There is a black man living east of my house. He is my grandpa’s younger brother. He loves to scold, not only people, but also things. Don’t scold or speak. He staggered as he walked, but he was actually very strong. He didn't wear a hat in winter and had a shiny bald head.
When the family was separated, the black man and his sons argued a lot and had a heated argument over a dustpan and a bucket. When his daughters-in-law were in confinement, he was afraid of eating too many eggs, so he numbered the eggs and ate them in order. He doesn’t ask for help from others, and he doesn’t allow others to ask for help from him. Although grandma was his sister-in-law, not only did she not get any help from him after she became a widow, she was also plundered by him. A carrying pole and a hoe, he wanted to pick them up when he saw them.
The black man’s pigsty is never empty. The big pig was just sold yesterday and a little pig was put in today. He padded the pigs with wheat straw and stick straw, making the pigsty soft and comfortable. Then he jumped into the pigsty and scratched the pigs. He scratched the pigs with his hands, scratching them horizontally and vertically. He circled and grabbed again, and the pig grunted in comfort. He also squatted beside the pigsty while eating, holding the bowl in one hand and looking at the pigs.
Behind the yard of the black man’s house, there is a back garden of my family. Every autumn, my grandma would pile firewood into the back garden. This backyard has been coveted by black men for a long time, and the smoke and smoke between our two families is all due to this palm-sized place. My dad would quarrel with him when he was in the mood. The black man would blame him, but if he couldn't quarrel, he would scold him, and my dad would beat him. He found a clean place to lie down and said to the onlookers: "My nephew beat my uncle! He beat me so hard that I couldn't get up!" asked his son to pull him up in a small car to find the brigade cadres. When his son refused, he yelled, got up and chased and beat his son. Such wars occur several times every year.
Land is always valuable in the village. Whoever can hold a piece of land will have more wealth. Even though the small back garden is only as big as a room, if you plant eggplants and beans, they will grow. An elm locust tree will naturally sprout up. It can grow for a year or two and can even be used as a shovel handle.
A garden full of trees cannot be violated even if no one is watching. Land is a treasure, and passing a few pieces of land to future generations is better than anything else. This thing is not afraid of wind and rain, and you don't have to worry about it running away. As long as you hold it firmly, your descendants will take care of it and you will never lose it.
The black man is extremely greedy for land. He wants to occupy all the land close to home. There was an old locust tree in front of his house, which was given to my father when we separated. The old locust tree is half dead. When the strong wind blows, the branches fall down. The fallen branches naturally belong to my house and are resistant to burning. After the strong wind, my grandma took the basket to pick up branches. The black man sat in the door frame and smoked a cigarette. His eyelids were drooped, and he occasionally glanced at my grandma. The old locust tree belongs to us, and the land it occupies naturally also belongs to us. The most troublesome thing for the black man is that the land in front of his house does not belong to him, and he has to say hello to put bricks and firewood on it.
How come the things in front of his house are distributed to others? He rummaged through the boxes and cabinets, found the ancient distribution list, put on his spectacles and looked at it horizontally and vertically. It was written on the splitting sheet that because he asked for an extra room when the family was split, the locust tree and the back garden belonged to the boss. He took advantage back then.
■ Text/Excerpt from "The Garden in the Hand" (Although published by Huashan Literature and Art Publishing House)
■ Pictures except for the book cover are all illustrations
■ Editor/Jia Lifang
■ All rights reserved. No reproduction is allowed without permission
