By Liu Chenglong

Translation by Trans

My Mother’s Religion

By Liu Chenglong

Translation by Trans

In my home, pea beans must be the first vegetable to witness the beginning of spring.The cluster of flowers flourishing in reds,yellows, and a variety of other colors are blossoming pea beans, and the lily white blooms are winter beans. Both the pea beans and winter beans are thriving and showing off their splendor.That they grow so quickly and beautifully is all due to my mother’s care.

When the seeds were sown, my mother mixed turf ash with dung, scooped it up and scattered it in the field. The mixture was so thick and smelly that even several days later, the obnoxious smell still lingered on her hands. Once, she asked me to do the work, and when she saw me put on a pair of gloves, she slapped me in the face and roared, “Is that the way you treat crops?”

I have seen my mother fighting over dung.After the cattle had a good feast, they were always followed by some villagers with assorted tools,eyeing the beasts expectantly. They competed with each other, trying to be the first to get at the recently defecated dung. One time my mother had no tools on her. Regardless, when she saw some fresh dung, she instantly dashed over to the cow and used her blouse to scoop it all up.

Being so proud of her achievement, she strutted like a champion and could not help giggling all the way back. When she got to our vegetable garden, she dumped it straight onto a patch of pea beans. As a result, the pea beans enjoyed a lot of nourishment and flourished.

菜豆子是报春最早的蔬菜吧。那开着红花黄花五颜六色的，是菜豆子；那一袭纯白的，是冬豆子。她们长得那么快，长得那么美，当然也有因由。

母亲厚待她们。她们下地之初，母亲就烧了草皮山灰，与大粪一起搅拌。母亲用手抓，一兜一兜撒播。你知道，那山灰掺粪便多肥；你不知道，那味道有多重，三五天那手依然不可闻的。母亲曾经叫我抓，我找了一双手套，母亲一巴掌拍过来：你对庄稼这么不敬？

我见过母亲抢肥。牛吃草吃饱后，后面会跟着好几个叔伯婶嫂。他们有的拿笸箩，有的拿灰斗，有的拿撮箕，虎视眈眈，等牛拉屎。牛尾巴一翘，一哄而上，谁抢得归谁。那次我母亲没拿工具，一头牛要拉了，母亲一个箭步，拉起上衣，全兜了。

母亲以胜利者的姿态哈哈笑，一路兜着，倒在自家的菜园子里。那菜园子里正长着菜豆子，那一坨牛粪滋养的菜豆子长得格外茂盛。

菜豆子之后，便是土豆，便是番茄，便是青辣椒，便是丝瓜、线瓜、苦瓜、南瓜。这些蔬菜，像赶赴一场盛宴，呼朋唤友，一拨儿一拨儿来了。母亲说：“要是菜豆子说，那个铁道冲的刘家去不得，这些蔬菜们都不来了，你们到哪吃去？”母亲说这话的时候，不笑。母亲平时说话很爱笑，但母亲说到蔬菜，说到庄稼，她不笑。这里面，也许有神灵吧。

母亲不太信神灵。隔壁的三奶奶信。三奶奶时时刻刻手上都拿着一副卦，砌房子、出远门这些大事，要打卦，就是扛只锄头去锄麦子，也要打一卦问神仙宜不宜动土。母亲从不打卦，她信另外一种神灵。……