In order to fill our stomachs, my friends and I often gathered in the fields to dig up bitter thistles (a kind of edible and bitter wild vegetable). Large areas of red willow (a kind of sand-proof shrub, whose branches can be woven into baskets) were planted in the flat saline-alkalized land. The bitter thistles also liked to grow in the saline-alkalized land.
Sometimes, when we were concentrating on digging wild vegetables, there would be two or three meters long long worms (snakes were called long worms in the north) coming out of the Red Willow bushes and stopping three to five meters away from us.
The snake was not afraid of us children. It raised its head and opened its mouth, spitting out its tongue and waving it left and right at us. Every time this happened, the older children would shout,"The long worm is counting our hair. Whoever waits for it to count our hair will die."
I was so scared that I quickly threw down the shovel that I was using to dig wild vegetables. My hands were fluttering on my head, afraid that my hair would be counted by the long worm.
The willows were also a good place for wild rabbits to hide. The fur of wild rabbits was almost the same as the khaki color of the saline-alkalized land. It was not easy to find them even if they were lying in front of our feet. They would suddenly jump out from under our feet and scare us.
Every time a rabbit escaped from under our feet, we would regret for a long time that we didn't catch it in time.
Sometimes, the little friend was unwilling and chased after the rabbit, but the rabbit ran so fast that it disappeared without a trace in the blink of an eye.
Some rabbits were very naughty. They knew that we couldn't catch up with them, so they deliberately ran around in circles, teasing us to keep chasing until we were exhausted one by one. Only then did they run away slowly.
I had even dreamed of catching a rabbit many times and cried out happily when I woke up, but it was all for naught.
Dafutun produced big watermelons. Every family in the village planted big melons and watermelons. The big watermelons with sand flesh and the big melons with noodles were both thirsty and full.
I like to eat melons, but I don't have any at home. My father is a blacksmith and an outsider. Dafutun doesn't actually have my family's land. Even if I did, my father wouldn't know how to grow melons.
People often send melons to my family, and dad will do some blacksmith work for them to repay the favor. Once, when I followed my mother through someone else's melon field, I was attracted by an immature small melon in the melon field. It was round and green in color. The black patterns evenly surrounded its body like a small ball. I stood there and refused to move.
She pestered her mother to pick the small melon, but her mother said," The melon isn't ripe yet. It can't be eaten." Actually, I don't want to eat this little melon, but I like its appearance too much.
I deliberately fell behind my mother. When my mother wasn't paying attention, I bent down and picked up the small melon and put it in my pocket.
I didn't know that this melon field was guarded by someone, nor did I know where the person guarding the melon field was hiding.
Early the next morning, before I woke up from my sleep in the yard, someone came to my house to tell my father that I had stolen his melons and wanted to compensate him.
My father pulled me out of my sleep. Without a word, he took off my shoes in front of that person, pressed me down, and hit my butt. He hit my butt more than twenty times. My butt was numb and my pants were wet.
From then on, as long as my father shouted at me, I would feel like peeing until I was a teenager.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。