My father and I got up from the brazier in front of the shack. Looking to the west, the crowds that went to the back mountain to see the excitement at night were still turning down from the western slope one after another.

Someone in the crowd shouted: "Oh no, no good! Fairy Grandma has cast a spell, run, the He family is going to suffer, and those who have been to Beishan tonight will also suffer!"

Before the words fell, I saw that from the western horizon, there was a large black oppressive thing slowly moving closer, and the closer it was, the faster it moved, like a huge black quilt, covering the whole mountain, and people were terrified to see it.

Then we heard a rumbling sound rolling in like a sea of mountains, mixed with countless "dumb, dumb", "fluttering" and "whooshing" sounds, whistling over our heads.

Only then did we know that it was a black cloud formed by flocks of crows.

This large black cloud, about four or five kilometers in diameter, flew over our heads and drifted northeastward, drifting farther and farther away, and the sound became smaller and quieter, until it disappeared into the mountains on the northeast horizon.

Judging from the situation just now, the crows only passed by here, and did not attack anyone, and no one should have suffered.

But all over the mountains, the cries, shouts, and cries for help were mixed together and chaotic.

As my father once said, "The ghosts in the eyes are not terrible, but the demons in the heart are terrible." ”

Tonight, the people in the village were all defeated by the demons in their hearts, and even injured.

Daddy looked thoughtful, but he didn't say a word about it.

He sat down slowly, reached out and took off the glass lampshade, and raised the tongs to clip the sparks off the kerosene lamp, and the red sparks fell to the ground.

"Peace of mind," continued the old father's story of the interruption, "how easy it is to say! Everything in the village flashes the faces of six people at all times, so that I cannot hide from them.

"But my pain was soon relieved.

"One day at noon, I was resting in the yard just after eating. Yuhua ran in in a panic,——Oh, Yuhua is the sailor's grandmother - shouting that something big is coming." I hurriedly asked what was going on.

"She stammered: 'The officers and soldiers are here, and they want to take the salute. ’

"I said, 'Where are the officers and soldiers?' Yuhua said, 'I just entered the village, and I was asking about the Cunli family. ’

As we were talking, we heard a loud bang on the door of your sixth master's house on the other side of the wall, and then we heard the sound of a panicked latching door. I leaned on the wall and looked, your sixth master was bolting the door and looking out through the crack in the door.

"At that time, your second grandfather was still there, shouting and scolding in the house: 'Rebellious thief, do you want to demolish the house? See that I don't peel your skin!'

"We all know that your second grandfather's temper and poisonous speech are well-known in the village. When the three sons saw him, it was like a mouse and a cat.

"When your sixth master heard the shouting and scolding, he stood at the door, not daring to enter the house. In a dilemma.

"I shouted softly at the top of the wall: 'Cunli, come over the wall.' ’

"When you heard this, it was like discovering a savior, so he ran from the gate to the wall, jumped up, and then supported the wall with both hands, and slipped over the wall.

"Before he could get his footing, I couldn't wait to ask, 'Dick, what's going on?'

"He said indignantly: 'I have broken the leg of the bullying dog of the platoon commander at the gate of the city. ’

When Yuhua and I heard this, we were stunned. Usually, I have only heard of people being bullied by officers and soldiers, but I have never heard of ordinary people beating soldiers, and they are still officials, and what is even more terrible is that they have broken their legs.

Yuhua became even more nervous, she clenched her fists tightly, and said in a trembling voice: "I heard that Platoon Commander Qi is Chief Lu's cousin and son-in-law. You broke someone's leg, how can Chief Lu spare you. I was at the east entrance of the village just now, and I heard them say that they have turned over the whole village, digging three feet into the ground, and they will find you. ’

"I was very arrogant, but then I knew the seriousness of the situation. But he was not afraid, and bared his teeth and said, 'It's a big deal to fight with them, killing one of them is enough, and killing two will make money.' ’

"I thought I couldn't let his temperament come from it. And he said to him, 'The present situation is only thirty-six counts, and the plan is the best.' Hurry up over the wall and pack your things, and I'll run away with you. ’

"Your sixth master is in trouble now, and muttered: 'It's okay to run, you let me go back to pack my things, I have to break my leg, if the leg is broken, you can only run with me on your back, and with your body, you can't run half a mile with me on your back, and you will be caught up. ’

"No matter what happens, your sixth master is so playful and humorous when he speaks, and there is no positive shape. I admire him for that.

"I said, 'Then you wait a minute, I'll pack some clothes and we'll go.'" ’

"For me, it's not a good thing for you to be the sixth master. Life in the village is so painful and difficult, taking this opportunity to fly away and die in the world is a heroic way to live. The idea in the heart of a seventeen-year-old young man is so simple, so straightforward. The decision of the seventeen-year-old was spontaneous and easy.

"Your sixth master is still hesitating: 'Where are we going?'

"As soon as the idea of escaping from the village came to me, it was deeply rooted in my heart. At that time, my mind was full of walking, like it was not your sixth master who was going to flee for my life, but me. Hearing what your sixth master asked, I didn't think about it and said: 'The world is so big, is there no place for the two of us. ’

"At this time, Yuhua spoke: 'When I was studying in the city, I heard that young people with ambitions and ideals ran to Yan'an. Go to Yan'an. ’

"The word Yan'an is like a glass cup broken by Sha Seng to us, we have only heard the name, and we don't know what it is. I only vaguely knew that it had something to do with the Red Army who lived in the village four years ago.

"At this time, for me, it is the same wherever I go, and I casually said: 'Yan'an, Yan'an!'

"I went into the house and got a few clothes, rolled them in a furoshiki, grabbed two handfuls of steamed buns from the jar and stuffed them into the bag.

As soon as I walked to the door of the hall, I heard the sound of the door of Cunli's house squeezing. That's the officers and soldiers smashing the door of your second master.

"Yuhua said anxiously: 'You guys go quickly, they have all entered the alley of Cunli's house, it should be okay to go out from here, I will go to Zhuangdongkou first to see if there are any soldiers left at the intersection'

After that, I ran away.

"Your sixth master and I followed closely and walked out, and bumped into my mother head-on. My mother asked me where I was going with my baggage. I said, 'Go with Cunli to his uncle's house for a few days.' ’

"My mother knew that I was lying, but she did not stop me, helped me straighten the burden on my shoulders, straightened my collar, and said, 'You two should be extra careful when you are outside, and you will come back early when the limelight is over.' ’

"As she spoke, she reached out and took out a heavy cloth bag from her coat and handed it to me, I knew that it contained Yuan Datou, and she looked at Cunli again and said, 'Let's go.' Then he went back to the house. I looked back and saw him with a handkerchief and secretly wiping his eyes.

"I couldn't stop the tears from flowing, but I immediately turned my head and said, 'Mother, then let's go.'" So he went out with Cunli. That was the last time my mother and I saw each other.

"When we walked to the mouth of the alley, we saw Yuhua standing at the intersection waving to us, which means that there is no soldier guarding the intersection.

"When I walked past Yuhua, I saw her in tears. I smiled and said, 'What are you crying about?' and she didn't say anything. Cunli and I didn't stop and walked forward, and when we walked past her for a dozen steps, she ran up and grabbed the corner of my clothes, and said softly but firmly: 'Wherever you go, you have to come back, and I will always wait for you.' After saying that, he turned around and ran deeper into the alley.

"My heart felt like something was being pinched, and I suddenly felt that in addition to my mother, there were things worth remembering in this village.

"Out of the village, we bypassed the county seat from the small road in the south of the city, walked to the east gate five miles outside the east gate to connect the avenue, and walked all the way to the northwest along the avenue leading to the provincial capital. ”