Hunger for a hundred years

Chapter 24 (4)
However, He Zhongbao will not be lonely.At that time, on the stone walls of the Hejiapo Mountains and the main houses of the pigpens and cattle pens of every household, there were densely painted slogans that people seemed to understand: "Big purchases that fly in the sky and land on the ground." Running, digging on the mountain." "Fighting and fierce fighting, the illiterate is not allowed to celebrate the National Day!" "Read a hundred books, write a hundred thousand words, everyone writes poems, every household subscribes to the county newspaper." "No eight evils are allowed to celebrate New Year's Day !" (Note: The eight pests refer to mice, sparrows, mosquitoes, flies, cockroaches, fleas, lice, and maggots).
Although the trees in Hejiapo have been severely felled for decades, they can still be called verdant forests. When you enter the uninhabited mountains, you can often see wild flowers blooming and wild fruits falling by themselves. Therefore, there are as many sparrows as there are lice on a woman's head. On the road overgrown with weeds, bird droppings can be seen everywhere, and the bitter aroma of plants and insects rotting in the belly of the birds blends with the smell of the soil.Therefore, "killing hemp" has become the top priority of the work.In those days, the shouts of chasing sparrows and the sound of gongs could be heard for miles.The sparrows may not be able to figure out why humans want to completely exterminate them after [-] million years. They are so frightened that they take off and migrate short distances like dark clouds, hoping to find a place to live in another jungle, but their wings have not yet closed. There was another sound of gongs and shouts, so I spread my wings again, but the situation was the same as before.Even if there are not so many real people, there are scarecrows densely covering the hills, and frightened birds, how can they be in the mood to distinguish the real from the fake, let alone scarecrows, they will be afraid of even seeing the woods!They just kept flying around in the sky and the sky, and eventually they were exhausted to death.The sparrow was exhausted, the crows and magpies involved in it were all exhausted, and even the ferocious animal Maogou on Laojun Mountain was exhausted to death.

The nationwide campaign to encircle and exterminate the sparrows first started in Sichuan.The sparrow war in Sichuan has achieved great results, and the news quickly spread to all provinces in central China and the Beijing and Tianjin regions, and the sparrow war started nationwide.Later, the famous poet Guo Moruo published his poem "Curse the Sparrow", and the poetry movement flourished. It seemed that he had returned to the prosperous Tang Dynasty overnight, and farmers' quarrels had rhymes.In Hejiapo, He Kuiyuan no longer made up stories, but responded to the call and made up poems!From the end of April to the beginning of May, Hejiapo set off a second round of sparrow extermination. When he saw those who survived the first round of sparrow extermination and fell to the ground, He Kuiyuan sang loudly: "The sun goes down in the west, I'll tie the sun with a cow rope! Pull the sun up to a height of ten feet, and do it majesticly!"
When summer comes, Hejiapo hardly sees a single sparrow.

The figure of the sparrow had just been buried in the sky, and another brand-new slogan appeared in Hejiapo: "Marshal of Iron and Steel is promoted."
Yongle County established a steel headquarters, mobilizing every household to "donate scrap steel".How can there be scrap steel in the countryside?Even rough iron with poor hardness is also used to make water ladles and dung ladles, but since every household is required to donate, they are not allowed to donate.During the member meeting, I made it clear: daily necessities such as iron pots and cans are scrap steel, and ancient cultural relics such as iron bells and steles are also scrap steel!He Zhongcai was the most active in donating iron in Hejiapo. He donated all the iron he had deducted from others by cutting corners. He Zhongbao was second, and he was the first to donate a good iron pot.Since then, Hejiapo set off a trend of offering "scrap iron and steel".He Da not only donated the pot, but also the pot (a large pot that needs two people to lift, which can be used to cook pig food in rural areas, and can also be used to cook for big banquets).

The county decided to transfer 15 farmers to the mountain to set up earthen furnaces to make iron and steel. Little Hejiapo built two earthen furnaces, one on Zhu's board and the other on the mountain behind the big field ridge.He Da was assigned in front of the earthen stove behind the big field ridge.It is smelted on a mountain nearly a thousand meters away. There is no coke, not even coal, only firewood.All of a sudden, the Qinggang trees all over the mountains and mountains were felled, and the ones with the thickness of the bowl mouth and the size of a thumb were all brought down, the branches were removed, and the sticks were piled up on the Zhushi board and the big field ridge.He Da's task was to build a fire, and the two took turns to be on duty, and the fire was not extinguished day and night.The water was boiling in the big yellow pot, and a heart-piercing rusty smell pervaded the whole village.

The bottom of the pot was burnt, and no iron was smelted, let alone steel.

Steel was not smelted in Hejiapo, but it was smelted in other places!Throughout the day, the cardboard loudspeakers excitedly announced the good news that a certain village had produced high-quality steel.Those farmers not only smelted steel, but also wrote heroic poems: "Tieshan flowers are blooming all over the hillside, and thousands of new blast furnaces have been built; The Yangtze River is no match!" He Jiapo panicked after listening to this poem, but what's the use of panic?The green hills and forests all over the slope are almost cut down!
"Rightist" He Zhongbao said: "After the Qinggang trees are cut down, there are still pine trees. After the pine trees are cut down, there are still cypress trees. After the cypress trees are cut down, there are still lump trees. Even if the twigs of a mountain are all cut down, He Da is the door. Isn’t there such a thick yellow jue tree?”
When only thatch and dwarf shrubs remained on the lush mountain, He Da no longer wanted to put firewood in the red earthen stove.His heart was full of sorrow, and this sorrow seemed to have grown thousands of feet, constantly grabbing his heart.That day, when he returned home with a dark face and a head full of firewood ash, he was lying on the bench like a zombie, staring and saying nothing.Chen Yuexiang thought he was too tired, ignored her own fatigue, and after taking care of Hekou, she sat next to her husband, beat his back and rubbed his shoulders.He Da's eye sockets were moist, his eyelids blinked, and tears flowed down.Chen Yuexiang was shocked, no matter how tired she was, she shouldn't be crying, right?He must have been pissed outside.Chen Yuexiang asked softly: "What's the big deal?" He Da still didn't say anything.

Chen Yuexiang said: "A man, how could he cry as soon as he got on the car?" No matter how soft Chen Yuexiang's voice was, He Da never answered.Such a situation never existed before.Chen Yue became popular, and He Da insisted on telling the reason.Unexpectedly, He Da became even more angry. With a wave of his hand, he pushed Chen Yuexiang down.This was completely beyond Chen Yuexiang's expectation. She slumped down on the uneven muddy ground, yelled "Ouch", unable to get up, she sat on the ground and rubbed her waist.He Dafei not only ignored him, but also yelled at her, saying that the mother-in-law's family would be annoying within a day.Chen Yuexiang was heartbroken, but she didn't cry, she just punched He Da in the leg.He Dazheng had nowhere to vent his anger, and punched Chen Yuexiang hard, causing Chen Yuexiang to fall asleep on the ground.She is much taller than He Da, but she is a woman after all.She was beaten for no reason, Chen Yuexiang didn't agree, she struggled to get up, and scuffled with He Da.The two groaned in pain while beating, and within a few moments, their heads were bleeding.

He Kou, who was playing by throwing a wooden bowl at the table of the Eight Immortals, was so frightened that he burst into tears.

They ignored each other that night.

After dawn, Chen Yuexiang was awakened by a loud noise.The noise came from the stone mill that served as the door. Judging from the situation, there were at least dozens of people.The place where Chen Yuexiang was injured by He Da was still hurting, but she was not used to anger, and she had already forgotten yesterday's unhappiness.She rolled over and got out of bed, wanting to see if He Da, who was sleeping on another bed, went out to watch the excitement.

As expected, He Da was not there, so Chen Yuexiang quickly put on her clothes and walked towards the dam.

When she stood between the apricot tree and the orange tree and looked down, her eyes suddenly went dark——
He Da was tied naked to the Jue tree!
He Da was the third person in Hejiapo to be tied naked to a yellow jue tree after Cuihua and Li Zhuangjiang.

Chen Yuexiang hugged the apricot tree with one hand and the orange tree with the other, struggling to stabilize her body.She wanted to yell, but she couldn't make a sound. She was stunned for a long time before she thought that she should run down to rescue the man.Instead of going around the dam and going down the earthen ladder, she stepped to the left of the orange tree, grabbed a small, crooked persimmon tree, and slid down the stone wall.The persimmon tree grew by itself from the crevices of the stones the year before last. The soil between the crevices was thin and could not bear the weight of Chen Yuexiang. When Chen Yuexiang fell halfway down, the persimmon tree was uprooted. Chen Yuexiang suddenly lost support. With a muffled sound, she fell on her back beside the stone mill.There were broken tiles and bowl slag, and there were several arc-shaped bloody gashes on her back, but she didn't feel any pain at all. She turned over, sprawled and parted from the crowd, walked to the yellow jue tree, and pressed her back against the On the chest of her husband, covering his naked body.

The uproar stopped abruptly.The crowd becomes puppets.This is a scene, and the director is not on the scene, but hidden in the depths, hidden in the unreachable clouds.In this scene, the heroine's performance was not ready, and the heroine appeared in advance.

"Which rotten asshole!" Chen Yuexiang squeezed out a sentence from her dry throat.

No one answered her, and people slipped away.In the end, only He Jianshen, He Zhongbao, and seven or eight young people were left in front of the yellow jue tree, and even the president disappeared.Chen Yuexiang pointed at He Jianshen: "You. You." Jianshen straightened his back and said, "He won't allow the tree to be cut down." Jianshen was a little hunchbacked, but he spoke energetically. Even when he greeted others, it seemed like he was questioning.At this time, he couldn't bear the whip in Chen Yuexiang's eyes, so he squinted at He Zhongbao.He Zhongbao looked very unnatural, and said to Jianshen: "Brother Jianshen, is this tree given to He Da?" Jianshen strengthened his courage, and replied straightforwardly: "Which one was given to him? All the eggs of his ancestors have been given to him." Caught in the Lijiagou, what qualifications do you have to divide this tree?" Chen Yuexiang knew that Jianshen's head grew on He Zhongbao's neck, and what she really wanted to blame was not He Jianshen but He Zhongbao. At this time, she was no longer willing to cover up , pointed at He Zhongbao's face without any scruples, squinted his eyes, and said almost softly: "He is not qualified to divide this tree, but you are? , what face do you have to treat him like this?"
He Zhongbao nodded: "I am a guilty person, He Da is not a guilty person!" Rolling up his sleeves, he was going to beat Chen Yuexiang, but was held back by several young people.Chen Yuexiang didn't thank those young people at all, she was more eager to fight than He Zhongbao.

Anyway, the tree couldn't be cut down now, so He Jianshen and He Zhongbao had no choice but to leave.

Before leaving, they left a sentence: "The tree is going to be cut anyway, if you dare to stop it, you will cut it down with the people!"
After Chen Yuexiang shed tears and untied the rope that bound the man and let him put on his clothes, there was a rustling sound above his head.The two looked up at the same time, and they saw a few sparrows among the dense leaves of the Jue tree!The few sparrows also looked at them and flapped their wings.How did these guys hide?How did you manage to remain silent?Every morning and dusk, tens of thousands of sparrows gathered here on the former yellow tree, like a bunch of fruits hanging on the branches, chirping and making noise, becoming the most simple music in the countryside.And these few remaining sparrows, like fugitives returning to their hometown quietly, had to keep silent.He Da remembered the scene when he was hiding in the yellow jue tree, and the little daughter-in-law who came to rescue him. He kept giving the sparrows eyes, meaning to make them quiet.But the sparrows flew down in unison, and landed on the ridge in front of He Da and Chen Yuexiang, with their two wings bent forward to form a semicircle, like people clasping their fists together!It took a full minute before they disappeared in the treetops again.

He Da and his wife were stunned
From that day on, He Da slept under the tree every night; during the day, he was also extremely vigilant.

My strong-willed mother was exceptionally accommodating in this matter. Not only did she allow He Da to go to sleep under the tree at night, but for several nights, she settled the child and went there to accompany He Da.It was already cold, and the two of them huddled together, adding a lot of heat and courage.They are like two big birds, loyally guarding their homeland.

In this regard, the team held a member meeting.At the beginning of the meeting, He Jianshen stood up and read aloud: "For those who are stubborn and passive, press from above, squeeze from below, attack from inside and outside, echo each other, and hold a big debate in Tiantouyuanba." This is the telephone instruction of the prefectural committee. , everyone could recite it at that time.The purpose of holding this meeting was to characterize He Da as a "regressive rightist".

However, He Jianshen and his behind-the-scenes commander He Zhongbao never expected that 90.00% of the members present would object.

He Jianshen was about to report this serious situation to the public, when suddenly he came up with instructions: Dongba Township should stop making steel, and build the Xuanluo Highway (Dongbachang in Yongle to Luowen Township in Wanyuan) quickly.

No one proposed to cut down the Jue tree, and the tree was fortunately preserved.He Da was not regarded as a "rightist retrograde element".

The construction of the Xuanluo Highway requires a large number of migrant workers. In order to get rid of distracting thoughts and speed up the progress, people from Luowen came to Dongba, and people from Dongba went to Luowen.More than [-] people went to Hejiapo, including He Da, He Zhongbao, He Kuiyuan, He Jiangao and Li Meijiang.He Jianshen did not go, he is now promoted from vice president to president (renamed captain), and has to direct production.Luowen Mountain is big, steeper and more sinister than Laojun Mountain. Passing by the mountain, you can feel the coldness and hardness of the mountain just by touching the water in the creek, which is also piercing in midsummer.He Da and the others carried simple luggage and necessary tools and walked along the Qingxi River to Luowen.The sledgehammer, steel brazing and other things they needed were all made by He Zhongcai; He Zhongcai was supposed to go to Luowen to repair the road, but the people who came down from Luowen asked him to repair the equipment, so he stayed, and his "workshop" was also controlled by the government. He Jiapo moved to Dongba Township, and his daughter Yinghua, who was only a few years old, became his helper.

Whether it was smashing rocks on a flat slope, or swinging a sledgehammer hanging from a cliff, He Da always stayed with He Jiangao and Carpenter Li.Their main food is buckwheat noodles, which are as black as horse dung, and the frost and snow in the severe winter have beaten this kind food as hard as an iron egg.They never forget to put a buckwheat noodle cake in their trousers when they leave work, which is near the egg. When they leave work, the hot sweat softens the buckwheat noodle cake.No one boiled water for them. When they were thirsty, they drank the mountain spring that made their teeth ache.There was a half-hour break at noon, and after eating, they went to smoke on the bitingly cold slope (in the work shed, which was the territory of He Zhongbao and the others), chatting and chatting while smoking.Both He Da and Carpenter Li have bloody memories of the land under their buttocks.Here, He Da and Jiangao learned about Li's life experience for the first time.

Carpenter Li's life experience has many similarities with He Da's. He has never been loved since he was a child, and he has no ability to love others.Now, he finally has a home and can love his wife and daughter.Mrs. Wang is older than him, and she has not been pregnant for a long time after marrying Li Zhujiang, so she probably will not be able to bear children for him.Carpenter Li took Chrysanthemum as his own daughter.Speaking of chrysanthemums, Carpenter Li kept crying. He said that he didn't cry before, but learned to cry after marrying Wang.Three honest farmers expressed a lot of emotion around the chrysanthemum. What a wonderful woman, but she became dumb and a person no man wanted. Every time I run, I can't even run a word of fate!However, "No matter what God arranges, we must live!" This is what He Da often says.

How alive! .
(End of this chapter)