Author: Xu Peilin.
When it comes to spraying rice powder, it is indeed an extremely tiring, dirty and bitter job. When I was in the field shift of the 16th Company, during the rampant rice infestation, I would be woken up to go to the field at any time every night, sometimes at 12 o'clock in the middle of the night, sometimes at 2-3 o'clock in the morning. The human biological clock is disrupted, not to mention the bad rest, in the whole process of mixing and spraying the powder, the toxic dust inhalation makes people dizzy. I still feel scared when I think about it.
First of all, it is necessary to prepare different powders according to different insect pests, but the main ingredient is "Liuliu powder". I opened the plastic bag and poured the powder into the bucket, and the dust spread like a mist. To mix a variety of powders together, we have to bend down, put our bare arms into the bucket, and turn the bottom powder over with the palm of our hands, stirring until the powder is even. Although there is a protective mask, the mask is covered with dust when it is wet by exhalation, and it is difficult to breathe when I wear it. And the heat sprayed my glasses and glued the powder to them, so I couldn't see anything clearly, so I just took off my mask and dried it. Wait until the powder is mixed, and the whole body of a person is the same color as the powder.
In the middle of the night, the powder is sprayed in order to take advantage of the formation of dew to make the leaves stick to the powder, so that the lethality is the best. When people walk in the rice field, they hold the spray barrel like a waist drum with their left hand, and hold the handle on the barrel with their right hand and shake it constantly, generating wind to spray the powder. No matter how strong or small the wind blows, you must fight against the wind. At the head of the field, the individuals are arranged in a trapezoidal shape, and the one who goes down the wind first goes into the water, and after walking the meter, the second person goes into the water, and so on. Under the illumination of the moonlight, there was no human figure, only white mist rolling forward in the paddy field, one after another, advancing diagonally, and instantly shrouded in the dark green rice field like fog. Outsider**, the scenery is still very beautiful, but the laborers are very bitter and tired. When people walk forward, the soles of their feet are the thin mud of the rice fields, and it is difficult to move, and they have to shake their hands vigorously, and after a few steps from the field, they are already panting, and they can only take off their masks. His feet and hands were sore, and he hadn't walked 200 meters yet, and his whole body was soaked with sweat. On a moonless day, it is pitch black, walking on the ridge, crossing the ditch, and it is common to fall down if you are not careful, and it is common to be bruised and bruised. There is also a pass of rice leaves. The leaves of "Osmanthus Yellow" rice are broad and hard, and the serrations on the edge of the leaves are very sharp, and when the legs are lifted in the field, the rice leaves are pulled on the knees and calves like multiple saws. Frequently.
After three or four dozen doses, the knee area of the trouser tube was completely torn, and a big patch had to be made. Otherwise, the flesh and skin of the knee will be torn, and the blood, mud, and medicinal powder will be mixed together, and the pain will be unbearable. Our platoon commander is my classmate, nicknamed "Cai Niu", and he never spares any effort in his work. I don't know if it's because the wet pants are in the way of walking, or because he is reluctant to tear his pants, he always wears shorts when he sprays powder, and every time his knees are pulled by the leaves miserably. But he always laughed it off, went to the infirmary and ordered some medicine.
When the powder was finished, we jumped into the river with our clothes and took a cold shower while washing our dirty clothes. In autumn, the temperature is already around 20, and it is shivering cold when you jump into the river. I remember that on the National Day in 1971, a celebration meeting was held in the camp in the morning, and our platoon coincided with the end of the last spraying of powder. Everyone came up from the river, their lips were purple, their faces were pale, they were trembling, and they involuntarily trotted back to the dormitory. When we passed by the venue, in full view of everyone, we straightened up, beat our spirits, carried spray buckets, wet clothes, and bare feet, and our spirits were vivid, like warriors returning triumphantly to be reviewed.
The most memorable thing for us is a beautiful night meal. Every time we apply the powder, the canteen will carefully prepare a noodle to comfort us. Not only can it satisfy hunger, but it is also quite "nutritious", with a large bowl of steaming lid noodles with a layer of oily and chopped green onions, and two poached eggs or fried shredded pork. It was delicious, and I still have a lot of aftertaste. Now that I think it's funny, life was hard at that time, food was scarce, "the people took food as the sky", and the educated youth only wanted immediate benefits, and they were willing to die of exhaustion for that mouth-watering bowl of hot noodle soup!