Father's Land Mother's River

Chapter 23 Father and Son

Liu Xiaonan failed the college entrance examination and was anxiously waiting for the conscription after autumn, but Liu Zhixin ushered in his first bumper year.

As the autumn harvest season approaches day by day, every time Liu Zhixin returns home from the mine, he first makes a detour to his own corn field to take a look and admire his masterpiece.

The ears of corn are long and thick, and the grains are full. It is obvious that they are not comparable to the traditionally grown corn in the surrounding area.

Extensive and conservative, habits become natural, decades of unchanging farming patterns, only regard the land as a cheap resource for survival, but fail to integrate the land into their lifeline.

When eating a big pot of rice, some hardworking people support some lazy people, and some honest people support some treacherous people.The land is contracted, just like the ebb and flow of the tide, fish, turtles, shrimps and crabs show their original shapes.

Looking at the growth of the crops and the weeds in the field, you will know how the family survives and how much they value the land.

The land is the foundation of life, and human beings are nothing but a piece of soil.Liu Zhixin feels that most people do not have a thorough understanding of the attributes of land and people.Obtaining land easily does not understand the connotation of land and does not know how to cherish it, often putting the cart before the horse.

The sickle was about to start, and Liu Zhixin rushed home after a few days of work. He wanted to take his son to harvest in person, so that his son could experience the rewards of the land.When she returned home, her son was nowhere to be seen. Jiang Changling said that her son had gone to the village to take part in the conscription medical examination.

Liu Zhixin sharpened his sickle, feeling a faint worry in his heart.This bear son usually doesn't like to talk. I don't know what is going on in his heart. I'm afraid it will become more and more difficult to discipline.

At noon, Liu Xiaonan returned home with a dejected face, sat on the kang and ate without saying a word.There was no need to ask anything, Jiang Changling secretly breathed a sigh of relief, she really didn't want her son to be a soldier.

Liu Zhixin properly expressed his concern as a father, and he asked his son, "Tell me about the situation."

Liu Xiaonan was depressed and didn't want to speak: "There's nothing to say, a nasal polyp blocked my way to the military academy."

This year, he was the only high school student in the township to sign up for the conscription, and the township armed forces also hope that he can pass the medical examination smoothly.It is also a rare achievement to send a high school student to the army.

But the medical examiner found a nasal polyp in his nasal cavity, saying that it would affect his breathing during the rapid march.All he needs to do is a small operation to cut off the nasal polyps, and he can still enlist in the army next year, and the physical examination will definitely be fine.

People from the Township Armed Forces Department felt deeply sorry, and Liu Xiaonan felt even more dumbfounded.This kind of blow of loss is ridiculous, and it is more unacceptable than failing the college entrance examination. Fate is really good at playing tricks on people.

Liu Zhixin also found it ridiculous that a piece of nasal polyp could relieve all worries, so he asked, "What are your plans for the future?"

"Planting the land, being a farmer." Liu Xiaonan said very happily and resolutely, with a sense of sadness that he had no choice but to cut off his own way.

On the way home at a loss, he knew that there was only one road left for him, and this road must be difficult and bumpy.With a dream in mind, there is no way to retreat, so I can only go on firmly, even if I hit my head against the south wall.

Liu Zhixin checked his son's expression, and comforted him: "You don't have to be too pessimistic, it's not that easy to be a good farmer, and you might not be worthless."

Liu Xiaonan didn't speak any more.

The dewdrops on the corn leaves are crystal clear, the ears of corn hang their heavy heads on the stalks, and the golden corn husks are cracked from the top, exposing the neatly arranged full and solid corn kernels.

Liu Zhixin held a sharp sickle in his hand, and wandered complacently watching the fields, but he couldn't bear to swing the sickle down immediately.

Liu Xiaonan was wearing the blue overalls her father had saved at work, away from the ground, and was cutting grass blades with a sickle woodenly.

The impenetrable cropland in front of him was an insurmountable barrier for him. With the sickle swung down, the identity of the farmer was confirmed.From then on, his life will be submerged in the boundless cropland.

He didn't understand what his father was waiting for, so he swung down the sickle happily, at least he could end this hopeless, painful and suffocating transformation process as soon as possible.

Uncle Liu Zhitai came to the field, Guan Deyu Liu Yunqi and Liu Qishun came to the field, many villagers gathered in the field, discussing and judging.

Liu Xiaonan noticed that his father's face was glowing with the color of newborn sunshine, and he was eloquent and eloquent, talking about his farming experience.

He suddenly understood that his father was waiting for the affirmation and appreciation of the villagers.But that's all, what is there to show off to the world?

The villagers dispersed one after another, and the sound of harvesting was heard one after another in the field.Liu Zhixin stopped talking, walked to the ground and swung his sickle.

Liu Xiaonan swung down the sickle following her father, and her heart trembled when the knife went down, as if what was cut down was not corn, but her own heart.

Liu Zhixin cut three ridges of land, and Liu Xiaonan cut two ridges of land.Holding the corn with one hand and swinging the sickle one foot above the ground with the other, the father and father walked forward side by side.The stalks are thick, and it takes a lot of effort to cut them. Every stalk of corn that has been cut down is heavy in the hand. Just by the feel of the hand, you can know that a good harvest is in sight.

Liu Zhixin's movements are skillful and free, with roots on his feet and his arms swaying like a dance. Accompanied by the swishing sound, the corns fell neatly in front of him, full of strength and beauty.This is the crystallization of a year's hard work, and it is a manifestation of the value that a farmer is proud of.

Liu Xiaonan swung the sickle mechanically, her strength was not stable enough, her body wobbled.Either use too much force and make yourself stagger, or use too little force, and the sickle is caught in the straw, and it takes a second force to cut it.

The arms are gradually sour, and the mood is gradually becoming irritable. If the corn stalks are as thin and light as other people's homes, it may not be so laborious.

Liu Zhixin noticed his son's inattentive expression. Although he was exerting his strength, his movements were stiff and lacked passion.He slowed down the speed of harvesting, and said in a calm tone: "Farming is also a great knowledge. As long as you put your heart into it and put your heart on the land, you can also get happiness and harvest."

It's not like Liu Xiaonan didn't feel heartfelt joy and excitement when his father's land got a bumper harvest, and it wasn't like he didn't feel deep admiration.He just feels that all this has nothing to do with him, and his dream cannot grow out of the soil.

Liu Xiaonan straightened her waist and said to her father: "I always remember my ancestors who were diligent, self-denying, law-abiding, and thrifty in managing their families."

Liu Zhixin thought to himself, Mr. Guan left a stone tablet for his son, and he wondered how it would affect his son.

When the corn is harvested, rice is harvested, when rice is harvested, soybeans are harvested, when soybeans are harvested, peanuts are harvested, when peanuts are harvested, sweet potatoes are harvested, when sweet potatoes are harvested, cabbage and radishes are harvested, and vegetable cellars are dug for public grain.

Except for the rain and snow, the endless farm work is like the stars in the sky, which cannot be counted.It was only when the weather was cold that Liu Xiaonan felt relieved, and then he was able to think about his dreams.

Rural life is boring and heavy, and rural people are simple, boring and vulgar. What can I write about?
One night, a family's haystack caught fire suddenly.When the villagers woke up and rushed to fight the fire, the haystack had collapsed, leaving only the embers on the surface and a large pile of black ash, which was extinguished with a few loads of water.

People secretly discuss in private, how can there be a fire in the middle of the night without a fire source?Could it be that he offended someone and was artificially set on fire?
This accidental event did not attract enough attention.After the land was contracted, the entire piece of land was broken into pieces, and the ridges were next to the ridges. Conflicts were inevitable, but it was not enough to hate to set fire to it.

Maybe it was too much worry, and the cigarette butts that were not extinguished could also cause a fire.

On the second night, the haystacks of Liu Yunqi's house caught fire again, and the flames soaring into the sky illuminated the windows of several families.Waiting for people to put on clothes and run out of the house, carrying buckets to fight the fire, is also of no value in extinguishing the fire.

Only then did people realize that the phenomena of the two fires were exactly the same, they both started from the inside of the haystack, and when the fire reached the surface of the haystack, there was not much combustible material left.

Reminiscent of an incident that happened in the autumn, people were finally convinced that this was a vicious revenge incident of intentional arson.

In autumn, when the Chinese cabbage was filling, the hearts of the Chinese cabbage in Liu Yunqi's vegetable garden were all doused with manure.This kind of prank trick is too harmful and vicious, can it still be eaten?
Magus rinsed the trees with clean water, and comforted himself to the onlookers, saying that the father-in-law and the man used to be cadres of the production team of the brigade, and they did not offend anyone.

Unexpectedly, that night, the Chinese cabbage that Muggs had just rinsed was completely uprooted with a shovel, and it seemed to tell her clearly: It is absolutely right, it is your home that needs to be rehabilitated.

Maggs sat in the vegetable field and cried: "I didn't dare to do it before. It's because our family has no power and power, so I started to take revenge. It's devoid of conscience."

Liu Qishun stood in the vegetable field and cursed fiercely: "If you let me know who he is, I'll set his haystacks on fire."

The first big fire may not have been set off by Liu Qishun, it is normal for young people to speak harshly.But a fire aroused people's mutual suspicion, and all the previous contradictions began to be released together.

People are going crazy, and the fires are ignited one after another, and it is impossible to prevent them.It is often because the haystacks of this family have not been burned out, and people are still trying their best to save them. When they turn around, the haystacks of another family are on fire again.

Everyone was in danger and dared not talk nonsense. Maybe the person who set the fire was among the crowd fighting the fire, and if he said an inappropriate word, he would burn himself.

This winter is very lively. At night, people are sitting at home checking whose haystacks are still intact, waiting for whose haystacks to catch fire at any time, just like waiting to watch a disaster movie.

This farce became more and more intense, and finally turned into a joke that everyone talked and laughed. My livestock has no grass to eat, and other people's homes don't want to keep it. It is only fair that everyone buys grass.

The village sent cadres and police officers to do work, but they failed to stop it effectively, and a little negligence caused another fire.

Liu Zhitai, Liu Xiaonan, and his uncle and nephew took turns looking after the haystacks at night, scanning around with their flashlights as a warning.

Liu Zhitai told Liu Xiaonan that he only recently learned from some insiders why the fire started from inside the haystack.

Tie a bunch of matches to the end of the incense stick, light the incense head and stuff it into the hollowed out hemp stick, insert the hemp stick into the haystack, turn around and go home to sleep.

After a period of time, the incense sticks are burned out and the matches are ignited, and the matches ignite the flammable hemp stalks, and the hemp stalks burn inside the haystack and ignite the haystack.

Hardworking, honest and simple, Liu Xiaonan feels that these traditional words of praise cannot comprehensively summarize the true nature of farmers.

He is soberly aware that not only crops grow in the fertile soil, weeds and thorns are equally luxuriant, the wild fire is endless, and the spring breeze blows and regenerates.

When Liu Zhixin returned home from the mine, he was far away from the village, and saw sections of burned black walls and piles of flying black ashes in Liuzi Street, which were particularly eye-catching against the white snow.The sky over the village was shrouded in a gray and turbulent ominous atmosphere.

After learning about the specific situation, he forbade his younger brother and son to go out to take care of the haystacks at night.If you are not afraid of thieves stealing, you are afraid of thieves thinking about it. How long does it take to see it?Hearts are torn, this is not the key to solving the problem.

After thinking about it all night, when he woke up in the morning, Liu Zhixin said to his son who was lying in bed and reading a book: "Xiaonan, you learned your pen calligraphy by copying Mr. Guan's stone tablet, why don't you use a brush to copy it again and practice your calligraphy?" .”

Liu Xiaonan raised her head and looked at her father in bewilderment.Counting nine cold days squatting on the stone tablet and copying calligraphy, can't it be frozen into an ice sculpture?
Liu Zhixin said: "Practice brush calligraphy well, and write Spring Festival couplets and blessings for everyone during the Chinese New Year. It is also a useful thing to do."

Liu Xiaonan said: "You can also practice calligraphy at home."

Liu Zhixin briefly talked about how the stele was pushed down and used as a stepping stone.He repeated Mr. Guan's words, and said with deep meaning: "Let that stone tablet see what earth-shattering event happened in Liuzi Street. It is up to you to do this."

Liu Xiaonan got up quickly, he seemed to understand his father's good intentions.Dress as warmly as possible, use a shovel to shovel off the snow on the surface of the stele, use a chisel to remove the ice and snow from the strokes bit by bit, and copy with a brush with bare hands.

His hands and feet were numb from the cold, so he stretched his hands into the sleeves, ran a few laps on the spot, regained consciousness and continued to copy.

For several days, the villagers were surprised to see Liu Xiaonan squatting on the stone tablet against the cold wind and copying it.The lonely, thin and persistent figure, like a stone sculpture, adds a frightening warmth to this cold winter, which is touching and touching. I can't help but think of the dry old man with the pigtails.

Perhaps the villagers thought of the content on the stone tablet, which awakened the long-standing memory in their hearts, and the cold air subsided and the spring revived.Since then, there has been no arson incident on Liuzi Street, and a man-made chaos disappeared invisible.

(End of this chapter)