time were quite fond of poplar stalks, time has passed so far, and today's poplar trees, in addition to having leaf stalks, also have annoying "poplar cotton", which was incredible many years ago. So now the tall poplar trees in the village have been cut down one after another, and maybe they will eventually disappear.

9. Archery.

The "archery" equipment that rural children play with is not as exquisite as the one in the city, often very simple, but it seems to be "blessed" and full of humanistic atmosphere, which is usually made by rural children by themselves DIY (referring to "hands-on"), so after playing, children will be more satisfied.

So, how do rural children DIY? This is usually done by going to the house of an aunt who has a bamboo pole and asking for a bamboo boil whose roots have been cut into pieces and have long since been sun-dried. Then, with the bamboo stalks, he went to his grandfather's house and asked him for the light hemp straw that had already been peeled by him and dried and dehydrated. Usually, my grandfather will give a bunch of them, and he will also help to fold them to the right length. Of course, you will also find a red plastic rope or a green fishing net line (a very durable and strong fiber twisted line) to use as your grandchild's bowstring, and then carefully help tie it, and then you are "done".

Because the bowstring is a good rope with elasticity, the hemp straw (i.e. arrows) placed on the bow body and bowstring will be shot at a short distance, although it is not as long as the range of the slingshot, but it is also a relatively safe way of entertainment.

However, children who love to play and love adventures will naturally not be satisfied with this range, and will usually be "transformed" again: insert a shiny or rusty iron nail into the head of the hemp straw, or deliberately ignite the head to make it smoke, so as to make the "legendary "iron arrow" and "rocket" - which is quite "worthy of the name", and can also increase a certain range. Immediately afterwards, they would carry "iron arrows" with them, either to shoot at tall trees or to shoot rampant rats on the beams of their houses, but most of the rats did not fall, and the arrows could not fall, they were all nailed to them, and they could only wait for the wind to blow away.

Of course, this kind of play is very dangerous, because after accidentally injuring someone, there will be a risk of tetanus, but at that time, the young child's mind is always thinking about one adventure after another, and there are countless stories that can have laughter... People are not at risk, how can they have a good childhood? Maybe so.

10. Be stunned.

"Dumb", or "spinning top", is a toy that uses a whip to whip and spin. "Spinning top" is a wooden cone-shaped object with a rough upper end, a narrow pointed lower end, and a circle carved in the middle. Usually, the lower end of the spinning top is touched to the ground, and the whip rope is wrapped around the "circle road", and after being wound, it quickly rotates to release the "spinning top" to make it rotate constantly. Alternatively, use your hands to spin the top directly on the ground, and then whip it with a whip rope to keep it spinning and dancing.

Because the spinning top is a game that needs to be whipped, the harder the person whips, the more violently the gyro turns, so "pumping the spinning top" is also called "pumping cheap bones". And this name, according to research, there is also an allusion: in the 40s of the last century, the children of old Beijing at that time called the spinning top "smoking traitors", because at that time the Japanese invaded the city of Beijing, many traitors helped to abuse, and they were as hated as the Japanese devils. So, the common people took advantage of the spinning top to get angry, and said while pumping: "Smoke traitors, fight traitors, defeat Japan, fight traitors." Or, "Smoke traitors, beat traitors, and the stick noodles will rise by a thousand." In order to relieve the resentment in his heart, "sucking cheap bones" came into being.

But for children, they don't know the meaning of "pumping cheap bones", what they care about most is often only whose gyro rotates for a long time, that is, comparing the strength and time of whipping the spinning top, which is also in line with the children's nature.

At the same time, because of this activity, it is very strong to keep fit, it has become a competitive tradition for a long time, so often in the winter weather, or the cold season, I can hear a burst of "popping" sound in the air from afar, and I can also see it up close, tireless spinning top, of course, I can also feel people's serious dedication to life, spurring forward.

(To be continued)