Generally speaking, as long as watermelon is mentioned, people often think of two related characters, one is Liu Huaqiang in "Conquer", and the other is the thorny boy Runtu in Lu Xun's novel "Hometown". However, although the name Runtu was coined by Lu Xun, in real life, the character prototype can be found. This person is Lu Xun's friend and his most precious memory in his life-Zhang Runshui.
Zhang Runshui, also known as Zhang Yunshui, this name is very particular. The fortune-teller once said that the five elements of Zhang Yunshui’s birthday are lack of water, so regardless of the big name or the nickname, Everyone must bring the word "water", and the word "yun" means luck. His father Zhang Fuqing gave him such a name and hoped that he would be lucky in his life. In addition, in Shaoxing proverbs, run is the same as transport, and soil and water are both one of the five elements, so Lu Xun changed Zhang Runshui's name to "run soil" in his novels.
Zhang’s family is located in Dupu Village, close to the sea. The owner Zhang Fuqing is a bamboo craftsman. The bamboo weaving craftsmanship is excellent in the local area. During the New Year’s Festival or when the farm is busy, he often makes "busy months" for people. Life is barely passable. However, Zhang Fuqing is a hardworking man. He planted some watermelon, bean cotton and the like on the sandy land by the sea. When he went out to help out, he let Zhang Runshui take care of it. In this way, the family life could also be improved. . Because of this, Lu Xun's Lu Xun has multiple skills, whether it is watching melon thorns or catching birds in the snow, he can do it at his fingertips.
However, as an intellectual, how could Lu Xun come into contact with Zhang Runshui? There are roughly two reasons. First, Lu Xun was born in a dilapidated feudal scholar-official family. Although he seems to have a long distance from the agro-industrial public in terms of status, after all, the gap will be reduced indefinitely. Second, Zhang Fuqing has been with Lu Xun. Working at home, this has brought the possibility of Zhang Runshui and Lu Xun getting acquainted even more.
Once during the New Year, Lu Xun's great-grandmother passed away. During the New Year's funeral, Lu Xun's family was in a mess, and the staff was far from enough. Therefore, the Zhou family called Zhang Runshui to come to help watch the sacrificial vessel. Since Zhang Runshui is two or three years older than Lu Xun, there is no gap between the two. After a long time, there will naturally be endless words to say. In addition, their growth environment is different, and there is always something attractive about each other. As a result, Lu Xun and Zhang Runshui became good friends who talked about everything, and this friendship lasted for a lifetime.
Many years later, Zhang Fuqing passed away. Due to the pressure of survival, Zhang Runshui had to take the responsibility of supporting the family. However, Zhang Runshui did not have his father's craftsmanship in weaving bamboo. He could only rely on brute force to do rough work, picking soil, shaking boats, and doing farm work. These tasks took Zhang Runshui more than ten years. As the so-called "years urge people to grow old", Zhang Runshui has also turned from a lively prickly boy to a diligent and honest farmer, and his life has carved a deep mark on his face.
In middle age, Zhang’s family had only six acres of thin sandy land, and life became more and more difficult. Unfortunately, Lu Xun’s family also gradually fell apart, and they had to dismiss the helper’s chapter. Runshui, Zhang Runshui lost another source of life. In the severe drought of 1934, Zhang Runshui had to sell the little land left in order to pay off his debts, relying only on renting the land and working outside to make money. However, when Zhang Runshui was more than 50 years old, he developed a malignant sore on his back, but because he did not have the money to treat, he had to continue to work. Over time, the wound gradually became suppurative, never healed, and became more and more serious.
In the end, Zhang Runshui hated him when he was 57 years old. He worked all his life, but in the end he had nothing, and his family had no pillars. He was very unwilling.
