Talk about the cattle in the writer's pen

Author: Gong Li (Professor of School of Literature, Shandong University, this article is a phased result of "Qilu Young Scholars Project Funding of Shandong University")

Cattle are an important labor force, and heavy physical work such as ploughing the ground and pulling carts is indispensable. So picking cattle is key, it's a technical job. Shi Tiesheng had been in the Qingping Bay of northern Shaanxi and had two years of experience in feeding cattle, so he could not only "fight wits and courage" with cattle, but also knew how to choose a "good" cow: "Now if anyone wants to buy cattle, I guarantee that I can pick a good one for him." Look at the body shape, look at the teeth, look at the spirit, everyone knows this; these alone may be able to pick a not bad one, but may not be able to pick a really good cow. The key is to look at the temper, take a whip, throw it, 'whizz', and the good cow will round its eyes and jump left and right. Such cattle work hard and walk happily. Tired of cattle? When he heard the whip, he threw his waist down and closed his eyes. Bear with me. Such a cow, don't want it. ”

Choosing a capable cow naturally requires eyesight, and taming a cow with a "cow temper" also takes a lot of effort. Cows are docile, but not all cows are docile. Whether it is a man or a cow, he has a temper. If the cow is disobedient, then of course, it will require people to use their brains and think of ways. Zhihuang's cattle taming kung fu in Han Shaogong's "Maqiao Dictionary" is very good, even if the cow is fierce, he can cure it obediently, "Zhihuang's voice of drinking cows is really different." Ordinary people who drive cattle are making a 'snort-snort-snort' sound, and the unique Zhihuang chasing sanmao is 'slip-slip-slip'. 'Slip' is a common term used by rock craftsmen. Slipping away is hitting a hammer. Is there any reason why the rock head is not afraid of 'slipping'? If Sanmao fights with other bulls, no matter how people pour cold water, this usual method cannot make Sanmao give up. Only when Zhihuang shouted 'slip', it would turn around in panic, honestly like a cotton strip. The cow became docile in front of Zhihuang because he had a unique way of treating cattle, "the whip never touched the body of the cow", "he did not trust the playful watching of the cow cubs, always had to herd the cattle himself, go to a distant place, look for clean water and suitable grass, and settle the cow and then send himself." Every time Zhihuang herds cattle back very late, the sound of cowbells at dusk has also become a scenery of Maqiao, "Without the sound of cow bells, Maqiao is unimaginable, and dusk is unimaginable." The dusk without this hoarse bell is like a river without water, a spring without flowers and plants, just a glorious desert."

When Wang Xiyan was a child, he let the cattle go, "When the faint starlight can still be seen in the lead-gray sky, the damp morning wind carries the smell of spring grass, and in the dim light of the core grass lamp, the cow must be pulled out of the cow pen." Shivering slightly for the cold, he pulled the cow rope behind the cow's head, opened a large mouth, wiped his newly awakened sleeping eyes, and listened to the cow's hooves hit the dirt road. As soon as I walked to the small stone bridge, I was afraid that the cow's eyes could not see clearly, and I cried out, 'Feet, feet, feet!' 'Remind it, and at the same time loosen the cow rope a little... Walking out of the village, walking through the mountain behind the village, walking through a long section of the ground, you can hear the shouts of drinking and cow hooves near and far, that is, other people watching cattle also come up the mountain at this time. "Often because of the cow, he was beaten by his husband or father; but just after drying his tears, he planned to be with the cow again", this is not because Wang Xiyan likes the cow, but he wants to skip school to herd the cow, this is the free life.

Ye Shengtao had neither fed nor spared cattle, but he had also observed cattle up close when he was a child. However, the big eyes of the cow made Ye Shengtao feel frightened at that time, "In winter, the cow is tied to the door to bask in the sun." It lay down, its mouth grinding constantly, and its eyes seemed to be wider open than when it was busy. The cow's eyes seem to have a lot of white components, which is miserable white. I said it was miserable, perhaps because it was covered with blood. I thought that these two colors worked together, and could only be imitated by the silence of the deceased with the cry of the mourner. The cow's eyes are too big and bulging too high, almost to the point of frightening you. When I entered the yard, I passed by the cow and noticed that the two big bulging eyes of the cow were staring at me. I couldn't help but think that it was staring at me like this, staring, and would suddenly stand up and crash into me. I did feel the hatred in that look. I also understood why it was staring at me like this, always far away from it. Sometimes I pay attention to what it will do, but I see it staring blankly, and I think there seems to be something else in those eyes that makes people uncomfortable. ”

Except for the utilitarian heart of some people in the world for cattle, cattle are very precious in people's hearts. Niu is the lifeblood of Sun Shaoan in Lu Yao's "Ordinary World". When the cow was sick, Sun Shao'an cared for it as if he were a child, "kneeling in this dirty livestock shed, one arm tightly wrapped around the cow's neck, one hand holding a long iron roll, scooping a roll of medicinal soup in the broken basin, and then pulling up the lying bull's head, using the iron roll head to pry open the closed cow's teeth and forcefully pouring the medicine down." Sometimes the snout choked, and the cow sprayed him. He couldn't take care of this, and tried not to let the cattle spoil the medicine, and all his strength was on the arm that held the cow's neck, and his two legs and knees had punched two deep pits in the dung floor of the cowshed, and he was sweating nervously." He saw that the eyes of the cow appeared a lively bright color, and his heart was much more stable. ”

The world of cattle and the world of man are also connected. Cow mothers love their babies no less than human mothers love their children. A scene in Han Shaogong's Maqiao Dictionary proves this: "At the end of the work, I saw a calf cub on the side of the road, with no horns, a rounded nose, and a furry belly eating grass under a mulberry tree. I wanted to pull its tail, and as soon as I reached out, it grew like a back eye, and its head slipped away. I was trying to catch up, when in the distance there was a flat cow barking, and a big cow stared at me, pointed its horn at me, and rushed over with a shaking mountain, so frightened that I lost my hoe and ran. After a while, I came to pick up the hoe with some trepidation. While picking up the hoe, I fed the calf some grass in a flattering way, and just as I shook the bundle of grass to its mouth, the big cow in the distance shouted at me again, and it was really good and stupid to make people explode. The big cow must be the mother, so fight with me. The "mothers" of the world feel the same way, always afraid that their "children" will suffer even the slightest harm.

Cows have served us all their lives. Cows, the whole body is a treasure, fur horn bones are all useful. After a lifetime of hard work, in the end, the cow has become a delicious food again. Kunming Xiao ximen Majia Beef Restaurant makes Wang Zengqi remember vividly, "Majia Beef Restaurant only sells one kind of beef, there is no frying and frying, all beef is steamed the night before, but sold in parts." Cut the net lean meat into thin slices, neatly stacked in two on the plate, called 'cold slices', and eaten in sweet soy sauce. I've only seen sweet soy sauce in Yunnan, not anywhere else. Cold slices are poured in a bowl with hot soup, which is called 'soup slices', also called 'soup cold slices'. The beef is cut into domino-sized pieces, with a little tendon, dyed with red yeast, and also with soup, which is 'braised'. Some of the names are very strange, and outsiders often do not know what part it is. Tripe is called 'collar liver', and cow's tongue is called 'plucking green'. The name 'Qingqing' is very graphic. Isn't the use of the cow's tongue to pick up the grass and send it to the mouth? Not easy to eat is the 'big tendon', that is, the bull whip also. Beef is also done in many ways, "stewed, braised, curry beef, until Cantonese oyster sauce stir-fried beef, Sichuan boiled beef, dried sautéed beef shreds."

Guo Moruo once wrote a poem "Buffalo Praise", "You have merit to people, you are harmless to things, you will cultivate for life, and you will be slaughtered by others." Muscles, lungs, livers are for people to burn, skin and bones and hooves for people to wear. Life is sacrificed, death is sacrificed, there is no sorrow at all, and there is no resentment." The cow is so diligent and earnest, hard work and resentment. Let us "work like cattle and dedicate like the land" (Lu Yao).

Guangming Daily (2021-08-20, 16th edition)

Source: Guangming Network - Guangming Daily