Father's Land Mother's River

Chapter 100 Still That Sea

In the spring of [-], the construction of the new house officially started. The blueprint drawn by Liu Zhixin was slightly different from that of ordinary rural houses.At the beginning of June, the new house was completed. According to rural customs, a beam-raising ceremony was held, and firecrackers were set off. Relatives, friends and villagers came to congratulate and hold a feast.

Before moving into the new home, Liu Xiaonan brought back the camera, and the whole family took a group photo in front of the old house and the new house.

The old house was pulled down and demolished, the yard became more spacious, the surrounding wall was built with stones, and the pigsty and chicken coop were rebuilt.

Liu Xiaonan once strongly opposed the construction of pig pens and chicken coops, but his mother refused to listen to his dissuasion, and did not raise pigs or chickens. That is not the way rural people should live.He could only give up and obey his mother's wishes.

The new house is more than one meter above the ground, so I am no longer afraid of flooding.The inside of the house is a white gray wall and concrete floor, with a back porch and a bathroom.

Liu Zhixin's design was ingenious. A deep well was drilled in the yard, and a large water tank was placed on the roof. The water was supplied by a submersible pump, and all domestic water was provided.Changing the traditional living habit of placing water tanks at home and carrying water every day, the burden of life has been greatly reduced.

However, the overall layout is still the traditional model.There are five new houses, the main room in the middle is built with two grass stoves; the two rooms on the east side belong to Liu Zhixin and Jiang Changling, and they are equipped with heated kangs; One is temporarily vacant.

Wait until autumn, when the walls and ground of the new house are completely dry, and buy wood to build a double bed.

The original plan was to lay the floor so that Gu Yu could feel comfortable even when he returned to the countryside, but now that the situation has changed, Liu Xiaonan is disheartened and doesn't want to be creative.

However, Liu Zhixin insisted on the original plan. He installed a local heating system at home, and his son's room would also have to be covered with a floor. He couldn't change his life just because of one person.

Liu Xiaonan runs home every now and then, and the new house attracts his steps like a magnet.In the cold, dark, humid, hot, narrow and low old house, I spent my childhood and adolescence with difficulty, leaving many not-so-good traces of life, which are now diluted by the new life experience brought by the new house.

The only thing that makes him regret is that the friendship established in the difficult times has not been continued in the new house.Gu Yu disappeared from his life again, without any contact for more than half a year.fair enough!also good! !
The freshman year of study and life was over, and Liu Xiaonan sent Meng Xiangxiang away, planning to return home during the summer vacation and finish the novel "Longitude and Latitude Thread" in hand without interference.

Since the winter vacation, he has written more than [-] words intermittently, which is less than half of the idea, far exceeding his expectations, and may be able to write a short novel.

He doesn't deliberately pursue the number of words, but his writing is like a spring.When he got out of the shackles and shackles of personal emotions, turned his attention to the emotions and fates of many "us" from the countryside, and made "us" the theme and skeleton of this novel, his mind broadened a lot, and the words in the text Emotionally full and rich.

This is undoubtedly a new and major breakthrough for him.

Usually I am nervous about my studies, and I often attend courses on economics and management, so I have very little time for writing.In addition, building a new house at home distracted part of my energy, and I still couldn't calm down and write with all my strength.

Summer vacation is different from winter vacation. You don’t have to greet and send off, you don’t have to visit relatives and friends, and you don’t have so much farm work to do. You can concentrate on finishing your first novel.

However, there is a promise that must be fulfilled in advance. He once promised Yue Xuelian that he would take her to learn swimming and take her to dive in the sea during the summer vacation.Yue Xuelian won't be on vacation until a few days later, so he made an agreement with her that he would wait for her in the dormitory, and go to him after she finished her school affairs.

A few days later, one afternoon, Yue Xuelian came to the dormitory of the textile factory to look for Liu Xiaonan.Liu Xiaonan woke up from an afternoon nap and was writing. She picked up a stack of manuscripts on the table, flipped through them from the beginning, and exclaimed: "Brother, look at this structure, it is a long novel."

Liu Xiaonan said: "Originally I expected to write a novella, but who knew it would get longer and longer."

Yue Xuelian said: "Stop diving into the sea, it's a waste of time, use the summer vacation to finish this novel."

"Words don't count, how can you be your senior brother? I have been writing day and night these days, and I am tired. I just relax and go tomorrow."

"What do I need to prepare?"

"Swimsuits, swimming caps, umbrellas, food and drink, and the rest are my responsibility."

"I am responsible for all the money spent, what is the brother responsible for?"

"I'm responsible for the freshest seafood."

The next morning, the two drove to Longwangtang.Several nearby beaches are overcrowded and not suitable for diving. Longwangtang is a place that Liu Xiaonan has always missed.

The bus drove west along the coastline, passing through the mountains. An hour later, Liu Xiaonan and Yue Xuelian got off the bus in front of the tunnel entrance.

Under the shade of trees beside the road, there are local farmers selling their own vegetables and fruits.Liu Xiaonan planned to buy some fresh fruit, but unexpectedly, at these roadside stalls, he ran into an acquaintance: the couple who lived in the deep bay of Longwangtang and grew vegetables and apples.

After two years, they both recognized each other and asked each other, Liu Xiaonan remembered the names of this very special couple.The man's name is Sha Wanli, and the woman's name is Sha Liu.

Yue Xuelian knelt down to buy peaches, Liu Xiaonan joked with Sha Liu: "I haven't seen you for two years, sister-in-law is still so young and beautiful."

"Just talking nonsense." Sha Liu smiled heartily, sizing up Yue Xuelian and said, "Praise women indiscriminately, be careful that your partner turns against you. Your partner is called beautiful, such a handsome girl, like a fairy descended to earth."

"Sister-in-law is mistaken." Liu Xiaonan laughed, "She's not my date, and she won't turn against me. She's my teacher, so she can criticize me a few words at most."

Sha Liu asked Yue Xuelian: "Is he really your student? He doesn't look like one at his age."

Yue Xuelian glanced at Liu Xiaonan and said, "He is my most disappointing student."

Being able to talk and laugh freely with strangers has really changed a lot in the past six months.Since when did the frost on her face melt and happiness flow like a stream?

After the final exam, the students got together to talk about their experience and gains in the past year in college, and they talked about their counselor Yue Xuelian.

To say that the biggest change is undoubtedly their counselor. The first and second semesters are like two different people. The students can see her smiling face and hear her laughter.

Did it change from the day you took her to fish out of the ice?Liu Xiaonan had no way of judging what was happening in Yue Xuelian's inner world, but he had to face up to one thing, their hearts were silently attracting each other.

In the new semester, Yue Xuelian took the initiative to contact the school library and found a work-study job for Meng Xiangxiang, so that Meng Xiangxiang's study and life had the most basic guarantee.

Liu Xiaonan knew in her heart that Yue Xuelian was the first to transfer her concern for him to Meng Xiangxiang.

After receiving his first salary in his life, although it was very meager, Meng Xiangxiang felt that he would save a little, and his family would make up for it, which would be enough to maintain the minimum daily expenses, and he would no longer need to accept the big brother's support.

Liu Xiaonan made a calculation for her, accepting the subsidy, she can not ask her parents for money, and relieve her parents' burden and pressure.Without receiving funding, she and her parents are still under the heavy pressure of life.Whether to let her parents bear the pressure with her, or to bear all the pressure by herself, let her choose.

Meng Xiangxiang decided to continue accepting funding and bear all the pressure by himself.Liu Xiaonan told her that Teacher Yue was also very concerned about her study and life, and it was definitely not because of him.He wanted Meng Xiangxiang to accept Yue Xuelian from his heart.

Yue Xuelian picked a few peaches, Sha Wanli didn't weigh them, but added two muskmelons and a few tomatoes into the bag instead.He said to Yue Xuelian: "There are so many tourists coming and going, only this little brother is willing to chat with me without airs, and I only remember this little brother. Our brothers are destined, and we can eat whatever we produce."

Yue Xuelian still wanted to pay, but Liu Xiaonan said to her: "I used to eat the fruits of my eldest brother and sister-in-law, so take it. Otherwise, my eldest brother and sister-in-law will be offended."

After bidding farewell to Sha Wanli and his wife, Liu Xiaonan took Yue Xuelian along the downhill road to the seaside cliff.Yue Xuelian was very strange: "Seeing that you are usually quiet and reticent, those who don't understand think you are arrogant, but in fact, everyone loves to associate with you."

Liu Xiaonan said: "The airs of mules and horses are worth a lot, but the airs of people are worthless. When interacting with people, it's not about talking too much, it's about being sincere."

Coming to the edge of the cliff, standing in the pine forest on the cliff, Liu Xiaonan looked at the vast sea.The past that has been buried in my heart is like a restless little flying fish, jumping out of the sea from time to time.

Two years ago, the textile factory organized a group vacation, and it was in this pine forest that Wu Yanli gave him his first kiss.Because of this, he firmly remembered the place Longwangtang.

Revisiting the old place, the deer-like figure has disappeared without a trace, which only adds to the sentimentality.

The two of them walked along the path on the edge of the cliff and went down to the sea under the cliff.There is a groove at the foot of the cliff, which provides shade from the sun and rain. Liu Xiaonan put down his backpack and asked Yue Xuelian to change into a swimsuit here. He went to the other side and changed into swimming shorts.

He called out, "Are you ready?"

Yue Xuelian replied: "Okay."

The swimsuit was put on in advance at home, and she took off her jacket and knee-length skirt, and put on a swimming cap. Yue Xuelian stood in front of Liu Xiaonan like a delicate and beautiful sunflower in full bloom.

The moment their eyes collided, shyness and surprise passed in front of each other like a bolt of lightning, attracting each other and dodging each other.

Liu Xiaonan took out two diving goggles, one large and one small net pockets, and a screwdriver for prying oysters and abalones from her backpack, and took Yue Xuelian's hand to the depths of the sea.

This beach is covered with a layer of large and small pebbles. This sea area is densely covered with reefs and is not suitable for swimming. In addition, it is remote and few people go here to play.There are only two young figures on the sea, holding hands, stepping on the waves, and spreading cheerful laughter to the layers of waves.

The sea is calm and the sea is crystal clear. A few white seagulls fly up and down against the blue sea.When the cool sea water reached her lower abdomen, Yue Xuelian became nervous, hugged Liu Xiaonan's arm tightly, and yelled with excitement.

Liu Xiaonan put a diving goggle on Yue Xuelian's eyes, covering her nostrils together, taught her to breathe through her mouth, and lowered her head to stick the diving goggle to the surface of the sea.

Yue Xuelian was intoxicated in the wonderful underwater world.Strange-shaped reefs, swaying aquatic plants, colorful starfish, and small fish swimming around are presented one by one at such a close distance, within reach, as if entering a magical fairy tale world.

She raised her head from time to time, and described everything she saw to Liu Xiaonan fascinatedly, like a little girl wandering between fairy tales and reality.

Liu Xiaonan said: "When you dive into the bottom of the sea, you will have an immersive feeling, like melting in the sea, turning into a free fish, swimming in another world."

Yue Xuelian vowed: "I must learn to swim and dive into the sea with you."

"It's too late to learn now." Liu Xiaonan found the deep trench full of kelp, helped Yue Xuelian to stand on a flat rock, handed a big net bag to her, and said: "You stand here Don't move, watch how I dive, and you can also admire the kelp bushes. Submerge yourself in the sea to prevent the sun from burning you."

Yue Xuelian looked around at the vast sea, and said worriedly: "Brother, if you are not by my side, I will be afraid."

Liu Xiaonan laughed and said, "I'm not a fish. I can only hold my breath for more than a minute when I dive into the sea. I won't dive too deep or too far. You can also see my shadow on the bottom of the sea." .Besides, there is a mermaid standing on the reef, and the Sea Dragon King and the shrimp soldiers and crab generals will come to escort her."

Before Yue Xuelian could react, Liu Xiaonan had already put on her diving goggles, took a small net bag and a screwdriver, took a deep breath, made a graceful half-turn, like a somersault, and plunged headfirst into the sea.

Even without diving goggles, Yue Xuelian can clearly see Liu Xiaonan's figure diving under the sea, elegant, stretched, flexible and free, like a sea lion or a seal, freely shuttling between the reefs, swimming in her own world .

Until this moment, Yue Xuelian felt her face was hot, like the sun was burning.Liu Xiaonan's rare words of praise undoubtedly caused huge waves in her heart.

The sea is calm, there are no sea dragon kings and shrimp soldiers and crab generals, but she feels that the sea water around her has been boiled, plopping and steaming.

Liu Xiaonan surfaced not far away, and swam over to show Yue Xuelian the harvest in the net bag, a few fleshy sea cucumbers, abalone with colorful shells, and more than a dozen common sea snails.

But for a moment, before Yue Xuelian could break free from the chaotic emotions, Liu Xiaonan swam back to her side like a happy little dolphin.

Yue Xuelian picked up an abalone with a blue shell and admired it, and said pleasantly: "Senior brother is like a dragon in the sea, you have gained so much."

Liu Xiaonan poured the seafood from the small net bag into the big net bag in Yue Xuelian's hand: "There are sea urchins underneath, covered in thorns, I don't know how to eat them, do you want to get some of them up?"

Yue Xuelian said: "Get some of them up, and I'll make soup for you to taste at night."

Liu Xiaonan kept diving up and down, and the net bag in Yue Xuelian's hand gradually filled up.Liu Xiaonan didn't stop diving until she had shouted enough.

Back on the coast, Liu Xiaonan did the same thing, using three pebbles to prop up a bluestone slab in the shade of the groove under the rocky cliff, picked up dead branches and broken wooden boards from under the rocky cliff, and lit a fire under the bluestone slab.

After the bluestone board is heated, put conch oysters and abalone and bake slowly.After a while, the oysters opened their shells, and the conch and abalone were roasted until they were charred on the outside and tender on the inside, and the strong fresh fragrance could be smelled from afar.

(End of this chapter)