Grinding Road (Local Prose)

Times have changed, and now the days are getting better and better, and everything is becoming more and more convenient. Especially for some young people, they stay at home all day, do nothing, stay at home and play computer games for a month without going downstairs. Although this living habit is not worthy of praise, it is real. Living a life of reaching for clothes and eating, you can order takeout, deliver it on time, and when it is delivered home, it is still hot. After eating, you don't even have to brush the pots and bowls, just let your family throw it away.

However, their parents, or grandparents, were not like this. Everything was "who knows that every meal is hard". Moreover, even if the grain is received in the warehouse, it will not be eaten immediately, and it still needs many processes.

As far as I can remember, the village hasn't been connected to electricity, and everything still needs to be done manually, such as hand grinding mountain powder, scouring wheat and naked oats to grind flour, frying flax and pressing oil after the autumn harvest. What I remember deeply is the mill road at the entrance to the village.

The mill road is located in the south of the village. It is an independent adobe house. There are no doors and windows in the north and south wall openings, and the wind leaks. Fortunately, there is a roof, which can avoid getting caught in the rain when it snows or rains. In the middle of the room, there is a round earthen platform, in the center of which is embedded a plate of grinded stone, which weighs 1,8 Jin, is high in the middle, and has low sides, and is flush with the earthen platform. On the grinding plate, there is a thick roller lying horizontally, all made of stone, with a diameter of about one meter, and a stick about one meter long extends from the roller, which is the handle used to exert force when everyone pushes the roller. In the center of the millstone, an iron bar is embedded straight up and down. This is the roller shaft, which connects the roller and the millstone.

this is a simple lever principle.

it is the busiest and most prosperous time to finish the autumn harvest every year, or during the Chinese New Year holiday.

after storage, millet and millet need to be ground off in the mill to become millet and yellow rice. Then, after grinding, it becomes noodles. When grinding wheat, it is necessary to wash it with clear water to remove impurities and dry it mostly before grinding. And naked oats should be fried in real estate speculation, and then ground.

pushing a roller is a heavy physical work, and I did it many times when I was a child. When there are guests at home, or when the Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival and Spring Festival are approaching, the family will wash the yellow rice in advance, carry a basket, a broom and a basket, and prepare a piece of cloth or plastic paper. I heard that I was going to have a good meal at home today, and I was young and refreshed at once. When I arrived at the mill road, I found that a large group of people had already gathered, all of whom were ready to grind yellow rice. At this time, everyone was talking and laughing, chatting and telling jokes, and the festive atmosphere suddenly increased. Therefore, everyone had to queue up naturally in the order of first come, first served. Those who are greedy will come to the queue after midnight. But everyone is very disciplined. In order to be faster, the later ones usually help the front runner. I saw some people watching, pushing, sweeping and reeding among the people who gathered around. I can't do anything else, but I'm easily encouraged and can only help push, but because the roller is too heavy, I can't push it for a few laps and I'm panting. So, I had to stand aside and rest for a while.

when it was my turn, it was late. At this point, the people in the mill are all scattered. They are all busy going home to steam and fry cakes, and there is no one to help push the mill. Before, when I helped others push, I had already made the effort almost. However, people who are short of hands, especially those who are greedy for this fried cake, have to be pushed under the reprimand at home. The mother pushed and swept inside, reluctant to waste a grain. After pushing for a while, she saw that the yellow rice on the rice mill had been smashed into a layer, so she quickly swept it and collected it in the basket. Holding the basket in her hand, she put the crushed part into the basket, and the rest was evenly poured on the rice mill, and continued to push the roller to grind. Over and over again, seven or eight pounds of yellow rice have to be ground for hours before it can be done. At this time, I was relieved, and I skipped home behind my mother's ass, as if I had smelled the fried cake.

Of course, some families need to grind a lot at a time, especially wheat flour or oat flour. In order to save labor, they will choose an obedient donkey, mule or cow from home, then blindfold the animal and let it pull the roller in circles. Because the mill road is the surface of the land, at this time, there will be dust splashing and fog rolling, and those who drive behind will have to choke, and those who collect the surface of the basket will have to cover their mouths and noses with cloth. Cattle pull for a while, and when they are tired, they will be lazy and will not walk. At this time, it is necessary to use the "shouting" sound or whip to draw a few times to urge them. Otherwise, the animals just take a dip, or take a dip and take a rest, which is the origin of "the lazy donkey grinds shit more"

when all the noodles are ground, the season will soon enter the deep winter. At this point, the mill road is temporarily no longer busy in the past, and it begins to become silent and mysterious.

When we were young, children of the same age often played hide-and-seek or "spy hunting" at night. One, or two, hide, and the others will find it. When we found it, we found someone to punish the hidden person. Now it feels very simple and boring, but at that time we had a good time. Many times, we would play until eleven or twelve at night and were reluctant to go home. We can hide anywhere, but we often dare not hide in the mill.

why? Since childhood, we have heard from our family that the people living in the mill road are all unknown ghosts and gods. When they have nowhere to go, they will hide in the mill road. Although no one has seen it, it sounds a little scary. It's okay during the day, but every time I walk by the mill road at night, I occasionally look at the dark mill road, and my heart will panic for no reason, and my hair will stand straight in wait for a while, fearing that I will catch up with a "ghost" behind me, or suddenly a "kid" will come out from the inside, vomit a long red tongue and pinch our necks, killing me. It is said that after some people died, the drummer who reported to the temple at night would also stop when passing by the grinding road. The owner was responsible for lighting paper and kowtowing, and the drummer was responsible for blowing, blowing for a while, and then going to the next place. So, young people, we began to believe it. What's more, after going to school, we learned the Story of Kicking a Ghost written by Mr. Lu Xun, and we know that there are no ghosts in this world. However, we have heard more ghost stories in the village since childhood, and they are particularly vivid and vivid. In addition, the villagers' cultural level is generally low, and they are willing to rely on traditional superstitions to solve things they don't understand, which invisibly increases the weight of ghosts and gods in people's hearts.

after a few years, the grinding surface has a diesel engine, so people use the grinding road less. A large amount of grain flour is sent to the diesel flour mill, which can save a lot of manpower even though it will cost a few dollars. Only the mill of Xiaozong, such as yellow wheat, is not worth the money, and people will go to the mill.

It was not until the end of 1991 that the village had electricity, television and electric flour mills, which were quick, convenient and labor-saving, and the mill was completely unused. The mill, which had been popular for thousands of years, completed its mission and finally "gloriously" retired from the historical stage. However, people will compare it unintentionally, and think that the noodles ground by the flour mill are not as tasty as those ground by the mill, and not as fragrant as that. I know that the noodles made by the mill are fragrant because they contain people's hard work, and everything comes from hard work.

Seeing that no one was using it, there was love in the village, so they demolished the mill road and built their own pigsty or kennel with adobe and rafters. However, no one would argue about it.

Since then, the mill road has completely disappeared from the territory of the village. I occasionally go back and walk around the village, and it is difficult to find its exact location again. I can only help feeling that human beings have nurtured civilization, and technology has promoted and changed civilization from time to time. Come to think of it this way, it seems to exist and be reasonable to deliver food home now, from its appearance to its rise ...