The Head Shaver

When there is nothing to do, he led the old buffalo around the village.

　　It is not clear who is leading whom, it is an animal with two reins. Hoofprints and footprints like mixed together, and sometimes can not go together. He is directionless, his eyes like two sparrows, skimming here and there. Dark brown horns, rounded back, strong hooves know, he stepped over the soft yellow soil, with wet tongue rolled over the fat grass. It is busier than a man, always chewing and savoring something, whether it is dried marmalade or young grass. Several women in the village have the same tongue as this cow, the past can be mentioned again and again, and the present will become the grass of the past, until the right time to come back to taste, hahaha, he is also like this cow, also remembered something.

　　He put his hands behind his back, and the cow also put its tail behind its back. He does not see as clearly as before, but his eyes are always moist and shiny, and the things in his eyes flow out along the corners. He is wiser than a man, and he sees more deeply and thoroughly than a man.

　　He sat on the ridge of the field and the day passed.

　　On this day, it was time to go to the village again.

　　It had just rained lightly, so he carried his toolbox, stepped into the wet and soft soil, and when he lifted his foot, there were a few more mud spots on the back of his leg. Before entering the door, he stepped on the weeds under the eaves, scraping the mud on the bottom of his shoes.

　　"The rain came a little late."

　　"I knew you would come, the water is still boiling".

　　He opened the box, there are a few razors, a push shears, a white cloth shirt, two combs, a small sharpening stone, a canvas scraper blade, a few scissors, ear spoon, brush hair brush, a mirror embedded in the inner lid of the box, the old Yang family granddaughter stood aside, a pair of eyes blinking ah blink.

　　"This child has big eyes eh".

　　He put this white cloth shirt around the old Yang's neck, dipped a wet towel in hot water, squeeze a squeeze, and then gently put on the old Yang's head.

　　"all speak with her father", old Yang looked at her, the corners of the eyes up, "followed us two old people, afraid to feed her thin, she is also solid, reading grades first".

　　"That's great, later out on the Tsinghua University, you two old people are followed by the blessing of da".

　　Take off the towel, he pressed one hand on the head, thumb will be slightly up the scalp, so that the skin taut, one hand holding a razor in the head glide, the head will be repaired clean and polished.

　　Old Yang was so comfortable that his whole body tingled, the whole person was in good spirits, his face was rosy, and stealing joy, his eyes lit up, like looking through the depths. When giving money, the unmistakable emotions also spread to him.

　　It is remarkable to read a college student later. He carried his suitcase and walked out.

　　The sound of hoof beats under the peach tree, is a white horse, no trace of miscellaneous colors, long neck hair with the wind up. So beautiful. The horse's head was facing south, looking at a distance he couldn't see, not caring at all about the shaver.

　　"Third uncle," he pushed open the creaking wooden door, the house was dark, the rain was falling, and the smell of wood was heavy.

　　"Who is it?", the third eunuch sat in the siege barrel, his whole body half hidden.

　　"Me, I'm here to shave your face".

　　The light in the house was on, and the belt hanging on the wall was open and gathering dust. Opened leather boots and several pairs of rotten cloth shoes were put together crookedly.

　　Razors gently scraped across foreheads, faces, mouths, necks, behind ears and chins.

　　"You get out more often," he said.

　　"Gone...gone," said the third male, finally getting some air.

　　"The house is cold, put the fire up ah".

　　"Burn...burn later...".

　　The three eunuchs broke into pieces and responded to the few guests who came. Young and flamboyant officer returning to his hometown a thousand people hailed, and now the old man in disrepair no one asked.

　　Shave your face clean, "money...here you go".

　　"No money, third uncle, you take good care of yourself, buy yourself some good food".

　　"Well...take your time".

　　The third eunuch slowly sat back in the enclosure bucket, closed his eyes and dreamed of a sorghum again.

　　The white horse under the peach tree threw back its head and neighed, and under its feet was a gallop, but was pulled by the reins around its neck. It can't run, people can't run, the most you can do in your life is to run so far, that is, again loud, again think, can't run.

　　When I opened the curtain and entered the house, old Li was still lying down, only the nostrils whistling inward to breathe.

　　"The disease will certainly be well, the main thing is to put the mind in a good state". He lightly pressed Lao Li's ears a few times and used a razor to turn around in his ears to remove the ear hairs before starting to pull out his ears.

　　"I know my own body", the slender ear spoon into the ear, up and down, left and right wriggling, old Li no longer speak, quietly enjoy the tingling feeling.

　　The soft ear brush stirred back and forth, and finally he lightly pressed his ear a few more times.

　　"Look at this watch is not going slowly", old Li handed his wrist over to him to see.

　　The strap was a little gray with age and there were slight scratches on it.

　　"Table slow can be repaired, sick can be cured", he looked at the hands fast, slow, also some panic, but still resisted the sigh.

　　......

　　When he went home, there was a log by the roadside, which was not regular across the place.

　　He did not know when it appeared or what it was blocking. It was like an obstacle, like a dam in time, and like a hint of fate.

　　He moved the log, not knowing what would change, but one thing for sure, he must have changed something, and for the village, something must have changed.

　　Soon the old buffalo calved, and this trembling new life nestled in his arms, which he licked tenderly over and over with his tongue. He felt a stirring: all this time, he and he were mostly spectators of each other's lives, he watched him be a cow every day, and he watched him be a man every day. And now he was an interloper in its life, it had accomplished something that a human being also experiences in his life, and they had a common identity. Hoofprints would be covered with new hoofprints, footprints would be covered with new footprints, a hot current rushed through his blood, and he thought this was the legacy.

　　Later, when his daughter-in-law sold the calves, of course, he disagreed.

　　"There's no point in raising cattle when you're not even plowing the fields anymore,"

　　"Dad, you should not go to others to shave their heads, it does not earn a few money, your son and other partners drive to pull stones, a trip down five or six hundred it.

　　He was silent, as sullen as the old cow. He and it are a group of ancient things, body and mind are stuck in the past.

　　The cow has reached this age, perhaps to understand many things in the world, to understand how many roads in the world should go. It was too late to tell the calf the lessons of this life, and the calf was pulled away. Its wisdom was far less profound than the changes in this world.

　　He sat on the ridge again, and the cow, and the village grew old together.