西部麦客 ——一个久远而现代的故事

Western Wheat Harvester

西部麦客是关中大地上一种很有趣的"生态现象",人人熟悉却熟视无睹.麦客现象既没有人能说清从什么朝代兴起,也很难预料何年消亡.除"文革"前后"割资本主义尾巴"被迫中断一些岁月,数10年中麦客像候鸟一般年复一年,伴随着布谷鸟"算黄算割"的鸣叫,定期于每年的五月下旬,从陇东高原、六盘山下、秦岭之南涌入关中平原,寻人雇用,帮人收割,以力气和汗水挣点钱粮补贴生计,他们边割边退,游徙月余,按原路退回家乡,再收割自己那因时令差而晚熟的庄稼.

The harvesters in western China arise in recent years. They are actually a special group made up of farmers mainly from the eastern Gansu Plateau, Mt. Liupan and south of the Qinling Mountain, Like a flock of migratory birds, they would swarm to the vast Guanzhong Plain In the late May every year, hunting for jobs in wheat harvest. They just make money with their strength and sweat to help out with the family expenses, It usually takes then 1 month and more to harvest all the way northward and then return home along the same route to gather in their own wheat, which is ripe in a later season.