Father's Land Mother's River

Chapter 13

In [-], Liu Xiaonan graduated from elementary school and entered junior high school. A group of children of the same age, including Guan Xiaoyun and Liu Qishun, rode bicycles to a middle school more than ten miles away to go to school.

Throughout the primary school stage, it can be said that he was always in the state of half farming and half studying.In spring, they help the production team pull out seedlings and catch pests. In autumn, they go to the fields to pick up grain. In winter, they pick up dung and repair terraces. During this period, they also participate in various sports.Only in the sixth grade, I was able to sit in the classroom and study cultural lessons with peace of mind.

In this year, the red soldiers and red soldiers were abolished, and the Young Pioneers system was restored.These children born in [-] happened to be within the age range, and they wore red scarves for half a year when they were in junior high school.

In the life of their generation, the red soldiers, the Red Army soldiers, the young pioneers, joining the regiment and the party, have experienced everything that should be experienced.

Education is on the right track, and the school divides key classes and ordinary classes according to grades.Liu Xiaonan was in the key class, while Guan Xiaoyun and Liu Qishun were in the normal class.

Liu Xiaonan often heard Gu Yu's father's name from adults' mouths and newspaper broadcasts.Only then did he know that Gu Yu's father was a big cadre in Bincheng City, and Gu Yu was the child of a high-ranking cadre.The unattainable height made him quickly forget about Gu Yu and re-establish friendship with Guan Xiaoyun and Liu Qishun.

The middle school was built on the seat of the commune government where my grandma's house was located, and I happened to pass by the back door of my grandma's house when I went to and from school.When school was over, grandma would always sit at the back door and wait for Liu Xiaonan, call him home, let him eat something before going home.

Liu Xiaonan often lived in her grandmother's house when she was a child.As the only nephew of my grandmother, my grandmother doted on him very much, fearing that he would be cold or hungry, and fan him all night in summer to drive away mosquitoes.

There was a tall jujube tree in front of my grandma's house. One year when the jujubes were just turning white, Liu Xiaonan secretly climbed to the tree to pick the dates and eat them.After eating a few, I saw grandma rushing out of the house in a hurry.

Afraid of being scolded by his grandma, he hurriedly climbed down from the tree. He let go of his hands in a panic, and his belly was scratched bald by the trunk of the jujube tree.

Grandma asked him distressed if it hurt, took him home and rubbed red medicine on his belly.Grandma said that it was not that he was not allowed to eat dates, but that if he wanted to eat dates, grandma would beat him with a pole, because he was afraid that he would fall from the tree.

Apart from grandma's kindness, what attracted Liu Xiaonan most to her grandma's house was her uncle's legendary life.In the photo frame of grandma's house, there is a certificate of meritorious service that my uncle won the third class. It was obtained by my uncle during his study of culture, and it was signed by "Siye" and the political commissar.

Liu Xiaonan has never understood that learning culture can make meritorious service?According to my grandma, my uncle had made many military exploits, but it was because of this certificate of third-class merit for studying culture that he got his wish and married my uncle.

My uncle did not know a single word before he joined the army, so he was absolutely illiterate, while my aunt was a literate person who worked in the local work team before liberation and was a cadre.

In the photo frame of my grandma's house, there are still a few group photos of my uncle and my aunt.Apart from his mighty military uniform, my uncle looks very ordinary and easy-going. He was born with smallpox when he was a child, and his face still has pockmarks. My aunt stands next to him in casual clothes. There was an indescribably attractive special temperament on his face.

Liu Xiaonan often stares at the photo frame in a daze, he can't imagine what kind of legendary story there is between the uncle and the aunt.

My mother told Liu Xiaonan that my uncle was only 19 years old when he joined the army, and he sat in the corner of the kang and cried a lot before leaving.Grandpa is not in good health, and there are a lot of brothers, what will he and his second uncle do when they leave the house?It would be unthinkable if they were all sacrificed.

The magic is here, the uncle and the second uncle fought from the northeast to Guangdong and Guangxi without any injuries.My uncle is currently engaged in confidential work in Sichuan, and my grandmother can't even ask, so it is strictly confidential. The addresses on the correspondence are written to a certain mailbox.

The last time my uncle came home was before Liu Xiaonan was born.He went to visit Mr. Guan, but he refused to visit his only sister who was pregnant.He felt ashamed that his sister married a boy from an upper-middle peasant.

Mr. Guan was very angry and said to his uncle: "Your sister is my matchmaker. If you don't visit your sister, you don't have to visit me in the future."

The uncle just met his parents.The uncle talked with his father for a long time, and his tense face gradually cleared up.Although I haven't been back since then, I have kept in touch with my father, and I have left some things about my grandma's house to my father.

When Liu Xiaonan was at her grandma's house, she was always full of magical yearning for her uncle's life, longing for some time to meet her and listen to her battle stories.

The weather was getting colder, but grandma was still sitting at the back door waiting for Liu Xiaonan to leave school.Liu Xiaonan helped his grandma into the house, and didn't let her wait for him against the wind. When he was hungry, he would go to his grandma's house to find food by himself.

Liu Xiaonan ate half full at her grandma's house before leaving. It was already late when she returned home. As soon as she entered the door, she was about to call me back, but saw two more people in the house.My mother was sitting face to face with a strange woman wiping tears, and my uncle was coaxing a girl who was younger than my sister.

In a daze, Jiang Changling said to Liu Xiaonan, "You may not remember, but this is your Erya sister from Shangwu."

Liu Erya seldom went back to her mother's house after she got married, and even when she came back, she was sneaky and shameless, and rarely had contact with people.Of course Liu Xiaonan didn't remember, he dryly called Second Sister.

Liu Erya stood up, with tears on her thin and haggard face, she smiled unnaturally at Liu Xiaonan, pulled the little girl from Liu Zhitai's arms, said goodbye and walked out.

Liu Zhitai stood up suddenly, and said loudly to Liu Erya's back: "Erya, if you want, I will marry you."

Liu Erya was stunned for a moment, then turned around, covered her face and wept with joy: "If you don't dislike me for having a child, I will still marry you."

When Liu Zhixin came home, Jiang Changling taught him the whole story.Liu Erya is divorced. Her man dislikes her for having a miscarriage. She is an unclean woman. It's okay if she doesn't drink, but when she drinks, she will be beaten or scolded.

She has been enduring all these years, hoping that as the child grows up and time has passed, her man will forget about it a little bit, and change his attitude and temper.

But her man got worse because she only gave birth to a girl.It's not that she has never thought about having another child, but she is also afraid that her life will be even more difficult once she is a girl.I couldn't bear it anymore, and divorced my brother and sister-in-law without telling my parents.

Bringing the child back to her mother's house, she was squeezed by her sister-in-law Ma Gesi again, and the gossip (northeast dialect) was poured into her ears, which was hard to hear.

She wanted to leave her natal family but had nowhere to go, Liu Zhi couldn't bear to see her being wronged again, it was because the two of them still wanted to live together, not forgetting their old relationship.

Liu Zhixin brought two bottles of wine to the upper room to negotiate with Liu Zhifu, and got straight to the point in front of his whole family.If Liu Zhifu agrees to this marriage, he is willing to bear all the expenses.Back then when Er Ya got married, she was dumb and whispered, but this time, she must have a good time, marrying a daughter and younger siblings together.

Temporarily unable to build a new house, he can temporarily live with his brother-in-law - this is the final result of his discussion with Jiang Changling.Jiang Changling has always regarded Liu Zhitai as her own younger brother, and she is willing to sacrifice everything for Liu Zhitai and Liu Erya.

Before Liu Zhifu could make a statement, Maggs spoke first, and said to Liu Zhixin: "Uncle, mountains don't change, water turns, water doesn't change, people turn, 30 years in the East and 30 years in the West. 100 years ago was an ancestor, 100 years later Who knows who? It’s just that they live in a village, and they don’t see each other when they look up. If the three brothers who broke through the Guandong lived separately, the world would be far away, and there wouldn’t be so many restrictions on etiquette. Don’t you think so? "

Ma Gesi is Liu Yunqi's daughter-in-law, she can be described as tall and burly, with broad arms and round waist.With a big round face, eyes bursting out, fair skin, and looks very beautiful.In particular, she has a eloquent and eloquent mouth, citing scriptures and classics, and the quotations are always in her mouth, one set of one set, ordinary people can't live in vain.

Not to mention Liu Yunqi, even Liu Zhifu was afraid of her.

Looking at the entire Liuzijie Village, the only person Ma Gesi admired was Liu Zhixin.When she said a quotation, Liu Zhixin would recite the whole paragraph; if she quoted an allusion, Liu Zhixin would explain the ins and outs of that allusion clearly.

As expected of Mr. Guan's favorite student, she is willing to bow down, no matter what the occasion, as long as Liu Zhixin is present, she will restrain herself somewhat.

Liu Zhixin saw that Ma Gesi was eager to push Liu Erya out of the door.He sincerely said to Liu Zhifu: "Brother, this incident will definitely make people feel awkward at first, but compared with the happiness of the two of them in their lives, it seems insignificant."

Liu Zhifu raised his head and looked at Liu Zhixin: "Zhixin, I've completely lost my old face."

Liu Zhixin said: "Practice is the only criterion for testing truth, and Zhitai and Erya are also a kind of practice."

"Aren't you very happy?"

"What's the use of me being unhappy? Erya is really happy when she is happy."

"Can they do it?"

"Definitely."

"I've also let go of this old face."

Liu Zhifu also felt sorry for Erya.When Erya got married back then, she deliberately concealed it from the man and married her as a big girl.Erya was beaten and scolded at her in-law's house, and he wanted to take care of it but felt it was wrong, so he couldn't come forward, so he could only watch Erya being wronged.

Erya got divorced and returned to her mother's house. Living for a long time is not an option after all, it's not good for that kid Liu Zhitai.

Seeing that Liu Zhifu agreed, Liu Zhixin said to Liu Erya who was standing on the ground: "Erya, you and Zhitai have caught up with the good times, otherwise it would be difficult to get together again. Before my mother died, she often talked about you. , I am worried that your life will be difficult, and she has always felt guilty about you. Now that my mother is gone, your sister-in-law and I will do everything we can to fulfill my mother's wish. Mr. Guan often told me that one must live with dignity in one's life. , You have to live with a clear conscience. I admire you from the bottom of my heart for your courage to divorce and escape the sea of ​​suffering. I think good days are not far away from us."

Liu Erya held her little girl in her arms, and said without hesitation: "I and Zhitai are not afraid of being stabbed in the spine, what else is there to be afraid of?"

On New Year's Day in [-], the wedding of Liu Zhitai and Liu Erya was held as scheduled.Liu Zhitai is the youngest in the "Zhi" generation, so he has become the oldest in the village.Not only are people older than him calling him uncle, but there are also many people calling him grandpa, and several people who call him grandpa have also been born.

The marriage of him and Erya was a sensation in itself, plus his seniority was there, and people's life has become easier in recent years. The courtyard was full of people, and people with other surnames from the same clan wanted to join in the fun. Have some joy.

Liu Zhixin emptied out two and a half rooms, re-pasted framed paper on the wall sheds, and bought new sewing machines for his younger brother and Erya.Killed a pig, bought food and wine, Magus took charge of the stove, and Liu Yunqi assisted.

The opinions of Jiang Changling and Liu Zhifu were solicited separately in advance, and the two brothers will not separate for the time being.This kind of phenomenon is rare after liberation, and the purpose is to let the younger brother and Erya feel proud.

Guan Deyu is entrusted with all the affairs of the wedding, commonly known as "busy head".Guan Deyu is humorous by nature, and he likes to have a little fun whenever he has something to do.He felt that Liu Zhitai and Liu Erya couldn't just be taken advantage of so easily. Once they got married, they only wanted to make themselves happy, and they didn't care about messing up the seniority relationship in the village.

He found Liu Xiaonan and Liu Qishun, and gave them such and such orders.The two juniors shook their heads, and dared not do what he said.

Guan Deyu threatened: "Okay, you won't listen to me, will you? When you two get married, let's see how I deal with you two."

Liu Xiaonan and Liu Qishun had no choice but to bite the bullet and obey.Liu Zhitai and Liu Erya were toasting their relatives with joyful faces. Liu Qishun stood in front of Liu Zhitai and asked solemnly, "Should I call you grandpa or uncle from now on?"

Liu Xiaonan stood in front of Liu Erya, and said seriously, "Should I call you Second Sister or Old Aunt from now on?"

The whole room roared with laughter, it was such a great fun, and the two closest juniors directly attacked.Amidst the roar of laughter, Liu Zhitai continued to say: "Everyone calls their own, each calls their own."

Liu Erya, who was wearing a red woolen coat, coaxed and pushed the two of them outside with a laugh: "What are you two doing? Go outside and find candy for yourself."

Many years later, when Liu Zhitai and Liu Erya worked day and night for their two children, and when Liu Xiaonan himself experienced several emotional ups and downs, he wrote a short story based on his uncle and Liu Erya: "One Hundred Years" "Bird to the Phoenix"

(End of this chapter)