1. City wall, moat, waterlogged pond and Liushu
There is a city wall in the north of Zhucun. It cannot be verified which dynasty built it. There are temples, theaters, and houses in the city. People hide here to avoid war and bandits. Although it is an earthen wall, it is as wide as a carriage and has wall stacks and a lookout tower. Due to age and disrepair, the walls were overgrown with thorns and shrubs.
Due to the low terrain of the city moat, water flows from the moat to the waterlogging pond in the center of the village during the rainy season. The waterlogging pond is very large, with a radius of several hundred meters. When the water is full, it flows naturally from the spillway to Qingyu River. City walls, trenches, waterlogging ponds, and spillways are not only landscapes, but also a scientific law created by the wisdom of our ancestors in order to survive.
The water in the pond has never stopped. Groups of cattle and sheep come to drink water, girls and wives come to do laundry, and uncles carry water to water vegetables. Mothers took their self-woven homespun cloth and dug out black mud and blue mud from the bottom of the pond to dye the homespun cloth so that farmers could wear it to withstand dirt. There was a lot of laughter on the poolside, and many bent-necked willow trees were hanging down, with green leaves whistling, and shadows hanging upside down in the water, flickering...
Later, several new Zhuangzi cave dwellings were dug inside the city wall, scattered with them. Because the four or five families were protected by city walls, they planted many fruit trees with lush branches and leaves and abundant fruits. Everyone would drool when they saw them.
Little friends often sneak up from the collapsed trench to pick fruits. There was a man named Uncle Liu, who was a little thin but very strong. When he saw our heads sticking out from the gap in the city, he would catch us like a hide-and-seek. When he came, we would sneak into the trench and he would leave. , we climbed up again, we felt very fun. He knew we were hiding down there and often shouted loudly to scare us.
He has a wife, whom we call aunt. Her eyesight is a little bad, but her ears are very sensitive. She keeps shouting when she is slightly disturbed. We know that she cannot see, so we just pick as many fruits as they can. She asked Uncle Six to often call us together and pick a lot of fruits for us to eat...
Our Uncle Six is ??actually not a very fierce person, although we often pick jujubes from the city wall. , also stole his fruits, but his companions were not afraid of him at all, and admired him very much. The reason why I admire him is because he is very powerful with his fists and kicks. Several good guys are no match for him. He turns over the rocks on the wheat field with both hands, climbs trees and climbs mountains with liveliness and agility, and speaks humorously and very funny.
He likes to write calligraphy very much. The more people around him when writing, the more powerful he is! He rolls up his sleeves and spreads his legs to the left and right, which is the "crouching horse stance" in boxing, soaking in thick ink. He held his hand and moved his pen, dancing like dragons and phoenixes, as if he was not writing, but boxing...
In addition, he was also one of the few capable people in the village who was able to kill pigs and sheep. He played a small role and played with dragon lanterns. Wherever there is excitement, he is always indispensable. He has a special set of cooking dishes. As long as he is around, weddings and weddings will be joyful and lively.
In the difficult years when there was not enough to eat, many people worried about important events, because they had nothing better to entertain their guests. He invented the "one pot and four dishes" dish for entertaining guests. There is a big basin of stew in the middle of the table, and the other four are home-cooked side dishes, such as bean sprouts, fried potatoes, chili peppers, red and white radish or cabbage and red potato. This simple method is very affordable. Especially for stews, there are plenty of pots. The soup is mainly made of pork bones, radish, tofu, cabbage, vermicelli, etc., and a small amount of fat meat. It is very difficult to eat meat a few times throughout the year. For people, such dishes are already delicious. People eat well and return home satisfied. The owner's difficulties are solved, and the fragrance, joy and satisfaction linger in the village for a long time.
Oh! The city wall covered with wild jujubes, the trench surrounding the city wall, the waterlogged pond for swimming, playing, washing, and carrying water, and the sixth uncle who was highly capable, intelligent, humorous, and very kind!
The haunting memories, my beloved hometown and my sixth uncle in my heart!
2. Hutong·Old Man·Road Roller·Hard Wheel
Zhucun is located on the original plain of the middle reaches of the Qingyu River, and is also in the middle of the hills and plateaus.
It is a low land with flat grain fields. It cannot be said to be a land of plenty, but it is also one of the few granary places in the Yaozhou area. To the west is the gully Qingyu River. Because ravines and rivers are semicircular, villages are also semicircular.
In the early morning and evening, there are wisps of smoke, the crowing of chickens and the barking of dogs; it is also a place where groups of mules, horses, cattle and sheep pass by in groups! Looking from a distance, the village is surrounded by green trees. There are no green halls and tiles, and no human beings can be seen. If you get closer and take a closer look, you will see that people live in the underground kilns of Zhuangzi in Sihetou. Some also live in alleys, which stretch into ravines from east to west. There are also large courtyards in the center of the village. They are all facing south or south, with rows of cave dwellings, which are very sunny and bright.
Every alleyway is a semi-dark courtyard, surrounded by high earth walls. The earth walls are very strong and covered with green velvet and moss. There is a gatehouse beside the wall of every house, some are earthen gatehouses, some are blue brick gatehouses, and there are turrets on the brick gatehouses. These may be the wealthy owners in the past! The walls and gatehouses are built around the terrain and are well-proportioned.
This place has one ancestor and six major families, all of the same bloodline. It can be traced back to Zhu Yuanzhang in ancient times, and Zhu De in modern times is a member of the Zhu family. The six branches of Zhucun are Nanba, Beibian, Laochi'an; Tuhao, Yaoshang and Flower Shop.
The Nanba and Beibian families were stationed in the East-West or North-South Hutong. Nanba was stationed in the south of the alley, and Beibian was stationed in the north of the alley. The terrain of Nanba is broad, and some families took advantage of the terrain to build tile-roofed houses facing south and north. Pomegranate trees, pear trees, and jujube trees were planted in the courtyard; apricot trees, walnut trees, and persimmon trees were planted outside the earthen walls. There are not many other miscellaneous trees. Cypress and autumn trees all grow far away from the ravine and courtyard.
The scattered families in the north are also mixed with many families with foreign surnames. Although it is Xiangyang, the courtyard is very dilapidated, with few walls and only a few households. Other people's courtyards are open, and it's clear what they eat and what they do. Folks often gather under the big tree to eat, holding old bowls and blowing loudly. From time to time, people from east to west can laugh loudly.
The male surnamed Nanba family has vague memories. There was a tall old man with a white beard who walked tremblingly and used a cane. He later passed away. There is only one old woman, I call her aunt. She is tall and fat, with a very fair face. She has small feet and a loud voice. Although she often uses a cane, she is very energetic. When I was a child, my sister carried me to her house to play, picking apricots and sour pears on the wall. Especially the pomegranate flowers in the middle of the courtyard are bright red and really beautiful. The inside and outside of her house are very neat and refreshing. She brought out a basket of walnuts and dates and stuffed them into the children and adults who came to the house.
There is also an old woman in the north. She often does needlework outside the door, or sits on the round pile of straw she has made to spin. The sound of squeaking and squeaking attracts people. We watched there for a while.
At the end of the alley is a huge forest. There is a bluestone grinding plate on the side, where people grind rice, spicy peppers, seasonings and so on. There are also bulgur and corn grits.
On the eve of liberation, troops once lived here, and they cooked pancakes under the grinding plate. The grinding wheel worked.
The grain scattered under the grinding plate caused the birds in the trees to chirp, calling for their companions to come and eat. This is the most lively and fun place with many people.
The general situation of other households is the same. They do not live in alleys, but in the courtyard of Zhuangzi. Each clan has a well and a grinding pan; there are big trees, forests, orchards, and even virtuous and respected elderly people.
There are city walls, theaters, schools, shops around...
Each alley is very wide, and old people drive ox carts with hard pulleys to pull dung, and whips are crackling. The children chased and insisted on climbing on the back frame of the car. They knocked them down and then chased them. They had to climb up a little. The son or grandson of the driver sat on the shaft of the car and looked at them with envy in their eyes.
Every family has a way to get down to the river. In drought years, people often go to springs or rivers to fetch, pull, and carry water. There is spring water under every rock cliff, which is clear, dry, and sweet. It's cool in summer and hot springs in winter. In the twelfth lunar month, groups of girls and wives come to do laundry with basins in their hands. Children are also indispensable. It is also the happiest time.
In the first month of the year, this village is very famous for its social fire. Dragon lantern, lion, land boat, big-headed doll. A dozen people beat the big old drum.
Qin Opera is indispensable, especially the young men who play the board game. They are natural board playing geniuses. One is a tall man named Quan Ge, a middle-aged gentleman named Ya Ge, and three others. He is a representative of a talented person from a clan, who can play, knock, sing, and perform martial arts. He also has the banhu erhu called Ying Ge, and the suona played by Min Ge. They are all masters of folk arts and martial arts.
From the first day of the first lunar month to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, these performances never stop, the scene is very lively, and people are immersed in the strong flavor of the new year...
Go to Qingyu River There is a bay there. This place is called Doujia Bay. It is not an ordinary place. It is one of the eighteen bays of the Qingyu River. This bay is the largest bay in this Liuyu. It is surrounded by mountains and rivers and has lush trees. , the rocks are weird and jagged, willow branches hang upside down in the water, and the birds are singing and the flowers are fragrant.
There is a huge platform field above the river bend. On the platform are curved half-moon-shaped terraces, row upon row, rising up the mountain.
In the 1960s, a flood dam was built on the Zhucun River in the upper reaches, so that the river bed would no longer be washed away by floods, and the difference between the upstream and downstream rivers would be higher. This flood dam would be a flood all year round. It is an open waterfall with water channels dug into the stone cliffs, which divert water from the dam to Doujia Bay.
A trickle of water becomes the driving force for stone mills and steel mills. There was no electricity at that time, and people from more than a dozen natural villages came here to grind noodles. Stone mills and steel mills The water after using the steel mills flows into the terraced fields, and the terraced fields become a long stream of water. People mostly plant vegetables and rice.
Although the past has passed, the hard pulleys, ox carts, alleys, old people, and grinding flour in places with water mills in the river are memories that cannot be erased!
3. Qingming·Powder Room·Seller·Carpenter
Qingming Festival is here.
The Zhu family’s ancestral grave is in the north of the village. The terrain here is high, with the loess plateau as your head and the Qiaoma Mountains as your feet. It faces the south and faces the sun. It is the best Feng Shui place. Standing here and looking around, the entire village can be seen. The ancestors of the Zhu family must have been watching the growth of his descendants. Qingming Festival is also the most lively time. Each family gathers people to go to the ancestral graves by beating gongs and drums. Women are not allowed to go, only men. Groups of people marched for several miles, and the Qingming paper was colorful, like swaying flags. Some were offering chickens, some were offering steamed buns, and some were offering sheep. Not to mention the food and dried fruits, everyone was wearing new clothes to honor their ancestors. .
After the Qingming Festival, order melons and beans. At the busy time of the solar term, people begin to go to the fields to sow the hope of spring.
Summer and autumn are harvest days. Wheat, ears of grain, sorghum, and corn are piled up in the yard. This family helps this family, that family helps that family, and every family is happy. Another good harvest year. At this time, the horses are also strong, the cattle are also strong, and the sheep are also fat.
Winter is here, and the snow is three feet thick.
This is the most pleasant time for the villagers. They feed the cattle and sheep, sweep away the remaining snow, and chat in groups. Some played the erhu, some sang Qin opera, some played the Suona, and some played the Luo drum. No one plays mahjong, and few people play Poke. At most, it is a game of wolf eating baby under a square drawn on the ground. There are also people who don’t have enough firewood to go up the mountain to collect firewood. The women's side is the busiest time, collecting shoe soles, making cotton clothes, spinning and weaving, and grinding flour to feed pigs.
There is a powder room, which is where vermicelli is made. Vermicelli does not use any ingredients, it is simply powder made from sorghum or millet. The resulting vermicelli is soft and delicious. The leftovers from making vermicelli are used to feed pigs in preparation for the New Year. Every household can get vermicelli and pork. This is also the place with the most idle people in winter. Some help blow the bellows, add firewood to build the fire, sit on the hot kang and tell stories, and grab the bottom of the pot after eating vermicelli. It is also a place where village culture is spread.
The other place is the opera temple in the center of the village. There is a very famous person in this village. People call him Uncle Zhong. He is of medium height, has a loud singing voice, and loves to play the role of a clown. People love to call him Uncle Zhong! When arranging a program here, he is naturally the director. It is performed every year, and the name of this village's play is famous in Baxiang. Uncle Zhong is even more famous and in the limelight. He never cares about his family. His mother-in-law kicked him out of the house with the sole of her shoe. You just have to act in operas for the rest of your life!
During the winter leisure, there are also vendors who sell tea, cigarettes, flower shells, blankets, and carpenters to join in the fun in this village.
People in Henan carry loads of goods on their shoulders, sing minor tunes, and shake brown drums. They sell candied haws, marshmallows, needles, and thread. From time to time, there are children and women buying things.
Zhejiang people who sell tea use compressed brick tea. Most of the tea is carried in sacks and then divided among the elderly after a few days. To drink tea, you have to use a knife to cut it.
The juggler drew a big circle in the yard, beat the gong, and let the monkeys go through the hoop. In the busy place, there was a little girl holding a washbasin asking for change, and people gave it in twos and threes. People without money stayed back and watched the fun.
Most of the people who play wool blankets are father and son soldiers. They carry big bows and play cotton to make blankets for many families. This blanket is made of wool and can be used on the kang to keep out moisture and keep it warm. It will last a lifetime. .
Most of the carpenters are from Xunyi. Anyone who wants to marry a wife has to make several kinds of furniture. This is a good time. Winter is cold and idle. Everyone puts weddings in this season. Farming is free and people are busy, so there are many helpers, so the meat and vegetables are not easy to spoil.
There are so many families, such a village, and there are unusual people and things, so I won’t go into details...
This is the past, things in my hometown. Son!