Affection for Sidaogou during the Famine

The next day, it was another sunny day.

Still can't go up the mountain for a day!

Fortunately, hard work pays off. Han Zhaozhao was waiting at the entrance of the alley early and finally intercepted the cotton fluffer.

As the number one customer in this alley, Han Zhaozhao’s cotton covers were finally put on.

Now that the weather is good, the cotton fluffer set up his stall in a sheltered corner at the entrance of the alley.

I borrowed three long benches from several families in the alley, covered them with clean and smooth bamboo curtains, and started working outdoors in the bright sunshine.

When the school-going children saw the scene and the special tools displayed, they knew that they were here to fluff cotton.

But they still had to go to school, so they could only go to school reluctantly, carrying their schoolbags. In their hearts, they hoped that the neighbors in the alley would have more work, so that the cotton fluffer would not be allowed to finish his work and leave early.

Watching their receding backs, Han Zhaozhao felt inexplicably happy. Hahaha, luckily she didn't sign up for school this year, otherwise she would have been one of them.

These grown-up kids are like monkeys on a rope, they have no freedom and are controlled! Hahaha!

"Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!" When the sound of cotton-floss beating rang out in the alley, a group of little kids gathered around in a short while.

The children all came to watch the cotton-fleshing! Han Zhaozhao was among them.

She stroked her chin and couldn’t help thinking, “Why does this feel like a solo concert?

If the old man was holding a guitar instead of a slingshot, the shock and influence it brought would be extraordinary! "

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but giggle at the funny pictures that appeared in her mind.

She looked around at the enthusiastic and passionate children around her and thought to herself, "I wonder how many of these children will be able to grow up to become professionals in the field of music in the future?"

When they grow up and look back on their childhood, they may be grateful to the cotton fluffer, because it was he who gave them their initial musical enlightenment education! "

People often say: "Art comes from life", which is indeed true.

Take the old man who is fluffing cotton in front of you for example. His every movement and every posture seems to contain a unique rhythm and rhythm.

When you stop and observe, you will find that the old man is holding the slingshot skillfully and playing it back and forth among the pile of fluffy and soft cotton.

His arms swung freely and with just the right amount of strength, and every collision between the bowstring and the mallet produced a crisp and pleasant sound.

This sound is like the melodious sound of a guqin, and also like the light and lively percussion music, which makes people intoxicated and fascinated by it.

What’s even more amazing is that the old man’s body seems to be swaying gently to this beautiful melody.

His steps are steady and powerful, he bends his front leg and pushes with his hind leg, coordinating perfectly with the playing of the slingshot in his hand; his eyes are focused and determined, revealing his love and dedication to this job.

At this moment, he has transformed into an artist, using his hard-working hands to create a painting full of vitality and vigor.

Looking at the scene in front of him, Han Zhaozhao couldn't help but sigh: It turns out that beauty is everywhere in life! As long as you feel and taste it with your heart, you can discover endless charm from ordinary things.

This old man who fluffs cotton is the best proof of this - he uses simple tools and unpretentious movements to perform a unique musical feast.

And this is the power that art gives us - to allow us to find joy in the trivialities of daily life and to look at the world around us from a whole new perspective.

At the beginning, Han Zhaozhao watched the cotton-picking with great interest, clapping his hands silently in his heart, and from time to time he asked the cotton craftsman questions and chatted with him.

But when the air was filled with dust and flying catkins, she no longer had any interest in appreciating it.

No wonder old people often say there are three kinds of suffering in the world: rowing a boat, forging iron, and grinding tofu! According to Han Zhaozhao, there is one more kind of suffering: cotton wool!

This job is not something that ordinary people can do. Not only is it tiring and hard, it is also extremely dirty!

The sound of bowstrings ringing and the flying catkins dancing!

A bamboo curtain, a slingshot, a grinding wheel, a cotton-picking hammer and a yarn-pulling bamboo strip are the complete set of tools used by a cotton-picking craftsman to make a living.

After watching for a while, the old man who was fluffing cotton had a thin layer of flying dust on his head and body, but he still had a gentle smile on his face. He didn't mind the children being in the way and patiently answered their various questions.

"Where are you from?"

"I'm from Henan!"

"Why are you working alone? I heard that you are very poor in Henan."

"Oh! Of course not. If one is not poor, who would be willing to leave home and career to find a job?"

"How many quilts and how many kilograms of cotton can you make in a day? You can make a lot of money, right?"

"Hey, I can't make much money. If I were to hang out on the street, wouldn't I be a cotton-fluffing worker? This job is hard and dirty. It's not a job for human beings!"

Looking at the gentle smile of the cotton-fluffing craftsman, Han Zhaozhao suddenly remembered a movie in which the lead actor Huang Hong once sang: "Fluffing cotton, fluffing cotton, half a catty becomes eight ounces and eight ounces..."

For some reason, it kept lingering in her mind. Han Zhaozhao stood among a group of kids like a fool, grinning foolishly.

"Han Zhaozhao, why are you grinning like an idiot? My grandma wants to ask you, how many quilts do you have at home? Can you finish playing them in one morning?"

A little girl next to her tugged at her coat, and Han Zhaozhao suddenly came back to her senses.

"Oh, my family needs to pluck the cotton for two quilt covers and two sets of cotton clothes, and I don't know if I can finish it in the morning.

You should ask this old man who fluffs cotton, right? What's the matter, Xiao'e? Do you also need to fluff cotton pads? Are you waiting in line behind me?"

"Yes, my grandma asked me to line up. If someone asks again, can you tell them that our family is behind you?"

"Why not? The more cotton fluffers there are, the happier the cotton fluffers are. They make money from this skill!"

By the way, don’t just tell me, you have to talk to the cotton fluffer too, and tell him how much cotton you want to fluffer, so he can arrange the time and save everyone from waiting here.”

"Okay, this girl is the second one in line, I'll make a note of it for you!" The old man who fluffs cotton really takes the job when it's available.

Han Zhaozhao arranged the old cotton to be fluffed, watched for more than half an hour, and then found an excuse to go home.

She didn't just stare at it, and soon the flying catkins landed on her eyelashes.

This job is too dirty. If you do it for a long time, you will easily get a respiratory infection!

It's really not easy for these cotton fluffers. I heard that most of them will develop lung diseases after working in this line of work for a long time, and their health will deteriorate as they get older.

This is a typical case of trading your health for money!

Han Zhaozhao has never had any prejudice against people from Henan.

At lunchtime, Han Zhaozhao brought a kettle of boiling water to the old man who was fluffing cotton. The old man was eating the steamed bread he brought with him.

It’s neither yellow nor white, and has some gray-green tint. I don’t know what it’s made of.

There was not even any pickled vegetables, so he just squatted at the foot of the wall and chewed and swallowed his food. Han Zhaozhao felt very uncomfortable watching this, because this was a skilled craftsman in this era!

The lives of ordinary people are so hard! As you can imagine, ordinary farmers who can do nothing but work hard to farm have an even harder life.

Han Zhaozhao really couldn't bear it, so he turned back home, took out two and a half kilograms of pickled vegetables from the pickle jar, washed them, cut them into pieces, found a piece of oil paper to wrap them, and gave them to the old man who was picking cotton, asking him to have some dry food to eat when he was better.