Editor's note: In the late 1980s, Li Tao, a peasant calligrapher in Huaxian County, used his calligraphy expertise to write press releases on resin cloth with a brush to record the trivial affairs of peasant families in the Houfang area. Later, he carefully typeset these manuscripts and toured the surrounding villages for exhibition, which aroused the praise of the villagers. Reading today, this batch of manuscripts is neatly written, the words are simple, very life-like, full of positive energy, and two special excerpts are selected today.
Board newspaper written by Li Tao
Li Tao, pen name HanZhi, male, from Houfang Village, Houfang Township, Huaxian County. Good deeds grass, multi-faceted use of sharp edges, the next pen has a god, Zhang Fa Guqi, with a dashing pen, the book Zong Huang Tingjian, the font has a beautiful state, with a dangerous and smooth, endowed with the magic of nature. He was a member of Xi'an Qinyuan Calligraphy Association, a member of the Regional Calligraphy Association, the vice president and secretary general of the Huaxian Farmers Calligraphy Association, and the vice president of the Weibin Calligraphy and Painting Society.
Li Tao, a peasant calligrapher in Huaxian County
Ten red plums bloom
Author: Li Tao Photo courtesy of: Liu Huanmin
Preface
It is often said that "it is difficult for a clean official to break the household affairs", and indeed, in the thousands of fathers and sons, mother-in-law, brothers, sisters, concubines... In the different families formed by the flesh and blood relatives, there are quarrels and quarrels and fights almost every day. And the most lively, the most common is probably the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, the general situation is often like this -
Daughter-in-law: Mom, give me a hundred yuan, I will go today.
Mother-in-law: What will you buy, all of a sudden you will ask for a hundred yuan.
Daughter-in-law: a pair of leather shoes, a watch.
Mother-in-law: Ah (surprised)...
Daughter-in-law: Why ?? Do you give or not? Yesterday you were engaged to your second son, you sent your second son two pairs of shoes, a watch, and a sewing machine... I can't, you have to make it up to me!"
Mother-in-law: This (with a hard face)...
Daughter-in-law: Why? You give your daughter...
Mother-in-law: You are acting more and more externally!
Daughter-in-law: Have you really never seen anything, wearing leather shoes and watching, is this a material and spiritual double civilization?
Mother-in-law: I don't think this day can pass, (angry) said true civilization. (Ironically) No, it divides you.
Daughter-in-law: I think it should have been divided (triumphantly)!
Houfang Village
After that, they separated, but the quarrel continued. It is hard for anyone to say how long they quarreled.
Material and spiritual dual civilization
Wang Minsheng's family in the Tie Rural People's Group is eleven mouths in size and five chews and six tongues, but there has been no bad phenomenon of quarrels and twists and turns. Indeed, it can be said that the father is kind and filial to the son, the mother-in-law loves the daughter-in-law, the brothers and friends are respectful, and the concubines are harmonious. If you don't believe me, please listen to Wang Minsheng.
My name is Wang Minsheng, 56 years old, a member of the Communist Party. His wife is Liu Donglan, 55 years old. The eldest son had three sons, and the second son also had two children, a family of eleven people. In order to make the father and son, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, brothers, concubines, and their respective husbands and wives less troublesome, my old couple mainly adopted the following methods: the first father, I often said that the two sons were better than not, and educated. Never resort to scolding and not to dampen their self-esteem. Lead by example in action, and never be lazy. For example, if you ask your sons not to gamble money, they will never gamble money. The second daughter-in-law, my wife and I are like our own daughters to the two daughters-in-law, to see their strengths, praise their strengths, considerate care of their bodies, life, so that they feel very warm. In addition, I bought tractors, grinders, pulverizers, gins so that they all had work. My wife and I watched the baby and cooked the cooking. A family of six (big) people, all busy in groups, do not have time to visit the door, gossip. In this way, it is natural to have less tongue and less right and wrong. In this way, production is done well, income is increased, life is improved, and life is getting better and better.
The reputation of the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is spread
Lu's stepdaughter, 51 years old this year, her lover works at the county housing management office, and in order to work, he rarely returns home for a year. She has two sons and a daughter. The eldest son has started a family and has a small child. Lü's stepdaughter is an old daughter-in-law who has a mother-in-law on the top and a daughter-in-law on the bottom. The mother-in-law is more than eighty years old this year, with limited mobility, although not a patient, people are old in the end, and their health is not good. In addition to taking care of the land and housework, Stepdaughter Lu also had to serve her mother-in-law. She ate and drank every day and made a warm pillow.
This is not to count, the mother-in-law has a headache and brain fever, she is again a doctor, and it is soup medicine. In the eyes of ordinary people, the old man has simply become a burden. But Stepdaughter Lu does not see it this way, she believes that people are generation after generation, and everyone has to go through the process from small to old. Raising children to prevent old age, Jigu to prevent hunger, the old man painstakingly raises his children as adults, so that the old people have a dependence. Today, when the old man is old, it is the time to be filial to the old man as a child and repay the old man's nurturing grace. Therefore, no matter how busy and tight the work she was doing at home, as long as she heard the old man call "stepdaughter", she hurriedly put down the work in her hand, walked to the front to ask for warmth, and never complained. Although she has now embraced her grandchildren, she is still a good daughter-in-law unanimously recognized by everyone. In fact, she is also a good mother-in-law.
Source: Liu Huanmin
Originally written by: Li Tao
Compilation and editing: Huazhou Literature and History Collection