Small bean sprouts in the cold wind

Author: Hu Jinghong

Source: Yilin, No. 8, 2021

The north wind swept the ground, and heavy snow hit the windows. That winter, in an old temple in Yanshan Mountain Pass, second-grade children of Sangou Primary School were in class. Rural primary schools don't have the money to build stoves, let alone heating. It was cold, and the wind came in through the cracks in the windows, sweeping through every corner of the classroom, taking away the heat from each child without discussion. The cold air swept across the ground, hugged the large and small feet of the students on the ground, and used countless cold steel needles to prick the soles of the boys and girls' feet, turning each finger into a frozen carrot. Less than 10 minutes into class, someone began to stomp their feet, snapping, and carefully sneaking to stomp on the ground with one foot. The sound was contagious, and soon there were two more crackling sounds of unbearable feet stomping on the ground. There was no need to meet, and soon there was a thudding sound in the classroom. Stomping is the only way for poor students in this old temple to warm up in class.

The teacher's name is Jiang Guocong. Teacher Jiang turned from the front of the blackboard and said to everyone, "Stand up and stomp your feet for a minute." ”

The sound of the mountain roaring tsunami sounded, the dust flew all over the classroom, and every child wanted to seize this short one-minute stomping opportunity to stomp off the cold steel needles nailed to the bottom of the foot board, warm themselves up, and listen to the second half of the lesson. It has an effect, stomping feet for one minute, making the country children stir up the cold vortex that condenses on the ground, reviving the frozen carrots into the shape of human children's toes, and making the frozen white smiling face rise a little warm.

Then the lessons begin. In the seat at the back of the classroom, a little boy was still shaking with his hands on his shoulders. The stomping movement just now made the warmth climb up to his feet and rise to his calves, but before he could reach his knees, he was melted away by the cold that came down from his upper body. His family has many brothers and sisters, life is difficult, and he has not yet put on a cotton coat. After the little boy sat down, his hands were still shaking, he couldn't hold the pencil for writing, and his arms were trembling, and the table was also trembling. The little boy's cheeks were cold, and his teeth were involuntarily bumping into each other. After stomping his feet, the classroom was temporarily quiet, and the sound of clenching teeth was clear.

"Xu Zhenqiang," Teacher Jiang called the little boy, "you don't sit, go to the back and walk around, don't make a noise to affect others to listen to the lesson." ”

The little boy dragged his large single coat to the back of the classroom. Start standing, walking and swinging to listen to lessons; when writing homework, walk back and forth with your notebook, writing as you go. That little boy is me.

At the end of class, the bell rings, and usually the students will run out of the classroom with a call and go to the main hall wall to bask in the sun. Today, the students hugged out and retreated with a wow. There is no sun today, and the snow is preparing to engulf every small bean sprout that dares to challenge nature.

When the class bell rang again, Teacher Jiang walked into the classroom covered in snowflakes carrying a bag and went straight to my desk, which opened to reveal a clean cotton coat. "Xu Zhenqiang, try this outfit." Teacher Jiang said, three times and two times put the cotton coat on me, looked at me with encouraging eyes and said, "Study hard, work hard." Wearing this warm cotton coat, he reached into his pocket and touched a glass ball, which was the toy of the boy at that time. I understood that Teacher Jiang's children were about the same age as me, and Teacher Jiang had brought her son's cotton clothes for me to wear.

Forever remember the grace of the Master. I studied hard, finally got into a health school, and after graduation, I became a rural doctor in the countryside. When poor peasants look down on the disease and can't afford to take medicine, I go up to the mountains to collect medicine, and the hometown can treat the disease without spending a penny.

Teacher Jiang has been transferred away from Sangou School for many years, and the little bean sprouts of that year have also grown up.

Whenever I think of the cotton coat that my teacher gave me in the cold winter, I am grateful.