At noon, Yi dragged her swollen and transparent legs to her home step by step. Yi still felt dizzy as he sat heavily on the rotten threshold, as if he was still spinning in the millway, and the rumbling sound of grinding ringed in his ears. Yi's two children pounced. The older one was screaming hungry, and his hand reached into Yi's coat pocket and fumbled it. Although the younger one was over three years old, his steps were still unsteady and he couldn't speak, so he fell noisily to Yi's chest, lifted Yi's shirt with his black hand, took a shriveled breast in his mouth, and sucked viciously. The older one, named Fusheng, found nothing in Yi's pocket, and began to cry in disappointment. The younger Shousheng, who also found nothing from Yi's breasts, spit out the cracked nipples, sat on the ground, and cried in disappointment. Yi's heart was sour and numb, he sighed, held the door frame with his hand, and slowly stood up. Yi's mother-in-law walked out of the back room hunched over with an old umbrella handle in her hand. The mother-in-law, with unkempt white hair and closed her eyes, explored the road with the handle of her umbrella, and shouted loudly: "How many of you are eating?" Glass? What do you eat?" Yi felt uncomfortable in his heart, and replied with a raised voice: "Mother-in-law, you are also eighty years old, and you speak so unreasonably!" Is there anything delicious that you can't eat first? The older you get, the more confused you get. The mother-in-law pouted, like a child, whimpered, and while crying, she hit the edge of the red rusty pot with the handle of the umbrella, and shouted: "You bully me old, bully me blind, steal all the good things, and want to starve me to death, what kind of world is this, God, save me, I am starving to death......" Yi did not refute the mother-in-law's cry for heaven and earth. Yi knew that this blind old woman had long been delirious, and there was no reason to talk about it. Yi mustered up his strength to scold the two crying sons: "Howl and howl, let's all die......" Yi scolded, and two cool tears seeped out of his dry eye sockets. "Mother, I'm starving...... Fusheng cried as he tugged at Yi's shirt. Mother...... Hungry ......" Shousheng cried as he hugged Yi's feet. Yi looked down at the two skinny monkey-like sons in front of him, his throat was suffocating, his head was spinning, and he could barely stand. Yi held the door frame with his hand, wiped his eyes, and asked the older Fusheng: "What about your sister, why haven't you come back yet?" After Yi finished speaking, he walked out the door, and looked into the alley, and through a few stripped elm trees, Yi saw a large basket full of wild vegetables pressing a girl who was bent over like a hook. A thin warm current surged in Yi's heart, and she hurried a few steps to meet it, and unloaded the basket full of wild vegetables from her daughter's back. The girl slowly spread her thin waist and called out softly. Yi asked: "Mei Sheng, why did you come back, I don't know that you are waiting for the dishes to be cooked at home?" The girl pouted, tears rolling in her eyes. Yi rummaged through the wild vegetables in the basket and said critically, "Ah, what are these?" Mother-in-law, Artemisia Seed, can you eat this?" Yi grabbed a handful of wild artemisia seeds and put them under her nose to sniff, and then touched the wild artemisia seeds under the girl's nose, and said dissatisfiedly: "You smell it yourself, what does it smell like?" How can you eat it?" The girl sobbed and cried, rubbing her eyes with her scythe-holding hand as she cried. Yi said: "Are you still wronged? Fourteen-year-olds, you can't even pick up baskets of wild vegetables, what's the use of raising you? Didn't you want to chop up those herbs, bitter herbs, purslane, and gray cabbage? You still have the face to cry!" Yi panted and slammed a finger into the girl's forehead. The girl burst into tears. Yi came up angry, cried too, and kicked the girl with his foot. The girl covered her face, only cried, and did not move. Neighbor Zhao Er's grandmother came out and persuaded: "Mei Shengniang, it's noon?" What do you do with hitting a child?" Yi said indignantly: "Die, it's all dead!" His mouth was ruthless, but tears flowed out. Second Grandma Zhao persuaded: "Go back, go back, Mei Sheng is a diligent girl, isn't this a big basket?" Yi said: "Second grandmother, look what she has stripped of!" Grandma Zhao Er grabbed a handful of wild artemisia seeds from the basket and looked at it, and said, "Mei Shengniang, this is yours again, you pulled a spring mill in the mill, and you don't know the scene in the field." Ququ sprouts and gray cabbage are better than this bitter artemisia seeds, but where can they be picked? There is a hunger and famine all over China, and if it goes down for a few more days, I am afraid that I will not even be able to eat this wild artemisia. Yi immediately understood that he had wronged his daughter, so he sighed, carried the basket and said, "Don't cry, go home." Mei Sheng sobbed, followed Yi, and returned to his yard. Yi saw Mei Sheng pounce on the side of the water tank, scooped half a scoop of water, and poured it into his mouth. Yi wanted to say a few words of comfort to her daughter, but she didn't say it after all. The mother-in-law also touched the yard. The old woman was tired of scolding, so she closed her mouth for a while, holding the handle of the umbrella in both hands, and turned her face up to the gorgeous sun hanging high in the sky. The bright sunlight shone on the golden face, reflecting the green light. Yi put the smoked Artemisia on the thumping stone and smashed it with a wooden stick. The green juice flowed down the white stones, and the bitter and spicy taste filled the courtyard. After the girl drank the water, she said to Yi sensibly: "Mother, you can rest for a while, I'll smash it." Yi looked at her daughter's dry little yellow face and wanted to cry, but no tears flowed. Yi said: "I'll smash the wild vegetables, you can sift the Guanyin soil." Mei Sheng agreed, moved a piece of gray-brown Guanyin soil from the wall and the road, put it in the center of the road, smashed it with a wooden hammer for a while, and then held the broken soil into the basket, sifted back and forth, and the Guanyin soil as fine as powder fell in front of him one after another. Yi asked Mei Sheng to bring the sifted fine soil, mix it with the smashed wild vegetables, knead it into fist-sized balls, and lay them on a wooden board. Yi and her daughter carried a wooden vegetable dumpling into the house and put it in a pot. After covering the pot, Yi asked Mei Sheng to burn the fire under the pot, and Yi moved to the corner of the wall to spit yellow water. The two boys stared at the fire that was beating in the stove, as if waiting for some miracle to happen.
Yi spat out a burst of yellow water, moved back, and saw that white steam was already coming out of the edge of the pot, so he ordered Mei Sheng to stop the fire. Yi lifted the lid of the pot and saw that the dumplings made of strange ingredients were shining, like the dung of mules and horses. An indescribable smell rushed into Yi's nostrils.
The Yi family gathered around the pot and looked at the contents of the pot as if they were worshipping a sacred object. The two boys couldn't wait to reach out. Yi scolded and dismissed them. Yi used chopsticks to stick a ball into it, and took a bite of it himself, only to feel a poison-like taste spread in his mouth, and the yellow water in his stomach surged. Yi Qiang endured it and swallowed the contents of his mouth and the yellow water that filled his esophagus.
Yi said, "Eat." ”
In the afternoon, Yi felt in good spirits, and the strange food, despite the bad taste, made the empty stomach and intestines feel heavy. The stomach is heavy, and Yi feels that he also has a base under his feet, not like in the past, light and fluttering, as if he would fly at any time.
Yi and seven women worked under two large stone mills, four people in one plate. The women are all small-footed, and it is very difficult to walk, but it is precisely because of these small feet that they are not driven to the construction site of the reservoir.
Wang Zuo, who was in charge of the mill, was a crippled soldier, with a lame leg and half a scarred face, and he looked very fierce. When he saw Yi coming over, he got up from his chair and said loudly, "What are you eating?" Hey, everyone else is here, just waiting for you for a mile, don't you know that the construction site is in a hurry to wait for flour to eat?"
Yi hurriedly lowered his head and admitted his mistake.
Yi entered the mill and saw that the eldest lady of the Sun family, the second aunt of the Ma family, and the sister-in-law of the Li family, who were pulling a stone mill with him, had already hung the noose on their shoulders, stretched their necks to exert force, so that the mill rumbled around, and the gray wheat flour fell from the grooves of the stone mill, like dry snow. Yi was so ashamed that she hurriedly put on her shoulder binding, and used her strength to hold the grinding stick in her hand.
The eldest lady of the Sun family said softly behind Yi: "Mei Shengniang, take it easy, how can this dry method survive until dark?" The other two also said the same thing in front of and behind Yi. Iman's heart was warm, and he exerted more strength.
The eldest lady of the Sun family said with a smile: "Mei Shengniang, eat big fish and meat for lunch, this fierceness is the same as a little donkey." ”
Yi grinned and said, "Ate big fish and big meat? I'm waiting for the next life. At noon today, I rubbed a pot of dumplings with Guanyin soil mixed with wild artemisia. ”
"What," Aunt Ma asked in surprise, "Have you eaten Guanyin soil?"
Sister-in-law Li said: "I heard the old man of my family say that if you eat that thing, sooner or later you will fall to death." ”
Yi said quietly; "In such years, dying early is a blessing for a day."
Aunt Sun persuaded: "Mei Shengniang, you are only in your thirties, don't say such frustrating words, grit your teeth, pull the child up, and you will get out." ”
Yi didn't say anything, just shook his head.
Sister-in-law Li said indignantly: "I don't believe that such a loyal person as Brother Wang would be ruthless to poison the ploughing cow to death." ”
Aunt Sun said, "Shut up." In the past few years, thousands of ghosts have died!"
Aunt Ma lowered her voice and said, "Mei Shengniang, you are too honest, the donkey starved to death in the mill?" I blame you for being dead-eyed. ”
At this time, Wang Guan carried a long and large tobacco pouch, entered the mill, and looked at the eight grinding ladies with fierce eyes, and said, "Everyone be careful, raw grain is difficult to digest if swallowed!"
Sister-in-law Li grinned and said, "Brother Wang, if you don't worry, why don't you move a stool to sit here?"
Wang said: "Who can stand the smell of eight wives? ”
Sister-in-law Li said again: "You say I'm ashamed, but my man says I'm fragrant!"
Wang took a sip and limped away.
In the afternoon, peas were grinded, and the beeping and crunching sounds of the grinding chamber wafted through the damp, gloomy mill. Yi smelled the scent of pea flour, and his stomach cramped and cramped. Yi gritted his teeth and didn't say anything, but the cold sweat wet his shoulders and back. Yi walked with his neck stretched out, like a crane struggling for his life. The rumbling sound of grinding was like a light cloud, gradually drifting away. Yi saw in a trance that the eldest lady of the Sun family reached out to the top of the mill and grabbed a handful of peas to cover her mouth. The second aunt of the Ma family and the sister-in-law of the Li family all secretly covered the peas in their mouths. Yi also found that the women on the other stone mill were doing the same thing. When the sister-in-law of the Zhang family grabbed a handful of peas and put them in her mouth, she gave Yi an encouraging look; The second aunt of the Ma family also whispered behind Yi: "Eat, you stupid seed!"
The smell of peas casts a strong temptation on Yi. Yi's hand was about to reach out to the millstone several times, and then retracted timidly. Yi knows that the same thing can be done by Aunt Sun, Aunt Ma, and Sister-in-law Li, but she can't do it. Yi's husband was a rich peasant, and not long ago, he was sent to a labor camp for poisoning the cattle in the society. Yi didn't understand why her husband poisoned the ploughing cattle. Yi thought about the scene when her husband was arrested, and her heart was cold. The second aunt of the Ma family poked Yi's waist from behind, and Yi shook her head decisively.
The second aunt of the Ma family said: "If you go on like this, there is only one way to die." ”
Yi's abdomen cramped, and a lot of sweat rolled down his face. At first, Yi held on, but finally fell. In her coma, Iyu heard the women babbling loudly and felt her body lifted. Yi felt several women's hands massaging her belly and heard a sigh around her. Yi vomited, something sticky rushed out, and the pain immediately lessened.
Yi wiped his face and thanked the women around him weakly, and the women sighed again. The king kept it and said angrily, "What are you doing? Grind it all for me. ”
Aunt Ma said: "You lame, a heart is harder than a pebble. ”
Wang said: "Isn't the class struggle hard?"
Aunt Ma said: "Okay, you are a lame mongrel, my family is a poor farmer." ”
The king said, "There are traitors among the poor peasants. ”
The mothers-in-law attacked the king's custody, and his face turned red, urging them to grind.
The mother-in-law persuaded Yi to go home and rest, but Yi shook her head, stiffened, and returned to edging. Aunt Ma persuaded in a low voice: "Mei Shengniang, these days, people are no longer human, there is no face, there is no shame, those who can rob openly, those who can't rob openly, those who can't rob secretly, guard the food, can't starve to death!" With that, he grabbed a handful of peas and stuffed them into Yi's mouth. Yi's heart was pounding, and when he looked around and saw that the mother-in-law was eating unceremoniously, he moved his teeth and chewed. Yi couldn't help but be frightened when he heard the sound of peas being bitten, but the thrilling and heart-wrenching taste of the grain covered his fear in an instant. Yi finally reached out, grabbed a handful of peas, and stuffed them into his mouth.
Before the start of work, it was very dark in the millway, and bats perched on the beams flew in and out of the window lattices, preying on flying insects. Yi's belly is swollen, but it's blissful bloating. Yi saw that the women were taking advantage of the darkness to stuff a lot of peas into the waistband of their pants. Yi was stunned. Aunt Ma poked Yi secretly and said, "Stupid seed, pretend, you are full, what about the child?"
Yi Yi was cross-hearted, grabbed a handful of peas, stuffed them into his pants, and felt those smooth and round bean grains, along his thighs, fluttering, rolling straight down, gathering on his feet and neck. Yi grabbed two more handfuls, and then he was terrified. I heard the king shouting outside: "It's time to get off work!" ”
The women pretended to be nothing, shook their hands, and walked out of the mill. The light in the courtyard surprised I. Yi felt that his legs were weak for a while, his heart was beating like a drum, and he lowered his head, not daring to take a step. Wang Kuo came over with a sneer and said, "Wow, it's revealed!"
Second Aunt Ma protected Yi and said, "Cripple Wang, my aunt will find you a daughter-in-law tomorrow." ”
Wang kept a cigarette pouch separating Aunt Ma and said, "Don't blame me for being rude. ”
Yi was stupid, he couldn't speak, and he didn't dare to move.
Wang kept the cigarette pouch pinned to his waist, stretched out two large hands, and touched down Yi's body. Aunt Ma said: "Crippled, you lack virtue!"
Wang's hands touched Yi's calves, paused for a moment, stood up, and ordered, "Untie the leg tie."
Yi cried and fell to her knees, pleading with her mouth.
What else did the women want to say, but the king kept the fire and said, "Stinky women, a group of donkeys stealing food!" What do you do when I don't know? Untie your trouser legs!"
When the women saw that the situation was not good, they scattered with a coax, and they all walked with their little feet, like ducks, and walked quickly.
Only King Yihe was left in the courtyard for safekeeping. The king untied the tie of Yi's legs and told him to stand up, and hundreds of peas rolled to the ground.
The king said, "You say, what should I do?"
……
When Yi returned home, the room was already dark, Mei Sheng was sitting on the ground dozing off, and Fusheng and Shou Sheng were lying on their stomachs in the grass nest. The mother-in-law muttered in the dark, as if she were reciting some mysterious incantation.
Mei Sheng asked, "Mother, is it you?" Why did you come back?"
Yi didn't say anything.
Mei Sheng came over, took Yi's arm, and asked again, "Mother, why don't you speak?"
Yi touched her daughter's face and said, "Mei Sheng, go to sleep." ”
Mei Sheng said: "There are still some Guanyin soil balls in the pot, you can eat them." ”
Yi said, "My mother is full today. ”
Mei Sheng leaned on the grass and fell asleep.
Yi touched the children one by one, got up and went out of the house, took a rope from under the eaves, put it on the branch, and tied a sleeve. As the rope tightened Ei's neck, Ik's body writhed. Yi felt extremely painful and regretted it.
The rope broke.
Yi untied the rope around his neck, gasped for breath, and then vomited, and it rained, and Yi went into the house to sleep.
The next morning, Yi saw that the things he had vomited had been washed away by the rain, and dozens of swollen peas were scattered like pearls on the damp mud floor.
Mei Sheng came over and asked, "Mother, what are you looking for?" Then he saw the treasure on the ground and exclaimed, "Pea! "Kneeling down, the chicken pecked at the rice and picked up the beans.
Fusheng, Shousheng, and mother-in-law all rushed over when they heard the sound. The boy and girl shared the peas and knelt on the ground, staring in search. The mother-in-law cried and scolded, lay on the ground, threw away the handle of the umbrella, and groped with both hands.
Yi sighed and walked towards the mill.
At the door of the mill, the king whispered, "I will allow you to bring back two handfuls of peas a day, but you will also give them to me." ”
Yi said coldly, "What if I don't bring a pea home?"
Wang said, "Of course I don't want you." ”
It's dusk again, and the women repeat their old trick of filling peas in their crotches. They seem to know what happened last night. Yi put a handful of peas into his mouth, did not chew at all, and swallowed them. Yi felt that the peas had reached his throat, and he stopped.
The king had been waiting at the door. Yi walked up calmly and said, "You can search it!"
Wang kept staring at her for a full minute, and then let her go.
Yi came home, found a clay basin, poured a few scoops of water into the basin, found another chopstick, lowered his head, bent down, stretched the chopsticks deep into his throat, and dialed a few hard, a group of pea grains, accompanied by Yi's gastric juice, trembled and fell into the clay basin...... After Yi vomited peas, he lay on the grass like a dead snake, happily watching the child and mother-in-law, and grabbing food around the basin.
A few days later, Yi's skills improved, and there was no longer any need to probe his throat to induce vomiting, as long as Yi knelt in front of the tile basin, bowed his head slightly, and the grain was poured out, and many grain grains were dry, not stained by gastric juice at all......
Later, the food became increasingly scarce, in order to prevent the women from stealing food, Wang kept eight bowls and a bucket of water at the door, so that every woman must rinse her mouth when she went out, spit the mouthwash into the bowl, and check whether there were any food crumbs, which was very effective in controlling the phenomenon of stealing food. But Yi Zhao is not mistaken, because Yi is swallowed, naturally there is no crumbs.
Yi knelt in front of the clay basin filled with clear water, pressed his hands to the ground, towered his pointed blades, opened his mouth wide, and spit out peas, corn, millet, and sorghum......
In this way, Yi gave her three children and her mother-in-law enough protein and vitamins. The mother-in-law lived a long life, and the child developed well.
This is a true story that happened in the early sixties in the northeastern countryside. The lesson of this story for me is that the mother is great, and the food is precious.