dream village

The depression directly below where Zhang Tao stands is Gaotang Village, and there are more than a dozen small bays, large or small, arranged in a haphazard manner in the depression.There is a relatively spacious and winding path in the middle of the col, one end is connected to the Dong Ao Highway, and the other end directly plunges into the continuous mountains.Inside the mountains is Zhang Tao's hometown.From a distance, these mountains are graceful and colorful, and the path is elegant and beautiful like a belt, but are the people who live in the mountains all their lives colorful?Are the people who walk on this small path with a pair of feet day after day and year after year also relaxed and elegant?

"Tugu, what are you doing there in a daze? Come here and carry this plastic bag back." Sister Mei shouted after finishing her work.

"What are these things? I thought such a big bag was heavy, but when I lifted it up and put it on my shoulder, it turned out to be light." Zhang Tao, who carried the bag in the car's suitcase to his shoulder, asked Sister Tao doubtfully.

Sister Tao replied: "It's all miscellaneous things, there are everything." After a pause, she smiled and said: "You fool, it's because of your strength, I can't afford it!"

"Sister Tao, if you have any labor-intensive work in the future, just let me do it." Zhang Tao immediately answered.

"You little cunning, you talk all you want. You are seven or eight miles away from me. Why should I say anything?" Sister Tao pretended to be angry.

"Then I'll..." Zhang Tao almost blurted out that I'll stay at your house. Fortunately, he reacted in time, quickly stopped the conversation, and immediately resumed, "Then I'll come to say hello to you every day, anyway. I have to run this far in the morning."

Sister Mei had actually guessed what Zhang Tao was going to say a while ago, she thought to herself, it's fine if you want to come and live at my sister's house!My sister's family is short of a man, especially a sunny little man like you.

However, she was also embarrassed to make fun of Zhang Tao with this matter. After all, there is an insurmountable gap between them in terms of age and status.So she followed Zhang Tao's current words and said in surprise: "You run so far every day!"

"What's the point? If I don't bring anything, I can run home from the city without resting." Zhang Tao said proudly.

"Wow, no wonder you are so powerful." Sister Tao sighed.

"That's true. My brother Tao's ability is not just for bragging. He can fight tigers when he goes up the mountain, and he can catch dragons when he goes down to the sea..."

Zhang Tao still wanted to brag about himself, but Sister Tao interrupted him mercilessly and said, "Okay, okay, don't give you a little sunshine to make you shine. Be a man! Be thick and connotative, understand?"

Zhang Tao said aggrievedly: "Isn't he a little man in front of you!"

Sister Tao thought to herself, you little villain, you are thinking of seducing your elder sister again, and the elder sister will not accept such a trick.She directly skipped this and said: "You have to remember! Come here every morning to say hello to my sister!"

"It's really like this!"

"Could it be that what you said was false?"

While talking, they had arrived at the door of Sister Tao's house.

Sister Tao’s house stands alone on the side of the small road leading to Zhangtao Village. There are three rooms, one red brick house newly built in recent years, and two dilapidated mud brick houses of unknown ages next to it. .The house conditions of rural people in this era are basically like this. The adobe brick house represents the evil old society that lacks food and clothing, and the red brick house represents the new era of reform, opening up and economic development.

As soon as Zhang Tao put down his things, he rolled up his sleeves and asked Sister Tao impatiently, "Tell me! Sister Tao, what do you want me to do?"

Sister Tao laughed when she saw Zhang Tao like this, "Why are you in a hurry, take a breath first, drink a glass of water before talking."

"Don't breathe, don't drink, do things first and then talk." Zhang Tao knew that he was wrong as soon as he said it. It's okay not to drink, but can he not breathe?So he also laughed awkwardly.

"You sit in the room first, and you will help me later." Sister Tao poured a glass of water for Zhang Tao and went on her own.

Zhang Tao sat in the adobe-brick room in the middle, which was used as a living room. Except for the tick-tocking wall clock on the wall, which had a modern atmosphere, there was no decent furniture, all of which were antiques with peeling paint.

However, due to the owner's aesthetic sense, the arrangement of these messy and old things in the room is more reasonable and looks more eye-catching.Coupled with the fact that the host is diligent in cleaning up, the whole room is clean, and the word "dirty" will not appear to affect the mood of the guests.Zhang Tao will not be affected by this, he has been to Sister Tao's house countless times, and his family's situation is worse than that of Sister Tao's, so why would he have thoughts of disgust?

It was exactly what he wanted for Sister Tao to keep him here today.If you go back so early, how many familiar folks will you have to face along the way!Those who know that he has failed may comfort him, or look at him with sympathy or mockery, which will make him feel humiliated and painful.Those who don't know his news may directly ask him about his situation, how should he answer?It would be impolite not to answer, but to answer would be to stab a knife in the heart.No matter how strong he is, he can't stand these stimuli!

If it is later, it is best to go back after dark, which will save a lot of unexpected excitement and embarrassment.Although he still has to face the folks in the end, at least it won't be so concentrated, it won't be so sudden, it will be after he sleeps at home for a few days.If humiliation and pain are destined to come, it would be a consolation to the sufferers to postpone the time of this coming as much as possible.

"Tugu, help me!" Sister Tao shouted in her in-laws' house.

"Okay, here we come." Zhang Tao replied while walking towards the adobe brick house next door.

Although the house looked relatively clean, it was filled with a thick and pungent complex smell, mixed with the smell of medicine, urine, sweat and other smells.Living people in a room with this smell will stay sick. One can imagine what kind of life Sister Tao's parents-in-law live, and what a caring woman Sister Tao is, supporting these two old people alone in this house It's been more than two years.

The two old people can be said to be sick to the point of blindness, with one foot on the threshold of death, waiting for the god of death to snap open the bolt of death at any time.

Sister Tao’s father-in-law was already paralyzed, his body was so thin that his limbs could not move at all, and he ate and drank on the bed.His consciousness is vague most of the time, and occasionally when he is awake, he thinks that he can't stay in this world and drag his family down, but he doesn't even have the strength to end his own life!

Her parents-in-law were leaning against the bed and sitting on the edge of the bed with a blank expression like a stick of dry wood.When Zhang Tao went in to say hello to her, she didn't reply either, but her sunken eyeballs rolled a little bit. I don't know if this was a response to Zhang Tao, or to show that she was still a living thing.