Text/ Geng Chaoting
The years are like a white colt passing through the gap, like a wisp of cooking smoke, slowly dissipating in the air, it seems to be gone, but the past has become nostalgia, lingering in the hearts of those village watchmen, for a long time. The pace of modernization is striding forward at an unprecedented speed, burying many traces of history and disappearing into the vast years. If we don't record these things, no one will bring them up again, many have forgotten, more people have not experienced ...
If you casually ask a young man in his forties, do you know ammonia? I am afraid that many people shake their heads continuously, they do not know what ammonia is, and can only guess from the water word that it is liquid. If you ask a random person who is about fifty years old, they can not only correctly say what ammonia looks like, but also what it is used for. If you ask a little more knowledgeable, you will get a more accurate and detailed description: usually an aqueous solution of ammonia, which is easy to volatilize in the air, if you take a sip, it will choke you out of breath, and the heavy ones can cause laryngeal edema, emphysema, pulmonary hemorrhage, etc. Ammonia is highly toxic to human tissues, damaging the skin, causing necrosis, and can also irritate the eyes and produce burning damage. If you describe it this way, you must think that it is a drug and that human beings should stay away from it! If you think so, you're dead wrong, it's a friend of the crop. We often say: A crop and a flower depend on the fat. Ammonia is a kind of nitrogen fertilizer, and nature is also a friend of human beings. In the 1970s, it was a rural treasure, and because of the widespread use of ammonia, the grain production in the vast rural areas was raised to a big level. Corn, for example, is a crop we often see. The growth period of corn is short, generally more than 3 months, or about 100 days. Corn needs a lot of nitrogen in its lifetime, its growth period coincides with the flood season, rapid growth, the need for sufficient nitrogen fertilizer, to ensure that the corn seedling stage will not be damaged by waterlogging.
In the vast area of Yimeng Mountain, the grain varieties in charge are planted with millet, basically the thin land of the mountains, and those flat depressions are planted with millet, why? Because the millet grows long and is afraid of waterlogging. The vast majority of the plots are sown in the spring. By the time of the flood season, the grain had grown taller and was not too afraid of waterlogging. This is mainly because there is no chemical fertilizer, only rely on saving a little soil and miscellaneous fertilizer to apply in the field, and the natural yield is not high. Before the founding of New China, Chinese was less than half a billion and there were often famines.
At the beginning of the founding of New China, the foundation was thin, the industrial base was backward, and chemical fertilizers were still unable to be self-sufficient, which seriously restricted the improvement of grain output. This state of affairs finally developed unprecedentedly in the early seventies, and the fertilizer industry, especially in nitrogen production, saw significant development – that is, fertilizer plants were established in every county and city in the country. However, due to the limitations of technology and equipment, only ammonia can be produced. Although ammonia has many inconveniences in storage, transportation and use, it has made indelible contributions to the improvement of rural grain and the take-off of rural areas and agriculture.
The first time I learned about ammonia was because of my childhood friend Geng Zhi'ai. He is a master of scorpion lifting. Known as the "Scorpion King", he sells about ten pounds of scorpions alone every year, and is very famous in the local area.
Before and after the valley rain, the warm sun shone on the earth, the temperature rose rapidly, and the grass secretly exposed its head, curiously observing the surrounding world. The largest number of reptile ants on the planet have also come out of the caves in droves and begun to live a busy life. The swallows, who came from the south, also began to build their own nests, looking for soft mud in the ditches with water sources, returning to their new homes, and building the strongest, warmest, most beautiful nests to raise children. Grass warblers fly, and Yimeng Mountain's specialty, the Yimeng Whole Scorpion, also began to climb out of the cave or the weir of the morning sun, and began to move in the natural world covertly. Especially after the valley rain, there is a rain, suddenly, the scorpions on the hillside increase, which is not that scorpions like to rain, but on the contrary, scorpions are reptiles that like to dry, and the reason for the sudden increase is that they can't stand the intrusion of dampness and feel the temperature on the ground. Scorpions are very toxic, most people can't stand it, if you are stung by scorpions, I am afraid you will never forget.
My childhood friend was nicknamed the King of Scorpions, not because he was not afraid of scorpion stings, but because he could lift scorpions. One afternoon after school, he went up the mountain alone, because he was in a hurry, forgot to bring bamboo tweezers, had to use his hands, and accidentally, he was stung by a "big old mother" with two thumbs, and immediately jumped on the ground in pain. Now back home, I still scream in pain. Hearing that ammonia could solve the toxicity of scorpions, the mother rushed to the production team, got it with an ink bottle, and quickly inserted her hand into the bottle. I was so painful that I didn't even eat lunch, and I fell asleep in bed. When I woke up the next morning, I saw that the entire second thumb had turned black, and although it had been treated, the finger had been cut off and left with a permanent disability. After this incident occurred, people really understood that ammonia has such a big toxicity.
My real exposure to ammonia was after I graduated from high school and joined the production team. Once I was asked to pull an ammonia colic and fertilize the cotton. Ammonia carcasses are similar to those of wheat, but they are more dexterous and lighter than wheat braids, and generally require two or three people to operate by up to four people. There must be one who controls the gimbal, that is, the one who supports the gang, and the rest who pulls the gimmick. The use of ammonia is extremely inconvenient, because ammonia water needs to be used with water, there is more than one person who specializes in carrying water, which undoubtedly increases the number of laborers. The only person who has a little technical content in this work is to support the ammonia water, first of all, he has to master the concentration of ammonia, too much, there is harm to the root system of the crop, the concentration is too low, and it can not play the effect of fertilization, and secondly, the ammonia water picked up is the basic demand for a piece of land, if you use less, the rest, and then pick it back! Then be careful not to splash ammonia on the leaves of the crop, causing damage to the crop. If the concentration of ammonia used is high, accidentally splashed on the leaves of the crop, the leaves will immediately change color, and then slowly dry, destroying the light and effect of the leaves, so that the growth of the crops is affected.
The skilled hand must be kept upright, and if he is not careful to poke the foot of the ammonia cognide into a crop, then the crop is sold. Fertilizing the production team with ammonia is easier for the production team, and the captain often assigns those "half laborers" to do it. Although I graduated from high school, I only earned a "literacy class" work, and sometimes I was indignant, but I couldn't do any farm work, I couldn't do the strength, I could only earn half a centimeter of labor, such as ammonia water coupling, which had no technical content, did not need to use much strength, and it was my turn.
However, one afternoon, the captain asked me to go to the Quanzhuang Charcoal Station, the commune station, the next day to pick up ammonia. Originally, these tasks, which required endurance and strength, were usually assigned to male laborers, but because the number of male laborers was insufficient on that day, I was temporarily assigned to complete this glorious and arduous task. In fact, that time I was very willing to accept the task of picking ammonia, because the next day coincided with the Yin Jiayu gathering, earning work and rushing to the market, the best of both worlds, happy and leisurely. But my family's hook burden is too hard, back and forth for more than a dozen miles, pressing the shoulder pain, need to find a light and elastic hook burden, just the neighbor has such a hook burden, very famous, borrowed full of zhuang. In order not to let others borrow it, I came to a quick start to make it stronger, and after the work, I went straight to the neighbor's house and borrowed the hook and burden. In order not to let my quick climb affect the neighbor's house to carry water, I told me to come to my house first if I needed to use the hook to get it.
Go pick up ammonia and don't have to go uphill the next morning. Since you rush to the market by the way, you always have to wear a good dress. But at this time, it was too poor, and a person was only two clothes in total. The work is worn by the old coarse cloth that is spun by the thread, which is worn every day of the work, and there is not even a replacement dress. I had to take out a "Volkswagen Blue" student jacket when I was in high school and wear it, and I was reluctant to wear it when I was usually working, and it was only useful if I rushed to the store.
My village has to pass through a mountain in the middle of Quanzhuang, and it takes six or seven miles up and down the mountain. I picked up two mud-burned urine cans, one of which was borrowed. Generally speaking, there are only two urinary cans in a family. Climbed Wenfeng Mountain. It was midsummer, the mountains were full of vitality, those lush weeds, the mountains were covered with green, so that the black and dull mountains had a spirituality, and the wildflowers that could not be named could be seen everywhere, red, yellow, purple, white... Colorful and delicate. When I look into the distance, the mountains are like daisy, winding and undulating, making people feel a kind of heroism in their hearts: "will be the top of the mountain, overlooking the mountains"! The Yi River, which meanders like a silver snake, runs through the mountains, plunges headlong into the sparkling Baoshan Reservoir, a spectacular scene, suddenly makes himself feel very emotional, nature is so magnificent, and he is so small, he sighed a long sigh, he read books for a few years, he is encountering a political movement, he has not learned anything, do you want to live this kind of life, facing the loess and facing the sky? I secretly asked myself, how can I make a difference, at least get out of my current predicament? If you think about it, there's really nothing you can do. In the production team, he was called a nerd and learned buns. And I just didn't have knowledge in my stomach. Under the fame, it is actually difficult to match! Not even famous, why talk about it? My heart was very sad, and the joy when I first came to the mountain seemed to be swept away. A few small birds stood on the tall branches, ticking as if they were laughing at themselves. I thought to myself, the nasty bird, standing on a high branch, carefree and singing a high note, is really resentful! I picked up a small stone from the hill and threw it forcefully at the locust tree where the birds were staying. The little bird saw that I was not friendly, and did not even say hello, so they flew away together, and after a while, they gradually flew away and disappeared into the blue sky... Looking in the direction of the bird flying away, I looked at it foolishly for a while, and if I had some understanding, I picked up the urinal can and continued to hurry.
When we arrived at quanzhuang tan station, several people in our production team who picked up ammonia water were basically there. Everyone discussed going to catch up with Yin Jiayu for a while. I actually didn't want to go to the set, and I didn't want my classmates to see how I was down. It reminds me of the winter I just graduated from. It just so happens that the Dazhai movement of agricultural science in our village is very prosperous, and it is a banner of the Dazhai movement of agricultural science in Quanzhuang Commune, and many units have come to our village to learn from the experience. Once, Quanzhuang Commune held a winter agricultural science meeting in our village, and the people who came to visit and learn from the experience were cadres such as the secretary of the brigade branch, and I did not intend to glimpse the figure of my classmate Pine Cypress Cliff Li Fu'e, and I was very surprised. When we looked at each other, we had only graduated for a few months, and she was already mixed up in the ranks of cadres, which was really unexpected, I didn't know that she didn't see me, anyway, I didn't have the courage to walk in front of her.
Today, I actually appeared in the market with a urine can, which really embarrassed me. Fortunately, the charcoal station was far away from the market, so I followed the others to the market. The people in the market are already bustling, mainly selling vegetables and some selling agricultural and sideline products. Because I was shy in my pockets, I just walked around the market, and I didn't meet my high school classmates, it seems that they are also like me, they are all practicing red hearts in the vast world, and they don't have time to come to the market casually, which makes me feel a little relieved and a little disappointed. If you meet a classmate who complains about his heart and talks about his parting feelings after graduation, it is also a pleasant thing. Suddenly, as if out of the blue, hoping to bump into a classmate, I searched hard through the crowd, hoping to find a familiar face, but none. In the complex contradictions that he hoped to encounter but did not want to encounter, he hesitated and left the market.
When I was breathless and climbed up the mountain with the ammonia jug, I put the ammonia under the tree where I said it, and I hoped to see the little birds, but I didn't see it, but I heard the sound of the wind, as if whispering, and as if I was eagerly dinging, I seemed to know what the wind was going to tell me, but I seemed to have a sharp mind, and I looked into the distance again, and saw that the mountain valleys seemed to be waving to me, they seemed to want to tell me, but I didn't want to know, I seemed to hear the sound of the Yi River flowing.
(Image from the Internet)
【About the author】Geng Chaoting, pen name Shanjian Xiaoxi. He is a member of Shandong Prose Literature Association and Linyi Writers Association. Since childhood, he likes to read and loves to write, and has won the excellent correspondent of the Yishui education system. He has published many teaching articles in the student journal "Red Lei"; published "Love for Yimeng Homeland", "Blind Date", "Summer of Yimeng" in "Contemporary Essays", published "Indifferent Mind and Tranquil body" in "Contemporary Literary Scholars"; published "Wenfeng Mountain Sanji" in "Capital Literature", and the poem "I Like the Dawn of Early Awakening" was shortlisted for the Lu Xun Literature Award, "Ordinary World, Strong Life" in "Jiaodong Prose Annual Selection"; "The First Teacher's Day" in Yantai Daily; and Qilu Evening News. Qilu Yidian published dozens of poems and essays such as "The Yi River Flows With My Literary Dreams", "The Feeling of Sunset", and "The Sentiment of Autumn", and created hundreds of thousands of words of novels.
Sponsored by the Shandong Provincial Prose Literature Society, <b>Contemporary Prose</b> is a bimonthly prose journal, which mainly publishes the works of members of the Shandong Provincial Prose Literature Association, and welcomes Shandong prose writers to apply to join the Shandong Provincial Prose Association. The Shandong Provincial Prose Literature Association holds various prose activities throughout the year to provide book publishing services for writers. Submission email: [email protected], [email protected]
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