Father's Land Mother's River

Chapter 1 Introduction
One morning in mid-July [-], the graduation ceremony of Fuxian No. [-] Middle School (equivalent to the current junior high school) was grandly held on the playground.

Hundreds of students took the class as a unit and stood in two columns of men and women on the playground.The bald dean in a blue tunic presided over the ceremony, and the old headmaster in a gray tunic with silver hair delivered a speech.The last ceremony was to reward those with outstanding academic performance, and the dean announced the list of the top three students in the school for the graduation examination.

No.3 is Yue Zifan, the class monitor, a tall and handsome male student walked up to the stands, and received the certificate and a plastic diary from the old principal; No.2 is Lin Yidan, the study committee member of class three, a generous and delicate The female student walked up to the stands lightly, and received the certificate and a fountain pen from the old principal.

The most exciting moment has come, and the students have speculated, who will No.1 be?Both Yue Zifan and Lin Yidan are top-notch learners and are well-known throughout the school. Who has the extraordinary ability to surpass them and take the top spot?

The dean paused, and announced loudly in a cadence: "The total score of the 1nd Senior Primary School Graduation Examination is No. [-], Class [-] Liu Zhixin. The students welcome Liu Zhixin to the stage to receive the award with warm applause." He took the lead in applauding.

Who is Liu Zhixin?The students clapped and asked each other, and they had never heard of this name before.

But I saw a small boy with a big head at the head of the third class, hesitantly took a few steps forward, blushed, and looked timidly at the stand where all the teachers of high school were sitting, as if he couldn't believe his own strength. ears, not sure and stopped again.

The teaching director stood on the stand, smiled and waved to him: "Liu Zhixin, it's you who is calling, come on stage to accept the award."

Only then did Liu Zhixin boldly walk up to the stands, perhaps because she was too nervous and excited, she stumbled when she walked up the steps, she held her hands on the ground to stabilize her body, and almost fell, which attracted bursts of good-natured laughter from her classmates and teachers .

Liu Zhixin walked up to the stands with a red face, and bowed respectfully to all the teachers.The students in the audience chatted a lot, their eyes were so surprised that they couldn't believe it, he was Liu Zhixin!

The dean stepped forward and took the initiative to hold Liu Zhixin's hand, patted him on the shoulder and said, "The results of this exam are your real results. You have finally overcome your inferiority complex and ego, and you have proved your strength with your results."

Liu Zhixin raised her childish sweaty face, her thick lips trembling: "Thank you teacher!"

The old principal personally presented the award to Liu Zhixin, rewarding him with a plastic leather diary and a fountain pen, and encouraging him to achieve more excellent results in the upcoming new school year of high school.

The three award-winning students stood side by side on the stands, holding certificates and prizes in their hands, and received warm applause from all teachers and students.The students in the audience had to get to know Liu Zhixin, who was short in stature, wearing patched clothes, usually inconspicuous, from a small village called Liuzi Street, and most of them would not have the chance to continue to be high school classmates with him .

Liu Zhixin stood between Lin Yidan and Yue Zifan, like a sapling in the gap between two big trees, weak and humble.He was originally a happy boy who had no worries about food and clothing and was appreciated by his parents and teachers. A sudden storm completely changed his fate. His family became the primary target of the impact, and he had to walk with his head down.

In the face of the catastrophe, his mother was far calmer than his father, and insisted on sending him to the city to continue his studies.But the psychological shadow made him afraid of the eyes of his teachers and classmates, and afraid of being asked about his life experience.He closed himself off, seldom talked with his classmates and teachers and participated in group activities, and he dared not attract the attention of others, with low self-esteem and cowardice.

During the winter vacation in the last semester, my father looked at his report card and threw it to his mother without saying anything.His mother didn't blame him at all, but asked him to go to Mr. Guan with the report card and let him have a look at it.

Liu Zhixin stood in front of Mr. Guan in fear. Mr. Guan, who is in his 60s, is the teacher of the school run by the original village and Liu Zhixin's first teacher.Liu Zhixin has an outstanding memory and strong comprehension ability, and is Mr. Guan's proud student.Mr. Guan glanced at the report card, shook the braids at the back of his head, picked up a brush and wrote a big word "heart" on it, and said calmly, "I'll change your name. saved."

His original name was Liu Zhixin. Mr. Guan changed the word "new" to "heart".Mr. Guan pokes directly into his inner world. What he lacks is not ability but courage.

Liu Zhixin muttered, the school does not allow students to change their names casually.Mr. Guan wrote a letter and asked him to bring it to the school dean when the school started.

After the term started, the dean read Mr. Guan’s letter and said to him gently: “Mr. Guan is my senior fellow student. He has high expectations for you. A wider world. The teacher only asks you one question, are your usual academic performance true?"

Liu Zhixin lowered her head in shame, and whispered, "I don't want to do well in the exam."

The dean was very puzzled: "Can you tell the teacher why?"

Liu Zhixin's voice was as low as the dust: "I don't want to attract the attention of my classmates, and I don't want them to know my background."

The dean said thoughtfully, "Think about why Mr. Guan gave you a new name."

In the new semester, Liu Zhixin finally plucked up the courage to prove herself.At this moment, he was standing on the high stands, and he could clearly feel that all the teachers and students were focusing on him, whether it was admiration or envy or affirmation, and Yue Zifan and Lin Yidan beside him were secretly paying attention to him.

A young heart will eventually be surging.All the hard work in the last half semester was worthwhile, worthy of my mother, worthy of Mr. Guan's expectations, and even more worthy of myself.Facing all the teachers and students, for the first time, the sweaty face showed a gratified and confident smile.

After the graduation ceremony, the students bid farewell and left the school one after another. Those who have been admitted to high school will return here to continue their high school studies, and those who have failed will bid farewell to the school forever.

Liu Zhixin bundled up her luggage and carried it on her back, with a bulging schoolbag on her right shoulder and a washbasin in a net bag in her hand.He was escorted out of the south gate of Fuzhou City by his classmates, including Yue Zifan and Lin Yidan.

Yue Zifan held Liu Zhixin's hand and said, "Student Liu, I will definitely get No.1 back in high school."

Liu Zhixin said happily: "I accept your challenge."

Lin Yidan said eagerly from the side: "I hope the three of us can become classmates and learn together and improve together."

Waving goodbye, 17-year-old Liu Zhixin walked alone on the bumpy country dirt road.The sun was scorching hot, and he was sweating profusely.Sweating profusely, he suddenly understood Mr. Guan's good intentions for changing his name: Only by becoming a strong man can he be respected by others!The strength of a person does not lie in whether the body is strong, but in the firmness and fortitude of the heart, whether it has the courage to face all the sufferings.

Getting out of the psychological haze is enough to comfort the parents and stop Mr. Guan from lamenting.He could even imagine the triumphant expression of Mr. Guan shaking the pigtails behind his head and reciting a poem.

For a journey of more than 20 miles, Liu Zhi walked non-stop for nearly two hours.He is eagerly looking forward to standing in front of his parents and Mr. Guan, and presenting the No.1 certificate of graduation examination.

When he walked into Liuzijie Village, he saw people casting strange eyes, and he had a vague premonition in his heart; when he rushed into the house, he was surrounded by grief and despair.Five days ago, his father died unexpectedly, and his mother did not inform him to go home for the funeral, but let him finish high school happily without interruption.

Kneeling in front of his father's grave, Liu Zhixin burned the No. 1 certificate in the senior elementary school examination without shedding a single tear.There were too many tears flowing, there was no shortage of his little tears as embellishments, and he didn't have any capital to immerse in tears.The two elder sisters are married, the mother is a woman with small feet, and a younger brother and a younger sister are still young, so they will have to rely on him to support them in the future.

Standing beside Liu Zhixin, Mr. Guan explained to him on behalf of his father: "The same family can kill each other, how can there be any morality and conscience? Your father has seen the sinister and ugliness of the human heart. His heart was broken four years ago. He is dead. He has been waiting for you to grow up, he used self-inflicted methods to maintain the dignity of being a human being, and he used his own death in exchange for you and your mother not to be humiliated."

Liu Zhixin kowtowed three times to his father. Mr. Guan pulled him up and said, "Your father's behavior is not good, it is the performance of an irresponsible weakling. I sympathize with him and appreciate him but do not fully agree with him. Look at our village According to records, the former Fuzhou River changed its course several times. When encountering obstacles, it didn’t bump into it head-on, nor did it turn around and flow backwards. Why is it called Chaotou Village? That’s because the tide of the sea just rises to the front of the village. As time goes by, the tide of the turbulent sea recedes for more than a dozen miles, but the calm Fuzhou River continues to grow.”

Mr. Guan's calm tone seemed to be telling an old story.

On the same day, Mr. Guan found a few strong villagers, pushed down the stone tablet standing at the entrance of the village, and ordered them to break it with a hammer.Someone discussed with Mr. Guan that it was a pity that such a good stele was broken. The drainage ditch next to the production team happened to lack a bridge board, so it was better to lift it and place it on the drainage ditch.Mr. Guan laughed, morality and conscience can still be stepped on, let alone a stone tablet.

The stele was tied up with ropes and carried to the drainage ditch. Someone asked Mr. Guan whether it should be upside down or upside down?Mr. Guan said face up, let it see what other earth-shattering feats will happen in Liuzijie Village.

On the second day, Liu Zhixin joined the production team and served as the production team accountant half a year later.There is really no one in the village who can write and count and is proficient in abacus, otherwise it would not be his turn.Village Party Secretary Liu Zhifu wanted to invite Mr. Guan out of the mountain, but Mr. Guan just wanted to be an idler, so he refused politely.

By [-], Liu Zhixin, who had been doing farm work for six years, had grown taller and stronger. He was a proficient accountant, and his accounts over the years were clear and without any mistakes.After the autumn of this year, Liu Zhixin handed over the compiled accounts of the year to Liu Zhifu.

Liu Zhifu glanced at it, threw away the account book and said, "You have miscalculated the grain yield per mu."

Liu Zhixin carefully rechecked the accounts, and said cautiously, "Is the calculation correct?"

Liu Zhifu said: "In some places, the grain yield per mu reaches 600 catties, but why is it only [-] catties in our village? Is it too backward?"

Liu Zhixin did a rough calculation in his mind. If 600 catties of grain are spread flat on an acre of field, at least half a meter high, where should the crops grow?He said: "Last year it was more than [-] catties. This year, there is not enough rain. The single grain production capacity is basically the same as last year, and it has greatly improved."

"It's far from enough. How bold are people and how productive is the land? Why can't our village's grain yield reach two thousand catties per mu?"

"If the reported grain yield reaches [-] catties per mu, and the existing grain in our village is not enough to pay the public grain in proportion, how will we solve the problem of our village's rations?"

"You won't make two accounts? You have no right to ask about the rest."

Liu Zhixin was shocked, this is asking me to make fake accounts!How can a person who is illiterate and illiterate have such deep scheming?Even the village party secretary dares to take the lead in falsifying accounts. Can this accountant continue to work?He hesitated in his heart and remained silent.

Liu Zhifu chattered about family affairs: "I am more than [-] years older than you. I am the eldest grandson of our old Liu family. I am the eldest brother in Zhizi's generation. How can I harm you? You may think that your father's death has something to do with me." , If you want to harm your family, can you intercede for your family when dividing the family composition and only divide it as a middle peasant? Your father is too self-esteem and too good-looking, and he is not hurt. Face is more important than life? I let you I have worked as an accountant for six years, firstly because you are the only one in our old Liu family who has attended high school, secondly because your family is orphaned and widowed, and intends to take care of you when you are young and weak. Have I felt sorry for you these few years? "

Liu Zhixin was a little moved, and procrastinated to go home and figure out how to re-do the accounts.When I went home and told my mother, my mother said that this fake account must never be done, and the credit is all theirs. Once you are found out, you will have to take the blame. Our family can’t afford the blame, and we can’t bear it.

Ask Mr. Guan, Mr. Guan has no better way, just warn him that he must not make false accounts, and he would rather not be an accountant.Just at this time, a state-owned mine more than 70 miles away came to the village to recruit miners. He and several young people from the village signed up together.
However, when everyone else went to work in the mine, Liu Zhixin was blocked at home by Liu Zhifu and the production team leader, who kept saying that the production team couldn't do without him.Maybe it's the truth, maybe it's intentional.The two lived in the same courtyard, Liu Zhifu lived in the upper room, Liu Zhixin lived in the west wing with his mother and younger brother, his every move was under the supervision of Liu Zhifu, he couldn't get away from him, and was in a hurry.

A strong north wind blew that night, my mother quietly prepared dry food, packed the luggage, and woke Liu Zhixin up in the middle of the night.The night is long and dreamy, let him take advantage of the dead of night to get away quickly and stay away from the place of right and wrong.The third daughter is already married, and the two sons in the family have become her heart disease.

Liu Zhixin is her pride and hope. Although she works as an accountant, so far no one has come to her door to propose a matchmaker. Due to her family background, she is afraid that she will become a bachelor in the future.The youngest son, Liu Zhitai, is 15 years old, and he will grow up quickly in a blink of an eye. A woman with small feet will be unable to resist, and maybe he can find a way out of the countryside.

Her mother's courage prompted Liu Zhixin to make the final decision, but she was only worried that her mother would be retaliated if she left.Mother inadvertently revealed an important message: "No one dares to embarrass me when Mr. Guan is here."

Mother opened the back door, Liu Zhixin carried her luggage on her back, stuck her head out and looked around.The north wind howled, the dripping water turned into ice, and several cold stars hung high in the night sky.

His mother gave Liu Zhixin a slight push behind him, and he didn't hesitate anymore, he raised his legs and stepped out of the house.Sliding across the frozen river and stepping onto the dark path, Liu Zhixin walked southward in the cold December night.With a few cold tears in my eyes, I couldn't see the village, so I strode towards the mine seventy miles away.

(End of this chapter)