The Complete Works of Lu Xun's Novels

Chapter 6

The sun had exhausted his last light, and the water surface was quietly returning to the cool air; there was a sound of dishes and chopsticks on the dirt field, and everyone's backs were sweating again.After eating three bowls of rice, Mrs. Qijin raised her head by chance, and her heart couldn't help beating.Through the tallow tree leaves, Yi saw the short and fat Mr. Zhao Qiye walking from the single-plank bridge, and he was wearing a royal blue bamboo gown.

Zhao Qiye is the owner of the Maoyuan Hotel in the neighboring village, and he is the only outstanding person and scholar within a radius of thirty miles;He has more than ten volumes of "Three Kingdoms" criticized by Jin Shengtan, and he often sits and reads it word by word; not only can he name the five tiger generals, he even knows that Huang Zhong's surname is Hansheng and Ma Chao's surname is Mengqi.After the revolution, he coiled his braids on the top like a Taoist priest; he often sighed that if Zhao Zilong was alive, the world would not be in such a mess.Qijin's sister-in-law has good eyesight. I saw that today's Zhao Qiye is no longer a Taoist priest, but has a smooth scalp and black hair on top; Yi knew that this must be the emperor sitting in the Dragon Court, and there must be braids, and Qijin must have braids. is very dangerous.Because Zhao Qiye's bamboo cloth gown is not often worn. In the past three years, he has only worn it twice: once when he was sick with his nauseous pockmarked Ah Si, and once when he smashed his hotel This is the third time when the old Master Lu died; this must be another celebration for him and disaster for his enemies.

Qijin's sister-in-law remembered that Qijin was drunk two years ago and called Zhao Qiye a "bad boy", so at this moment, she immediately felt Qijin's danger, and her heart skipped a beat.

Zhao Qiye walked all the way, and those who were sitting and eating stood up, pointed their rice bowls with chopsticks and said, "Qiye, please eat with us!" He went straight to the table at Qijin's house.Qijin hurriedly greeted them, and Qiye also smiled and said "Please", while carefully studying their meals.

"Dried vegetables that smell delicious—have you heard the wind?" Zhao Qiye said standing behind Qijin and facing Qijin's wife.

"The emperor is sitting in the Dragon Court." Qi Jin said.

Qijin's sister-in-law looked at Qiye's face, tried her best to accompany her with a smile, "The emperor has already sat in the Dragon Court, when will the emperor grant amnesty?"

"The emperor's amnesty? ——The amnesty must be amnesty slowly." When Qi Ye said this, his tone suddenly became severe, "But what about your seven-pound braid, braid? This is a very important matter. You know: When the hair grows, keep the hair but not the head, keep the head but not the hair,..."

Qijin and his woman had never read the book, so they didn't understand the mystery of the classics, but they felt that the learned Qiye said that the matter was naturally very important and irreversible, so they seemed to be sentenced to death, and their ears were buzzing. A beep, and no more words can be uttered.

"One generation is not as good as one generation——" Jiujin old lady was aggrieved, and took this opportunity to say to Zhao Qiye, "The long hair now just cuts other people's braids. It's not a monk, it's not a way. In the past, the long hair Mao, is it like this? I have lived to be 79 years old. I have lived enough. The long hair in the past was—a whole horse of red satin wrapped around the head, dragging down, dragging down, dragging down to the heels; the prince is yellow satin, dragging down , yellow satin; red satin, yellow satin, - I have lived enough, 79 years old."

Mrs. Qijin stood up and said to herself, "How is this good? Such a group of old and young people who depend on him to support them..."

Zhao Qiye shook his head and said, "That can't be helped. If you don't have braids, what crime should you be? It's clearly written one by one in the book. It doesn't matter who is in his family."

Qijin's sister-in-law was completely desperate when she heard what was written in the book; she was so anxious that she suddenly hated Qijin again.Yi pointed to the tip of his nose with chopsticks and said, "This dead body has done it for itself! When I rebelled, I said, don't punting, don't go to the city. The braids were cut off. In the past, the braids were silky and black, but now they have made monks and monks uneducated. This prisoner has suffered on his own, and what should we say when he is tired? This prisoner of a living corpse..."

When the villagers saw Zhao Qiye coming to the village, they all hurriedly finished their meal and gathered around the dining table of Qijin's house.Qijin knew that he was a character on the stage, and it was indecent to be insulted by women like the public, so he could only raise his head and said slowly:
"You speak ready-made words today, then you..."

"You prisoner of the living corpse..."

Among the spectators, Mrs. Bayi was the kindest person, holding Yi's two-year-old posthumous son, watching the fun beside Mrs. Qijin; , who knows what will happen in the future? Even Mrs. Qijin, didn’t she say at the time that there is nothing ugly without braids? Besides, the elder in the yamen hasn’t announced yet,..."

Mrs. Qijin didn't finish listening, her ears were already red; she turned her chopsticks around, pointed at Mrs. Bayi's nose, and said, "Ah, what are you talking about! I was still alone, would I say such stupid nonsense? At that time, I was crying for three days, and everyone saw it; even this kid Liujin was crying..." Liujin just finished a big bowl of rice , took the empty bowl, reached out and clamored for more.Qijin's sister-in-law was getting angry, so she stuck her chopsticks between the corners of Yi's double crotch, and shouted, "Who wants you to talk too much! You little widow who steals!"

With a plop, the empty bowl in Liu Jin's hand fell to the ground, and just happened to hit the corner of a brick, and immediately broke into a big gap.Qi Jin jumped up, picked up the broken bowl, closed it to inspect it, and shouted, "Mother!" He knocked Liu Jin down with a slap.Liujin lay crying, and the old lady Jiujin took Yi's hand, saying "one generation is not as good as one generation", and they left together.

Mrs. Bayi was also angry and said loudly, "Sister-in-law Qijin, you 'hate to beat people'..."

Zhao Qiye was watching with a smile at first, but since Mrs. Bayi said, "The elder in the yamen didn't announce it", she became a little angry.At this time, he had already walked around the table, and continued, "'Hate to beat people with a stick', what is it? The soldiers are coming soon. Do you know that this time the escort is Marshal Zhang, and Marshal Zhang is Zhang Yide from Yan. He is a descendant of Zhang Ba Snake Spear, and he has the courage of ten thousand men, who can resist him." He clenched his fists with both hands at the same time, as if holding an invisible snake spear, and rushed a few steps toward Mrs. Bayi , "Can you resist him!"

Sister-in-law Bayi was so angry that she was trembling with the child in her arms, when she suddenly saw Zhao Qiye's greasy face, staring at Yi, rushing towards Yi, she was very frightened, she didn't dare to finish her sentence, turned around and left.Zhao Qiye also followed, and everyone blamed Mrs. Bayi for being troublesome, but at the same time moved out of the way, and those who had cut their braids and kept them back hurriedly hid behind the crowd, fearing that he would see them.Zhao Qiye didn't pay attention to the investigation, passed through the crowd, suddenly turned behind the black tallow tree, said, "Can you resist him!", stepped on the single-plank bridge, and walked away.

The villagers stood there blankly, calculating in their hearts, they all felt that they could not withstand Zhang Yide, so they also decided that Qijin would die.Since Qijin violated the imperial law, he remembered that when he used to talk about the news in the city to people, he shouldn't show such a proud look with a long pipe in his mouth, so he felt a little relieved about Qijin's violation of the law.They also seem to want to make some comments, but feel that there is nothing to talk about.There was a buzzing noise, and the mosquitoes ran over their naked bodies and rushed under the tallow tree to do the market; they also slowly dispersed and returned home, closing the door and going to sleep.Mrs. Qijin muttered, she also took the guy and the table and stools home, closed the door and went to sleep.

Qijin took the broken bowl home, and sat on the threshold to smoke; but he was so sad that he forgot to smoke, and the fire in the white copper bucket with an ivory mouth six feet long and Xiangfei bamboo pipe was gradually blackened.In his heart, he felt that the matter seemed to be very critical, and he thought of some methods and plans, but they were always very vague and could not be penetrated: "Where is the braid? The bowl must go to the city to nail it. Who can resist him? It is written one by one in the book. Bitch!..."

In the early morning of the second day, Qijin still sailed into the city from Luzhen, returned to Luzhen in the evening, and returned to the village with a six-foot-long Xiangfei bamboo pipe and a rice bowl.At the dinner table, he told Mrs. Jiujin that the bowl was nailed together in the city. Because of the large gap, he needed 48 copper nails, three coins each, and a total of [-] coins.

The old lady Jiujin said very unhappy, "One generation is not as good as one generation, I have lived enough. Three pennies a nail; the nails in the past, like this? The nails in the past were... I lived to be 79 years old,—"

After that, although Qijin went to the city every day as usual, his family situation was always a bit bleak, and the villagers mostly avoided him, and no longer came to listen to the news he got from the city.Mrs. Qijin didn't have a good voice either, and often called him a "prisoner".

After more than ten days, Qijin came home from the city. The woman who saw him was very happy and asked him, "What did you hear in the city?"

"Didn't hear anything."

"Has the emperor sat in the Dragon Court?"

"They didn't say it."

"Is there no one in the Xianheng Hotel?"

"No one said either."

"I think the emperor must not sit in the Dragon Court anymore. I walked past Zhao Qiye's shop today, and saw him sitting and studying again, with his braids coiled up on top again, and he wasn't wearing a long gown."

"........."

"You think, don't sit in the Dragon Court anymore?"

"I think, let's not sit down."

The current Qijin, Qijin's sister-in-law and the villagers have already given him considerable respect and treatment.In summer, they still eat on the soil field in front of their house; everyone greets them with a smile when they see them.The old lady Jiujin had already celebrated her [-]th birthday, and she was still uneven and healthy.The corners of Liujin's double-haired braids have turned into a big braid; although Yi has recently bound her feet, she can still help Qijin's sister-in-law with work, holding a job bowl with eighteen copper nails, and limping on the dirt field contacts.

October [-]. ②
This article was originally published in the September [-] issue of "New Youth", Volume [-], No. [-].

home
I braved the severe cold and returned to my hometown, which was separated by more than [-] miles and had been separated for more than [-] years.

Since it was deep winter, when we approached our hometown, the weather became gloomy again, and the cold wind blew into the cabin, making a humming sound. Looking out from the gap in the canopy, there were several desolate deserted villages lying far and near under the pale yellow sky. vitality.My heart couldn't help feeling sad.Ah!Isn't this the hometown I always remember for 20 years?

I don't remember my hometown like this at all.My hometown is much better.But if I want to remember his beauty and tell his beauty, I have no image or words.As if that was the case.So I explained to myself: The same is true in my hometown—although there is no progress, it may not be as sad as I feel. This is just a change in my own mood, because I am not in a good mood when I return to my hometown this time.

I'm here just to get rid of him this time.The old house that we have lived in together for many years has already been jointly sold to a different surname, and the deadline for handing over the house is only this year, so we must hurry up before the first day of the first lunar month, bid farewell to the old house we are familiar with, and stay away from the familiar ones My hometown, I moved to a different place where I was looking for food.

Early the next morning I arrived at the door of my house.Many broken stems of withered grass on the corrugated boards are shaking in the wind, which is explaining why this old house will inevitably change hands.The main family of several rooms has probably moved out, so it is very quiet.When I arrived outside my room, my mother had already come out to greet me, and then my eight-year-old nephew Hong Er flew out.

My mother was very happy, but she also hid a lot of desolation, and taught me to sit down, rest, and drink tea, not to mention moving.Hong'er had never seen me, and stood opposite me from a distance, just watching.

But we finally talked about moving.I said that the outer apartment has already been rented, and I bought some furniture. In addition, I have to sell all the wooden furniture in the house and add more.My mother also said yes, and the luggage has been assembled a little bit. The wooden utensils that are inconvenient to carry have been sold, but I can't collect the money.

"You rest for a day or two, visit your relatives and family once, and then we can go." Mother said.

"Yes."

"And Runtu, every time he comes to my house, he always asks about you, and wants to see you very much. I have already informed him of the approximate date of your arrival, and he may be coming soon."

At this time, a miraculous picture suddenly flashed in my mind: a golden full moon hung in the deep blue sky, and below was the sandy land by the sea, all of which were planted with endless green watermelons, among which there was a ten-year-old A one or two-year-old boy with a silver ring around his neck and a steel fork in his hand stabbed at a horse with all his strength, but Na Yun twisted her body and escaped from under his crotch.

This boy is Runtu.When I met him, he was only in his teens, and it will be 30 years from now; at that time, my father was still alive and his family background was good, so I was just a young master.That year, my family was on duty for a big sacrifice①.It is said that it takes more than 30 years to have one turn for this sacrifice, so it is very solemn; in the first month, there are many ancestor statues, and the sacrifice vessels are very particular. There are also many worshippers, and the sacrifice vessels must also be guarded against being stolen.There is only one busy month in my family (there are three types of workers here: those who work for a certain family throughout the year are called long-term workers; It must be called busy moon by other people's workers), and he was too busy, so he told his father that he could ask his son Runtu to take care of the sacrificial vessels.

My father allowed it; I was also very happy, because I heard the name Runtu a long time ago, and knew that he was about the same age as me, born in the moon, and lacked soil in the five elements, so his father called him Runtu.He can pretend to catch small birds.

So I look forward to the New Year every day. When the New Year arrives, Runtu will also arrive.Finally, at the end of the year, one day, my mother told me that Runtu was coming, so I ran to see it.He is in the kitchen with a round purple face, a little felt hat on his head, and a shining silver collar around his neck. This shows that his father loves him very much and is afraid that he will die, so he made a wish in front of the gods and Buddhas, and used The circle trapped him.He was very shy when he saw people, but he was not afraid of me. He would talk to me when there was no one else around, so we got to know each other within half a day.

We didn't know what we were talking about at that time, but we only remembered that Runtu was very happy, saying that after going to the city, he saw many things that he hadn't seen before.

The next day, I asked him to hunt birds.He said:
"It can't. It should be snowed heavily. We are on the sandy ground. When it snowed, I swept out an open space, propped up a big bamboo plaque with a short stick, and sprinkled corn grains. When the birds came to eat, I was far away. The ground just pulled the rope tied to the stick, and the bird was covered under the bamboo plaque. There are everything: rice chickens, horned chickens, partridges, blue-backed..."

So I was looking forward to the snow again.

Run Tu said to me again:

"It's too cold now, you come to us in summer. We go to the seaside to collect shells during the day, there are red and green ones, there are ghosts, and there are Guanyin hands. Dad and I will take care of the watermelon at night, and you will go too."

"Do you care about thieves?"

"No. A person who walks is thirsty and picks a melon to eat. We don't count it as stealing here. We are dealing with badgers, hedgehogs, and chrysalis. Under the moon, listen, there is a clattering sound, and chrysanthemums are biting melons." You pinched your fork and walked gently..."

I didn't know what this so-called scorpion was at the time—I don't even know now—I just felt that it looked like a puppy and was very ferocious for no reason.

"Doesn't he bite?"

"There's a Hucha. When you get there, you can stab him if you see him. This bastard is very smart. He ran towards you, but ran from his crotch. His fur is as slippery as oil..."

I never knew that there are so many new things in the world: there are so many colorful shells on the seashore; watermelons have such a dangerous experience, I only knew that they were sold in fruit shops.

"In our sandy land, when the tide is coming, there are many jumping fish just jumping, and they all have two legs like frogs..."

Ah!There are endless strange things in Runtu's heart, which are unknown to my former friends.They didn't know something. When Runtu was by the sea, they, like me, only saw the sky at the four corners of the high wall in the yard.

It's a pity that the first month has passed, and Runtu had to go home. I was so anxious that he hid in the kitchen, crying and refusing to go out, but was finally taken away by his father.He later asked his father to bring me a pack of shells and some beautiful bird feathers. I also gave him things once or twice, but we never saw each other again.

Now my mother mentioned him, and all the memories of my time here suddenly came to life like lightning, as if I saw my beautiful hometown.I responded and said:
"That's wonderful! He—how? . . . "

"Him?... His situation is also very unsatisfactory..." The mother said, and looked out of the room, "These people are here again. They said they were buying wooden utensils, and they took them away casually. I have to go and have a look."

Mother got up and went out.There were several women's voices outside the door.I asked Hong'er to come closer and chat with him: I asked him if he could write and if he was willing to go out.

"Shall we go by train?"

"Let's go by train."

"Where's the boat?"

"Take the boat first,..."

"Ha! This is what it looks like! The beard is so long!" A sharp strange voice suddenly shouted.

I was taken aback, and quickly raised my head, only to see a 50-year-old woman with protruding cheekbones and thin lips standing in front of me, with her hands between her thighs, without a skirt, and her feet spread out, just like a drawing instrument A compass with a thin and isolated foot.

I was stunned.

"Don't you know me? I even hugged you!"

I was even more stunned.Fortunately, my mother also came in and said from the side:
"He has been away for many years, but he has forgotten about it. You should remember," he said to me, "This is the second sister-in-law Yang who is diagonally across the door... who runs a tofu shop."

Oh, I remember.When I was a child, in the tofu shop diagonally across the door, there was indeed a sister-in-law Yang who sat all day long, and everyone called her "Tofu Xishi".But with white powder on, the cheekbones are not so high, the lips are not so thin, and I have never seen such a compass-style posture after sitting all day.At that time, the person said: Because of Yi, the business of this tofu shop is very good.But this was probably because of my age, but I didn't feel the slightest influence, so I completely forgot about it.However, the compasses were very uneven, showing disdain, as if laughing at the fact that the French did not know Napoleon, and the Americans did not know Washington, and said with a sneer:

"Forgot? This is really noble..."

"Then there's this... I..." I stood up in panic and said.

"Then, let me tell you. Brother Xun, you are rich and heavy to carry. What other broken wooden utensils do you need? Let me take them. Our small family needs them."

"I'm not rich. I'll have to sell these and go..."

"Ah, you said you are not rich after you let go of the Taoist platform? Now you have a third-bedroom concubine; when you go out, you can carry eight big sedan chairs, and you still say you are not rich? Scary, you can't hide anything from me."

I knew I had nothing to say, so I closed my mouth and stood silently.

"Ah, ah, the richer you are, the more you refuse to relax, the more you refuse to relax, the richer you are..." Compass turned around angrily, and said in a fluttering voice, slowly Going out, I tucked a pair of my mother's gloves into the waistband of my trousers, and went out.

(End of this chapter)