Weishan Lake, as the largest freshwater lake in northern China, is located at the junction of Shandong and Jiangsu, and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal passes by the lake, where fishermen have worked for generations, some building houses on boats, some building on dozens of square meters of land.
Houtun Village and Liangzhuang Village, scattered in the deepest part of The Yang Island in Weishan Lake, are not so much islands as several giant mounds, each of which is scattered with several families, who do not close their homes at night, do not pick up the road, and have little contact with the outside world.
With the economic development in recent years, many villagers have moved to the city. Today, there are only 19 families left in the two villages, of which 8 children are attending primary school, from the village to the ferry, the whole journey is 8 kilometers, one way for more than 1 hour, if no one drives the boat to pick them up, they will not be able to walk.
Duan Shuben, 52 years old, is an ordinary fisherman in Houtun Village. 4 years ago, he took over the job of the "school boat" ferryman, some people laughed at him for being stupid, neither earning money nor taking responsibility, but he did not think so, he said: "For the fishermen's children, going to college is the fish leaping dragon gate, and the 8 children on the boat are the college dreams of the whole village." ”
Get up in the morning and go to school in the dark
"Dad, the alarm clock didn't go off, it's late today!"
At 5:40 a.m., the faint lights in Duan Shuben's home pierced the dark night of the early morning. With the crisp shouts of his daughter Wanxin, he woke up from his sleep. Nearly 20 minutes later than usual, he complained about the problem of the alarm clock and got up sharply to get dressed.
Wanxin had already finished dressing, and came to the kitchen with pots and pans, ready to "set rice" for herself. Her breakfast was simple: a bowl of egg liquid. Boiling eggs in boiling water, all in one step, skilled operation is completely unlike a 12-year-old child. Back in the house, Wan Xin picked up the sesame oil bottle in the corner of the table and dropped a few drops into the bowl, like countless ordinary days, these drops of sesame oil, hidden in the sincerity and love for life, hidden in the most touching fireworks.
After eating breakfast, the father and daughter began to act separately, and Duan Shuben boiled a whole pot of boiling water to prepare to heat the engine of the "school ship". "It's too cold, one pot of water is probably not enough, we have to hurry up and burn another pot." Duan Shuben smashed open the ice in the lake to get water, and the lake water wet his sleeve, but he didn't care at all, he picked up a pot of water and returned to the kitchen again. At this time, Wanxin put the bag into the cabin, held up her own small flashlight, and prepared to go to the neighbor's house 200 meters away, calling the other 2 friends to go out.
2 small friends heard the noise rushed, the deck is wet and slippery, a little careless will fall, Wan Xin did not pay attention to the slip of a stumbling when boarding the ship, was rushed to the Duan Shu Ben just saw, he hurriedly prepared the blanket on the deck to avoid similar things from happening again.
Today is the coldest day since the winter in Jining, Shandong, under the cold wave weather, the minimum temperature is -18 ~ -14 °C, and the local can reach -20 °C below. At this time, Weishan Lake has formed a 2-finger wide ice layer, and the cold wind on the lake is bone-chilling, and ordinary clothing is not enough to withstand the cold.
When everything was ready, Duan Shuben put on a military coat, brought a homemade windproof helmet and gloves, and prepared to go. He said: "It was too cold, ordinary clothes on the lake did not take long to freeze through, only this army coat still works." ”
The hull of the ship rushed through the ice and sailed forward, making a harsh crashing sound for every inch of advance. Duan Shuben increased his horsepower, and he needed to rush to Liangzhuang Village, not far away, in 15 minutes, where there were two children waiting for the school. The two children were already waiting on the shore, and when they saw the boat coming, they rushed into the cabin with a few strides.
Duan Shuben said: "In order for the children to have a shelter from the wind and rain, the hull was specially modified. "The cabin is about 2 meters long, about 1.5 meters wide, 1 meter above the deck, and the cabin is surrounded by wooden sticks and plastic film. Entering the cabin requires leaning over and half-squatting inside, bumps will occur if you are not careful, and the careful paragraph book has placed a table and a bench in the cabin for the children to sit in.
The total length of the 8-kilometer waterway, if the wind and sun are beautiful, it takes about 1 hour, and if it encounters wind and snow, it takes nearly 1.5 hours. In winter, the cold wind of Weishan Lake is biting, there is a thick layer of frost around the cabin, and most of the children have frostbite on their hands and feet, and the distance is far away, so they can only snuggle up for warmth.
Modern motorboats and huge cargo ships on the lake pass back and forth, and the simple and low "school boats" contrast with them. Duan Shuben said: "The big ship does not slow down when it passes, and the hull of the "school ship" is small and stable, and it is easy to roll over if it is not careful. Seemingly ordinary school road but full of dangers, "school boat" every trip, is a test of Duan Shuben's driving skills, he needs to play 12 points of spirit, encounter danger early detour, a "children, up the waves, do steady" once became the loudest trumpet on Weishan Lake.
The people who were ferrying the school boat were ridiculed by the crowd
Counting up, Duan Shuben is already the third "school boat" ferryman, recalling the experience of being a "school boat" ferryman, there is both helplessness in the middle and his most authentic original intention.
Affected by the geographical environment, Houtun Village and Liangzhuang Village are very poor, most of the people in the village have no culture, once relied on the lake to fish, plant diamond horns for a living, with the economic development, young people go out to work, the village only some left-behind elderly and left-behind children. Four years ago, the last "school boat" ferryman chose to give up because the subsidy was too low.
Without the ferryman, every household began to panic, the family with a slightly better economic situation began to choose a boarding school for their children, and the families with poor conditions were listed out, and at first the parents discussed taking turns to pick up and drop off, each household one week after another, but as time passed, various problems appeared one after another.
Young people work outside, the elderly over 60 years old become the main force of transportation, most of them will only drive hand-cranked wooden boats, hand-cranked wooden boats carry small capacity, low safety factor, one-way to go to nearly 3 hours, time-consuming and laborious, coupled with the elderly physical weakness, it is easy to be dangerous.
The old man Zhu Chuanzhen, as one of the main forces, recalled the scene of picking up the children to and from school at that time, full of helplessness and sighs, she said: "Every time it is the turn to pick up the children at home, I am worried, I am too old to do physical strength, every time I send my children to school, I will be late, the weather is cold in winter, and the children are frozen on the boat. ”
After staying up like this for nearly 3 months, the old people began to be a little unable to hold on, as the only young adult among the pick-up and drop-off people, Duan Shuben had a "ridiculous" idea in his heart: to be the next "school boat" ferryman.
His proposal made the village chief difficult, and the village chief knew his situation better than anyone. Wanxin's mother was in the 8th month of pregnancy, due to premature hemorrhage into the ICU rescue, Wanxin was found to have viral encephalitis at birth, in order to treat the mother and daughter duo, Duan Shuben owed more than 100,000 foreign debts. Fate is merciless, and after his wife recovered, she learned that Duan Shuben was in debt and chose to run away from home.
For many years, the father and daughter have relied on each other for their lives, and there will often be creditors in the family who come to the door to ask for debts, and when it is most difficult, Duan Shuben cannot even afford to buy a box of milk powder. In desperation, he made the young lotus in the lake into lotus powder and fed Wan Xin every day.
Being a ferryman is time-consuming and laborious, not only is the subsidy low, but it is also possible to put money into it, and the village chief does not want to describe this "muddy water". However, at this time, he had already made up his mind, when he was young, he had chosen to drop out of school because of his poor family and many brothers and sisters, and when he grew up, he suffered from the lack of education, so he has always regarded the children's education issue as particularly important, he said: "Look at the long term, the subsidy is low and the money is small, the delay in the children's schooling is big, and going to school is the only way out for fishermen's children." ”
Duan Shuben was going to be a ferryman, and soon spread throughout the village, and the villagers invariably sent their children over. On the day of the boat, many people came to watch, the villagers talked about it in a tongue-in-cheek manner, some people said that he would not give up for long, some people laughed at his stupidity, and took on this laborious and unflattering errand, but only Duan Shuben knew in his heart that since he chose this road, he would be responsible for his parents and his children, and how could he easily give up until he had no choice.
Things are far more difficult than imagined, 8 children monthly subsidies total 750 yuan, the village equipped with steamboats, monthly fuel alone need to cost 760 yuan, considering that the early stage can rely on their own subsidies to support, but after a long time is not the way, Duan Shuben decided to use his own boat to continue to pick up and drop off children. Duan Shuben said: "Especially in the winter, there are two children who will rent a ferry with their families, and the remaining 6 children will only have a monthly subsidy of 610 yuan, which is really unable to make ends meet, but the way is always more than difficult, think about it, or decide to use their own boat to continue to pick up, so that the pressure is always a little smaller." ”
Rest assured is him as a person
Two of the eight children are in Grade 5, two are in Grade 4, the oldest is in Grade 6 and the youngest is only in Grade 2. These 8 children are not rich, the most special of which are Duan Xiuxuan and Liang Yihan of Liangzhuang.
Duan Xiuxuan, 12 years old this year. Xiu Xuan's parents are ordinary boat workers, 10 years ago, his father was bullied during his work outside the home, suffered from mental illness, needed to rely on drugs for a long time to control his condition, and when he was serious, he also needed to be hospitalized. Xiu Xuan also has a 6-year-old sister who is in high school, and the family's life is all supported by her mother. 4 years ago, the school ship was stopped, Xiu Xuan's mother was anxious to shed tears, she could not take out the money to send Xiu Xuan to boarding school, nor did she trust the old man in the family to send Xiu Xuan to and from school.
She said: "4 times a day back and forth, the elderly in the family can not hold on, but if I go back to send children, the family loses its financial resources." ”
Liang Yihan, 11 years old this year. Cute Yihan is also a bitter child, when she was one year old, her parents chose to divorce due to emotional discord, and her father was a sick straw man, suffering from hepatitis B cirrhosis, spleen and stomach enlargement and other diseases, unable to carry out heavy physical labor. All along, all the family's financial resources have been maintained by the 60-year-old grandmother fishing around the lake. Grandma is not a local, she is not good at driving a boat, and the suspension of small boats also makes her have mixed feelings.
I heard that Duan Shuben was a ferryman, and Grandma was the first to send Yixuan over, and Grandma said: "This child will be handed over to you, and when the child grows up, he will not forget your kindness." ”
It takes nearly 3 hours to go back and forth, when everything is busy, the leisure time shuben still needs to rush to the forest farm, through cutting trees, carrying wood to earn a meager income, because at 4 p.m. still need to rush to the ferry to pick up the children from school, Duan Shuben's working hours are shorter than the workers, in order to complete the same workload, he does not have any rest time, most of the lunch is steamed pickles to cope with things, he said: "Thinking of this steamed bun pickles, it was prepared for me by my girlfriend, and I didn't feel bitter in my heart." ”
Duan recounts the desperate efforts of the spring and summer seasons in order to smoothly build a stove on the school ship in the autumn and winter to heat up. The tables and chairs, benches and table lamps in the cabin are all added by Duan Shushu himself, he said: "In the past, children liked to lie on the board of the ship to read books, and it was more convenient to have tables and chairs, and children could write homework after school." ”
Duan Shuben's conscientiousness and responsibility have been recognized by all the parents, who will affectionately call him "Old Duan", and they are not assured that it is not the simple "school ship", they are assured that he is a person. Parent Zhu Weidong said: "We all grew up on the lake, we know the danger on the lake better than anyone, but we can trust the old Duan as a person, he will take care of every child like Wanxin." ”
The desire for a real boat
Whether it is twilight or early morning, the "school boat" is accompanied by fishing boats working on the lake, as a "school boat" ferryman, Duan Shuben never forgot his original intention, and stuck to his job for 4 years, ferrying the children to the other side of the dream.
Once rumored and questioned, Duan Shuben used his own persistence to smash it, he is the most inconspicuous little person in all sentient beings, he will also be afraid of the cold and heat, will also bear the pain and high fever, but for the children's dreams, he silently paid too much.
The family's debts of more than 100,000 have not been paid off, the father and daughter are living in poverty, and many of their peers in the village have improved their lives by going out to work, but Duan Shuben can neither go out to work nor find a relatively suitable job nearby because of the ferryman's affairs. Friends and family mostly suggested that he give up being a ferryman and return to normal life after Wanxin finished 6th grade, but he always waved his hand and responded with a bitter smile.
Wan Xin is now in the 4th grade, the academic performance has never been lower than the top three, Duan Shuben hopes that one day his daughter can be admitted to college, go out of the Lake District to see the outside world, he believes that his expectations for his daughter, representing many people in the Lake District for their own children the same thoughts, he said: "We have been looking forward to a college student in the village of the Lake District, for this college dream, even if the road ahead is more difficult, I will grit my teeth and insist."
These 8 children are like autumn lotuses in the lake, the scorching sun cannot make them wither, the wind and rain cannot make them bend, they are the most sincere hope of fishermen to fight for a lifetime. As a "school boat" ferryman, Duan Shuben has long fallen in love with this kind of life of crossing people on the vast lake and having fun in suffering.
It is understood that in addition to the existing 8 children on the "school boat" of DuanShuben, Gongzhuang Village and Liugou Village on the other side of Nanyang Island also have 10 children facing the same dilemma, and DuanShuben has always been eager to have a real "school boat" that can completely solve the travel problems of children on the lake. He said: "The current school boat, after all, is not safe, can not really meet the needs of children, is not a long-term solution, watching the children in the summer heat, winter frost, all I can do is to cross them for a ride, but can not help them more, if you can, I dream of buying a real "school boat" for the children." ”