The glutinous rice dumplings I'm talking about here are not glutinous rice wrapped in bean paste or sesame seeds, but a white rabbit.
On my sixth birthday, my grandmother brought me a white rabbit as a birthday present from the countryside of Ningbo. This is a beautiful white rabbit, white all over, without a hair, with two long ears turning flexibly. When I held it in my hand, it immediately shrank its head in fear and its body was round, just like a big soup called glutinous rice balls. I call it tangyuan.
Dad said to me, "You keep it for fun first, and when you do, I'll kill it and give you rabbit meat."
Hearing this, I jumped for joy. I am happy not because I can eat rabbit meat in the future, but because I can finally raise a small animal myself. I don't know why, since I was four years old, I have been very eager to raise small animals, chickens and ducklings, and of course it is best to have puppies. At that time, my family lived in an alley on Jinling East Road in Shanghai. My family was poor and livestock were forbidden in the city, so my wish never came true. A neighbor surnamed Wang keeps a Persian cat. I often go to his house to watch him feed and play with cats when I have time, and my mouth is watering with envy.
Now I finally have my own little white rabbit. I am excited. Of course, I should be kind to it. I saved money to eat popsicles, bought a carton in the store, padded it with some broken cotton wool, and cut a hole in the carton as a door, which was regarded as a dumpling nest. He likes to eat vegetables, so I go to the vegetable market every day to pick up vegetables and leaves for him to eat. It is said that the leaves of vegetables are sprinkled with pesticides, and rabbits will die of poisoning after eating them, so I wash every leaf carefully; I also heard that rabbits will have diarrhea after eating wet vegetable leaves, so I dried the vegetable leaves before feeding them. At first it was shy and didn't want to eat in front of me. It always slips into the carton when I'm not looking. How boring it is to avoid people when eating! I opened the lid of the carton, took it out of the nest, blocked the door of the carton with a small bench and forced it to eat in front of me. By the way, someone told me that it is convenient to pull the rabbit's ear, but I have never pulled the glutinous rice balls' ear. When I am naughty, my father often tugs at my ear. When he pulled my ear, my head buzzed and I was dizzy. His ear was bloody, as if it had been dyed with red ink. My biggest fear is that my father is pulling my ear. I think pulling the rabbit's ear hurts. Therefore, I never pull the ears of glutinous rice balls. I always hold it like a fragile glass. A few days later, it became familiar with me. As long as there are no strangers in the room, it will stay quietly by my side and eat leaves. Even if the door is open, it will not wait for an opportunity to escape into the carton with leaves in its mouth.
Neighbors don't have rabbits, dumplings can't find companions, and they are very lonely. I didn't go to school at that time. During the day, my parents go to work, my sister goes to school, and I am alone at home, very lonely. In the same boat, Tangyuan and I soon became inseparable best playmates. Tangyuan is very clever As soon as I call its name, it will jump to me. Our favorite game is hide and seek. I found that its sense of smell and hearing is very sensitive, no less than that of dogs. Whether I hide under the bed or get into the rice barrel, it can easily find me. Once I locked myself in the closet, motionless, even afraid to go out of the atmosphere. It looked everywhere in the room, attic and corridor, but it couldn't find me. When I was proud, a dress hanging on my head slipped off the hanger and covered my head. I took off my clothes in a hurry. Such a slight sound was immediately captured by its long radar-like ears. It jumped in front of the closet and knocked on the closet door with its front paws, indicating that I was captured by it. If you make him a "police rabbit", you will find the secret cave where robbers hide gold, silver and jewels. Unfortunately, the dumplings are too quiet to shout loudly. Even if he is hungry, he just squeaks softly, slightly louder than mosquitoes. His courage is pitiful, let alone strangers coming to our house. Even if someone coughs in the corridor, he will hide in my arms in panic. It is so quiet and timid, of course, it can't be a "police rabbit".
Tangyuan grows very fast. In less than half a year, this little white rabbit became a big white rabbit. One Sunday, menstruation: My mother came to my house as a guest, and my father smiled and said to me, "Tangyuan is getting fat. Do you want me to kill them and cook a pot of braised rabbit cubes for your aunt? "
When I heard this, I almost fainted, shook my head like a rattle and repeatedly said, "No, no! Tangyuan is my good friend, I can't kill it! "
"Children, listen to adults." Dad said unhappily, "Rabbits are raised for people to eat!" " As he spoke, he lifted the lid of the carton and was about to pull jiaozi's ear.
I don't know where I got the courage. I rushed up, grabbed my father's head and picked up the dumplings. I held it tightly in my arms and cried, "I want glutinous rice balls, not rabbit meat!" " "I have been crying since I was a child, and my lacrimal glands are particularly developed. As soon as I cry, tears fall down one by one, and crying resounds through the sky. It's really a torrent, which makes people worry that I will die if I cry any more. This is my secret weapon against mom and dad. Very effective, can be said to be invincible. I was really sad that day. Although Tangyuan is just a rabbit, it must understand my words and play with me every day. I have long regarded it as my best friend. How can I watch it get killed? My aunt was softened by my crying and quickly said, "Oh, rabbit meat smells fishy. I never eat it. " Then she touched my head again and said, "Don't cry, we won't kill jiaozi. "
"Good, good, don't kill. I'll buy some beef and we'll stew it together. " My mother was probably afraid that I would cry and get sick, so she came to make amends.
"Well, let it live a little longer." Dad had to compromise.
I saved my friend, which closed the floodgate of tears.
Two months later, I went to school. Every morning, I carry my schoolbag, and Tangyuan knows I'm going out. It followed me all the way to the stairs and watched me reluctantly walk down the stairs. It didn't run back to its nest until my footsteps disappeared.
After a while, Tangyuan seems to understand the law of my life, knowing that I must get up on time at seven o'clock every morning, or I will be late for school. So, it is like a living alarm clock. At seven o'clock sharp, it jumped into the attic where I slept and kept patting the floor beside my bed with its claws. It didn't stop knocking until I sat up in bed with a yawn. Later, I read in a book that a group of rabbits communicated with each other by knocking on the ground outside the field. It seems that Tangyuan is urging me to get up in a rabbit-specific way. Very punctual, never delays me from going to school, but lacks flexibility. There is no class on Sunday, I want to sleep in, and I knock on the floor at seven o'clock, which makes me laugh and cry. Once, my stomach was a little uncomfortable. I woke up after six o'clock in the morning and got up to go to the toilet. When I came out of the toilet, it was ten minutes before seven o'clock, and it was almost time. I couldn't sleep again, so I put on my clothes and folded the quilt for breakfast. No sooner had I finished cleaning up than my neighbor's old wall clock rang seven times. Tangyuan came out of the carton and saw that I had got up and dressed. I was so angry that I dragged my shoes under the bed and bit the bench like crazy. I called its name, but it ignored me. I fed it, but it won't eat. Instead, it ran around the room and deliberately peed in front of my crib. I have no choice but to open the quilt, take off my clothes and get into bed. At this time, it finally calmed down, jumped solemnly to my bed and knocked on the floor with its front paws in an orderly way. I pretended to have just woken up, yawned and sat up slowly. It went back to eat its vegetables and leaves with satisfaction. It regards waking me up as a sacred right.
On a Sunday just after the second semester of Senior Two, the school organized us to watch the morning movie. When I was leaving, my mother told me that my uncle who works in Xining came to Shanghai on business and would come to my home at noon. Dad smiled mysteriously at me and said that he would cook the best food for everyone at noon today. When I got to the cinema and sat down, I suddenly felt uneasy. I always feel that I can't let go of a worry. In the cold weather, I was so anxious that I sweated and itchy like a rash. The movie has started. My mind echoed with what my mother said. My uncle is coming to my house. Father smiled mysteriously. I saw a bright knife flying over the head of Tangyuan ... it was like showing a small movie in my mind. I didn't watch this movie on the big screen at all. I suddenly realized that my jiaozi was in danger-the guests came and the livestock suffered. Is dad going to kill rabbits and eat meat with his bad brain again? Thinking of this, I was on pins and needles, so I lied to the teacher and said I had to pee. After sneaking out of the cinema, I ran home. I ran home out of breath, pushed open the door and saw a lead bucket full of clear water on the ground. My mother grabbed the two front legs of Tangyuan with one hand, and my father grabbed the two rear legs of Tangyuan with one hand and the long ears with the other hand, and was about to press the head of Tangyuan into the lead bucket. This is a method of killing rabbits, commonly known as "water suffocation method", which is to suffocate rabbits in water. It is said that the rabbit blood killed in this way can be dissolved into the rabbit meat, making the rabbit meat more delicious, and eating this rabbit meat can also nourish the body. My mother was taken aback when she saw me coming home suddenly, as if she had been caught doing something wrong. My white face turned into a big red cloth, and my hands holding the two front legs of glutinous rice balls involuntarily loosened. She smiled awkwardly and said, "How did you ... how did you come back so early? This movie ... ended so soon? " Tangyuan desperately pushed the two liberated front legs, but dad couldn't catch it and had to let go. Tangyuan fell to the ground, turned over and immediately jumped on me. It's the first time I saw it jump so high, half a meter! It threw itself into my arms, its face pressed against my chest, and it kept shaking. It was scared and eager to seek my protection.
Dad was a little angry and said, "You don't like movies. What are you doing back? "
I held jiaozi tightly, and tears came down.
Children's Home should listen to the adults. "My father said angrily with a tiger face." This rabbit has been kept for almost two years. If we don't kill it, the meat will get old and bad. "
Mother also echoed: "Who doesn't keep rabbits skinned and eaten?" If you don't let us kill it, will you die for it? "
I don't talk, and I don't cry as usual. I just let my tears flow like two small rivers. I read in a book that silent sobbing is the saddest and saddest way to cry.
Mom was really frightened by my new way of crying. She touched my head uneasily and said, "What's the matter with you? I can't even cry. Is it really so sad? "
Dad looked at me and said, "He's scaring us!" " "
"Forget it, forget it." The mother made a gesture to her father asking him to give in, sighed and said, "Don't hurt the child's feelings for a rabbit."
"All right, all right." Dad emptied the water in the lead bucket, and then said angrily to me, "We don't eat rabbit meat, you keep it to die of old age."
"okay?" My mother wiped the tears from my face. "We promised you not to kill it. Go back to the cinema quickly and don't let the teacher look for you everywhere. "
"I'm not going to the movies." I choked and said, "I will never go to school again."
"Why?" Mom and dad asked in unison.
Stay at home and eat jiaozi. I won't let you kill it behind my back. "
"We promise not to kill it, okay?" Mother said kindly.
"We adults keep our word." Dad patted his chest and said.
My aunt was softened by my crying and quickly said, "Oh, rabbit meat smells fishy. I never eat. " Then she touched my head again and said, "Don't cry, we won't kill jiaozi."
"Good, good, don't kill. I'll buy some beef and we'll stew it together. " My mother was probably afraid that I would cry and get sick, so she came to make amends. "Well, let it live a little longer." Dad had to compromise.
I saved my friend, which closed the floodgate of tears.
"We adults keep our word." Dad patted his chest and said.
"No, you have to write a guarantee!" I think only a written guarantee can reassure me.
They looked at each other. Mom said with a wry smile, "OK, we'll write a letter of guarantee."
Dad kept nagging while writing a letter of guarantee: "The world has changed, and parents should write a letter of guarantee to their son. Alas, in two years, maybe he will ask us to write a confession and a confession! "
I insisted that they sign the guarantee, and they did. I was relieved, put jiaozi in a cardboard box, and then went back to the cinema to continue watching movies.
After this incident, Tangyuan seemed to know that I had saved it and was more affectionate and dependent on me. When I do my homework at home, it will crawl under the table with me, lick my shoes for a while, bite my trouser legs for a while, and be very attached to me. Once I had a high fever due to tonsillitis and lay in the emergency room of the hospital for a day and a night. When I got home, I heard my mother say that Tangyuan didn't eat for a day and a night. I ran up the stairs hundreds of times and looked around, listening and waiting for me to go home.
In a blink of an eye, I will be in the fifth grade, and Tangyuan is already six years old. The rabbit hair on its back changed from pure white to silvery white, and a circle of brown hair grew on its ears, and its beard changed from silvery white to amber, hard and thick-the big white rabbit became an old white rabbit. This is a little bolder than in the past. It dares to come downstairs with me to the alley and squat at the root of the wall to watch me play with my friends.
My family lives in an old Shikumen house, and there is a tiger stove at the mouth of the alley-a big stove for burning firewood, which is specially used for boiling water. From morning till night, its tiger's mouth has been spewing fire. Turn left from the tiger stove, and there is a ditch more than one meter wide, in which turbid sewage flows all day long. In these two places, Tangyuan is absolutely afraid to go. Once, I took it in one hand and a thermos bottle in the other, and went to the tiger stove to turn on the water. When I walked to the door of the tiger stove, a blazing flame just came out of the stove. With a squeak, Tangyuan broke free from my arms, jumped to the ground and fled home without looking back. Ditches are also off-limits in jiaozi. As long as I walk into the ditch, it will stop consciously. No matter what I call it, it won't move again.
Animals are afraid of fire, rabbits are no exception; Rabbits can't swim, so they are afraid of water. Tangyuan is afraid of this and that. This is the standard rabbit viscera. I can't help it It is a rabbit.
When I was in the sixth grade, there was a terrible news circulating in the streets: a big German shepherd unfortunately got rabies and became a mad dog. He appeared in the vegetable market of Ninghai Road near my home and has bitten two people. The police are trying their best to hunt him down.
One night, when I was doing my homework, I found that I had left my Chinese book in the classroom, so I had to borrow it from my classmate Wu Zhigang. Wu Zhigang's home is not far from mine, just across the ditch in the alley. When I went out, glutinous rice balls bounced behind me as usual. When we came to the ditch, it stopped. I knew it didn't dare to go any further, so I waved to it and said, "Tangyuan, go home. I borrowed a Chinese book and will come back. " Say that finish, I will set foot on the small stone bridge. Suddenly, Tangyuan jumped up, grabbed one of my trouser legs, pulled back and squeaked. I thought it was teasing me, so I patted its head and pretended to be angry and said, "Let go of me, you are biting my pants!" " "It loosened its mouth. I turned his body around, patted his ass and said, "Stop fooling around and go home!" " It took a step forward, and then looked back at me, flapping its ears, as if catching some suspicious sound. I left it alone and boarded the small stone bridge. It squeaked louder. I looked back and saw it chasing its short tail and spinning like a top. It gives me the feeling that something seems to make it anxious. I thought to myself, as long as I walk across the small stone bridge, it can't see me and will go home.
The street lamps are dim, and the culverts stink. There are few residents in the ditch area, it is getting late, there is drizzle in the air, and there are no pedestrians on the road, which makes people feel more and more gloomy and terrible. I got goose bumps all over, so I had to speed up my steps and hum a song to cheer myself up.
Just walking down the small stone bridge, I suddenly heard the sound of plop plop behind me. When I looked back, I was surprised. It turns out that the dumplings have jumped on the small stone bridge and are coming at me. It has never been on a small stone bridge, and it is usually too timid to go near the ditch. What happened today? I was wondering when suddenly, with a low cry, a black shadow jumped out of the ditch under the bridge. In the blink of an eye, the shadow-a big German shepherd-appeared in front of me.
This is a black and yellow German shepherd with a sharp mouth and a thick tail. He was covered with mud, dirty and thin, and his stomach was flat, as if he were stuck on his spine. His eyes are bloodshot and redder than those of rabbits. It stared at me savagely, its long tongue grinding its sharp fangs cruelly.
This must be the mad dog that the police are chasing! My brain is buzzing, and I'm stunned. I want to run, but my legs are so soft that my feet seem to be nailed to the ground and I can't pull them out. I want to scream, but my lips are cold, my tongue is numb, and my mouth is open but I can't make a sound.
The mad dog bent his legs and squatted in the back, watching it come at me.
Cheep-just then, sweet dumplings let out a cry and rushed at me from the small stone bridge. I have never heard it scream so loudly or run so fast. It's like a white arrow, passing me in the blink of an eye, jumping between me and a mad dog. It was covered with rabbit hair, enlarged its body as much as possible, grinned at the mad dog and squeaked defiantly.
Wolves and wild dogs are natural enemies of rabbits. German shepherd dog is a hybrid breed of wolf and dog, which absorbs the advantages of wolf and dog and is stronger than simple wolf or dog. Biting rabbits and German shepherds is like touching stones with eggs.
It suddenly dawned on me that the reason why Tangyuan just bit my trouser leg by the ditch was to stop me from crossing the small stone bridge. Its nose with keen sense of smell has smelled the stench of mad dog, and its radar-like ears have heard the voice of mad dog. It can't talk, so it can only alarm me in the form of a rabbit, but unfortunately I don't understand.
It is just an ordinary rabbit, born with rabbit viscera, but in order to protect me, it bravely jumped in front of a mad dog.
The mad dog glanced at the rabbit in front of him, just like a person who saw a pie falling from the sky, and jumped up at once. Tangyuan jumped up to meet without fear. It jumped half a meter high and jumped above the mad dog. Mad dog never dreamed that under its fierce attack, a rabbit dared to stand up and resist, and he panicked for a moment. It was difficult to adjust its posture in mid-air, so it straightened its neck and tried to bite the rabbit's leg. But before the mad dog's mouth could bite down, the glutinous rice balls quickly stood firm and bit its neck. Mad dog and glutinous rice balls fell to the ground together and twisted into a ball. The mad dog pinned jiaozi down. Although the dog's neck was tightly bitten by the rabbit's teeth, it could not exert the strength of the dog's teeth, but its four dog paws were not idle-tearing and grabbing jiaozi in an attempt to get them off themselves. The white rabbit hair of glutinous rice balls flies in the air like a fairy, but it still keeps biting the neck of a mad dog. Tangyuan's front teeth are used to chew stairs and wall tiles every day, which are very sharp. The mad dog can't get rid of the fatal bite of the rabbit tooth of glutinous rice balls, but can only make a piercing cry.
The howling of a mad dog alarmed the surrounding residents. People flocked to the small stone bridge with flashlights, kitchen knives, rolling pins and poles to dry clothes. I just woke up from a dream, cried out loud and ran home just visible. As soon as I ran across the small stone bridge, I met my parents who heard the news. Dad hugged me and repeatedly said, "Don't be afraid, I'm here, don't be afraid!" " "My mother touched me all over and asked anxiously," Did that mad dog bite you? "I cried," that mad dog tried to bite me, but I didn't. It was glutinous rice balls that saved me. "
A dozen flashlights shone under the small stone bridge, and only Mad Dog and jiaozi were still wrestling. The mad dog's throat has been cut by the rabbit's teeth, his neck is covered with blood, his eyes are wide open, and his howling is getting deeper and hoarse.
No one dares to go up and help jiaozi. It's too dangerous-no matter if he is caught or bitten by a mad dog, he will get rabies, which is difficult to treat.
The barking of mad dogs is getting weaker and weaker. Finally, it lay flat on the ground and couldn't stand up anymore. Tangyuan just let go and climbed out from under the dog's paw. The whole body was covered with skin, a pair of rabbit ears were torn to pieces, and one rabbit eye was blinded. It was covered in blood and changed from a white rabbit to a red rabbit. However, it did not come to me, but jumped on the small stone bridge for a while and bit the hard stone for a while; After a while, I jumped on the mad dog who had died, raised my paw and kicked it fiercely; After a while, I jumped into the ditch and made a splash. Sometimes it runs around, jumping around wildly, and sometimes it lies on the ground like a dog, with its head arched and howling. It seems that it has been in a state of insanity.
"It has been infected with rabies! Quick, kill it! " I don't know who is in the crowd of onlookers exclaimed. Immediately, a few clothes hanging poles extended to the glutinous rice balls.
Tangyuan was bitten by a mad dog to save me. It killed the mad dog and saved people, but people tried to kill it! This is unfair and cruel! I cried and shouted, "Don't hurt jiaozi, it saved me!" "
My crying worked. People looked at each other and took back their shoulder poles.
Tangyuan stumbled onto the small stone bridge. People are afraid of getting rabies and recede like a flood. Tangyuan jumped over the small stone bridge step by step and jumped into the alley step by step. I wanted to call it, but my father covered my mouth hard to stop me from screaming. He must be afraid that Tangyuan will pounce on me after hearing my cry and infect me with terrible rabies.
Behind the dumplings, there are bloodstains. It turned the corner and jumped all the way forward.
"It's broken, it's going back to our house!" Mother's voice is crying. "It will bring rabies to our family!" "
"Well, what should I do?" Dad's face is wrinkled like a bitter gourd.
Tangyuan suddenly stopped when it jumped to the T-junction in the alley. At that intersection, my home is on the left and the tiger stove is on the right. It stood silently at my house for a while, then laboriously rolled its one eye and looked around as if looking for something. I can't bear it any longer. I suddenly put my father's hand over my mouth and shouted, "Tangyuan!" " "
Tangyuan turned to stare at me after hearing my cry. Cheep-it suddenly gave a cry, then suddenly turned around and jumped away at the tiger stove. People around the tiger stove ran away as soon as they saw it. It jumped straight to the fireplace and stopped there. The flame in the furnace is blazing, and the bright fire shines on the glutinous rice balls, and the expression is extremely solemn. The flame in the stove ignited its two beards and emitted a string of sparks. It slowly assumed a jumping posture.
"Tangyuan, no-"I kicked, struggled and shouted desperately in my father's arms. But it's too late. Tangyuan jumped into the furnace. The flame, like a red silk, was immediately wrapped.
It has been thirty-three years, and I can still remember the scene at that time. When my good friend Tangyuan jumped into the hearth of the tiger stove, there was silence all around, and everyone present bowed their heads. I clearly remember the tears of shame from the corner of my parents' eyes.