Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 256: Like a teenager, running fast!
This was just a minor incident and did not spoil Zhang Chao's mood. After the crowd dispersed, Zhang Chao took out the 1000 yuan in cash he had prepared long ago and stuffed it into the village chief's pocket. He then went upstairs carrying the snakeskin bag and folding table.

Once the table was set up, daily necessities were laid out, and new bedding was spread out, the room suddenly felt like home and was no longer a temporary residence. Zhang Chao glanced around the room with satisfaction before going to bed and falling into a deep sleep.

Silent all night.

In the early morning, Zhang Chao woke up to the sound of "click, click, click". He rubbed his sleepy eyes, got up, washed his face, put on his clothes and went downstairs.

Then I saw more than a dozen horses gathered in the open space in front of the village committee downstairs. There were some young men and half-grown boys, some leading the horses, some riding on them, looking around freely and confidently.

Zhang Chao couldn't believe the scene in front of him for a moment. He thought he was too excited and had hallucinations, and wanted to go back to sleep.

But the village chief's words made him sure that he was still in reality: "Our horses are good, right?" Then he looked at Zhang Chao proudly.

Zhang Chao was confused and asked, "That's right - how come there are horses in the village?"

The village chief said with a smile: "The Dragon Boat Festival is coming, and each of our villages will start preparing for ancestor worship and horse racing!"

Zhang Chao was surprised and asked, "Duan Festival?"

The village chief explained: "Duanjie is the New Year of our water calendar, just like your Chinese New Year, it is the beginning of the year..."

There was no internet in the village, so it was impossible to check the information. Zhang Chao listened to the village head and other children for a long time before he realized that the "Duan" in Duanjie means "beginning". "Duanjie" is the beginning of the new year in the Shui people's own calendar, which means celebrating the harvest and bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new.

水历端节的时间约相当于农历的8到10月，前后历时一共50多天。当然不是每个地方的水族人都连过50多天节，而是按照地区分批过节。以前分9批，现在分7批。

It is soon the turn of Shire Village, so everyone has started preparations for the festival.

In addition to worshipping ancestors during the New Year like the Han people, the Shui people also have the custom of horse racing during the Dragon Boat Festival. However, the village is small and the horses cannot be raised freely, so the horses are usually raised in the meadows at higher altitudes. They are driven down from the mountains when the Dragon Boat Festival is approaching, so that the riders can get familiar with the horses.

Zhang Chao was very interested in this custom and got closer to observe the horses. He found that these horses were not the "tall and big horses" seen on TV. They were not too tall and should be mountain horses. (With the development of tourism in the past two years, they are all tall professional racehorses)
It seems that in the past, transportation here, especially trade, was mostly carried out by horses, so this tradition has been preserved.

Zhang Chao asked timidly, "Can I try riding a horse?" Then he looked at the village chief with expectation. As a Fuhai native, riding a boat is a common thing, but riding a horse is relatively rare, and Zhang Chao really wants to experience it.

The village chief said in embarrassment: "I'm afraid riding a horse is a bit dangerous!"

Zhang Chao patted his chest confidently: "I'm not afraid! I dare to ride a roller coaster, so why should I be afraid of riding a horse?"

Although the village chief didn't know what a roller coaster was, he saw Zhang Chao's determination, so he hesitated for a moment, then waved to the back of the horse team and said something. Then he saw a boy of about thirteen or fourteen years old, leading a pony that was probably not even as tall as Zhang Chao, walking to the front.

Zhang Chao: "..."

The village chief said to the boy, "Take your uncle Zhang for a walk in the fields." Then he said to Zhang Chao, "This horse has a good temper and will not throw you off."

Zhang Chao knew that the village chief was telling the truth, and he really wanted to experience the feeling of riding a horse, so he followed the boy to the largest field in the village. The rice had been harvested long ago, and the rice stubble had been turned under the soil, waiting for the next year's farming, so it was perfect for riding horses.

The boy, who can speak Mandarin, patiently taught Zhang Chao: "Touch it first and let it get familiar with you, so that it will let you ride it. Stand to the side of it, never stand behind it..."

Zhang Chao followed his instructions and began to stroke the horse's mane and neck from the side, feeling its body temperature and soft hair. The horse must have just been washed, its brown-black fur was shiny in the sun, its nose made a sound from time to time, and its four hooves were pedaling restlessly.

This was Zhang Chao's first time to have such close contact with such a large creature - feeding sugar cane to elephants in the zoo didn't count - and a very special feeling emerged in his heart.

Horses, as large animals that have accompanied humans for thousands of years, have been integrated into the history and culture of almost all mainstream civilizations.

From using horses to transport goods, to migrating in horse-drawn carriages, to fighting each other on horses... the cherishment and reverence for horses has been integrated into the blood of many nations...

"Are you still going to ride it?" The young man found it very strange that Zhang Chaoguang didn't want to ride it, so he couldn't help but ask.

Zhang Chao smiled awkwardly and said, "Ride, ride, of course I ride." Then he slapped himself twice in his heart and cursed, "Don't be a literary youth!"

The young man said, "It's not afraid of you now. Just hold the reins with one hand and the other side of the saddle with the other hand, then put one foot into the stirrup, push yourself up, and straddle the saddle..."

Zhang Chao memorized the movements the boy taught him while taking a deep breath. He thought to himself that he was once a sports boy who played on the court, so riding a horse was nothing...

Grab the reins, hold the saddle, step on the stirrups...get on the horse!
Zhang Chao sat on the horse's back smoothly. The horse just took two steps to the side and did not try to throw him off.

Zhang Chao breathed a sigh of relief - it was almost the same as getting on a bicycle - but when he looked down, his heart rose to his throat again: a bicycle is not that high!

Zhang Chao subconsciously tried to hold the reins tightly when he got nervous. The boy who taught him how to ride was also inexperienced and did not help him hold the horse.

The horse got the command from the reins and started to move slowly. This movement was amazing. Zhang Chao felt like he was sitting on the waves, and his body began to rise and fall unconsciously.

Zhang Chao, who was confused, relied on his body's instinct to fight against the natural rhythm of the horse's running. As a result, the more he fought, the more unstable he became, and the more unstable he became, the tighter he pulled the reins; the tighter he pulled the reins, the faster the horse ran; the faster the horse ran, the greater the ups and downs on its back...

Zhang Chao only felt that he was not riding a horse, but a small boat in the wind and waves, being thrown into the air by the increasingly high waves.

The young man was shouting something anxiously beside him, but Zhang Chao couldn't hear a word he said. His five senses were all occupied by the horse in front of him, and it didn't belong to him at all.

It was unknown how long it had been, but the young man finally caught up with the horse that was strolling in circles, snatched the reins from Zhang Chao, and after a while of soothing the horse, the horse finally stopped quietly.

Zhang Chao got off the horse with a pale face, and said in shock: "This horse...this horse, how come it suddenly started running."

The boy stroked the horse's neck to comfort it, and said curiously, "It ran? It didn't run just now. If it ran, how could I catch up with it? It just walked around faster."

Zhang Chao: "..."

The young man said patiently: "When you ride a horse, your waist is too stiff. You can't think that the horse and you are two different things. You have to think that the horse and you are one. Like this..."

As he said this, he jumped onto the horse swiftly, shook the reins with both hands, squeezed his legs against the horse's belly, and the horse started to trot from slow to fast. The horse that Zhang Chao had ridden just now was like a boat out of control, but now it was obedient under the boy's crotch, and behaved like a good student who had just been praised by the teacher.

Zhang Chao: "Is this the unity of man and horse..."

The boy ran twice along the edge of the rice field, returned to Zhang Chao, dismounted, and handed the reins to Zhang Chao again.

Zhang Chao mustered up his courage, took the reins, and mounted the horse again. This time he had experience and was not so panicked, but he still did not dare to speed up the horse, so he could only let the boy lead the horse and take him for a walk.

How can this be called horse riding? It's just a 50-yuan per-time fee-paying activity at the scenic spot...

Zhang Chao never learned how to relax on horseback, and he was always struggling against the horse, so he naturally didn't dare to let the horse run. Finally, he could only dismount in frustration, hand the reins back to the boy, and said dejectedly: "It seems that I have no talent for riding a horse."

At this time, the village chief came to Zhang Chao, patted him on the shoulder and said, "It's okay. No one is born knowing how to ride a horse. We have to keep these horses for more than ten days. If you want to ride, just find him."

Zhang Chao nodded, and with lingering fear, he went back to drink some water and eat some breakfast to calm himself down.

After breakfast, Zhang Chao recovered and went to the village chief to ask, "What preparations are needed for the Duan Festival? How can I help?"

The village chief quickly said: "You are a guest, just sit down and wait for your meal!"

Zhang Chao still insisted on helping. The village chief thought for a moment and said, "We are going to kill the New Year pig in a while. You can come and help press the pig's legs." Killing a pig? This is so much fun. Zhang Chao agreed and asked, "Are we going to sacrifice the pig to our ancestors first?"

The village chief waved his hands and said, "Don't say anything nonsense, or our ancestors will be angry. When we worship our ancestors, we avoid meat and eat only vegetables. We cannot use pigs, cattle, sheep, chickens, ducks, etc. But we can use fish and shrimp, which we consider to be vegetarian.

The purpose of slaughtering pigs is to eat at home and entertain guests during the Dragon Boat Festival."

Zhang Chao nodded repeatedly, thinking that he had learned some new knowledge.

Soon it was time to slaughter the New Year pig, and the pig that was slaughtered was the big pig raised by the village chief. The pig head could not be offered to the ancestors, but the ancestors still had to be informed of the slaughter. The village chief was weaving straw ropes under the eaves, as if preparing for some ceremony.

Zhang Chao and several strong men and boys in the village put on leather bags and sleeves, and were ready to pull the big pig out of the pig pen on the first floor of the village chief's house. He had become familiar with many villagers these days, and no one treated him as an outsider. Seeing him join in was natural.

This is a local native pig, black and white in color, with a thin waist and round hips. It is completely different from the naive Yorkshire terrier that is slaughtered in the pig farm after a few months. It weighs several hundred kilograms and is unruly and unruly.

The moment Zhang Chao saw the pig, he thought of Wang Xiaobo’s famous work - "A Maverick Pig".

However, this was not the time to act like a hipster. Zhang Chao did not show off his ability, but stood behind and watched what the veterans would do.

The big spotted pig may have sensed that its end was near, and it hid deep inside the pig pen, refusing to go out even if it died. However, the cunning humans poked and hit it with sticks, and it was finally driven to the door of the pig pen.

The experienced villagers were quick to grab the pig's ears and pulled it out. Others also stepped forward, pulling its legs and pushing its buttocks, and finally got the big spotted pig out of the pig pen.

Although Zhang Chao was the tallest among these people, he had no experience at all and could only help out. In the end, he could only grab the prickly and hard pig bristles and move forward with everyone.

I saw a thick long table placed on the open space. The dark wood color and bloodstains showed the purpose of this table and its outstanding military achievements.

Everyone dragged the big spotted pig to the long table, then pulled up its ears and four hooves, and threw the several hundred kilograms of living creature onto the table. The big spotted pig screamed even more miserably in pain, and its limbs and body struggled non-stop.

However, its four hooves were held down tightly, so it could not move; it could only twist its body wildly. At this time, a man said to Zhang Chao: "You are big, hold down its body!"

Zhang Chao did not hesitate and fiercely pressed half of his body on the big flower pig. Feeling the huge power of the big flower pig, he hurriedly said, "Hurry up!"

At this time, the village chief's ceremony was over. A villager with a face full of flesh came to the table with a sharp knife and said in accented Mandarin: "The village chief has raised this pig for many years. It is the biggest one I have killed in recent years - hold it tight!"

After saying that, he stabbed the knife into the big spotted pig's neck!

The big spotted pig made the most shrill and tragic cry in its life, which made Zhang Chao, who was lying on it, have tinnitus. Stimulated by adrenaline, the big spotted pig burst out with amazing strength, jumped up from the table, and all four hooves broke free from control.

Zhang Chao was also carried "flying" up, and when he landed, he happened to lie on the back of the big flower pig. The big flower pig was like an arrow shot from a string, with the knife on its neck and Zhang Chao on its back, and it jumped out with a "whoosh".

Zhang Chao subconsciously grabbed the big pig's ears with both hands, clamped his legs around the big pig's belly, and pressed his body against the big pig's back, and then he rode the big pig and rushed around the village.

The villagers had not seen such a ferocious pig or such a ferocious man for many years. They were in chaos for a moment, not caring whether Zhang Chao could understand them or not. Everyone was shouting something, and some came out empty-handed, some with shovels, hoes, and ropes.

Zhang Chao was riding on the pig's back at this moment, and the feeling was different from riding a horse - when riding a horse, he felt like a boat floating on the waves, but now he felt like he was the second level of a sky-high monkey, and he would be launched into the sky and explode at any time.

The big spotted pig had a knife stuck in its neck and a person riding on its back. It felt so painful and heavy that it didn't care about the direction. After passing a few houses, it just ran wildly along the open terraced fields, trying to get rid of the bag on its back.

Zhang Chao instinctively didn't want to be thrown off, so he held on tighter with his hands and clamped his legs tighter. But the boy's words suddenly rang in his ears: "Relax your waist, relax, relax... The horse and you are one, the horse and you are one..."

Zhang Chao tried to relax his waist and abdomen, and use his body to feel the rhythm of the big spotted pig running. He no longer resisted it, but followed the rhythm of the horse...the pig's back, pushing his waist and abdomen back and forth.

121, 121, 121, 121...

Zhang Chao finally found the feeling, and began to use the ears as reins and the bristles as a saddle (just a little bit of prickles), to control the big spotted pig, trying to pull it over the cliff... Pig - because the end of the terraced fields really is a cliff!
If it weren't for this factor, Zhang Chao's feeling at this time would actually be quite wonderful: the wind whistled past his ears, the scenery between heaven and earth kept passing by, and he was just like the young man on horseback, galloping in the fields...

The big spotted pig also felt the change in the person on his back - he no longer tried to press him down or pull him, but instead went along with him and let him do what he wanted - for a moment the feeling of pressure on his back seemed to disappear, and the weight of the person on his back seemed to become part of his own weight.

This feeling is so wonderful! Why can't other humans be more gentle like him? Maybe I have more uses than just eating meat, as long as you treat me well...

Before the big spotted pig finished its psychological activities, it felt its vision becoming increasingly blurry and its four hooves becoming increasingly weak. Finally, before crossing the last terraced field, it fell headfirst into the mud and never woke up again.

Zhang Chao was also thrown off the pig's back. He rolled several times on the ground before he lay on his back, gasping for breath.

The village chief and other villagers arrived at Zhang Chao and the big pig a few minutes later. The big pig was already dead due to excessive blood loss from the arteries, while Zhang Chao stared at the sky with lifeless eyes, mumbling something.

The village chief was afraid that Zhang Chao was injured, so he quickly asked someone to help him up. He walked a few steps, moved his arms and legs, and touched his ribs. He was relieved to find that apart from some bruises, he was fine.

The young man came out of the crowd, gave Zhang Chao a thumbs up, and praised him: "Uncle Zhang, you are not good at riding a horse, but you are great at riding a pig!"

Zhang Chao's eyes went dark when he heard this, and he almost fainted...

As the night deepened and the chill set in, the fire pit in the village chief's main hall was warm as spring. In the big black pot, there was today's big flower pig being stewed!

This is real local pork, not only does it not have any pork smell, but it also has a light milky aroma. The village chief proudly said: "I have been feeding it corn for the past two years, and the pigs in the surrounding area don't eat as well as it does!"

Zhang Chao fiercely tore off a piece of meat and chewed it carefully in his mouth, feeling the wonderful taste of the first and possibly the only "mount" in his life. He had to admit that the village chief was right, such delicious pork was indeed rare in the world.

Seeing that Zhang Chao was eating happily, the village chief gave him another bowl of glutinous rice and said kindly, "Eat slowly, eat more. There is a lot of pork!"

Zhang Chao nodded and accidentally burped, causing everyone to laugh.

Zhang Chao had nothing to be embarrassed about now. After eating the piece of meat, he picked up his wine glass on the table and said loudly, "Swoosh!"

The village chief, his son and others raised their glasses and shouted, "Shush!" before drinking them all in one gulp.

Hearty!

In a trance, Zhang Chao seemed to have forgotten who he was, a writer, a wealthy man... Nothing was as beautiful as the low, simple wooden building in front of him.

Here, I don't have to deal with unnecessary human relationships, I don't have to intrigue with anyone, I don't have to be bound by responsibility, morality or grudges, I just need to work from sunrise to sunset with these villagers...

After more than ten days of getting along, Zhang Chao felt that his body and mind were just like being soaked in warm water, gradually stretching out and then quietly being ironed out. The exhaustion, guilt, and cruelty all seemed like things from a previous life.

How long can this kind of life last? Zhang Chao knew that there would always be a day when he would leave, or even a day when he would get tired of it.

But before that day comes, he must enjoy it, one more day, one more day. He doesn't care what kind of changes have taken place in the outside world because of his "disappearance".

He only cares about tomorrow's rice, chickens, ducks, fire, running horses, and smiling faces...

The moon outside the window is like a hook, looking like it is both smiling and crying, silently watching the joys and sorrows of this world.

(End of this chapter)