Your loneliness is more moving than this world

Chapter 35 Yonghua and Xiaolou

The wedding of the rich in Heita Town continued the tradition of showing off. After the caravan toured the hills, they had to go to Shacheng City for dinner.After being reminded by the groom, I recognized Xiafeng Hotel, which was submerged by the surrounding buildings, looking outdated and aggrieved. He said that Xiafeng is now being used as a private office building, and there are not many companies in it.The groom chatted more and more vigorously, and he gave up Mandarin and switched to Shacheng dialect, saying: "Your house has been assigned to the Niucheng Development Zone, so we won't be counted as fellow villagers in the future?" I said, "Who are fellow villagers with you? I'm originally from Niucheng, you're just an idiot." He said, "I x!"

Wang Menlou told me that what he hated the most when he was a child was the cafeteria. The food was not served until the order was ordered, and the bottom of the bucket would dry up when he was half full.He and his younger brother Wang Menshuan can eat eight corn buns for a meal. The head of the production team always complains about this. Parents scold the two brothers, and it hurts in their mouths. how much to eat.

Wang Menlou took the dirty children to look for food in the river at the head of the village. There were not many big fish in the river. Wang Menlou didn't like to catch fish. He said that this river drowned the wife of a scholar, and that woman jumped into the river with a big belly. The fish in the river were transformed by her children. They look like dolls, and they will suddenly jump out of the water during thunderstorms, flick their beards, and squeak.Wang Menlou taught everyone how to fish for shrimps. He built a small dam with mud. When the water level dropped, he stepped into the mud with his bare feet. A lot of dried shrimps jumped in the mud, as well as loaches and crabs. Salt and cook.Of course, these things can only be done in secret. The adults object to children going down the river to find food. They say: "If you catch fish and shrimp, the whole family will starve to death."

After drinking the shrimp soup, Wang Menlou and the dirty boys went back to the village touching their stomachs. The second boy of the production team leader's family was sitting on a stone pier with a large bowl of egg noodles to eat. The dirty boys surrounded him, and the second boy yelled : "My father is out!" The dirty boys ran away quickly.

On the riverside three miles away, Zhang Yonghua and his eldest sister were mowing grass. The eldest sister stopped the scythe and lowered her body. Two adults walked up the river embankment, each carrying a shoulder pole, cursing the cadres.Zhang Yonghua was ten years old at the time, and she was trembling with fright, the elder sister held her tightly, waiting for the adults to go away.The eldest sister said: "Run!" Zhang Yonghua got up, inserted the sickle, and ran away. The reeds fluttered under the bright sun, sometimes green and sometimes golden, drowning the girl's body, like a terrible dream.Zhang Yonghua burst into tears and shouted: "Elder sister, elder sister, the grass has fallen." The elder sister stared and said, "Damn girl, you don't want to die!"

Later, the daughters of Zhang Laizi's family went to other villages to mow grass, and no one reported it anymore. The production team was just not allowed to mow the weeds in their own village.In those days, there were so many girls mowing grass. Every family in Hu Village had grass hills and guillotines in their yards. They cut grass fodder and sold it to farms ten miles away to supplement their families.

Zhang Yonghua fell into the river, and the straw basket slid in the pond.Wang Menlou shouted: "The people in Hu Village have fallen into the river! The people in Hu Village have fallen into the river!" Zhang Yonghua struggled to walk to the bank, shouting: "Big Sister! Big Sister!" Wang Menlou and the dirty boys ran to the river and found It was a girl, laughing, Wang Menlou yelled: "Show her! Show her!" Hulala took off a bunch of pants and shook them at Zhang Yonghua. Zhang Yonghua was ashamed and annoyed, covering her face and dared not go ashore.The eldest sister shouted: "Little flower! Little flower!" Wang Menlou put on his pants and said, "Let's go, let's go." The dirty kids lifted their pants and ran away. The eldest sister rushed over, grabbed the mud and threw it over and shouted: "You bad boy! Day's bad boy!"

On the second watch, Zhang Laizi closed the window, lit the oil lamp, walked across the yard, and woke up the children in the side room.The children cheered up as usual, quickly put on their clothes and shoes, lined up and followed Zhang Laizi to the main room.The eldest son removed the water tank and opened the cellar boards. There was wheat in the cellar, which was planted one by one by Zhang Laizi and his sons in the private plot. Every month at the beginning of the month and the fifteenth day, the whole family nestled in it to cook oatmeal and drink.The fourth daughter said, "Father, I just saw a sack of wheat sprouting below." Lame Zhang said, "The cellar is flooded. When no one is around tomorrow, I will take it to the field to dry, grind the flour, and mix it with sorghum flour. It can be eaten as mixed noodle pancakes.”

After drinking the shrimp soup, Wang Menlou patted his belly and sat with the dirty kids behind the Niangniang Temple to enjoy the shade. There were sounds of fighting and crying and cursing from the sandpit opposite, and a dirty kid ran over and said, "Xiaolou, go quickly, second boy!" Hit your door bolt." Wang Menlou got up and ran into the pit, the door bolt was beaten until his nose burst into tears.Wang Menlou was so angry that his lungs exploded, and he yelled: "Ah!" He kicked the second boy over, and then rode up to beat the second boy. The second boy was also beaten with snot and tears. Wu's egg noodles, fists getting harder and harder.The dirty children said: "Don't hit, don't hit, I'm out of breath." Wang Menlou stopped, and the second boy passed out on the sand. The door bolt wiped away his tears and said, "Brother, run away."

Wang Menlou ran for a few miles at a stretch, and lay panting among the reeds. Zhang Yonghua stood in front of him with a basket on his back and said, "Did you go to my village to fish?" Wang Menlou said, "I killed someone just now. "Zhang Yonghua ran away quickly.

Zhang Yonghua was sitting by the street gate with her little sister in her arms. The second brother walked over pushing a cart with red eyes and pursed lips. Zhang Yonghua patted the sleeping sister and said, "Brother, are you back? Where is the coal?" The second brother went in without saying a word. house door.Zhang Laizi stood in the yard and cursed: "You son of a bitch, I told you to exchange hemp for coal. Where is the coal? Did you throw the hemp into the Dasha River? Or did you exchange the hemp for money? Tell me, don't talk about buying it today." You son of a bitch!" The whole family came out, messed up, and the second elder brother covered his face and cried, "The coal was placed on the back seat, it was not tied firmly, it fell off, and people from Zhao village picked it up , There are several of them, running fast, I didn't catch up."

Lame Zhang called the old and the young of the whole family, led by the secretary of the commune, walked into Zhao village with a big gong.Zhang Laizi beat the gong and shouted: "All the members of Zhao village come out, come out, I know whoever took our coal, if you hand it over, we are still men, if you don't hand it over, I will sue the village. Report to the county, sue you for sabotage, and sue you without food." The commune secretary then shouted: "The secretary of Zhao village comes out and gives everyone an explanation, and the secretary of Zhao village comes out and gives everyone an explanation. "Everyone in Zhao Village who was not the secretary came out and stood by the side of the street without saying a word, while Zhang Laizi continued to beat the gong and shout.Wang Menlou stood in the distance watching the fun, and when he had had enough, he squeezed through the crowd, walked up to Zhang Yonghua, stabbed her and said, "Your mower, you mower." Zhang Yonghua gave him a blank look and said, "Get lost." Gate Tower said: "I know who picked up your coal." Zhang Yonghua said: "Get lost."

Wang Menlou looked at Zhang Yonghua and said, "Mow the grass, let's talk for a while." Zhang Yonghua said while mowing the grass, "What do you want to say?" Wang Menlou said, "If you mow the grass in our village, I will Can’t I talk to you?” Zhang Yonghua said, “What’s the matter? People in your village are lazy and don’t mow, so why don’t you let me do it?” Wang Menlou said, “What else do you do besides mowing grass?” Zhang Yonghua said: "It's too much, you think everyone looks like you, what else do you do besides fishing? People in Zhao Village are just lazy."

The sun became more and more poisonous, Xia Chan screamed in patches, Zhang Yonghua stepped on the basket with his feet, and sat down to rest.Wang Menlou took out the candy from his pocket and said, "Here you can eat, candy." Zhang Yonghua said, "Where did you get it?" Wang Menlou said, "It was stolen from the supply and marketing agency." Zhang Yonghua put the candy in his mouth for a while , said: "Have you eaten lunch?" Said: "Eat." Zhang Yonghua said: "You go to the river and catch me a fish, and I will eat it for you." Wang Menlou took off his trousers and jacket, walked into the river, touched it for a long time, and said: "The fish are all fish now. Sleeping, shall we catch the dried shrimps?" Zhang Yonghua carried the basket on his back, grabbed the trousers and jacket by the river and threw them on the tree, stretched out his head and shouted: "Catch yours!" Put on the sickle, and ran away.Wang Menlou came out of the river, climbed up the tree with his skin broken, took off his clothes, and cried, "Come back! Come back!"

The earthquake came, there was a black wind in the sky, there was muffled thunder on the ground, the river was rolling upwards, oil lamps and bicycles fell to the ground, knives in the cafeteria were clanging, and the cracked walls finally cracked and smashed. The second boy of the production team leader's family was hit, and he really died this time.

When Wang Menlou was 17 years old, he ran for several miles in one breath, stood on the embankment and shouted: "Zhang Yonghua! Zhang Yonghua!" Zhang Yonghua ran out from the reed field, pouted and said, "What's wrong? What are you shouting for?" !" Wang Menlou said, "I'm going to be a worker in the city. There are only three indicators in the village. My family is a martyr, so I chose it." Zhang Yonghua said, "What's the matter? Go to repair the reservoir, and it has been repaired for several years. The composition of the red reservoir is no lower than yours." Wang Menlou said, "Let's wait for you to come back." Zhang Yonghua said, "Let's talk, the second sister called me, I have to go. "Wang Menlou said: "Well, then you go." Zhang Yong gave him a blank look, patted the corner of his clothes, put on the sickle, and ran away.The reeds fluttered under the bright sun, sometimes green and sometimes golden, submerging the girl's body, like a warm dream.

——To my mother Zhang Yonghua and my father Wang Menlou, wishing the old couple a happy 35th wedding anniversary.

(End of the book)

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