The | poplar tree carries the hopes and dreams of my childhood

Poplar trees carry the hopes and dreams of my childhood

Wen | Wang Yuqin

When I was in junior high school, I read Mr. Mao Dun's "Poplar Praise" for the first time, and I was very excited! Because I've loved poplar trees since I was a kid!

I love poplar trees because, in early spring, before the buds grow, the full branches of the "Yang Ba Dog" are clear and fluttering in the spring breeze. I can't forget it!

In that era of extreme material poverty, even the "Yangba Dog" on the tree became a delicacy on people's tables. It has become more tender after being blanched in hot water, and the blanched "Yangba Dog" has either made stuffing or been made into steamed cakes, along with how many people have spent that hungry era.

In summer, the aspen branches are leafy and lush, and its leaves are like a small fan, evenly distributed on its branches. The branches were erect and upward, and the outstretched arms were tied together, keeping the fiery sun out of the door, as if holding up a parasol. Under the poplar tree, it has become a good place for people to cool off. At this time, the breeze blows in the face, driving away the summer heat for us. Mao Dun once praised in "Poplar Praise": "It is majestic, upright, simple, serious, and does not lack gentleness, not to mention its strong indomitability and uprightness, it is a great husband in the tree!" The dark brown "eyes" on the trunk and the silver trunk were so harmonious that they looked very kind. It also witnessed its own growth rings!

The golden autumn arrives, and the leaves of the poplar tree begin to change from dark green to yellow-green, to light yellow, and finally to dark yellow all the way. An autumn wind blew through. The leaves flew like yellow butterflies and landed on the ground, as if they were covered with a golden carpet. The poplar leaves that have been scattered one after another truly appreciate the desolation of the autumn wind sweeping away the fallen leaves.

In that era of lack of food and clothing, firewood for cooking on the fire was also extremely scarce. I remember that there was a wide road in the west of my village, and the willow trees on both sides could not be seen at a glance. When autumn comes, the leaves begin to turn yellow, and we hurry to get up as soon as the sky is light in order to grab the scattered willow leaves, but in this way, when we grab the leaves, it is very rare. Grandma Liu, who has eight children, has long since swept into a circle and drawn a circle into prison. Honestly, we had to leave sadly and go somewhere else to "try our luck". At the same time, our sisters' "hatred" of Grandma Liu is also increasing day by day. So that, every time they met, they always secretly gave her a blank look and then ran away.

Sharpen the old bamboo rake teeth, tie a thin hemp rope at the other end, and the sharp tool of stringing poplar leaves is complete. I love the fall of poplar leaves in autumn. Because its slow fall carries my hope. When we were young, stringing poplar leaves became a "homework" that we had to do after school in late autumn. Looking at the string of golden poplar leaves, the joy was beyond words!

My family had an idle homestead without building a house, so my father planted a variety of trees. Jujube trees, elms, willows, locust trees, poplar trees are all available, these trees I like very much, especially the crystal clear red dates, crisp and sweet elm money, white sweet locust flowers all make me love it, but I prefer those two tall poplar trees, because it carries more hope.

All four of us were born in the 1960s, when we lacked food and clothing, and our parents' meager wages supported the whole family of seven, often living a difficult life. Because the nature of our parents' work could not take care of our lives, my sister and I have been living with our elderly grandmother in our hometown. Grandma used to take my sister and me by the hand and walk around the woods, and often saw Grandma using her rough, dry hands to measure the circumference of the poplar tree. I knew that there was a permanent expectation of Grandma in it. Over time, my sister and I were influenced by my grandmother's ears and often held hands around the poplar trees and giggled.

Whenever I saw a cyclist pass by, I remembered my father walking to and from work. We always naively asked Grandma, "When will Dad buy a bike?" ”。 Grandma thought about it and said seriously, "When the big poplar tree grows up, you can change a bicycle for your father!" "Therefore, I waited every day for the moon and the moon, and in my mind, the big poplar tree had already become a towering tree. In my anticipation, the whole family finally waited for this day. My hope is about to come true! Dad finally exchanged the huge poplar tree for sale for the first bicycle of his life, the "Golden Deer" brand bicycle with a heavy wheel!

It was during the Spring Festival of this year that my father used this brand-new bicycle to take my sister and me to my grandmother's house to pay respects to the New Year. My sister sat triumphantly on the front beam, and I sat happily on the back hanger, and the joy of the family was beyond words! But while I was happy, I often felt inexplicable sadness about the loss of that poplar tree. Since I sold the poplar tree, every time I visit the grove, my heart has always been empty.

My mother was a primary school teacher who taught in township primary schools all year round. She works as a math teacher in the duplex class and teaches both the second and fourth grade children, which adds a lot of time to prepare. My mother was busy attending classes during the day and preparing lessons and grading homework at night. In winter, when there was no heating facility in the countryside at that time, my mother lived in a simple staff dormitory, ventilating everywhere. In winter, the cold inside and outside the house is almost a temperature. At night, my mother placed a square stool on the bed, put a diesel "bubble lamp" on it, covered her legs and feet with a quilt, and after reading the students' homework, she had to sew clothes and shoe soles for our sisters and brothers, and almost never slept a night. These images are still frozen in my mind forever. In those materially deprived days, it was almost impossible to have a sewing machine of your own.

I had fantasized that another poplar tree would grow up quickly, so that I could quickly replace my mother with a sewing machine of my choice and let her sleep peacefully.

In this way, the poplar tree has been carrying one dream and hope after another since I was a child-----

(The author Wang Yuqin, a native of Yucheng, Shandong, a member of the Communist Party of China, is a retired cadre of a state-owned enterprise, with the motto: Selfless in the heart is wide!) ）