Doomsday Grain

At this time, the Zhou family and the Gao family were really in a dilemma.

It’s okay to talk about the gossip in the village, but after closing the door and ignoring it, the villagers will forget it after a while, but the firewood is a problem.

There is no harvest in the field this year, and there is a little rice in the paddy field, even if it is harvested, there is not enough firewood.If this winter is the same as last year, how can we still live?

Most of the firewood at home is old firewood. Although it can still be used, it cannot withstand burning, and a lot of it is rotten inside. In previous years, when there was enough firewood, I would go to the mountain to get some pine branches and pine needles to take home. Burn, let alone this kind of time.

Can I buy firewood?Not that face either!At the beginning, he pretended to be soft-tempered and extorted so much money from others, so now he wants to buy wood?Isn't that self-defeating?

The Zhou family didn't have the face to go, and there have been a lot of gossip in the village recently, and the family who was originally a face-saving family had no face to go out for several days.

The Gao family is similar, but they can't stand an unreasonable old lady.Before, the old lady came to extort money under the guise of her elders. Although the Gao family knew it was not done by humans, the 5 yuan was really tempting. They pretended to stop her twice and accepted the money with peace of mind.This time I don’t have much firewood at home. Because there are many people in the family, I usually consume firewood for cooking. In winter, I am afraid of the cold and burn more. In previous years, the corn stalks in the field were enough to burn. If I don’t think about it this year, I may not be able to survive the winter.

The old lady looked at her firewood pile, called her two sons, drove the tractor, and went up the mountain to buy firewood.

The youngest son has a thinner skin, so what should he do if he is afraid that others will not sell him?

The old lady curled her mouth: "If I really dare not sell it, I will fall to the ground and have a convulsion! I want another [-]."

The old lady tasted the sweetness once, and then got used to the convenience of relying on the old to sell the old in exchange for benefits, and began to become more and more arrogant.At the beginning, it was when I was away from home. When I got the money, my grandson had just been buried, and I went to the mahjong parlor to show off. Later, when I saw someone who was not pleasing to the eye, I pointed my nose and told him to stay away, otherwise she would lie on the ground. .

After such a long time, even at home, it has become a problem, especially for the two daughters-in-law.After living for so many years in the past, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were considered harmonious, but now the old lady has found the poor spirit of the ancient old woman, and the arrogance tells her not to be too arrogant.

More and more people went up the mountain to buy firewood, and this "business" was still booming. He Yangxuan went home to tidy up the house, and took out three ready-made lunches from the space, saving his grandfather from making a meal.

Grandpa went up the mountain to have a look. The grandpa and grandson were chatting casually, and then saw a tractor driving by.

Lin Qian's eyes were better, and his eyebrows frowned when he glanced at it.

"Why did the Gao family come here?" He thought they were ashamed to come.

"The Gao family who stole money from our family?" Grandpa also raised his head to look.

"I won't say anything about other Gao families." Lin Qian was a little disgusted (disgusted), this family's face is really not covered.In fact, even if the Zhou family came over, Lin Qian wouldn't have such a big reaction. At most, it would be embarrassing to meet, and the business should be done.But the Gao family's face of extorting money back then was impressive, and Lin Qian still felt disgusted.

Grandpa thought for a while, and seemed to have an idea. Seeing that Lin Qian was about to go over, he pressed it down: "Stay still, I'll go over and have a look."

Lin Qian knew that grandpa was a genius, so he must have his own ideas.

Lin Qian went back to the hut built by the gate, sat by the window and listened to the sound outside.

As the car approached, the straight figure of grandpa in his early [-]s was standing there, and the tractor stopped before reaching it.

No matter when, such an old man standing there is shocking enough.Not only because of respecting the elderly, but also because of the rough experience of that life.

The eldest son of the Gao family stopped the car and looked at his mother, hesitant.If Lin Qian came out, Mrs. Gao could still rely on her age to sell her old age, but this one was nearly 20 years older than Mrs. Gao. Although her seniority was the same, she was superior in age.

Grandpa is a foreigner. When he came to this village, the seniority is arranged according to grandma's seniority.Grandma's generation is relatively young, and although people older than grandpa's generation are all dead now, even if they are more than 80 years old, there are still a group of people of the same generation in the village who are 60 or [-] years old.

Mrs. Gao was also stunned. No matter how unreasonable she was, she knew that her skill of lying on the ground was useless, because the person in front of her was worth more than herself. The wife has to pay the money upside down, and there is nothing wrong with it.

"Brother, I haven't seen you for a while." Mrs. Gao's face was a little stiff, but she still spoke cheekily.Although I can't play tricks anymore, it doesn't mean I can't continue to buy firewood with the cheek.

People who do business can't be separated, not to mention that my grandfather has been honest and honest in the village all these years. Although he didn't suffer much, he never had any disputes with others, so Mrs. Gao didn't feel at ease.

"It's been a while, I haven't starved to death." Grandpa moved his fingers, always feeling that there was a crutch missing in his hand. If he had another crutch, it would look more imposing.

Although grandpa's waist is still straight, his legs and feet are not very agile, so there is a walking stick at home, but grandpa doesn't usually use it very much.

This sentence has a sting, why do you say you didn't starve to death?Because there is no food, why is there no food?Because the family money was extorted.

Mrs. Gao didn't know if she understood, but she just said: "Look at what you said, your eldest grandson is so promising! Such a big mountain, I heard that you sell firewood, so I thought about buying a car, it's okay Over the winter."

Grandpa sneered, and said stably: "Isn't there 5 yuan? Buying some coal is much more resistant to burning than the broken firewood on my mountain. Now there are still coal sellers. It is more expensive, but your family can afford it." .”

Grandpa's words are actually nonsense. Who uses coal for cooking?These words were purely for Mrs. Gao.

The idiot could also hear the smell of gunpowder in grandpa's words, and Mrs. Gao was also angry. After taking a few breaths, she felt that it was hard to speak out and get mad.She has such a violent temper, even if she really got into a fight, she could still fight. Anyway, the two sons are here, but it's really so embarrassing. What about the firewood?Last year, I was as cold as my grandson, so I can't suffer again this year.One of my two grandsons is gone, and the other can't be cold or hot this year.

"Hey brother, what you say is so uncomfortable. There are no corn stalks in the field, and you can't live by pointing at coal this winter, right? If you really have something to dislike, tell me, we still have to do this business no?"

Grandpa took two steps to one side, raised his chin and said, "I don't dare to take your food, I'm afraid of diarrhea. Go in! But the ugly thing is, don't bother my grandson on the dead mountain! My family has no money, and I can't stand your blackmail." .”

The old lady Gao was also thick-skinned, she resisted the words of her grandfather with a gun and a stick, said thank you, and let her eldest son drive.This embarrasses her two sons, but the firewood is free, and it also saves twenty catties of food.Now, in order to take care of each other, the two families live together with the old lady. The daily food consumption is huge, and they can't bear a catty of food.

When I was about to drive in, my grandfather suddenly raised his voice: "Go in, don't touch the trees inside. Dead trees are not allowed, let alone fruit trees! The fruits are half ripe and valuable, so don't touch any of them!"

The survival rate of the fruit trees on the mountain is not high, but they were planted a lot, and only a few dozen survived, and five or six of them bear fruit, and the rest can bear fruit after a year or two.

Although the fruits are not big, they are fruits anyway. There are few fruits these days, and every fruit is precious.Lin Qian had reported to the government in advance, and sold all the fruits on the mountain to the government except for the ones he kept at home and some sold to the villagers.

Old Mrs. Gao was suppressing her anger, and when she heard this, she yelled and knew it, and she was also angry.

Grandpa watched the tractor enter the mountain and smiled like a mature old fox.

Lin Qian came out of the hut, and he saw something: "Master, are you trying to hurt someone?"

Grandpa gave Lin Qian a shock: "Bastard, who are you talking about!"

"I'm not scolding you, how smart you are." Lin Qian rubbed his head and flattered him with a smile.

"Have you brought your mobile phone? It's the one you took a clear picture of." Grandpa asked.

"Bring it." Who can live without a mobile phone these days?Other people's homes have no electricity and don't take it with them. Lin Qian's home is not short of electricity, so he never leaves his mobile phone. He carries two mobile phones with him, one satellite phone and one smart phone.

"Take another ax and follow. If you see them chopping down a tree, take a picture of it, even a dead tree. Fruit trees need to be photographed, even a branch is counted. When they leave, let me know on the walkie-talkie."

Speaking of which, Lin Qian is not an idiot, he basically guessed: "Are we going to clean her up?"

Lin Qian followed his grandfather, with kind thoughts in his heart, but he also held grudges. Small grudges can be ignored, but 5 yuan was stolen, how could it be so easy?

"Go, it's best not to be found out. If you find out, say that you are going to supervise the work. If you really cut down the tree, don't quarrel with them. Just keep the photo. Do you hear me?"

When going up the mountain to get firewood, you generally don’t go too far inside. There are enough pine branches and pine leaves outside, and they can be burned for a long time if they are collected together.

They went into the mountains, found a place with a lot of fallen leaves, and began to fork down the pine branches and fallen leaves on the tractor body.

The old lady looked at the trees around, but there were actually more dead trees.Last winter, a lot of people froze to death, and this year’s bad weather has killed many more. Even pine trees, which are resistant to extreme weather, have a high mortality rate in the face of the harsh end times.

So there were still many that Lin Qian hadn't had time to cut down.

The old lady looked a little envious, this is wood, the wood is flame-resistant, when the winter wind and snow are howling, a whole piece of wood can be stuffed into the stove, the kang can make the whole room hot, and you don’t even need to wear a sweater. Even sitting indoors in underwear will not feel cold.

Thinking about what grandpa said on purpose before entering the mountain, the old lady curled her lips, so what if her heart was cut off?

Call the eldest son, ask him to come over and whisper to him to cut down two dead trees and save them for burning wood in winter.

"Didn't they say they won't let them go?" Boss Gao was a little embarrassed. He didn't ask for food when he went up the mountain, but what he picked up from the ground was not enough, and he had to cut down other people's trees.Even if the tree is dead, it is still valuable, especially if it is tall, it can be sold as wood. Even if it is not used as wood, it is much more valuable when used as firewood than ordinary pine branches and fallen leaves.

"Listen to him! What can we do if we cut down ten or eight? Not to mention that no one cares about it now, even if someone cares, what can a dead tree be? Cut it off, and burning wood in winter is better than burning those branches. Burning the stove can also save some coal."

Many people in the village who are reluctant to burn coal burn wood.Although the law stipulates that trees are state-owned and cannot be cut down privately, such things have always been ignored by the people and the officials are not prosecuted. No one reports and no one cares.

Therefore, people in the village, especially those on the edge of the village, will plant a few trees, cut them down when they grow up, and save them for burning.A tree that is tall enough can be used for several years, only for the coldest days, and it is reluctant to burn it at other times.

Hearing what the old lady said, Boss Gao was also tempted.Anyway, I have done shameless things, so what if I rely on one or two trees?Anyway, in a village, Lin Qian was too embarrassed to make a big fuss.

Thinking about it this way, I happened to bring an ax when I went up the mountain. It was originally for cutting dead branches, but now I can also use it for cutting trees.

A thick tree requires a saw and an ax to work hard, so I picked two relatively thin dead trees to chop.

Gao Laoer saw it and went to help his brother.

The old lady didn't have to work, she watched her two sons busy, and when she walked around, she saw some red in the green on the side.

She walked over a few steps and saw it was a sand fruit tree.

Shaguo is a common fruit in Northeast China. It tastes sweet and sour, some are crisp, some are sandy, and the taste is excellent.

The old lady hadn't seen fruit for more than a year, so she reached out and picked two, wiped them on her sleeves, and took a bite. The sweet and sour taste almost made her cry.

"Come here quickly! Eat the fruit!" The old lady hurriedly called the two sons to come and enjoy it together.

The two sons stopped their axes and walked over. Seeing the glowing red fruit, they swallowed their saliva and couldn't help reaching out to pick it up.

After eating a few in a row, the old lady remembered that her grandchildren hadn't eaten yet, so she reached out and picked a few more, and said, "Did you get a shovel? Just dig this seedling away!"

Both sons shook their heads, and they didn't even think about digging up other trees.

The fruit trees in the mountains are all newly planted, and the thickest ones are less than two centimeters thick, so it is not easy to find them if they are dug up and hidden in the cart.As long as you go out of the mountain, if you are discovered, you will come to your door and refuse to admit it.

The old lady was not quite reconciled. Seeing such a tree full of fruits, thinking about the fact that she hadn't tasted the fruit for more than a year, she gritted her teeth and said, "Chop it up and take it away! It's a waste of time to pick it like this. If Lin Qian and the others come over during the period It’s not good if you find it. Just cut a hidden tree, the fruit is still on the branch, and it will be fresh with water when you go back, and it will be fresh for half a month. There is no refrigerator now, so it’s better to preserve.”

It's okay to steal fruit from others, and it doesn't matter if you dig out the black spots on the saplings, but it's unethical to cut down other people's fruit trees directly. The standard harms others and benefits oneself.

"Isn't that good?" Gao Lao Er was a little embarrassed.Just to eat the fruit for half a month, every fruit tree is precious now, and it will be worth a lot of money if it is raised well in the future.Isn't this a way out?

There is a saying that cutting people’s wealth is like killing their parents. They have extorted 5 yuan before, and this tree may be worth more than that 5 yuan in the future.

"You useless thing!" Mrs. Gao didn't think there was anything wrong, she just thought her son was too useless, so she took the ax with her hand and chopped down the tree root twice.

Boss Gao watched his mother make a move, and his hands were itchy. He went to help his mother cut down the tree, and then checked left and right to make sure no one was there. The two brothers joined hands to hug the fruit tree to the tractor body, and then speeded up their hands to fork pine needles and pine branches into it. Fruit trees covered.

This bad thing has already been done, but the pressure is not so great.At the moment, I just think about the whole family guarding such a fruit tree to enjoy the taste of fruit after returning home, and they all enjoy it.

In fact, the fruit is not big and more sour. Even so, it is a good thing for those who have not been in contact with fruit for a long time.

Nowadays, there are fewer and fewer fruit trees in rural areas. Many people have cut something to exchange for money, and a few of them have died because of natural disasters in the past two years. It is really a luxury to be able to eat fruit. thing.

Then the two sons continued to chop down the tree, cut the wood into pieces and hid them in the car.

After working for two hours, the two of them carefully covered up the top and sides of the car until they got a whole load of firewood.As long as they get out of this mountain, they find that there is no evidence to pursue it.

The old lady sat on the tractor happily, and the two sons also looked happy because of the rich harvest. In the face of interests, they had already thrown away the trust of propriety, justice, and shame, just like the last time they extorted 5 yuan.

How can those invisible and intangible things compare to the benefits of being close at hand?

He even thought complacently that those who are full of satisfaction and good people will suffer in the end, and only those who love to take advantage of them will truly enjoy the blessings.

They thought they were invisible, but they didn't know that Lin Qian had already photographed all of this in its entirety.

Lin Qian took a lot of photos and a few videos. He clenched his ax a few times and wanted to go out and chop them twice.But thinking about what grandpa did, I always feel that grandpa is holding back his big move, and he can't ruin the plan.So even though I hated him so much, I could only bear with it and collect evidence first.When their tractor was far away, Lin Qian walked to the place where they were just now, took pictures of the "wreckage", and took out the walkie-talkie to tell his grandfather about the situation here.

Lin Qian thought that his grandpa would be as furious as he was, but he just laughed and told Lin Qian to pick up all the fruits that fell from the tree felling on the ground, and then go to other places to pick some sand fruits, and take two catties back. , Grandpa he is useful.

At this time, Lin Qian felt that his IQ could not keep up, but his grandfather said, Lin Qian followed suit. The fruit trees here were gone, and Lin Qian had to pick other fruits, which was really painful.

Wait, why did Grandpa ask him to bring an ax up the mountain?It seemed useless, just now Lin Qian almost rushed up with an axe.

Grandpa stood at the gate, watching the Gaojia tractor coming out with a full load, the old lady smiled proudly and took the initiative to say hello to grandpa.Grandpa raised his eyebrows, ignored him, and turned to enter the room.

The old lady Gao seemed to have won the battle, humming a ditty and leaving on the tractor.

As soon as the people left, grandpa laughed again, humming a little song and went back to the house to sit and rest. After a while, Lin Qian came back with fruit in his clothes. Grandpa nodded, packed it in a plastic bag, and closed the gate into the mountain With a lock, he took Lin Qian back to the village.

He Yangxuan was driving towards this side, when he saw the two of them walking back, he stopped the car.

The two got into the car, and He Yangxuan turned around and went home.

In the car, grandpa assigned work to the two.

After listening to Grandpa's plan, the two looked at each other, and they both saw surprise and amazement in each other's eyes.

This was probably the first time Grandpa shot, I really didn't expect it.

When they got home, the two got ready separately and drove out of the village in different cars.The crack is paved with wooden planks and nailed to the soil with long nails to prevent the wheels from moving when pressed, so that there is no need to be afraid of going back and forth.

Two people with two cars have different goals.

When Grandpa came home, he dug out the chili from the refrigerator, wiped some on the corner of his eyes, burst into tears instantly, rubbed his nose red again, and went to the village chief's house when he went out.

Arriving at the door of the village chief's house, he knocked on the door. The village chief's wife came out, and she was shocked to see the snot-nosed and tearful grandfather.

The 80-year-old man cried, how sad it must be.

The village chief's wife hurriedly invited the old man in and called the village chief who was busy in the backyard.

The village chief came over and saw that the old man's legs were weak from crying, so he hurried over to let the old man sit down. At such an advanced age, what should we do if we really end up crying?

"What's the matter? Let's not cry, let's talk about it first." The village chief comforted him softly.

"My tree! My fruit! It was stolen by the bastard!" The grandfather touched his eyes with his hand after speaking, and the chili pepper got into his eyes again. The old man cried so much that it was miserable.

The village head was taken aback, and immediately realized the seriousness of the matter.Now at this time, a fruit is worth money.

"Don't worry, tell me slowly! Who stole it! Tell me, and I'll help you!" This is considered a big deal, and the person who lost something is an 80-year-old man, so it cannot be easily counted.

Grandpa cried for about 5 minutes, and the tears stopped when the hotness passed. He choked up and said, "Who else can be, Lao Gao's family! I'm afraid of them, and I'm afraid they will blackmail my house again. The money was stolen from him. His family came to ask for firewood, and I didn’t even confiscate the food, so I let them go up the mountain! They got a car full of tall firewood, which was nothing, it was worthless, and he cut down trees! Not to mention the tree, but still stealing the fruit! I even cut down my biggest fruit tree and took it home! There is no way to survive! This year, the family has not much food, so I pointed out how many catties the fruit on the mountain can be exchanged for. Food! The two little boys in my family can eat it! Once the fruit is gone, what shall we eat!"

Grandpa finished speaking in tears, and when he touched his eyes, he started crying again.

The village head was so frightened that he and his wife comforted the poor old man, and waited for grandpa to stop crying so much, then stamped his feet and scolded the street:

"It's not man-made! It's not human! It's fine to extort money from people, but now it's cutting down the fruit trees that people make a living! Isn't this just looking at people as easy to bully? Uncle, don't take it to heart, this Leave it to me, and I'll come to your door to go!"

Generally, when something happens in the village, unless it is a human life lawsuit, there are very few reports, and the village committee usually helps to mediate and resolve it, and this time is no exception.