Text: Chen Yu
said that it was the old black brother, which was calculated by generation. If I count his age, I should call him uncle. Because he was more than a year older than my father, I don't know how to call him Lao Hei. Because his surname is not black, nor is he called black, nor is he black. Anyway, everyone called it that, and I agreed with it, so I called it that. Moreover, he also agreed, and he didn't seem disgusted, and even a little happy. There is no need to worry about being scolded, and as time goes by, everyone even forgets his real surname. So much so that the cadres from the countryside from outside, or whoever came from outside, followed suit, and he still agreed, and still did not correct it. That's what we keep calling.
Lao Hei, his surname is Shang. It should be a descendant of Jiang Ziya, a famous family. I don't know how many generations their generation has, there is no way to verify, anyway, it is up to him to count, and the three generations are farmers.
Lao Hei is a Chinese specimen farmer who inherits the fine virtues of his ancestors. Industrious, kind, honest and kind. Treat people warmly and get along with everyone. He does farm work, is good at what he does, and is outstanding. Solid, serious, and not deceitful. Speaking is one and two is two, spitting is a nail, and he is highly respected in the village.
I have been a team leader, a mountain farm, a club member, and finally a breeder, and I have been feeding cattle for a long time.
I got along with it in the years when I was an accountant.
At that time, I had just graduated, and I was asked to be an accountant by the team, and I didn't know anything about accounting. I don't plan to plate it. I asked the old accountant to teach me. Usually in the team meeting room to learn bookkeeping, learn to plan. When it snows in winter, it's really cold, so I go to the old black brother's earthen kang, turn over the account book, and plan to plate. Practice repeatedly from morning to night, and get familiar with the work quickly. In those years, the production team was a big pot of rice, and they ate according to work. All farm work is a contractor. It is necessary to calculate the man-days according to the amount of earthwork, land area, or quantity, catty, time, etc. Every day, there are endless accounts and endless work. Every night there is a lot of arguing and scolding for the work score. It won't end before eleven o'clock. After the completion of the score, the team cadres hold a meeting to study the next day's work, or decide, formulate some systems, work quotas, and so on.
On a winter night, at eleven or twelve o'clock, the wind was biting. Sometimes, the place of the meeting is either on the earthen kang in the warehouse, or on the kang in the breeding room, I remember that there are a total of six breeding rooms, and the breeding room of the old black brother is always preferred. It's almost the team's office. Every time there is a meeting, the captain says hello to the old black brother in advance, and he always says, I know. The kang has already been burned for you. When we went, the kang was hot, and the old black brother always said, hurry up and get on the kang and warm up. In order not to disturb our meeting, he waited on someone else's earthen kang. Every night.
During the day, I settle accounts and work on the earthen kang. He always heated the kang and waited for me. While I was settling accounts, he was busy with his. Washers, shoveling cow dung, pulling soil, carrying water, cutting grass, busy. When I was done, I smoked my used waste paper cigarettes, sat on the sidelines, swallowed the clouds, and didn't speak.
Seeing that I had some free time, he chatted with me. Ask me if I've learned. And encouraged me to be patient, usually practice more, think more, figure it out by yourself, analyze, think, brother, master the skill, and soon be able to learn. He also said that he would learn to use it urgently. Speed up the scoring each night and let everyone rest early. Other accounts will be processed during the day. He is also often worried about the current situation of the production team. Everyone comes and goes in the wind and rain all year round, tired and tired, and a labor day is only worth eight cents. In a year, the middle-aged laborers earn less than 50 yuan. In addition to the rations, I can't share the money and owe money to the team, the elderly and children, headaches and brain fever, wear and wear, oil, salt, sauce and vinegar, what to buy.
He said, I'm old, you young people should study hard about knowledge, don't get mixed up, and go outside to do things when you have the opportunity, and the way of the production team will change sooner or later.
Brother Hei's words reminded me and pointed me out a way out. It is rare for a peasant to have such foresight and sagacity at that sensitive period when the class struggle was predominant. After he finished speaking, he told me not to talk nonsense, you are young and promising, don't get into trouble because of this.
In the days that followed, when I was settling accounts, he always closed the door so that no one could disturb me, saying that I should not make noise when settling accounts, and that I should be at ease. Noisy, distracted, going wrong. Everyone eats according to their work, and whoever miscalculates it is not good, and it affects people's lives. What the old black brother said is simple and reasonable, and I have always remembered it.
He is not very literate, but he has a clear mind and is reasonable. There are many people in the production team, and it is inevitable that there will be conflicts and disputes with each other, but as long as he encounters it, he will come forward to persuade him. Distinguish between right and wrong, tell each other bluntly, do not get along with the mud, and everyone is convinced, and the reconciliation is as good as ever.
He often said that a production team is a big family. As a family, together, it is inevitable that there will be contradictions, and when there are contradictions, we must understand and give in to each other. It is reasonable to make people. Look up and don't look down, stirring the spoon in a pot every day, that can be old and dead. No one is perfect, no gold is naked, and ten fingers are not ordinary. Be patient in case of trouble. Take a step back and open the sky. These famous sayings of Brother Hei, the way of doing things, and the motto of life I will never forget and benefit a lot.
He works hard and steadfastly. The cattle he feeds are fatter and stronger than those fed by others, and when he is grassy, he is meticulous, and others have finished it in ten minutes, and he has to do it for nearly an hour, and he always says that the cow has no teeth, and the guillotine is delicate and easy to digest and absorb. At that time, relying on artificial weed, the side was slow, laborious, and time-consuming, and for this reason, the son and wife who often provoked him were angry. When he added grass to the oxen, he used a dustpan to prevent the grass from having soil, iron needles, stones, and other debris in the grass, and the oxen would get sick if they ate it. No one else can do what he does.
In winter, when he drank the cows, he used well water and boiled hot water for the cattle to drink, while others rushed to the pond to drink ice water. When he washes the cow, he shovels the cow dung, pushes the sun-dried soil into the cow pen, spreads it evenly, and pats it little by little, saying that the cow is comfortable to lie down. And he repaired the broken door of the bullpen and hung it with sacks so that the cattle would not be frozen.
He used to say that cows don't speak, but they understand human nature. Eating and drinking, to be conditioned like a person, so that it is not easy to get sick, the cow is sick is heat, cold, indigestion, it will not get ideological and emotional problems. Now that I think about it, what the old black brother said is true, but at that time it was just a joke.
When the old black brother plows the land, he is always patient and gentle, and slowly adjusts. Never use a whip to beat a cow, only to command. The naughty cow is in his hands, well-behaved and obedient. At the beginning, you should plow for a while, rest for a while, let the cattle have an adaptation process, adjust the plow head to be shallower, plow thinner, and look forward with your eyes, so that the plough is flat and even, and the ox pulls easily, and will not be deep and shallow, light and heavy. Ploughing is the combination of man and oxen power. Man ploughs the land with the power of oxen, and oxen use manpower to exert his strength. The cooperation between the two sides is skillful, not deadlifting, and brute force. Don't hit the bull. To tell it, be considerate, cultivate feelings, and the cow will survive. It's at your command. What a profound truth.
Whatever farm work he does, he is outstanding and strives for excellence. It is always done by others quickly, well, cleanly, neatly, and without sequelae.
He does not blame others, only teaches methods, teaches by hand, never tires of it, and teaches by example rather than words. There is always the style of an elder, who is approached and loved.
He is easy-going and generous. Throughout the year, there are always people in his vivarium, and on rainy days, they either have meetings, or play cards, chess, nails, or gossip and listen to stories. Three outlines and five constants, fairies and ghosts, talented and beautiful women, emperors and generals. Everyone talked and laughed, fought and made trouble. In winter, he heated the kang, others belched on the kang, crowded with people, he had no place to go, just sat on the haystack, after a long time, he said to everyone, let me go to the kang to warm up for a while, no, everyone said no, the time has not come, he will admit it, people play cards on the kang, playing, he is frozen, he never gets angry, forgiveness, always happy. Sometimes he jokes with people, others go to the county seat, they have gone far, he calls people back, saying that there is something, people think he wants to carry something, so they have to come back and ask him what is the matter, and he only asks if they have washed their faces. And said that if you go to the street, you will have to clean your face, or the people in the city will laugh at you. The man was so angry that he jumped to his feet, but he was happy.
Another time, the people were harvesting wheat on the mountain, and it was already over, and they were ready to go back to the hill. The captain sent him to the mountains to arrange this matter. Before he left, he met the old man whom he called grandma, and he said to her, "My grandfather is harvesting wheat in the mountains, and it is cold at night, so he wants a sheepskin coat, and you can bring it to me." It is well known that Kitayama has very cold nights in the summer. Cover yourself with a quilt when you sleep. The old woman didn't know that the wheat had been harvested and that she was going to return. Believing it, he hurriedly brought a fur coat and gave it to his wife, and said some words of thanks. He said, it's okay, don't worry, I'll get it. He carried his fur coat and other things into the mountains on mules. I told my grandfather, old man, my grandmother said that she was afraid of the cold night in the mountains, so she cared about you and brought you a fur coat. The old man said angrily, this fool. Asked again, didn't you tell her that we would go home tomorrow? He deliberately said, I said it, but grandma said, don't let you come down, she doesn't love you anymore, let you stay in the mountains. The old man was angry and helpless. Everyone was laughing. The next day, everyone picked some apricots and brought them to the family, while the old man was carrying a fur coat weighing a few pounds, sweating profusely, and hugged the grandmother while walking. Everyone laughed all the way. When I got home, the old man scolded the grandmother and said that it was up to you to do a good thing. The old grandmother said, alas, the one who was stabbed, said that you can't be cold at night, and said that you won't be able to come back for a while, so you want a padded jacket. The old man said, you can also believe the words of that bastard, you don't have a brain.
He had a lot of these kind jokes, which added endless joy to everyone, and there were many people and laughter in the place where he was present. Fun.
Later, I participated in the work, rarely met the elderly, and occasionally went home, always going to see and gossip. The old man was very concerned about national affairs and always talked to me about rural farmers and so on. He likes to listen to the radio, pay attention to world affairs, and pay attention to the party's principles and policies. It is always said that if the policy is good, your life will be good in the future, and if you work hard, you will have a good future life.
He rarely talks about trivial matters such as family shortcomings, firewood, rice, oil and salt, and always encourages people, loves and dedicates himself to his job, is honest and kind, and unites colleagues.
Brother Hei died, in his eighties, and at the end of his life, I attended the funeral.
Brother Lao Hei is the enlightenment teacher of my life, my mentor and friend, my old friend, and worthy of my nostalgia and respect.
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