Mounted stone
◈ | Li Guangtian
"Old brother, I really didn't expect him to go first."
"It's just a matter of walking away." Aren't we still on the front foot and the back foot? ”
The sun is yellow. Under a tall, aging car door. It's almost late autumn when it's cold, and people already feel that the sun is amiable. Especially the elderly. They had nothing to do, so they went down to the car door to bask in the sun, eat dry smoke, and gossip. And watch passers-by come and go. The two old men each took a five- or six-year-old grandchild to watch the children, which was also one of their jobs. The little children wanted to snuggle in the arms of the old man to listen to gossip, but the old man deliberately coaxed them away and said repeatedly:
"Good boy. Go over there and ride your own horses. ”
This door, the location is on a very wide alley. The alley was formed by two rows of low houses, and outside several gates, there were rather emaciated calves and donkeys tied to wooden stakes, and only a few locust or elm trees were not luxuriant, but this alley had a prosperous day, and from now on, it was only a hundred years ago. At that time it was a completely tall building, and it was said that from here mules and horses were driven to a river five miles away to drink water, and in the middle of this distance were mules and horses, and no one could calculate a real number. Although that river is now flat. However, the name "Drinking Horse River" is often mentioned. Another example is a stone platform at the entrance of this alley, which can also be said to be a mark of prosperity in that year. In addition to being particularly important, this stone is not much different from the ordinary stone, but this stone is no longer a stone, it has become a place for some idle people to talk about the world, and it is also a base for children to play, sometimes, some young people also use it to test strength, but three to five people can only shake it slightly. Two old men coaxed their grandchildren to come on horseback. This stone has become a stone horse again. Children always like to run to this stone and pat the smooth stone with their little hands, which has been rubbed very smoothly - and make a riding posture on their own, shouting: "Hit, fight, fight." ”
Two old men lived in this alley, and another old brother with the same surname lived in another corner of the village, and as long as someone mentioned "three old men", everyone would understand that it was these three under the car door. In addition to sleeping and eating, they spend most of their time under this car door. Their memories are tedious, their conversations are repetitive, and they never forget the good old days. As soon as they say, "How were we when we were young..." or "My grandfather told me about those years..." They didn't care much about things today, but when they heard a little, they sighed. They often say, "We are useless, and there is no point in living, so it is better to go to the land and rest earlier." They also often said, "Old brethren. Who of us should go first? So the oldest one generously rushed and said, "Of course, of course." I'm many years older than you, and of course I'll go first, and I'm afraid I won't be able to send you off. The other two old men would definitely knock on the cigarette bag at the same time: "Or, you first go over there to lay down the shopway, go over there and arrange for the beds to stop, and then come to greet us." We can also go over there and eat cigarettes and talk together, just in case there is no sun to shine over there! ”
Today there were only two old men left, and the youngest old man who lived in another corner had gone early and gone for many days. The oldest man, who had promised to go first, had not left, but the other day he had just had a cold and almost walked away, but he was pulled back by the doctor. The farmer in the middle of the age could only bring a small grandchild here the other day to take a nap in the sun, and now that his wife has come out again, he has a stomach to say. However, they also thought of the old wife who had gone, they felt a little desolate, but this feeling was very indifferent, because they knew that the man was just gone, and they themselves were only things on the front foot and the back foot, especially the older one, who complained very much, he said:
"Alas, alas. I thought he must have come to greet me, but he had come down, no, he had come, I had dreamed of him..."
Before he could finish speaking, the second old man was taken aback, and he slammed the soot, tilted his head and whispered, "You dreamed of him?" ”
"Yes, I dreamed of him, he carried a bamboo basket to catch the market, he said, big brother, you tell me, how much is a pound of taro today?" You see how strange that is. How do I know how much taro costs for a pound? I forgot if I had answered him or not, and in my dreams I had forgotten that he was the one who had gone, otherwise. I must have asked him what the situation was over there. Brother, you say, what is this sign? Is taro auspicious or not? ”
So they talked about dreams, and this is also a dream. That is also a dream, using dreams to explain everything, everything is also a dream. Finally they turned the conversation back to the man who had already left. So I talked about some people who had gone for many years, talked about the good years of the past, talked about the world today, said that today's young people are not at all like they were then, they look unpleasant, but they are willing to close their eyes quickly, so, the old saying is repeated, the younger old man proposed again: "Big brother, let's bet again, we see who is walking in front." ”
"What else do you want to bet?" Another answer. "After the wheat before the wheat, the valley autumn and the beans in the autumn, it is the time to harvest the old man, I have not left after the autumn this year, and next year after the wheat will not be able to go."
While they were talking, they suddenly heard two small children over there shouting, and it turned out that they were playing a game of building a house on the horse stone, and they used dirt blocks, broken tiles, broken bricks, and the like to make a lot of effort to build a house on the stone. They were very happy, and when the house had been successfully built, they were trying to beckon two old men to come and see it, and hoped that the old man would hear the praise, but they accidentally destroyed a difficult project in a single stroke. When the two old men hurried to come, they saw a pile of rubble on the stone, and they both laughed. It was not too early to see, there was already a shadow in front of the car door, and the west wind in late autumn was already a little cool, so the two old men said to the children: "Good boy, let's hurry up." The children were stubbornly determined to revive their project, and the old man comforted them, saying that he would build a better house when the sun was seen here again tomorrow. The old man took a small grandchild in each hand, and slowly walked toward the wide and aging alley, and then walked into the low gate. At this time, although it was almost night, the work in the fields had not yet returned, and no one in the village had yet led the livestock to drink water, only the autumn wind blew up a few small whirlwinds, and in the gray and sandy streets, alleys, and doorways of the houses, they suddenly and suddenly paraded.
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