Chapter 11: Memories of more than thirty years

The autumn wind has not yet swept away all the fallen leaves, and the wheat in the fields is green again.

One day, a black car drove into the village, stirring up dust all the way. A middle-aged man who was cleaning the van raised the rag in his hand and exclaimed: "Four circles holding hands, Audi is here!"

There are many people in the village who have seen the world. People who have seen the world always spend money on face. Having a car is equal to having face. Earlier, it was two-wheeled private cars. The three-wheeled cars represented by the big golden deer and the permanent flying pigeon dominated the rural world. In recent years, it was first motorcycles and then electric cars. Young girls and young wives have one in their hands, galloping in the fields of hope. There are also tricycles that the elderly like. The pedal ones are not fashionable, so they change to electric ones. What they don't change is that the old man likes to take the old lady with him, and the old lady gives blind instructions. It fully reflects that driving is a man's strength, and ruling behind the curtain is a woman's specialty. The best is of course a four-wheeled car, mostly small vans. It can carry goods and people. As for those cars, they are not considered by farmers. Farmers call them small turtle covers, which are only driven by people who are full. Farmers can also eat, but they are not full when they work. Therefore, farmers with a few money despise small turtle covers and their prices.

After the Fourth Ring Road, an old man sitting on a stool on the side of the road said: "Look, the small turtle cover is shiny, just like a dog licked it, but the small bread can't be compared, no matter how you wipe it, it will be dusty."

The owner of the small bread said with a double meaning: "The small turtle cover has two buttholes to fart, and it has made our beautiful mountains and rivers stink."

The Audi stopped at a house in the east of the village, in the same alley as Wang Dapang's store. Wang Dapang stuck his head out and saw a woman in a camel-colored cashmere coat and straight trousers getting out of the car. She was tall and had a high bun, and she was noble in her every move. Then, someone started to move things from the car to the house, one trip after another, food, drinks and daily necessities.

Fatty Wang lowered his voice and said to his wife who was sifting beans on the ground in front of the door: "Look, Chen Xiaomei is back, and she brought more things than our store. She is so rich! Her old lady is so old, how much can she eat?"

Fatty Wang's wife picked out a few small stones from the sieve, and said with drooping eyelids: "The old lady can't eat it, the old lady has a son, and the son has a grandson. Why do you worry about it? Anyway, you won't eat it." Fatty Wang said: "It's unfair in peacetime. We work hard all year round to earn that little money, but she can eat and drink delicious food after marrying an official."

Fatty Wang The fat man's wife picked out a few rotten beans from the sieve and threw them out viciously: "You say this to defend me. Marrying you is like being sold to the fields all day and night. I have no time all year round. Look at my hands, they are as rough as sandpaper, while Chen Xiaomei's hands are probably as soft as noodles. Look at Chen Xiaomei's face, it is shiny, unlike me, which is like an orange peel without moisture. Hey, it seems that it doesn't matter whether a woman is capable or not, what matters is what kind of man she finds." Fatty Wang's wife often shrinks herself into a bird nesting in her nest when she has some small emotions. This time, the bird is much noisier. Fatty Wang knows the bad character of men very well. He has cultivated a good temper in the married life of a woman working outside and a man working inside. The sport he is best at in this life is to coax his wife to love labor: "I think you married well. At least your old man is a supermarket manager." Fatty Wang and his wife don't know what kind of man Chen Xiaomei married. All I know is that her man is quite capable. Chen Xiaomei used to live far away and didn't come back often. In recent years, she has come back more often. Every time she comes back, a full-time driver drives her to her hometown.

The villagers don't know what level Chen Xiaomei's man is. Some say 100,000, some say 1 million, and some say 10 million. Someone asked: "10 million? And with an Audi? 100,000 is definitely a sesame seed, which will be gone after a few drops of water."

Chen Xiaomei usually goes back and forth in a day because of the convenience of the special car. This time, she stayed for one night.

After dinner, his brother said: "Next year, our house will be demolished and we will build a building. Our old lady will definitely like this big yard. Living in a building will make her feel suffocated. Farmers have to farm after all. Living in a building is not as convenient as you city people. I went to ask. It is said that our village will build several villas. Only those with two sets of homesteads are eligible to buy them."

Chen Xiaomei knew that the old lady felt that the building was a chicken coop. The difference between one square meter and one hundred square meters is the difference between a small chicken coop and a large chicken coop. Chen Xiaomei lived in a large chicken coop, and the old lady would escape after living there for ten or eight days. She also knew that her brother would always ask for help in the name of the old lady when he had any difficulties.

She asked: "But you only have this one homestead, where can you get two?"

Her brother said: "There is a family in the west of the village who has cancer and is dying. His sister is arranging to sell the house. Such a large yard plus four large northern rooms only cost 60,000 yuan. I guess they are afraid that the village will not get a penny if the house is taken back after the person dies, so they are selling it at a low price now."

Chen Xiaomei said lightly: "Okay, take me to see the house tomorrow morning."

Autumn belongs to the blue, and occasionally the whole world is dark on cloudy days. The more Chen Xiaomei walked to the west of the village, the more she felt that some things were familiar. She remembered that there was an old locust tree with a crooked neck at the entrance of the original alley. There was a hole in the middle struck by lightning. She had drilled into the tree hole when she was a child. There was a well under the tree, which was said to be the same age as the old locust tree and was built in the early Qing Dynasty. She came to carry water, and the bucket fell into the well. Someone took a lot of effort to fish the bucket out. However, decades later, the house was demolished and rebuilt, and the old locust tree and the old well were nowhere to be found. Her movement was like the west wind turning the pages of an old book, and the past was flickering.

She walked into a house, and the big stupid dog in the yard jumped up, barked a few times, and then lay under the tree motionless. The dog was too old to bluff.

Li Dafa's second sister knew Chen Xiaomei's brother, but she was a little unfamiliar with the unusually dressed woman who followed him. She was a smart person, and smart people always have a keen sense of smell. The second sister said loudly: "Oh, this must be your sister. I have heard that your family has a noble person. When I saw her today, she is really noble."

She was very satisfied with her choice of words. The scholar's wife was indeed extraordinary.

Chen Xiaomei smiled politely and greeted lightly without much small talk.

The second sister saw the milk and bananas in Chen Xiaomei's brother's hands and said, "Oh my, you brought so many things. You are really thoughtful."

Other villagers who came to see the house also brought milk, which was called Mengniu. Some also brought a box of eight-treasure porridge, which was called Xiaohaha. There were also soy milk powder from Bird's Nest, milk candy from Little White Rabbit, and calcium milk biscuits from Blue Bird. These gifts were all from Wang Dapangzi's store.

The scholar's wife saw the name of the milk at a glance. It was the big brand that advertised after the news broadcast. The scholar said that the advertising fee was 100 million per second. The second sister didn't know how much 100 million was. The scholar said that 100 million was the flowers scattered by the goddess, but the goddess never scattered flowers. The second sister felt a sense of pride in the news broadcast. The brother said, "I came to see the patient and the house by the way."

The second sister understood the purpose of the guests' visit and happily led the brother and sister into the room with the smell of urine. Since the house became popular, the urine smell in Li Dafa's room has obviously decreased. The second sister often replaces Li Dafa's old clothes, fearing that buyers will give bad reviews. The patient on the bed is an exhibit, for people to sigh a few breaths of the impermanence of life and then offer a few false tears. Turning around, we cut to the point.

Before entering the room, the second sister reminded the guests not to mention the house when they see the patient. We are all smart people. Smart people not only have a keen sense of smell but also know everything.

The second sister said to Li Dafa lying on the bed: "Old Five, a noble person came to see you."

She used the word "guest" when others came, but today she was very happy when she said noble person.

The three of them filled the small room. Fearing that they couldn't turn their butts around, the second sister finished the announcement and left.

Chen Xiaomei stood behind her brother. She was a supporting actress in a black film. She had few lines and was dispensable. She was interested enough to watch the performance of the protagonist.

She saw the protagonist who was terminally ill in bed opening his eyes with difficulty in the movie. The close-up showed a pair of big eyes with deep eye sockets that swallowed up the light. The two large tumors on the neck were the most vital part, and they trembled like evil big apples when they spoke.

The remaining leaves on the tree outside the window fell silently, and there was a faint smell of urine in the room, and the supporting role's heart trembled slightly.

The brother said: "Li Dafa, I think you look good. When you get better, come to my house for tea."

Li Dafa?

The three words spoken by the brother were like a silver needle flying through Chen Xiaomei's heart.

She was treated as a Buddha in the position of a rich lady, and she looked down on all living beings. She saw through her brother's trick of seeking personal gain in the name of an old lady, but her mother's tablet was hanging high, and she was happy to fulfill all the beneficial offerings. She didn't even bother to ask whose house it was, but just went through the formalities of the buyer behind the scenes. To Buddha, a chicken coop of one square meter and a chicken coop of one hundred square meters are both chicken coops, and ten thousand yuan and one hundred thousand yuan are both cow hair. She left her hometown for many years and was somewhat indifferent to people and things today. Now, someone said Li Dafa, Chen Xiaomei took a deep look at the person on the bed. His big eyes, his vague thick eyebrows. The haze outside the window was still gloomy, the wind blew the old books and the light in my heart came in thousands of ways, and the dying person in front of me suddenly became bright.

Chen Xiaomei stood behind her brother, her big eyes were full of tears, afraid that she would be like rolling beads when she spoke.

Li Dafa and his brother were talking with difficulty, and his brother couldn't understand anything, and soon he was too lazy to say even polite words.

Chen Xiaomei secretly wiped away her tears and motioned her brother to go out. She turned the tables and couldn't help herself in the black movie.

The second sister had prepared tea, and a tea party about buying and selling was just waiting for the protagonist to arrive. Her brother got away with it legitimately.

Chen Xiaomei walked to the bedside and leaned over, without any lines. Li Dafa tilted his head slightly, looking at the woman in front of him, who looked a bit like Zhen Huan on TV. Could it be that Zhen Huan walked down from Heilongjiang Satellite TV? In Liaozhai, there is a fox fairy who turned into a woman and lived with a poor scholar. This is a familiar storyline for Li Dafa. He searched with the well rope in his memory, whose bucket fell into the deep well...

In the black movie, the woman who took the initiative pulled Li Dafa's quilt up like soothing a baby, covering his exposed shoulders. Then she said the first line, and a string of tears rolled down: "Brother Dafa, I am Xiaomei, your little sister."

Li Dafa's eyeballs stopped moving, and for a moment, suddenly a pool of turbid water filled his eyes.

After more than 30 years of dust and dirt, thousands of miles of clouds and moon, they met in such a background!

…

Outside, the voices of the second sister and the elder brother were heard, and occasionally there was laughter from the abacus before the deal was done. They were having a great chat about the deal.

Perhaps when a person's skin is sick, all the sediment from the past will come up. The well rope in Li Dafa's memory often searches for the lost bucket.

More than 30 years ago, Chen Xiaomei, who had long braids, carried a large iron bucket on her small shoulders to fetch water from the old well under the old locust tree. Because she was not tall yet, the hook of the shoulder pole was always pulled up to prevent the bucket from dragging on the ground. She shook it, and her bucket suddenly got off the hook and fell to the bottom of the well.

The young Li Dafa also came to fetch water. He was not tall either, and the hook of the shoulder pole was also pulled up. Li Dafa lay on the side of the well, holding the well rope and shaking it, and the hook on the well rope finally hooked the handle of the bucket. Li Dafa helped Chen Xiaomei save the bucket and saved her from being beaten.

Chen Xiaomei felt that Li Dafa was a shining figure, even more powerful than her brother.

One day, the loud speaker in the village suddenly shouted loudly: "All villagers should gather at the entrance of the brigade after lunch. A speculator will be paraded today."

So the villagers had lunch early, and the front of the brigade was crowded.

Li Dafa slid in the crowd like a loach and finally got to the front row. A tractor drove slowly through the widest street in the village with black smoke. A middle-aged man stood on the back of the tractor. The middle-aged man lowered his shaved head and hung a long string of peanuts with dirt on his neck. In the bumpy tractor, his body swayed like a leaf in the wind.

People laughed, squeezed, pointed and talked, as if watching a lively monkey show. A little girl in the crowd ran out crying. Someone said, "Chen Xiaomei's father is a three-handed man who stole peanuts from the production team. He deserves it!" The tractor rumbled around the village, and the loudspeaker said loudly, "In order to improve the ideological and moral quality of the masses, the three-handed man will be paraded in the town tomorrow. The streets in the town are very wide and long, and he will be made to look bad." The next day, the tractor carried the three-handed man and was about to go to the town to give ideological and political lessons to the masses. However, the tractor rumbled out a bunch of black smoke and then stopped. The driver shook the handle desperately, but this extremely precious guy did not move. Someone said, "The tire is flat. Who deflated the tire?" On the other side of the adobe wall, the young boy Li Dafa took a slingshot and shot at a sparrow singing melodiously on the tree. The sparrow fluttered and fell from the tree, and its singing career ended from then on. The young boy Li Dafa deflated the tire of the tractor, and Chen Xiaomei's father did not have the opportunity to go to the town for a parade. Growing up, you and I are all growing up.

When Li Dafa and Zhao Youcai went to the county town to work as construction workers, there was a girl who also went out to work with them. That girl was Chen Xiaomei.

Li Dafa's army green jacket was often hung on the clothesline in front of Chen Xiaomei's dormitory. There was also a girl at the construction site where bricks were unloaded. Li Dafa and Zhao Youcai had a falling out, and she didn't talk to Zhao Youcai.

People say Chen Xiaomei is Li Dafa's follower. Li Dafa thinks Chen Xiaomei is an ignorant girl.

Both of them have bright big eyes, and many people think they are brother and sister.

Grow up, you and I are growing up.

The turbulent youth has nowhere to go. In the hot summer, someone said: "The young girls and wives in the village go to the river to take a bath. Tonight, the moon is good. Let's go to see the girls! The girls are more tempting than the steamed buns."

In that era, steamed buns were rare, and they lived on pancakes and pickles. The aroma of Dafa steamed buns tempted the young Li Dafa.

On both sides of the river are dense willow forests. They grow obliquely towards the middle of the river, looking at each other from a distance. For many years, they have a subtle love affair with the spirituality of plants. Li Dafa climbed a willow tree, and the dense willow branches in the night acted as a disguise. Looking around, his companions didn't seem to come.

The moonlight is silvery white, and the fat and thin are thin. Suddenly, the people on the willow tree saw a girl leaping up like a mermaid. The mermaid stood in the water and carefully rubbed soap on her body.

Her long hair was like a waterfall, her waist was slender, and her skin was as white as moonlight porcelain.

Li Dafa suddenly remembered the New Year in the twelfth lunar month. When her mother lifted the lid of the pot, a pot of big white steamed buns rushed to him who was in a bad mood... When did the yellow-haired girl who had always been by his side grow up to be a big white steamed bun!

Li Dafa on the willow tree had blood surging like a toad, and almost fell into the river. His chaotic youth was enlightened that night. Big steamed buns can only be eaten during festivals, and he can no longer ignore the beauty around him. This is the most beautiful female body he has ever seen in his life. From then on, she grew into his dreams, and he would never regret it for a lifetime for her.

The wheat field in spring, the image of wheat ears is full, and it is very close to the big steamed buns. Chen Xiaomei came running, holding a bunch of blooming Artemisia in her arms. Artemisia is as tall as wheat.

The pretty girl's eyes flickered: "Brother Dafa, I will marry you in the future."

The poor boy was terrified: "My house is too broken, I want to make a lot of money, be rich and beautiful, and marry you with gongs and drums."

The train moved forward, one went to the Northeast, and the other stayed in his hometown. In Li Dafa's memory, he always imagined a girl with braids stretching in the wind, running after the train. In fact, Chen Xiaomei didn't see him off.

Every train means separation.

No matter how hard we try, we can't beat fate. The Northeast is no longer full of gold. Li Dafa's elder brother could make a living when he went to Guandong, but when he came here, he had to make money after making a living. He cut down countless trees but still had no money, and his wife didn't know when he would save enough.

And the oath that I will marry you in the future, like the summer in the north, passed by briefly and could not stand scrutiny. Chen Xiaomei wrote to say that she was going to marry a volunteer soldier. In those days, marrying a volunteer soldier meant stepping into another class and living another happy life.

Wheat and wormwood are so similar that they can hardly be distinguished when mixed together. The promise of a young man may be a joke. Li Dafa took it seriously. His youth, in the big forests of the northeast and the coal mines of Changbai Mountain, is like feeding wild dogs, and will never come back.

Think about it, he has dated the most beautiful woman, lived with the bravest woman, and lived with the most hardworking woman.

The storybooks of men are grand and unrestrained. Some male lives have the most precious female resources in the world and have no regrets.

Li Dafa felt happy.