Grandpa and the sheep’s day

? I can’t remember the specific time. I just remember that it was a day in spring when the flowers were blooming and the weather was pleasant. My mother took me to my grandfather’s house. From a distance, I saw three or two sheep at the gate. This was the beginning of my grandfather’s sheep raising. After the Dragon Boat Festival the following year, my father had been away from home for two months. He called my mother and I became a left-behind child living with my grandparents. At this time, Grandpa’s family had nearly 40 sheep, and herding sheep became Grandpa’s main job.

In the 2000s, children in rural areas did not have many leisure activities. One weekend, I begged my grandfather to let me go herding sheep with him the next day. My grandfather said: "Okay, no." You can’t come back during meal time.”

After breakfast the next day, Grandpa asked me to bring Mazza. In addition to Mazza, he also brought a radio. This should be Grandpa’s common equipment. We Walking towards the sheep pen, when the sheep saw the people coming, they all rushed to the door. When the door bolt was opened, they all rushed out. After leaving the door, they turned left and there was a gravel road leading to the woods. The sheep were also naughty in other people's peanut fields. They wouldn't trample on other people's crops unless they were on the right road. They would whip them over and immediately return to the right path. After about seven or eight minutes, we arrived at the edge of the woods. Grandpa waved his whip. Driving them from the road into the woods, grandpa stopped in front of a depression and said, "This is it. Find a place to stay." I looked at the lush grass in this area of ??the depression, which was so green for the sheep. It was very delicious. He stood there and looked around with his eyes. When he looked to the left, his eyes froze. There happened to be a flat place under the tree. Grandpa walked over, put down his horse, sat down, and turned on the radio. He came out of the opera channel that he often listened to, leaned against the tree, and raised his head to look at his sheep. The sheep ate for a while and then moved a little. When Grandpa saw that they had moved far, he put away all the equipment and followed them, and then looked for them again. We took a seat under a tree and sat down to listen to the radio. Suddenly, there was a loud noise, which was said to be the sound of gunpowder exploding the mountain in the distance. It was probably around 10:30, and the sheep were basically full. Only a few of them were still looking with their heads down. There were a few lively ones among the well-fed sheep, and Grandpa was too lazy to pay attention to them. After a while, Grandpa turned off the radio and put the horse on his shoulder. On his forearm, he waved his whip and drove the sheep back.

After leaving the woods, he met other people's sheep and their owners on the gravel road. The two sheep owners chatted all the way to grandpa's house and separated. The sheep also walked to their homes consciously. When they entered the pen, Grandpa noticed that the sheep with the black spots on its head was not there. He closed the sheepfold and hurried out. When Grandpa came back with the sheep, his cheeks were red. At this time, the sun was shining brightly outside, and I wanted to pick up the whip and whip it hard. When grandma heard the noise, she came out of the house and said, "The meal is ready. Come and wash your face and eat." After lunch, grandpa went to bed. After a nap, he got up around 3:30, and then he walked to the sheep pen again, repeating his morning work. When they returned in the evening, the day's sheep herding life was over for me.

During my childhood and adolescence, my grandfather spent almost every day like this. Sometimes I would go to herd sheep on his behalf. At this time, I felt extremely painful. Usually people in the woods herd livestock. , but after 2000, society was developing in the progressive era. There were fewer people raising livestock, and there were only a few people active in the woods. Apart from me and the sheep, I couldn’t see anyone in the empty woods for a long time. But this situation was boring to me as a young and trouble-loving person. But now, when I see the sheep again, I feel very familiar and familiar, as if my grandfather is still alive and still herding his sheep.