Yiping

one

A ray of sunset covered the roof of the old building, and Xue Jun and I were lying on the straw mat, enjoying the rare warmth of late autumn in the north.

This old building was built 30 years ago with a platform on the roof. I was supposed to watch the National Day fireworks. Looking down from this six-story building, you can clearly see what is happening in the yard.

In the courtyard of the downstairs housing management office, Zhang Yang's father is sawing wood. He is a good carpenter.

Grandma Wang in the street is patrolling on tiptoe again, and the red hoop on her arm is particularly eye-catching She stopped in front of the dirt pocket pit, stood in a lunge, fanned the wind from the pocket pit with one hand, and carefully sniffed whether there was a burning smell. The capsule pit was left by Xinjiang singer Mohammad when he moved out of the old building. Later, we used it to bake sweet potatoes and potatoes. Grandma Wang has a pair of alert eyes and always likes to stare at us children for fear that someone will fan the flames.

On the other side of the yard, there is a row of locust trees, and the sun shines on the corner of the old building under the locust trees through the uneven branches.

There is a cat lying under the tree.

He is a mongrel cat, the most powerful one among the wildcats in our building, and the children call him "Elvis Presley". He has no aristocratic blood, but his yellow and white fur is shining. In the underground pipeline of this community, there are thousands of wild cats, some are natural wild species, some are domestic cats, and they all come out in droves to feed at night. Elvis Presley is different. He wandered around in broad daylight, and he didn't try to avoid anyone. He didn't even look at you, wagged his tail and walked past you at a brisk pace.

The older children in the building didn't like his arrogance and tried to catch him several times. When everyone ran towards him, he looked at you with a pair of deep eyes, which were full of contempt, confidence, disdain and even a little drowsiness. These black eyes make people feel more anxious and embarrassed. When people rushed to a place two meters away from him, he would quickly turn around, jump on an old tree and disappear into the dense leaves. Once, an older child waited under a tree for an afternoon, only to find that he was asleep and lazily climbed out of another underground hole to bask in the sun. It turns out that he has jumped from tree to tree with his climbing skills, and then maybe a row of bungalows or a local train, from an entrance of the sewer extending in all directions in the whole community, through a gate of his luxurious villa, slipped home to rest. "Elvis Presley" got its name. Elvis Presley also has a queen. She is the most beautiful wild cat I have ever seen. She has a charming slim figure and snow-white fur. Occasionally, Elvis Presley and his queen will run out in the sun together, which will always attract many people to stand in the distance and watch for a long time.

On the second floor of the opposite building, Li Tao's father is taking good care of the bacon hanging on the balcony. Li Tao is our classmate, and his father is at home today, so he can't go to the old building to see the scenery like Xue Jun and me.

Looking further away: it is the construction site of a new residential area. Before the arrival of the severe winter, the workers were busy nervously. The rumbling motor suddenly stopped, and we stood up and saw that the digging basket of the excavator was hanging in the air. Several people jumped into the pit and pulled out a black jar from the soft soil. Must have found the antiquities again! This used to be a cemetery, and something was always dug up during construction. Today, the workers seem to have an unexpected harvest.

Sunset is coming. It will be dark soon, and the streets will be crowded with people who get off work. When Xue Jun and I were about to go downstairs, there were waves of frightening cries from downstairs: "Well ... please don't hit me, I didn't do it ..."

Li Tao's father is beating him again!

Li Tao's father is a retired military officer with thick eyebrows and big eyes. He seems to be a very gentle person. Whenever he sees us, he always smiles and nods to us. He is always tall and straight, walking slowly with steady steps, and still maintains the quality of a soldier. When the child's football flies to him, he can take a small step quickly, let the football fly to an inch away from him, while the things in his hand are still firmly grasped, and then continue to stride leisurely. Both Xue Jun and I are surprised: he often beats Li Tao, and it's all for small things, such as: he doesn't pay attention in class, forgets to hand in his homework, and there are dirty footprints on the carpet at home ... Xue Jun, who lost his father since childhood, is always indignant: "Is Li Tao's father a dear father? If my dad is here, it will never be like this. "

Xue Jun and I ran to Li Tao's house. We heard it off and on for bacon on the balcony. Li Tao's father found that some bunches of bacon were about to dry, so he decided that Li Tao had taken them. Li Tao's father is from Guangdong, and he is good at making bacon. Once, when the adults were not at home, Li Tao treated us with delicious bacon. As a result, we were all disturbed by his pleading at night. Everyone tried their best to hide their tracks when they left, but Li Tao's father, with the sensitivity of the scouts in those days, still knew that we had been here and ate bacon, so he beat Li Tao up. Because of this, we always feel indebted to Li Tao.

two

After school, Li Tao caught up with me and Xue Jun in three steps: "Dude, wait for me, I have something to find you."

Looking at Li Tao's haggard face, we all stopped.

"What is it? Li Tao, have you been beaten again? " Xue Jun asked.

"I'm fine." Li Tao pretended to be relaxed and said, "I want to borrow your cane."

"Ha ha, what time is it? Where is the cicada? " Xue Jun smiled puzzled, but looking at Li Tao's serious appearance, he readily agreed, "Zi Yuan, go to your house and bring him the pole."

Zi Yuan is my nickname. In summer, Li Tao and I went to the countryside near the city to stick cicadas, and we could catch dozens at a time. The pole is four or five meters high, and the top section is glued with iron wire. I hid it in the attic on the roof. Li Tao must be in a bad mood now. Although there is no cicada on the tree, he may be happy after playing a shot. I hurried home and carried the pole down.

Li Tao picked up the pole and left without saying anything.

Xue Jun and I climbed up the roof together. The whole yard was quiet, and occasionally three or two people crossed the path in the yard. I watched the swallows flying in the air, and I felt a little sleepy unconsciously. Occasionally, I see Li Tao standing downstairs with a pole.

What does this guy want?

I pulled Xue Jun's clothes. The two men squatted on the railing curiously and watched his movements.

Li Tao raised his pole and leaned against the balcony on the second floor, reaching for the bunch of bacon. The pole barely touched the target, and then it wobbled.

It's foolish of Li Tao to eat bacon like this! We couldn't help laughing. But soon, I felt a little uneasy.

We came to the corner of the building, where Li Tao was waiting for us.

I know who stole my bacon! He said angrily and glanced at the telephone pole lying on the ground with a hint of pride.

I immediately understood what he meant, and I blushed and couldn't speak. Learning from the army is a bit confusing.

"You picked my bacon with a pole, didn't you?" Li Tao asked angrily.

"What? what did you say ? /Excuse me? How can we? " Xue Jun jumped to his feet. He couldn't stand any accusations from others.

"Still sayno." Li Tao's tone is a bit sinister. "Come on, let's have a look." Then he erected a pole and reached for the bacon on the balcony on the second floor. The pole reached the golden dried meat skewer, but no matter how you put it, you couldn't untie the rope tied to the bacon.

"Li Tao, you are not enough friends. How can you doubt us? " Xue Jun shouted, "Can this pole untie those ropes?" There is a pair of scissors on it. "

"I suspect that you two did it. You can stick so many cicadas. There must be a way to pick bacon. My dad insisted that I take it. I must find out the perpetrators and give me an innocence. "

"You-"Xue Jun was livid and stood there, chest ups and downs violently.

"Wait!" I whispered, pointing to Li Tao's balcony.

Two quarrelling guys stopped and looked at the direction of my finger. Everyone was surprised to see that Elvis Presley was carefully standing on the railing of the balcony, huddled himself up, and then swooshed in the air, accurately pouncing on a string of golden bacon hanging on the wire for drying clothes.

three

Elvis Presley's long hair quivered in the breeze.

He hung firmly on the bacon string and swung gently. When the bacon stopped swinging, he opened his mouth and ate the rope leisurely. Elvis Presley's works are very exquisite. He deliberately chose the place where the bacon was connected with the hanging rope. In the blink of an eye, bacon began to loosen. He swung slightly, flung himself in his arms and fell onto the balcony.

We stood there, and this guy dared to "rob" in broad daylight, and his skill was so beautiful! When we were in a daze, Elvis Presley had jumped onto the railing of Li Tao balcony with bacon in his mouth. His bright pupils seem to reflect the shadows of the three of us. Elvis Presley seems a little surprised, too. He snorted and stared at us. Then he suddenly swaggered the bacon into the grass downstairs. He ran quickly along the reinforced concrete edge on the floor. This "road" can be regarded as a highway for him. Elvis Presley ran to the storm drain and hugged it head down. Two meters from the ground, he landed gently on the grass, and the whole process did not exceed a few seconds.

"chase!" Xue Jun roared and rushed at Elvis Presley.

The three of us lined up in a line and shouted and rushed over. To our surprise, Elvis Presley didn't run away, but rushed to meet us, easily jumped out of the gap between us, went straight to the bacon on the grass behind us, picked it up and quickly rushed to a hole in the wall near him. Bacon stopped at the mouth of the cave and got stuck in it. Elvis pulled hard, and bacon was bent into an arc and dragged in.

We just looked at the hole and looked at each other.

Xue Jun lifted his trouser legs, and several fresh blood stains were oozing on them. This is a souvenir of Elvis Presley's breakthrough in encirclement and suppression. "I must catch him." Xue Jun bite a tooth ruthlessly said.

"Yes, catch him and skin him. I have committed such a big crime. " Li Tao echoed said.

"Now you know we didn't steal your bacon." I grumpily shouted at Li Tao.

"Hey hey hey." Li Tao smiled shyly, and his face was embarrassed.

Xue Jun and I both turned our heads to one side and didn't want to talk to him. But who let everyone be friends? We don't want Li See to be beaten by his father Tao. So the three agreed to arrest the stolen Elvis Presley.

We all thought of Zhang Yang's bird net. We are going to install a cat catching device on the balcony of Li Tao.

Because birds are not allowed to catch in the city, Zhang Yang's net was thrown in the corner of his yard. I heard that I was going to catch a cat, and Zhang Yang came, and immediately found it for us. According to Zhang Yang, his father used a bird net to catch rabbits fleeing in panic, which greatly enhanced our confidence.

Li Tao's father went on a business trip, so we didn't have so much trouble in setting the scene. Xue Jun set up a net to cover the front of the balcony, and then hung bacon on the barbed wire. If Elvis comes back the same way, he will suddenly fall into the soft bird net and get entangled in the fine nylon thread. To verify the effect, we let Zhang Yang's kittens try it several times. The lovely kitten was pushed off the net unprepared and meowed in fear.

Everything is ready, everyone goes home. If Elvis dares to come, he will definitely fall into our tight encirclement.

The first night passed peacefully.

The next night, we still put our noses on the window, opened our eyes and listened vertically. In the silver moonlight, there were occasional meows, but nothing happened on Li Tao's balcony.

On the third night, we went to bed early, and the excitement for days made us exhausted. I fell asleep soon. However, on this silent night, Elvis visited Li Tao's balcony again.

four

The bird net hung there intact and fluttered quietly with the breeze.

The bacon behind the net was cut several times. Maybe it's because Elvis Presley can't take so much, and he lost it all over the floor. Where did this guy come in? We were all puzzled to know that his access was blocked by the internet.

Elvis Presley's evil deeds greatly angered us. Xue Jun's face turned red, and I knew that he would only have such an expression when he was defeated and bullied by others. Being teased by a cat made us really depressed. Li Tao looked at the scattered bacon in a daze, and we guessed that he was thinking about how to convince his old man's house of this story when his father came back. Maybe what awaits him is another beating. Xue Jun and I are very sympathetic to Li Tao, because we put forward the idea of catching cats, but now that we have lost bacon, we can't be bystanders any more.

At this moment, Zhang Yang came running with a sweet potato in his hand: "What's up, man? Didn't catch it. " He spoke in a somewhat gloating tone. "I think you are all very strong."

"Didn't your father catch rabbits with this broken net? You are bluffing. " Xue Jun said grumpily.

"Have you ever heard of an idiom called Waiting for the Rabbit?" Make public shoveled eating sweet potatoes, and the fragrance violently stimulated our hungry stomachs. "My dad said that the rabbit was caught because it was chased by a dog and hit a bird net. Usually it won't fall into such an obvious trap, let alone a cat that is more cunning than a rabbit. My dad said that catching cats is a delicate job and requires professional tools and special methods. "

"Tell me, what's the good idea?" The three of us immediately surrounded Zhang Yang.

This guy is selling goods. He chewed the sweet potato with his mouth open, and white heat came out of his mouth, leaving thin yellow sweet potato powder on his chin until the sweet potato was almost eaten. Make public a jilt, sweet potato skin accurately landed in the garbage hole 30 meters away. He grabbed a handful of fine soil, wiped the sweet potato noodles off his hands, and then said slowly, "There is a cat catching machine called a cat box ..."

Xue spent a lot of money to move a few boards stored at home to the housing management office. I also took out some five boards for my father to paint oil paintings. Lao Zhang stood in the yard with a smile. We discussed with Zhang Yang and asked his father to make a big cat box, and gave the rest of the wood to others. His father said that they made a big cat box and caught a bobcat when they jumped the queue. There is a device in this box that can lock animals in it. The door of the cat box is pull-up, which looks a bit like the guillotine in medieval Europe. When the door is lifted, put a wire in the middle so that the door won't fall down. Put a rope at the other end of the wire. The rope goes through a hole in the side of the cat box, put it in the box, and then tie a meat bait. Cats looking for food will drag the bait, and the door of the box will fall down and lock inside.

A few days later, Lao Zhang called us and put the cat box we wanted in the yard. This cat box doesn't look like Lao Zhang made it himself. It's a little crooked, a little crooked. Looks like it's falling apart. It's asymmetrical. It looks obscene. Looking at our disappointed expression, Lao Zhang saw through our thoughts and said with a smile, "Do you know why you made the cat box like this? This thing is used to catch cats, not to show them there. Cats have nine lives and at least seven brains. It can see what cheating is at a glance. People always think cats are stupid. In fact, in the cat's eye, people are the most stupid and think they are smart. " Lao Zhang took out a long cigarette rod, stuffed finely chopped cigarette powder into it, lit it with a match, and slowly sucked it up from the corners of his mouth and nostrils. He continued: "You take away your cat box. Although it looks ugly, it can be strong and durable. If you don't believe me, kick it twice to see if it won't loosen. I added several triangular structures in it, not to mention cats and sisters. "

Xue Jun kicked the box a few times doubtfully, which made him withdraw his feet and rub it hard. Can this strange cat box with different colors really help us catch Elvis Presley? Everyone is still very happy, at least now we have a magic weapon to deal with that guy.

Make public also came to help, and the four of us carried the box and walked out of the house management office happily. The sun shines on our faces and on the cat box. We seem to be carrying cannons and are very proud to deal with cunning opponents.

"One more thing." Lao Zhang chased out and shouted, "Go back and paint the box with the smell of food and garbage, and paint some sheep oil on the ground outside the box. You'd better use stinky fish as bait in it. Don't touch the contents easily after all the bait is set. Although the cat's nose does not have the spirit of a dog, it is good at distinguishing the smell of people. "

People admire Lao Zhang more and more. Everything he said was professional.

five

The cat box is under Li Tao's house, under the tree in the corner of the building. It took us three days to carry out Zhang Yang's father's instructions, and finally we bought a suffocating smelly fish. This smell in Elvis Presley's nose is probably the most irresistible delicacy.

Xue Jun hung the fish firmly in the box, so we carefully closed the door of the cat box and didn't dare to touch it again. All we have to do now is wait.

It's snowing. It was the first heavy snow at the turn of autumn and winter, and the ground was quickly covered with thick snowflakes.

Will snow cover up our elaborate smells? Will Elvis Presley rest in his palace because of the snow? We can't help worrying. However, all doubts have vanished, because this morning, we saw Elvis' footprints in the snow.

This is a neat row of footprints. Elvis Presley came out of one of his holes and casually walked in the other direction of the cat box. This guy turned around in the same place many times, and then came to the cat box backwards. Judging from the footprints, Elvis Presley stood in front of the box for a long time, like a thinker, analyzing the strange-looking good luck that befell him. His good appetite is struggling with his quick brain. Finally, Elvis Presley's flashing rationality must have overcome the gurgling saliva. He may cast a melancholy glance at the cat box, and then walk back to the hole with skeptical confidence and ashamed expression.

Although they didn't get caught, everyone saw hope.

From that day on, before nightfall, we all observed the cat box with binoculars. Li Tao's father's telescope helped us. Two days later, the snow almost melted, and we finally waited for the harvest.

This morning, Li Tao rubbed his eyes to see the cat box. He was surprised to find that the door of the box had fallen down.

Everyone excitedly moved the cat box to the balcony of Li Tao, then took out the sacks and pointed to the door.

The door of the box slowly opened and we looked in the sunlight. We saw a pair of beautiful eyes-a white cat sitting peacefully inside. She let out a thin meow, her eyes full of longing and fear. Xue Jun reached in and carried the white cat out. It's the beautiful queen Elvis Presley! Everyone treated her with milk and sent her to a big birdcage.

What should we do next? We all lost our minds. Only to find Zhang Yang's father.

"Well, you are angry. The white cat will be put back after two days. " Lao Zhang said.

"That's impossible. I have to catch Elvis Presley. He let me be beaten for no reason. " Li Tao said angrily.

"We have to catch that guy, he is so irritating." Xue Jun also said.

Seeing that the two of them are so determined, I also echoed the publicity.

Lao Zhang sighed, took out his cigarette rod and smoked two times: "In this case, I can only wronged this white cat. Elvis Presley always suspected that this was a trap, but the white cat couldn't resist the temptation of delicious food and fell into the trap. Now the cat box is no longer hidden from Elvis Presley If you want to catch him, unless ... "The four of us suddenly stare big eyes, staring at Lao Zhang's face that looks like a knife. "Use a white cat as bait."

Looking at the beautiful white cat, everyone is reluctant. But at night, we still put her in the cat box. Lao Zhang changed the box, put a sandwich on the top of the box, circled the white cat with iron net, and replaced the bait with the pedal in the box. As soon as the cat steps on it, the door will fall.

The cat box was put back in its original position. White cat only has water to drink, so we don't give her food.

In this month's starry night, the whole community can hear the creepy cry of white cats.

A day passed and nothing happened.

Two days passed, and the white cat's voice became weaker and weaker.

On the third day, when night fell again, Xue Jun and I walked to the cat box.

Is Elvis really indifferent to what happened to white cats?

seven

We released the white cat, but kept Elvis Presley for a few days.

In a sense, Elvis Presley is the real prisoner we conquered. In addition, because of his evil deeds, Li Tao was beaten, and both Xue Jun and I were resentful. Xue Jun was vaccinated for the first time after being bitten, and he will have to be vaccinated four times in the future. We hope to teach him a lesson he will never forget.

At noon, we all came to the roof platform. Elvis Presley, who only drinks water and doesn't eat, is much more honest at this time. Zhang Yang took out Lao Zhang's haircut clipper and came over with a smile: "I'll give you a haircut. You must be good. "

Make public will be finished soon. On Elvis Presley's shaved face, Xue Jun picked up a cosmetic pen and painted it with colorful pigments. Elvis Presley's face looks like Lu in Beijing Opera. Finally, Xue Jun painted his cousin's luminous eye shadow on Elvis Presley's face. I took out a special puppy dress with bells hanging on it. Everyone carefully put it on Elvis Presley. Xue Jun sewed the clothes tightly with a needle and thread, then shook the little bell and said, "Elvis Presley, it will take some effort to catch mice in the future!" "

Elvis Presley's antics made us laugh. Elvis Presley kept his eyes closed from beginning to end, with a resigned expression.

"Now let him go." Xue Jun said that he raised his scissors, cut off the rotten net bags on Elvis Presley one by one, and then opened the door of the corridor.

Elvis moved his bones and muscles, and then fell to the ground, probably because his limbs were numb. Then he stood up again, his eyes shining. It arched and wagged its tail, and the bells on it made a crisp sound. We laughed again. He seems to be confused. Instead of continuing to walk towards the gate, he turned and ran in the opposite direction.

We shouted after him.

Elvis quickly ran to the edge of the roof. He found there was no way out, so he turned around and ran in the other direction. Soon, he reached the end of the roof again.

We walked slowly over and looked at him.

Elvis Presley looks tired. He gasped at us and looked at the ground six stories downstairs, as if thinking about something. From his eyes, I seem to see the shadow of the arrogant Elvis Presley again. Sure enough, he ran to meet us. Everyone screamed and stepped back. But he suddenly turned around and rushed out of the six-story fence.

We jumped at the fence.

There is a strange colored arc in the sky.

Elvis Presley's posture is so stretched. Tinkling with rustling leaves and broken branches dancing and rolling in the air with Elvis Presley's figure.

Just a few seconds, as if solidification had stopped.

We watched Elvis Presley's figure fall in the air, and our minds were blank. In this way, I witnessed him finally fall to the ground.

Elvis rolled when he landed. He stood up, looked up at us, and then disappeared into a corner of the building.

The vague bell rings in our ears.

eight

Li Tao's father hasn't hit him for a long time. His bacon hung intact on the balcony, and no one bothered him anymore.

Xue Jun is still my protector. He often fights with older children in senior grades to protect his classmates.

Zhang Yang's father actually made a sofa bed out of the wood left in the cat box, and Zhang Yang invited us to his house to watch it.

The cat box was no longer needed and was thrown in the corner of the house management office.

Elvis Presley hasn't appeared for a long time. I think of him sometimes, and so does Xue Jun. We often recall every detail of catching him. Every expression and every action of Elvis Presley will make us laugh for a long time. But he seems to have disappeared from around here.

It's already the middle of winter, the window is full of snow, the street lights are dim at night, and there are almost no people on the road.

On this day, I did my homework at Xue Jun's house. The door was opened with a bang. Xue Jun's cousin gasped and ran in: "Cousin, come out quickly, my mother fell."

We ran out and helped our pale aunt into the gate.

"Monster! We saw the monster. " Cousin exclaimed in horror, "A monster with a painted face, dressed in rags and a bell hanging around his neck roared past our eyes." That's terrible! "

"Elvis!" Xue Jun and I shouted in unison.

Menstruation, who was studying in the army, didn't believe the story of Elvis Presley. She insisted that she met some monster.

Rumors spread like a plague in this area. Mouth after mouth, I told the story about the monster with my nose and eyes. The first thing people think of is the ancient tombs found in nearby construction sites, and then they make monsters as big as people. No matter how Xue Jun and I explain it, people still prefer to believe the characters in mysterious stories. There are fewer people going out for a walk at night, and even Grandma Wang's duty has changed from single action to collective patrol, and everyone is controlled by some kind of horrible mood.

Xue Jun has recovered from his broken leg during menstruation, but he seldom comes to see us again.

We haven't seen Elvis Presley for a long time, the wild cat who dares to wander around during the day.

When night falls, Xue Jun and I will lie on the railing of the roof and keep silent. We are defeated conquerors.

Where will the "monster" suddenly appear on the dark street?

Under the street lamp, the fog at night is mixed with a faint panic atmosphere.

We just stood there and missed something.