Wang Zhilin: Those years of theft

Another year of melons and fruits, someone brought peaches from the countryside. Those peachy, like fiery childhood, made me think of the years when I was young and stole.

Childhood, growing up in the backwoods of the poor mountains, in that era of starvation, food and clothing became our most fatal, urgent, and shallowest desire. The family is very busy, the normal three meals a day, can not fill our stomachs. Stealing wild fruits has become a landscape of our daily life in childhood. I still remember the local sayings handed down by the older generation at that time: "Flowers, fruits, flowers and fruits, stole the bite of a syllum!" Therefore, whenever we steal food, we are not ashamed, but proud. Those times of stealing food, looking back, I can't help but be funny to this day. I suddenly felt that those times were the happiest years of my life.

A concerted effort to steal peaches

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In fact, I am still wondering: when I was a child, there was little food, so why did the fruit trees in the village grow so little? At least not every household has planted fruit trees.

Perhaps the melon fruit does not represent grain, and the villagers' consciousness is not strong. Perhaps most poor people do not have their own yards, plant trees, bear fruit, some people steal, it is useless. In short, there are yards in the village, and there are not many households that have grown fruits. And these people with yards and fruit trees have become the objects of our group of young people who often peep. And the dark and windy night of the moon is just the best time for us to steal. And which peach is big and delicious, we know very well. During the day, a few of us went to the surrounding area of the family to inquire about the situation, choosing where to climb the fence from, who was on duty at which position, if someone came, what code to meet, from which place to escape, we all made arrangements during the day.

We usually wait until eleven o'clock in the evening, and we start to work. At that time, there were no electric lights or televisions in the village. The adults had long since fallen asleep, it was dark, and they couldn't see their fingers. This is a great time for us to steal.

Leaving a few men to keep the wind watch, quietly, a few of us climbed up the fence. It is usually a short person who goes up first, and if he can't climb the wall by his personal ability, there are tall people below who hold his ass with their hands or hold his feet. Until you climb the fence, then jump and jump to the ground. Then fumble past, climb up the peach tree, and pick the peaches quickly. When we couldn't fit in our pockets, we just ripped open the clothes on our chests and put the peaches in. When the chest cavity was full, we jumped down, touched the wall, climbed out of the wall in the same way, shouted, and fled to a convenient place. Then we each put the stolen peaches together, counted the totals, and distributed them equally among the number of people. After the division was done, we laughed and ate and talked, so unhappy. At this time, I always hear a few people saying things like "itchy chest". At that time, I was always itchy, even more and more itchy. Looking back now, there is still an itchy feeling in my chest.

By the next day, everyone saw each other and smiled at each other. Meet at night and go to another house to steal peaches. We copied the same method and sneaked in successfully.

Only, once, it was too thrilling. It was also a dark and windy night, and we managed to cross the courtyard of a so-called rich man in the village. Just as we were stealing peaches and eating them with relish, suddenly, a dog was barking "Wang, Wang, Wang". The people who followed us to keep the wind sent us a message with a secret code, and we hurried down from the tree, and several people quickly separated to escape.

Unexpectedly, the dog caught up and bit the person running fast in front of him. The man was running and crying. This dog is also really spiritual, and whoever runs, it will run over and bite. In the darkness, I heard the cries, even the cries, of several of us. Immediately after that, I heard the wind watchman urgently say, "Someone is coming!" Run! Sure enough, the dark shadow of a man came to us, he was holding a flashlight in his hand, and in the light, I saw the big dog, listening to the master's call, chasing our people. And me! The spirit moved, creeping on the grass, moving forward silently. When the man and the dog had entered the back room and closed the door. I quickly climbed out of the fence! It's so dangerous!

The next day, during the day, a few of us met and recalled yesterday's thrilling scene, crying and laughing. I noticed that several people had broken skin on their faces, and there were blood on the hands of several others. There was also a guy whose pants had broken a hole. And my clothes, up and down, were dirty, and my hands had long blood marks, and they saw it, laughing.

2. Stealing pears through the window

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When I was a child, the pears of Qiang's family were big, crisp and sweet, and a few of us always wanted to steal them. We often pass by, and I know exactly when his pears bloom, when they bear fruit, and when they ripen. Because I also used to play at his house, by chance, when no one was there, I would sneak into his yard, sneak one, and quietly take it home to eat. However, the courtyard wall of his house is very high, and there is no one to help, so it is difficult to climb up. Moreover, on the other side of his yard is a road, there are many people coming and going, and it is very inconvenient to steal. But one side of the big pear tree was leaning against the window of another house. And this other is my relative's house. A few of us often played in this house. When we opened the window, we could see the pear tree, a white, ripe pear leaping on the branches, and we could see that our mouths were hungry. I always try my best to steal a few solutions from time to time. I remember once calling a couple of children who were playing. These people are a few years younger than me, and fooling them is my best trick. The point is that these are the people who also want to eat pears. So, under my design, I took a bench, and several people stepped on the stool, climbed the wall, and jumped down. Then I took a bamboo pole to dry my clothes, opened the window, reached out, and tapped the pears on the tree. The pears are densely packed, and with a casual knock, they hit the ground. The little friends below quickly picked it up, picked one up and threw it outside the wall. Outside the wall, there were also a few people who helped pick it up and put it in a bucket. When someone walks by on the side of the road, I don't knock. The children pretended to be idle and obediently. When I was done, I climbed up the fence and pulled them up one by one. Then, let's go to a relative's house and share our achievements, so happy!

However, there are also thrilling times, once, when I was stretching out a bamboo pole to hit the most vigorously, and the friends were also picking up the most interesting pears, the hostess arrived and shouted: "Catch the thief!" Catch the thief! Before I could rescue my friends in the courtyard, I only heard the friends in the courtyard crying: "Not me!" Not me! "It's not me either!" It's not me! Another friend said, "It was the man by the window who taught us to do it!" After I listened, I quickly fled.

Later, I heard that the hostess and my relatives had a big fight over this. Even almost got into a fight. After that time, I never stole the pears of that family again.

Three clever ways to steal watermelon

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In all the years of stealing, stealing watermelons is the most fun thing.

I always remember when I was a child, the summer was particularly hot, and at that time, there was no electric fan, and there was no air conditioning. In the fields, it was very hot. Especially in the field, always sweating, the mouth is always dry, uncomfortable. When I watched others eat watermelon, my heart was already drooling.

I always remember when I was a child, the household contract responsibility system had not yet been implemented. Watermelons are grown by production teams and distributed to families. After each distribution, Dad took it home to eat, and all of a sudden, he ate it, although it was very comfortable, but it was not too addictive.

At a young and ignorant age, we want to steal.

The first time I stole a watermelon, I was very small. I went to the field with a few of my friends who were still wearing crotch pants to find watermelons.

When we see that not far away, there are pieces of watermelon fields, our hearts are itchy, and there is an urge to drool in our mouths. Next to the watermelon field was a hut made of barns and trees, and next to the hut was an old man guarding it.

The three of us sneaked into the watermelon field and were about to steal the watermelon when the old man found it. The old man picked up a flat shoulder and chased after us. We were stunned and hurried to run away.

I ran and looked back to see a little friend being chased by grandpa. The old man pushed the back of the little friend's head with his hand. He fell forward and fell to the ground, crying loudly. Another friend was also running desperately, but was still caught up by the old man, who used the same method to push the back of the friend's head, and the little friend also fell and cried loudly. I was stunned when I saw it. So, when the old man caught up with me, I quickly took the initiative to fall to the ground. The old man saw me lying on the ground, and without saying anything, he scolded me: "Get back!" So I quickly got up and ran.

This time, stealing watermelon did not succeed, but was scolded. Poor thing, my two little friends were scared half to death.

The second time I stole a watermelon, we were three people, and I had just cut off the stalk of a large watermelon, and when I was about to take it away, I was discovered by a middle-aged man who was guarding it. At this moment, the other two people are still looking for a ripe watermelon on the melon field. As a result, all three of us were taken to a clearing by this middle-aged man.

The open space was covered with grain, and next to it was a large, boxy-shaped threshing bucket. This man first took turns interrogating us, and we were silent one by one. Finally, the man asked us impatiently, "Who stole the watermelon?" Confess from the wide! We started by saying we didn't steal, we didn't steal at all. Therefore, the middle-aged man said that he did not admit that he had stolen it, and he would have to deal with you! Neither of my friends ever admitted to stealing a watermelon. However, I saw that the situation was not good, and quickly admitted to stealing the watermelon. Surprisingly, this middle-aged man turned out to cover my two friends with that big threshing bucket. And because I confessed, I wasn't put into the threshing bucket. He said to me, "As long as you admit it, I don't blame you, and next time I can't do the thing of stealing chickens and dogs." If I catch you again, don't blame me for not being polite! ”

I quickly nodded! Hearing the two little friends in the threshing bucket crying wow, I was frightened and left without looking back. Later, I heard from my two friends that they were locked up for a while and then released. They kept asking me why I hadn't been locked up, and I couldn't say it very well. Since then, I have rarely stolen fruit.

The third time I stole watermelon, I stole it with a young man in the village who was eight or nine years older than me. At that time, it was the summer farming, and the cattle of our two families were busy farming, and they needed to pull grass to take home and give the cattle to eat at noon. Because the cattle have to plough the land in the afternoon.

That morning, it was still very hot, and the two of us were pulling grass for cattle next to a field dam, when we saw a piece of land next to it, planted with watermelons. And the watermelon is very large, a lot, and the grass in the watermelon field is also very good, just suitable for pulling.

Watching and watching, I was drooling in my mouth again. And this man I called Brother Wang, kept encouraging me to steal watermelons. He also said that if caught, let him bear the consequences. I said I didn't dare to go, but he desperately told me to steal it, and said that if I didn't go, I would be beaten.

I was scared, he was a famous bully in the village. I couldn't do anything, so I groped into the watermelon field while pulling grass. In a panic, I stole two large watermelons. The big brother Wang received me. Just when we were about to put the stolen watermelon in the pulled grass and bundle it up, I didn't expect two middle-aged men to come over and just catch us in a shape. They each tied our bales and shook them up and down a few times, and two large watermelons fell from the grass. I was so frightened that I didn't dare to speak.

Without thinking, my eldest brother Wang hurriedly said, "I didn't steal this watermelon!" He pointed at me and said, "He stole it!" ”

I was angry, he told me to steal it, and said that he was responsible for the consequences. I can't think of anyone like him. Two middle-aged men glared at me. I said to Brother Wang in a hurry, "You deceive people, don't think you're old, just say I stole it!" Then I said to the two middle-aged men, "Believe me, you are older than him, who should believe that what you say is true?" ”

The two men stared at me earnestly, and seeing my sincere look, they let me go. They turned their eyes and glared at Brother Wang, "Come with me!" ”

The two of them took this big brother Wang away. From time to time, this elder brother Wang turned back to stare at me and said, "Don't worry, wait until I go back to the village to collect you!" ”

I was a little scared to hear it, and I hurried back home as if I had fled. Later, until now, I don't know why this big brother Wang didn't come to beat me. Sometimes, I still think of this big brother Wang from time to time. Where did he go? According to the old man, he often did some things that were inconsistent and stubborn. As for where he went, I don't even know it yet.

In fact, I remember the fourth time I stole a watermelon, this time with my brother.

I remember that day, my brother and I went to a place far away. Mainly to go to the home of a distant relative of mine to do farm work and harvest rice. It turned out that this place was a state farm. While doing farm work, we saw a large watermelon field next to it, and those watermelons were so big and ripe! Again, I'm going to do it.

That night, my brother and I went into the field to steal watermelons. Just bright moonlight, not suitable for theft. However, after observing for a long time, I found that there was no one to look after the hut. We threw stones and made ghost calls, and no one came out.

It's strange that we stole several watermelons and couldn't see the caretakers. Later, we stole a few more watermelons. Then, my brother and I found a spacious place to eat. It's so enjoyable to eat! I've never eaten like this. Simply holding the watermelon, it smashed it on the ground and smashed it open, we took it and ate it, ate a little, and before we finished eating, we threw it away along with the melon skin. Then I ate the second and third. I remember when I ate watermelon earlier, I almost ate all the skins of watermelon. At that time, eating like this was really wasteful! My brother and I were so well fed that we were tired of walking. Finally, that night I had enough watermelon addiction. Now that I think about it, what a wonderful evening it was!

The family likes to eat watermelon, I remember that in the second year since the implementation of the family contract responsibility system, my father finally planted watermelons on a piece of land divided by the superior production team, and built a hut, and I was often responsible for the care of the hut. I began to look after and read books inside. It seems to have ended his career of stealing since then. Because, when I grew up, I felt embarrassed. And that year, we ate all the watermelons we grew at home. After working outside in the fields, after an hour of work, we started eating watermelon, and the work was energetic. I still vaguely remember the sweetness of watermelon.

Fourth, seize the opportunity to steal others

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In those days, stealing sweet potatoes was also something we used to do. I remember that we used to herd cattle outside, and sometimes we were very hungry and wanted to find something to eat in the field. If I saw sweet potatoes, I went with my friends to dig sweet potatoes to eat. Sometimes, in fact, the sweet potato has not yet grown and matured, and we eat it with relish. At that time, we couldn't manage that much. That tender sweet potato, really delicious.

There are also stealing dates to eat, stealing peanuts, stealing golden melons, stealing melons, etc., recalling that naturally there is a different taste in the heart.

In short, those years of stealing fruits and vegetables have witnessed my unrestrained, carefree, authentic, simple childhood, although it is not worth advocating now. And now I want to eat fruit, buy it on the street, and taste it so easily, but I can't always eat the joy of childhood stealing.

About the Author

Wang Zhilin, Consultant of Xiangluo Dust Platform, Senior Teacher of Jiangxi Poyang No. 2 Middle School, Backbone Teacher of History of Jiangxi Province, Director of Shangrao Historical Society, Leader of History Discipline of Poyang County Junior High School; Growing up by Poyang Lake, he likes to walk in words in his spare time. I like to pick up the feelings of the moment from the ordinary life, write them down, and become the beautiful and eternal scenery in life. In his spare time, he wrote essays and published a collection of humanities, "Another Idle Feeling", and some poems and novels were published in provincial newspapers and periodicals such as "Hongkou Bao", miniature novel magazines, and "Fragrant Dust" and other website platforms