1
When I was a child, there were no wild animals in the village.
At that time, the wasteland was burned, the vegetation was severely damaged, coupled with the hardships of life, there were many people hunting, and the wild living environment was destroyed. Occasionally, there is a wild animal in the village, and it is also in winter when it snows heavily. Rabbits who can’t eat grass will walk on the snow trails in the dead of night and run to someone’s haystack or under the haystack to eat adzuki bean grass; Two hungry pheasants also followed the trail of the rabbits, and flew crookedly under the haystacks to dig up the leftover wheat grains or highland barley grains pulled by the mice to satisfy their hunger.
One summer, Zhuangli came to a four-figure. It is unknown how Sibu, who lived in the eyes of an uninhabited forest, suddenly ran to the bare Minjiazui.
The altitude and natural conditions of Gannan forest area are just suitable for the survival and breeding of Sixiang. Many years ago, the north of the Tao River was an agricultural area. Due to the large-scale reclamation, the manure of the fertile fields could not keep up with the trip, so the mountains were burned with ash, so the only mixed shrub forests north of the Tao River were uprooted and burned. It fell, and even the thatched grass with developed roots was peeled off and burned into ashes.
At that time, firewood was needed to burn the ashes, make a fire for cooking, boil water, and burn the kang, but the firewood was collected dozens of miles away from the south bank of the Tao River. People on donkeys and donkeys get some firewood, and they can’t even boil water for cooking. Therefore, in winter, people dig up the wormwood roots on the ridges, and cut down the cat thorns on the barren slopes. As long as it can make a fire, they will either cut or dig the ground to get it. In the past few years, the original neat ridges have been dug with holes and tatters.
Artemisia roots that have grown for many years are called wormwood lumps.
In those days, when going out to do farm work, women had to carry a big back. When I came home from the farm work, I had to cut and dig a bunch of wormwood knots and cat thorns. When the peasants returned late, either the grandma was carrying a cat thorn, or the mother was carrying a back of wormwood. The cat’s thorns are hard to dig, thorns, and the clothes are not solid, and they don’t have much weight. After drying, they are not fire-resistant, and they burn like hay. Many times no one wants to dig. Artemisia lumps are easy to dig, and you can dig a bunch of them when you plan them down, but they are more destructive to the ridges. .
In the evening sunset, at the end of the road, grandma or mother seemed to be carrying a mountain, moving slowly towards home from a distance, competing with the sunset or the evening wind. After entering the house and unloading the heavy load from his shoulders, he waved his hand up to wipe the sweat on his forehead and temples. Looking up at the kitchen door, his eyes were full of thirst.
A wormwood lump or cat thorn fell on the back of the door, and the fragrance of the wormwood root and cat thorn diffused thickly, filling the yard, around the front and back of the house, and drifted to the outside of the village along the alley with the wind , drifting into the mountains.
After the wormwood is lit, the flame is strong, the stamina is sufficient, and the fire resistance is similar to that of pine. As a thick white smoke burst out of the roof from the chimney, the light scent of wormwood slowly drifted through the village. Who is burning the cat’s thorns when they are steaming the iron crockpot in the big iron pot. The cat’s thorn is covered with fine thorns, which cannot be touched by human hands. You can only hook it into the stove with a thorn or an ashes rake filled with kang, pick a ball with a stick, and then use a thorn or a thorn to hook it into the stove. The ash rake was shoved into the stove pit, filled it up completely, and it burned out after a while, and then filled it again and burned it again until the pot of iron casserole was cooked.
Due to the needs of people’s lives, the wormwood and cat thorns on the nearby hills and ridges have been cut and dug up, and the vegetation is horribly fragile.
On the mountain fields near each village, cattle, sheep, mules and horses are also in groups, eating and gnawing for a long time, gnawing the grassy hills to expose the bare ground. In spring, the grass can’t hide your feet, let alone a pheasant or wild rabbit.
Such fragile vegetation can no longer support those running and flying wild animals. When the cat’s spine grows tall, there are often wild rabbits hiding underneath. Hiding here, wild rabbits will not be missed by eagles and harriers flying in the sky, wild foxes, wild cats, earth leopards, lynx, wolves and so on running on the ground.
Without the vegetation to hide, the wild rabbit slipped across the Tao River on a winter night, and resolutely left, looking for its hiding place.
Wild is one thing. Without the rabbits that were eaten, the other wild animals could not stay, and followed the rabbits across the Tao River.
2
South of the Tao River is a forest area, including coniferous forest, mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forest, and mixed shrub forest. Such an environment can hide wild animals and is also suitable for wild reproduction. Back then, when I crossed the Tao River with my father on an ox cart and went to pick up firewood in the Nanshan forest, I often encountered some wild animals in large shapes. Such as roe deer, antelope, four different, as well as blue-horse chickens, willow chickens, pheasants are more like sparrows, rubbing people’s heads and flying in groups, making people gluttonous.
Wild foxes, leopards, lynxes, and wolves were rarely seen, so I asked the well-informed Grandpa Sailimu. He said that these wild animals are not in Lin’s eyes. They can’t cross the Tao River. After crossing the Tao River, there is no way for them to live. They can’t let down the bears and leopards in Lin’s eyes.
However, the wild tetras on the south bank of the Tao River ran to the north bank of the Tao River without vegetation, and ran to our village, which opened the eyes of people who had never seen such wild animals in their entire lives.
People in the village have seen roe deer. When the grandfather of the Mansu family went to pick up firewood in the Beishan forest, he brought a newly hatched deer and raised it at home, together with the sheep pen. The deer lamb eats goat milk and grows up slowly. It’s just that when they grow up, they don’t follow the sheep out to graze, but go over the wall to graze on the mountain by themselves. In the evening, I jumped down the mountain one by one, dressed in the sunshine and the fragrance of grass, and then jumped over the wall to go home to rest.
People in the nearby villages all know that the Mansu family has a roe deer. When they are free, they will run to take a look, and see something strange and strange.
At dusk, I often go to Mansu’s house alone to see this roe deer. Its two eyes are clear and agile, and when I look at it, it also looks up at me motionless, keeping its light movements of flying over the eaves and walls at all times.
The roe deer had been raised in Mansu’s house for two years, and finally returned to its home without a love. I heard people say that he followed another roe deer.
Its home is on the endless prairie or the towering mountains, where there are its brothers and sisters, where there are its joyous songs and laughter, and it disdains to be in the company of a group of sheep with the smell of wild onion, and spend a lifetime with it.
3
The arrival of the four dissimilars is a bit incredible.
In that year, the Nuhai family had a lot of labor and raised more than 60 goats, big and small, including red, black, and white goats. When leaving the circle or returning to the circle, the alleys are filled with hustle and bustle.
One afternoon in that summer, when the grandfather of the Nuhai family was collecting sheep and returning home, he saw a majestic black goat mixed in with his flock. The grandfather of the Nuhai family later said that when the Sibu was mixed with the sheep, it had a small head like a sheep, short horns like a deer, a thick neck with long hair, a wide hoof like an ox, and a long tail like a donkey. He thought at the time that someone might have imported goats from Inner Mongolia. He also said that our goats used to grow up to 60 to 70 jin. Later, after inbreeding, they gradually degenerated and could only grow to 30 to 40 jin. No one said that we should introduce big goats from Inner Mongolia. Also full of joy, there is hope for the breeding of sheep. But the goat just didn’t hold back very much, couldn’t get into the flock, and followed his flock from a distance, never abandoning it. He was a little puzzled. He followed the flock from a distance, observed the goat, and saw that the back leg of the goat was a little lame. The goat was very vigilant and had a mental preparation to turn around and flee at any time.
However, the more he looked at it, the more guilty he felt, and he always felt that something was wrong. The grandfather of the Nuhai family didn’t think about the wild, let alone the four dislikes, because he had never seen the four dislikes before.
He thought that the lame sheep might have jumped from the cart pulling the sheep by himself, or he was seriously injured.
Regardless of whether it is 3721 or 3721, it is not a problem to carry and raise it in your own flock. The owner of the sheep will come and take it away. If he does not find it, he will raise and improve his own sheep. Thinking about the development of the sheep in the future, he was a little excited and a little confident, and involuntarily hummed a game full of songs.
It’s just that this lame sheep is a little afraid of people, and looks around behind the flock. He had no choice but to follow the sheep at a distance, fearing that the lame sheep would be gone. And when this lame sheep occasionally merges into the flock, the flock is also startled, and it always fails to fit into the flock. He knew that goats do not rub sheep, but he knew that foreign goats did not rub local goats.
The lame sheep and the sheep always kept a distance of two or three meters away, and the grandfather of the Nuhai family and the lame sheep kept a distance of seven or eight meters. At this time, the lame sheep was like a shepherd, and the grandfather of the Nuhai family was like an idler doing nothing, following the sheep from a distance, hooking his head and walking lightly on his own way. He didn’t dare to flick the whip, and he didn’t dare to shout, just quietly smelled the stench of sheep in the alley.
When the flock entered the village and walked on the crowded village road, the lame sheep raised its head up in front of everyone and looked around in surprise, so shocked that the sheep crowded and rushed forward, and the village road was even more crowded.
After entering the gate, the sheep entered the courtyard one by one, and then turned to look back at the lame sheep. However, the lame sheep hesitated on the edge of the courtyard, wandering back and forth, refusing to enter the courtyard, puffing air from his nostrils, looking a little angry. The grandfather of the Nuhai family wanted to drive it into the sheepfold, but it turned around and stared straight at the grandfather of the Nuhai family, with an unhappy expression on his face, showing signs of rushing towards him. As soon as he was afraid, he quietly withdrew from the sheepfold and let it wander in the courtyard. But he was so lame that he might have hurt his leg. Tomorrow morning, I called a few people to come over and grabbed some medicine or bandages.
When he woke up in the evening, the grandfather of the Nuhai family was not at ease, so he put on his clothes and went to the courtyard to look at the lame sheep. It didn’t lie down to rest, and it didn’t move. It just stood there like a statue, motionless, except that the lame leg was slightly dangling.
There is a smell of wild garlic around the sheep pen, which is embarrassing. The sheep were all sleeping in that stinky smell, but the lame sheep had no intention of sleeping.
As soon as the sun came up, the grandfather of the Nuhai family came to the courtyard. The sheep in the circle stood up slowly, shivering lazily, peeing and pulling feces with their tails raised. The stench in the yard was stronger. The goat stayed far away, still keeping a certain distance from the flock, without any intention of getting close to the flock.
The grandfather of the Nuhai family went out and called a few people to help him get the goat. When a few people opened the door of the courtyard, Grandpa Sailimu laughed out loud.
“Wild has entered the circle!” Sailimu said to the Nuhai grandpa with a smile.
“What wild?” The grandfather of the Nuhai family was a little surprised, and everyone was also surprised. And wild ones like goats.
“What wild? Four different!”
“Four dissimilarities? I’ve heard it from the older generation, but I haven’t seen it in my life.” The grandfather of the Nuhai family looked at the tall “goat” in surprise.
“Didn’t you see it with your own eyes now? Sibu ran to your house.” Sailimu said with a smile, staring at the wrinkled face of Nuhai’s grandfather.
“Didn’t you say that the wild don’t enter the village?” Nuhai’s grandfather had a question on his face.
“Didn’t you see? This dissimilar leg was injured after being left alone. If it hadn’t followed your sheep, it would have been in someone’s pot. Wild is spiritual. They are mixing with your sheep.” Grandpa Sailimu seemed to have insight into Sibu’s mind, and he made a lot of sense.
The grandfather of the Nuhai family still had a puzzled look on his face.
The news that there was only four dislikes from Nuhai’s house blew all over the alleys of the village like a gust of wind.
There were loud voices in the alleys, men, women, the elderly, children, people touching people, their faces full of excitement and tension. Some people were so busy that they didn’t even put their arms in their sleeves; some people pulled their shoes and went out the door.
The courtyard of Nuhai’s house was crowded with people, and people stared at the four dissimilars with admiration, wonder, surprise, and greed. Sibu looked like a girl to be married at the moment, looked at the strange eyes shot at it with shy and bright eyes, lifted the lame leg, rubbed the wall and walked a few steps forward, and finally there was no way to go. , only to look around vigilantly…
“How many kilograms of meat does this wild have?” Some people began to contemplate different things.
“More than a hundred kilograms! It’s bigger than the sheep in my family. If we divide the meat, each family can divide almost three kilograms.” Someone echoed.
People invariably set their sights on the four dissimilar meat.
“Wild, no one owns it, and you don’t love it. It’s better to kill it quietly so that everyone can satisfy their hunger.”
It was early time for sheep to graze. The door to the courtyard was blocked by people. Yang’er was on an empty stomach, screaming “baa, baa”, and turned to look for the grandfather of the Nuhai family.
At this time, who cares about the empty stomachs of the sheep in the yard, thinking about how to take the life of the four dislikes so that they can share a piece of meat.
“When the wild go into the village, men and women suffer.” I don’t know who said such a word, and the crowd instantly pounded like a dog’s nest, and buzzed.
“Going wild into the village is generally not a good thing. What do you think, Grandpa Nuhai? Is this the case?” Someone kicked the deadly ball to Grandpa Nuhai, an honest man.
The grandfather of the Nuhai family blushed and argued in a low voice: “I don’t know if it’s a good thing to enter the village in the wild, but this four looks like it came from my sheep, so there’s nothing wrong with it, right? What’s the matter, call me at my house.”
“When the wild enters the village, everyone suffers, but it’s not your family’s fault.” Someone slashed it with an axe with a partial blade, and there was no room for negotiation.
“Wild to enter the village, who said that men and women suffer? I see that you have tongues and knives, and wild suffers.” Sailimu, who had been squatting in the courtyard for a while without speaking, finally couldn’t bear it anymore, stood up and turned his back to those eyes. The person who wanted to be unhappy said a few words, and then it was suppressed.
The Sibu looked like he understood what he was saying, and turned his head to look affectionately at Grandpa Sailimu.
Grandpa Sailimu turned around and said loudly to the people with all kinds of thoughts: “None of you should make any unreasonable ideas. Everyone goes back to their own homes and does their own thing. Grandpa of the Nuhai family still has breakfast. .”
After listening to Grandpa Sailimu say this, people know that no one can fight against the idea of four dissimilarities, and even if they can’t fight, who would dare to speak out when Grandpa Sailimu came forward.
The meat in the mouth is soaked in soup.
People went home one after another.
The courtyard was empty and quiet. Sibu tried to take a few steps towards the sheep, but the sheep did not accept it, and hurriedly gathered into the circle, keeping a certain distance from Sibu. The four did not stop and looked around vigilantly.
The grandfather of the Nuhai family greeted the grandfather Sailimu to enter the room for breakfast, and by the way, he asked for an idea.
The grandfather of the Nuhai family looked at the grandfather Sailimu with a sad face and said, “This wild thing is a worry among the sheep. If you want to push the group, it’s better to say that you don’t. If you do, I can still maintain it. You can’t take care of it if you don’t take care of the group. If you let any cowardly thief think about it, it will be troublesome.”
“No one dares to think about it, Sibu is your family among your sheep. If you let it out this morning, if you are with the sheep, let it follow. If you don’t, it will walk away automatically. Don’t worry. “Grandpa Sailimu sat on the kang of Grandpa Nuhai’s family, drinking tea and making ideas.
“I’m not afraid of thieves stealing, but I’m afraid that thieves will miss you.” The grandfather of the Nuhai family had a gloomy expression on his face.
Grandpa Sailimu chuckled: “Everyone who speaks has the heart but not the guts. You can rest assured.”
Sailimu grandpa said this, and the Nuhai grandpa laughed out loud as if the sky was sunny.
The hearty laughter of the two old men came from the room.
4
As soon as the gate of the yard slammed open, the sheep rushed into the alley and rushed towards the green grassy slope on the mountain. Sibu’s legs were not so obvious, and he followed the sheep nervously. When the grandfather of the Nuhai family approached, he squeezed into the sheep, and the sheep ran faster.
The grandfather of the Nuhai family only followed far behind the flock.
When they left the village and crossed the river, the sheep were scattered by the river to drink water, but Sibuxiang ran to the spring by the river to drink water.
Wilds rarely drink river or stagnant water. Every morning when the sun shows up, wild animals descend in groups to drink the clear water that is misty and uncontaminated in the springs.
In the yard of Nuhai’s house where a thick layer of sheep dung was piled up, Sibu spent a sleepless night with the goat that smelled of mutton. Although Sibu and the goat didn’t spend the night head-to-head and huddled together, the smell of mutton in the yard made it impossible for them to see the light of day.
Sibu was born as an elves of nature, but wanted to keep company with those shy goats who were huddled and grazing with their heads down. As long as its legs and feet are not injured, or if it has a good hiding place, it actually disdains the company of goats. A sheep with a docile character will not touch a goat, not to mention the four dislikes who are accustomed to living a quiet life in the deep mountains and old forests, and will never be accompanied by a goat with a strong smell of mutton. However, now it is an orphaned one who keeps beasts or humans staring at its flesh for a feast; it is a helpless one that swells its heart with the smell of goat; it is A foursome who entrusted his life to the grandfather of the Nuhai family as a bet.
Sibu drank enough cool spring water, followed the goats from a distance, and plucked some grass sprouts to eat without rushing. The goat ran through the grass where the dew glittered, to the meadow where he had eaten a handful of herbs yesterday, with great joy.
Four did not run excitedly with the goat. Listening to the shouting of the grandfather of the Nuhai family, he avoided his life a little, and from time to time he looked up at the distant mountain field and a touch of green, thinking for a while. At this moment, it may be thinking of the mountain or forest where it was raised, thinking of a vigorous love, yearning for a clear spring that once quenched its thirst or a handful of full-bodied green grass.
Sheep do not rub goats, nor do the four figures rub goats. The grandfather of the Nuhai family leisurely looked at the moving goat and the lonely four, and muttered to himself.
It is a well-known fact that wild animals do not slaughter livestock. But the grandfather of the Nuhai family just wanted Sibu to hold the goat and let Sibu improve his flock. The idea is a bit quirky and novel. He couldn’t help but tell Grandpa Sailimu about this idea.
“The four looks like a deer, it can’t get into the sheep. Besides, the four looks like you are honest and don’t mean to hurt it. If it hides from you, maybe it will leave without saying goodbye today, tomorrow or the day after.” Grandpa Sailimu’s long eyebrows, which covered his eyes with a smile, were trembling, like a shrimp swinging its tentacles.
The grandfather of the Nuhai family smiled and didn’t say a word, as he acquiesced to what Grandpa Sailimu said.
Sibuxiang still avoided life. When he saw Grandpa Sailimu coming, he ducked far away and looked at Grandpa Sailimu vigilantly, with an expression of jumping away.
“It seems that this wild animal is not in love!” Grandpa Nuhai said to Grandpa Sailimu, staring at Sibu.
“Wild has never been in love, and where it came from, it will go back to where it came from. Wild will know its way, so don’t be surprised.” Grandpa Sailimu looked a little surprised and looked a little different. Grandpa pursed his lips.
There are all kinds of broken flowers in the green grass on the mountain field, like a Persian carpet with beautiful patterns. A sparrow whirled in the void above Sibu’s head, screaming and screaming; grasshoppers jumped up and down on the tip of the grass, screaming with all their might. The chirping sound of the daffodil makes people anxious.
Grandpa Sailimu smiled and said to Grandpa Nuhai: “There is a dwarf bird’s nest near the four dissimilar places, or the dwarf bird wouldn’t call out shrilly.”
The grandfather of the Nuhai family raised the sheep’s whip in his hand, stared at Sibu, and said, “I’ll go take a look!”
“Don’t go!” Grandpa Sailimu hurriedly stopped Grandpa Nuhai’s family, “When you whip the sheep’s whip, you will be surprised.”
As expected, the four did not see Nuhai’s grandfather raising the sheep whip in his hand, straightened up, looked at it for a few seconds, kicked his hind legs, raised his front hooves, and quickly ran along the mountain ridge towards the Tao River. .
When Sibu jumped up the mountain ridge, he stopped to take a few glances, and then walked away without looking back, looking for his friends.
Since then, the village has never been to Sibu, and no one has seen Sibu.
Later, the natural protection project began to be implemented, and the vegetation was slowly restored. Other wild animals enter the village from time to time, and there are more hares and pheasants.
Speaking of the wild, the four dislikes that entered the village have become the gossip of people and the memory of the Nuhai family.
