A large mortar (stone mortar) was guarding alone in front of the door of a house. A layer of leaves fell on it. A pit of water was stored in the mortar. The water was red. There were a few mosquito halberds swimming freely inside.
When the owner left, he not only locked the portal, but also covered mortar with plastic cloth. However, the owner had been away for too long, and the iron lock on the building door was rusted. The plastic cloth covering the mortar had severely weathered into pieces under the wind and sun, and was blown away by the wind without a trace. The cone placed in the mortar is a long, small top and large bottom, slightly cylinder-shaped river light stone. The handle part of the pellet cone exposed above the water surface is still faintly shining and smooth.
Every time I pass by this family, I will involuntarily look at the mortar, and a feeling of loss and sadness in my heart inexplicably.
The mortar that came out of the depths of history, together with the stone mill, stone mill, stone rolling , stone rolling , and stone anvil, is bid farewell to an era and is left in the depths of time.
When I approached the mortar, I could see the marks carved from steel drills outside the mortar. The deep mortar nest and the smooth walls of the nest are left with spots when the mortar cone collides with the mortar nest. On each spot, there seemed to be a dull sound of the mortar cone hitting, and the grain fragrance of brown rice , millet, wheat, corn, dried sweet potato ; pepper, pepper, star anise, cinnamon, grass fruit , amomum keratin ... the aroma of seasonings. The person who sat next to stone mortar , holding the mortar cone in his hand, beat the grains and seasonings, walked generation after generation, his figure became more and more blurred until he finally disappeared, leaving only the mortar waiting affectionately in the wind and rain.
It may be a corner of the mountain, and it once had a strong body and a rugged momentum, just like the stone drum written by Han Yu . In order to revive the dynasty, King Xuan of Zhou led the princes of the world to hunt to Qishan , and returned with a full load. In order to record the grand occasion of this hunt, he "created the achievements and made a fortune to eternity, and chiseled stones into drums to spread the rugged." However, this stone as a mortar was not so brilliant. It was just that the villagers chiseled stones into mortars to destroy the rugged for food.
At the beginning, the villagers just wanted to meet their low-key living needs, and took hammers, steel chisels, pulled carts, , walked into the mountains, and selected the stone for the mortar. And its texture, granite , became the best choice for making mortars. The hammer and the steel chisel danced together, and the sweat flew with Mars. It broke away from the embrace of the mountains and boarded their carts. It came to the door of the farmers while creaking and singing all the way.
After more than half a month of careful refining of the steel chisel and the hammer, the chisel marks destroyed the rhabe and formed the shape of the mortar. The villagers found a cylindrical river light stone from the river, which was used as a mortar cone, and then it started to impact life. Maybe it is a handful of rice, maybe a handful of corn, more of dried sweet potatoes, roots and leaves, as long as they can wrap their belly and save lives, they can be processed in the mortar.
Examining human history is always related to stones, and constantly saying goodbye to stones. " Chang'an A moon, the sound of thousands of households pounding clothes." The sound of pounding clothes on the stone anvil once shattered the thoughts of my mistress. The stone sings squeaked on the wheat field, which once fulfilled the dream of farmers having enough food and clothing. Stone mills, stone mills, stone rolls, , stone anvils, and mortars, accompany humans along the way and become witnesses of human growth.
Early in the 1970s, electric mills assumed the heavy responsibility of processing grain, and stone mills gradually withdrew from the stage of life, stayed in a corner of the village, allowing the wind and rain to play the elegy of time on it. The mortar is still full of glory, and Xiuzhen's version of the small stone mill is also popular.
The Spring Festival is approaching, and there are always a few small stone mills flying around on the bustling streets. Star anise, pepper, grass fruit, amomum villoss, cinnamon, fennel seeds wafts out a strong aroma from the stone mill; the spicy taste of pepper and chili is always so unrecognizable to everyone.
The mortar in the village is also busy. If there is a mortar in front of the door of the house, it will be lively in front of the house all day long.People use dustpans to hold peppers, peppers, star anise, cinnamon and other spices, sieves, brushes, and spoons, and the housewife follows a male laborer, who is responsible for hammering and crushing these things.
So, the sound of thumping in the village rang all day long. The most processed is pepper noodles, followed by pepper, fennel seeds, and coriander seeds. It is a luxury for people in the mountain village to use cinnamon and amomum villoss. The small number cannot withstand the grinding and destruction of small stones.
Every day before the Spring Festival, parents are busy next to the stone mortar for most of the day in order to process spices. The heavy cone was lifted up again and again in my father's hand, falling heavily again and again, and the spicy aroma of peppers and star anise was flying in the air. My mother used a small sieve to sieve the spices broken by the hammer. That scene witnessed the cooperation of my parents and also made me smell the fragrance of life.
Slowly, my parents are in their 80s and can no longer lift the stone cone. The mortar in front of my hometown is with my parents, waiting for the lost years, waiting for the return of my children from afar.
After getting married, every New Year's Day, I also hammered the New Year's spices on the mortar, and my wife sifted the hammered spices over and over again. The hard work in front of the mortar continues the story of parents and extends the warmth of home.
Immigration and relocation, we are reluctant to leave the mortar. The mortar weighing hundreds of pounds and furniture was put on the bus and settled in the immigrant village. Every New Year Festival, the heavy impact of the mortars sounds.
Now, the wall breaker has entered thousands of households, replacing the heavy impact of the mortar cone. The mortar in front of this family in the village, like the mortar in front of my hometown, has fallen into the dust of time, allowing loneliness to accumulate layer by layer on it.
The stone drum written by Han Yu has been treasured in the National Museum because of the precious stone drum text . The stone mortars left in the countryside can only be buried in the wilderness, and like stone burrs, stone mills, and stone anvils, it has become an old thing that humans once lived. After years, it may be able to evoke a memory of people's hometown.
I stood in front of the mortar for a long time, my eyes stroking its stone body over and over again, and savoring its loneliness.
The mortar is speechless, and I am also speechless. (Author Cheng Jinshun)
