First arrival in the countryside
On December 19, 1972, the six of us The classmate became an educated youth, and went to the countryside together to embark on the road to the youth point of the first group of houses in Anjia Commune. In the next three years, the roads we walked most frequently were the roads in the village leading to Youth Point, to the production team, to Dazigou, to the small reservoir, and to the fields.
When we first arrived, the fellow villagers couldn’t remember our names. Among the three female classmates, Chunying was the tallest, I was second, and Shufen was a little petite. The three of us used to line up like this when we walked together. The folks simply called me "big guy, middle guy, and small guy" to distinguish them. Some people also called me "fat girl". Haha, I may have had enough nutrition at that time. . It is winter and there is not much farm work. There is a small reservoir in the ditch. It is planned to store water and build a dam to irrigate the rice fields below. (Haha, I still remember when I was working, I often imagined the beautiful scenery of fish swimming in the water and thousands of waves of rice in the future.) Men, women, old and young all went to build the reservoir. We rested for a few days and started working eagerly. The men drill holes and fire cannons, while the women bulldoze earth and build dams. We all wrapped ourselves up tightly in the cold weather, but we didn't feel cold at all when we were working. In a short while, the eyelashes on our heads were covered with hoarfrost. Listening to everyone chirping and chatting about home affairs while working, I found it quite interesting, and I forgot about missing home for a moment. One day, Uncle Han, the captain of the brigade, came to check on the progress. He shouted at the foot of the dam: "Miss Song, throw down the shovel and I will use it." This caused a group of junior girls to burst into laughter. I was confused. I didn't know what they were laughing at. Xiao Rongzi from the Old Tang family told me that in their rural areas, girls who get married are called "Send Girl" when they go out. Oops, where are they? After work, a group of "young boys" followed me and shouted: "Send Girl". Girl~~Send the girl away..." I was embarrassed and a little annoyed, but Aunt Han, the women's captain, shouted loudly before driving them away. For a long time, this nickname became synonymous with me, and now I can’t help but laugh when I think about it.
Celebrating the New Year in the countryside
It has been almost two months since I arrived in the countryside. The Spring Festival is approaching. After experiencing the hard life in the countryside, my heart is still full of revolutionary passion to overcome all difficulties. Under the leadership of the old educated youth, we decided not to return to the city and spend a revolutionary Spring Festival with the poor and lower-middle peasants. (The most fashionable and loud rhetoric at the time) In order for people on the 16th and 17th to eat dumplings on New Year's Day, Dianli had made various plans early and prepared cabbage, pork, white noodles, etc. The food manager, Yu Chunfu, put the pork in a big basin, covered it with a lid, and put a stone on top, for fear that cats, dogs, etc. would eat it in the middle of the night. On the early morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, before dawn, Chang'an Celebration called everyone to get up. We quickly washed up and started to divide our work. There were not enough household items for chopping stuffing, kneading dough, and preparing firewood. The chief cook gave an order and we all brought our own wash basins for washing (sorry, it was said to be a wash basin, but actually we use this one for all washing) ). The dining tables in the men's and women's rooms were combined into one long strip. We were on both sides, and the female students were kneeling on the kang. There are several people filling a basin of stuffing. Some make the dumplings, some roll the dumplings, and some are responsible for placing the dumplings. Those who don’t know how to do anything go to the kitchen to boil water. Everyone was talking and laughing while they were working. It was steaming inside and outside the house and it was so lively! As the saying goes, "It's easier to work when there are more people." After a while, a large bed of dumplings was laid out on several curtains. Look again, oops! Big ones, small ones, decent ones, crooked ones, haha~~~ Everyone competed, teasing each other and laughing together. Captain Han and Captain Jin came to visit everyone and were very happy to see us so happy. Captain Jin also said: "Children, I'm really sorry for you. Eat more. When you're full, you won't miss home." The two large pots of water were rushing to boil with heat and began to cook the dumplings! The female classmates wiped the north and south Kangs and put them on the dining table respectively. A young man from the countryside served in the army in Zongzhou and happened to come back to visit his relatives. He was in high spirits in his military uniform, so we invited him to come to the Youth Point. Several large pots of dumplings were served on the table, and while we ate, we listened to him tell interesting stories about his time in the army, which made us feel quite novel and envious of him. The male classmates drank a lot of "Erguotou" when they were happy and talked about the affairs of the army and the people. hey-hey! This is the first time I have left home and not spent the Chinese New Year with my parents. Although it was not particularly lively because there were no firecrackers, and it was not rich enough because there were not many delicacies at home, it still made me feel that it was the most delicious dumpling meal I had ever eaten and the most unforgettable Spring Festival in my life.
Picking Mushrooms
A few autumn rains have awakened the chill in September. The grass leaves and branches on the mountain are covered with water droplets. The breeze blows and the layers roll down, shining like strings of silver beads in the sun. Pine trees (red mushrooms) are quietly emerging one after another. Unable to resist the temptation, Shufen, Chunying and a few elder sisters and I took a break from the busy schedule and made an appointment to go pick mushrooms in the mountains.