Original novel? Poverty alleviation

一

Everyone who comes from other places will think that Zhaojiapo is very poor. There are mines in Pailong Town next door, but not in Zhaojiapo; there are large orchards in Shuikou Town, but not in Zhaojiapo; there are in Fenghuang Town. There is no large reservoir in Zhaojiapo either. Daughters marrying outside are required to have all the home appliances, but Zhaojiapo has not yet had electricity.

Zhaojiapo is poor, but not so poor that it is not without food and cannot starve to death; its location is not in the mountains, and you can take a minibus within five minutes of going out.

Every time the top government provides poverty alleviation, the leaders have toothaches and wonder whether Zhao Jiapo should be included.

The villagers in Zhaojiapo also think that they do not need to be included in the group being helped out of poverty, which is very embarrassing.

When the poverty alleviation materials came, the leaders first distributed them to those who would be too poor to eat. When they arrived in Zhaojiapo, only a few scraps were left, usually a few sacks of old clothes and the like.

This year, no more clothes were distributed. Instead, a person was sent - Zhou Yu.

Zhou Yu also knew that Zhao Jiapo was poor, otherwise the superiors would not let him help the poor.

Poverty alleviation implements a rotating meal distribution system, and Zhou Yu’s first lunch was given to a little girl’s home. The little girl's name is Aman, and she and her grandma are the only ones at home.

2

Aman was suffering from chicken pox and did not dare to see the wind. His face was covered with a cloth, only two clear eyes were exposed, and he looked directly at Zhou Yu. say. While eating, she took some food and ran to eat it without knowing where.

After dinner, Zhou Yu returned to the village chief's house, and Aman followed him holding a small green melon. The village chief didn't have a child her age at home. Zhou Yu was a little curious as to why she came and asked her. She said she went to see Xuelin.

"Who is Xuelin?" Zhou Yu became even more curious.

"Xuelin is very capable, but they don't know it." Aman said mysteriously.

"Where? Can I see him?"

Aman looked at Zhou Yu carefully and hesitated: "Maybe he will like you, he likes knowledgeable people... …Don’t talk until you go.”

Zhou Yu agreed with a smile.

I walked all the way to the door of the village chief’s house. The door was open and no one was seen. Aman took him to the small side room at the back of the house. Aman opened the door and walked in.

Zhou Yu automatically stood outside the door. The light in the small side room was not very good and the smell was weird.

He didn’t expect Xuelin to be like this.

Xue Lin’s hair was like water plants in the river ditch, or an extended piece of cloth. It was so long that it sat under her skinny buttocks.

"Xuelin!" Aman called him happily, walked over and handed him the cantaloupe: "Eat, you eat."

Xuelin stretched out two fingers. Slender hands with nails filled with black mud lifted up the messy hair hanging in front of his face and looked at Aman. Aman grabbed one side of his hair for him, allowing him to free up one hand to take the cantaloupe.

Xue Lin smiled brightly, the thin dry lines at the corners of his eyes squeezed together, and said in a hoarse voice: "It looks good, Aman, this one looks good."

Aman stood behind and put the He also lifted up the other side of his hair, tore a strip from his tattered clothes and tied it up for him.

"Does it look good? Xue Lin. Then don't eat it now, and teach me how to draw it later. This is the only one. If you eat it, you won't get it. I went to the fields to catch fireflies, and I picked them up on the ridge."

But Xuelin had already taken a big bite. Hearing what she said, he hesitated whether to spit it out and fill it back up.

Aman saw it and said while tying a knot in his hair: "Have you taken a bite? It doesn't matter, let's just draw this eaten one."

Xuelin Then he chewed it with confidence.

Aman knelt down and looked at him carefully: "Yesterday... why did you run out naked? You were beaten for nothing - I know you are not really crazy."

Xuelin slowed down her chewing, swallowed hard, and replied hesitantly: "...I, I don't know, and I don't remember, but suddenly I felt very uncomfortable..."

They looked at each other, neither of them telling the possible, terrible truth.

"There will be no clothes distributed during poverty alleviation this year. Do you still have something to wear? - This time a man was sent to us, saying he would teach us how to grow flue-cured tobacco. It's him - what's your name?" Aman forced a smile, motioned Xuelin to look at Zhou Yu, and changed the topic.

"Oh! I'm Zhou Yu." He answered, holding on to the door frame. Xuelin glanced at him indifferently and did not speak to him.

Aman later quietly told Zhou Yu that Xuelin seemed unable to hold on any longer. What if he is really crazy? Is he still thinking about Zhao Zifang? But Zhao Zifang was escorted by her father and sold to an old gangster. She has two children - the older one looks like Xuelin, and the younger one is a fool in the womb, and her husband always beats her.

Isn’t Xuelin better than the old gangster? He was very decent when he was young! I can also draw.

I hate that Zhao Zifang’s father was so dissatisfied with Xuelin: he is poor, has no money, can he eat or drink even if he paints a bad painting? ! If you don’t do your job properly, you won’t be able to support yourself! Still pursuing spiritually? I think it’s a neurological pursuit!

Aman spoke confusingly, panicked and angry. She later had a great conversation with Zhou Yu.

Again: Why doesn’t she know how to resist? Who dares to sell me... Oh, no one sells me, my mother and I are long gone. ——The old guy just committed too many sins, so he was stoned to death.

"Did Zhao Heng hit him?" Zhou Yu asked.

"...How did you know?" This time it was Aman's turn to be surprised.

Three

The flue-cured tobacco seeds have been sown, the greenhouse covering has been completed, and Zhou Yu has lost a lot of weight. < /p>

At this moment, Zhou Yu looked down at the murderer and subconsciously half-hidden himself behind the village chief's thin body.

Zhao Heng’s eyes were sunken and his eyes were as cold as snakes. He squatted on the ground and looked at Zhou Yu diagonally. He suddenly tilted his head and spit thick phlegm - and then grabbed a limb with his left hand. The big frog fluttered wildly, pressed down on the black chopping board, raised the kitchen knife with his right hand, and said, "Bang!" The knife hit the ground.

"Zhou Jiji, please eat something good!... You city people have never eaten this kind of wild food? It's a big supplement, I tell you!" Zhao Heng raised it to him and was just chopped. The frog with his head shook from side to side. As the frog was struggling to death, one of its flippers came up convulsively and hugged one of his fingers.

Zhou Yu accidentally saw the decapitated frog with thin blood oozing out of its cavity, throbbing blood vessels, and its limbs were still being pulled reflexively. Goosebumps appeared uncontrollably all over his body.

"Aren't frogs and snakes... protected animals? No one cares about them?" He was afraid of talking to the murderer, so he reminded the village chief, trying to avoid the fate of eating frogs.

"Hehe..." The village chief smiled awkwardly: "Who cares about our place?" He muttered again: "We have to rely on mountains and water to survive, so we have to give people a way to survive... You Look, you’re here to help the poor. When everyone’s lives get better, no one will eat those things anymore, right? Frogs, if they’re fried well, they’ll be very fragrant.”

Zhou Yu. Dumb.

Zhou Yu didn’t expect that Zhao Heng’s skill in cooking was as good as his skill in killing people. Sure enough, he fried the frog until it was fragrant. Zhou Yu's mouth secreted saliva uncontrollably, and he swallowed it quietly in embarrassment.

After the dishes were put on the table, they sat at a small square table against the earth wall, with just three tables left. Zhou Yu and the village chief sat face to face, and Zhao Heng also brewed shochu himself.

Zhou Yu didn't drink any alcohol and just munched on the fragrant fried frog. The village chief and Zhao Heng drank and their faces turned red.

Zhao Heng's words poured out of his mouth - and he also talked about his dark history.

Zhou Yu just thought he was drunk and talking nonsense. He nodded perfunctorily and tried to distract himself. As a result, Zhao Heng refused to do it. He looked at him and said unhappily: "You don't believe it? When the pebbles were hit in place, the sound... was like breaking a big earthen jar, bang! It was as loud as a big firecracker. I looked at him at that time. He was lying on the ground, his brain was red and white. He could still speak, and he was spitting out blood and asked... He kept asking the people next to him why I should beat him to death... "Zhao Heng gradually lost his voice as he spoke, frowned, and blinked his eyes rapidly and hard several times.

"It's just a pebble," he murmured again, reluctantly trying to defend himself - he made a small circle with his thumb and index finger: "It's so big - I didn’t mean to kill him, I just threw a lump of dirt to scare him when the dog was barking - it was the Lord of Hell who wanted to take him in, right? Didn’t Gou Ri sell his daughter to the old man? The gangster with a bad temper got so excited after selling it for a few bucks that he insisted on buying my parents’ ancestral home. I’m poor, but can I earn this money? Damn it! Half a lifetime. "Hey!" Zhao Heng rubbed his face.

The flames of the bean-sized lamps reflected their well-fed and drunk faces, and huge shadows were cast on the earthen walls, changing unpredictable with the light.

Four

Satisfied with having had enough wine and food, the village chief warmly invited Zhou Yu to his house to watch TV. Zhou Yu thought he heard wrongly. There was no electricity in the village, so what kind of TV could he watch? Watching TV like in the joke?

When we got to the wing, we found a large group of people crowded together. Some of those who came late did not have a stool to sit on, so they stood on one side, stretching their necks like geese, watching TV obsessively!

The TV set was a semi-old 18-inch black-and-white machine - it turned out to be the one that had just been eliminated from the village chief's brother-in-law's house, and it was playing "Bao Qingtian". The screen was covered with snowflakes, the actors all had white pockmarks on their faces, and the crescent moon on Mr. Bao's forehead was covered.

The village elder's wife moved the millstone's butt to the side, leaving half of the bench free, and asked Zhou Yu to sit on it.

Zhou Yu discovered that the source of electricity was particularly miraculous, which opened his eyes - it turned out to be a hand-operated fishing machine like Zhao Heng carrying an electric fish on his back! There was a buzzing sound in the middle of the crowd, and there was a circle of strong young men surrounding it as if they were protecting treasures, taking turns to manually generate electricity.

When the commercial time came, the boys in charge of generating electricity stopped to rest.

Zhou Yu was not interested in the snowflakes on the screen or Mr. Bao. He looked around in the crowd to find the village chief, wanting to say hello to the village chief and go out for free activities.

Beside him was a little girl with a pointed chin and extremely dark eyes, looking at him intently, her eyes pure but rude.

Zhou Yu recognized Aman and teased her: "It's you! How old are you?"

Aman did not answer, and the village chief's wife laughed. He pinched her and answered for her: "Young lady must be fifteen, I remember she was the same age as my house Jinfang."

The village chief appeared out of nowhere. .

Zhou Yuzheng was surprised that Aman looked much older than her. Suddenly, a voice came from outside the window and shouted: "Aman, don't be the same age as others, you have to be the same age as me." That was clear. It was Xuelin's voice.

The whole room burst into laughter, and the village chief also laughed. The village elder's wife said: "The lunatic has convulsions again."

Aman turned to look out the window and said: "Hey! I'm the same age as you." As he said that, he went outside.

The room was filled with laughter, and suddenly a stone as big as a fist broke through the window. Everyone screamed and ran away. The village elder's wife slapped her thigh, stood up, fisted her sleeves, and said, "Ouch! Zhao Shengguo, look at it! The short-lived ghost is restless! Do you want to demolish my house?"

The village chief avoided his angry, tall and strong mother-in-law and said, "Then what can I do, you go and kill him?"

Killing is definitely not allowed.

Five

It’s Grain Rain, and the air is full of water vapor.

"Zhou Yu! Where are you going?" Aman sat in front of the door knitting a nutrition box for transplanting tobacco seedlings, his hands full of mud.

"Go to Zhao Dongfu's house for dinner." Zhou Yu said with a smile.

Aman nodded: "There is nothing delicious in his house. I don't think you have enough to eat - there are no maguai (frogs), but there are probably dead chickens."

Zhou Yu stopped and asked, "What do you mean by dead chicken, Aman?"

"The dead chicken was dried and fragrant. Zhao Dongfu's mother-in-law washed it in the old well a few days ago. Several, I saw them."

Zhou Yu hesitated.

Grandma Aman grabbed the broom and scratched on the ground, and said coquettishly: "Oh, children talk nonsense. Zhou Qiji, don't listen to her. The first animal has grown so big, even though it is He died of the disease, but chicken plague is not transmitted to humans, so who would be willing to throw it away? Everyone will be fine after eating it.

"

Aman said angrily: "Those who died of illness, can they eat them?" Zhou Yu, can chicken plague be transmitted to humans? ”

Zhou Yu: “…Probably?” I think it's best not to eat it. "

"Then...are you still eating in my room today? I'll treat you to dinner. Next time you go to the city, can you bring me something back? "

"Haha, okay! Zhou Yu clapped his hands: "Bringing food?" ”

“Don’t eat anything...bring some sketch paper and carbon strips.” ”

“It’s for painting...you want it yourself?” ”

“I’m not good at painting, but I’m still learning!” Aman rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand: "...Xue Lin is good at painting, he taught me." "

"You two are so good, and he is the same age as you! " Zhou Yu smiled jokingly.

Aman glanced at him, looked around again, and lowered his voice: "Xuelin is not a lunatic! ——Will you help or not? "

Zhou Yu suppressed a smile and nodded silently.

Six

It was already the beginning of summer, and the weaver girl and the frog were singing in the fields. Zhou Yu walked aimlessly along the path next to the bamboo forest.

The moon came out, and it was very bright. The bamboo branches were intertwined, and the moonlight was scattered in the bamboo forest.

This is a bamboo forest. The bamboo body is smooth and smooth, not as dense as moso bamboo and phoenix bamboo. Zhou Yu has seen village children climbing on the bamboo like monkeys, playing a game of chasing.

Zhou Yu didn't expect that there were people in the bamboo forest at such a late hour. He didn't want to scare other people's children, so he stood quietly and looked at the people in the bamboo forest like snakes. It was not a high position. Zhou Yu looked carefully and found that it was Aman. She didn't know what she was doing. There was a dim and flickering light on her head.

Zhou Yu walked into the bamboo forest and put it. He called her softly: "Aman, what are you doing? "

When Aman saw him, he was not frightened, but he was not happy either. Chiliu got off the bamboo.

"What's the matter, unhappy? "

"Why are you here now? "

"It's too hot and I can't sleep. Aren’t you playing here too? "Zhou Yu leaned over to look at the light on her head, and found that it turned out to be a group of fireflies, packed in a gauze bag, with a flower twisted around the mouth of the bag, and stuck on her head.

He reached out and plucked it. Picking up this special headgear, he smiled: “Where did you get it? "

"In addition to flue-cured tobacco, I also planted pumpkins. Well, there were so many fireflies that they stung all my pumpkin leaves..." Aman said.

Do fireflies eat pumpkin leaves? Zhou Yu thought to himself, not wanting Aman to know that he didn't understand this, so he praised: "It looks good! It's a pity that he didn't live long. "

He asked her again: "Why don't you go back to sleep? ”

“I don’t think anyone is here at this time.” "

"Why? "

"It won't work if there are people. I tried. "

"...What? ”

Aman looked at him and thought: Zhou Yu can be considered a good person? He was willing to help me bring drawing paper and charcoal, he didn’t laugh at me, and he didn’t charge me any money.

Aman walked over and hugged the bamboo, wrapping her two thin legs up. Before Zhou Yu could react, she jumped down again, shook her head and said, "You can't do it even if you're here. If someone is around, it won't come. ”

Zhou Yu’s hair stood on end: “…who won’t come, Aman?” "

"I don't know... Well, why don't you try it? Come on, like this..." Aman made a clamping movement.

Zhou Yu looked at her strange movements, thought for a while, and suddenly understood. He looked at Aman in disbelief and said He was speechless, and at the same time his heart beat like a drum, until his ears were filled with water and he couldn't hear anything.

Seven

Zhou Yu took a very deep nap. No, even the village chief's new and large tiled house was still hot. He finally squinted for a while, but suddenly there was a commotion outside.

He got up and opened the door to see. There was a circle of people. Everyone looked down at the middle of the circle.

Zhou Yu grabbed Aman who was running in front of him: "What's wrong!?"

Aman's eyebrows were red, and he struggled to get away from him first, and then he saw clearly It was him, grabbing him again: "Zhou Yu! Please help me! Ask the village chief to save Xuelin! I know they have medicine! Zhao Heng has it! It's better than the one in the hospital!"

Zhou Yu was painfully grabbed by her thin hands. He followed her pull and moved forward while comforting her: "Aman, don't worry, please make it clear!"

Aman choked with sobs. : "The village chief caught the forty-eight-segment (bungaira) kept in the cellar and ran out. Xue Lin was bitten! Xue Lin is going to die!"

Zhou Yu said "ah" and his blood It rushed to the top of my head, and my heart beat violently and wildly, as if the person being bitten was me.

Aman let him go and called the village chief loudly, but the village chief was the only one missing in the circle of people. Aman called the village elder's wife again: "Auntie! Please save him! He is your brother!"

The village elder's wife leaned on the door frame and cracked melon seeds, then glared and hid in the room with a bitter look on her face. The village head of the prime minister rolled his eyes at Aman: "Who doesn't know that he is Zhao Shengguo's brother? Aman! It's not that I don't save him, I don't have any medicine in my hand! The hospital is so far away , I can’t even get through it...”

“Zhao Heng has medicine!”

“Zhao Heng went to sell cigarettes early in the morning! I said, look at this life of a lunatic, ah! He is ignorant and stupid, and he is suffering while living!"

Aman's eyes were about to bleed, and he rushed over to kowtow to the crowd of spectators! : "Please! Please save him!" The crowd slowly dispersed in silence.

Aman rolled and crawled towards Xue Lin. Zhou Yu followed her and saw Xue Lin lying on the ground unconsciously, her chest deflating as she breathed.

Aman checked him up and down, and rolled up Xuelin's torn trouser legs as if they had been pecked by a goose. He saw a small wound on the left calf, with only two small spots and a little redness and swelling.

Aman looked at Zhou Yu desperately. Zhou Yu took off his shirt, pressed it on Xuelin's thigh with some force, and laid him down.

"They have medicine, but they refuse to give it to him. They have long wanted him to die..." The tendons on Aman's forehead arched, and she touched the dirty snow forest with her hands covered with tobacco tar. On the forehead, Xi said in a hoarse voice with his lips parted.

Zhou Yu turned around and looked around at the crowd watching the excitement, and said with difficulty: "Can you guys... help me..."

The crowd was as silent as a clay sculpture.

……

Eight

The flue-cured tobacco was almost finished picking. Zhou Yu walked around the fields and got tanned.

He met Zhao Heng who was electro-fishing in the ditch and asked him: "I heard that your snake medicine is particularly useful?"

Zhao Heng replied: "I'm not bragging. Well done to the hospital! But I sent a few packs to the village chief before, but I don’t have much left in stock now, otherwise I can send some to you.”

It’s obviously a hot day at the end of summer, and Zhou Yu feels like he’s having a headache. A bucket of ice water.

He walked away depressed.

This year is indeed not a good year. It rains so much that it feels like a leaky pot. In order to save firewood, the villagers wanted to take out the tobacco leaves to dry in the sun when they saw the sun. Unexpectedly, the master suddenly changed his face. If you dry it in the sun and harvest it, the tobacco leaves will become moldy. It will be difficult to rate it as grade one or grade three, let alone grade one.

Zhou Yu felt that there was nothing he could do. This job was not good, it was bad. After this trip, he went back and whoever liked it would come in the next round - some poor people just couldn't be helped.

He was quite reluctant to part with Aman.