"Life" Chapter 11

After his "sanitary revolution" caused a disturbance, Gao Jialin fell into great depression. At night, sometimes he would not take the initiative to look for Qiaozhen. He would stand alone under the old chrysanthemum tree in front of the ancient temple at the head of the village, looking at the hazy and continuous mountains under the stars, lost in thought for a long time. The whole village had fallen asleep, not a single light could be seen; the summer night wind blew his hair into chaos.

Sometimes, in a heavy silence, he would suddenly hear a faint rumbling sound on the far horizon. He looked up and saw that the sky was clear and it didn't look like thunder. Ah, in that far away place, what is ringing right now? Is it a car? Is it a train? Is it a plane? For some reason, he always felt that the sound seemed to be coming towards their village. Beautiful longings and fantasies often made him temporarily forget fatigue and unhappiness; in the darkness, he opened his mouth slightly and searched carefully for these distant sounds with his eyes and ears in surprise. As he listened, he felt that he heard nothing; only to realize that this was just an illusion. So he sighed softly, closed his eyes and leaned against the tree trunk.

Qiaozhen always comes quietly at such times. He liked it very much when she came to him silently and quietly. He put his arm lightly on her shoulders. Her love and tenderness were, as always, a great comfort to him. However, it could no longer completely wash away the melancholy and depression that reappeared in his heart. The thoughts of longing and pursuit in the past gradually resurrected in his heart. Now he has a strong desire to leave Gaojiacun and become a worker or cadre outside - it would be best to take Qiaozhen out too!

Although he thought so, he didn’t know why and didn’t want to tell Qiaozhen.

In fact, the smart Qiaozhen has recently seen his thoughts. From the bottom of her heart, she was unwilling to let Jialin leave Gaojiacun and leave her; she was afraid of losing him——

Jialing was educated and could fly far away; she was illiterate and would be a slave to the land all her life. People. Brother Jialing is going to work, will he still love her as he does now?

However, when she saw her dear one depressed like this, she wanted to ask him to go out to work. This way he will be happy and happy. If Galin was happy and cheerful, she would feel better. She thought that even if Brother Jialing found a job, he would never forget her; she would work hard at home and raise her baby well. In the future, when my baby grows up and I have a job, I won't be aggrieved in society. Besides, her face glowed with her man working outside the door.

When she thought about it this way, she really hoped that Brother Jialing would go out to work so that he would have less trouble. However, she thought about it carefully and felt that there was no way! Nowadays, this kind of thing has to have legs! Brother Jialing was squeezed out of being a private teacher by the blind Gao Minglou, let alone finding a formal job.

That night, still under the old Chinese chrysanthemum tree, when she saw Jialin still looking so sad, she took the initiative to say to him:

"Brother Jialin, why don't you just Find a way to go to work! I know what you are worried about! I really want to ask you to go out!"

Galin held her shoulders and looked at her for a long time. Her face. Dear people! She understood his thoughts and feelings at all times.

He looked at her for a long time and then joked: "Aren't you afraid that I won't want you if you ask me out?" "I'm not afraid. As long as you live happily, I..." She cried all of a sudden. , hugging him tightly, like dodder tangled in grass. Said: "Don't ever leave me..." Galin put his chin on her head and said with a smile: "You! Look at you like this, it seems like I already have a job!" Qiaozhen also raised her head and smiled. . She wiped away the tears on her face and said: "Brother Jialing, really, as long as you have the skills, I support you to go out to work! You have a lot of talents that you can't use in our Gaojia Village. Besides, you haven't been used to working since you were a child. I can't bear this pain.

If you go out in the future, I will leave some land for you to plant at home and raise your children; when you are free, come back to see me; when I have no time to farm, I will come and live with you with my children..." Galin was distressed. He shook his head and said: "Let's stop making blind calculations. It's impossible to go out and find a job now. Let’s make a good decision in our countryside... Look, your arms are as cold as ice, be careful of catching a cold! It's already late at night, let's go back! "

As usual, they kissed each other and then went back to their homes.

Gao Jialin entered the house and found Gao Minglou sitting on the stone bed of their home. , and his father Lahuo. Seeing him come in, his father immediately said: "Where have you been?" Your Uncle Minglou has been waiting for you for a long time! Gao Minglou grinned at him and said, "It's nothing wrong!" Alas, Galin! Our rural areas are backward in consciousness! "You kindly put some bleaching powder in the well, but people thought you had poisoned it!" What a fool! His father smiled and said to Gao Minglou, "It's all up to you!" If it weren't for you, something would have happened that morning! "

His mother also quickly added: "That's right! Everything in our village depends on Uncle Minglou! "Jialin sat on the footrest without looking at Gaominglou and said, "It's my fault too. I didn't make it clear to you in advance. Gao Minglou blew out a puff of smoke and said, "The matter has passed and we won't mention it anymore. In two days, both groups will select a few people to renovate the wells and raise the stone weirs higher." Haha! It’s no longer possible without renovation! I saw an old sow lying in it for a bath a month ago! He pinched out the cigarette handle with two fingers and threw it on the floor, "I came here tonight to discuss something with you." This is it, we are going to the city to pull some manure in order to prepare for planting wheat. The back group is hoeing, and no one can free their hands; two people from the front group are ready to go. I have thought about it and want you to go with Deshun old man. I wonder if you are willing? "Jialin said nothing. His father hurriedly said to him: "Go! Your Uncle Minglou has found a way to make a living for you! I only pooped once at night, which took less than two or three hours, and I rested at home during the day. In previous years, everyone was rushing to do this business! ?

Gao Minglou took out another cigarette and smoked it on the kerosene lamp. Looking at Jialin who lowered his head and said nothing, he said: "You are probably afraid of meeting an acquaintance in the city, sorry?" Young people love face! In fact, at night, there is no chance of meeting him! "

Gao Jialin raised his head and said only two words: "I'll go."

When Minglou saw that he agreed, he climbed up and down the stone bed and prepared to get up. Gao Yude hurriedly slipped off the kang with his bare feet. At the same time, Jialin’s mother was also driven out from Zaohuoge, ready to send the secretary. Gao Minglou blocked them at the door, and then said to Jialin behind him: "You probably don’t know. , those who go to defecate follow the old rules, eat one meal in the city, and the money and food are subsidized by the team. This year Qiaozhen is still going to cook. There is an empty kiln at her aunt's house in the city. "Gao Jialin nodded and said yes.

When Gao Yude heard that Qiaozhen was cooking, he opened his mouth a few times and stammered: "Minglou! Cooking is hard, it’s better to be an old man! Qiaozhen is young and is currently busy with labor. The land in the back group has not been hoeed yet..."

Gao Minglou wanted to laugh but was too embarrassed to laugh. He said to the old man Yude: "Qiaozhen should go. suitable. The kiln that cooks in the city belongs to her aunt's family. I'm afraid it will be inconvenient for strangers to go there..." After saying that, she turned around and left.

The old man Deshun, Jialin and Qiaozhen were at the kiln opposite the village. It was already approaching dusk when the frame truck was set up on the simple highway; the distance and near began to blur. In the village opposite, the voices of people returning from work and the shouts of children were mixed with the bleating sounds of sheep entering the pen. The old man from Deshun slapped a gadfly on the donkey's butt and put the straw mat on the shaft of the cart, saying, "Don't be afraid of the smell!" If there is no smell, there will be no fragrance! Once you get used to it, you won't smell it anymore. "He walked to the car in front, took out a flat wine bottle from his arms, took a sip, and smiled mysteriously at Jialin and Qiaozhen: "You two sit in the car behind, and I will take the lead. I'm old at calling animals, so just follow suit. It's not dark yet, so you two should sit further apart! "He winked triumphantly and sat on the front of the car.

Jialin and Qiaozhen in the car behind were said to be very embarrassed by the old man Deshun, and they were really uncomfortable sitting on the same car shaft, far apart.

The old man in Deshun said "Deer", and the donkey took even steps and walked away. The two cars, one behind the other, walked toward the county town in the dim dusk.

The old man in Deshun took another sip of wine in front, and he became drunk. He opened his gaping mouth and sang Xintianyou twice——

Ouch! Young people see young people being kind,

The old man with the white beard is useless...

Jialin and Qiaozhen laughed in the car behind.

When the old man from Deshun heard them laughing, he touched his white beard and said: "Ah, why are you laughing? Really, you young people are so good! Boys and girls, make love, I'm old, But I can’t help but be happy when I see you together..."

Jialin shouted from behind: "Master Deshun, why have you never married a wife in your life?" " Love? Love? Huh! I was more in love than you when I was young!" He took another sip of wine, his wrinkled face flushed, and he stared at the moon that had just risen on the mountain in the east.

The donkey snorted and tapped its hooves on the dirt road. The moonlight was dim and dim, illuminating a river of crops that looked like splashing ink. The earth fell silent, but the sound of water in the river seemed to have become much louder. The Dama River is hidden among the crop fields on both sides. Its sparkling water surface can only be seen when the car passes by the stone cliffs.

Gao Jialin asked from behind: "Master Deshun, tell me about your romantic affairs when you were young! I don't believe you were still in love at that time!" He said to Qiaozhen beside him He made a face, meaning to say to her: I am exciting the old man!

The old man Deshun finally couldn't help it anymore, took a sip of wine and said, "Humph! I don't know how to fall in love? Your dad doesn't know how! At that time, your dad and I, as well as Gao Minglou and Liu Liben's father worked for Liu Guozhang. Your father was young and timid, and his nose often ran out of his mouth! I insisted on calling your mother and your father...I was already in my twenties at that time. Liu Guozhang saw that I was still alive and was no longer busy with farm work, so he sent me out to carry salt and leather goods. At that time, I met the woman from the owner's family in a rest house by the Wuding River. We became good friends. The girl was named Ling Zhuan, and she was more handsome than the young lady from our county troupe. When I came out in front of me, she sang "Xin Tianyou" to greet me. Her voice is so beautiful! It sounds like a silver bell touching a silver bell..." "What song are you singing?" Qiaozhen interrupted.

"Listen to me singing to you!" The old man turned his head proudly and started singing enthusiastically from the front -

The leading mule has three lanterns,

Wearing that copper bell, it makes a wah-waah sound;

If you are my brother, wave your hand,

You are not my brother, go away Go your way...

After the old man finished singing, he took a long breath and said, "I stopped in that shop and didn't want to leave. She turned her back on her father and gave it to me." Eating mutton flat food, buckwheat noodles... At night, she sneaked out of her house and came to my kiln... One day, two days, seeing that the time was delayed too much, I had to Then he drove the animal spirit and got up and walked out of the mouth. The spirit often cried like a tearful person and took me straight to the Wuding River, singing Xintianyou again..."

"Probably. It's 'take the west exit', right?" Galin said with a smile.

"Come on!" As he said this, the old man couldn't help but sing again. His voice was hoarse and seemed to be a little choked;

And while singing, he was sniffling——

Brother, please go to the west exit, it’s really hard for the little sister to stay; hold your brother’s hand

I will take you to the gate. Brother, please take the west exit, and my little sister will see you off; there are a few words of wisdom,

Brother, please keep this in mind: When walking, take the main road, never take the small road; the road is crowded with people,

There are thieves on the path.

After taking a boat, be sure not to sit on the bow; the wind and waves are strong on the bow, so you worry about falling into the water.

You will live in peace at sunset, and set out again at dawn; you will be alone in the cold wind and cold roads,

It is all up to you to worry about. Brother, go to the west entrance and don't make friends; if you make many friends, you will forget about slaves - the rich are friends, the poor are just eye-catchers; how can they be compared to my little sister? ,

The days are long and the days are long...

The old man Deshun sang breathlessly. In the end, the tune was out of tune and I just started talking about the lyrics sentence by sentence. At the end of the sentence, I actually started crying. After crying for a while, I laughed out loud and said, "Ah, let it go! This What's going on! I'm so old, and I'm so old! I'm crying and making you laugh..." Qiaozhen was leaning on Jialin's chest at some point, her face silent. Two strings of teardrops hung on the ground. Jialin didn't know when he pressed Qiaozhen's shoulder with his arm. The moon has risen, and the shadows of the mountains in the distance are dark and mysterious. The corn and sorghum on both sides of the road grow like two green walls; the car runs over the gravel road, making a slight rustling sound; the dense wormwood on the roadside emits a strong and fresh smell that goes straight into people's nostrils. What a summer night!

"Master Deshun, what did you do after your spiritual recovery?" Qiaozhen pressed her head against Jialin's chest and asked the sad old man in the car in front of her.

The old man in Deshun sighed: "Later, I heard that she was married to a businessman in Tianjin. She refused, and I forced her to be lured away... Tianjin, that's the end of the world. It's over! From now on, I will never see the one I love again! Alas, marrying an unsatisfactory wife is like drinking cold water..." Qiaozhen. Said: "Maybe Lingzhuan is still alive now?"

"If I can't die, she will live! She will be in my heart all my life..."

The car turned around a hill. , a light suddenly lit up in front, and various buildings were vaguely revealed in the intertwined light of the moon and lights——

The county seat has arrived. The old man Deshun took out the wine bottle and took a sip. Although he didn't hold a whip in his hand, he still waved his arms in the air like a man who was born to call animals: "De'er——"

The two cars started running briskly, donkey hooves Knocking on the road, he turned onto Damaqiao and rushed towards the county seat...?lt;