The season for stealing melons
This happened in the 1960s. At that time, boys would often go to the melon gardens of the production team to steal melons. The summer when I was eleven years old, I was sitting in the classroom and always smelled the sweet smell of watermelon coming from the fields. Rather than smelling it, it's better to say that I'm thinking about it.
After school, Jiuchang and I trotted all the way to the melon garden of the production team, looking at the watermelons everywhere from a distance, we were drooling. The old man Wu who was guarding the melon garden looked around and patrolled majestically. When he saw us, he immediately shouted: "You coward, stay away!"
I am not convinced. We didn't steal the melons, so why not? Let people look at me? Jiuchang and I immediately went to Jianwa to discuss: "Let's go steal melons tonight. Look at how arrogant Mr. Wu is. They're just watermelons. They won't even let us look at them!" Jianwa gritted his teeth and said angrily. : "Oh my, doesn't the watermelon garden belong to your old man Wu? Let's steal it!"
Jiuchang thought for a while and said, "It's very courageous to call Jiqun and Jianshe. Jianyun and Jianwen are cowardly. No, you coward, stop shouting! "
Night fell, and the half moon rolled and rolled to the top of the big green locust tree in the village. Jiuchang's whistle came from outside the door, which was "the signal to set off to steal melons." I jumped off the kang and fumbled to put on my shoes.
's mother asked: "What are you doing at this time?"
I replied: "Mom, I'll be back in a minute, let's go hide and seek!"
"Hide and seek" means hide and seek. Haha, a few of us went to meet the arrogant old man Wu, and went to the melon garden to hide and seek with him!
We arranged for Jiqun and Jianshe to coordinate in the east of the melon garden. Jiuchang, Jianwa, I crawled behind the ditch in the south of the melon garden, quietly observing the movement of the melon garden, not daring to get angry.
A trace of cloud covered half of the moon, and the sky suddenly turned dark. What a good time. We jumped up, climbed over the ditch, and crawled towards the melon garden. Entering the melon garden, all I touched were plump watermelons. I really didn’t know which one was bigger and sweeter. No matter what, I unloaded two watermelons, picked them up, climbed over the ditch on my waist, ran wildly along the cornfield that was half a man high, and then found a place to hide the melons. When I returned, Jiuchang and Jianwa had succeeded for the second time. They had just climbed over the ditch, each holding three large watermelons in their arms, and they were huffing and puffing from exhaustion.
The momentum of Jiuchang and Jianwa infected me. My blood was boiling and I quickly sneaked into the melon garden and unloaded three watermelons. I picked them up and they felt quite heavy. I jumped over the ditch regardless and squatted in the corn field to listen to the sound. .
At this time, there was movement on the east side of the melon garden. I knew it was Jiqun and Jianshe unloading melons. Because the noise was too loud, Old Man Wu noticed it. While yelling and cursing, he urged the members guarding the melon garden to come and catch the thief!
Old man Wu roared: "Are you a coward? You only know how to eat melons every day? Are the thieves already in the ground? Are you cowards? Why don't you chase the thieves out quickly?"
Several members who were guarding the melon garden were shouting, Zuo Chong Rushing to the right, they drove Jiqun and Jianshe away. Jiuchang, Jianwa and I squatted in the cornfield, holding the watermelon tightly and watching its changes.
Among the members of Guayuan, there is a young man named Tiedan, who is my elder brother. Brother Tiedan had actually discovered the three of us. He was standing on the canal beam, dancing with his hands, shouting, and pretending.
Brother Tiedan suddenly lowered his voice and said: "You guys are cowards? Why don't you run quickly? Old man Wu is here!"
We stuck out our tongues, hunched over, and trotted with watermelons in our hands, scratching the huge corn leaves. Clatter.
After my mother found out about me stealing melons, she solemnly told me: Baby, don’t worry about me anymore with Jiuchang and Jianwa, and put your mind to study. As long as you have culture, why worry about not having melons?
From then on, I never stole a watermelon again.
