Time flies so fast. In the busyness of work and life, in a blink of an eye, it has been more than fifty years since I left Kun Sanzhong . I have experienced so many things over the past fifty years. Among them, I was most impressed by the fact that I walked on the mountain road in Jingpo Mountain and the substitute class at Jingpo Mountain Primary School. I recalled it as if it happened yesterday.
That year was the busy farming season in the autumn of 1970. Fan Dixin from our class came to the Jingpo village where we settled in the countryside and prepared to go to Yingjiang to help a friend bring his luggage back to Kunming. I happened to ask the production team for a family leave to go back to Kunming, so I walked from Gongdong with him to Yingjiang with both feet, then took my luggage and took a bus back to Kunming. At that time, I was young and energetic, and I didn’t care at all about the mountain roads that cost dozens of kilometers. After walking, I just felt a little tired, and the road back to my hometown was so long and far.
finally returned to Kunming. I remember that I met someone from the neighborhood committee who came to check the household registration in the middle of the night. Fortunately, I had a certificate of visiting relatives issued by the production team. Otherwise, I might have been considered to be a educated youth who ran back secretly and sent to some place to study and education and repatriate.
I spent a short time in Kunming. I made an appointment with a female educated youth from the same village to go back to Longchuan . We took a large truck full of cargo, squeezed into the middle of the cargo, and bumped a long distance for a few days to arrive at Zhaifang Town, Luxi.
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It is still a day's drive from here to Longchuan, and from Longchuan to our village, you have to climb over two mountains and walk a day's mountain road. If you walk the small path along the Longjiang Canyon from Zhafang into the mountain, you can reach our village in one day and save half of the itinerary.
But we have never walked this path before, but I just vaguely remember that Fan Dixin said that he walked back to the village like this. When I asked about the locals, I also said that few people took this road.
After discussing, we decided to walk along the Longjiang Valley back to Gongdong. So we said goodbye to the truck driver, stayed with the educated youth in the local village for one night, and set out on this unforgettable path the next day.
Long River is winding and winding, the river water is turbulent, the Longjiang Valley is lush and the scenery is beautiful. After we walked, we had no intention of watching the scenery and just rushed to the road because the sun was about to set. There were mountain bags in front of us, and we still didn't see the village we were familiar with.
It was dark in the morning. None of us brought flashlights. There was no moon in the sky. Basically, we couldn't see anything, we couldn't find the direction. We could only hear the sound of the flowing water in the river and we could never walk again! There were trees and grass all around us, so we could only sit in the grass and rest, and we would squint when we were sleepy.
Jingposhan is about to begin winter, and it is still very cold at night, so we leaned against each other tightly. Suddenly I heard a rustling sound in the distance, as if some animal was coming, the sound was getting louder and closer. We were so nervous, thinking that we might have encountered a wild boar. Sure enough, a black wild boar stood not far from us...
We didn't even dare to breathe. We instinctively held a branch in our hands and stood quietly... Fortunately, it did not come over again, and slowly walked away.
We never dared to sleep anymore. We kept our eyes open, staring around nervously, enduring hard, hoping that dawn would arrive early.
When it was almost dawn, we heard the rooster crows and jumped up excitedly. In fact, we had already walked not far from the village. We took advantage of the morning light to walk towards the village quickly.
Back in the village, I met the fellow villagers and educated youth in Jingpo . Everyone was surprised: Where did you come from so early? How did it come about? When I told them about the situation last night, everyone was amazed. The two girls actually experienced a thrilling night, which was both praise and comfort. Of course, it was a great blessing to have a shock without any danger.
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After returning to the village, we did not rest and immediately participated in the intense labor, as if nothing had happened, but when we looked back, we were still very scared.
1971, I was a substitute teacher in a township government primary school.
I remember one Sunday when I went back to Gongdong Village to rest. It was too late after dinner. The educated youth told me to go back to school the next day because it took two hours of mountain road from Gongdong Village to the township government. I said I wasn't afraid, it's okay, I'd better leave, there's still class to attend tomorrow morning.
Walking halfway, I accidentally saw a lot of "cow dung" and didn't care. I planned to go around from the side. As soon as I raised my foot, the "cow dung" suddenly moved, and a big snake rushed into the grass.
"Snake!" The scene in front of me scared my heart and I was sweating coldly. Only then did I see clearly that it was a big snake on the road. I felt a little frightened at that time, and after a while, I calmed down and continued to move forward.
Jingposhan has a changeable climate. There was still sunshine just now. After a while, the sky was covered with dark clouds, and thunder broke out. Then it started to rain. I speeded up and the sky gradually became dark. I trotted all the way in the rain and finally rushed back to school when everyone was about to sleep.
I heard that I was back, and the teacher and classmates came to see me. When I saw me panting and my clothes were wet, I quickly took a towel and helped me find clothes to change them.
The students looked at me with surprise and admiration, saying that I am so brave. A female teacher dares to climb the mountains and walk on the night road alone, and even their parents dare not. I said, the teacher is not afraid. In order not to delay the class for you tomorrow, even if there are many wild animals on the road, the teacher will rush back to school. The students repeatedly praised me for my courage.
In fact, among all the animals, the snake I fear the most is the snake. The snake I encountered on the road just now made me creepy, and I was still in shock at this time.
In the township government primary school, I only have three teachers. I have to teach all the courses in grades one to five. Each teacher teaches two grades. I am responsible for teaching first and fifth grade students, and students of two grades teach in the same classroom.
I spent half a class teaching first grade classes, so that the fifth grade students could do their homework; I spent half a class teaching fifth grade classes, so that the first grade students could do their homework. These Jingpo children study hard and often ask me about this and that. They teach me how to speak Jingpo and tell me many stories about Jingpo Mountain.
After class, I played with the students, did sports activities, taught them to sing and dance, and led the students to dig the ground in the school vegetable garden to improve the food of the students.
In order to let these children in the deep mountains go out of the mountains and see the outside world, I organized everyone to arrange a program that can perform for one night, take them to perform at other schools, and hold a party with students from other schools. The bonfire reflected the children's smiles red, and the singing and dancing sounds attracted the participation of fellow Jingpo people. That is the real Munao Zongsong.
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40 years after leaving Jingposhan, I once went back to Longchuan. Many elderly people have passed away. However, the students of that year have grown up and still remember me. When I heard that I was here, they all came to see me and asked me about my well-being, which made me very pleased.
Now recalling the time when I was a teacher in Jingposhan, my heart was filled with touching and nostalgia. Because my students have grown up and have become builders of the country, I am proud of them and I am proud of them. On the occasion of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, with the help of the Toutiao platform, I sincerely wish our great motherland prosperity! The country is prosperous and the people are safe!
(This article comes from the Educated Youth, editor of Teacher Liu Leliang)
Author: Li Yangbi (Class 1, 68, Kunming High School)
