large ballistics

Chapter 11 At dusk, the sound of horseshoes is crisp

"Mr. Li, we've arrived in Xinghua." The boatman came over and called Li Chong softly.

In fact, there was no need for the boatman to remind him. Li Chong, who looked like he was taking a nap with a newspaper on his head when he was away from home, was actually keeping track of his surroundings with his ears.

What's more, the land that bred and raised him is already familiar to his bones.

When the boat entered this water town, it was as if he had heard the call of his hometown not far away, and he felt a feeling of falling leaves returning to their roots.During the two years in Hong Kong, even if I gained the reputation of "Brother Li" between Xiyingpan and Shitangzui and gained a firm foothold, I always felt empty in a foreign land.

Walking on the board of the boat, the fields are separated by the criss-crossing river water. From a distance, it seems that the land is floating on the water. This is the unique water and soil in the hometown.Some small boats are floating on the river, and white clouds are long in the distance. Looking at this piece of land that seems to be forgotten by time, I put a bucket of clear river water along the side of the boat, and put a handful of it on my face. Oh, what a familiar atmosphere.

Li Chong didn't know how long this calm could last on the eve of the coming storm?
On the newspaper next to his feet, "Lugou Bridge artillery fire resumes, the second ceasefire agreement reached between the North China Garrison and the Hebei-Chahar authorities is invalidated!" The long headline is so eye-catching.

Li Chong couldn't figure out why the authorities still had the fantasy of "negotiating peace". The trick of "negotiating peace on the spot" was something left over from the old ancestors. Calling for reminders, why are the Jicha authorities still holding unrealistic illusions?
Has anyone ever seen a weasel trying to shake hands with a chicken after failing to catch a chicken?

While thinking, "Hey! The boat is docking!" The boat waved its head at the people on the pier, reminding people on the shore that the boat was coming to the shore.

After landing, Li Chong stepped on the ground under his feet, and then stomped his feet vigorously.

"Boss, let's bid farewell." After bidding farewell to the boatman who was with him all the way, Li Chong came to the town. Anyway, he had a lot of money on him, and he also had the one thousand French coins that Lin's mother gave him. Li Chong always felt that this thing should be spent as soon as possible. Go out, according to the national government's current practice of issuing legal currency at a geometric multiplication rate year by year, completely ignoring inflation, within a few years, this legal currency can be used as a toilet paper.

In the market, two highland barley horses are tied to wooden posts.

Li Chong pointed to one of the young horses and asked, "Old man, how do you sell this horse?"

"Dayang costs 15 yuan, if it's French currency." With a familiar accent, the old man stretched out a hand, "Fifty French currency."

"Hey, the old man is quite black." Logically, the national government stipulated that one ocean should be exchanged for two yuan of legal currency. Of course, in actual purchases, the purchasing power of two yuan currency was not as strong as that of one ocean.But the old man almost doubled the thirty French currency.

But Li Chong was eager to go home, anyway, the money went into the pockets of his hometown, so he didn't care about it.

I bought a pair of saddles at the blacksmith shop, spent ten yuan in French currency, and tied the leather bag tightly to the saddle. Li Chong stepped on the stirrups, jumped up, and looked at his watch. For a distance of forty miles, it will take about three hours, and maybe I can catch up with dinner at home.

"Drive!" Full of anticipation in his heart, he waved his horsewhip and immediately bumped along the winding dirt road, but Li Chong's heart became more and more excited.
The night is slowly dimming, and birds are singing on both sides.

Galloping vertically and horizontally on this plain, the sound of horseshoes is crisp, which makes people feel happy.

"Moo~" came the deep cry of the cattle in the valley.

The road became more and more familiar, and when he arrived in Zhaduo Town, Li Chong even felt that he could direct the barley horse down with his eyes closed.

On the land surrounded by the river, in addition to the rice planted, there are dense reeds and green gauze tents and large weeping willow trees. The long willow branches dance to the earth with the force of the evening wind.The fragrance from the rice in the fields, the taro growing in the silt by the river, and the aquatic plants at the bottom of the river is mixed with the evening wind and blows towards your face.

Taro will be planted wherever there is water in Lizhuang.Taro has strong vitality. As long as there is water, it can even compete for space in the green gauze tent full of reed roots, which is difficult for other plants to take root.No matter how ups and downs the grain harvest is, every autumn, taro can produce huge bulbs weighing three to four catties.And its fruit, which is strong and resistant to hunger, is also extremely durable to storage, and its existence has become an important supplementary food for Li Zhuang.

Looking at the one-meter-high shield-shaped leaves, I still remember that when I was a child, I took out an eight-jin taro with my own hands.Cook it with rice in a pot. After uncovering the lid, it will be fragrant and soft!

Turning a few more roads, I gradually saw Li Zhuang immersed in the twilight, and seemed to hear the sound of dogs barking, and there was still some fire, either an oil lamp or a torch in the stove.Dogs are always indispensable in Lizhuang, because there are often some naughty children playing hide-and-seek in the vast reeds and then unable to get out.At this time, I can only lead my own dog and follow the smell to find someone.

Listening to the barking of the dog, Li Chong thought of Dahei and Erhei at home, two black-backed dogs, except for grandpa, they only kissed him.I still remember two years ago, two dogs chased me until I boarded a boat at Xinghua Wharf, standing on the edge of the pier and watching myself until it became a black spot.

"Donkey~" Li Chong pulled the rein, and the horse stood upright in front of the mound in Zhuangtou. Sitting on the horse's back, the continuous houses were like the back of a long winding dragon, lying on the land one by one.The willow trees in the village have been integrated into the houses of each household, and there is a vast reed field behind the village.The layout of the whole village revolves around an ancient pagoda in the center, Haichunxuan Pagoda.

Every year on New Year's Eve, during the blessing activities in the village, a stone Buddha will be placed in the hole in the pagoda. Up to now, there are hundreds of small stone Buddhas of different shapes scattered on the pagoda.

And this tower is said to be a lighthouse set up here by Yu Chigong, a general of the Tang Dynasty, when he was stationed in the navy. It was not until 500 years later that the sea water receded that the whole picture of the tower was revealed.In other words, the land under our feet was still a low-lying swamp wasteland thousands of years ago, and it has become a rich land after thousands of years.The overall foundation of the village is obviously much higher than the river bed. This is to prevent waterlogging. The ancestors who moved here earlier piled up the silt at the bottom of the river to form land above the water surface.

In fact, except for the green gauze tent behind the village where the reed roots are scattered and difficult to grow, the fertile land on both sides of the river bed and the duo fields on the water surface are all formed by the accumulation of mud at the bottom of the river. Always high.And my family is the only landlord in Lizhuang, so from my grandfather to myself, counting my grandfather, all four generations have no worries about food and clothing.

What a wonderful piece of land, thinking about the poisoning of North China and the three eastern provinces by the devil soldiers in the newspaper, Li Chong secretly vowed in his heart that he would do his best to defend this piece of land.

Feeling the water vapor under the nightfall, looking at the Sihe courtyard just a hundred meters away and the old willow tree leaning on the old wall behind the house, Li Chong couldn't bear the agitation in his heart any longer. swoop down.

Home is just a stone's throw away!

(End of this chapter)