Father's Land Mother's River

Chapter 15 Seeing the smoke again
At noon on the day Liu Xiaonan received the high school admission notice, he was mowing grass on the mountain with his mother and uncle under the scorching sun.

In August, the thatch and barnyardgrass in the cornfield have grown to maturity. Select the plots with thick grass to mow the grass with a sickle, and hold it to the terraced ridge to dry it quickly. Powdered into bran is a good feed for pigs.

The scorching heat is like a big steamer with no edges, nowhere to hide, and it is even more sweaty and out of breath when drilling into the cornfield.

Mother and uncle still have to work in the production team in the afternoon, so they can only use the hottest time of noon to mow the grass. Liu Xiaonan has to follow no matter how reluctant she is.

The bitter and salty sweat seemed to have dried up, and his face flushed, as if a layer of skin had been peeled off by the scorching heat, which was hot and uncomfortable.He gulped down the already warm raw water, and quickly drained it from his sweat pores.

After her mother and uncle left, Liu Xiaonan found a puddle in the ravine and soaked herself in it.The water is very shallow, and you can only cover your belly when you lie down, which is enough to dispel the heat and relieve the symptoms of heat stroke.

Lying on his back in some dirty puddles, looking up at the frozen white clouds in the sky, his heart was very erratic.Teacher Cheng said that we should stick to our dreams, so what kind of dreams are we talking about if we can’t get into high school?
He is not sure whether he can regard being a writer as a dream, he does not believe that he has that ability, it is just a path set by Gu Yu wishful thinking for him, it is just a subconscious wish.Since it is only a primitive wish, it is like the white clouds in the sky, far away and out of reach.

After recovering a little bit of physical strength, Liu Xiaonan felt hungry, looked around to see that there was no one on the mountain, then broke off a few thick branches from the bushes, and burrowed into the depths of the cornfield.

He put a few thick tree sticks on the ridge platform, broke off two ears of tender corn and put them on it, collected dry corn leaves around, lit them and roasted them slowly over a low fire, trying to prevent green smoke from coming out as much as possible.

After all, it is a kind of theft, and you must be careful not to be discovered.Rural kids all do something similar, both as an adventure and as another way to fill their bellies.

After gnawing two ears of half-baked tender corn, Liu Xiaonan buried the ashes with soil, leaving no clues.Drenched in sweat, he just got out of the cornfield when he heard Guan Xiaoyun calling him loudly.

Guan Xiaoyun pushed his bicycle and stood by the side of the road.The immature face under the blue scarf is a little darker than when I was in school, and the fine beads of sweat seeping out are like strings of dew on the petals in the morning.

Running around selling popsicles for more than a month, the most direct social practice has worn away all the traces of a student on her body, and her once erratic gaze has become steady and focused.

His slender and fit body, who was able to run and dance well when he was young, has grown taller again, like a young white poplar with vigorous vitality, standing tall and healthy and strong, which makes people's eyes shine, as if seeing all the beautiful things in the world.

When Liu Xiaonan approached Guan Xiaoyun, this intuitive feeling made him feel that he had also grown taller.He suddenly realized that because he was so familiar, he had never observed the subtle changes in Guan Xiaoyun's body like this.

This change was so sudden that he was caught off guard and flustered. It was impossible for him to ignore her existence anymore.

He asked, "How did the popsicles go up the mountain?"

"You have been admitted to high school, and I'm here to send you a notice."

Guan Xiaoyun took out the notice and handed it to Liu Xiaonan.On the way to sell popsicles, she met a teacher from the school's teaching office who was distributing notices, and brought them back to Liu Xiaonan by the way.Liu Xiaonan was not at home, so she went to the mountain.

Liu Xiaonan carefully read the notice, which stated the specific reporting date and precautions, and it was stamped with the seal of No.13 Middle School.He was not overly excited, but he was deeply relieved, but it was just a small step closer to the life goal that Gu Yu set for him.

He asked Guan Xiaoyun: "Are you going along with it?"

"We didn't have any hope at all. The teacher said that only a dozen people were admitted to your key class."

"Then what will you do next?"

"What can you do? How can a living person be suffocated by urine?" Guan Xiaoyun took out a few popsicles from the wooden box and stuffed them into Liu Xiaonan's hands: "Eat them to cool down, you can see that you are so hot that you are sweating. "

Liu Xiaonan declined: "I won't eat it, you can keep it for sale."

"If I let you eat it, you can eat it. Why are you being polite to me?" Guan Xiaoyun took out a few more popsicles and took the lead in eating: "I sold enough for today, and there are only a dozen sticks left. It's not good if it softens." Sell."

"It's not easy for you."

"Don't look down on selling popsicles. One popsicle earns two cents. I can earn three or four yuan a day. My dad said, I keep the money I earn by myself. I have saved more than 100 yuan in the past month or so. A strong laborer earns work points in the production team, and after a year, he can only have this little money left over."

"You're pretty capable."

"I've made up my mind. When it's hot, I'll buy popsicles for a while, and when the weather turns cold, I'll learn to tailor. I'll make clothes at home in the future, and I'm sure I can make money. When I finish my craft, I'll take care of all your clothes. .”

"Is it free?"

"Not only is it not free, but the manual fee is doubled."

"You lost money."

After eating the popsicles happily, the two went down the mountain and walked home together.Liu Xiaonan was always relaxed and happy when he was with Guan Xiaoyun, without the sense of urgency and oppression that he had when he was with Gu Yu.

No.13 Middle School is located at the seat of the township government of Dahe Manchu Autonomous Township, in the lower reaches of the Fuzhou River. It is built on a hillside and is a comprehensive school that combines junior and senior high schools.There are three rows of bungalows in the front and back, and the dirt playground is not much bigger than the production team yard. It is no different from other rural middle schools. The high school after the merger of the four towns is located here.

On the day when she came to report, Liu Xiaonan learned that their current class of high school students only recruited less than a hundred students, divided into two classes of arts and sciences.Their township middle school was the worst in the high school entrance examination. Of the more than 200 junior high school students, only one was admitted to the county's key high school, and 13 were admitted to ordinary high schools.

The first is to choose the arts and sciences.English courses are offered for the liberal arts subject of the college entrance examination; for the science subject of the technical secondary school, there is no need to learn English.

Liu Xiaonan originally wanted to apply for liberal arts, but her English scores were poor.When I was in junior high school, I didn't study English seriously. I felt that learning English was useless, so I didn't study it seriously.Learning from the beginning will create a gap with students from other schools, and I feel very troubled.

After discussion, more than a dozen students signed up for the science department together.Rural children can be admitted to a technical secondary school and find a way out for themselves, even if they are burning high incense, how can they dare to expect to be admitted to a university?That's the single-plank bridge with thousands of troops.

When Liu Zhixin came home and found out that his son was admitted to high school, although he was quite satisfied in his heart, he reprimanded him: "Why didn't you get into a key high school? You just read your extracurricular books all day long, and didn't put your mind on studying at all."

Liu Xiaonan didn't make any excuses, he knew it was useless to say anything to his father, whatever he said, his father would use his former No.1 to suppress him, and he didn't dare to mention his dream to his father.I was in a very happy mood, but because of my father's reprimand, it became messy and I felt conflicted.

His father didn't ask about his choice of subjects and school conditions, but he repaired his bicycle quietly. He wasn't sure if his father really cared about him.

After the ninth grade started, Liu Xiaonan quickly established a friendship with her deskmate Yu Zhiyong.Yu Zhiyong's home is far from the school, and he lives in the school for a long time. He wears patches on his clothes, and the sleeves and trouser legs are short and then patched.

Liu Xiaonan also wore cut-off clothes when she was in junior high school. This phenomenon is very common. After high school, few people wear them, which shows that the family conditions are not very good.

Liu Xiaonan likes Yu Zhiyong's forthright and optimistic personality. He doesn't feel ashamed because of his shabby clothes.

Liu Xiaonan brings lunch. After lunch, she sometimes goes to the student dormitory to sit and watch the dormitory students catch lice.There are not many students in the dormitory, and the conditions are very simple. It is not surprising that there are lice on their bodies.

At noon that day, Yu Zhiyong carried a cloth bag under his arm and quietly led Liu Xiaonan out of the dormitory.The two jumped out of the school's courtyard wall and came to a secluded and deserted place. Yu Zhiyong opened the cloth bag, which contained a single-card recorder.

This is a rare item, and it is considered good for ordinary people to have a Chunlei brand radio.Liu Xiaonan was puzzled, and asked Yu Zhiyong nervously: "Where did you get it?"

Yu Zhiyong smiled mysteriously and said, "Looking at you like that, you seem to suspect that I stole it. Yes, it was stolen from my father. Do you want to listen to the song? You must have never heard it. It sounds much better than a model play."

Before Liu Xiaonan could express his opinion, Yu Zhiyong pressed the play button, a music and singing style that he had never heard before, blowing like a gust of breeze: I saw the cooking smoke rising again, and the twilight covered the earth. I wanted to ask the cooking smoke, where are you going? ;The setting sun is poetic, and the dusk is picturesque. Although the poetic and picturesque is beautiful, I only have you in my heart.
The fresh and beautiful music, the otherworldly lyrics, and the sweet voice are like streams of clear springs, watering the desolate heart.What's more, there are bold and explicit lyrics like "I only have you in my heart", which makes the two boys who have just stepped into the ranks of young people feel excited and blushed, reveling in the artistic conception and charm they have never experienced before, like arrogant and unruly horses , Mercedes-Benz in the vast fields.

Liu Xiaonan asked Yu Zhiyong who sang this song.Yu Zhiyong showed him the cover of the tape. It was a Taiwanese named Teresa Teng.

Liu Xiaonan broke out in a cold sweat, and immediately asked Yu Zhiyong to turn off the tape recorder.This is a debauched sound, which is strictly prohibited by the school, and it would be terrible for the teacher to find out.Eavesdropping on Taiwanese singing is the same mistake as eavesdropping on an enemy station, and you will be expelled from school.

Yu Zhiyong didn't listen to Liu Xiaonan's advice, took the tape recorder home, and continued to eavesdrop in the dormitory at night.Finally one day the teacher found out, and the tape recorder was confiscated, waiting for the school's final decision.

Yu Zhiyong approached the school leader and asked the school to return the tape recorder to him, instead of being dealt with by the school, he dropped out of school by himself.

Liu Xiaonan pushed the bicycle, carrying Yu Zhiyong's crude luggage, and sent him to the station.It is no exaggeration to describe Yu Zhiyong's appearance as handsome and dignified, and he has a good personality. Liu Xiaonan felt sorry for him.

Yu Zhiyong didn't care too much, he said that even if this incident didn't happen, he didn't plan to go on to high school anymore.It's not that I don't want to read it, it's that I can't read it anymore.

Yu Zhiyong told Liu Xiaonan that his parents divorced when he was in elementary school, and his mother took him to marry another man.

His stepfather could not say anything good or bad about him, and he always hoped that he would go to work in the fields as soon as possible. He finally finished junior high school.

Neither his stepfather nor his mother wanted him to enter high school, and his mother gave birth to two more children. The poor family environment made him unable and unwilling to continue his studies.

But he happened to be admitted to high school.He went to dig caves with the adults, gritted his teeth and did the hard and dangerous heavy physical work beyond his ability, and earned a little tuition and living expenses for himself.

After living in school, although he was frugal in food and expenses, and his grandfather, uncles and aunts also helped him a little, it was still difficult to sustain.In desperation, he went to the county town to find his biological father who was a worker in a bearing factory, hoping that his father would support him to finish high school.

His biological father didn't say anything, he just took him to eat something on the street, found a small stall that engraved seals, and carved a plastic stamp for him.The meaning couldn't be clearer: you're a grown man, and it's time to fend for yourself.

He weighed the light plastic private seal with his name engraved on it, which is commonly used instead of signatures to receive wages or items, staring at his father's strange face without any expression, bent down to pick up a stone, and smashed it on the street. gotta smash.

His father was silent, he turned to leave but was held back by his father and led him into his new home in the county.He was standing in the hallway, while his father and his wife closed the door, mumbling and discussing something in the bedroom. After a while, there were shrill screams from the woman and low-pitched begging from the father.

He was so cold from head to toe, he didn't hate his father for being heartless, but only hated his father for being useless.He turned around and wanted to take a look and saw a single-card recorder on the table. He picked it up with one hand and ran out of the house that couldn't accommodate him, and vented his anger and slammed the door hard.

His father didn't chase him out, he knew that he would sever the kinship with his father from now on.

Liu Xiaonan asked Yu Zhiyong: "What are your future plans?"

Yu Zhiyong said: "Go out to find a job and support yourself. I can't always drag my grandpa, uncle and aunt down."

Those who leave school find their own way out, and those who stay in school continue to complete their studies.Two years of unremarkable high school life, with the completion of the courses in the textbooks, the date of the college entrance examination is also approaching.

Two dilapidated buses were hired outside the school to carry the high school students from the [-]th middle school to the county seat to take the college entrance examination with their luggage.

Sitting on the bumpy bus, Liu Xiaonan tried hard to recall what changes these two years of high school life had brought to her, and what was worth remembering.

Nothing at all!

There are no review materials, and there is not much homework. I still have to help my family with farm work during the winter and summer vacations.There is no clear plan and goal for the future. In the old saying of the teacher: the master leads the door, and the practice depends on the individual.

How much of the knowledge in the textbooks can be mastered and digested depends entirely on personal efforts and luck.Finished two years of high school, relaxed and pale.

The only thing worth congratulating is that these rural children finally have the opportunity to enter the county.

The collective accommodation linked by the school is a primary school, close to the train station.In the evening, they spread out their luggage on the desks they put together, and lay down to chat about everything.

The train came in and left the station, rumbling past.They listened, imagining what the train would look like, and after the exam, they made an appointment to go to the train station to watch the train together.

Liu Xiaonan finally saw what Gu Yu described to him, the building with the house above the house, what it looked like.He couldn't imagine what good it would be to live in a house like that.

What is Gu Yu doing now?Is she studying on a university campus?
"Only if you become a writer, or go to university, can we meet in the city." Gu Yu's words still echoed in his ears, but he knew himself, such hope was really slim.

Returning from the examination room to the primary school where I live, I have to pass through a shopping mall.The young people who came and went had long hair and bell-bottomed trousers, probably the strange clothes that the teacher often said.

What attracted Liu Xiaonan to stop was the sound in front of the mall.There, Teresa Teng's song was playing loudly: "See the smoke rising again, and the twilight covers the earth."

Is it still a decadent sound after it is played publicly?Liu Xiaonan thought of Yu Zhiyong, who dropped out of school, where did he make a living?How are you doing?

　The high school boarding students have lice, Teresa Teng's songs are regarded as the most popular music, taking the college entrance examination with their own luggage, living on the desks of primary schools, without the company of parents and teachers - all are the author's personal experience, not fictional , I am afraid it is unimaginable for today's children.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)