In the interplay of glasses and lights among the brothers and sisters, a raise of a hand, a gesture, a cough, and a laugh will intentionally or unintentionally bring us brothers and sisters into that absurd yet reasonable, happy yet sad, romantic yet tortuous youth time.
And what has been discussed countless times without results is naturally the origin of the girl.
This is the river in my hometown
I don’t know where the girl came from. Ever since I was sensible and since I can remember, they have always called me this.
Maybe, when I was very young, I often cried and acted like a little girl, so they chose such a very feminine name? But my parents have created a strong character in me. As far back as I can remember, I rarely cry, let alone cry for no reason.
Or perhaps, Hakkas often call their youngest son Manzai. Every time he goes to the street, he will often hear people on the street looking for and calling Manzai's name. In order to clearly distinguish him from other people's children, he used this girl's name, which is rarely used even by girls.
Or maybe, the parents originally hoped to have a daughter, but instead they gave birth to a troublemaker.
What is the origin of this girl? It has long been impossible to verify, or maybe it was my uncle and aunt who called me. Perhaps, they thought that I was not their biological son, but a maid who was sold. They were afraid that when this maid grew up, could fly, she would go out to find a husband, so they focused all their love on this girl.
Although my uncle was very doting, he was very strict and taught his children both kindness and power. Not only were my brothers and sisters afraid of him, but also the cousins next door were afraid of him, and even the cousins who came to visit us were afraid of him.
In the countryside where I grew up, many adults did not allow children to swim in the river. They were afraid that the children would drown in the river.
I remember that in the summer of that year, my friends and I were swimming in the river at noon. My uncle heard the news from somewhere and rushed to the river with a bamboo whip from home. The friends all took off their clothes and were in the river. The uncle couldn't tell who was who, and they all looked like his own children. This time, he didn't call me girl, but stood on the shore like a school teacher and shouted: "XXX, come out!"
I dived into the water and didn't dare to move for a long time. Fortunately, there was a reed rod that could help me breathe. The friends tried their best to cover up, and everyone said: "XXX didn't come" and "XXX is not here", but my uncle didn't believe this. He had served in the military three times in his life, and he was convinced that his intelligence source was very accurate. He saw that I didn't come out for a long time, so he angrily took away my clothes from the bank, causing me to strip naked and run home naked on the main road in the village for the first time.
When I got home, I naturally didn’t escape the whipping, leaving deep marks on my buttocks.
My father and uncle also had a big quarrel over this. I returned to my father and vowed never to be his son again, never to live in his home again, never to return to that small study.
But after living there for less than half a month, I didn’t even remember what my uncle used to lure me back. candy? fruit? birdcage? clothing? Or maybe, when you grow up, I will help you find a beautiful wife? Or maybe, my mother is crying and asking me to go back? The last thing I can bear to see is the tears of adults. Anyway, within half a month I returned to my small study.
This whipping did not stop me from going into the river, it’s just that the place where I go into the water in the future will be further away from home. Thank God I learned to swim and saved several lives from the river later in life.
The most memorable thing is that when I went home for vacation in the summer of a certain year, I ran into Lu, a classmate who worked in Kaifeng, Henan Province, on the street. He also happened to go home for vacation. When we met old classmates, we naturally talked about summer and swimming, and the conversation ended up at the river.
As soon as we arrived at the river, a dozen middle school students across from us shouted at us, "There are ghosts, there are ghosts in the river," and pointed at the clothes on the river bank near us. We finally understood that someone had fallen into the water and no one had come out yet. Perhaps this middle school student who fell into the water was destined. A dozen middle school students held hands from upstream to downstream without touching a hair. As soon as we got into the water, we fished out a body that was not yet stiff in less than two minutes. It's a pity that doctors and people passing by used various rescue methods, but they couldn't save the life of this young man who was only fourteen years old until he was sent to the hospital. Time flies, the sun and the moon are sparse. The river where we used to swim now has only a few inches of water left, and the banks of the river have become rows of residential houses.
After experiencing this whipping, I just want to tell today’s parents that sticks and whips cannot change the lives of their children. Only kindness, hard work, and generosity are the best inheritance for future generations. And I also want to say something to today’s middle school and college students: Fire and water have no mercy! Regardless of water or fire, the only thing you can do is to call for help from an adult. Unless you are absolutely sure that you can guarantee your own safety, don't easily put yourself on the line to save others. Such actions are not called sacrificing yourself to save others, but will cause confusion and increase the burden on those who will save others in the future.
Another time I was whipped by my father. In my vague impression, it was probably because the teacher complained to several other parents, saying that I had a fight with so-and-so at school. Probably because I was pushed into the ditch by three female classmates. I was already full of grievances, but I didn't dare to tell my parents. One of the three parents originally came to apologize to my father, but unexpectedly, he later caused me to be whipped by my father. My father firmly believed in one truth: a slap makes no sound. And while whipping, he said viciously, rather than being beaten to death by others outside, it would be better for me to beat him to death with my own hands now.
This whipping caused another big quarrel between my mother and my father. My mother did not dare to speak out, but she just cried silently. However, Ah Niang confidently stopped her father's whip, and Ah Niang and her father found the school noisily. However, my father, who was still very aggressive at home just now, formed a temporary united front with my mother when he arrived at school. The teacher finally confirmed that this fight was indeed not my fault. When my father came back from school, there was no anger on his face, but he didn't smile either. He just called my mother into the room and secretly confessed that she had steamed a hibiscus egg for me in the evening, and the matter was over.
However, in that era, there was no traditional filial piety education such as "people are inherently good by nature". In textbooks and on the loudspeakers in villages, what you can hear every day is class struggle. Even famous works such as "Journey to the West" and "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" have been criticized as the stuff of feudal scholars, but no one has read or seen them. Some are just the kind of hatred education of "tit for tooth, blood for blood". After being whipped by my father for this grievance, I did not forgive my father because of my mother's eggs, but I must find a way to get revenge on my father.
So, one Sunday when my father was doing farm work in the mountains, I took a tree-chopping hatchet and chopped down a pepper tree that my father had planted behind the kitchen. This is my father's favorite. Every year, my father picks the pepper from this tree and soaks it into pepper oil. Whenever he eats fish or aquatic animals or plants such as lotus, pepper oil is an indispensable good thing.
Ah Niang is a very strong, hospitable and kind-hearted rural woman. Served as director of the village Women's Federation and production team leader. Not many people may know her name in the household registration book, but Master Peng is famous among women and scholars. On the third day after she passed away, when her neighbors "brought fire" to her, they still said the same thing: "Director Peng, we have brought fire to you."
Ah Niang is very hard-working. She must grow what others grow, and raise what others raise. She will never admit defeat. Ah Niang is also very frugal. She eats bacon cured duck all year round, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. I usually only eat simple meals, but no matter who the craftsman is, he will be entertained with good wine and good food when he comes to the house.So there is a famous saying: Why has no guest come for so long? The author of this famous saying is me. It has been circulated for decades, and some people still remember it until a few years ago. At that time, there was less oil and water in my stomach, and I was too embarrassed to ask my mother to bring out those good dishes to eat, so I looked forward to it every day, looking forward to it, it would be great if guests came, and there would be bacon to eat when guests came.
Maybe it’s a coincidence, maybe it’s a deliberate joke from God. That year, I took my five-year-old son home to celebrate the New Year. Four generations of the family were living together happily. I don't know if my youngest son did something wrong accidentally, so I stopped him and threatened him, "Don't be naughty anymore. If you are naughty again, I will sell you."
The son didn’t show any weakness, so he retorted, “If you want to sell, sell dad first.” My father was sitting next to me, watching his children and grandchildren playing with a smile on his face. I wanted to make my father happy, so I joked with my son: "You can ask grandpa, I have been sold by grandpa once, and I can never sell it for money again."
This was originally a witticism, but it inadvertently touched the distant memories and helplessness deep in my father's heart: I was adopted to my uncle when I was five years old.
I never thought that these words would bring such great harm to my father. My father’s face, which was still sunny just a moment ago, suddenly turned into a cloudy one. I regretted it so much that I smiled at my father and said, "Although I have sold it, I am still sitting next to you." My father gave a forced smile.
I actually knew what my father wanted to say, so I made a cup of green tea for him. While sipping tea, my father was nagging again about the story I had heard hundreds of times.
The father said: Girl, selling it to your uncle was not my intention. It's your grandfather who has already told you that there is nothing you can do. If it weren't for your grandfather, I wouldn't sell you even if it were gold and silver.
My father’s nagging brought me into a more distant and distant era. At that time, my father's three brothers had not yet married. My uncle was drafted into the national army for the first time, and was dispersed by the Japanese army during the Anti-Japanese War in Hengyang, . According to later information, the entire army was destroyed. My uncle had a chance to escape with only two grenades hanging on his shoulders. He went through all kinds of hardships and endured countless hardships, meals, and sleeping in the open, and finally escaped death and returned to his hometown.
The second time he was drafted, it was his father’s turn. Grandpa is well aware of the characters of his three sons. His uncle is smart and his father is loyal and honest. In those war years filled with smoke and vicissitudes of life, if my father left, he would probably never come back, but my uncle had the experience of coming back alive once, and maybe he could come back alive again.
Grandpa called his three sons beside him, and then told his uncle, this time it is your brother's army. Your brother is dumber, you are smarter. You have experience, so you should support your brother this time. It's best if you come back alive. In case you don't come back, if your brother has a son in the future, he will adopt one of you to bear the incense. If there is only one son, each of you will bear half of the incense.
Therefore, my uncle said goodbye to his relatives and joined the national army for the second time. It was during this second career in the national army that he brought endless disasters to his uncle during the Cultural Revolution!
Heaven, I really, really want to curse you! When none of the three brothers of my father's generation had a family, my grandfather's unintentional words eventually became a motto.
Although my uncle later served in the military for the third time, he honorably joined the People's Liberation Army, and honorably changed his job and returned to his hometown, where he got married and had a warm family. But the old couple could only stare at each other, and they never gave birth to a boy or a girl.
In order to fulfill the promise I made to my grandfather, at the age of five, I became my uncle’s son.
But at the same time, I also want to thank God for giving me a warm home after I was five years old, and giving me a romantic, happy and sad childhood!
I want to tell today’s fathers and mothers, no matter what their children have done wrong, never curse them. Maybe your unintentional words may become a motto in the future, so remember this.
