Although it is not as refreshing as in the morning, it is not so hot in the afternoon sun. I am used to going out for a walk at this time.
If you want to be quiet, go north from home, cross the alley and go east along Kaiyuan Road. The road is very narrow, but there are few people and cars, especially the dirt road I like, which can go straight to Huan' an Park.
People's thinking, sometimes influenced by emotions, keeps quiet all day, and sometimes wants to be lively. They go out and turn left. Thirty or fifty meters is the hottest cultural square in town.
I've been there, but I'm not used to the atmosphere in the square, not because of my age difference, but because my personality prefers quiet.
Walk slowly in the sunset.
Looking at the scenery reflected by the sun, listening to the sounds of insects and frogs in summer. Only when people are quiet and peaceful can they hear the unique "flute singing" in the depths of nature.
After several consecutive rains, the crops in the field can grow wildly, dancing slowly with the rhythm of the breeze in the afterglow of the sunset, and the dark green corn leaves are holding hands, much like a couple hugging each other tightly. I wandered in the countryside, feeling the tranquility of returning to nature and the earthy atmosphere from the countryside.
There are trees and flowers around the park.
Fishing people, whether they love fishing or are fun-loving, forget the setting sun in the west and delay collecting their poles. Occasionally, the fish jumped out of the water, drank the water and gasped.
There are more and more tourists in the park. Everyone in the town is familiar with it. It's not, the Zhang couple in the distance are cordially greeting.
My little brother Yu came quickly with his wife, talking and laughing, and a gust of wind blew.
A young woman in a flowered skirt waddled along with a mobile phone in one hand and a dog in the other.
Couples at the edge of the bamboo bushes look at each other, convey deep affection, whisper and tell love.
The last glow of the sunset is about to melt in the night, and those magpies are still wandering in the forest, not knowing which tree they are perched on. The chirping sparrows flew deep into the forest. I know, it's time to go back.
As night fell, street lamps lit up the bustling crowd. I don't know where I come from. On the return trip, I went to the square next door along Tuanjie Road.
It has long been a crowded square dance for all ages, a cheongsam show for young people who love beautiful women, children playing with pulleys, teenagers playing with ball skills, Tai Chi for the old people and, of course, Wu Baji of Mengcun.
Is there anyone I know in this noisy crowd? Is there a past I am familiar with?
I watched deeply for a long, long time, and my thoughts turned to a distant summer night.
Yes! A distant summer night in the countryside ...
In summer, in the hot summer, seedlings grow, the grass is lush, the cultivators help the crops, and the children after school leave their schoolbags and rush to the fields. The grass basket behind their buttocks bounced with the pace of walking and entered the grass world, with a pair of smart eyes and two light hands. They cut the grass into the basket, the grass basket became full gradually, the cloth shirt was warm, and on the happy smiling face,
The sun sets, the trees are still, and the smoke from the farmhouse goes straight into the sky.
The locust tree in front of the door, the sparrow flying in and out, longs for the last bite of food before perching. Children returning from mowing grass are drinking what adults call "carefully drawn" cold water in front of the water tank. The heating floor in the yard has been swept clean, and the floor is covered with "draft hygiene". The children pounce on it, and the adults sit on the benches and grass piers on one side, watching the children smile comfortably.
As soon as dinner was ready, the children suddenly got excited because of their mother's greetings. They shouted for dinner and ran into the stove. Everyone had to use chopsticks to grab the bowl. Mother will tell them loudly who will set the table and who will hold the rice. The little guy went to the table and waited. After the food was served, the whole family began to eat.
In those days, there was no distinction between rich and poor. Every family's dinner is almost the same, with cakes made of sweet potato noodles or sorghum noodles, pickled radishes and pickles, and homemade old sauce bowls. It may make modern people look shabby, but at that time, they didn't feel any poverty or poverty.
Dinner, in the laughter of children, in the joy of adults, ended.
Cool mother holds a cattail leaf fan, fanning mosquitoes flying around, protecting the children in front of her. Wipe the sweat on your face and water stains on your body with your other hand from time to time.
The cool cattail leaf fan shook her mother's hand, but it also sweetened her heart. The family is lying on the bunk, and the girls are always quiet, looking up at the night sky, counting the Weaver Cowherd and the Big Dipper with a spoon handle. Occasionally there is a breeze blowing, there will be children's joyful voices, and adults' joy will be revealed on their faces.
Boys' summer nights can make the whole village lively. Older children have their own playmates, some in groups, some in groups. Play depends on who can play tricks. Wan Wen; Hide, touch and tell jokes. Martial arts; Wrestle, turn around, pull the trigger. Thieves play; Steal dates from trees and touch melons in the fields. Children of that era, who dares to say that they have done nothing?
Remember, the most interesting night was catching "Yan Baihu". A large group of children watched Yan Baihu fly in the night sky, took off his shoes and greeted the sky enthusiastically, but never saw whose shoes touched Yan Baihu or got into Yan Baihu. Later, I knocked out many white flowers with bricks and tiles. At that time, my projection ability was necessary. I shot down all kinds of birds flying in the sky and falling from trees. It's a little awkward in front of your peers. The key to shooting a swallow is to look at its flying direction and estimate the distance forward. The bird in the tree depends on the speed of the hand, be quick and accurate.
Among my playmates, there are elder brother Qingpo, elder brother Zhu Jin, elder brother Mingzong, younger brother Tietou, younger brother Tiezhuang and my second brother.
On summer nights, children play in the dark. Interestingly, the stolen melon could not be eaten, so it was put on the fork of a tree. (Afraid to take it home, for fear of being beaten by adults) Quigo, who is near his home, wandered around after getting up early and found the secret hidden in the tree. Later, we decisively moved the stolen goods.
I still remember one time, I was stealing melons with a steel head. Sinian stood on the high fence and shouted, "Iron Head, where are you and Dazhi stealing melons?"
Alas! Just got the little melon seeds, let's bury them in the ground. Then he went home as if nothing had happened.
I won't steal melons with a steel head again. I'm afraid that SiNiang's name is too straightforward and true!
After dinner, the men went out of the house and gathered in the production team. The warning lights in the barn flashed yellow. The tired old cow chewed the feed or grass he had just eaten repeatedly in his stomach, narrowed his eyes and turned a blind eye to the people who came to record the work. Only the clerk answered loudly, hey, drink, and verify that you should remember your work performance.
The production team leader is bowing his head to plan tomorrow's buddies. After recording the work, he shouted, who will do it tomorrow morning and what tools to bring.
After the team leader finished scheduling, the yard of the production team was full of excitement.
Young men show their strength in many ways, such as wrestling, arm wrestling, twisting their noses, holding hands and dragging their bottoms.
If he is strong, he must be said to be Brother Shi, who is broad and strong and won't listen to anyone. I remember he wrestled with others and fell to the ground at the loudest. However, once he catches you, he is his size and crushes you to death.
Among these young people, Han is the most powerful one. The young man is long and capable, and he can catch a scorpion of 120 kg with one arm. People nicknamed him "Big Pear Flower".
The summer night is getting deeper and deeper, and the young and old who have had enough fun go home talking and laughing.
Summer nights, enjoying the cool, women lack common sense.
Whose children are old, whose men are obedient, whose houses are messy like kennels, and whose old sauce smells like smelly feet.
The laughter from the women's group is high and low, some are wild, and some are subtle.
At that time, women will be more conservative and will not be exposed in summer. Only an elderly grandmother, with a hot figure and an open chest, has a pair of shriveled breasts attached to her chest. Although it is forbidden for young women who are breastfeeding, when the child cries, they will still pull up their clothes and put their firm and bulging breasts into the baby's mouth. Everyone looks at peacetime and looks at habits.
Simple pastoral style, noble personality.
Some tired women, watching men go home one after another, got up and walked back to their homes.
The summer night in the country gradually stopped, and the children who came home were either crazy or tired, lying sprawled on their bunks and sleeping like a dead dog. It's a little cold in the summer night, so the careful mother found a list to cover her child, and looked at her smiling son in his sleep, relieved to hang on his happy face.
Summer night, quiet down, tired mother quiet down. ...
The noise in the square continues. I saw my second brother in the square dance crowd, and he was dancing happily with the rhythm.
I wonder if there are any childhood memories in his memory.
Street lamps are dazzling, neon lights are constantly changing, and the crowds you come and go are changing the summer of another era and another summer night.
(Written on July 20 19)
Revised in June 2020.
Note: there are many dialects in the text, or the pronunciation is wrong! For example, cold water is pumped from a well, but it has just been lifted from the well.