Love of the Yellow River

One autumn evening, Lan Xiang took her daughter to a mutton soup kitchen on the corner of Baiyin to satisfy her appetite.

After a while, boiled mutton buns were served. There are bits and pieces of Chili oil, green garlic sprouts, white radish, white mutton, glittering vermicelli and white steamed bread at the bottom of the bowl in the fragrant mutton soup. The ups and downs set each other off, vivid and poetic. Watch and watch, and your appetite will come.

Even she feels strange. She grew up drinking groundwater and didn't like mutton since she was a child. When did she become rare for this steaming bowl of mutton buns boiled in the Yellow River?

Actually, it's not surprising. From 2000 to 2020, including three years in Lanzhou, spearmint has been in the northwest for 20 years. If her hometown is the place where she was born and raised, then Lanzhou and Baiyin, on the northwest Yellow River, are the places where Lan Xiang exudes youth and sweat, the evidence of her present life and her second hometown. Don't mention this vivid and poetic mutton bread in soup. Looking around, there are mountains, water, grass and trees in the northwest, even the blue sky overhead and every piece of loess at the foot ... which one is not so kind and lovely in her eyes? To tell the truth, in these 20 years, they have been integrated into the life of spearmint like this mutton soup.

I remember that it was the end of the summer of 2000. The spearmint man who opened a grain store in Dalian lost more than 10,000 yuan. He rode a creaking bicycle in the scorching sun and ran back and forth along the Yellow River for a month, and finally found a foothold in Anning District of Lanzhou City.

When I got the call, spearmint, who was penniless, had mixed feelings. Happily, they can finally earn money to support their families again, and she finally has a chance to witness the Yellow River, the soul that her mother even dreamed of seeing. Worryingly, the 46-year-old mother at home has been suffering from various chronic diseases due to years of destruction, but she still has to take care of her seriously ill grandmother and her elderly grandmother with three grandchildren. Spearmint is her mother's only daughter. How can she take care of her mother when she is far away from home and uncomfortable? Grandmothers who are seriously ill and elderly have done great harm to her since childhood. What a pity if something happens to them and she can't see the old man for the last time and die for them?

But looking at her family and in-laws, due to building a house a few years ago to marry a daughter-in-law, and the living expenses of a young family, the farming families who only rely on farming for a living have already been heavily in debt. Moreover, the younger brother of the bride's family and the younger brother of the husband's family are seventeen or eighteen years old, standing on the ground like a door, and soon they are old enough to marry. At that time, marrying a daughter-in-law, including decorating the house, required at least 60,000 to 70,000 yuan. Where does the family come from? What if they don't go out to earn two brothers and help them?

Before leaving, while helping Lan Xiang pack her clothes, her mother bowed her head and told her tearfully, "Woman, don't be too tired when you go out-take a rest when you are tired-put on more clothes when the weather is cold-don't look bad, your health is the most important-give her a call when you miss your mother" ... "Mother's voice fluctuated.

On the morning of getting on the bus, before dawn, my mother went to the field to chop meat buns for jiaozi. While packing, she muttered, "I'm too busy doing business to have time to pack jiaozi in detail. Mom will pack jiaozi for you, so you won't be hungry on the way. "

"Mom, you have a rest. How can you have time to pack jiaozi? I can buy food on the way, I'm not hungry. " Awakened from sleep, spearmint slipped out of bed, put on her clothes, and went down to the ground to pack her bags, but she was upset by her mother's dawdling.

My skinny grandmother was lying on the kang, blinking her dim eyes, and said slowly, "Don't worry, Xiangzi, don't go until you're full-if grandma leaves-can you come back and see her off for the last time?"

"Grandma, what did you say-wait for me at home-wait for me to earn money to buy you new clothes."

Grandma's last question was like a steel needle stuck in spearmint's heart, and the tears that had been swirling in her eyes fell to her feet in an instant. She sobbed and tucked her grandmother into the quilt, touched her pale hair, turned around and walked out of the house with her two-year-old daughter.

Mother has been carrying bags containing dried fruits and food to send Lan Xiang's family of three to the village entrance. Let her drive back like a duck, and mom won't go back.

"Be sure to pay attention to safety on the road. If you go, ask your mother to come back. " The car started, and the mother's exhortation followed the family of three in the car, abruptly shouting out the tears she was willing to hold back. The car drove far away, and Lan Xiang saw his mother's bloated figure and a statue standing under the old willow tree at the entrance of the village for a long time in his hazy tears.

The train went all the way west. The scenery outside the window, from the vast and rich plains of the Central Plains, green mountains, to the deserts, rivers, barren hills and ridges in the west, and the afterglow of the sunset ... Wang Changlin has a poem: "The cicadas sing and the mulberry trees are thin, and August is cold outside the Great Wall, and the reeds are everywhere, herons come and the ice is dusty." "Don't I also want to * * old with dust? I don't care that much! What's wrong with sleeping in the wind, even if it's windy and rainy, for the family to live a rich life? " Sitting on the green leather train, Lan Xiang looked at the scenery outside the window, full of thoughts.

When I arrived in Lanzhou the next day, the lights were already on, and cars were coming and going on Binhe Road. Colorful neon lights are reflected on the river, as if thousands of colorful stars have fallen into the river in Qian Qian, and the whole river is shining. Through the window, the Yellow River in the night looks like a jewel-like yellow brocade in front of spearmint. Spearmint never thought that her mother's soul, the Yellow River, would meet her in this elegant way.

To tell the truth, as a migrant worker who used to wander around to make a living, Lan Xiang has also been to several places and seen several strange scenery where he can get a full meal without spending a penny. But she really has a sense of intimacy, security and attachment. She is proud of Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu Province, which runs through the city.

Spearmint recognized her at a glance. Yes, the surging, deep, thick, vigorous, selfless, loving and kind Yellow River in front of her is the soul of her hardworking, simple, brave and kind mother, and also the soul of thousands of Qian Qian mothers in Qian Qian all over the world.

Maybe it's because of the yellow river mother. On the way from the East Bus Station to the family area of Wan Li Factory in Anning District, Lan Xiang, who was sitting in the car, was filled with joy. The endless traffic on the road, the Yellow River water flowing eastward, the cruise ships on the river, the street parks on both sides of the Yellow River, the tourists coming and going in the parks, the towering Baita Mountain nearby and the Gaolan Mountain in the distance ... all these things are so kind and pleasant in Lan Xiang's eyes, as if they are all close relatives to her.

Maybe it's because of my mother's Yellow River. After coming to Lanzhou, the two spearmint mouths are like a pair of migratory birds who find their home. They live in a facade room of less than 30 square meters in Wan Li factory, Anning District, south bank of the Yellow River in Lanzhou, and don't want to go anywhere. In order to save money, they used a board to divide the house into two rooms, the front for selling grain and the back for living, and the grain and oil business was booming.

To Lan Xiang's satisfaction, across from her grain store, there is a small bookstall opened by a retired old couple. Although the sparrow is small and complete, there are various Chinese and foreign masterpieces, popular novels and children's books on the bookstall.

During the day, the supervisor of spearmint looks after the store to cook, wash clothes and take care of the children. This person is responsible for the purchase and distribution of noodles. Send the children to bed at night, and they still have time to read the books borrowed from the opposite bookstall. In this way, three years later, although men's thousand-layer shoes have worn out one pair after another, their lives have been rich and fulfilling.

The only thing that makes people sad is that Lan Xiang, who came to Lanzhou, started a business and made money. She also saw the Yellow River, the soul of her mother, but she couldn't see her mother after crossing the Yellow River.

There is also a sentimental spearmint thousands of miles away from home. When business is good, she will think of her mother. When she is wronged and in a bad mood, she will also think of her mother, but her mother is thousands of miles away in Wenshui, Shanxi. In that era when there was no WeChat video, could she see it? So, every time I miss my mother very much, spearmint will call the boss of the village canteen and let people call my mother with a megaphone. Or sit on the edge of the Yellow River and pour out her heart to the east-flowing Yellow River.

During the first two months in Lanzhou, for a long time, Lan Xiang called back. My mother always asks the store to inquire about the Lan Xiang family of three, and then finds various reasons not to answer the phone. Three months later, when Lan Xiang couldn't help missing her mother and family, she dialed the public telephone in her hometown again and insisted that her mother answer the phone. The first thing her mother said to her was, "Xiangzi, your grandmother died a month ago."

"ah? Why don't you let me go back and see her one last time? ……"

Hearing the bad news, Lan Xiang burst into tears. Like a child, she stumbled to the edge of the Yellow River with tears in her eyes, crying in the face of the sobbing Yellow River water and saying, "Grandma-we agreed to buy you new clothes during the Spring Festival-why didn't you keep your promise-and left me alone?"

Spearmint kept asking her grandmother who died by the sobbing Yellow River. The river is silent, just rolling one spray after another, swishing against the bank, as if comforting and distressed.

Lan Xiang, who was tired of crying, learned from this painful experience and regretted it. "How can I blame my mother? Mother is also grandma's most filial daughter. Mom is even willing to sacrifice her love for grandma's happiness and change her relatives for her uncle. Grandma's death, for her mother, is a sharp knife to gouge out her heart! I can't take care of and comfort my mother. How can I blame my mother?

However, spearmint, thousands of miles away, can take care of her sick mother besides desperately making money? What can she take to comfort her heartbroken mother? Thinking about it, spearmint raised her head, tried to hold back her tears, and then gritted her teeth and said, "Mom, no matter what, we must live well and be strong."

Two years later, Lan Xiang, who worked hard to earn money to take care of her children in Lanzhou, was unable to walk, let alone go upstairs because of overwork, synovitis of her right leg and swollen knee joint like a big steamed bun. At this time, her 70-year-old grandmother also passed away.

After receiving the bad news, spearmint didn't cry. She took a taxi from Lanzhou Chinese Medicine Hospital and limped directly to the Yellow River opposite Baita Mountain. During the rainy season, the river beat against the bank, roared and rolled away in the direction of her hometown. In front of Lan Xiang's hazy tears, the whole river is grandma's loving face before her death. Spearmint needs more pain, more guilt, and keeps thinking about this question-how much does a person have to lose to fulfill a wish?

Three years later, my second brother was getting married and spearmint's leg was cured. She is very happy! She lent half of the bucket of gold they earned in the past three years to her parents for her second brother's marriage. In order for the second brother to have a place to earn money to pay his debts and support his family after marriage, and for his parents to live a relaxed and happy life for a few days, Lan Xiang also gave the shop to his newly married second brother.

This time, spearmint finally realized her first wish for her parents. On a sunny day, spearmint climbed to the top of Baita Mountain on the other side of the Yellow River in one breath. She looked tearfully at the rolling Yellow River at the foot of the mountain and said, "Mom, your daughter is not a coward. She is also your good daughter."

However, at this moment, spearmint is not only a daughter, but also a man's wife and a child's mother. It seems that for a long time, she no longer belongs to herself. Like the Yellow River, she can't wait to spill all her blood and sweat on everyone she loves in her life.

The Yellow River winds from a distant place, carrying thousands of miles of yellow sand. The Yellow River in front of Lan Xiang, flowing down from bayan har in Qinghai Plateau, has experienced twists and turns to nurture all beings, and will never return?

After handing over the shop to the second brother, spearmint and her man began a long search along the Yellow River.

Walking along the Yellow River, Lan Xiang looked at the muddy and deep Yellow River water, at the towering high-rise buildings, and at the crowds of vehicles coming and going ... His heart was like rolling Yellow River water. Unconsciously, I have been in Lanzhou for three years. In these three years, she prayed, searched, lost, got and lost ... It can be said that every spray of the Yellow River is a touching story. If one day she has to leave, she really can't bear it!

Writing here, I think of a short video I saw on the Internet-a famous person in Taiwan Province Province said to the camera: "The greatness of the * * * production party is that the working people under his leadership have a heart that is not afraid of suffering. In order to get rid of poverty and dream in their hearts, they would rather give up their love, leave their homes, wander around the world and shed their youth and sweat. "

Yes! Since the reform and opening up, China has been more than just a migrant worker like Lan Xiang. Every year, whenever you go to a railway station in Spring Festival travel rush, you will see a large group of migrant workers carrying heavy bags and flying around like migratory birds. They are ordinary. Even if they live in a big city, they can't live without the word "farmer", but they all have a spirit of the Yellow River that is not afraid of difficulties and struggles bravely.

Although wandering around, when have they ever forgotten their roots? They not only miss the homeland where they were born and raised, but also cherish the land full of youth and sweat under their feet, because wherever they go, they are all children of the Yellow River, and every inch of land they walk through is evidence that they have lived well in this life.

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