Peng Yong's cotton pants were so thick that he could hardly move.
Luo Xuan took them and followed little girl Rongrong up the loess plateau.
Get ready to take a good look at the geography and landforms around the entire Zhimi County and Shilipu production team.
The mountains in Saibei are very big.
It is a completely different concept from the lush and rugged mountains in Bashu.
Not to mention the mountains rising from the ground like the karst landforms in western Guangdong and QDN.
On the plateau of Saibei, the mountains do not look very steep.
Like pottery bowls turned upside down: it covers a vast area and is continuous.
Looking up, it seems that it is easy to climb up the slopes. But in fact, when you actually start walking up the plateau, you will realize how difficult it is to climb up.
"call--"
When they arrived at the plateau, Zhang Xiaoli and Peng Yong were very tired. But when they looked up, they were immediately dumbfounded!
As far as the eye enters, there are vast plateaus all around.
Except for the yellow soil and the white snow, there is no other color at all.
rough, desolate, silent
Except for the howling north wind, which blew and relaxed in the sky, it was torn into white clouds like fluff.
There is no other view.
Zhang Xiaoli patted her forehead, and Peng Yong lightly slapped him in the face!
On the way here, the two of them had learned that Saibei was very short of water.
Peng Yong and Zhang Xiaoli secretly vowed in their hearts: They must lead the villagers to make great efforts to build canals!
In order to solve the shortage of irrigation and domestic water here once and for all.
Now I can see this landscape with my own eyes.
The hearts of Zhang Xiaoli and Peng Yong are like the frozen soil: they pull out the cold and pull out the cold.
In the past, I took it too much for granted!
Zhang Xiaoli was in despair there.
On the contrary, little girl Rongrong thought it was this beautiful sister who was tired from climbing and regretted climbing to the plateau.
then,
The very sensible little girl Rongrong opened her mouth to persuade Zhang Xiaoli.
"Sister, you can't be too hasty when climbing the plateau."
Xiao Rongrong handed Zhang Xiaoli a kettle and comforted her softly, "The slopes on our side are very long.
It doesn't look particularly steep, but if you want to climb from the bottom of the slope to the top, sister.
If you encounter a bigger hillside, you have to walk for a full hour."
Peng Yong was panting and sighed, "We who grew up in Bashu have to climb hills and climb hills. This is a compulsory course since childhood.
I never expected that when I came here, I was despised by a little girl."
"puff--"
Zhang Xiaoli took a sip of water and suddenly spurted it out, "Why is this saline water again?"
"The water in our entire village is like this."
Xiao Rongrong was a little puzzled, "Besides, our Shilipu is next to the river, so it's easier to dig a well to get water.
If there are families living on the plateau in Qingjian County or Zizhou County, and they want to carry a bucket of water, it will take them 2 or 3 hours to go back and forth!"
Peng Yong was shocked: "It takes 2 or 3 hours to go back and forth just for a load of water?! How is this possible? Now in our Bashu area, no matter how high he lives, there will still be water."
What Xiao Rongrong said is correct; what Peng Yong said is also correct.
Just like the top of Xiaolaojun Mountain, there is also a clear spring there.
Just because there is a saying that in the Bashu region, the mountains are high and the water is high.
Therefore, no matter how high the mountain is, there are countless small clear springs seeping out from the cracks in the rocks.
If you meet someone who is interested, you can collect these streams in ditches or small pools.
That can also guarantee the normal use of several households.
But it’s different in Saibei,
The amount of rainfall here throughout the year is far less than that in Bashu.
In addition, the loess landform has a high water permeability rate. In addition, there is sparse vegetation in Saibei, so it is difficult to retain water on the plateau.
Xiao Rongrong saw that Peng Yong didn't believe it.
Then he pointed to a house on the plateau and said, "Brother, how about I take you to take a look?"
Zhang Xiaoli quickly cheered, "Okay, I just want to see how the oldest and most difficult people here live."
Xiao Rongrong smiled slightly.
But there was clearly a deep sadness hidden in her smile and eyes.
Everyone walked forward.
Zhang Xiaoli asked her, "Sister Rongrong, what was your reason for doing this this morning?"
Xiao Rongrong blushed.
Like half-burned coke: black and red, really different.
Just because the little Rongrong in front of her is still young.
He is dark, thin, and small.
So when she blushed, a blush appeared on her slightly darkened face.
It's like a ray of sunshine shining through the dark clouds.
fleeting.
"Sister, can I not say it?"
Xiao Rongrong seemed a little reluctant to mention this, "Anyway, I'm used to being beaten."
Zhang Xiaoli touched Xiao Rongrong's head lovingly and said softly, "Little sister! When you encounter a problem, you should not first think about how to escape.
If you don't speak up today, we won't know how to help you."
Zhang Xiaoli took out a sesame cake filled with white flour and brown sugar from her pocket.
He broke it open and stuffed it into Xiao Rongrong's face, "But if I, sister, knew what was going on.
Maybe I can figure out a way to stop you from being beaten in the future, so you can play in peace, right?"
I saw Xiao Rongrong preparing to stuff the sesame cake into the pocket of her old cotton-padded jacket.
Zhang Xiaoli made a serious face: "I broke the pancake on purpose just now, just because I wanted you to eat it in front of me.
Instead of asking you to take it home and share it with your brothers and sisters. This cake is only for you, no one else is allowed to eat it!"
Little Rongrong raised her head pitifully, "My two younger sisters and younger brother, they are also greedy! I have never eaten such a fragrant cake with sugar in it. I have never eaten it since I have grown up."
This sesame cake,
Zhang Xiaoli bought it before taking the train in the provincial capital of Bashu.
It is intended to be used as dry food on the road.
Xiao Rongrong basically never left the village. Where could she see such luxurious pastries?
I heard Zhang Xiaoli say this.
Xiao Rongrong's face showed a trace of sadness and hesitation again
"play?"
Xiao Rongrong showed a 39-year-old wry smile at a 9-year-old age, "I have to chop wood, carry water, wash faces and clothes for my younger brothers and sisters every day."
Luo Xuan sighed.
Then he took out a small glass bottle from his backpack.
He stretched out his hand and handed it to Zhang Xiaoli, "This is snake oil ointment. There may be a little Vaseline in it. You can put it on her. Look at Xiao Rongrong's hands. Sigh."
Previously, Xiao Rongrong,
She had hidden her hands, intentionally or unintentionally.
If she encounters a climb, she will hide her hands in her sleeves in order to maintain her balance.
If she encounters a flatter area, Xiao Rongrong will stuff her hands into her cotton-padded jacket.
Zhang Xiaoli had not noticed these details before.
Wait until he picks up her hand and takes a look.
Zhang Xiaoli's tears couldn't help but fall
Even Peng Yong, who has always been a bit reckless, couldn't help but turn away silently with his eyes red.
What kind of hands are these!
Xiao Rongrong's fingers were all swollen, like an octopus filled with formalin.
Every finger has turned a bright color.
There are spots on it,
Red blood, white pus, gray ulcerated skin, and red inflamed boils.
The frostbite on the little girl's hands looks like it has lasted for many years.
This old sore comes back every year, getting worse every year
Just like this, a 9-year-old girl has to chop wood and carry water, wash and cook, and take care of her younger brothers and sisters every day.
The little girl's thin shoulders have already shouldered too many responsibilities that should not have been borne by her.
And this clown sister is about the same age as Rongrong.
At this time, she has the careful care of Chen Xiaoduan, the love of Ji Xuyuan, and Chen Xiaoduan's mother
Sister Xiaocao's face is always filled with a confident smile and joy from the heart.
But for Xiao Rongrong,
Zhang Xiaoli could not see a little bit of the innocence that she should have had at her age; she only saw a trace of vicissitudes of life.
With tears in her eyes, Zhang Xiaoli helped Xiao Rongrong apply ointment.
"Sister, don't cry."
Little Rongrong ate the sesame cake bit by bit.
While comforting Zhang Xiaoli softly, "My hands are fine. When I wash clothes, it hurts a lot, but I'll get used to it. I can bear it."
It's just that when I'm warming myself by the fire, it's itchy and I can't stand it, and I always want to scratch it, but I can't."
The look on Xiao Rongrong's face at this time.
It's satisfying and happy, "because I know that the more I catch it, the more uncomfortable my hands will be the next day."
"Well! Our sister Rongrong, you did the right thing."
Zhang Xiaoli smiled with tears in her eyes, "If you scratch it badly, it will bring new infections. In that case, your hands will really not be able to do work in the future."
Xiao Rongrong nodded vigorously, "Well, I can hold it back? What kind of medicine is this? My hands don't feel so painful anymore."
Zhang Xiaoli took care of everything, "This is a special medicine prepared by brother Luo Xuan, specially used to prevent and treat chilblains and burns.
If you run out, just come to Brother Luo Xuan and ask for it! Don't be polite."
Xiao Rongrong knew: Even if he went to the clinic of the production team and bought a candy to eat, it would still cost 7 cents!
The medicine that Luo Xuan's brother gave me shouldn't be cheap, right?
So the little girl raised her head and looked at Luo Xuan, her face full of embarrassment.
Luo Xuan smiled and nodded, "Sister Xiaoli is right! When you use up the ointment, just come to me and ask for it. Don't worry, this thing is not valuable."
Xiao Rongrong felt relieved after hearing that the plaster was not valuable.
I gave this snake oil ointment to the little girl.
It’s said to be worthless, but it’s really worthless!
This was all done by me when I was in Laku Village.
People over there love to eat pythons.
During the large-scale reclamation of rubber plantations, many snake nests were turned upside down. Mountain residents caught countless snakes of all kinds.
When the mountain people eat meat, the snake oil belongs to them.
Luo Xuan took the snake oil into the space and boiled it out in an earthen pot.
Then use the spring water in the space to dissolve the Vaseline and mix it into the snake oil.
The final product is a special plaster that prevents burns and treats chilblains.
There is almost no cost to make these plasters, so it can be said that they are not valuable.
But it can also be said that this snake oil ointment is particularly valuable: only because of the magical spring water in the space, except for myself.
No other semicolons.
After the little girl Rongrong finished eating the small sesame cake, the group of people also walked to the door of the family who lived on the plateau.
"Tuk-tuk-tuk-"
Xiao Rongrong stepped forward and knocked on the door.
When a local girl like her calls the door, people will be much less wary.
There was a "creak" sound, and the cave door inside sounded.
A man shrank his neck and came to open the courtyard door, "Who is it?"
Wait until the courtyard door opens,
The man was stunned, "Who are you looking for?"
Then he lowered his head and saw little Rongrong, and then he grinned, "Oh, it turns out they are the eldest daughter of the old Li family? Rongrong, you brought them here?"
Xiao Rongrong nodded, "Uncle Zhan Jun, they are all educated youths who came to our production team from the south and jumped in. They want to come to your house to chat."
The man named Zhan Jun quickly turned aside and said, "Come in, come in quickly, it's freezing outside."
Wait until everyone enters the house.
The man quickly called his mother-in-law to boil water for tea, boil eggs, and make dough for cooking.
This is a three-hole cave dwelling.
In addition to the outer room, it can be used as a living room, a kitchen, and a sleeping place.
There are also two aisles in the cave dwelling, which can lead to the other two cave dwellings on the left and right.
Vaguely, it seemed that there were people living in both cave dwellings.
But maybe it’s because we have guests at home today.
So these family members are embarrassed or afraid to come out to meet strangers.
Seeing that the mother-in-law of the Zhanjun family was really about to start cooking, Zhang Xiaoli quickly stopped her: "Brother, please tell your sister-in-law to stop working. We have had breakfast."
"breakfast?"
Zhan Jun was stunned for a moment, "We all have two meals here, but there is no such thing as breakfast."
Saibei has been short of food since ancient times.
Over time, people here have developed the habit of eating two meals a day: one at around 9:00 in the morning.
Wait until around 5:00 pm and start having dinner.
What to eat in your spare time: What to mix with rice dumplings, boil rice noodles soup, mix rice dumplings with rice dumplings, corn paste, millet and wild vegetable porridge, etc.
Eat thicker foods during the busy farming season: whole wheat flour steamed buns, yellow steamed buns, corn cakes, leek cakes, baked mixed flour cakes, etc.
Things like flat food [dumplings], glutinous rice noodles, and youxuan are all eaten during festivals, weddings and funerals.
Only occasionally will I eat meat.
Zhanjun's mother-in-law was busy kneading noodles in a pottery basin, and she opened a pottery jar that was fully 1 meter high.
Holding a coarse porcelain bowl, he bent down with great effort.
There seem to be two cloth bags in the tank, one bag contains whole grains, and the other bag contains white flour.
The mother-in-law of Zhanjun's family bent her waist very low, as if she was about to fall upside down into the vat.
Even Peng Yong can tell: This family may not have much food left.
I saw her scooping out a bowl of "whole wheat flour" and pouring it into the pottery basin.
Then she turned around again, got into the pottery jar with great effort, and carefully scooped out a little bit of white flour. After thinking about it, the mother-in-law shook the pottery bowl in her hand again.
Shake some of the white flour back.
It was like the snowflakes falling in the past few days.
My mother-in-law was busy adding water and kneading the noodles.
Zhan Jun himself accompanied Luo Xuan and the others to talk.
Peng Yong asked, "Brother, your family lives alone on such a high slope. What should you do if the production team rings the bell to urge work?"
A round trip up and down the mountain takes at least an hour and a half.
So Peng Yong was very curious: How does this family usually participate in the production team?
Zhan Jun scratched his head and said, "My whole family lives here. It is up to us to decide when we should go to work in the fields."
Zhang Xiaoli was puzzled: “We eat, live and work together, but what we are advocating now is to go to work together.
How can you arrange your own working hours?"
Zhan Jun pointed to the outside of the cave dwelling,
He opened his mouth and said: "When you came up to the plateau, you also saw this road. It will take a lot of time to go back and forth, right?"
So, in the production team, it doesn’t matter when our family goes to work."
Peng Yong interjected: "Then don't you become single households?"
As soon as this statement came out, something bad happened!!
