Ordinary people's rice bowl

Chapter 49
Early on Sunday morning, Father Sun seemed to show his face in advance. Before the children who had passed the week got up, they jumped out of the horizon early.

The first thing Mu Zhen did after waking up was to run to her mother who was cooking in the kitchen and tell her to go out with her classmates. Since she was a child, she dared not and was unwilling to tell Mu Zhen, and she still maintains the habit of communicating with her mother about something. .

"Today, my classmate invited me to see the lotus at his aunt's house. Do you think I will go?" Mu Zhen even had an affair with his mother.

Xiuhua has always loved and cared for Mu Zhen. He feels that his son has grown up and has the ability to take care of himself, so he always tries his best to satisfy his son's requests.

"Ask me, do you think it's time to go, just go, and come back for lunch?" Xiuhua glared at Mu Zhen who was standing in front of the ground pot.

"I don't know for sure, maybe I won't come back!" Mu Zhen thought, Zhang Ran treats guests, so why come back for dinner?

"That's fine, be careful not to get into the water!" Xiuhua warned.

"I promise not to go into the water!" Mu Zhen said, ran to the main room, touched a steamed bun from the steamed bun basket, took out a purple onion from the kitchen vegetable bag, and shouted to Xiuhua: "Mom, I'm going !"

Before Xiuhua came back to her senses, Mu Zhen had already quickly ran out of the gate and onto the main road.

When they arrived at the entrance of Zhangji Village, the other three people had already been waiting there. Zhang Ran and Liu Xuchang each rode a bicycle from home, and the four of them started off towards the lake while talking and laughing.

Although it is about ten miles away from the lake, since Muzhen and Binhu Township are not in the same township, and because they have no relatives in the lake, they have never had the opportunity to visit the lotus in the lake. Naturally, every plant and tree in the lake is For Mu Zhen, who is new to the Lake District, it feels very fresh.

As soon as I got on the embankment of the lake, I saw a large area of ​​reeds, like a green carpet spread in the lake. When the breeze blew by, there was a sound of "rustling", and the reed leaves swaying with the wind, like green silk and satin blown up and down. .Occasionally, a small boat sprang out of the reed pond, like a swimming dragon playing in the water, fast and slow, left and right, erratic, really like a fairy.

Mu Zhen, who was watching intently, was suddenly pulled back by Liu Xuchang's reminder to "sit still".Mu Zhen immediately firmly grasped the crossbeam of the back seat of the car, only to feel that the bicycle was sliding down the embankment at high speed, and then heard the sound of brakes getting louder and louder, but it still did not stop the speed of the car. The sandy road was not enough for the bicycle to glide. Mu Zhen jumped off the bicycle in a hurry, grabbed the back seat of the bicycle firmly, and then pulled the bicycle to a stop. At this time, Mu Zhen noticed a small pier in front of her. This pier is very simple, and this is the first time Mu Zhen has seen it. There is an iron pillar on the edge of the pier. A fixed pulley is installed on the top of the pillar. A thick steel bar with water is attached to the fixed pulley. The thick steel bar passes through the The two fixed pulleys supported by the iron pillars of the ferry across the water are then connected to the fixed pulleys fixed on the iron pillars on the opposite bank to form a simple ferry that can be dragged back and forth.Mu Zhen really admired people's infinite wisdom. Even if the ferry boat is on the other side of the river and no one is rowing over, people here can pull the ferry over by pulling the steel wire of the fixed pulley if they want to cross the river.

All four of them got out of the car, stood on the pier and watched the people coming from the opposite bank put special hooks on the steel bars, and with a little force, cheaply pulled the ferry up.When the boat docked, the four of them jumped onto the boat, there was no one else, only the four of them went to the other side. Zhang Ran inserted his bicycle into the boat, picked up the special hook very skillfully, hooked it to the steel bar on the boat, and slammed it into the boat. As soon as the ground was strong, the ferry swished, left the river bank, and sailed to the opposite side.

Standing at the bow of the boat, Mu Zhen suddenly thought of Li Bai's "To Wang Lun", and couldn't help singing out: "Li Bai was about to go on a boat, but suddenly heard the sound of singing on the shore. The peach blossom pool is thousands of feet deep, not as deep as Wang Lun's sending me love." .”

"You really have the demeanor of Li Bai." Xiaojuan looked at Mu Zhen who was reciting poems.

"Where is it, where is it, it's just a matter of touching the scene!" Mu Zhen put on airs and said politely.

Liu Xuchang stepped on the bow of the boat and swayed from side to side, the body of the boat immediately swayed from side to side, Mu Zhen, who had no handrails, staggered, and Xiaojuan, who was standing in the center of the boat, hurried forward and hugged him, and Mu Zhen's face immediately turned red with embarrassment. Face.

Then the four of them burst out laughing.

"Looking at your sourness just now, you seem like a scholar who has crossed the river." Liu Xuchang said with a smile.

Mu Zhen only felt that his face was scorched by fire. He stood firm and stopped talking. He suddenly felt that he couldn't show off his poetry indiscriminately, otherwise it would only become a joke.

After crossing the river and on the pier, we saw a path about one meter wide, with finger-thick reeds on both sides of the path. When four people walked up the path, they were immediately covered by the reeds on both sides. We could only hear human voices, but no one was seen. .

Because of the narrow road, the four of them did not dare to ride anymore. Zhang Ran, who was pushing the cart, reminded him from time to time: "Be careful on this road. If you accidentally step into the reeds next to it, it's no joke. The big snake will coil around your legs."

"Don't be scary, okay?" Xiaojuan was a little weird, "You haven't seen it yet, so you are talking nonsense!"

Zhang Ran didn't dare to speak anymore, maybe Zhang Ran's reminder really made the other three feel fearful, so they stopped talking.

After walking about two miles, I arrived at Liulou Village, where Aunt Zhang Ran's home is.This village is an isolated island in the lake. The only connection to the outside world through the land is the small path when you come here. The village does not look too big, and there are all thatched houses with earthen walls. When you step into the village, you can see the head at a glance through the narrow alleys. Quietly, there were no pedestrians, and occasionally I saw three or two old people sitting by the wall, but they didn't speak a word, and their eyes were all focused on the four of them, as if seeing visitors from outside the sky.

Zhang Ran led everyone through the alley and turned a corner, and shouted to the small courtyard surrounded by earthen walls: "Auntie, are you at home? I am Zhang Ran!" No one in the courtyard agreed, Zhang Ran repeated. , heard a low panting sound from the courtyard, accompanied by the sound of the door bolt being pulled, an obviously old voice asked, "Who is it?"

As the door opened, everyone noticed a hunchbacked elderly woman with wrinkles on her face that seemed
The creased silk hung loosely on the face, and the open top was loosely worn on the body, and the three-inch golden lotus underneath was wearing a pair of showy pointed-toe shoes.

"Grandma, where's my aunt?" Zhang Ran immediately recognized that this was his aunt's mother-in-law, and hurriedly greeted her.

"Your aunt went down to the lake to collect the net, come in and wait for her! I think she will be back soon!" The old woman smiled and beckoned the four children into the yard.He tremblingly walked back to the courtyard behind the four people, and sat on the old-fashioned wicker chair in the courtyard.

The yard is not big. Standing in the yard, it feels like entering an earthen castle.Only the jujube tree with a thick bowl mouth in the courtyard is blooming with jujube flowers. The leaves of the whole tree are shiny green and full of vitality.

"Now all the young and old people in the village have gone to the lake and haven't come back. Except for the sleeping children in the village, we are old people who can't walk. We are old and useless!" The old woman babbled to the four children, More like talking to himself.

The four children didn't know what to say, and they looked at each other differently.Just as the four children were bored in the courtyard, they heard chatter and laughter coming from the alley. Zhang Ran sensitively heard his familiar voice, and said to the other three: "My aunt is back!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw a middle-aged woman standing at the gate with a straw hat on her head, a plastic apron tied around her waist, and a bag of small fish and shrimp in her hand.

"Aunt!" Zhang Ran greeted, Mu Zhen and the three of them also called "Aunt" after Zhang Ran, and just listened to the conversation between Zhang Ran and his aunt.

"When did you come here?" Aunt Zhang Ran looked at the four children and said hastily.

"Just arrived."

"Have you eaten yet?" Aunt Zhang Ran felt that the child was probably still hungry so early when he came here.

"Eat, aunt!"

"It's nonsense, I came here at this point, we haven't eaten yet, what kind of food are you eating?" Aunt Zhang Ran obviously didn't believe Zhang Ran's reply.

"Come inside, I'll cook for you." He said as he took off the plastic apron and entered the low kitchen next to the main room.

Zhang Ran followed in: "Auntie, we really ate!"

"What to eat, even if you eat, you have to eat more! Your uncle will come back later, let him take you to the lake to play!"

"Where's my cousin!" Zhang Ran's aunt, Chen Yuxiang, who was three years older than Zhang Ran, was a good punting fisherman on the lake. The fishing net was as light and smooth as a flower in her hand.

"Follow your uncle to sell fish at the east end of the village?"

Aunt Zhang Ran was very neat in her work. After a while, she heard the "sizzling" sound of fried fish coming from the kitchen, and then the smell of frying came from the kitchen, which made the four children salivate a lot.

"Oh, there are so many guests at home!" Cousin Zhang Ran who stepped into the door greeted the four of them. "Sister, I came here to see you today. After dinner, we will go boating and take us down to the lake to see the lotus." Zhang Ran saw his cousin, as if he saw a savior, went up to meet her, and took the fishing net from her hand.When Mu Zhen heard the words, she turned her head and saw a tall woman with a handsome face, wearing a red top and trousers rolled up, walking into the gate.

"Look, if you come, you will know that I will accompany you to the lake." As long as Zhang Ran came, Chen Yuxiang would be happy to accompany this cousin to play in the lake.

"Xiaojuan needs no introduction, what are these two called?" Chen Yuxiang was obviously very interested in the two strangers in front of her.

"These are my two classmates. His name is Mu Zhen, Mu Guiying's Mu, and Zhenbao's Zhen." Zhang Ran pointed to Mu Zhen and introduced, and then pointed to Liu Xuchang standing beside Mu Zhen: "This is Liu Xuchang, The rising sun, Xu, Chang is..." Zhang Ran couldn't think of how to form the word "Chang" for a while, so he got an idea: "It is the eternal Yonggai Day." His words made everyone laugh.

Chen Yuxiang, who has not graduated from junior high school, is naturally not familiar with this word. Although Zhang Ran knew how to write it, she still didn't understand the specific meaning. She turned to Liu Xuchang and asked, "Do you know the meaning of this word?"

"I know, this word is very special. The combination of Yongri means that the daytime is long. I was born on June 6, which happened to be the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, so I used this word." Liu Xuchang Explain carefully.

Everyone was refreshed after hearing this. Without Liu Xuchang's explanation, none of them really knew the meaning of this word.

The fisherman's meal was cooked quickly, and the smell of the fish hadn't dissipated. I heard the aunt in the kitchen shout to the children talking in the courtyard: "Stop talking, it's time to eat!"

When Yuxiang heard her mother's cry, she immediately ran into the main room, took a stack of bowls, and came out with a bundle of bamboo chopsticks in her hand, put them in the basin for cleaning, and carried them into the kitchen after cleaning.The four children looked at each other in blank dismay, really not knowing whether to eat the meal or not?

"Zhang Ran, what are you still doing in a daze, call your classmates to eat in the room!" Yuxiang urged Zhang Ran while carrying a bowl into the main room.

Zhang Ran beckoned to everyone, and everyone followed him to the kitchen to serve bowls of rice.

Walking into the kitchen, the tangy aroma strongly stimulated the sense of smell of everyone who came in. The rich and fragrant fish soup, together with the fried golden fish floating in the soup, increased the appetite of everyone present.

In the main room, everyone saw that Yuxiang's grandmother was sitting on the edge of the bed in the back room, and the food had been placed in front of her.

When Mu Zhen went out, she ate a steamed bun, and she didn't know where she was digesting it. When she saw the fried fish in the bowl, her stomach started to growl again.The appetite aroused by the aroma of the rice made the four of them eat with gusto.

"Where's my aunt?" Zhang Ran asked Yuxiang holding a bowl.

"She's gone to the entrance of the village! Let's eat first!" As she spoke, she continued to shove the rice into her mouth.

Aunt Zhang Ran hadn't come back yet. Everyone was wiping their mouths and their stomachs were full again. Zhang Ran hiccupped and said, "Take a rest, should we go to the lake?"

"What's the hurry, it's early now? The water is still a bit cold!" Yuxiang said as if she understood the impatient cousin in front of her.

"It's not going to swim in the lake. What does the cool water have to do with going to the lake to see lotus?" Zhang Ran gave Yuxiang a white look.

The two had just exchanged a few words in the yard when they heard voices outside the gate: "The price of fish today is ten cents lower than yesterday. How about not arresting him?"

"If you don't catch it, you don't have any money. What about an old snack?" Zhang Ran concluded that it was his aunt's voice.

"Uncle, we are all done eating!" Zhang Ran greeted his uncle first.

Zhang Ran's uncle is named Chen Sanjun, who is the party secretary of the village. There are three brothers in the family. , They all joked about him saying "the three armies are here", he has a cheerful personality, and he would often respond with clasped fists: "The three armies are here! The commander is still missing!" Everyone laughed.He is almost fifty this year, and he still looks like a young man. Except for his own fishing all day long, almost the whole person is from the village. If any fish in the village cannot be sold, look for him; , look for him; whichever family has a wedding or funeral, or look for him.He became the backbone of the villagers and the most trustworthy person in the village.In particular, there is a person in his family who makes the whole village proud, that is his son Chen Xiaoping, who was admitted to a university in BJ two years ago and became the "Golden Phoenix" flying out of this small lake village.

"Zhang Ran is here, is this?" Uncle Zhang Ran pointed to Mu Zhen and asked.

"My classmate." Zhang Ran hurriedly replied looking at his uncle's slightly surprised eyes.

"Have you all eaten?" The three armies greeted everyone.

"Eat, sir!" the children said in unison politely.

"I have something to do in the village at noon, so I won't accompany you to play in the lake, let Yuxiang accompany you to see the lotus in the lake!" Sanjun said as he entered the house, and picked up the rice bowl that Yuxiang had put on the chopping board.

Hearing what the three armies said just now, Yuxiang seemed to have received the imperial decree. Today, she took her cousin's classmates to visit the lotus pond. This year has not had time to go there yet!She had planned to go a few days earlier, but she didn't have the chance. This time her cousin came, which was also a rare and good opportunity.

"Let's get ready, we'll start in a while!" Yuxiang said, taking out a basket from the house, carrying it on her body, and then said to her parents who were eating in the house, "I'm taking them down to the lake!"

After finishing speaking, he tossed the two horn braids on his head, and walked out of the gate without looking back. The four of them followed closely behind, and left the house happily.

When we arrived at the east entrance of the village, we saw an open field with more than a dozen fishing boats docked by the river. The boats were of different shapes, pointed ones, flat ones, some with shacks, some with shade sheds, and some with paddles. Yes, a penny of different thicknesses is stuck in the prow of all the boats.

Yuxiang came to a boat with its own oars, untied the cable tied to the penny at the bow, jumped steadily to the bow with a light jump, then pulled up the penny, and stood on the stern of the boat. After a while, the boat stopped firmly on the shore, and greeted four people to board the boat.

Yuxiang left the shore with a penny first, and then sat in the stern and paddled easily with the oars. The boat entered the reeds. Then it rose up, as if entering another world.In addition to the "crash" sound of paddles beating the water, I occasionally heard unknown birdsong from the reeds, which was crisp and sweet, adding a little interest to the silent lake.Looking up, I saw a few egrets passing over the top of the reeds and rushing into the reeds.Looking down at the water surface, it is so clear that you can see the bottom at a glance, and there are groups of fish swimming around. The ancient saying "there will be no fish when the water is so clear" does not stand up to the scene in front of you. Maybe the owner who said this did not See the fish swimming in this clear lake, or have you never been on a boat in this lake!Maybe it's just ancient people making excuses for those who have trouble making friends.The yellow mud under the water is very flat, as if it has been smeared by someone. If she hadn't seen it herself, Mu Zhen really wouldn't have imagined how attractive the scenery in the lake is.

Maybe it's the scenery in the lake that makes everyone intoxicated, no one speaks, and some just compete to look left and right.

"Look, look, the lotus is about to swing!" Zhang Ran suddenly stood in the cabin as if he had been injected with a strong injection, pointing to the front and shouting loudly.

"As long as you have sharp eyes, what you see is not the lotus swing we are going to." Yuxiang, who had been paddling, reminded.

Yuxiang rowed a few times, and the speed of the boat seemed to change from jogging to sprinting.The water surface suddenly became wider. Mu Zhen had never seen such a large water surface. Looking forward, there was endless green in the distance. Looking left and right, the wide water surface spread endlessly on both sides. As the scene changed, people's minds also opened up. The "chug chug" sound of the motor was getting louder and louder, and a tugboat was coming towards them. Yuxiang hurriedly put away the oars, stood up, Holding the penny on the side of the boat, he rowed the boat into the ditch he had just left.

The other four were a little curious.

"Why don't we grab this big water surface?" Liu Xuchang asked.

"It's a long dragon on the water, and there are many warehouses behind it. When it comes, it will definitely cause big waves. I'm afraid that the waves will splash your clothes. Let's hide for a while. When it passes by, we will not be able to drive here again. Late." Yuxiang explained.

Everyone nodded knowingly, did not speak, and never took their eyes off the "long dragon" approaching for a moment.

"This guy is a train on the water. The water dragon runs fast because of the bow belt!" Mu Zhen laughed.

"Of course, the front of the ship is the bow, the power is all on the bow, the rear is just the warehouse, away from the bow, the rear can't run at all, you are too smart!" Yuxiang envied Mu Zhen's cleverness. .

After about ten minutes, the long water dragon approached. Everyone watched the waves he created and felt that their own boat was like duckweed, dangling freely on the water, showing the smallness of the wooden boat.

For about ten minutes, everyone watched the long dragon go away and laughed at each other for its dominance. Yuxiang drove out of the ditch and across the wide water surface. Yuxiang introduced to everyone while paddling: "Now we are passing It is the waterway of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal passing through the lake area, and the transport fleet passes here every day, and the water surface of this waterway is also the deepest, so every time you pass by here, you must first see if there are big ships coming, and avoid them for safety! "

"Can I swim?" Liu Xuchang became restless and said something nonsensical.

"The water here is deep, and there is no place to stop. Absolutely not, unless Ruan Xiaoer is reborn!" Yuxiang said very simply.

Just as he was talking, the boat approached the lotus pond that he saw just now, and the four of them stood up at the same time. Mu Zhen noticed that the lotus field was about an acre in size, with reeds on three sides, and the open side faced the waterway just mentioned , as if opening a lotus door to passing ships, where the breeze passes, the lotus leaves shake, as if waving to passing ships, attracting people to stop.The boat went around the lotus bushes, turned around the reeds around the lotus bushes, and the refreshing lotus fragrance became more and more intense, making everyone want to stand up their noses, absorb the fragrance as much as possible, and savor it carefully.

"This time it's our lotus swing!" Zhang Ran guessed with some certainty.

"You still remember something!" Yuxiang smiled, looking at the lotus in front of her and said.

The four stood up and looked at each other. The distance was already bordering the sky, forming a dividing line between the blue of the sky and the green of the lake. This green was different from the light green of the reeds. Like a spring, the breeze blows and "rustles".The dark green and red lotus flowers are dotted among them, which is really attractive. Standing here, you can really appreciate the fun of "reflecting the sun with a different kind of red lotus".The boat sailed into the lotus pond, and was immediately enveloped by the thick green. The heat wave under the high sun just now suddenly became very cool. The tall lotus leaves blocked people's sight, and only the thorny green petioles below could be seen. Then gently grasped a petiole with a big lotus leaf attached to it, and slowly lifted it upwards, suddenly heard a "crack", the petiole was pulled from the middle, and when it was lifted out of the water, it was found that the petiole was thicker than Zhang Ran. It was much higher, and everyone couldn't help exclaiming: "It's so long!"

"No matter how big the lotus leaf is and how beautiful the lotus flower is, without this green pole, it can only float on the water." Xiaojuan sighed.

"No, didn't Newton say that he himself was only standing on the shoulders of giants?" Mu Zhen continued to sigh.

"The beautiful display on the outside will be worthless without the roots below!" Xiaojuan said thoughtfully.

"Look, look, we are here to see the lotus, not here to express our emotions, what are we talking about, it's a mess!" Yuxiang reminded.

"Hey, hey, there are edible lotus pods there!" Zhang Ran was sharp-eyed again. Not far from the bow, there was a lotus pod that looked like a small bowl, facing the few of them. Green eyes are evenly distributed on the top of the lotus pod.

Yuxiang lifted the pole and pounded the lotus pod in the opposite direction, Zhang Ran was quick-sighted, took the lotus pod into his hand with one hand, folded it off, and distributed it to everyone to taste.

Everyone shuttled in the lotus pond, picking edible lotus pods from time to time and putting them into the back basket in the cabin. Everyone talked and laughed, and stuffed the peeled lotus pods into their mouths from time to time. Zhong has slipped away quietly, the sun has already set in the west, and the lotus pods in the baskets in the cabin have piled up hills. Everyone is still not tired. Yuxiang knows that if she doesn't go back, she will be reprimanded by her mother again when she returns home, so she greets her. With a sound, let everyone sit down, wave the penny and drive back to the ditch.

"The sun in the west is about to set, and the Weishan Lake is quiet. I play my beloved earthen pipa and sing that touching ballad..." A man's high-pitched singing voice came from an unknown river, and everyone heard it very well. Fascinated, this song led everyone back to the battlefield decades ago, seeing countless guerrilla boats galloping out of the reeds, rushing towards the enemy, and the guerrillas on board swung their knives at the devils...

(End of this chapter)