·Those things about the Mining Area Nationalities Complex
Tong Mailing·
Things about the National Complex in the Mining Area
In the early 1950s when the Pingchuan Mining Area was being built, construction troops from all over the world lived in small nests on the Gobi desert, and in the arid sandy land Fetching water from rivers and dry rivers, using steel drills with sledgehammers in the wilderness where the wind blows and rocks, not waiting, not relying, not wanting, carrying forward the spirit of self-sacrifice and others, kicked off a vigorous construction that moved the world and moved the world.
These construction troops include people from Gansu, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Henan, Northeast China and other places, as well as Shanghainese who speak softly and softly. The bold and rugged northwest people call Shanghainese "Shanghai ducks". After the first hard years passed, the living conditions of the people in the mining area improved. They moved from underground houses to bungalows. After the water was delivered by large trucks, adults and children carried the water tank into the house on their shoulders, and how much they could eat. God, the food rations are still not enough, and you have to pay for shopping with a ticket. Although it can fill your belly, it is because of the lack of food. Whoever goes home to visit relatives or has relatives bring some food from other places, the children's eyes are gleaming and their mouths are watering. .
A row of bungalows can accommodate six or seven families. These residents, from different places and different nationalities, lived together until the bungalows were converted into buildings in the late 1990s, and then they separated. After separation, they were like relatives, spending time together during festivals, weddings and funerals, etc. When they get together, they chat about their past together, some laugh to the sky, or sigh, and shed tears when they talk about the brothers who dedicated their lives to the mines.
Multi-ethnic compound
In a row of bungalows in the old mining area, there are several families living there.
Lao Ma is a Hui from Ningxia. He was born in 1930. He is of medium height, tall and tall, with a high nose and deep eyes, and has distinctive national characteristics. Lao Ma married a Han wife, who is tall and has a pretty face. After my wife married Lao Ma, she entered Islam. Lao Ma's wife is slow-tempered and introverted, and has given birth to six children. There are three boys in the front and three daughters in the back. Lao Ma is engaged in carpentry work in the mine. After a busy day's work, he still has to help his wife with housework when he comes back. Fortunately, he is strong, although he is not happy with his wife's incompetence. , it’s just a look of displeasure on his face, but he still has to do his work. Children are growing up day by day, and they are spending more and more money on food and clothing. It is impossible to live a normal life without carrying them. During the most difficult time, Lao Ma kept comforting himself in his heart. It would be great if a woman can give birth to children. She gave birth to boys and girls, and my Lao Ma family has a successor. Thinking like this, Lao Ma felt relieved. Everyone called Lao Ma's wife Ma's wife, and the children called her Aunt Ma. Although Lao Ma's wife had a name, she didn't take it seriously. At that time, it was like that, marry a chicken, marry a dog, follow a dog.
Lao Wu is from the Northeast. He was born in 1933. He is from Manchu Zhengbai Banner. He is tall and strong with a clear face. He works as an electrician underground. My wife is from Shandong. She has a petite figure and a carefree personality. She doesn't like to clean the house. She only cooks porridge, stews in large pots, and eats several meals. My wife gave birth to two boys and two girls to Lao Wu, who were extremely beautiful and lovely. Lao Wu has a strong and careful nature. When he comes home from work, he cooks and washes clothes for the children and keeps the house spotless. Occasionally, I would use my skills as an electrician to earn some extra money, buy some fish, and improve my life. Lao Wu's wife didn't care about her husband's pickiness and still lived her life in her own way.
Lao Zhao is of Han nationality and is from Lintong, Shaanxi Province. He was born in 1935. He is tall and strong, embodying the characteristics of a man from the northwest. He works in transportation underground.Since the Terracotta Warriors and Horses were excavated from the ground, Lao Zhao's hometown became famous all over the world overnight. As famous as the pomegranates in Lao Zhao's hometown are the pomegranates as well as the Terracotta Warriors and Horses. The pomegranates in Lao Zhao's hometown are famous not only for their large and bright appearance, but also for the juicy, sweet pomegranate seeds wrapped in the yellow-orange-orange-red thin shell. Lao Zhao's wife is handsome and of medium height, moderately fat and thin. She is ingenious and good at cooking. She can sew and knit, and can cook smoothly inside and outside the house. Lao Zhao just went to work wholeheartedly, and when he got home, he would have delicious meals on the table. Lao Zhao's clothes are always clean and the children are neatly dressed. Lao Zhao's wife had the same character as her. After giving birth to two sons smoothly, she stopped having children. It was their regret that they did not give birth to a girl.
Lao Jin is from Henan. He was born in 1936. He is short, hospitable and looks like a typical Central Plains person. Lao Jin worked as a material clerk in the mine. After he worked as a worker in the coal mine, when he returned to his hometown to visit relatives, he married a woman from a formerly wealthy family. His wife was born with a beautiful face and was literate. She followed Lao Jin to the mining area and cooked and washed clothes for Lao Jin. At the same time, I worked with Lao Ma, Lao Wu, and Lao Zhao's wives in the family's odd-job team, smashing rocks, weaving barbed wire, and loading coal for large trucks, and my work was no worse than others. Others would say, Sister-in-law Jin needs to be good-looking, good-looking, and capable, so how can she do such hard work? Sister-in-law Jin smiled slightly and said, we are all human beings, and I can do what others can do. Lao Jin joked: You are a girl's maid. If you marry a coal miner in this life, you will have to deal with coal. Just like what is said in " Butcher No. 12": Follow the official and be a wife, keep up. If you kill a pig and turn its intestines, it will be your child's life. To Lao Jin's regret, his beautiful wife gave him seven daughters in one breath, until she became infertile and failed to give birth to a "breasted one."
Neighborhood Trivia
Lao Ma’s Ningxia hometown has land for his ancestors and livestock for farming. His grandfather and father are diligent and thrifty, and the family eats simple meals. Grandma Ma often said: If you don’t have enough food and clothing, you will always be poor if you don’t plan. When the old horse was still a pony, if he wanted to eat a pure meal of white flour, his mother would say earnestly: My child, we can’t have a meal without holding a stick (meaning begging for food). No one is born rich or poor. , the family fortune is accumulated bit by bit, squeezed out from between the hands and teeth, and accumulated over time.
After Lao Ma started working, he had carpentry skills, he was honest, he was not lazy at work, and he had a good reputation. During the Cultural Revolution, the originally peaceful and harmonious bungalow neighbors were still affected to some extent.
Lao Jin’s sister-in-law married in Shanghai. She is richer and more fashionable than the people in the mining area. She looks down on the simple and dull miners. Her words and expressions will inadvertently reveal her superiority and contempt for the miners.
Lao Ma’s family lived in the first house on the east side of the bungalow. Lao Jin’s house was close to Lao Ma’s house. Lao Jin’s sister-in-law came to visit her sister and lived in Lao Jin’s house. When they met each other when they went out, Lao Jin’s sister-in-law never took it seriously. Seeing the old horse. One evening, Lao Ma was working the night shift. When he opened the door, Lao Jin's sister-in-law stood at the door and asked Lao Ma with squinted eyes: "Have you seen my watch? I took it off from the laundry this morning and put it on the window sill outside, but it disappeared." Ma said, I didn't see it. Lao Jin's sister-in-law snorted and said, just because you haven't seen me, it doesn't mean that your family hasn't seen me. My watch is from Shanghai, and it costs more than 80 yuan a piece! Lao Ma said, my child will not take other people's things. You go home and look for it to see if it fell into that nook and corner. I have to go to work.As Lao Ma walked forward, Lao Jin's sister-in-law spat behind Lao Ma and said, "You can fly by yourself without a watch? If you don't give it back to me, I will go to the public security bureau to file a complaint." "You!" If a man wronged Lao Ma like this, a debate and quarrel would be inevitable, but this was a woman, a co-worker and a relative of his neighbor Lao Jin. Lao Ma gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, feeling very angry. work.
The next morning, Lao Ma came home. My wife told Lao Ma that Mrs. Jin came to the house last night and said that her sister’s watch was lost. She asked if the child was ignorant and took it away to exchange for food. I asked the child, None of them were seen.
Lao Ma suddenly became angry. Muslims despise sneaky and dishonest behavior. Lao Ma couldn't bear to talk about him and his children like this. Lao Ma said angrily, "Don't you, the mother, know if our children have this problem?" The wife looked at Lao Ma, silently, with tears of grievance in her eyes.
From then on, when Lao Jin’s sister-in-law saw Lao Ma’s family, she spat on the ground with a “bah” sound, and cursed with her nose and eyes raised: “You bastard, you steal someone’s watch, you are shameless... ." The people in Lao Ma's family kept their composure and tried to avoid Lao Jin's sister-in-law as far away as possible, but they were in the same row of bungalows, and they were door-to-door. She couldn't see her when she looked up, so there was no way she could hide away!
One evening, Lao Ma dragged his tired body home from work. As soon as he arrived at the door, Lao Jin's sister-in-law appeared in front of Lao Ma like a ghost and said viciously: "You thief, you stole someone's watch and you still don't want to return it?" "As the saying goes, every man has a fire in his head. No one can stand such repeated slanders and provocations. Lao Ma suddenly lost his mind, clenched his strong fists, clenched his steel teeth, widened his leopard eyes, and said angrily: "Who is the thief? Tell me again, let me hear you?" Lao Jin's sister-in-law was really frightened when she saw Lao Ma's menacing look. She was startled for a moment, then raised her head, half-closed her eyes, and moved her thin lips. , while jumping on his feet and waving his arms, his mouth was like a machine gun and he said continuously: "Just you, your family, your family is a den of thieves, you are so powerful today! Come on, hit me if you can. ! Hit me here!" Lao Jin's sister-in-law scolded and put her curly hair under Lao Ma's nose. Lao Ma raised his arm and was about to hit the arrogant head under his nose, but he held back, she was a woman after all, and good men don't fight with women. Besides, he and Lao Jin have been neighbors for many years. They don’t look at the Buddha’s face and the monk’s face! Forget it, thinking of this, Lao Ma slowly lowered his waving arm. Lao Jin's sister-in-law was sure that Lao Ma didn't dare to hit him. Today, she saw Lao Ma pretending to hit her, and she was holding back her anger. Now she sees The old horse's limp fist became unwilling to let go. She cried and cursed: "You are a thief, a bastard, you are a bastard. You still want to hit someone. If you have the ability, you can do it. If you don't, you are not my son." Baby..." Before Lao Jin's sister-in-law finished speaking, she heard a violent roar burst out from Lao Ma's thick throat, like the roar of a lion. This roar was enough to freeze time, and then, a I remember hitting Sister-in-law Lao Jin’s fat, soft and round butt with a solid fist...
After hearing the news, Lao Jin looked at Lao Ma and said, "It depends on the owner to beat a dog. We know she has a bad temper." , it’s wrong to keep your mouth shut, but you shouldn’t hit Lao Ma, you are too heartless!
Some time later, Lao Jin’s sister-in-law returned to Shanghai, and Jin’s sister-in-law found her sister through the gap in the box while cleaning. The missing watch.
stealing pomegranates
The days are repeated day by day, and the construction of the coal mine has not slackened for a moment. With the advent of reform, opening up, and modernization, the social economy has undergone earth-shaking changes, and people's spiritual and material living standards have continued to improve. Concentrating efforts on building socialist modernization is the common goal of the people across the country.
Time flies by in the late 1980s. The eldest son of the Ma family was admitted to college and assigned to work in the Provincial Urban Construction Bureau. He got married and had children in the provincial capital. The second son and the third son worked in the coal mine and were dating a girlfriend. The eldest son of the old Wu family worked in the coal mine. One day, he was obsessed with studying various semiconductors. He was bent on making inventions. He was in his 30s and had no intention of talking about a girlfriend. Old Wu and his wife were so anxious that they talked about it. It was bubbling, but the emperor was not in a hurry and the eunuchs were not. Marriage is not something that can be achieved by rushing. Lao Wu's daughter is the second child. They are already married and have children. The eldest brother is still immersed in his own research career. There are two bald boys in Lao Zhao's family. The eldest son did well in studies. After graduating from college, he was assigned to work in the local tax bureau. He married a local classmate in Jingyuan and gave birth to a lovely grandson to Lao Zhao. Lao Zhao's wife has loved him all her life. The daughter, who had not given birth to her own child, was counting on her daughter-in-law to give her a granddaughter. However, it was the time when family planning was at its most intense. Giving birth to a second child would risk losing your job. Who dared to throw away his breadwinner! The seven golden flowers in Lao Jin's house are blooming like jade one by one. The fourth daughter and Lao Ma's second boy are talking about their partners. The old miners living in a row of bungalows are as always struggling with their work and life, their children's work, and their children. They are busy discussing with each other about starting a family and starting a business. This world is already dominated by children, and it is time for them to take a back seat. In a few years, they, the old miners, will also reach retirement age.
In their free time or on weekends, they would get together to drink together. Their gathering was nothing more than cooking some delicious food here today. Everyone brought the wine over and chatted together. Although Lao Ma is a Muslim , he has been there for decades. In the mining life, he has integrated into this big family of Manchu and Han people. Every time during the Eid al-Fitr festival of the Hui people, Lao Ma would show off his skills, making crispy fried rice, fried crispy rice dumplings, cooking fragrant beef and mutton, and then giving them to several other neighbors. Lao Wu makes delicious fish and seafood. Once he makes it, he will definitely invite several other brothers to gather together. Lao Zhao is from Shaanxi, and he likes all kinds of noodles. When everyone wants to eat noodles, they will go to Lao Zhao's house together. Lao Zhao invites everyone to eat noodles from a big old bowl , and a few people laugh at Lao Zhao, Shaanxi Lengwa, The bowl was bigger than the basin. Old Zhao laughed and was not annoyed. Lao Jin is from Henan, and he can cook all kinds of dishes. When he was drinking at Lao Jin's house, the other family members would make fun of Lao Jin. Henan people have big crotches, and they pretend to be eggplant and spicy.
When several families go out or go home to visit relatives, they always bring some gifts or hometown specialties back to give to other families. One year, Lao Zhao went home to visit relatives. When he came back, he carried two yellow satchels of yellow, orange, orange and red pomegranates. One bag was divided among several families, and the other bag of pomegranates was arranged by Lao Zhao himself. When he left home, he forgot to take his house key. When he came back, there was no one at home, so Lao Zhao put the yellow satchel of pomegranates at Lao Wu's house. Lao Wu was afraid that his children would be greedy and eat pomegranates secretly, so he hid a yellow satchel of pomegranates under his steel frame bed.
Lao Zhao’s youngest son has been working as a repairman on a mining fleet for several years. He has always longed to drive a Dongfeng truck and repeatedly begged his father for help. Lao Zhao couldn’t resist his son, so he bit the bullet and told his fellow mine manager. A sound. The fellow said that I knew about it and would take care of the arrangements. He also left Lao Zhao at home and drank a bottle of Moutai with fried peanuts. A few days later, Lao Zhao's youngest son really drove a big truck. At that time, it was such a prestigious thing to be able to drive a big truck. Often, a big truck would park at the intersection in front of the bungalow, and Lao Zhao's youngest son would bring some needed things to his family and several neighbors along the way. It was very convenient, and the neighbors were envious of it.
Lao Zhao tried to thank his fellow villagers. He bought two bottles of Xifeng wine and gave them to him. The fellow villagers did not accept his wine. When he came back, he gave Lao Zhao a piece of Hongtashan cigarette. Lao Zhao kept it in his heart and went home to visit his relatives this time. So I brought some more pomegranates and prepared to send them to my fellow villagers.
When Old Wu was hiding pomegranates under the bed, a pair of sneaky eyes were looking through the crack of the half-open door, and he happened to see this scene. He was Old Wu's youngest son. When Lao Wu left for the night shift and his mother fell asleep, Lao Wu's youngest son pushed his sister mysteriously and whispered, "Do you still want to eat sweet pomegranates?" My sister said, haven’t you finished eating already? My brother said, there is it under the bed. You are small, so you can climb in and take it out, and we can go to the outhouse to eat secretly.
When the teenage sister heard that there was something delicious, she stopped dozing off. She got up and gently slipped out of bed, got under the bed, and soon slipped out the yellow satchel. The brother and sister quietly slipped out of the small suite. Open the yellow satchel, take out a pomegranate, break it in half and start chewing it. At first, the two brothers and sister planned to eat one pomegranate secretly, but the more they ate, the more delicious it became. Looking at a pack of pomegranates, they thought that they would eat one more pomegranate without knowing it, but they didn't stop eating. After a while, the brother and sister ate more than half of the pomegranate. The brother and sister got carried away with their food and made a scene, which woke up their mother who had been smashing rocks on the river beach all day. The mother walked out of the small apartment and saw the two children eating. She was so angry that she picked up the broom behind the door and beat her youngest son so hard that he cried and howled. The younger daughter was smarter. When she saw this scene, she immediately begged her mother for mercy, saying that she had already fallen asleep and it was her brother who asked her to eat pomegranates secretly. He didn't care about her and she would never dare to do it again next time. As the saying goes: Eighty-year-olds love their little ones. A mother feels sorry for her little daughter. Seeing her crying so hard, she softens her heart and spares her.
The next day, Lao Wu’s youngest son did not escape Lao Wu’s punch. From then on, Lao Wu’s youngest son called his sister a traitor.
大perfect
The express train of time arrived at the end of the 1990s. During this period, the two sides of the Taiwan Strait communicated with each other, and Hong Kong and Macau successively returned to the embrace of the motherland. The national economy achieved a qualitative leap, the society was safe and stable, and the lives of the people in the mining areas also experienced earth-shaking changes. The change.
Lao Ma, Lao Wu, Lao Zhao, and Lao Jin, a group of builders in the mining area, retired one after another. The bungalows they originally lived in were demolished, and high-rise buildings were built on the ground. They moved into new buildings as relocated households. The children also solved and replaced the work of their parents, took over the baton from their parents, and built beautiful new mining areas.
On August 8, 2008, the Olympic Games opened in Beijing, and people across the country were filled with joy. In recent years, the benefits of mining areas have increased significantly. Local governments and enterprises have attached great importance to the construction of ecological civilization, planted trees extensively, and controlled pollution. Pingchuan's transportation, sanitation, and climate conditions have been greatly improved. Not only do young people live in clean and tidy buildings, , also bought a car. They followed the custom of their fathers and got together for a drink on holidays or weekends. However, the place where they got together was not at home, but at a hotel, which was very convenient.
During the New Year and festivals, the children of Lao Ma's family, Lao Wu's family, Lao Zhao's family, and Lao Jin's family will greet their families and sit together to make it lively. At this time, the old people were drinking tea and chatting, the men were drinking and playing guessing games, and the women were boasting about their children and ridiculing their husbands. Lao Jin’s fourth daughter and Lao Ma’s second son got married and already had a son. .
In the spring of 2012, Lao Zhao, who suffered from silicosis, was the first to pass away at the age of 78. Lao Ma, Lao Wu, Lao Jin and the children went to bid farewell to the workers for the last time. After spending a hundred days with Lao Wu, Lao Ma's eldest son, who works in the provincial capital, proposed that his parents, who had been suffering all their lives, go to Taiwan for sightseeing. Several other family members responded positively. In early autumn, after applying for passes, each family's children accompanied their parents to Taiwan. In Taiwan's Sun Moon Lake and Alishan , the old people laughed with their toothless mouths open and kept saying, "We met..." I have lived in a good era and enjoyed a good life. Now I don’t have to worry about food or clothing. Even if I am about to die, I can still fly to see Taiwan, which is like a dream.
They looked at Lao Zhao’s wife and sighed: Hey, it’s the old guy Lao Zhao who has fallen behind. You wait for Lao Zhao, and step on it for us first. In a few years, we will come to you to drink and eat meat. .
Everyone remembered the incident of eating Lao Zhao’s pomegranate secretly. When Lao Zhao found out about it, he just said with a simple smile, “What’s the food? The baby will eat it if it’s eaten. Why beat the baby? I’ll bring more when I go back next year.” Come here. They feel like they are like seeds in a pomegranate. They have been surrounded by each other for so many years. They seem to be separated, but in fact they are in the same blue sky, the same land, the same mine, and even crawling under the same roof. A neighbor who has lived all his life is better than a relative rather than a close relative.
The children of the 10 families are getting married, starting a business, and living a good life. Even the eldest son of Lao Wu, who was engaged in research, also fell in love and got married. Slowly, the country relaxed the two-child policy. Mrs. Zhao’s younger son and daughter-in-law seized the opportunity of childbirth and gave birth to a daughter for herself, and went to college. The son formed a word "good". Sister-in-law Zhao held her flower-like granddaughter, and the wrinkles on her face bloomed like flowers.
From then on, this big family of Hui, Manchu and Han people left their happy footsteps in the treasure island of Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and all over the motherland. Over the years, they have spent their blood and youth on this hot land in the Pingchuan mining area, and this black land will surely be firmly remembered.
The footsteps of history are rolling forward, and the footsteps of builders are embedded in it. The waves of passionate years, the unforgettable past events, and the heart-warming moments seem to be flying vividly before your eyes, and in the blink of an eye, the moment is eternal!
About the author
Tong Mailing is from Pingliang, Gansu. Member of Gansu Provincial Writers Association. Accountant, political engineer. His works have been published in newspapers such as "China Mine Safety News", " Gansu Daily " and "Gansu Workers' News". Worked for Jingmei Group Equipment Leasing Company.
Pingchuan District Media Center Editor: Li Jingjing
Source: Pingchuan Media
