Boatman on the bank of the Yellow River

? 1One day in March, 999, my colleagues, such as Hao, He Xitutu, the editor and director of "Into Life" of Inner Mongolia TV Station, took the opportunity to visit the Yellow River boatmen drifting in Dataozi Village on the north bank of the Yellow River. The reason for choosing this topic was that those Yellow River boatmen saved my life during the rescue of the Yellow River and left a very deep impression on me. This is one of the few remaining boatmen on the Yellow River waterway in Inner Mongolia.

Dataozi Village consists of three sets: south, middle and north. 400 families, 1000 people. A closer look reveals that the North Shore is just a geographical buzzword, but it should actually be called the West Shore. It is located at the corner from south to north and then to east after the Yellow River enters Inner Mongolia, and it falls at the zigzag corner. The west bank is Bayannaoer League Hanggin Banner and He Lin in Hetao Plain, and the east bank is Yikezhao League Hanggin Banner in Ordos Plateau. For hundreds of years, the Yellow River water has been scouring the bay, making the people of this Ordos "tribe" scour here from the other side of the river. If you want to study the old proverb "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river", I suggest you have a look here.

The Yellow River, like an unscrupulous barbarian, rubs the soft loess of Hetao Plain at will, rushing left and right, and staying in the west like a fairy under the hard rock of Ordos Plateau. Thus, half a century ago, the desolate red willow field in Hedong evolved into a fertile field in Hexi.

For decades, the farmland cultivated by the Taozi people in the west bank has been scattered and there is no fixed number every year. There is land under your feet, land in the river (sandwich land) and land on the other side. Spring ploughing in Xia Geng, autumn harvest in winter storage, often rowing boats and taking big boats to work on the other side and the river. And the people on both sides are related by marriage. Originally, they were an old hometown, and they were going to visit relatives and friends. You came to exchange trade with me. Therefore, people who pull boats for a living are indispensable, and the so-called "relying on water to draft" is enough.

Jia Bancang and Liu Tiezi are famous boatmen in Hanzhong.

Jia Bancang, 53, has leopard eyes and bear waist. His face is black and wrinkled, like countless rivers. In his hometown of Shenmu, Shaanxi, his father took the burden and fled to the Yimeng Bala Sea on the bank of the Yellow River with his family, and stopped at the river to farm for a living. In his life, his son Jia Bancang was accidentally scoured across the river and scraped from Yimeng to Bameng.

Jia Bancang didn't get a good position when crossing the river at night, and he didn't get killed. He chose the boat pulling job that people despised, wooden boat, purlin and two ropes. Talking to the Yellow River on the wandering river all day, it has become more and more silent, just smoking cigarettes and drinking soju. When I was a child, I was poor and didn't have the heart to sing. Old and alive, I haven't learned much. In Dataozi Village, Yimeng people who can't sing like him are rare.

Speaking of singing, it is also a great skill. Fiona Fang is well known. Women, children, old people and young people all have two sons. Sour meat, bittersweet, don't think about words, just pick it up.

Liu Tie's eldest son, Lao Jia, is 5 years old, lean and clean, and more casual. In particular, you can sing a beautiful folk song, you can sing it if you want, and the rhythm is natural and you can order it on demand. If you have a little leisure or drink two glasses of soju, shout "old iron son roar twice!" "Promise to sing:

"On the first road, the beams of Geliang are bent one by one, and on the beams of Sanyi Road, gnome male-",gnome male-",gnome male-",gnome male-",gnome male-,gnome male-",gnome male-,gnome male-".

"The second crop of leeks can't be married locally. Not bad, but a little small. …………"

"Fan meatballs bullock carts pull cabbage, little sister sitting by the well. How nice it is for my little sister to sit on it, brother. I'll take you to the back hill. …………"

Two sentences, first excited and then lyrical, mixed with joy and sorrow, and sing if you want. Straight singing makes wood and stone emotional, the river whimpers, the singer is happy, and the listener is happy.

Lao Jia and Lao Liu have been pulling boats together since the time of the big group. They have a tacit understanding and rich experience. If it is difficult to cross the dangerous beach and the wind and waves hinder the boat, it is not difficult for them to cooperate. In seven years, two partners bought a five-ton diesel barge, which was huge and roaring, and could carry people all the year round, sailing between Bameng and the banks of the Yellow River in Yimeng. No matter wind, frost, rain, snow, autumn, headache, brain fever and physical discomfort, you can't stop flights twice a day.

In the spring of March, when the ice began to melt, our group boarded the ship from the west bank. In March, the river disappeared and the floodplain was flooded. The earthen houses in the riverside village were all collapsed and stumbled on the barge on the soft river mud. With the sudden rumble of the turbine, we entered the middle of the river and started a trip to the Yellow River.

Facing the Yellow River, everyone is quiet, just like a silent river. There are more than 20 passengers in the car and a 2 12 jeep. Most of the passengers are visiting relatives and doing business. An old lady in a sheepskin coat with black cloth was wrapped up all over, holding a baby-like bag and not letting go. After sitting down, she carefully pulled the bag open a small mouth, and suddenly a round pig skull emerged from there. This is a gift from her relatives. It's strange that it doesn't bark, as if it knows people. Photographer He Xige lost no time in capturing this scene.

The motor roared and the boat entered the mainstream. Crossing the Yellow River requires the peak to go upstream, and only by going upstream can we reach the other side. Lao Jia, who pulled the rudder, commanded the boatman to swim upstream, and he had his cake and eat it. Then, he let go of his hand, sat down confidently, took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it, staring at the waves plowed out of the bow. ......

In Meng Xi in March in spring, there is no wind on the shore, but the cold wind on the river is as tight as a gust of wind. Gradually, the young man was a little tired, turned blue with cold, and shook off the boathouse, while Lao Jia, Lao Liu and the three boatmen were all thin cotton-padded jackets, standing straight at the bow.

The wind and the motor are still roaring and vibrating, and people don't talk. The river here is not very fast and wide, but the endless Yellow River gives people a spiritual shock. Because it is the mother river and the river in the sky of China, although its wandering has brought so many disasters to both sides, people still have no resentment against the Yellow River. In the face of the great power of nature, people can only lament their own weakness.

"What's to complain about? Over the past 30 years, the big condom has robbed more than 10 thousand mu of land. Originally so much, now the per capita is less than an acre, and young people can't stay ... "Thin and cheerful Liu chatted with us with a helpless smile and self-comfort.

Liu's wife died two years ago, and both his sons are in Dongsheng, the capital of Zhao Meng. His idea is to be open-minded about the status quo and let nature take its course. If life really doesn't improve, he will go to Dongsheng's son's house in a year or two.

The children in the big condom know that the Yellow River has been playing hide-and-seek with them since childhood. Today, your land is by the river, maybe tomorrow it will be washed away on the sandwich beach in the river. Today, a bumper harvest is in sight. Maybe tomorrow, the Yellow River will run after its ass, the whole land will be swallowed up by the Yellow River, and even the young crops will be caught. Now, the children have grown up, and most of them have left the condom.

The roar of the machine drowned out the passengers' voices. On this empty and distant Yellow River, the noise is deafening. The boatmen like to listen to this kind of motor sound. When they were young, rowing was not easy. At that time, there was no boat, so they had to pull the boat upstream, and many generations of ferrymen fell on this wild He Tantou. It's easy to expect a motorboat, but now young people even look down on it. Lao Jia doesn't want to trap his son on the river to pull a boat, but he doesn't like pulling a boat at all, and his heart is a little empty. It is said that pulling a boat is more profitable than farming. But young people's ideas are wild. Lao Jia's eldest son took the initiative to work in Hohhot cashmere sweater factory to learn professional skills. Even the other two children want to leave the condom and go to town. None of them wanted to follow him to pull the boat.

For Lao Jia, rowing is a last resort, but decades of rowing career also makes him inseparable from this boat and this river. It is said that a bridge may be built not far upstream. So who will take the barge? An old saying once said, "Soldiers never leave the camp, horses never leave the battle, and workers never leave the Yellow River". What does a boatman do when he leaves this livelihood? At the thought of these, Lao Jia will inevitably feel a little sad, and the knot between the eyebrows can't be solved. ...

The older generation naturally has a dependence and nostalgia for the Yellow River, and the next generation will leave when they leave. Will they still miss big condoms?

Nearly 20 minutes later, the boat reached the other side, and someone was waiting for the boat on the ferry. A young man with a good face was squeezed out of the crowd, followed by a woman holding a child in a red cotton monkey, and the child shouted "Grandpa, Grandpa ...". It turns out that this is Lao Jia's eldest son, who works in Hohhot and has just crossed the river to pay a New Year call to his father-in-law. Sun Tzu's red cotton monkey is like a fire in the gray crowd on board.

"Oh, ha ha ....." Old Jia hugged his grandson and kissed his pink face. We found Lao Jia's locked brow stretched out, although there was still not much smile on his face. It is estimated that this is the happiest and brightest time for Lao Jia.

Waving goodbye, the plane and the boat went upstream again. The roar of the machine shook the long and silent Yellow River. The ship drifted away and disappeared into the water and sky. Only red was burning like a flame, and it was very bright in our hearts.

? Wang (Dahang)

1999. 10

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2018165438+1October 24th

Smells like the Yellow River!

The traveler didn't say 201811.061.06.

Reply to a stranger: I'm making a reciting version.

Stranger 2018165438+10/2

The second time I read this article, I had a strong hometown flavor. I read it very kindly, with the sound of a boat moving in the Hetao, which has a unique flavor. Brother, good article. Do you like it?

Wan Li Tianya 2065438+July 2, 20081

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