After I asked him, Wang Jialiang's father told me something that his father told him.
This incident happened before liberation. At that time, the peasants lived in harsh conditions, and it was difficult to eat enough food, let alone feed their children. Therefore, every child in the village would die every few years, and some children were born. It didn't take long for him to die for some reason, and these dead children could not be buried according to local customs, so I don't know when it started. There is a tradition in the village that all dead children must be buried. Throw it into the tributary of the Laozhang River under the rear platform bridge and wash it away.
Of course, the water in the tributaries of the Laozhang River at that time was very fast, and it was many times higher than the current flow.
Hearing this, I couldn't help Wang Jialiang's father: "You mean, it turns out that some dead children are often thrown under that ancient bridge?"
Wang Jialiang's father nodded: "Yes, in fact, not only before liberation, but also after liberation, but then the township government intervened and gradually changed this custom, so it is said that the thing about throwing children in the past is true. Some people say that there is no such thing at all, that some people are afraid of children playing in the water, and they make it up to scare some children not to go under the bridge to play in the water."
I continued to ask Wang Jialiang's father, "Won't this just end so easily, without some details?"
Wang Jialiang's father thought about it for a while and then said, "There is naturally, but I haven't told this story for a long time, and many parts may not be coherent. I will tell you about it, and you will listen to it."
I nodded.
The story goes on, because the bridge throws too many dead children, so people often come back from working in the fields. When they pass the ancient bridge, they hear children crying under the bridge. Some people are bold and go under the bridge. When I checked it out, every time I went down, I saw turbulent river water, so some people said that it was the rush of the water at night, and the sound of hitting/hitting the bridge column made a "rushing" sound, because the sound was too rapid, so I just listened to it. Like a child's "wow" cry.
The sound of water was heard as a cry of "wow", which sounds a bit reluctant, but sometimes nature is so strange, whether this is true or not, then there is no way to know.
Until one day, a man named Zhang Ergou appeared.
Zhang Ergou was originally from Qianping Village. Because his family was poor, he moved to Houping Village. Fortunately, his family was also surnamed Zhang, so he didn't have to worry about who his child would be named in the future.
Of course, even if you want to worry, you have to have children first, but Zhang Ergou has been in the Zhang family on the back platform for three years. Not to mention children, they have never even seen a child's hair, so the Zhang family said that Zhang Ergou was incompetent. .
Zhang Ergou came here backwards. The Zhang family on the back platform has no status and usually listens to his daughter-in-law, so Zhang Ergou's daughter-in-law proposed to find someone else to borrow/plant, which made Zhang Ergou angry and anxious. .
Although his family was poor and he was slamming the door, he was still a man after all. He naturally couldn't bear to let others cuckold him, so he quarreled with his daughter-in-law for the first time in the past three years.
After the quarrel, Zhang Ergou's father-in-law and mother-in-law also came to help, scolded Zhang Ergou fiercely, and threatened to divorce!
This frightened Zhang Ergou. His family was poor, and it was no longer easy to have a home. If they were broken up again, he would be a bachelor in his life, so he could only endure his father-in-law, Mother-in-law, and the scolding of his daughter-in-law.
Since the quarrel, Zhang Ergou was even more disliked by the Zhang family. The Zhang family also made a condition for Zhang Ergou. If the daughter of the Zhang family cannot conceive a child within a year, then Zhang Ergou will be allowed to leave Zhang Ergou. Family.
Half a year has passed, and the Zhang family's daughter's stomach still hasn't moved at all, so Zhang Ergou has been getting more and more annoyed recently, and the Zhang family is getting angry with him more and more frequently.
This day, Zhang Ergou went to work in the field, and he didn't come back until it was dark, and it was even past dinner time. Zhang Ergou had his own plans in his heart. If he went back late, he could be less abused and humiliated by the Zhang family.
When Zhang Ergou walked to the ancient bridge on the rear platform, he heard the cry of a child under the bridge, and Zhang Ergou whispered in his mouth: "The one who has him/mother is the child's cry, I know I No child, deliberately disgusting Lao Tzu, isn't it?"
Annoyed, Zhang Ergou carried his hoe and went under the bridge, saying that he was going to cut the pier.
As a result, after Zhang Ergou got down, he found a baby thrown on the river bed by the bridge. The baby was covered with a red quilt, with little hands and feet stretched out of the quilt. .
Zhang Ergou was stunned at the time, thinking that he was dazzled, so he rubbed his eyes hard, and found that there was indeed a big fat boy in front of him, so he quickly put down his hoe and went over to hug the child excitedly.
After the child was picked up by Zhang Ergou, he stopped crying and smiled at Zhang Ergou, which made Zhang Ergou like this child even more. Taking this child back and raising it as if it was born by him and his daughter-in-law might make the Zhang family treat him better.
So Zhang Ergou carried the hoe and took the child home.
As soon as he entered the door, his father-in-law said angrily, "It was so dark that I came back. Do you not want this home anymore?"
This sentence made Zhang Ergou feel very aggrieved. He worked until it was dark. Zhang Zhang was the only laborer in his family, and he had so many farm work. He didn't do it. Could it be that he pointed to his high-ranking father-in-law to do it
However, Zhang Ergou was accustomed to such a run, and without speaking, he put down his hoe and went to the main house. He wanted to show the Zhang family the child and see if the Zhang family agreed to adopt it.
When Zhang Ergou entered the main room, his wife immediately scolded, "Er Gouzi, why did you come back with a stone wrapped in a red quilt?"
Zhang Ergou looked at what was in his arms, and immediately frightened himself. When he brought him back, he was clearly holding a child. He really heard the child cry, saw the child laugh, and when he entered the door He also confirmed, how did it turn into a stone in the blink of an eye
Moreover, Zhang Ergou could feel that the weight in his arms had increased a lot, and his arms suddenly felt a little sore. He was thinking, could it be that he really just held a rock along the way
At this time, Zhang Ergou's father-in-law and mother-in-law also came to question Zhang Ergou. Zhang Ergou looked at the stone in his arms and had no good explanation. He knew that he told everything he had experienced just now. He will definitely call him crazy.
Zhang Ergou was declared a son-in-law by the Zhang family, firstly because of his diligent work, and secondly because he was also a little clever.
So Zhang Ergou turned his head and said, "This is a begging stone given to me by the gods when I was working in the field, saying that if I put him under the bed, I can give birth to a big fat boy."
At this time, the Zhang family was already begging for a child, and as long as it was helpful to have a child, they would believe it, no matter how absurd.
Hearing this, I also nodded and said, "That's true. You can even think of 'borrowing/seeking' this kind of attention, which means they have gone crazy, hurry up!"
Listening to what I said, Wang Jialiang's father also said, "No."
I was afraid of interrupting Wang Jialiang's father's train of thought, so I quickly put aside my pouting problem and let him continue.
And the next direction of the story, the shock to my heart far exceeded my expectations, and it also made me have to re-evaluate the dangerous level of the ancient bridge on the platform.