Chapter 2 Chapter two

At the beginning of the founding of the Republic of China, the impact on Zedi was very weak. If there was any, it would only be that Fu Ya was changed into the Governor's Mansion, and the braided soldiers with spears and brave clothes were changed into foreign gun teams; The militia was in chaos for a while, causing a group of displaced households to flee the famine to seek refuge in the Red Grass Wasteland.In the thirteenth year of the Republic of China, Zhao Simazi and Zhu Xiaoyan, the drought bandits from the northern gang, plundered the swampy land, causing Shijiazhuang to build the famous earthen castle; Hou (Note: The distance between stretched arms is usually five to six feet.) The fort tower protrudes from the tile ridge of Shi Lun's front hall to a height of more than two feet.According to the Patriarch Shi Lun, even if Zhao Simazi and Zhu Xiaoyan had dozens of breech-loading foreign guns under his command, they could only hurt people if the bullets were shot into the holes of the guns. , as long as three or five double-barreled serial guns stand upright against the tower, no one can occupy the manor.After the fort was built, the drought bandits did not touch the earthen fort of the Shi family, but went westward obliquely and plundered Leizhuang.Not long after, the Southern Army (Note: National Revolutionary Army) attacked Beiyang, crossed the west of the lake, and recruited all the bandits with loose shares.Later, Zhao Simazi, who became an official, went to the marshes and went to see the castle. He patted Shi Lun on the shoulder and said, "You have it, Mr. Shi. This thing can't be held by foreign guns, it can also withstand landmines and artillery." rise!It's just that bandits are also done by people. Officials want people to live comfortably and have enough food to eat. Who wants to step on the underworld and bear the reputation of a bandit?It's all forced into Liangshan. Now that the Southern Army is here, it's not an old account that recruited us. Don't mention the earlier things. I, Zhao Simao, have been reborn, and I am greedy for a penny. I am not raised by my parents and mother!

The Southern Army defeated the fake Republic of China and replaced it with the real Republic of China. People talked about Zhao Simao's straightforwardness, and they all guessed that the real Republic of China was good. That poor official with a hungry belly in his trousers?Father Xia of Qingshiwu relented and sent his eldest son to the county town to study abroad.That's it!Shi Lun also said to everyone: Our earth castle is useless, let's keep it to raise sparrows, I hope I will never grab a gun again in my life! In the peaceful days for several years, the displaced households who fled famine and refuge tore down the mat sheds one after another and returned to their original places.The families with guns and blunderbusses in the swamp all hung up the seals of their guns and blunderbusses and put them on the fields.Shi Da, an old man, came to the countryside with a load of goods, and the small drums were very loud. He smiled narrowly when he met everyone, and kept praising the Republic of China: the Republic of China is good, the Republic of China is the sky, and the sky is high and blue. Going on, guarding this wilderness, and then talking about the distant city, how many new shops have opened in Dongguan, how many new stores have been added in Xiguan, and the bustling streets have changed, crowded with people. , People fight each other, men no longer wear braids, women also let their feet go, and some even cut them into two hairs. Wherever the small rattle drum is played, a large group of people will gather around it, just like watching a monkey show in previous years. (Note: The wind of hair cutting has already prevailed.)

God, what would it look like if a woman put her foot down and stretched out in front of people like a tablet? Cut off the braids, and a bunch of hair sticks out of the head, isn't it like a duck's butt? Hey, old peddler, one of you made a joke: the hairs on your head are not as thick as a huqin string, so instead of keeping them to raise lice, you might as well cut them off with a snap! oh!The old shopkeeper yelled like he was on fire: I can’t move, I’m about to enter the coffin, if I cut it, my dead ghost wife will not recognize me in the underworld, she will be cruel, and Lord Yan will sue me So, put me in the oil pan again to fry my old bones

The old shopkeeper Shi Daneng talked about only a few novelty things. After a long time, he got used to it.According to the old man who watched the temple at the Huoshen Temple, since the dynasty has changed, there must be some new tricks, otherwise, what is the Republic of China?That old lame man was forty years old, and his wife gave birth to his first son, who had six fingers on his left hand and named him Liuzhier Guilong.Hearing the words of the old shopkeeper Shi Da, he wanted to shave his son's lanugo hair when he went back. His wife always obeyed him, but this time she made an exception and cried and said: How can the child break through three barriers after shaving the lanugo hair? (Note: There is a superstitious legend in the north that before the age of twelve, a young child’s Luma is unstable, and he has to go through three catastrophes.) The old lame man came forward and said: I have been looking at the Fire Temple all my life, what evil spirit will overwhelm his Luma , Try shaving it, it's not just one person's business!

On the contrary, the children who shaved their lanugo grew stronger, and the life continued to be peaceful, making the villagers believe that the Republic of China had some truths; in many years, there were only two floods, followed by two years of green and yellow spring famines; It’s not a big deal, drought every three years, and drought every five years are common. Since ancient times, we haven’t seen a good harvest year after year. Besides, there is a rumor in the north that the officials will allocate a large amount of money to guide the Huaihe River. The handsome general who collects donations and does not care about civil affairs is much better.

I heard that the Huai River is going to be guided. Although the marshes are deserted, there is not a single family who delays taxes. All the grains were picked up to make up the numbers, and they all said: dredging the Huaihe River and opening up the waterways, so that the bald-tailed dragon can rest. It's a pity that it drinks water every year and can't even sleep well! Peaceful days are leisurely, and there is always a little bit of loneliness in the leisurely days; many foreign goods flow in from the shopkeeper's pick; Texaco kerosene is far brighter than red wax; foreign smoke, matches, and wax sticks make people guess what changes have taken place outside the sky.But the two-acre old field cannot be changed, nor can it be changed when the crops should be planted and in what season should they be harvested; God is like the Tathagata Buddha, man is transformed from a monkey grandson, and he can't get out of His palm after somersaulting for thousands of miles.

Therefore, the drums of the annual Vulcan Festival are louder The drums sounded in the winter of the twenty-ninth year of the Republic of China. Large parts of North China and East China had long been occupied by Japanese devils, and the desolate red grass wasteland was first reported that Japanese devils attacked China.To the ears of the older generation, this is even more absurd than the earlier story of the Eight-Power Allied Forces attacking the city of Beijing. Eastern ghosts and Western ghosts are all uncivilized red-haired savages in the legend. ! Can't help but believe it, in the twelfth lunar month of that year, the Japanese devils fired three cannons into the sky, occupying the escaped county town, and erected a white flag on the city tower, with a red and poisonous ghost sun floating in the center of the flag.That’s not to mention, the hunters who came up with Zhang Fudui even said that the Nansan River passed through the pig-haired demon soldiers, wearing red scarves and bragging horns. They were dilapidated like a team of beggars. Hongze County in the Suluwan guerrilla border area was established.

Heavenly Tribulation!Uncle Fa Cai, the leader of the Orion, sighed and said: There are ghosts in the east and demons in the west.The rainbow in the sky goes north and south, (Note: the folk proverb east rainbow winds, west rainbow rain, rainbow sells children north and south.) How to live the days after the dynasty? ! It is also widely rumored in Sannan that the demon soldiers are immortal and the human race is extinct!Wu Fu'er said: "Monster extermination talismans are hung on the doors of every household, and yellow basins are placed in the center of the courtyard. The basins are filled with rootless water. Take apart the quilt, and you can squeeze out the demon hair. (Note: In the middle of the Anti-Japanese War, there was a widespread rumor in the Huaihe River Basin that Zhu Mao was a living goblin transformed by an evil spirit, and every family hung amulets to drive him away. Although the method is superstitious and ridiculous, it can reflect the general deep hatred of the people.)

Although the people in Zedi didn't see what the demon soldiers looked like, they saw the Japanese devils returning to Daqing Township for the first time. Some people put the crime of clearing the countryside on the head of Zhang Shihe, the local stick in the county; if he hadn't recognized the thief as his father as a traitor, what kind of maintenance would lead the way, how could the Japanese devils touch the Tulong River?In Zedi, Uncle Bian, who was in charge of Qingshiwu, knew Zhang Shihe's details best. He could count how many hairs Zhang Shihe had on his tail. Unexpectedly, Zhang Shihe's earth stick pretended to be his ancestor in the East, and trembled: the year Er Hei'er was born, he was the head manager of the Huazitang in Dongguan, the county seat, and lived on a red lacquer stick. (Note: Huazitang The manager, whose status is equal to that of the head of Huazi, specializes in managing beggars, and the merchants in the city collect a few coins for him to spend every month.) Later, he flattered the Beiyang soldiers, set up private kilns, opened small gambling games and big games. The smoke house, now, has changed suddenly and become the captain of the brigade, it is simply lawless!

Although Uncle Bian looked down on Zhang Shihe, that scoundrel, it is true that Zhang Shihe became a traitor and made his fortune; the low houses in the alleys could no longer accommodate him, so the security brigade was relocated to the former Qing Dynasty. In the copper coin manufacturing bureau left behind; also wearing three sets of leather, (Note: leather vest, leather jacket, leather robe.) plus a black satin mandarin jacket, dressed like a person; thinks that the original wife is too rustic, breathless Married to six concubines, three of the six are bitches; at the entrance of the brigade, four Erhuang stations are on the post, and the officials who let in are all with crooked noses and slanted eyes; each room has a smoke shop , when the long font enters the door, first call Tiaoer (Note: Prostitutes call out Tiaoer.) to burn cigarettes, put the cigarette on the lower body, first burn it three times and five times to refresh yourself; after smoking, wrap the tablecloth and mahjong , Pai Gow, dice, treasure, come at will, the dice jingle, and mahjong sings loudly.

Zhang Shihe sent his daughter to be an interpreter to work as a junior, and he sat down on the job firmly. There are devils for big things, and subordinates for small things. He specially set up smokehouses, casinos, and brothels to make a lot of money; He is an unlucky guy who hangs his bleeding head on the wooden poles at the gates of the four sides of the city; if the head hangs stinks, he will replace it with a few new ones; : The Japanese army called the anti-Japanese armed forces the power and influence of China's hairy monkeys). That time in Daqing Township, Zhang Shihe led the Fujii Squadron of the Nanmu Battalion of Dongyang Devils, along the road on Zhang Fudui, all the way to the west, saw Zhuangzi burning Zhuangzi, seeing people killing people; The Bianjiawei is the worst. There are more than one hundred people in the whole village, but none survived; when you meet a man, you use a knife to pierce, tear the front heart, pinch the back heart, and make two blood holes with one knife; when you meet a woman, regardless of age Gang rape, cut off hands and feet after rape, and cut off breasts into blood pomegranates; this is not enough, a tree branch should be inserted in the vulva, indicating that the woman was played by the imperial army before she died!Those who are too old are all shot to die faster, but for nursing babies, they are tied with hemp ropes to their ankles and hung upside down from trees to be eaten by birds. Compared with Bianjiawei, the marshes were considered lucky; Zhang Shihe probably got addicted to cigarettes, pointed to a fork in the road, detoured into the marshes in the north of Jingjiahong, and headed south all the way.That's it, three people died in Shijia Tubao, Xia Lutang's stupid second son died in Qingshiwu, Uncle Bian was shot in the back, the devil didn't violate the Fire Temple, he hanged a shot from a distance, but the stray bullet ruined Liuzhier Guilong's fucking life, before he died, he took his wife's hand and uttered a sentence tremblingly: It doesn't matter if I die. His face was pale, blood was spitting from the corner of his mouth, and his eyes had been rolled; through a layer of shade, in his usually gentle pupils, there was a frightening glimmer of sadness. Although the devil's Fujii Squadron was reported to have burned the entire army, the bloody past still flows in people's hearts.Whenever it is mentioned, people will feel the sweet smell of blood in their mouths. Not long after the devils were burned, the elusive Commander He of the Central Guerrilla Army crossed the border with dozens of foreign guns, saying that the situation was serious. up. If you think about the lake, you have to try to get a boat early!Shi Lun said: "The mouth of the lake is blocked by devils. I'm afraid they won't be able to break through. If you stay in the east of the lake, you will be eaten sooner or later!" across the lake?Commander He said: I am entrusted to guard the east of the lake. I will never leave this piece of soil?I am an ordinary person, and I dare not say that I have done something earth-shattering. The golden signboard of the Old Central Committee will not fail, and it will always attract heroes who will give up their lives! It's dead here.Commander He's entourage, Chen Jicai, was an acquaintance of Zedi, and he spoke the most straightforwardly: In the big lake, the bandits Wei Yousan and Li Yonghe were all recruited to beat the devils, and the eight-way demon soldiers occupied the lake and numbered all the fishing boats in the lake. , we have to strangle Wu Dazhuang first. Shi Lun made an exception and gave He Commander a bag of silver ocean and four mules and horses. Less than a few months after Commander He left, in the middle of summer, something that shocked the people of Zedi finally happened. A large group of numbered fishing boats covered with reeds, always in the shape of twenty or thirty boats, scattered and approached the shore. Moored in the reed pond just west of the sandy flat beach, a group of ragged soldiers came up from the water. Those soldiers wore bamboo cloaks with wide eaves, red cloth and white sweat towels around their necks, and there were a lot of guns. In the gun, (Note: The north regards Guang as foreign, and it is widely made, that is, foreign guns.) What kind of Hubei bar, made in Hanyang, Czech style, duck mouth, curved ball, snub nose, old sleeve, red copper steel, large Pailou, Duziguaier, Liuzilianer, (Note: The above are the names of the guns used by the local troops in the early days of the Communist banditry.) There are all kinds of guns, and there are three guns in the imitation of Guangzhou. half of the guns are made of clay, and the same is true for double-barreled, single-barreled, chain-barreled, short-handled square-mouthed guns, curved handles, and eagle beaks. They have everything, and half of them have no guns, some have knives on their backs, and some have spears. All of them are barefoot, like hungry ghosts falling from the sky. A group of soldiers went ashore, set up a lookout post on the top of the old tree in the wolf altar, and sent seven or eight people to Leizhuang to collect food.Several villages to the east of Leizhuang panicked, and they all asked Shi Lun and Father Xia for advice.Father Xia said: A farmer cannot be separated from the roots of the field, just like a scale hammer cannot be separated from the beam. Where can we hide?Where can I hide it?The Japanese devils are so fierce, they survived anyway, no matter how ruthless the demon soldiers are, they are not hanged from the tree branches, what are you afraid of him doing? ! Shi Lun also said: What the old god said is right. This old wasteland has been blown by wind and rain. There is nothing that makes life difficult. Let's listen to the news from Leizhuang first. With only seven or eight of them, he couldn't turn into a tiger and eat people. In the early morning of April 12th, when the grain requisitioners arrived at the Shijia Tubao, a man with a shaved head, shrugged shoulders, and a pimple-faced leader pointed out that he wanted the castle master to speak.Before Shi Lun went out, all the dogs in Yizhuang were alarmed, and they surrounded and bitten endlessly. Shi Lun was standing under the gate with a long cigarette stick in his hand, and Roupi was instructing his subordinates not to beat the dogs.A yellow-eyed man leaped forward and wanted to bite the man with pouting teeth squatting at the base of the wall. Pouting his teeth, he said to the thin bone next to him: This landlord is very evil!Damn x, you can tell just by looking at the dog.He pouted his big teeth at the dog and grinned grimly: Don’t be a mother, I am the reincarnation of Monk Jigong, the ancestor who eats dogs, eats one of your legs for a meal, and beats you full, er, you will be born!He stretched out his arms to touch the skinny waist and said: "Good boy, look, it's so fierce that it wants to pull Lao Tzu's sleeve!"Then he said to the dog: "There are eighty holes in my clothes. You kept my sleeves and patched them. It's a good thing I got a vest!"bite!Bite your ass! Four-eyed yellow is a dog with a sign. The most inmate taunted it. Shi Lun scolded it a few times and ignored it. It jumped on the man with pouting teeth. He puffed up his cheeks and blew wildly at the dog. beep beep beep beep Woof, woof!woof woof woof Skinny Bones and the other soldiers leaned against the wall and clapped their hands and laughed.Shi Lun walked over, picked up the cigarette stick and beat the dog, but Roupi kicked Yabing Bing on the ass and scolded: Don't be crazy, okay? !When you first arrive at a place, you show jokes to others? !Turning to Shi Lun, he smiled and said: "It's okay, it's okay, old man, we are the Hongze Lake Detachment, the Anti-Japanese Army, a family, and we are back in Guizhuang, just ordered to collect some food." Shi Lun was stunned. Some time ago, he heard that the pig-haired demon soldiers were so long and short, but he spoke in a friendly manner. Needless to say, he only mentioned the word "anti-Japanese" and asked for food and grass. He waved his hand and said, "Sit in the house, ask for food, it's convenient!"This season's newly harvested wheat has just entered the urn, and it costs three or two loads, so just ask a few brothers to open the urn and pick it up! Where is it, old man.Rougeda said: There are regulations on grain requisition. Large households can only pay two buckets per household, and small households can only pay five liters per household. It was explained above. Don't look at the meaty face, the thief's nose and eyes, and the way he talks like cutting hemp. He just circled the swamp so easily and collected all the food. Some of the villagers were enthusiastic and let him go. Handcarts deliver food to the lake.Meat lumps go to a village, enter a household, and are very affectionate to people. They keep talking about the Anti Japanese war against Japan and the defense of the country to protect their hometown. .When Laoba Road establishes Huaisi County, you see, we will beat the Japanese devils into shrinking turtles, and he will not even dare to come out of the city gate! Then, they retreated by boat, leaving only the lookout post made of wooden poles on the old tree in the wolf altar, which looks like a strange bird's nest from a distance.People in the marsh talked about them when they got together. No one knew the origin of those soldiers and their lives in the middle of the lake, nor had anyone heard of their deeds of resisting the Japanese in the Sanhe area. And after the fire disaster in Daqing Township last time, the Dongyang Devils seemed to have a grudge against the Red Grass Wasteland. In that autumn, they pulled up a blockade line from Beisanhe to Zhangfu River, and blocked the river with a bend. The throat of the earth, the burden of the old peddler is still down as usual, the usual Texaco kerosene, bright wax, kiwi matches, are no longer seen. As long as the little oriental ghost doesn't know his hometown, he can't trouble anyone if he wants to cut off the lights and fires! Originally, the people in the marshes didn't care about the blockade of daily necessities; a basket of white salt soil was scraped up on the lake, filtered with water, and a small amount of salt was still dried out; if there was no soap, the seeds of the acacia tree were used; Use ash pond water; if you don’t have matches, use a fire knife and flint; soak a walnut kernel in salt and bury it in the ash, which can keep the fire going for two days.The farmers in the swamp kept more ancient methods handed down from their ancestors and survived the hardships, and the blockade would not stop them. The days gradually dimmed, and there was no rain in the whole autumn, and smoke was everywhere.Blacksmith Qiao from Shuangjinzha went to the countryside and said that there was banditry in the blockade area. The big horse thief in the north, Fatty Lu, gathered more than ten horses and twenty-odd Chinese-made fast guns. In a small market town where the eight roads and three don't care; Zhang Fuduitou has newly broken into the local snake scar Liu Wu, who worships five brothers, and no one dares to mess with the five-barreled gun; of flying birds.In the Shuizawa District, Chen Kunwu, the roadblock, came out. He was alone with a steel gun, and he specialized in short-circuiting to rob money;There are also a lot of small bandits with scattered shares, carrying the God of Wealth, picking up households, extorting money, and many of them are small hands (note: underworld code words, that is, thieves.) who can't steal gold and silver treasures, just grab people's chickens Ducks, cattle and sheep that lead people. God!The young people in the marshes couldn't take it anymore: devils, Erhuang, Balu, horse thieves, drought bandits, all in the world with guns, we can't do big things, so we pulled up the gun team to protect the head office. Forget it, what gun team to pull?Lei said honestly: How many firecrackers can be pulled up and how many single swords can be erected by Quan Ze together? !It doesn't matter if you ring the gun, hundreds of people in each village and each household will die!The field is dragging, the family is tired, I can't resist and I can't escape, I can't escape!What to do? ! Waiting slowly, waiting slowly, Father Xia said in a deep voice: God often has clouds covering his eyes, but there are no clouds that will not retreat for ten thousand years, only the sky that remains unchanged for ten thousand years.There is no end to doom, and there is no use in haste. The old fairy was right!Blacksmith Qiao said: "Although it's dark, it's not completely dark yet!"There is a central area in the west of the lake, and a guerrilla zone in the north. Commander He is stationed in Wu Dazhuang. It is really a black tiger who sneaked into the government office of the puppet army. There are a few people in the middle, which can be regarded as the kang cakes that have been put on the stove, and the ghosts are roasted on both sides of the fire!Father Shi Lun is irritable, and he fisted his neck when he spoke: Last time Commander He crossed the border, I advised him to go across the lake. It is really difficult for dozens of guns to gain a foothold in the east of the lake. If he doesn't leave, we have to Work together to finish the central government's field grain, so that he can buy guns to fuel the fire. When the guns are full and there are too many people, it will be easier to work. Everyone agrees with Papa Shi Lun's opinion. One summer and one autumn, the devil's blockade was still tightened, and the eight roads in the lake were like yellow skins stealing chickens. They came to collect food three times, and each time they were still smiling. They posted notices on the walls of the village and went door to door to collect debts .Lei is honest and honest, saying: There are no two suns in the sky, and there are no two masters in the people. We have given food to Commander He of the Central Committee. If you want to ask for it, everyone talks about fighting devils. ! The eight-way tiger said with a stern face: Commander He, that guy is a man who relies on Huang to make a living. If you give him food from the fields, he will treat you as traitors! Well, if you have a gun, you are the best. After the grain is paid, the puppet army in the city will go to the countryside in large groups.Hearing that the puppet army had arrived, the Eighth Route Army of the Anti-Japanese War retreated, got off the boat and went into the lake.It was Wu Dazhuang who came down with a row of people to copy the rear of the puppet army and fight a fire while it was dark, so they intercepted five carts of grain and sent them back to the marsh intact. Balu slandered me by Huang.Commander He said: The old people have sharp eyes, and anyone can see that there are people who resist the Japanese and not counterfeit? ! The hearts of the people on the swamp became cold, and because it is better to live than to die, they gritted their teeth and survived. At dusk, under the fiery red clouds in the sky, they thought of the god of fire worshiped by the ancestors.Miao Zhu Lao Laizi is such a person. Whenever he encounters those injustices, he prays to the statue of Huode Xingjun on the temple and says: Lord Vulcan, open your eyes and see what is going on in the mortal world.Why don't you set off the sky fire and burn those demons After entering the October Gate, the old lame would take his son out as usual, and planted a fire ban sign along the stream of Jingjiahong. The fire ban sign was 93 yuan, starting from the edge of the red grass area and burying it around the swamp. Son, the total number of miles is seventeen and a half miles, which brand is buried where it is, and it is all in his belly. After burying the fire ban sign, the real fire ban season begins. Every year when the fire ban season comes, the old man can’t sleep well. He has to ride a donkey out at night, knock on the fireproof clapper, and shout around to watch out for candles.To be honest, visiting the temple is not beneficial at all. The Fire God Temple and its foundations have a total of five acres of incense and fire fields. The grain harvested in a year is not enough to buy oil for lighting Buddhist lamps. The old lame man has never complained about this. Ancestral errand.Now that you have served the god of fire, you should guard the barren red grass for him, only allowing the sky fire to fall, and not let the common fire touch it. The old man always thinks that the sky fire is controlled by the fire god, and it will burn wherever it should Where, if it were a mortal who set fire, he would be punished by heaven, and it would be impossible to clean up the fire. The sun was falling crookedly towards the west, rippling on the tops of the wild forest, and the old lame squatted on the stone steps at the entrance of the temple, using his heels as a bench, squinting his eyes and breathing out smoke.There are corn cobs and a pile of soybeans drying in the square field. The corn is poor, the beard tips are brown, and half of the seeds are shriveled. The soybeans lack rainwater, and the pods are full. The kernels are flat. This is early planting and early harvesting. The early autumn crops, the late autumn crops cannot be mentioned!Peanuts, sweet potatoes, and yam beans all died of drought in the fields, and there was no need to harvest them. The old mangy is most afraid of this kind of weather, the clouds do not come out of the mountains, and the wind always blows the smell of hay, which makes his rotten red tears hard to open. He is used to scratching the mangy skin on his body, scratching here, itching there, scratching. So uncomfortable.In the sunny season, the body does not itch, and the hands are too idle to know where to put them. Then, Guilong!He asked his son to say, "The corn cobs on the square are about to be harvested. There will be dew later, so bring the baskets."After harvesting the grain, add more material to the donkey trough. The sunset glow was burning fiercely, the red glow in the sky reflected the red grass on the ground, looking south, the sky and the ground were all red, like someone lit a candle sky, and the miserable red light pierced people's eyebrows.A wolf utters a lone cry in the distance.The frightened birds all over the sky were also confused by this strange celestial phenomenon, as if they could not find their nests, they were all flapping their wings, flying here and there, making anxious noises. The old man suddenly felt that something was wrong, knocked out the half bag of cigarette ash that he had not finished smoking, and stomped his feet again and again. The cigarette ash was clearly knocked on the stone, but he was worried that the stone would also burn. Liuzhier Guilong took the baskets and collected the food, squatted on the square and asked, "Father, are you going to shout for fire tonight?"Coughing for half a month, suffering from eye problems again, not going to Mr. Lei Zhuanger's side to get medicine, going out every night, opening his mouth to drink the wind, it's not a joke. What do you know?The old lame man said sullenly: This year is an evil year, full of evil, beat last year's devils to clear the country, after your mother died, how many accidents have happened?Soldiers on one side and ghosts on the other side, only the bandits and horse thieves did not cause trouble, it doesn’t matter if man-made disasters happen, don’t make mistakes on the fire word again, if I don’t knock on the fireproof clapper for three days, everyone will think I have the plague ! The son didn't answer him. A bunch of maize fell from his hand, pointed to the east and said, "Look at Linjiao, Daddy, it's white, it's white, it looks like a horse." The sun has already set, and the red light in the field has turned into a grayish dark purple. When the night wind shakes the grass leaves in Hongnan, there are still one or two broken lights of the setting sun passing through the foot of the forest on the tips of the leaves in the distance.The old lame squeezed his tearful eyes, put his hands on his eyebrows and watched for a long while. At the foot of the wild forest in the east, there was a white earth atmosphere, and in the stagnant evening mist, a black forest spit out. All I could see was flocks of frightened resident birds, printing a black line obliquely on the barefooted zenith. What is white and black, it's just that the birds startled their nests. The old man said to himself: Birds have yin and yang eyes. They see the sun during the day and the yin at night. Guilong shook his head: I clearly see white ones, like horses, here, white ones!It's out again! where?where is it ! The son let out a sigh: it flashed, and it was gone again!Dad, isn't it a horse thief? ! I'm afraid it's really a horse thief pulled from the North?The old man was also puzzled, if he had heard Guilong say this two years ago, he would never have believed it was a horse thief; now it is different, as soldiers can come, so can bandits.I was suddenly touched by a kind of palpitation, which is a sign of something wrong, isn't it!Thinking this way in my heart, I deliberately glanced at my son and scolded, "No such thing!"Will some evil spirits come and want to enter the wolf den to feed the wolves?No demon can bear a fire from the sky!Go and feed the donkey. One or two hollow and weak howls sounded from far away, hitting the surrounding gloom, giving people a feeling of suffocation, as if there were demons with wings spreading, speaking terrible words.Zedi has been suffocated by the army, and the sky is in a wild situation. Will there be more thieves?Who knows?The old lame man sighed as deeply as the poplar tree in front of the temple. Six-finger Guilong was standing at the side of the single-log donkey trough under the tree, mixing materials for Heibei's donkey; He was a head higher, and in a flash, the donkey trough couldn't block his chest!When the world is in chaos, the old lame man doesn't worry about himself, his whole life has flowed by, decades of lonely and peaceful days, with a touch of happiness and sadness, at the age of twenty, he married Guilong's mother, a silent and docile A little girl who is as good as an ox in doing crop work. The couple cultivated about 40 acres of land, plus 18 acres of raw land. I hoped that he died in her head, he lived eighty-three, and she had a few more years to live.I'll add soil to your round grave, burn paper and turn it into foil, and when you settle down in the underworld, I'll be picked up to live with you.Unexpectedly, she left first, and became a murderous ghost who had passed through iron (Note: Those who were killed by bullets or spears.), the king of Hades was afraid that he would not even accept her. She died, and died like a terrifying evil. Dream, but she left that sentence before she died, which kept ringing in his ears: I am afraid that the catastrophe will be on this land. He remembered that sentence really chilled him. If the Japanese devils hadn't come to attack China, or come to Daqing Township in Zedi, she would have lived another ten or twenty years, allowing Guilong to grow up and marry a housemate, and enjoy a few years of old age.She gave birth to three children, only Guilong survived. He knew how much she loved him. Before she was alive, she put every inch of her heart on her son. If the world is peaceful now, he will place two acres of Guanyin willows on her grave, and let Guilong put the cows on her grave. She taught Guilong to sing slang songs during her lifetime, and she can hear those slang songs after she dies, smiling in the soil .In any case, he hopes that Guilong will be a peaceful person in his life, and life cannot change again. Guilong, go and fetch the donkey's back mat for me. The old man picked up the cigarette stick and spit.The first big star that comes out early hangs lonely and bright on the top of the poplar.The old lame coughed, and added: I will prepare the donkey and go out for a walk, and I will be back before the end of the third watch. The son knew his temper, so he went to prepare the donkey quietly.The old man lit up a glass square lamp, tied it to a thick wooden pole, and then inserted the wooden pole into his belt behind him, so that the lighted square lamp at the end of the pole swayed above his head.The son prepared the donkey and put the wooden clapper and short-handled firecrackers into the donkey's rucksack. Father, you take the west road to Leizhuang. If the second gentleman is awake, you'd better grab some cough medicine. got it!The old lame said: Order an okra stick. Feed the gun with medicine, the door is tight, sleep more carefully, and listen carefully to the dog barking. Father should also be more careful on the road, the son said: All the gunpowder and bullets that have been aligned are stuffed in the donkey pouch on the right.Just now, if I read correctly, there must have been a white horse sentrying across Hexi. What am I afraid of?The old scorpion shrank his neck and laughed: I have called fire patrol for decades, and nothing has plucked half of my hair!The black calls the donkey to ward off evil spirits, and all the ghosts dare not block the way?What am I afraid of? ! The son was speechless.The old lame man led the donkey on the road, and the fire temple was to the southwest, along Xiajiahong, north to Hongyan, until the sand and gravel flat beach. The donkey walks on the high ridge, and the square lamp swings around on the head of the man, making the shadows of the man and the donkey appear on the left, on the right, shorten, and lengthen.After passing the first fire ban sign, the moon rose behind the wild forest in the east. The first quarter moon on the 12th and 3rd is not yet full. When it first rises, it penetrates the earth's atmosphere and gathers a moist halo, illuminating the wilderness. It was very dim, the moonlight and the lamps reflected each other, and the shadows of the man and the donkey were double. The doubts in the old man's belly were also double, mixed together in varying shades, swaying wildly.A child with sharp ears and bright eyes, will he really see a white horse?In the past few years, since the devils came, the sky has fallen, the ground has fallen, and all the evil spirits have sneaked into the swamp in the dark. The officials and soldiers have not finished their troubles. How can horse thieves and bandits be added? What kind of white horse is it because birds startle their nests, and when wild ghosts wind up a small whirlwind and pass through the forest, don't the birds often startle their nests? The moon is turning high, and the sky is falling light frost. Forget it, whether it’s good or bad, what’s coming will come sooner or later, so what do you think about it!Go to Li Deaf's Patou house early, disturb him with a cup of hot wine to warm his heart, and the frost soaks the back of his neck.Knowing his master's temper, the black called donkey walked on the deserted road in front of him, hoofed very quickly, and after a while, he saw the lights of Li Deaf's Patou house on the sandy flat beach. The old lame man urged the donkey to get off the stream, and shouted at the lamp: Hey, deaf man, are you still weaving baskets?Before he finished screaming, he stuck his head out of the small window, saw his teeth but couldn't see his eyes, and smiled hilariously at the old mangy. I said, I am the ear voice, and I am sure you will arrive.Li Deaf said: Wait for me to get rid of the millstone. In the past few days, a stinky badger often came to steal chickens and broke the earthen stove!I had to hold the millstone against the gate. The old man turned over and got off the donkey, took down the square lamp on the stick and blew it out, only then did Deaf Li open the door.Patou House is the loneliest house in the marshes, facing barren land on all sides, only sand and gravel but no people, Li Deaf only has close contacts with the old lame man, and the two have an inseparable friendship. The wine is in a tin jug, and I'll boil it.Li Deaf said: Someone in Leizhuang slaughtered a pig and sent five catties of meat. I burned a pot with ears (Note: pots with ears, no matter the triple stove or the five-link stove, are the outermost ones, and they are specially used for cooking.), It's up to you to eat fat or thin, and serve it in a bowl for drinking. Count me fast.The old man said: No wonder you smell the smell of meat when you enter the door. The two scooped up the food and drink, and just as their buttocks touched the bench, they heard the sound of frightened wings in the chicken coop behind the house, and several hens screamed like they were being killed. Stinky badger!The old lame man muttered to himself: "The light in the house is still on, so it dares to grind your chickens. This is nothing like stealing, it's simply a bandit's act of stealing your chicken!" fire!fire! !Deaf Li pointed at the north-facing window, stood up in a panic, and knocked over a table of wine and vegetables.The two of them lifted up their clothes and rushed out the door. When they looked up, they could see the flames soaring into the sky. The place where the fire started was from the north to the east. Needless to say, it was Leizhuang that was burning. The black teeth turned into a deep orange at the bottom, like a sun sleeping on the other side of the forest. Leizhuang is on fire!The old man went back to the house and lit the square lamp, hurriedly pulled the black donkey and said: I have to go and see. How strange this fire started.Deaf Li frowned and said, "It's not true that some bandits went to pick up houses. I didn't hear the gunshots." The old lame man didn't care about that anymore, turned on his donkey and left, no matter how slippery the sand and gravel were, he was desperate to catch the donkey and run northeast.The terrain of Pingtan is open, and the flames from a few miles away seem to stick to people's eyes.真切切，在那種火勢下面，方燈黯淡了，月亮也失了色，狼壇上那棵古樹的黑影那邊，寒風送過來一片雜亂的狗叫聲，東邊的林子上空，不斷的飛落著驚鳥。 當真會有土匪來打劫雷莊？老癩子在驢背上直瞪著眼望火，驀地又想起來，當真那匹白馬？ 必溜 一聲尖銳的彈嘯把滿心的疑團打破了，槍擊自北朝南，高高的劃過頭頂落向遠處去，第一響槍聲沒了，緊跟著又連響了三槍。馬，馬賊老癩子失聲喊說：菩薩！災荒、兵燹還不夠，要加上土匪？ ! 雷莊遭了馬賊的事，第二天就傳遍了澤地。那真是宗令人猜不透的事情，馬賊來人不多，一共只有三個人三匹馬，也不知從哪個方向進來的！論形勢，澤地像隻鼓肚罈子，雷莊正座落在罈底兒上，馬賊不搶罈口的青石屋，偏搶掠了雷莊，這是頭一宗猜不透的。若說論財富，不錯，雷莊早年確是富過，自從雷老實刨底財放了大賑，只落空架兒了，非但比不得夏老爹家油坊，也比不得石倫的糧甕足，馬賊不揀首戶搶，卻要單搶老實人，專劫了空大架兒的高屋基、大顯門的雷老實一家，這更是個悶葫蘆了。單是這兩宗還不算奇，奇在馬賊撲上來時，先放火燒起七座連堆麥草亮威，朝天放了四槍，還沒放話要搶，雷老實就把門大開了，請馬賊進屋，錢財任取，牲口任牽，東西任拿！剽掠慣了的馬賊也怪，一文錢沒取，只依照上扒戶進屋不空手的例子，牽走了一頭白毛大牯牛走路。 破天荒的事！夏老爹說：澤地多年沒起過匪亂了。 馬賊想必有內線。土堡的長工王富榮說：要沒內線，他們三匹馬怎敢大明大白的撲莊子？ !拋開雷莊各戶不說，單就雷老實一家也有四五個長工，一人掄一桿火銃罷，高牆大屋，也容不得馬賊幫邊兒，天下偏有雷老實獨一個，開門把賊朝家裏請的，怪事都聚到一堆去了！ 哼，雷大叔這種做法兒，往後不知要惹多少麻煩？ !小夥子石七擦掌說：你越軟，馬賊越以為你好欺，頭一遭讓他們嚐到甜頭去，你瞧罷，朝後去，他們準把澤地拿當大路走！ 誰知雷老實是個什麼想法？ !等火神祭上廟那天，見了他再議論罷。石倫說：今年攤青石屋夏老爹的莊子上領會，咱們會朝西過雷莊，繞到廟上去的 火神祭來到的頭一天，依照往常的習慣，澤地上有一個廟會，由一個村落領會，敲著鼓，掮著長旛，紮了許多火龍、火馬，帶著香燭，繞著各村轉一圈，再上廟去行拜神的儀式。為了迎接拜神的人，老癩子父子倆天沒亮就起了床，抓著竹掃把，把小小的廟掃得一乾二淨，連麻雀都攆開了，神龕上換了新的黃布幔兒，石刻的大香爐抬到廟門口，胳膊粗的空心燭裏也添滿了香油。 聽，爹，六指兒貴隆抹汗說：青石屋那邊響鼓了！ 太陽還沒漏頭，淡紅的霞影映亮了四野，廟前方場上，鋪一層薄薄的秋霜。老癩子敞開大襖當胸的扣子，迎風坐在石級上歇勁，聽了貴隆的話，吁了一口氣，搖頭說：青石屋離此地，打直了算也有三里多路，我不信你會聽見鼓響，我怎麼一點也沒聽見？ ! 貴隆兩手捧著下巴：我說話，您總不信，前晚我說看見馬，您偏說鳥雀驚窩，偏就有馬賊搶了雷莊。您摸摸石頭看，地全在動，還說不信鼓響哩！ 老癩子忽然被什麼一種愁緒觸動了，望了兒子一陣，擠著濕眼說：別頂撞爹，爹老了！嗨，爹真的老了槍呀，馬呀，賊呀，爹當年沒看過的，你全遇到了。誰知這片荒野地，日後會有多少磨難 貴隆光張了張嘴，看見爹凝重的臉色，嚥住話沒再出聲。鼓聲，那古老土地心臟上跳動的音響，又一次響了，荒天野地裏的鼓聲帶著數不清的忍饑受難人們的願望，從歷史的開初一直響下來，在高不可及的蒼天下面，鼓聲響得沉重而且蒼涼 鼓聲打青石屋響向西邊去，穿過每一個村落。鼓聲循環不息的打出同一種單調的點子，像歷史的暴雨，咚咚！咚咚咚！咚咚，咚咚咚！在鼓聲裏隱藏著的農民們的願望，也正是如此強烈而單純的。他們經歷無數世代的掙扎，只求一切暴力不要過份施予，讓他們各自依附土地，仰望蒼天而存活，因此，在一種無言的默契中，單調的鼓聲使澤地上的人們心裏震盪起不尋常的興奮微顫的感覺。 年輕的鼓手二黑兒恁般不畏寒，遍野鋪寒霜的清晨，他只穿一條黑裩褲，精赤著整個上身，雄牛樣的頸上套著吊鼓索，潑風一般的閃動雙臂，交打著那隻兩面雙敲的筒子鼓。（註：狀如舞臺常見的花鼓，但較長大，鼓壁甚厚，故音響沉鈍，北方又名胸鼓。）鼓聲像撞擊什麼似的，在荒野上擴散開去，透過地氣，四面八方全波傳著那樣魯鈍的迴聲 鼓手身後，四桿七尺長旛緩緩飄動著，一桿是黑底黃邊，上面畫滿了白色的符咒，像四條飛天的巨蟒，旛影後面，是兩條紅紙紮成的火龍，渾身貼著金箔鱗，兩匹白紙糊就的火馬，配有綠綢的鞍蹬。一大陣人跟隨著走，每人都拉著香火籃兒，揹著香火袋兒。領會的長者，夏老神仙那麼一把年紀了，白鬍子飄飄的走在前頭，矮瘦的石家土堡的石倫老爹走在他旁邊，遠遠看過去，長長的人群在野林裏蠕動，真像一隻極大的蜈蚣。 鼓手越過一排低枝的桑林，繞過雷莊時，許多莊戶們紛紛丟下早飯碗，踩著前夜被馬賊縱火焚燒了的草垛殘灰，歸入了拜神的行列。無數帶風哨的鴿子，從雷二先生宅頂的鴿樓上飛起，繞著人打轉。 老實呢？沒有上廟罷。夏老爹向雷二先生說。 那不是！雷二先生說：他才不把鬧馬賊的事放在心上呢！ 那邊可不是來了雷老實，穿著土藍粗布的袍子，滿滿的拎了一籃香燭，縮頭縮腦的趕到前面。 聽說馬賊牽了您一頭牛去，怎麼回事兒？誰問了。 沒事，沒事！雷老實笑瞇瞇的：風吹鴨蛋殼，財去人安樂。散股的馬賊迷了路，穿過林子到雷莊。他們找上我的門，放火燒連垛，朝天響空槍，無非是想要幾文路費。長工要開槍，叫我壓住了，就算開槍保了我的宅子，他們惱羞成怒，說不定放火把鄰宅燒了。保我的錢財，讓鄰宅遭殃，那事不是人幹的！都是一個老祖宗，一筆難寫兩個雷字，我也想透了，橫豎浮財不發家，我也只那點底兒，不如請他們進門，要什麼，統統拿去！他們取得金銀財寶，卻軋不走我幾頃老田，就算是散財消災罷！誰知那幫賊比官兵還有良心些，只牽了頭牛走，更不算事了！ 嗨，老實哥！你看是黃河心的沙子淤到底了！你那腦瓜兒，三斧頭也劈不開。就算你是散財罷，什麼人不好散？偏要散給馬賊？你把心扒給他吃了，他還說淡而無味呢。 對石倫老爹這番話，雷老實了不介意的說：人能活得，沒盜沒賊！如今連天全塌了半邊去，鬼道橫行，哪能專去怨賊？該他得，他自會得，不該他得，他想得也沒處得，我替他焦什麼心？ ! 吃虧人常在拖白鬍子的老神仙說話了：我只覺得那幫馬賊不該縱火！這是什麼季節？我不信他們沒見禁火牌子！土匪到底是土匪。 鼓聲在響著，昇起的太陽透過地氣，使遠近的空間幻化出無數游動的彩刺，寒霜在衰草的黃葉上消失，復變成霪濕的水珠，使遍野亂張的野蜘蛛網在濕濕中顯露出來，像春三月裏野芙蓉開出的白花。鼓聲撞向遠方去，使荒涼的野地上盪起原始的、神祕的回應，那回應把人心上的憤懣和不平壓服了！多少年來，澤地的權柄一直操在蒼天手裏，安靜、和平，略帶淡淡的哀感，像眼前的荒野一樣。人們習慣尋求安慰在長長的過住，很少去思念未來所面臨的惶懼和迷茫 前面過狼壇了！誰那樣說。 參天的古樹伸展著它盤曲的枝枒，人群落進深深的旱泓心去，只露出一聳一聳的旗旛的影子在泓涘外的密幹間閃動；無數落葉被風掃進泓底，經一夜濃霜的浸潤，踏在上面軟軟的，沒有一絲聲音。 而鼓聲一路響過去，招引著人們參與祭拜的行列。那邊業已望見火神廟了，在高高的泓涘上，每一隻眼都能望見廟脊上燄舌環繞的火珠和一對石勒的壓廟蒼龍。 火神爺，您聽著。夏老神仙合上手禱告說：受苦受難的一方人都來祭拜您了，您顯顯靈，罰罰那些胡作非為，依槍仗馬的邪魔罷 正當澤地上的人們把香燭投進石製的大香爐中匍身跪拜火神的時候，廟東不遠的野林裏，有一個奇怪的漢子牽著一匹白馬，搭起手棚凝望著人們頭頂上昇起的煙篆。帽簷的陰影鎖住他的眼和眉：可憐，他喃喃著：別處早在扒廟了，這兒還在拜神呢 而沒有人看見他，只聽見一聲長長的馬嘶