What's the big story to tell

Before the fourth grade, I went to primary school in the county. At the gate of primary schools in any era, a group of vendors selling snacks will gather. At first glance after school, it looks like a delicious street, which is spectacular. However, snacks at that time were not as rich as they are now. As far as I can remember, there are only a few things in front of the primary school in the county: candied haws, ice powder, cold cakes and pickles.

Everything is my favorite. But what fascinates me most is kimchi. At that time, there was a mother-in-law in her fifties at the school gate, which was the best among her peers. The pickles she pickled have a special taste and are very delicious.

Her booth is a small wooden table with several large pots covered with clean glass, in which shredded radish, kelp, diced sauerkraut and shredded kohlrabi are placed respectively. For us at that time, nothing was less than KFC now. The most important thing is that the price is cheap, ensuring that every greedy primary school student can consume.

At that time, Sugar-Coated Berry was a dime a bunch, which was a high consumption. The advantage of pickles is that the price is flexible, and any change in face value can be exchanged for the corresponding amount of pickles. Pickles with 10 cents, 20 cents and 30 cents were the choices of most children at that time. Those who buy more than 50 cents are basically local tyrants.

Eating is in line with the characteristics of primary school students, not too particular, simple and fast. All you have to do is hand over twenty cents and say, "Grandma, twenty cents of shredded kohlrabi!" " "My mother-in-law will promise with a smile, skillfully twist a cut piece of white paper from the table, and put a pinch of pickles on the white paper with chopsticks and hand it to you. You can skip home happily while eating pickles. I walked to the door and just finished eating, just right.

My favorite is shredded kohlrabi, which is shiny and crisp, with a hint of sweetness in the spicy taste and can be addictive. It's the best-selling pickle cooked by my mother-in-law. After the last class in the afternoon, I can smell the shredded kohlrabi and swallow my saliva, hoping to finish school early.

Sometimes if you don't finish your homework or fail in the exam, you are punished by the teacher, which delays the school time. After I went out, my mother-in-law sold out the radishes. In desperation, I bought another one, which was far from delicious, and I never bought it again.

The struggle between parents and off-campus vendors will never stop. Parents always emphasize to their children that the things sold in the stalls are unsanitary and should not be eaten. My mother sometimes picks me up at the school gate, which is to supervise this. That day, I just bought 30 cents shredded kohlrabi and held it in my hand. As soon as I turned around, I saw my mother's long face and scolded, "Didn't I tell you not to buy them food?" How many times have I told you that these things are unsanitary! "

I was embarrassed at that time, not because I was scolded, but because I was worried that my mother-in-law would be unhappy when she heard my mother's words. But my mother didn't think about it at all, and continued, "You came back with diarrhea several times after eating these things, remember?" Why don't you learn your lesson? What's delicious about pickles? "

I blushed and looked back at my mother-in-law uneasily. But as if she didn't hear, she continued to sell pickles to other children.

I really feel sorry for her. I don't understand. Why didn't she refute it? What's unsanitary about cleaning the glass stained with pickles every time? I have diarrhea several times, but I never blame radish. It may be drinking cold water or eating something unsanitary. How can this account be counted on her mother-in-law and her pickles? It's not fair.

But my mother wouldn't understand this, and I knew there was no need to explain it to her. Finally, she ordered me to throw the shredded kohlrabi into the trash can in front of her mother-in-law.

That night, I was sad that this was not just a three-cent pickle.

After that, I secretly bought kohlrabi silk behind my mother's back. It was a battle of wits. Later, my mother made a cruel move-deducting my pocket money. After that, I didn't even have a few cents on me. Every day after school, I can only look at the radish in my mother-in-law's bowl and swallow my saliva.

Now that I think about it, I feel a little strange. In fact, there were many delicious things at that time. Why do I have a soft spot for kimchi?

Maybe it's more than delicious. The mother-in-law who sells pickles looks like my grandmother. I like it better when you laugh.

During the Chinese New Year, grandparents and relatives of the whole family give lucky money. Ten yuan per person, which adds up to almost one hundred yuan. But this money can't fall into the hands of children, and it is handed over to parents for "escrow". My mother gave me fifty cents and said, "Go and buy some snacks yourself."

I am ecstatic. Almost without thinking, I ran to the school gate. Originally, I was worried that my mother-in-law didn't have a stall for the New Year, but she was here! I handed over fifty cents excitedly and said, "Grandma, shredded kohlrabi!" "

"Hey, ok, how much is it?" My mother-in-law asked me with a smile.

I've thought about it, and I'm going to make up all the shredded radish I didn't eat before, and eat enough at a time. "Fifty cents!"

My mother-in-law opened her mouth wide in surprise: "Fifty cents? Oh, I've never sold so much at once, hehe. "

My mother-in-law looked very happy and blushed. She attaches great importance to me, a "big buyer". Obviously, the small pieces of paper that I usually cut can't hold 50 cents of pickles. She bent down to look under the table for a long time and found a plastic bag. Then, she carefully estimated the weight of five cents of pickles and the amount of ten times. ...

Finally, I left with a big bag of pickles.

I really had an addiction this time, but there are so many pickles in a big bag that I can't finish them all at once. I can't bear to throw away the rest, so I have to bite the bullet and take it home.

As a result, it was laughed at by the whole family for more than 20 years. Until now, my relatives will tell it as a joke-at the beginning, I exchanged my lucky money for a big bag of pickles. The whole family ate these pickles for several days. Besides, I have diarrhea again.

Later, my mother came to pick me up from school every day. I have never eaten pickles cooked by my mother-in-law again.

Later, my family came to Chengdu. I continue to study in the fourth grade, junior high school, high school and university in Chengdu.

I don't like pickles very much. Many delicious snacks were found in Chengdu-mother's rabbit head, husband and wife's lung slices, mala Tang and pork intestines powder. ...

I haven't been back to my hometown that small county town for more than twenty years. It was not until a ancestral grave in my hometown was to be moved that I returned to the county town after a long separation with my parents. I was thirty-one years old that year.

After I moved the grave, I walked around the county seat before I left. The change in the old county is not too big, but there are more supermarkets and shops. I have been away for too long, and my childhood impression is so reluctant that I can't find many shadows of that year.

Finally, I will visit the primary school where I studied for three years. This street is the one I know best. After many years, it still retains some cordial atmosphere. Before I got to the school gate, I saw a lot of vendors selling snacks in the street from a distance. However, all kinds of snacks have sprung up like mushrooms after rain-fried potatoes, Taiwan Province milk tea, fried chicken wings, French fries and bean curd. ...

I didn't expect to see her.

But I really saw her.

My heart tightened and my throat was blocked by something.

Her hair is almost all white, her face is wrinkled like a gully, and her back is bent. I can't believe that I can recognize her at a glance after twenty years, just because of her kind face.

I tried my best to control my emotions and walked slowly towards her. I noticed that her booth was the same as many years ago, but the things she sold changed. Now she mainly deals in fried potatoes. But there is a small basin on one side of the old wooden table. I took one look and was deeply moved.

A delicate small porcelain basin, covered with a piece of glass, was cleaned and filled with shredded kohlrabi.

Only this one, and very few. No shredded radish, kelp and diced sauerkraut, only shredded kohlrabi.

"What to eat?" My mother-in-law asked me with a smile.

I took a deep breath and fought back the tears in my eyes. "Mother-in-law, radish."

She hesitated a little, and then asked, "OK, how much is it?"

I don't know how to sell it now, but I think I should buy more because I haven't been in charge of her business for so many years. "Give me twenty dollars."

"Twenty dollars?" My mother-in-law said in surprise, "Oh, I seldom sell so much at a time, hehe." She smiled. "It's a pity that the pickles in my pot are not worth twenty dollars."

"Then buy fried potatoes for the rest."

"Can you eat so much by yourself?"

"It doesn't matter, I'll pack it after eating."

"So are you eating here now?"

After she asked me, I found a small table and two Xiao Mu stools behind the booth. I said, "OK, I'll eat here."

"Ok, you sit down first!" Mother-in-law opened the glass cover, and the action was obviously not as fast as before, but much slower. Instead of selling me the whole pot of shredded kohlrabi, she put almost half of it on a plate with chopsticks and gave it to me. Later, he brought a large plate of fried potatoes and said, "Eat slowly."

Instead of using chopsticks, I twisted a shiny kohlrabi thread with my fingers and chewed it gently in my mouth, as I did when I was a child. Well, it's still crispy, spicy and sweet, which is better than any pickles I've ever eaten.

The time is four o'clock in the afternoon, and there are still twenty minutes before the primary school is over. Manufacturers are making their own preparations for a period of business. I ate shredded turnips and fried potatoes and stared at my mother-in-law's back, suddenly remembering that I had never seen her family. Her age is estimated to be over 70. Why did she come out to set up a stall at her age? What about her wife and children? Your grandson should grow up. These grandchildren won't let her go, will they?

There is another question: will primary school students in this era like pickles as we did at the beginning? Is mother-in-law's business easy? In fact, I have guessed a few points when I saw that the cauldrons were replaced by the only small porcelain pots.

But I still can't help asking: "Mother-in-law, do children like to eat your pickles now?"

Mother-in-law smiled awkwardly and said, "Today's children may prefer to eat snacks such as fried potatoes. Don't you see that I am the only one selling pickles in the whole street? "

I said, "Then why did you make such a small pot?" You can't sell much for so little money.

Mother-in-law said: "Although not many people eat, one child likes it very much. He will buy it every day. Therefore, I always make a small pot for him. "

When she said this, her face was filled with a happy and satisfied smile. I was shocked, so this small pot of pickles was specially made for one person? Even if there is only one person left in her world, she is willing to stick to it.

Mother-in-law smiled again: "I have been doing small business for so many years, and I rarely meet such generous guests as you." Pupils can buy it for a few cents or a few dollars. I haven't sold twenty dollars at a time. "

I didn't expect twenty dollars to bring her such happiness, and I was also feeling in my heart. What she said suddenly froze me.

"It's just that many years ago, a lovely boy came to me and bought fifty cents of pickles at a time! Don't underestimate this fifty cents. At that time, it was almost equal to fifty dollars now! I couldn't sell it that day, thanks to him ... "

She was still talking and didn't notice that my eyes were blurred by tears. After she finished, I choked and asked, "Did that boy come to buy it on New Year's Eve?"

My mother-in-law looked at me and said in surprise, "Hey, how do you know ..."

She stopped and looked at my face stupefied. After a while, she smiled, and I laughed too. Immediately, I turned my back and dried my tears. I tried to control myself, but tears kept coming out. My throat was so blocked that she almost heard me cry.

It took me a long time to calm down. I turned around and saw my mother-in-law's eyes red. She was about to say something when the bell rang. Then, the door of the school opened and a group of primary school students poured out, full of vigor and sunshine. Just like us.

The vendors immediately got busy and greeted their little guests. But I found that the most popular snacks now are milk tea and French fries in Taiwan Province Province. Almost half of the primary school students flocked to them, and only a few came to her mother-in-law to fry potatoes. But even so, my mother-in-law is very busy. She is a person, and she moves slowly. It seems a little difficult to cope with three or four primary school students.

I want to help, but I'm afraid I can't. And I noticed that the small pot of kimchi was completely ignored. I am curious and can't help but want to see which child is as obsessed with turnip silk as I was then.

After waiting for a long time, the climax of school has passed, only a few people came out of school, and no one came to buy pickles. I was more curious and waited for another 20 minutes. Finally, I saw a 7-or 8-year-old boy running towards his mother-in-law's stall, holding five dollars in his hand, and his immature voice shouted, "Grandma, radish!" " "

My mother-in-law seems to have known him for a long time. She affectionately touched the little guy's head and said, "Sorry, I sold some shredded kohlrabi today. There is no five dollars, and there are two dollars left, ok? "

The little boy turned around and shouted at a man behind him, "Dad, my mother-in-law said there were only two dollars left in kohlrabi!" " "

The man walked to the front of the stall and said with a smile, "Hey, is there anyone else to buy today besides me?"

My mother-in-law pointed at me proudly and said, "Isn't it? He likes eating my pickles as much as you do! "

That man is about my age. I always think he looks familiar, but I still can't recognize him. He looked at me and we laughed together. Later, he said to his mother-in-law, "It doesn't matter, then these two dollars are all I have left."

"ok!" Mother-in-law put the remaining shredded radish in a small plastic bag, tied it up and handed it to him. The man said to his son, "Say goodbye to his mother-in-law."

"Goodbye, mother-in-law!" The little boy said cleverly.

"Goodbye, little guy!" The mother-in-law touched the little boy's head again, full of love.

After the father and son left, my mother-in-law turned to me and said, "This child has bought pickles from me almost every day since primary school, and has bought them for more than 20 years."

I looked at the "child" in my mother-in-law's mouth, my short father, and tears welled up again.

When you leave, tell your mother-in-law to buy pickles later. My mother-in-law is very happy. I walked back a long way and saw that she was still waving to me.

But the truth is, I dare not come again.

I dare not go back to this county, and I dare not come to this street again.

I'm scared, really scared.

I'm afraid to come here again one day, but I didn't see my mother-in-law's booth. Just like many years ago, when I came home, my mother told me that my grandmother had left and I would never see her again.

I know that as long as I don't come back, in my heart, my mother-in-law will always stand there, selling delicious pickles.