Text: Wang Xianmei
Picture: Source Network
The earth has just taken off its winter clothes, and the spring is cold. The annual agricultural spring plowing production is about to begin. At this time The busiest people are those on the production team plowing and harrowing the fields. The paddy fields of the six production teams in the village are connected together. At a glance, the paddy fields are full of people plowing and harrowing the fields in twos and threes.
In the 1970s, each production team would assign dedicated personnel to plow and harrow the fields. Our production team mainly consists of four people: Wang Weibiao, Wang Weiquan, Wang Weijin, and Wang Ernian. They are responsible for the cultivation of more than 200 acres of paddy fields for the entire team. These paddy fields have all been plowed by oxen in early winter. After a winter of water soaking and freezing, the land has become softer and more fertile. They have to work from dawn to dusk to seize the time to plow the paddy fields where rice is about to be transplanted to ensure that there is no delay in transplanting.
Every morning, it’s just dawn. They had already led the cattle and carried the iron plow on their shoulders. They shouted to the cattle all the way to the field and carefully put down the plow on their shoulders. Take the cow to the paddy field, put a shuttle on the cow, and put a rope around the cow's neck. There is a hole at both ends of the cattle shuttle, and a rope is passed through the two holes. This tool is very important and heavy, because all the power of the cow's pulling is transmitted here, and it cannot hurt the cow, so it must be strong and smooth.
After making preparations, each of them went down to a paddy field, holding the handle of the plow with their left hand, raising the bullwhip in their right hand, and flicked it into the air with a "pop" sound. Shouting "drive" loudly, the cow obediently carried the plow on its back and walked forward step by step in the paddy field. They followed behind and kept walking forward while holding on to the handle of the plow. While shouting loudly, he raised the bullwhip in his hand from time to time and flicked it in the air, scaring the usually timid and honest cows from being lazy, and walked forward with the plow on their backs. Get the hang of it. The first plow is very important. The plow should be inserted right into the place where the mature soil and raw soil meet. It cannot be inserted too deep into the soil. If the plow is too deep, it will turn up the raw (stiff) soil and slow down the plowing speed. , and it is easy to break the plowshare; it should not be plowed too shallowly. Too shallowly will not completely turn over the mature soil, and will not meet the requirements of deep plowing and careful cultivation. When plowing, the spacing should be controlled, and the turned soil should be right next to each other in rows, so that it is even.
My uncle Wang Weiquan is an expert at plowing. The ox he uses is the strongest among the oxen in the production team. Although he is very energetic and plows quickly, he usually has a tough temper and is not very aggressive. Difficult to control. Once, maybe it was tired from working, and suddenly stopped plowing. No matter how much my uncle shouted, it just refused to move forward. The cousin wanted to rush forward and not let it rest. He raised the whip and hit it hard. It may have hurt it. It was irritated. It raised its head, stared, and ran forward desperately dragging the plow. No matter how loudly my uncle yelled, it just refused to stop. The uncle had no choice but to hold the plow behind him and run forward, one foot deeper and the other shallower. As he ran, he accidentally fell into the paddy field and the plow tipped over, but the plowing cow still didn't stop. The uncle still held the plow tightly with his left hand and refused to let go. He was being dragged by the cattle. It happened that the production team leader came to see the plowing situation. Seeing this dangerous situation, he immediately ran over desperately, grabbed the cattle rope from the front, and pulled the plow. Holding the cow's nose and shouting loudly at the cow, the cow stopped. My uncle was already out of breath from exhaustion and struggled to get up from the mud. Looking at the mud all over his face and body, he gritted his teeth in anger and was furious. I hurried home, changed my clothes, and continued plowing. After plowing round and round like this, they finally plowed a paddy field each. At this time, they take the cattle home to have breakfast and feed the cattle.
After breakfast, my uncle and the others hurriedly led the cow and carried the rake to the paddy field that had been plowed in the morning. Then they skillfully put a shuttle on the cow and put it around the cow's neck. , raking began. I saw them bending down, raising the handle, pressing it hard with both hands, and shouting "drive" loudly. The cow carried the rake on its back and walked obediently in the paddy field. Sometimes, my uncle and the others felt that the rake was If it is too light, you will stand on the rake yourself, put a big stone on the rake, or ask a half-grown child to sit on the rake, so that the raked ground will be broken and flat.
Double-cropping rice was planted at that time, and all the farmland of the production team had to be plowed thoroughly and carefully every year in early spring, summer, and winter. Although their plowing and harrowing is very important, compared with agricultural work such as planting rice, cutting rice, and threshing rice, plowing and harrowing is not only a technical job, but also a physical job. After a day of farming, my back aches and I am really tired.