Father's Land Mother's River

Chapter 84 The Little Girl on the Mountain Road

When Liu Xiaonan walked into the school cafeteria with the lunch box, there were not many students in it.He always goes to the cafeteria as late as possible. He doesn't like wasting time in queues and noise, and he doesn't like to compete with students younger than him for delicious meals.He eats whatever is left in the cafeteria, he is not picky about eaters.

He saw Meng Xiangxiang cooking there, so he quietly stood behind her, purely by accident.Meng Xiangxiang only bought a two taels of steamed buns, and the aunt in the cafeteria asked her if she could order a dish, and she shook her head slightly.

The aunt who was cooking in the cafeteria sighed softly.When Meng Xiangxiang put the steamed buns into the lunch box and turned around, Liu Xiaonan stood in front of her and blocked her with her body.

Meng Xiangxiang was obviously frightened by the accident. He looked at Liu Xiaonan nervously, his nimble eyes widened without blinking, raised his head and muttered, "Brother, you."

Liu Xiaonan didn't say a word, but snatched the lunch box from Meng Xiangxiang's hand, handed it to the aunt in the cafeteria and said, "Get a serving of scallions and fried pork, and add a steamed bun."

The auntie in the cafeteria whispered to Liu Xiaonan while she was ordering vegetables, "This girl often only makes a steamed bun for dinner. She is growing up and has a heavy academic load. How can she bear it?"

Liu Xiaonan nodded.He thought that Meng Xiangxiang might only seek to be full but not to be happy, like when he was in high school, but he didn't expect that her dinner would be boiled water or steamed buns.

A mere two-two-heavy steamed bun, but the size of a fist, and it becomes a flattened hand, without meat, how can it fill the stomach.

He ordered the same meal, and took a lunch box in each hand to a quiet corner.Meng Xiangxiang followed, and sat next to him anxiously, with his head bowed and shoulders shrunk.

Liu Xiaonan pushed her lunch box to her, and said in a low voice but sternly: "Keep your head up and straighten your waist, the little girl has to look like a little girl, no matter what happens, you can't hang your head down."

Meng Xiangxiang raised his head and straightened his back, sitting upright without looking sideways.Liu Xiaonan laughed softly: "That's right. Eat first, and after the meal, senior brother will tell you a story."

Meng Xiangxiang lowered his head to eat, took a bite of the meat and steamed buns, chewing slowly, as if savoring the aroma of the meat and vegetables, but also as if he couldn't bear to eat all the meat in one go.

Liu Xiaonan also ate slowly, keeping pace with Meng Xiangxiang.He asked, "Is it fragrant?"

"Fragrant!" Meng Xiangxiang raised his head, with a happy smile on his thin face, and said frankly: "It's been a long time since I ate meat, and we can only see a little meat smell during the Chinese New Year."

Liu Xiaonan asked, "Is your hometown a mountain or a plain?"

Meng Xiangxiang said: "It's a mountainous area, with hills everywhere, rich in sweet potatoes."

"I bought dried sweet potatoes from Shandong in the store. They are moderately soft and hard, and have a chewy texture. They are delicious."

"Brother likes to eat dried sweet potatoes? I brought some when I came here, and I have some left over. I'll give it to you to taste."

"Okay, the dried sweet potatoes that are dried at home must taste good."

"Does senior brother like sweet potatoes?"

"Of course I love to eat it. When I was young, my family was poor and there was nothing delicious. I mixed sweet potatoes with sorghum rice, and used the sweetness of sweet potatoes to suppress the bitterness of sorghum rice. It was delicious. After doing it alone, every family planted it. The main variety of sweet potato comes from your Shandong province, with a sweet taste and high yield. Maybe it was cultivated in your hometown."

"Eldest brother, have you ever done farm work?"

"After graduating from high school, I did farm work for two years. The textile factory only came to the city to recruit workers from the countryside. To be honest, I don't like doing farm work. My family has more than ten acres of land. I carry a hoe to the field every day to pull weeds and dawdle. It's like going to the execution ground."

Meng Xiangxiang laughed softly, crisp and natural, like birdsong and flowing water, echoing the smell of the mountains.Liu Xiaonan listened to it kindly, and felt it was as sweet as the sounds of nature.

After eating, Meng Xiangxiang cleaned the lunch boxes for the two of them, followed Liu Xiaonan out of the cafeteria, and strolled on the avenues of the campus.

Ginkgo trees are planted on both sides of ***, tall and dense, with small fan-like emerald green leaves swaying in the wind, and the ripe yellow ginkgo fruits are all over the branches, bringing the charm of autumn into the campus.

Meng Xiangxiang looked up at the ginkgo fruit on the tree from time to time.Liu Xiaonan said: "This is a ginkgo tree, known as a living fossil."

Meng Xiangxiang withdrew his gaze and said, "Our place is called ginkgo tree, the leaves can be used to fill pillows, ginkgo is medicinal material, and can be sold for money."

Liu Xiaonan asked, "When you were in high school, did you live on campus or as a day student?"

Meng Xiangxiang said: "Going to school. You have to climb over two mountain ridges, and you have to walk more than 40 miles on the mountain road to and fro every day."

"What kind of mountain road? Can't ride a bicycle?"

"It's a very rough mountain road, and I can ride a bicycle, but I don't have one. There are two older brothers, and a younger sister. The older brother got married and built a house, and the family suffered a famine. After finishing junior high school, my father didn't plan to let me go to high school. It’s better to get married early. My mother discussed with my father that the four children will belong to me. This girl is a material for studying. I will pay for my old life. I can read as far as I can. I can finish reading I was really lucky in high school, how dare I hope for a bicycle? I am not afraid of the big brother's jokes, I have never ridden a bicycle."

Without Meng Xiangxiang going into details, Liu Xiaonan can completely imagine how she passed high school in the past three years.Every day before dawn, I have to get up, help my mother cook, feed the chickens, ducks, and pigs, and simply eat breakfast and go to school quickly.

A girl walks alone on the undulating mountain road, trying to overcome all the fears of the girl.Use the time on the road to memorize texts and memorize English words. When I arrive at school, I dare not waste a little time and study eagerly.

No matter it is windy, rainy, or freezing, for the distant dream in her heart, she will run alone on this rugged and long mountain road wearing stars and stepping on snow and frost.

She has a far-sighted mother. If the family situation is better, she will be admitted to a better university.

Liu Xiaonan praised sincerely: "You are much better than senior brother. I have been in the exam for two years, but I didn't even get into a technical secondary school. It shows how smart your little head is, and you also have perseverance and determination beyond ordinary people."

Meng Xiangxiang smiled shyly: "Brother, don't praise me, you are amazing. I have read all your novels, they are wonderful, and I am very envious."

Liu Xiaonan changed the subject: "When I was in high school, the land contract system had not yet been implemented in the countryside, and every household was poor, and many students went to school on foot. At that time, the living conditions in the countryside were very poor and sanitary, and there were not so many clothes for washing. Clothes, and no place to take a bath, all the students have lice. There is a kind of medicine for killing lice, which is like chalk, called a lice stick. It is smeared in the seams of clothes, and it emits an unpleasant smell. Don't laugh at anyone, and don't dislike anyone. Female students also have lice in their hair, and the white lice are like dandruff, and they can't be cleaned with a comb."

Speaking of this, Liu Xiaonan glanced at Meng Xiangxiang, but saw her subconsciously covering her hair with her hands, looking at herself in horror and shyness.Needless to say, she also had lice on her head.

Liu Xiaonan said lightly: "There is nothing to be ashamed of. We all lived in such a poor environment. There are very few rural students who can be admitted to colleges and technical secondary schools. They are all the top of the top. This is something to be proud of. Especially you , not everyone can get admitted to this provincial normal school casually."

Meng Xiangxiang said with a low headache, "My parents didn't expect that I could be admitted to the university, and I didn't expect that I received the admission notice, and our family was very worried. I gave up and continued to study. I couldn’t be happy about dragging my parents down. In the end, my mother was the one who made the decision, and she had to confess me. My sister graduated from junior high school and could have gone to high school. She dropped out of school for me and worked at home for me. My father sold a pig and a donkey to cover my tuition and living expenses for one year. I don’t know what to do next year after studying this year, so I don’t dare to waste a penny.”

Liu Xiaonan stopped in his tracks, looked at Ding Meng and thought about it, "Eldest Brother has an idea, you should think about it. You know, Eldest Brother went to college with a salary, thinking about paying tuition fees for you, and giving you 50 yuan a month." Living expenses of RMB [-] will help you complete your four-year university studies.”

Meng Xiangxiang was stunned, all expressions froze into big question marks on his dark and thin face.The agile eyes stared at Liu Xiaonan suspiciously, blinking rhythmically once and for all, conveying unknown signals.

Liu Xiaonan smiled calmly and said, "You may have countless questions in your mind. Eldest brother is a person with a relationship, not a relative, so why did you take the initiative to help me? Do you have other ideas, or hide some evil intentions. "

Meng Xiangxiang shook his head repeatedly to deny this conclusion, but he was still speechless, a slight blush gradually appeared on his face, and his eyes became brighter and clearer.

Liu Xiaonan looked up at the sky and said: "When I was in junior high school, there was a school sports meeting, and something unexpected happened. In the women's 400-meter race, a female classmate in the class ran at the front and was about to sprint to the finish line. At that time, the rubber band of her shorts suddenly broke, the shorts fell off, and she fell to the ground. I don’t need to explain, you should know that children in rural areas don’t have special sports shorts, they are all big pants made by themselves. The culprit The culprit was the rubber band. It is said that the old rubber band was used. It was knotted in many places and broke when I sprinted hard. She fell in front of me, in front of all the teachers and students."

Meng Xiangxiang's eyes showed a look of horror, and he looked at Liu Xiaonan nervously.

Liu Xiaonan took a deep breath, and continued: "Later, that girl was forced to suspend her studies, and the teachers took turns going to her home to enlighten her, and her parents and sisters watched over her day and night, but she still couldn't bear the humiliation, so she jumped into the deep In the well. The life of a young girl in bloom is ruined on a rubber band that costs a few cents a foot."

Meng Xiangxiang stared at Liu Xiaonan with tears in his eyes.Liu Xiaonan breathed a sigh of relief and continued: "The death of this female classmate is not worth it, so not worth it! Her stamina makes people sigh, and her death reflects the sadness of poverty. This incident deeply stimulated me, I don’t want to see tragedies happen in college, and I see my classmate being ridiculed because of poverty, and struggling to maintain her studies because of poverty and hunger. Besides, she is still a bright and bright future, a very smart and studious girl .”

Meng Xiangxiang nodded vigorously like Meng Fangxing, a few crystal clear teardrops hung on his lower eyelashes, his eyes showed firmness and strength, biting his lips lightly as if making his final decision.

Liu Xiaonan said: "Of course, the big brother doesn't sponsor you for no reason. There are conditions. If you are vain like some female classmates and don't study hard to indulge yourself, I will stop funding you at any time; if you fall in love, you It is natural for my boyfriend to take corresponding responsibilities, and I will also terminate the sponsorship. If you accept my sponsorship, you keep a good account for yourself, and when you graduate and start working to support yourself, you will return the full amount to me. Think about it , Let me know when you think about it."

"I don't think about it anymore." Meng Xiangxiang raised his head and said, "I believe in Senior Brother, and I am willing to accept Senior Brother's funding."

"In your future life, you will be proven that it is definitely the right choice for you to trust the senior brother today." Liu Xiaonan said with relief: "The senior brother has another suggestion, learn to speak Mandarin well, and you can't always be a teacher in the future. Yes, I have an obvious local accent. With your intelligence, as long as you are willing to study majors, there will be no major problems. After graduation, you will try to stay and work in the city. Only when you succeed, will you reduce the burden on your family, and even It is possible to help the family out of a difficult situation."

Meng Xiangxiang shyly but firmly agreed.

At noon the next day, Liu Xiaonan called Meng Xiangxiang to the playground, gave her the "Biography of Madame Curie" in his hand, and said, "Brother bought this when he first entered the city, and I read it many times. , very touching and inspirational. Madame Curie was also very poor when she went to France to study, and she had to cover all the newspapers on her body to keep warm in winter. In the face of difficulties, she never gave up her career and academic pursuits. Made Marie Curie. I give you this book, read it carefully, and you will draw strength from it."

Meng Xiangxiang took over "The Biography of Madame Curie" and said: "I must read it carefully and keep it carefully, and regard this book as a precious spiritual wealth in my life."

When Liu Xiaonan heard that "I" in Meng Xiangxiang's mouth had changed to "I", she couldn't help smiling gratifiedly, and took out 150 yuan and handed it to Meng Xiangxiang: "I'll give you an extra 100 yuan for the first time, and I'll buy some for girls. Daily necessities. We don’t seek luxury, but necessary changes are still necessary, which can get rid of inferiority complex and increase self-confidence. This is a secret between the two of us, and no one else will know it, and I hope you can keep it a secret.”

Meng Xiangxiang held the money tightly in his hand, and looked at Liu Xiaonan suspiciously.

Liu Xiaonan said calmly: "I know you have a lot of confusion and questions in your heart. When the time is right, I will give you a reasonable explanation. If the school is closed for National Day, will you go back to your hometown?"

Meng Xiangxiang said: "If you can't go back, it will cost a lot of travel expenses."

Liu Xiaonan said: "Eldest brother solemnly invites you to my house for the holidays. I will show you a heavy relic. Then you will suddenly understand and happily accept my sponsorship."

Meng Xiangxiang became more and more confused.

(End of this chapter)