The Northern Jiangsu Plain in Autumn was golden and silvery white.

    Golden and silvery white colors dominated the wide fields, became the main colors of the plain at this time. The golden was those bending rice seedlings; silvery white was cotton filled with the plants. This was the biggest harvesting season, the most abundant season. The villagers became busy with harvesting and picking up cotton. Although busy, people couldn’t disguise their smile with good harvest.

    In respect to cotton, before summer bolls were precious, most of them were Autumn bolls. At this time, their leaves were not as green as before summer bolls, they were in withered color. But this didn’t impact the villagers’ love for cotton. Looking at those cotton bolls in bloom with silvery white cotton wool, they reached out their hands to pick up them, feeling soft and fluffy. Picking up cotton was mostly done by women. In the busiest time of Autumn, this work was very light and easy. A cloth bag was tied before the woman. On top of it were two tapes made to hang on her neck. On both sides of the bag were another two tapes to be tied to the waist. They picked those silvery white cotton wool, put them into the bag. Up to a certain amount of cotton, she would empty them into a bigger linen bag on the ridge. After a few backs and forth, the big linen bag was filled with silvery white cotton wool. After bundled up, it was carried away to the warehouse of the production team.

    Picking up cotton was an easy job. They only needed to pick them up with hands, not with much strength. Usually, using their thumb, index finger and middle finger together, softly pinching it, the cotton wool would leave the bolls, so easy. Besides, the cotton wool was very light, it didn’t take much strength even they moved their arms quite a lot. Every one wanted to do the light work, so the arrangement of the work by the leader became very important. The leader would often consider the balance between heavy duty, dirty work and hard job, mostly they took turns to do. Light work was certainly assigned equally, otherwise there would be quarrels and fights among the members. Sure there was no absolute fairness.

    Some woman who had good relationship with the leader might always be assigned with light work,which was normal. Some women at menstruation and with soft feet and head might be assigned to do light work, also. So girls and women with colorful head-cloth were scattered among the silvery white cotton fields, looking gorgeous and spectacular in the distance. Sometimes, their laughter came from the fields, high and low, up and down. Autumn was such a happy time in a year for the villagers.

    Compared with picking up cotton, the scene of cutting rice was much more magnificent. The weather in Autumn in the North of Jiangsu was mostly fine. The warm sun was shining on the heavy spike of rice, making the golden rice glittering, which made the villagers grinning from ear to ear. A good harvest made the villagers much happier than anything else. They had been looking forward to seeing this day by getting busy in all seasons. In this area, rice fields were more than cotton fields. Large pieces of them, with the same type of rice, looking endless. Waves of rice rose up with the autumn wind. When the rice was ripe, men and women lined up in the fields, with the same distance between each other, each took care of a certain number of rice. They knew it very well after doing it for so many times. When cutting, they used their lefthand to hold the straw tight, used their right hand to cut in from the roots. Then turned back to put them in small piles, in good order. Up to a certain amount of them, they tied them up into small bundles, making knots, then bundled up, waiting for people to carry them away to the riverside, loading them onto the boat. When the boat was piled up, they would take them to the site of the production team, working in the evening, either hit them on the stone with manpower, or to grind them with a small stone mill by cattle. The two methods could get the rice down off the straw, only in the difference that the straw was put in good order by manpower, straight up, would be used to make roof or straw curtains to protect the walls. Those done by cattle were at a mess, the straw became soft, could only be used as hay to cook, or winter food for the cattle.

    Usually the cutters were selected from the best laborers in the team. Cutting rice was hard work, it also needed skills. Skilled cutters worked very well with the movement of both left and right hand. Only sounds of “CaCa” could be heard, they were sounds of sickles cutting rice. The rice was cut down, one row after another, lying flat in the fields, waiting to be bundled up. There were fewer people behind to bundle and to carry. Usually one person behind a few cutters. The cutters bent down, stood up to stretch their waist after a while, saying hello to the people next to him, “Don’t work too hard. Too much for your waist.” These cutters wanted to compete with each other since they were selected by the leader as the best. These simple villagers would feel happier to be praised by the leader than to eat six bowls of rice, even with sweat all over. They all understood this. Competitions made it more effective in working. The leader was very pleased, said, “When you work in the evening, you will have a night meal. The winners can eat two more bowls.”

    Tens of men and women were working in the same field, cutting, bundling and carrying. More people in the big stretch of rice fields. Looking from the distance, they were like ants moving, thickly dotted, red and green head-cloths coming and going, back and forth, endlessly, What a beautiful socialist laboring competitive scene!

    “Duck, duck, are you a female duck or a male duck?” This was asked by the agricultural technician Genshui. He was assigned by Xiangyuan to work in the first production team. The secretary had made a rule that whenever busy, all the leaders and staff were to work with the members. Harvesting was very important, very seasonal. Things were all right in harvesting rice, but in wheat harvest season, its color changed day by day, the more people harvested, the better and quicker. The earlier they were harvested, the faster they were saved in the warehouse, the earlier they delivered tax grain to the government.

    Today, the fields of the first team and the fourth team were next to each other. Duck Li was cutting without paying attention to others. But now they turned to talk about her. She was a matchmaker, depending on her mouth, never feared anyone else. “What can you do if I am a female or male duck?” She heard it was Genshui who asked the silly question. “I think you are a male duck, otherwise why didn’t you lay an egg up till now?” What Genshui meant was that Duck Li hadn’t had any children after she got married. “It’s none of your business that I hadn’t laid any eggs. Don’t you want to be my son?” Xiang Dashao overheard their talking when passing by. So he interrupted, “That’s easy. As a technician, Genshui could open her ass hole to check out what the problem was.” “Maybe Er Kuazi’s dick isn’t working, you can’t always blame Duck Li.” Someone cut in. “Really? You should have told me about it earlier, then I could lend my dick to you.” The men made Duck Li hot. She threw away her sickle, ran to the fields of the first team from her own, grasped “Xiang Dashao’ s” dick, “Let me see if your dick is strong with three heads and six arms.” Xiang Dashao didn’t expect that, unguarded. “Come and look, Duck Li is behaving  like a hoodlum, taking a man’s dick into her crotch.” With his shouting, many other  men and women began to join the shouting, “Look, come and look.” “Do you want  to look at his dick?” Duck Li repeated, turning to the women, “Yes.” “Great. Then  come over to help me.” Then several women came and carried Xiang Dashao by  each holding one of his legs and hands, raising him high in the air. He could hardly  do anything but scolding the women. Duck Li undressed him by the trousers. There  were a few fearless women like Duck Li in the countryside.

    Xiang Dashao was a man, his dick was held by a woman for some time, then he had reaction. His dick became rock hard. Duck Li took off his trousers, rubbed his dick, “Ugly, it’s cumming.” Duck Li exaggerated, making Xiang Dashao feeling ashamed. “Agen Huo, come here to help me out.” One of them was his sister-in- law, the other was his best friend. This made him embarrassed. He couldn’t offend either of them. So he could do nothing but fled like a mouse. Xiangyu stood among the people, looking at Duck Li playing Xiang Dashao’s dick, which she was familiar with, it was standing up. Xiang Dashao found out Agen Huo couldn’t help, then looked for others’ help. Xiangyu felt he was looking at her. She was just about to speak when someone shouted, “Help, help, someone is dying, something wrong is happening.”

    The people in the fields didn’t know what happened. All ran over. Those women fighting with Xiang Dashao heard the shouting, let off their hands, threw him hard in the field, running over to see what had happened. Xiang Dashao, naked in the ass, was stabbed by the rice stakes, groaning. He rose up from the ground, put on his trousers. He saw “Black Vegetable Melon” was bleeding in his small leg, red blood coming out, it couldn’t be stopped. “Excuse me.” Shuimei walked out of the crowd to him, “Don’t move, lie down.” Shuimei tied the linen rope on his legs, began to wrap the wounded leg with white cloth one layer after another. Now the bleeding was stopped. People felt strange, where did Shuimei get those white cloth since she didn’t bring her medial box? Later they came to know that she tore them off her own

    gown.

    It turned out that during the competition with Chunyu in cutting rice-shoots,Chunyu was heading first but he felt tired and slowed down. So he was over-passed by “Black Vegetable melon”. Thinking he was going to win soon, “Black Vegetable Melon” started working harder, faster. He was paying all attention to cut forwards when his sickle cut onto his lower leg. As he was cutting with all strength, the wound was very big and serious, blood came out immediately, he cried out. Then Chunyu saw this, shouted, “Help, Something wrong happened!”

    A few men carried him to the medical station. Shuimei gave him an injection against tetanus., washed the wound, applied anti-inflammatory medicine, gave drip infusion in order to reduce inflammation more quickly. It was lucky that the wound was not too deep into the bone.

    Genshui stood beside, looking at his own fiancee running round, busy with work, he felt reluctant. He knew in heart that Shuimei was pregnant, couldn’t do things conveniently, but he couldn’t do anything to help her. To him, Shuimei was not satisfied, but could do nothing but obey her parents. Besides, she got pregnant, the baby wouldn’t have a father when he was born, if she didn’t marry Genshui. Genshui was reluctant to be a step father as soon as he married, but didn’t say anything before Shuimei. He agreed to get married with her in the first month of the lunar New Year. Anyway, she would become his wife in a few months. He was satisfied with her, but not satisfied with the baby in her tummy. Then again, he would not be able to marry this beautiful girl if she were not pregnant. He was rather contradicted.

    Unfortunately, something happened later. Genshui didn’t marry Shuimei, but another girl.

    “Going to do night work now……” Xiang Dashao’ s voice was heard in the Dragon Lane of Xianghe Village, there was one more time interval, because people had to work in the evening. He had to call people to work both in the morning and in the evening.

    On the earth field at this time, all kinds of lights including horse lamps and gasoline lamps were brightly lit up. People gathered on the earth field, bustling, assigned to do different jobs by the leader. Some brought rice bundles from the boat to the field; others brought rice bundles to the middle of the field so that they were ground by the stone roller pulled by the cattle. This kind of transportation, shouldering or pulling. Shouldering was to use a carrying pole having a few bundles on both ends, brought them to the center of the field. Pulling was to use a fork to get the bundle, brought them over without raising them up, which saved labor. So most of strong people used shouldering, the others used pulling. The earth field was quiet and deserted during the ordinary days, but was now busy and crowded.

    “Dachang” was what people did now in every team and village. A stone roller tied behind the cattle, walking around the field, the man pushed the cattle with a whip behind it, the grains would be ground off from the straw, This was called “Dachang” . One man was assigned to drive a cattle to push the stone roller. The cattle and roller were connected by a “yoke” . It was made of wood, triangular, movable, tied with a rope. The “yoke” was tied on the neck of the cattle, connected to the ploughshare, could be used to cultivate land; if connected to a palladium plough, it could be used to break cuan; now connected to a stone roller, it could be used to grind grain.

    The driver of cattle and the cattle were usually fixed. Who drove the cattle, which cattle to drive couldn’t be changed at random. The characters of cattle were different. The regular driver and cattle could cooperate better. If it happened to be a stubborn cattle, the driver had to use the whip a lot, which would make the cattle suffer, the work couldn’t be done well.

    In the seven production teams of Xianghe Village, each had special drivers. There were three cattle in the first team, so there were three drivers, among whom, Laikou Huo was the best. He didn’t use much of the whip, but the cattle cooperated quite well with him. He was ugly, with a big nose, small eyes, in his thirties, but still single.

    On the southbank of the river, next to the earth field, there was a hay cottage with earth walls. On the wall were rows of rows of cow dung cakes, black and yellow, in good order. In the rural areas, they were good fuels. The villagers used them to cook, they lasted long. Three or four pieces were enough to cook one meal, not much ashes left in the stove. There were three rooms in the cottage. The two rooms at the door were interlinked. It was divided with tree branches against the eastern wall into mangers to feed hay to the cattle. There was a bamboo and mud bed in the internal room: mud as the block, bamboo as the board, narrow, for the cattle watchers to sleep. The villagers often called it cowshed.

    Laikou Huo lived in this cowshed all the year round. In local words, he was a man of holding cattle hips. He took care of all the three cattle in the first production team. He could receive about one hundred yuan from the dividends distributed at the end of the year. The villagers couldn’t do with farmland in four seasons. Laikou Huo couldn’t do without cattle. When he was free, he would sit in front of the cowshed, making cow dung cakes, put up on the wall. When they were dried with wind and sunshine, he would bring them into the cowshed. They couldn’t be burned to cook or to warm up the cottage. This was mainly done in winter, snow like goose feather, floating all over the sky. Cattle were afraid of cold, too. After making those cow dung cakes, he made hay curtains, not for sale, but put them on the cattle to get rid of the cold. In winter nights, when taking the cattle to shit, he put the hay curtains on the cattle. Then he would cry out, “The cattle is going to shit——” His voice could be heard far in the distance. Some villagers would be awaken from sleeping dreams, thinking, “Laikou Huo, that’s not an easy job.”

    All the people who had been to the cowshed would say, “Laikou Huo was dirty, but he took good care of the three cattle, kept them very clean and strong.” Usually he would wear his cloak, ride on his black and white buffalo, driving two bullocks, left his cowshed proudly, to go out pasturing cattle. Those sharp mouthed girls and women would tease him, “Laikou Huo, why do you always ride on a black and white buffalo?” “It was named Ahua. Am I right?” “Ahua is a female.” “No wonder, female, hahaha, ——” Laikou Huo’s face went red and white. Words were hummed

    in his nose, couldn’t come out. With a hard whip on the buffalo, he left these crazy women.

    As the saying went, the speaker has no intention, but the listener had his mind. What these girls and women said made his heart ache. One time, he was pasturing cattle with some young boys. He boasted his skill in riding on cattle by pressing the cattle’s ass with his hands. He could get on the cattle back with his strength. The young boys admired him very much. “Try a few more times, Laikou Huo.” He felt highly flattered, so did it one more time. After repeating this a few more times, his dick was getting hard by rubbing. Another time, his dick was put into the cattle’s asshole. Those young boys began to laugh at him by crying out, “Laikou Huo is fucking a cattle.” Laikou Huo became panic with the crying, but couldn’t taking his dick out of the ass. So with a heavy whip on the buffalo, Ahua ran away from the boys with Lakou Huo on its back. During the course of running, Ahua’s ass moved up and down. Laikou Huo didn’t care about it, only getting more horny with the movement, holding tight the buffalo’s ass. After a little while, he came down from the cattle, lying on the ground, out of breath. He had never felt such kind of happiness in his memory. This was a benefit he got while playing with those young boys.

    Laikou Huo didn’t know he was addicted to this, wouldn’t do without it. Later, when Ahua died, he became crazy. This was a story to be continued later.

    Rice straw had to be turned over to be ground one more time after the first grinding. Usually, the grains would be completely broken away from the straw after twice. At this time,those straw had to be removed by fork, only golden grains were left on the earth field. Newly ground grains were placed on the fields, uncovered, to be dried under the sun the next day. Someone would ask, “Does anybody steal the grains placed in the open air unprotected?” It was false if they said absolutely no. But it was difficult for the general people to steal them. There were two locks: No.1, after the grains were piled up, the leader would cover them with white lime prints. If someone moved the grain, the lime print would be broken, people would know if the grains were stolen or not. No.2, as soon as the rice was placed in the field, some people were arranged to keep watch by turns. A shed was temporarily set up for the watchers to sleep. The watchers had to be kept awake, not too deep in sleep, would find out whenever something wrong happened. By doing so, thieves knew about it, dared not to steal. If someone was stealing, caught on the spot, he would be apt to overdo it, humiliated. Further if he was not lucky to meet with a strong man, he would sure be beaten. The rural culture here in this area was honest and simple. Thieves were looked down upon. Even if severely beaten, the villagers would not blame the watchers.

    The newly ground grains were dried under the sun for a few days, then they were ready to put in the warehouse. After the busy days, they would betaken to the South gate Grain Depot in the county town to be sold to the government.

    The night workers had a great hope that they would have a big meal for free. No matter they were adults or children, men or women, they could eat as much as possible. At that time, they were living a very poor life, not many good things to eat. The best food would be tofu and pigments from the Liu’s shop, a few jin of barley liquor, plus some eggplants, potatoes, etc. If the leader granted special favors, they might get a big rooster or a duck or goose from some houses, the night workers would be happy as if in heaven. These kind of night work would be only a few times in a year. Usually, they had only potatoes and beans to eat.

    In the household plot grew mostly eggplants, taro, beans and potatoes. Eggplants and beans grew on the ground while taro and potatoes underground.

    Beans usually coiled up vine against trees or crops with high stem(like sunflowers), some had special framework built. The vines crawled everywhere, with purple flowers blooming among green leaves, very light, looking beautiful. Eggplants grew on the ground, without that much trouble like beans. They grew very fast, purple all over, hanging on the stem, with purple leaves, its pole and stem were purple, too, very pleasing to the eyes. The villagers liked eating eggplants, but in a simple way. Usually, when adults went out to water the vegetables, they would pick up a few of them from their own household land, gave them to the children to steam when they cooked rice. First, cut them in half, put them in the rice cooker to steam. It was so simple that the children could do it. Eggplants were smooth, easy to wash, not difficult. Steaming was done after the water was dried, not to steam them with the water. The cut side of the eggplant was facing the rice, with a few bundles of hay, the rice was ready, so were the eggplants. Before eating, lifted them up with chopsticks, put them in a big bowl, added oil, salt, MSG, smashed the eggplants. Then add some garlic, a dish was done, very fresh, delicious and tasty with rice.

    Taro and potato both grew under the ground, but they were still different. The leaves of taro were wide and big, good for feeding pigs. People in the area grew lots of taro. It was used as both food and dish. After they were dug from under the earth, one by one, washed and placed facing the sun to get dried. What made people headache was to peel taro. Before going to work in the fields, adults would say to the children, peel them, cook vegetable soup with taro. The children obediently found out some broken bowl pieces, peeled taro, one by one. It took a lot of time, a whole morning was spent in peeling taro. No more time to play games like Eagle Catches Chicken or playing glass balls. That was all right, but what was worse, the taro juice made people itching. Without notice, one or two drops fell on your hands, would make you itching. The more you scratched it, the more itching you got to the flesh. Some lazy children would not peel them, just washed, cooked them with rice and vegetable into a pot of “porridge with taro and green vegetable,” added some salt, it tasted good.

    Potatoes didn’t grow in the smooth ground as taro. They had to be planted on the ridges between fields. The roots would come out by themselves under the earth. Less fertilizer, more water, they grew very fast. The vines were crawling up onto the ridges, they had to be turned over in the opposite direction. About one month later, potatoes were to be dug out. Newly dug out potatoes looked red in the skin, but white in the flesh, in all kinds of shapes, took one, wiped it clean, bite them in your mouth, tender and crisp, fresh and sweet, it could get rid of not only thirsty but also hunger.

    They all grew in their own household land, worth nothing. But if they were stolen, the owners would get very angry. Those people at night work would play pranks. They would rather steal from someone’s own household than receiving beans and taro from the families arranged by the leader. Nobody could see them in the dark night. But on the next morning, when some wives went to water in their land, found out their taro or beans stolen, scolding, “Who stole my beans and taro, who ate them? He will suffer from whitlows and sores.” Her husband came out to find out that last night they stole right in their own land. So quickly stopped his wife. But his wife didn’t listen to him, went on scolding, “If he stole, ate our beans and taro, he would not die a natural death.” “Shut up your dirty mouth!” Her husband had to scold back, which surprised his wife. Then she realized it was her husband who stole their own things. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier? They are just cheap stuff. Look at my shit mouth.” She didn’t know all her scolding/curses was against her own family.

    The night meal was usually cooked in the house of the accountant. They usually entertained superior leaders there. The accountant’s wife cooked many times. As time passed on, her cooking skills became very good, quite a few delicious dishes, not too light or salty, having good command of duration and degree of cooking. The night workers were very happy to eat food cooked by his wife, drank more cups of alcohol. Then again, most people who could sit formally at the table eating were men. Girls and women would not sit at the table, they usually took what they had to their home and ate. Some women and girls were always thoughtful of their families at home. They took the food home, but were reluctant to eat at night, saved them for lunch the next day. All the families enjoyed the food together, saving the money for a meal.

    At this moment, Xiang Dashao would organize a few men after the food and drink to play card games in someone’s house. If someone was reluctant, he would put on a long face, sooth him by promising, “Why do you hesitate? You take a break tomorrow morning, but with work points as usual.” The leader already promised, how could you not appreciate it? He had to sit and play. They knew that he didn’t play other games but card games called “Cun Fu Er①”.

    “Cun Fu Er” was called locally in the Xianghe area “Eleven Cards”, which meant all four players each had eleven cards in hand, the first player had twelve, because he was the first to play, so with one card more, otherwise no way for the cards to fit in well. There were three ways to fit in well: General, Dragon and All in Pairs.②

    For people sat at the table. The first one must be Xiang Dasaho, no one would play gooseberry to compete with him. All year round, if he slightly loosed his pen in work points, it would better than you worked very hard in the fields, saved you from more bitterness. So don’t look down upon this leader of the team, not even a small official as small as mung bean or a sesame, petty official. From the county governor to the team leader, there were huge differences. But to the villagers, the county governor was a petty official. Team leader wasn’t. There was an old saying as county officials were not as good as the ones in charge on the spot. In regard to this, the team leader had more advantages. When would these villagers get chance to meet county officials? It’s not a thing that every day one met. Maybe you could meet him when he came here to experience conditions of the people, or maybe you never see him in your life. But team leader was different, he stayed with villagers every day, assigning work to do, calculating work points, etc. Could you have anything good if you didn’t show respect to him?

    Xiang Dashao sat at the best seat, feeling well, good luck, good cards, got  what he wanted, all his pairs could be matched, always fitted in well by “Dragon” and “Pairs Match”. He didn’t want to fit in well by small results, no meaning, only  tens of cents. There was one person who was busy with all this. His contribution  (to success) couldn’t be left unrecognized. Who was it? As a matter of fact, every  one knew him. That was Agen Huo. He sat beside other players, watching their  cards, pointing here and there. The others knew what he meant. As he played, Xiang  Dashao cried out with a smile, “Match,” taking two same cards from his hand,  placed in front of himself. When the other player played again, he fitted in well by  “Pairs Match.” Xiang Dashao didn’t have to get more cards, just put down all the left  cards onto the table, counted the number of wins. “My gosh, another big win”. Agen Huo became more pleased than the leader, seeing his contribution had good results, with big smiles,he ran to the leader, took a cigarette from the leader’s cigarette box, lit a match and cigarette for the leader. Now, Xiang Dashao was smoking, asked Agen Huo, “Go and give out cigarettes to each of them, light them.” Then long smoke came out from his mouth.

    Xiang Dashao was in good mood. Playing cards was only a game to him, it  wouldn’t be meaningful if too serious. The benefit of playing this game “Cun Fu Er” was that only three people were needed

    while one could take a break. When his turn came, he would take out his old radio, listen to some old music. When it was his turn again to play, he didn’t turn off the radio, but still listened against his ears. Then he leisurely put two of his fingers to his tongue to get them wet, pressed on the card, that card was in his hand now. He didn’t get himself drunk, but the other three were drunk. So, one regular man was playing with the three drunken men, plus the help of Agen Huo, Xiang Dashao was naturally the winner. The gambling money was not usually in cash(because most of them couldn’t pay), but was deducted from their work points respectively by the leader. At the end of the year, he made the account settlement, how much to deduct depended on the leader’s conscience. Because nobody could remember clearly how much they owed him.