Nostalgia Essay: Hometown Old Well
Text: 9 ah
In the hours, in the center of Tunzi, near Daonan, there is an old well, which is the source of water for all the tun people. No one can say how many years that well has been. Once upon a time, I heard Grandpa say that just like when Grandpa Zu broke into kanto and came to this tun'er, there was already this old well.
The old well was a big well, I don't know how deep, the water surface is very wide, bigger than a big dustpan. But the water surface is very close to the ground, almost parallel to the ground, and the well water is surrounded by a well rim made of square thick planks, I don't know what kind of wood is made, although it is old, but there is no trace of decay at all. The planks were somewhat blackened by the water of the well over the years, and the surrounding area was covered with moss. There are no reels in the well, and there is no need for a willow pot bucket, because at the well, you only need to bend down, you can put the bucket into the water to draw water. There is a large manger around the well, and there is often water inside for the villagers to drink horses.
The old well is the lifeblood of the people in the tunli, and the adults will inform their children that they are not allowed to throw things into the well, and they are not allowed to lie on the edge of the well and look inside. Throwing things around is absolutely dare not, because you know that the water is to be drunk, no matter how naughty you are, you will not be a well water to quench your thirst, and if anyone really dares to be ho ho, no matter which uncle and uncle sees it, he will give a fat beating without mercy. Looking into the well, one of our children has simply done it. When the adults were napping and not paying attention, we would quietly run to the edge of the well and lie down on the edge of the wooden well to look into the well. The well water is clear, dark, unpredictable, and the bottom cannot be seen. The blue sky and white clouds reflected on the water, and there were dirty little faces. I won't stay long, sneak a glance and walk away, because the adults will scold when they see it.
The old well is all year round, no matter the drought or flood, the water surface is not deep or shallow, and it is always so clear and overt. Forty or fifty households in tunzi, all the drinking water and daily water, are carried home with flat burdens in the old well.
Every morning, before dawn, I will see uncles and uncles carrying flat burdens, and at both ends of the flat burdens are two buckets of water that are dangling leisurely, coming to the well, smoking a bag of dry cigarettes, talking about home for a while, and then punching out two buckets of water, dangling and gently picking them home.
There are also uncles and uncles leading the family's Malay well, the manger is filled with fresh well water, the horses bow their heads and grunt to drink the water, and after a while, the water level of the manger is much lower.
There will also be aunts and sisters who live nearby to the well to wash rice and vegetables, but they do not wash their clothes at the well, perhaps because the well water is too cold, or they may be afraid of dirty well water, right? But I saw that they often went to the small river to wash their clothes.
The well water is cold and cold all year round, and a sip of it reveals a hint of sweetness. It is said that "one side of the water and soil nurtures the other side", indeed, eating the water of the big well, every time I go to the house of the aunt of the river who is only across a big river, I always do not like to drink the water of her well. Their well water, unable to resist touching, vague and somewhat bitter. After washing my face, it was all a feeling of tension. The rice made, although it is all the same millet, always feel that there is no delicious rice made by the mother at home.
Dad used the water of the old well to make the tofu that was extremely sweet. Big tofu white tender and smooth, full of bean flavor, do not have to fry, do not have to fry, put a spoonful of sauce made by the mother, you can eat a large piece raw, the aftertaste is full of taste. Dried tofu, fresh color, soft and soft, smeared with a little sauce, rolled a sprouted shallot in a garden, take a bite, the aroma is overflowing.
Every afternoon, when Dad came back from selling tofu, he had to go to the well to fetch water. Sometimes, Dad is too tired, and Mom will pick up some water. Wash the soybeans and soak them in a small water tank, and make tofu to pick up a large tank full of well water. Every time I saw my parents carrying water back and forth, tired and sweaty, I thought, if only I had a well in my house. Dad said that the water in this old well and the tofu made were the best.
Yes, at that time, the tofu made by my father was famous far and wide, and it sold very fast. Dad often said that this tofu is delicious, sell well, in addition to making tofu people to be fine by hand, use soybeans to be good, stone grinding to be fine, boiled soy milk can not be too big and too small, the scale of the brine point should be grasped, the moment of pressing tofu is also necessary to stop moderately, even if these are done, Dad said that delicious tofu is still inseparable from the labor performance of good well water. But many people don't believe this. Until the eldest cousin of The Aunt of Hedong's family also wanted to learn to make tofu with his father, wanted to open a tofu factory, studied in my home for more than a month, regardless of the big tofu dried tofu, has already done a good job, his father informed him, can be an apprentice. But my cousin went home a few days later and ran back to his father, saying that the tofu he made at home could not catch up with the good work he made at my house, so that his father would go to his house to see what the problem was. Dad informed him that it was about the well water, and his cousin said that he didn't believe anything, and he said that Dad must have some stunts he hadn't learned.
Dad was soft and hard by his cousin and had to go to his house in person, and a few days later, Dad came back and said that the tofu made by his cousin's family was not better than what he made at home. Dad summed up: "The same soybeans, the same stone grinding, the same brine, the same heat, the same filtration, the taste of tofu is not the same, it is not strong at all, the color is not allowed, then what is the question?" It's the problem of well water! "This time, my cousin is a letter. The neighbors of the eight villages also believed, and they were more willing to buy tofu made by their father.
As the convention was, the old well became the center of the village, and after dinner, when the farmers were idle, the adults and children in the village often couldn't help but gather around the well. The adults sat on the adobe by the well and chatted, and the cattle drank water in the large manger next to the well, and when they had drunk enough, they went to graze on the grass mat in front of the well. The children ran tirelessly until the stars in the sky blinked, and then they gradually left the edge of the well and returned to their respective homes.
In the coldest hour of winter, it only takes one night, there is thick ice around the wellhead, and before the adults carry water, they must use axes to smash the ice first, and the ice cubes that are smashed down float on the surface of the water and fished out, which has become our delicacy. Children often gather around the edge of the well and eat ice cubes. It is ridiculous to say, in that era when there were no snacks, the crystal clear ice cubes in the old well also became the delicious sweetness in our mouths for three or nine days.
Later, maybe the villagers are solid, maybe they are too tired of carrying water, every household is in their own house, maybe the kitchen house has drilled a small well and a machine well, the old well, gradually abandoned, I don't know when, the old well that has witnessed the cold and warm life of several generations of households, disappeared in the changes of the years...
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