Father's Land Mother's River

Chapter 136 "Flying Sand and Walking Stones" - 7 Tianjiaao

Chapter 136 "Flying Sand and Walking Stones" - Qitian Jiaao
Shi Xiuxiu walked out of the hospital gate in a panic, as if she had been in the cold air for a long time, and suddenly walked into a warm room, she couldn't help shivering several times.His legs and wrists were still a little weak, and he staggered a few times when going down the steps.

She sat on the low wall of the flower bed to calm down her messy and tangled emotions.

The high-altitude north wind blew away the thick cumulonimbus clouds, and a rain washed the sky clean and clear.At this time, the rain stopped and the wind weakened, and the sun in early spring shone warmly on all living beings.She squinted her eyes, enjoying the gentle comfort of the sun, and feeling the heat, which penetrated through her clothes and penetrated into her skin to reach her heart.

How can he laugh?He should hate me for scolding me and beating me, isn't he mad because of me?
Wanli is 45 this year, and his body is still so strong, his eyes are still so bright, his smile is still so bold, and his sound is still so comfortable and down-to-earth.It's just a little old, with a lot of white hair growing on the sideburns.

Who is the woman next to him?Is it his cousin or his new wife?Shi Xiuxiu guessed wildly, stood up and walked slowly on the street.

The ice and snow left in the winter in the corner of the wall has not completely melted, and it is covered with a layer of black and dirty soil, and there are a few clear small streams of water flowing along the sidewalk.The dead grass roots in the lawn have turned green, with stubborn and delicate leaf buds emerging.

There are people coming and going on the street, and the people passing by seem very kind.Strange people in a strange city have never been so comfortable and friendly as today. Seeing everything is a source of happiness.

Her tight little face stretched out, and the lines in the corners of her eyes were filled with a bitter smile: This nightmare will finally be over!

That year, Shi Xiuxiu returned to Shilazi with the sandbar in her arms, and lived happily in her three-room stone house.The house was empty and empty, because at that time he made up his mind to follow Sha Wanli, and did not buy anything, only a pair of thermos bottles and a plastic washbasin sent by Tian Erbao were still in a corner of the house.

Anyway, this is her own home, and she is the only owner of this home, not to mention there are more than 3000 yuan in her pocket.

Shilazi is still the same, not much has changed.The village was as dilapidated and poor as ever, and the faces of the old people and children bore the traces of the hardships of life she was familiar with.

She took the sandbar to play in the stockade, and bought whatever she wanted, as if she was a wealthy family with enough money.Shilazi is just another form of Shalitun, and it is impossible to bring her the necessary conditions to change the status quo of her life.

The familiar environment did not make her feel relaxed, and she couldn't sleep well every night.Closing her eyes, the mudslide surged towards her chest, and the tragic scene reappeared before her eyes, making her restless for a moment.

Watching the sleeping sandbank, sitting helplessly in the dark and shivering, the mental torture made her miss Sha Wanli's warm embrace very much.

Only now did she painfully admit that she couldn't leave that difficult but warm home, Sha Wanli.After only staying for a few days, I couldn't live anymore and decided to return to Shalitun. Is there any other choice?
Shi Xiuxiu left Shilazi holding the sandbar with a mentality of resignation, but unexpectedly ran into Tian Erbao at the train station.

Shi Xiuxiu was a little ashamed of Tian Erbao, but Tian Erbao didn't care too much, and bought a lot of delicious and fun things for Shazhou.He told Shi Xiuxiu that his hometown used to be poor because he lived in the mountains and the transportation was inconvenient.Now that coal mines have been discovered and roads have been built, they will soon become rich.

He quit his job in a glove weaving factory and was preparing to return to his hometown to develop.

Shi Xiuxiu's heart moved and asked: "Can I go and see with you? Our life is not easy over there."

Tian Erbao blinked and said, "Okay, you will know that I never lied to you when you see it with your own eyes. You really shouldn't have gone with that soldier back then."

The next afternoon, they traveled all the way to Tianjiaao, Tian Erbao's hometown.I got off the car from the Panshan Highway, got on a fellow villager's ox cart, climbed over several mountain ridges, and walked down a winding forest mountain road.

Tianjiaao, surrounded by mountains, is like an ink painting: the mountains are not steep, the forests are dense and lush, and the whole mountain is intoxicating dark green in the sun; the mountains are independent, and the mountains are separated by ravines and small The streams are connected, and the streams converge into canals that run through the flat fields between the mountains.

In the paddy field like a plain, the newly planted seedlings are light green, and the water is dotted in rows vertically and horizontally, and groups of dragonflies are flying up and down among them.

It’s just that the houses at the foot of the mountain are not in harmony with the beauty of nature. Most of them are straw houses. The straw on the roof is either light yellow or dark yellow, and the ones that have been in disrepair have been carbonized into dark brown. The other side is revealed.

Shi Xiuxiu felt hot all over after walking, fine beads of sweat ooze from the corners of her forehead, she exclaimed: "Your hometown is really a nice place."

Tian Erbao held Shazhou in his arms, and Shazhou fell asleep lying on his shoulders. The child remembered to eat but not to fight, and the two of them had gotten quite familiar with each other along the way.

Tian Erbao said: "I told you before, you still don't believe it, it's better than your hometown Shilazi?"

Shi Xiuxiu said, "It's just too remote."

Tian Erbao said: "Who says it's not? A road has been built on the other side of the mountain, and it will get better in the future."

After descending the mountain, they walked towards the village along a flat dirt road next to the canal.The clear canal water flows slowly, and there are many kinds of aquatic plants growing beside the canal, one of which has large swallow-tail-shaped leaves, and a bunch of small white flowers in full bloom, with three petals surrounded by yellow stamens, like a Smiling faces.

Shi Xiuxiu thought it was a narcissus, but Tian Erbao said it was a citrus mushroom, which had one less petal than the narcissus, and the bulbous root could be used for cooking.

Shi Xiuxiu plucked a few bunches of flowers and held them in her hands, admiring the smiling faces of the flowers as she walked, her tense and bored mood for the past few days became relaxed and happy.

Walking into the entrance of the village, Tian Erbao stopped, and said to Shi Xiuxiu with some embarrassment: "There is an older brother at home who is a little demented and has no evil intentions. Don't be afraid when you see him."

Shi Xiuxiu woke up Shazhou and hugged it by herself, and said with a smile: "You don't think our mother and I are causing you trouble, just do it."

Tian Erbao teased Shazhou and complained to Shi Xiuxiu: "It's not like you don't know, I'm willing to do anything for you."

Tian Erbao's family lived in three straw houses. The long straw was laid on top of each other from the eaves to the ridge.

Tian Erbao's parents seemed very happy and enthusiastic, busy cooking in the main room.Tian Dabao, Tian Erbao's older brother, was drooling and giggling and wanted to hug Shazhou, but Shazhou hid in Shi Xiuxiu's arms in fright.

Tian Erbao pushed and shoved Tian Dabao roughly out of the house, and severely warned him not to get close to the child and scare the child.

After dinner, Shi Xiuxiu went out of the house to walk around the yard, and when she came back, she asked Tian Erbao in a low voice, "Where is your hut?"

Tian Erbao said: "There is no hut in our family here, so you can go anywhere in the woods by the paddy field if you want."

Shi Xiuxiu was very strange: "How can there be such a casual thing?"

Tian Erbao said: "What's the matter, it's always been this custom." Then he picked up Shazhou and said: "Let's go out for a walk together."

The evening in Tianjiaao is noisy, the sound of frogs in the paddy field keeps coming and going, the small fish in the canal jump out of the water with splashes, and the birds returning to their nests in the forest are also chirping and making noise.

Shazhou had never seen so many interesting things in Shalitun. He played wildly like a little beast returning to the forest, and would not go back until it was completely dark.

At night, Shi Xiuxiu lay on the bed of a stranger's house with her arms around Shazhou, accompanied by the sound of frogs coming from outside the window, sleeping very sweetly and soundly.

The next day, Tian Erbao took Shi Xiuxiu to the mine to find work.Shi Xiuxiu wanted to hug the sandbar, but Tian Erbao said that there were still more than ten miles of mountain roads, and the mining area was not safe. He gave a lot of reasons and persuaded Shi Xiuxiu to leave the sandbar at home and let his parents take care of it.

Tian Erbao's parents are also trying their best to please Shazhou.Shazhou was exhausted these days, and she didn't want to go into the mountains with them, so Shi Xiuxiu had no choice but to leave Shazhou behind.

The two of them walked along a valley. There were no huge rocks in the valley, and almost all of them were naturally paved with weathered shale or granular shale, which was undulating but flat and firm.

A shallow creek in the valley flows on the light yellow shale, shining golden light under the sunlight.The valley is quiet and open, with twists and turns.

Tian Erbao said that people in the village used to go into the mountains along this valley to cut firewood and collect medicines. In recent years, coal mines were discovered on the mountains at the end of the valley.

At the end of the valley are several mountains made of shale, neither high nor steep, and the trees and shrubs are not tall but dense.Trees at the foot of the mountain and on gentle slopes were cut down, and wooden or iron derricks were erected, and deep wells with a diameter of about two meters were dug obliquely or vertically, and rocks or coal were hoisted up by manpower or hoisting.

This is the coal mine mentioned by Tian Erbao, which is actually a small coal mine.

People dig holes into the ground like bean rats. There are piles of shale, coal gangue and coal piled up next to the hole, as well as piles of newly felled pit logs that are as thick as bowls.The difference is that bean rats don't need so many resources to dig holes.

Tian Erbao found Tian Dashan in the village next to the wellhead with an iron derrick erected.

Tian Dashan is more than 30 years old, young and promising, and serves as the head of Tianjiaao Village.He was originally a mason, and he went to the city to work together with villagers in the early years. Later, he contracted several small projects by himself and earned a large amount of capital to set up his family and start a business.

Back in Tianjiaao, he took the lead in building enviable houses with brick and tile structures, and in the midst of widespread ridicule, he built separate huts for men and women. He wanted to change Tianjiaao's poor, backward, closed and ignorant status quo.

He glanced at Shi Xiuxiu, and asked Tian Erbao bluntly: "Aren't you fooling around outside?"

Tian Erbao said: "It's not easy to mess around outside, I want to find some work here with big brother."

Tian Dashan put his hands on his hips and said: "That's right. If you don't get famous, it's better to come back. Tianjiaao discovered the coal mine, which will change the fate of everyone. If Tianjiaao becomes rich, it will be a paradise on earth. See what you can do. The work in the well is light and the work in the mine is tiring, you decide for yourself.”

Tian Erbao said: "I'm not afraid of being tired, just earn more money."

Tian Dashan said: "Your height is very suitable for working underground. Go underground to dig coal. It costs [-] to [-] thousand a month. If you are able, you will come to work tomorrow."

Tian Erbao agreed.Shi Xiuxiu listened enviously and stretched Tian Erbao's skirt.Tian Erbao said to Tian Dashan again: "Can you find some work for her too?"

Tian Dashan looked at Shi Xiuxiu carefully again, and asked Tian Erbao: "Your wife?"

Tian Erbao hesitated and said yes.Tian Dashan thought for a while, then said to Shi Xiuxiu with a veiled smile: "Come and cook, a dozen people have two meals a day, and the wages are five hundred. If you can, come tomorrow."

Shi Xiuxiu was very satisfied and said thank you.

Tian Dashan shook his head secretly, he knew Tianjiaao's current situation too well, and Tian Erbao's personality too well.The second treasure of the Tian family is the product of the marriage of close relatives. The special environment and special family have created special characters. The big treasure is stupid and the second treasure is fine. One person seems to occupy the hearts of two people.

When they worked together before, Tian Erbao was a small worker, working hard and earning little money. Instead of thinking about learning a cooking skill, he was thinking about how to find a wife all day long.Seeing that there are few women on the construction site, I quit and went to find a place where women gather.

It is not easy for a man in Tianjiaao to find a woman. Without some extraordinary means, he can only be a bachelor for a lifetime. Most of the previous generation relied on changing relatives and marrying close relatives to complete the mission of inheriting the family.

In their generation, the young women in Aoli are like birds that have just left their nests, they will never come back after flying away.If you don't have outstanding abilities, you can only rely on picking up "trash" - marrying a woman who is mentally insufficient, physically disabled, or ugly.

The quality of the population in Tianjiaao is worrying. It is not as good as a generation of grasshoppers turned into grasshoppers. There are too many crooked melons and jujubes.

If Shi Xiuxiu is really Tian Erbao's woman, then Shi Xiuxiu is one of the few women in Tian Jiaao who can be admired.I don't know what tricks Tian Erbao played and what methods he used.

He was the woman who cooked raw rice first and gave birth to him two daughters, and she still complains about being tricked into the mountains by him.

Someone had already done the cooking, perhaps it was Shi Xiuxiu's childlike innocent smile and expectant eyes that moved him and made him feel compassionate.

Giving up the cooking work to Shi Xiuxiu is to at least support herself regardless of whether she was cheated or abducted, which can be regarded as indirectly helping her.

On the way back, Shi Xiuxiu looked at the mountains and rivers, and the air seemed to have an unusual taste. The mountains, rivers, trees, blue sky and white clouds embellished the future life she imagined colorfully.

From the barren hills of Shilazi to the desert of Shalitun, she was presented with a pair of monotonous and blunt faces, without such a wonderful, harmonious and relaxed sense of intimacy.She likes Tianjiaao from the bottom of her heart, and she is full of hope that she can live in Tianjiaao for a long time.

She has already started planning in her heart, writing a letter to ask Sha Wanli to come over, dig coal or raise sheep, it is better to live here than to live in Shalitun.

I can't help being secretly proud that this trip was not in vain, and I found a home for that home that was precarious in the wind and sand.

Shi Xiuxiu asked Tian Erbao without blame: "Why do you admit that I am your daughter-in-law?"

Tian Erbao walked with his head sullen, not saying a word.

It was almost noon at this time, the sun was shining obliquely into the valley, the forest on one side was bright and clear, and the forest on the other side was gloomy and gloomy.The breeze swirls weakly in the valley, and the mountains and forests are sometimes silent and sometimes trembling and trembling, only the stream flows tirelessly and silently.

Shi Xiuxiu pushed Tian Erbao: "I'm asking you something."

Tian Erbao suddenly turned around and hugged Shi Xiuxiu, his rosy face was tightly pressed against Shi Xiuxiu's slightly rough face worn by the wind and sand, his lips were trembling and he could not speak: "Come with me, I like sandbars too, You'll have a good time."

The mountains and forests were instantly silent, the streams seemed to be frozen, and the deep valleys were deserted, only the birds chirping happily in the depths of the mountains and forests.

Shi Xiuxiu was paralyzed in Tian Erbao's rough embrace, as if she had returned to her girlhood in a trance.A weak heart beats anxiously, flying timidly and freely like a bird in this yearning world.

A gust of wind blows through the mouth of the valley, and the mountain forest shakes and makes a strong, crackling, crackling sound, just like the wind and sand in Shalitun, hitting and knocking on the windows continuously.

She shook her head vigorously, and managed to force out a word from her throat: "Don't mess around."

Tian Erbao was in a state of madness. The hunger and thirst of more than 30 years could not be restrained and burst out. His eyes were straight and his face was blue. He was trembling and carried Shi Xiuxiu to the depths of the mountain forest.

Shi Xiuxiu woke up suddenly, realized what Tian Erbao wanted to do, raised his hand and slapped Tian Erbao hard, and shouted: "Tian Erbao, you are not human."

Struggling to break free from Tian Erbao's arm, he got out of the forest.

Tian Erbao grabbed Shi Xiuxiu's shoulder and begged, "Xiuxiu, you don't know, after you left with that soldier, I was so sad that I died."

Shi Xiuxiu shook her shoulders to get rid of Tian Erbao's hands, her disheveled hair yelled, "You know that I have a man and a child, so why don't you give up?"

Tian Erbao still didn't let go: "I don't care."

Shi Xiuxiu squatted on the ground covering her face and wept bitterly, crying that she had never encountered the best of both worlds in such a big way.

Shi Xiuxiu's crying softened Tian Erbao, he bent down to coax her, and repeatedly showed that he liked her too much and definitely didn't intend to hurt her.

Shi Xiuxiu cried and walked back quickly, and decided to leave Tianjiaao immediately with Shazhou. The frightening thing was not Tian Erbao's crazy behavior, but she found that she also began to waver.

Tian Erbao blamed himself for being careful all the way, and influenced Shi Xiuxiu with his considerate care.Shi Xiuxiu gradually calmed down, although she was furious, her tone was soft as water: "If you really liked me, you wouldn't treat me like this."

Tian Erbao is obedient, and has repeatedly stated that he will never do this again.Back at Tian Erbao's house, the food was ready and put in the pot, but Tian Erbao's parents were nowhere to be found, nor the sandbar.

Tian Erbao asked Tian Dabao who was squatting by the door, Tian Dabao looked at Shi Xiuxiu with a silly smile, and said vaguely, "Auntie, I'm leaving early."

Tian Erbao explained to Shi Xiuxiu that the aunt's house was probably in a hurry, and his parents couldn't wait for them to come back, and they couldn't throw the sandbar to Tian Dabao, so they had to take the sandbar to visit relatives.

After lunch, Tian Dabao took the two buffaloes at home and went somewhere, Tian Erbao asked Shi Xiuxiu to take a nap at home, and he went to pull weeds in the paddy field.With Shazhou not by her side, Shi Xiuxiu couldn't be in the mood to sleep, so she followed Tian Erbao to see the paddy fields.

Walking on the field ridge more than one foot wide, covered with grass and wild vegetables, Tian Erbao said that his family has five acres of paddy fields, with two rice crops a year, and a small amount of hillside land, where grains and vegetables are grown. Can't finish it.

Shi Xiuxiu suddenly thought of a question: "You said that rice has been growing in water, what can we do without water?"

Tian Erbao thought Shi Xiuxiu's question was ridiculous: "The rainwater on the mountain is accumulated in the reservoir, the water in the reservoir is put into the canal and the fields, and the excess water flows down the mountain. How can there be no water? Tianjiaao has never been short of water."

Shi Xiuxiu smiled wryly to herself, her thoughts hadn't left Shalitun yet.

In the square paddy fields, there are already people working with bent backs, all elderly men and women above middle age.

Tian Erbao went down to his family's field and bent down to pull weeds. The rice is in the tiller growth period and has not yet headed. It is also a critical period to control the overgrowth of various weeds.

Shi Xiuxiu was squatting on the ridge of the field, and she found a layer of light green aquatic plants floating on the water surface of the paddy field, only half the size of a rice grain, with a small thin leaf, which would scatter around with the fluctuations of the water when the breeze blows. Most of them gather at the roots of seedlings.

Unable to pinch his fingers, he cupped them with water in both hands, looking at the small creature in the palm of his hand, his heart trembled for some reason.She asked Tian Erbao what it was, and Tian Erbao said it was "floating sand".

Floating sand!Floating sand!She kept muttering in her heart.Perhaps it is too weak, unable to withstand the wind and rain, without foundation and helpless, so it is called this name when it drifts with the wind?
She didn't know that Piaosha was a kind of duckweed, the smallest seed plant in the world, but she just felt that she was so much like this leaf Piaosha, how much she needed a stable home.

Shi Xiuxiu took off her shoes, rolled up her trouser legs and went down to the field to help Tian Erbao pull weeds.The feet are sunken in the soft soil, and the feet tightly wrapped by the soil can feel the strong adsorption force of the soil, and feel the thick enthusiasm and temperature of the soil.

The seedlings are soft green in the sun, and they stretch out their sword-like leaves tall and confident.In the rice fields, frogs are jumping, small fish are churning, and red, green, and blue dragonflies are flying leisurely.

Even the weak floating sands are tightly clustered together, showing off the splendor of life to the sky and the earth.

She was sweating all over, and her whole body was transparent and comfortable. This was the heat that burst out from the inside out, which was fundamentally different from the heat that evaporated from the inside of her body from the outside to the inside when she was scorched by the sun in Shalitun.

This is the pleasure brought by close contact with soil and water, and it is also the joy of labor that cannot be experienced in growing grain in the crevices of stones.

She threw the plucked weeds into a ball on the field ridge, and went hand in hand with Tian Erbao, as if she had been familiar with this kind of farm work for a long time, and it was easy to do it.

After pulling out two fields, Tian Erbao said to go back and rest early, and he had to go to work tomorrow.The two washed their feet by the ditch, put on their shoes and walked back along the field ridge one after the other.

Thinking of going to work tomorrow to cook for others and earning 500 yuan a month without being tired, Shi Xiuxiu happily changed her mind and decided to stay in Tianjiaao.

The surrounding mountains blocked her sight, blocked her connection with the outside world, and also blocked her past life outside the mountains, as if the life she was looking forward to was originally like this.

Until the evening, Tian Erbao's parents and Shazhou hadn't come back yet, so Shi Xiuxiu couldn't sit still.Tian Erbao said that he has three aunts, all of whom live outside Dashan. Even if there is nothing to do, it is impossible to come back in the same day. It is normal for them to live for ten days and a half months.

Shi Xiuxiu faintly felt that something was wrong, it wouldn't be as simple as Tian Erbao said, how could such a coincidence happen?

Even though Tian Erbao swore that his parents liked Shazhou very much and that Shazhou would never make any mistakes, she was still worried and anxious.I didn't feel like eating dinner, so I kept standing outside the courtyard gate and looking into the distance.

The sky gradually darkened, and the black curtain rose from the surrounding mountains, and slowly closed over Tianjia'ao, covering the stars and making it completely dark.The dim lights in the small mountain village are sparse like fireflies.

The remaining heat from the earth dissipated, and the cold air came from the valley. Shi Xiuxiu stood in the dark and shivered slightly, and refused to go back to the house despite Tian Erbao's persuasion.

Tian Erbao was suffering in his heart, burning with pain, and punched himself on the head in the dark.He hugged Shi Xiuxiu's shoulder and said loudly: "I'm going to give up the job I just found, and I'll take you back to the sandbank tomorrow, will this work for the head office?"

It was hard for Shi Xiuxiu to believe Tian Erbao's words anymore. Thinking of what he did during the day, a terrible thought flashed in his mind: They couldn't use the sandbar to blackmail me, could they?
The sandbar is her lifeblood, and for the sake of the safety of the sandbar, everything can be left behind.She trembled weakly and said, "As long as the sandbar is in good condition, I will do anything to you."

Tian Erbao said angrily, "What nonsense are you talking about?"

Forcibly pulling her back into the house, persuading her to eat and let her go to bed earlier, did not force her to offend her.

The next morning, Shi Xiuxiu, who hadn't slept soundly all night, thought with relief: Maybe things are really as he said, because I think too much?Or go to work with him, and everything will be discussed after Shazhou returns.

Just after breakfast, Tian Dashan came to pick them up on a motorcycle.After coming to the mine, they simply arranged their respective jobs.

Shi Xiuxiu's work is relatively simple. There are two pots in a straw shed covered by thatch. One meal and one dish are cooked at noon, and another meal is enough for the evening shift before leaving get off work.

Tian Erbao's job is to carry, put on a safety helmet and a miner's lamp, sit with two other people in an iron bucket half a person's height, and be transported vertically down the mine shaft by a winch.

The mine is more than [-] meters deep. After finding the coal seam, dig along the direction of the coal seam. One person digs in front and the other supports the pit logs behind. Tian Erbao is responsible for transporting pit logs and coal back and forth in the roadway.

The roadway is low, narrow and dark, no more than two meters wide, and the highest point is no more than 1.5 meters. When encountering huge rocks that cannot be chewed, the roadway is less than one meter low.It is impossible for people to walk upright in it, they can only squat, kneel or bend over to work.

The air is difficult to circulate, and in the light circle of the miner's lamp, the coal dust is like a thick layer of black curtain, tightly wrapping the human body.The sound of the sharp pick hitting the rock and coal seam, the hum of the hatchet hitting the pit wood, mixed with the heavy breathing of the person, made it more dull and suffocating.

The whole mountain is pressing on the top of the head, and the squeezing force with huge energy hangs high, which will crush the balance-breaking person anytime and anywhere.

I work ten hours a day, and return to the bottom of the pit during the break, looking at the distant sky above my head, eating and smoking.He looked human when he went down the well, but he looked like a nigger out of hell when he went up the well, his eyes and teeth were frighteningly white.

Tian Erbao couldn't work properly the first day, with many bruises and bruises on his body, and was exhausted on the way back.He said to Shi Xiuxiu, "We also have to buy a motorcycle."

Shi Xiuxiu supported him and said, "I'm too tired, don't do it."

Tian Erbao insisted: "It will be fine once you get used to it."

It was almost dark when I got home, and Shi Xiuxiu didn't see the scene she expected: Shazhou ran out of the house calling for her mother.

Tian Dabao squatted at the door and yelled at them.Shi Xiuxiu didn't have time to think about it, first boiled a pot of hot water for Tian Erbao to scrub his body, and then started cooking.

Tian Erbao washed it twice in the yard before his true colors were revealed, and his eye circles looked like those of a giant panda.The water underfoot seeps into the soil, depositing a layer of soot.

Shi Xiuxiu couldn't help laughing and said, "After working for a few years, you can dig coal in your yard."

A few days later, Tian Erbao asked Tian Dashan to buy a second-hand motorcycle and drove Shi Xiuxiu to and from work, saving time and energy.

At the end of the month, the two got their wages.Tian Erbao handed over his wages and a small amount of savings to Shi Xiuxiu, and begged, "Stay here. If we continue to work like this, we will be able to build a new house in less than ten years and live a good life."

Where can I go if I don't stay?Tian Erbao was able to hand over the hard-earned money to her, which undoubtedly really moved her.More importantly, these days, she has completely departed from that home in Shalitun from the bottom of her heart.

Even if Sha Wanli found her at this time, she might not leave Tianjiaao with Sha Wanli.

She took the initiative to hand herself over to Tian Erbao, and only put forward one condition: "I can't give birth to you, your family is not well established, what can you do like your brother?"

Tian Erbao gritted his teeth and agreed: "Shazhou has to follow my surname, called Tian Shazhou."

Tian Erbao's parents and Shazhou finally returned home.Shazhou lost the inherent rosy complexion of Shalitun people, and became white and fat.

Shi Xiuxiu hugged Shazhou and wanted to cry, but she heard Shazhou affectionately calling her grandpa, grandma, father and uncle. She only directed her anger and hatred towards the two old people.

Ten years later, they built three brick and tile houses of their own, and according to Shi Xiuxiu's wishes, they built a thatched hut with a roof in a corner of the yard.

Shazhou has grown into a young man, tall, strong and sensible. He went to junior high school in the same year as Tian Xiaoxia, Tian Dashan's youngest daughter, and his academic performance is not bad.

The family conditions improved, and Tian Erbao treated his mother and child well. Shi Xiuxiu began to secretly think about having a child for Tian Erbao.But as soon as he saw the sandbar higher than his head, the outline of his face grew longer and more like Sha Wanli, and he pressed down on this idea again.

I have already betrayed Sha Wanli, and I must not wrong his child again.

Three years later, Shazhou was admitted to the county high school as she wished, and lived in school for a long time. The family suddenly became deserted, and Shi Xiuxiu began to think about having another child.

One day, Shi Xiuxiu was cooking in the thatched shed, when Tian Dashan came in and said, "Tomorrow I'm going to the county to do some business, and I'll take a look at the children, do you want to bring anything?"

Although Tian Xiaoxia didn't get into high school, she cried and clamored to go to school with Shazhou, so Tian Dashan had to spend money to set up a self-funded student for her.Shi Xiuxiu said: "Bring some money and food, and I'll deliver them to your home in the evening."

Tian Dashan sat down and looked at Shi Xiuxiu and said, "I'm surprised, Tian Erbao is rickety, and you are also pocket-sized. Why did you raise such a handsome and promising eldest son?"

The topic of his son is both sensitive and proud, Shi Xiuxiu will not follow his train of thought: "If you are greedy, give birth to one."

Tian Dashan sighed and said, "I don't have a son. How about asking Shazhou to be my son-in-law?"

Shi Xiuxiu smiled: "We are working under you, and our son will be sent to your door to be bullied by your father and daughter. It's a good idea."

Tian Dashan said seriously: "I like this kid, how can I lose him in the future?"

Shi Xiuxiu said: "My son will go to college in the future."

In the middle of speaking, the feet suddenly trembled a few times abnormally, and a puff of black smoke shot up from the hole not far away.

Tian Dashan yelled badly, and bumped his head out.

Shi Xiuxiu followed and ran out, and when she found out that a landslide had occurred, and all three people in the well were buried inside, she passed out beside the pit mouth without a sound.

The landslide caused two deaths and one injury.Tian Erbao recovered his life because he was close to the mouth of the pit. He was sent to the county hospital for treatment for more than two months, but he still had no feeling in his lower limbs. The doctor judged that he might be permanently paralyzed.

When disaster struck, Shi Xiuxiu was still sober and rational. While nursing Tian Erbao in hospital, she secretly aborted the child who was pregnant for more than a month.He planned to tell Tian Erbao after he became pregnant, but now he can only keep concealing it, so as not to increase his pain.

Shi Xiuxiu sent a letter to Shalitun, not asking for Sha Wanli's forgiveness, but only wanting Sha Wanli to take back his son so that his son can be admitted to university without any worries.

This is a letter that should have been sent long ago, ten years is too long.In the township government where Shalitun is located, people familiar with Sha Fujiu and Sha Wanli either retired, transferred or forgot. The letter was returned intact because there was no trace of this person.

After Tian Erbao was discharged from the hospital, he could only walk on crutches and completely lost the ability to work.Although Tian Dashan paid 1 yuan in compensation, Shi Xiuxiu still felt that this day would not be able to live. She told Tian Dashan: "I don't cook, I go down the well."

Tian Dashan said dejectedly: "Nonsense, is that a woman's job? I'm not going to open a coal mine anymore."

This accident caused Tian Dashan to be devastated, the village head was raped, and the compensation to the family members was not counted, and he was fined a huge sum of money by the Safety Supervision Bureau of the Environmental Protection Bureau.Accidents occur frequently, the environment is severely damaged, and the higher authorities also intend to shut down small coal mines.

For more than ten years, the hills where the mining area is located have been dug out and riddled with holes, the trees have been cut down, and it is desolate.The rain washed away the sulfur-containing coal gangue, and the black and dark yellow streams flowed into the canals and into the paddy fields.

The water quality became acidic, the soil hardened and the rice seedlings turned yellow, and grain production was reduced in a large area. Tianjia'ao paid a heavy price.

Shi Xiuxiu didn't care about it: "Tian Erbao was injured working for you, you have to be responsible to the end."

"How do you want me to be responsible? Give him a pension and die?"

"I don't care, if my family is hungry, I will eat at your house."

Later, Tian Dashan started his old business and formed an engineering team to go to the county to do construction work, and took Shi Xiuxiu there to let her run a snack bar for migrant workers independently.

Although the income is not much, it should not be a problem to support his son to study.It is also close to the school in Shazhou, so I can take better care of my son.Shazhou also often brings Tian Xiaoxia to help out in her spare time, giving hope to her miserable life.

I get up early every morning to buy vegetables, cook and sell my own three meals a day, and I have to be busy until ninety o'clock in the evening before I can rest.Fortunately, migrant workers only want to be full and not to be happy, so they can handle it with a little hard work alone.

The snack department is three prefabricated houses rented by Tian Dashan to Shi Xiuxiu at a low price, one for sleeping and one for kitchen, and one for four dining tables.No one was eating, so she cleaned up and washed the dishes.

Tian Dashan came in, put a big hand on her shoulder, and asked her: "Is this arrangement satisfactory to me?"

She said, "You still have a conscience."

Tian Dashan laughed at himself twice: "I have a conscience? Yes, I have a conscience. How about I give you some warmth?"

As he spoke, he stroked the back of her neck.

Shi Xiuxiu grabbed a kitchen knife and turned around sharply, glaring at Tian Dashan: "You have always taken care of me, I thank you, but you can't bully me casually."

Tian Dashan took a step back and said, "I'm serious if I'm just kidding. People are small and their minds are fucking small."

Angrily slammed the door and left.

Shi Xiuxiu was lying alone on the narrow iron bed of the prefabricated house, looking back at the things she had walked, and the only thing that made her truly feel warm and nostalgic was those few years in Shalitun.

How much she wanted to go back to her parents and Sha Wanli, she would never leave no matter how hard the wind and sand were.She knows what to cherish and what not to abandon, but where are they?

Life is already dilapidated, and all hopes are pinned on his son.Unexpectedly, Shazhou suddenly asked her to drop out of school, hoping to find a job sooner.Ask him why he didn't say anything, he was as stubborn as a little donkey.

Ask Tian Xiaoxia about the situation, but Tian Xiaoxia hesitates to explain clearly.

The matter of the son here has not been clarified yet, and Tian Dashan brought her another shocking news from Tianjiaao: Tian Erbao committed suicide by jumping into an abandoned mine.

Shi Xiuxiu closed the snack bar and took Shazhou back to the funeral. Shazhou stuck his neck and said, "I won't go back, he's not my real father."

I also know that I can't hide it after all. Sooner or later, how can I let him know the truth at this juncture?Is dropping out of school also related to this?
Shi Xiuxiu patiently pleaded with her son: "Whether he is your own father or not, he has raised you for more than ten years, and he has worked hard without credit. It is always right to dress him in mourning."

Sha Zhou was unmoved, and said with a gloomy face, "He deserves to die."

"Crack." Shi Xiuxiu gave her son a firm slap.It was the first time she hit her son since she was a child, and the pain in her hand showed how hard she hit her, and she trembled with anger, "I beat you heartless."

Shazhou clutched his cheeks, tears of grievance and resentment rolled down in strings.

After Tian Erbao had an accident, the burden of family life fell on Shi Xiuxiu alone, and he had already thought of dropping out of school.He is preoccupied and doesn't like to joke, and his academic performance plummets.

Tian Xiaoxia asked him what was wrong, and he said, "My dad is already like that. I don't want my mom to do anything for me. Working early is the best choice."

Tian Xiaoxia said hesitantly: "I didn't want to say it, but now I have to. During the summer vacation, I overheard my father and my mother telling me that you and your mother were abducted by Tian Erbao. Look Are you like their family? It's not worth giving up your studies for that family. "

Tian Xiaoxia's words confirmed the doubts that had been hidden in her heart all along: Grandpa and grandma loved him very much, but they were always cautious, for fear of saying the wrong thing or doing the wrong thing; That natural relationship with my mother.

He didn't dare or didn't want to believe this fact, so he went back to Tianjiaao alone without telling his mother a few days ago.Facing Tian Erbao who had been called his father for more than ten years, he only asked one sentence: "Am I your biological son?"

Tian Erbao opened his mouth and didn't speak. He slumped on the ground while supporting his crutches, his distorted face was full of panic.

This is enough to explain everything, he stared at Tian Erbao coldly, until Tian Erbao lowered his heavy head, he turned around and left.

He just wanted to know who his biological father was, and if he could find his biological father as soon as possible, why would he be willing to attend Tian Erbao's funeral?

Shi Xiuxiu shed tears and said: "The fault is my fault alone. If you don't go back to the funeral, don't recognize me as a mother."

If it was really abduction, the Tian family didn't restrict the freedom of their mother and child, why didn't they run or call the police?Could it be that the mother abandoned her biological father?
Shazhou is suffering because of this, what is all this for?He didn't want to make his mother sad, so he reluctantly followed Shi Xiuxiu back to Tianjiaao, doing all the courtesy a filial son should do.

After the funeral was over, Shi Xiuxiu felt a sense of relief.She knew it was cruel and immoral, but she just felt like life had taken on a new look.

She said to the two elders of Tian's family: "Your son bought the house with his life, and I don't want it."

Tian Erbao's father lowered his head into his crotch, and Tian Erbao's mother screamed: "You committed a crime! God will repay you!"

Shi Xiuxiu took Shazhou back along the way he came, and Tian Dabao followed behind him not far or near.

Sandbar stopped.Among the Tian family members, he is closest to Uncle Silly.

When he was a child, the silly uncle took him up the mountain to hunt birds and fish in the canal, and played with him like a child.When he was happy, the silly uncle grinned, and when he cried, the silly uncle burst into tears.

After entering high school in the county, every time he went home, the silly uncle would pick him up and put him on the back of the cow just like he did when he was a child.In his eyes, the silly uncle is not stupid, but a child who has not grown up.

He said to Tian Dabao: "Uncle, I'm going back to school, don't follow me."

Tian Dabao seemed to have a premonition that he would never return, scratching his ears and cheeks in anxiety, speechless.Shazhou put his arms around Tian Dabao's shoulder and said, "If you are disobedient, I will ignore you from now on."

Tian Dabao grinned, which was uglier than crying.Shi Xiuxiu said, "Brother, go back."

Shazhou said: "I will come back to see you, I lied to you that you are a puppy."

Only then did Tian Dabao stop, watching their mother and child walk away.

If Tian Erbao has a spirit in the sky, he doesn't know how he should feel after seeing this scene.

After using crutches, he would often sit on the stone at the gate of the courtyard for most of the day. The past was like a mist that permeated the paddy fields in the mountains, and everything he saw was blurred.

He left the glove weaving factory amid the ridicule and teasing of the women, and he only remembered Shi Xiuxiu as a good person.The unexpected reunion with Shi Xiuxiu made him overjoyed, and he was always thinking about how to keep Shi Xiuxiu in Tianjiaao.After planning with their parents, they performed a good show together.

Seeing that Shi Xiuxiu didn't eat or drink for the sake of the child, he once gave up this idea. He didn't expect Shi Xiuxiu to take the initiative to stay, but the conditions were a bit harsh.

The first day he went down to the well, he suffered a lot, and he didn't want to do it any more. It was a job done by a group of cheap people.For Shi Xiuxiu, he gritted his teeth and persisted.

Like a mountain mouse, he has drilled a mine for more than ten years, in exchange for a perfect but incomplete family life.When I am happy, I think, I also have a wife and son; when I am unhappy, I think, I am supporting other people’s wives and children.

It's not that he hasn't thought about having a child of his own. One is that he is afraid of being born with a disability as Shi Xiuxiu said, and the other is that the burden is too heavy.Raising the two children, I have to drill a mine for a lifetime, and I will never raise my head and turn over.

When Shazhou graduated from junior high school, he had the idea of ​​letting Shazhou drop out of school to work.Shi Xiuxiu said, if you don't admit that Shazhou is your son, I will support my son's education.

He thought about the price he had to pay for this, so he had no choice but to dismiss the idea.Fortunately, Shazhou is still sensible and promising. When Shazhou gets married and starts a business, he and Shi Xiuxiu can relax.

Accompanied by a dull loud noise, he was crushed in the mountain, and everything was shattered into dust.

Shi Xiuxiu didn't leave him, there was still a glimmer of hope left.When Shazhou's icy eyes pierced him like a sharp blade with a cold light, he was forced to the edge of the cliff, and there was only one way to go in front of him.

He jumped into Heigu Midwinter's mine, and he believed that Shi Xiuxiu and Shazhou would remember him forever.

Walking out of the sandbar in Tianjiaao, I firmly refused to go back to school.Shi Xiuxiu couldn't hold back her son, so she had to find Tian Dashan to arrange a job for her.

Tian Dashan also supports Shazhou's approach: "Even if you can get into university, you will still be looking for a job everywhere in the future. It is better to step into the society early and accumulate more social experience. Maybe you will have a big future in the future."

Shazhou started to run errands and do chores for Tian Dashan, and had more time to help Shi Xiuxiu.The mother and son planned to return to Shalitun to look for Sha Wanli immediately after the project was completed, but the construction period was delayed until before the Spring Festival.

Tian Dashan asked where they celebrated the New Year, Shi Xiuxiu said back to Shi Lazi for the New Year.

Tian Dashan gave Shazhou his old mobile phone, saying that a friend of his had won a big project in a development zone in southern Liaoning, and asked Shazhou to keep in touch with him anytime, anywhere, and rush over there as soon as construction started.

Shi Xiuxiu suddenly thought, I heard from Sha Wanli before that one of his distant cousins ​​married to Liaonan, would he also be there?

Shazhou also thought: Did my father come to Shilazi to look for us?

Things came to a head, the mother and son hurried back to Shilazi, and really got some news.

Although the old village head passed away, his family still remembers Sha Wanli's Qianli Xunzi back then, but the exact address has been forgotten for too long, probably in the southern Liaoning area.

The goal was further clarified, and the mother and son spent an impatient but relaxed and happy New Year in the three simple stone houses in Shilazi.

After the weather got warmer, Tian Dashan called, and the mother and son followed the engineering team to Wulongdi yesterday afternoon.Temporarily borrowing in someone else's work shed, only a hundred meters away from Shawanli's old house.

Early this morning, Shi Xiuxiu went to the vegetable market to buy vegetables, and asked Shazhou to lead people to set up a prefabricated house to prepare for the opening of the day.Unexpectedly, he was arrested and sent to the police station for hurting others, and this was the scene of his unexpected encounter with Sha Wanli.

Thinking of this, Shi Xiuxiu hailed a taxi, and she was eager to tell her son the good news.

When she came to the police station, Shazhou was sitting on a bench waiting for her.She grabbed her son's hand and said very quickly: "We found your father, we found it!"

(End of this chapter)

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