Text | Qi Lutian Editor | Swallow Pictures | Internet
After the Waking of Insects, with the roar of spring thunder, the sleeping earth was reawakened. The farmer's proverb goes: "Nine-nine plus one-nine, the cattle are everywhere." In my memory, before the 1980s and 1990s, in my hometown of the plains of southwestern Shandong, this season has long been the mooing of cattle, and there are scenes in the fields. There is a lively scene of spring plowing.
When I was a child, my grandfather was a breeder in the production team. I was his little tail. I often stayed and played in the cattle house of the production team. I often slept in the cattle house even at night, especially It was a cold snowy day. Lying on the floor made of straw and wheat straw, even my dreams were sweet and I felt very warm and at ease.
I am familiar with the process and method of feeding cattle because I have been exposed to it all my life. At that time, a production team of more than 200 people owned more than ten cattle, and the members regarded them as indispensable family members in the team. There are basically no decent agricultural machinery in the production team. Most of the important work such as plowing, sowing, hoeing, field beating, flour grinding, and transportation must be completed by these cattle. Therefore, the members looked at them with kindness and love in their eyes. At that time, the treatment of cattle was quite high. The forage had to be cut evenly and finely with a guillotine. The average length was about two inches. Impurities were removed with a sieve first, and the forage was poured into a stone trough. Fried soybeans were also added. It is a fine material made by mixing and grinding wheat straw, sorghum and corn. In winter, some warm boiled water should be added to the wheat straw and mixed well with a straw mixing stick. In this way, the cattle can eat the straw with relish. They stick out their tongues, roll the wheat straw into their mouths with the tip of their tongues, and swallow it into their stomachs. After eating and drinking, several cows lay side by side in the pen behind the stone trough, and then slowly chewed their cud. That kind of leisurely and contented look is like that of a farmer who has worked hard for a day, stir-fried a plate of delicious side dishes for dinner, drank a few taels of "Erguotou" wine, and lay on the bed, squinting his half-drunk eyes and resting. When I was young, I liked to stand alone in front of the stone trough, quietly observing the concentration of cows eating grass. There was silence around me, and the sound of chewing grass came from the ears. It was simply an intoxicating feeling. Light music.
After the Waking of Insects, after a winter of rest and recuperation, the annual spring plowing activity is about to begin again. The energetic cattle were led to the fields by the farmers. With a long cry, the cattle pulled the plow hard, turning up fresh soil behind them, exuding the breath of spring, and the fields of hope awakened...
It’s spring plowing time again, and a vivid picture of cattle making spring can’t help but bloom in my mind, like an old cow ruminating on the good memories of the past.
About the author: Qi Lutian, male, a member of the Communist Party of China, a member of the Chinese Poetry Association, a member of the Shandong Writers Association, a member of the Shandong Prose Society, a member of the Heze City Writers Association, and a member of the Heze City Chinese Culture and Director of the Qilu Culture Promotion Association, executive director of the Hanyuan Cultural Research Professional Committee, arbitrator of the Heze Arbitration Committee, director of the Dingtao District Writers Association, and director of the District Chinese Culture Promotion Association.
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