Village "Ice Games"

Original title: Village "Ice Games"

Author: Liu Liyuan

Winter in the Loop comes early. Autumn water flows by, the leaves drift to zero, the bitter beans on the beach, the orange grass has not yet turned yellow, and the river has begun to freeze. At first, there was only a little bit of ice in the shade, and there was only a thin layer of ice on the surface of the water, and the wind gently blew and melted. When it was overcast, the northwest wind was tight, and the pedestrians shrunk into a ball one by one, like shrimp with hunched backs. But the half-sized children in the village could not see the slightest sad face. Why? Because the ice games in the village are about to start!

Nineteen twenty-nine, can't reach out. In the irrigation canals, in the deep trenches on both sides of the road, in the fish ponds, in the puddles, in many unnamed seas, and in the farmland that could not be seen at a glance, there was ice everywhere. Hetao Plain is located on the back of the Yellow River, here is the largest artesian drainage irrigation area in Asia, the channel is divided into five levels of dry branches and peasants, above this, there is also a main trunk canal, commonly known as the "Second Yellow River", from the SanshengGong water conservancy hub opening, and the main channel of the Yellow River in the same direction, extending to Wuliang Suhai. The soil in the Loop area is severely saline, and farmers are accustomed to deep irrigation in winter in order to suppress alkali. In order to drain the alkali, a drainage ditch was dug to form a densely woven water network of horizontal channels and longitudinal ditches. Horizontal vertical, round square, flat uneven, no matter which piece of ice, is an excellent venue for holding the "Ice Games".

Wake up in the morning and if the wind is not strong, organize an ice bike race. The ice follows the river and leads from the doorstep to the school. One by one, they wear cotton hats, wrap their necks around their necks, carry school bags on their shoulders, wear cotton gloves and grasp the handlebars, and wear cotton shoes on their feet to pedal hard. Fast is not afraid, do not bend to overtake, a turn, fall on all fours and eight forks, half a day slow down. So the less courageous ones prayed that the cold wind would blow more fiercely.

The wind was strong, and the riding resistance was also great, so I abandoned the car and walked, unscrupulously stepped on the ice, and three slips and two slips disappeared. This way of sliding, can only rely on the kung fu of the footboard. If you use an ice cart, it's different. Choose two slightly curved logs to arrange them horizontally, and then use two short logs to nail them longitudinally to form a square box. The real kung fu is behind, and the nephew has the secret. Nephew, only know that he is from Shandong, in his twenties, everyone calls it that way. He can work carpenters, electricians, tractors, tonka tofu, and iron. Build a stove in the courtyard, pedal the bellows to fan the wind, and throw iron bars on the stove. When the red tongtong is almost transparent, then the iron bar is suddenly clipped out, placed on the cutting board and beaten hard, and in a moment of kung fu, a kitchen knife or a sickle, a pig-killing knife or a sheep-slaughtering knife lies quietly there. That's not what we're looking forward to, we want ice blades! But the nephew did not pay attention to the face, took two irons, and said that only one was beaten, and the other was paid. How can an ice cart hold only one iron? There are four irons, and there are those that are not. The ones that were assembled flew on the ice, and the ones that were not assembled cursed the nephews.

Not skating does not affect the enthusiasm of the Ice Games. There are more fish in the loop, and there are more under the ice. The iron pickaxe went down, the ice surface was covered with white marks, the wrist was shaking and painful, and the ice surface did not move. Abandon the pickaxe and change to other projects. Not curling, not hockey. What is it? Triathlon in the village. Playing marbles, locally known as "bouncing slips". Usually bounce on the ground, dig a few holes, I enter the hole, you can hit the opponent's glass ball, hit, the other party's glass ball belongs to me. How to bounce on ice? It is also the same as digging holes, but the ice surface is too slippery and the force cannot be too large. With a little force, there was a "snap" sound, and the two balls collided, disappearing in an instant. Slip "oil", each person copied a square iron block, one person threw it vigorously, the other person pursued, if the front was hit by the rear, it was considered a loss. Bumping and turning, many places have to play. Bouncing on one foot, holding the flexed calf in one hand, hitting each other with the knee, whoever falls loses. It is very important to maintain the balance of the body, if the lower plate is unstable, it will fall before crashing.

Several scuffles, not seen high, remembered the pickaxe dropped first. Fishing is not OK, but it is still possible to pick up fish. The water is shallow, frozen from top to bottom. Taking turns, the people stopped and stopped, and finally cut through the solid ice that was more than a foot thick. If you're lucky, you'll see one or two frozen fish lying on the mud. If you are particularly lucky, there will be a nest of fish, indicating that it is just chiseled to the lowest place, and the fish are gathered together.

If the wind blows harder, it will snow heavily. When I woke up in the morning, the roofs were white, the haystacks were white, the yards were white, the fields were white, and there was snow everywhere. The heavens and the earth are quiet, and the branches and snow particles fall to the ground, and you can hear the sound. Magpies climb the branches and "chirp". The half-sized children had snowball fights, and they also "chirped" and shouted, and there was a scuffle, all out of order. Called the Ice Games, it's really reluctant. The nephew will use a broom to sweep the snow and sweep the basketball court. The broom was made of freshly cut citrus grass and soon a large open space was swept out. To be fair, the nephew is an all-rounder, who works well and plays basketball well, and is the main force of our village basketball team, but he is stingy and not welcomed by us.

The nephew dribbled and pitched, and the rebounds were "banged" and banged. The nephew called for a few companions, all older than us. People are uneven, can't play the whole game, play half a basket. Few people watched, and the players were bored. The nephew couldn't hold back and shouted at us to come and play! We shouted in unison, don't go! The nephew said, hit the ice knife for you! In a word, all the knots were unraveled. A crowd of people waited and excitedly gathered around the basketball court.

The nephews came back on the court, one three-pointer, another three-pointer. The field froze, the rebounds froze, and the people on the court kept cheering and shouting. At the beginning of the snow, the weeping willows hanging on the branches are becoming more and more beautiful. Whether moving or quiet, there is a fighting spirit and a proud and cold heroism. Both young and old are immersed in joy.

Guangming Daily (2022.02.11. 14th edition)

Source: Guangming Network - Guangming Daily