Chapter XIII
At breakfast, a grass-green jeep drove into Gaojia Village and stopped at an empty field in the middle of the village. Gao Yude's younger brother, who had been a soldier for decades, returned! The news spread throughout the village as quickly as possible. The people in the village, whether adults or dolls, dropped the bowls they were eating and poured into the broken courtyard of Gao Yude's house.
Gaojia Village has not been so lively for many years. Wives and old men were on crutches, daughters-in-law were holding milk dolls, the croppers had postponed their time to go out of the mountain, and the students were carrying school bags that got up from school, bustling and shouting, and they all ran to see the "big cadres". The dogs in the village did not know what was happening here, and they also barked and ran with the people. The village is in chaos, more prosperous than whoever marries his daughter-in-law.
Gao Yude's kiln was already crowded with people. More people poured into the courtyard and on the banks of the mounds, taking turns crowding to the door, curiously looking at the biggest figure in their village outside the door.
Mother Garin cooks in a nearby kiln. Many mother-in-law women are helping her. Some pull the bellows, some cut vegetables, some roll the noodles. When encountering such a thing, all the neighbors are happy to help. Gaugarin took a lot of sugar from his uncle's bag and was distributing it to the dolls in the crowd. He tried to maintain a subtle attitude, but the unconcealed excitement still made him radiant, and his movements seemed more fragmented than usual.
Brothers Gao Yude and Gao Yuzhi were surrounded by a group of elderly people at the foot of his house. Yuzhi had changed into the clothes of a local cadre, not ten years younger than his brother, but twenty years younger. He wasn't tall, but he was fat, glowing red and had few wrinkles. The hair was still jet black, just two sideburns mixed with a few strands of white hair. He smiled widely, recognizing his childhood friends. These people were all over half a hundred years old, and they kindly and restrainedly took the paper cigarettes he had honed with both hands. When the old man of Deshun and some other elders came in, Yuzhi helped them to sit on the kang barricade one by one and asked them how their bodies and teeth were? These old men all slipped down from the kang barricades, touched him, or patted him, and opened their toothless mouths to shout: "Ah, good body..." "I heard that you have a lot of color on your body?" ”
"For a while, you had no news, and it was said that you were sacrificed!"
"Ha, I heard that you have now made the official bigger!"
...... Gao Yuzhi smiled and answered their questions. Old Man Yude stood next to him, pouting the dry smoke pot in his mouth, laughing while wiping tears with his thin hand.
Comrade Ma Zhansheng, deputy director of the county labor bureau who accompanied Gao Yuzhi back to the village, went out to untie his hands, and he could no longer squeeze into the courtyard of Gao Yude's family.
Gaugarin met him on the edge of the tuyard and pulled him back. But Ma Zhansheng said, "Wait a minute." Your uncle came home for the first time in decades, and everyone in the village wanted to see him! If you're not busy, let's go to the jeep first! ”
Garin was happy today, saying that he was all right now, and walked with the old horse to the side of the jeep. The jeep was already crowded with a group of dolls, and Zhansheng was about to drive them down, but Garin stopped him and said, "Forget it, forget it, the dolls have never seen this thing, let's sit down, let's stand under this tree for a while." ”
Zhan Sheng put an arm affectionately around Garin's shoulder and said to him, "I will not tie up with you first; I'll just say one word to you first, and we'll take care of your work soon..." Gaugarin's heart skipped a beat. The shock of this sentence on his nerves was too great! Before he could react, Gao Minglou was already standing in front of them.
Ming Lou smiled and said, "Garin, don't you go home to greet your second father?" Your father and your mother are old, their hands and feet are not sharp, and there is no one in the family again..." He turned around and shook hands with Ma Zhansheng enthusiastically.
Garin said: "The old horse can't squeeze into my house, I will stand here with him for a while."
Ming Lou said, "You go to yours." Asked Director Ma to come to my house and sit down first. In addition, you tell your mother that your uncle's first meal is eaten at your house, and the next meal should not be prepared, and our family has already prepared it. Ahhh, how hard it is! Yuzhi has been making a revolution for decades and does not go home, saying that he has to eat a meal at my house! He turned his head to ZhanSheng and said, "Yuzhi is the biggest cadre outside the gate of our village, and the glory of the entire Gaojia Village!" "Comrade Gao Yuzhi is now the director of the labor bureau in our region, and my direct superior." Ma Zhansheng said to Gao Minglou. "I already know!" Gao Minglou said as he asked Garin to go home and get busy, so he dragged Ma Zhansheng to their house in the former village.
After eating, Garin followed his father and uncle to his grandfather and grandmother's grave.
The ancestral tomb is on a sunny hillside behind the village. The two graves were covered with dense artemisia thatch—two old men had been sleeping here for more than a decade.
The old man of Yude took out some steamed bread and oil cake from the bamboo basket he had brought and placed them on the stone table; He took out a handful of yellow paper and lit it and burned it; Then he pulled Yuzhi and Garin to their knees and snorted. Yuzhi hesitated for a moment, but seeing that his brother's face was as ugly as black frost, he knelt down. On such occasions, the director of labor had to go into the countryside. The three of them prostrated their heads three times in a row. Garin and his uncle stood up. But the old man of Yude threw himself on the yellow land, crying and crying, making him both embarrassed. Hearing his brother's sad cry, Yuzhi also took out a handkerchief to wipe the tears that kept pouring out. He left his parents from an early age, and he never saw them again until they were buried. He remembered the suffering of the old people when he was a child, and he thought that he had not been around them since then, and he could not help but cry bitterly. Garin frowned as he watched them cry. After the two brothers cried for a while, Yuzhi helped his brother up. Old Man Yude choked up and said, "Our old man... When alive... Take the guilt..."
Gao Yuzhi said very guiltily: "I have been outside, I did not take good care of the old man, and I feel very sad when I think about it." There's no way to make up for that. Now that I have returned to work in our hometown, I will try to help you in the future... What difficulties, you just say, brother! I want to make up for the love I owe to our old man to you and your sister-in-law..."
Gao Yude froze for a while and said, "Our old two are also people who are about to enter the ground, and there is nothing to involve you." Now that the rural policy is alive, there is food and clothing at home, and there is no big boiling. If you want to talk about the big boil, it's your nephew! He looked at Garin, "I finished high school and worked in the village. People with legs, they all go through the back door to work, he..." "Aren't you teaching in the village?" Yuzhi turned his head and asked Garin.
Without waiting for Garin to reply, the old man of Yude hurriedly said, "Now that there are fewer students, I can't use that many teachers, so I will come back." He was afraid that Garin would sue Gao Minglou in front of his brother. He was reluctant to let Yuzhi know that Ming had descended from Garin's teacher. Anyway, Ming Lou is the leader of their village and can't be messed with! Yu Zhi's ass was gone as soon as he slapped it, but they were going to live in a village with Ming Lou for a lifetime!
Gao Yuzhi was silent for a while and said to his brother, "Good brother, according to what you say, whatever you ask, I will honor you!" But don't embarrass me about this! After I took office, the leaders of the prefectural party committee and the special bureau talked to me and said that the former director of the regional labor bureau had gone through the back door to recruit too many workers, and the people were very angry, so they were replaced. The leader said that I had just come down from the army and had been doing political work all along, so he asked me to take up this post. It's a matter of trusting me! How can I live up to the trust of the organization and do all this illegal thing as soon as I take office? You can do anything, but I can't do this kind of thing! Brother, you have to understand me..."
When Old Man Gao Yude heard his brother say this, he pondered for half a day and said, "Since this is the case, we cannot embarrass you." Alas..." The old man sighed, patted the soil on his knees, and told Yuzhi and Garin to return to the village; He said that when he left, Ming Lou repeatedly ordered that their family's meal was ready, and they were waiting for Yu Zhili...
Gao Minglou was talking to Ma Zhansheng in his "reception room" at the moment.
Ming Lou was now very panicked, afraid that Gao Garin would tell his uncle to tell him that he had gone through the back door to make his son a teacher, and that he had returned to the team to participate in the labor. At that time, he and Zhan Sheng planned this matter together, so the two parties will now talk about this matter first. "What if this matter lets the high commissioner know?" Ming Lou asked Ma Zhansheng, who was drinking tea. Zhan Sheng grinned, "There is a better job for him than a teacher to do, can he still tell us one long and two short?" "Better job?" Ming Lou raised his eyes, "At present, the state is not recruiting workers in rural areas, where is there a better job than private teachers?" ”
"Recently, the region has approved several indicators for the small coal kilns in our county. Of course, these indicators originally did not have chengguan communes, because there were too many people who walked before chengguan. Ma Zhansheng took the paper cigarette handed by Ming Lou and lit it and took a sip.
"Garin is afraid he won't want to dig up the charcoal!"
"Who made him take the charcoal?" Now the communication group of the county party committee is short of a communication officer, and Garin can write, work instead of work, let him do this work, insurance he is satisfied! ”
"I'm afraid it's going to take a lot of trouble!"
"I've got it up and down. Fill out a form, you cover the brigade here, the commune and the county have me miles. Anyway, the procedures are done in accordance with the law, and the troublemakers must also seek truth from facts! Ma Zhansheng's unsmooth joke not only made Gao Minglou laugh, he also laughed at himself. The two people laughed a lot, and Ming Lou asked, "Did Director Gao mention the matter of finding a job for Garin?" "Ahhh! You are a shrewd person in Gaojia Village! Ma Zhansheng looked at Gao Minglou sarcastically, "And now doing this kind of thing, which stupid leader mingli?" This depends on whether the hearts and eyes of the people under his hands are alive or not! We took the initiative to do this kind of thing for the leader, and the leader still criticized you on the surface, but in his heart he was eager to promote you immediately! ”
Gao Minglou was so shocked that he opened his mouth and closed it for half a day. He thought to himself: No wonder Zhansheng is not very old, he is in his early thirties, and he has been commissioned as the deputy director of the general cadres of the commune! This man is incredible, and the future is great!
While he was talking twice, Samsung had already led Gao Yuzhi into the courtyard.
Ming Lou and Zhan Sheng hurriedly greeted them.
Gao Minglou took the two bureau chiefs of the district and the county into the "reception room", his wife served tea, and his eldest daughter-in-law lit a cigarette.
Gao Yuzhi didn't want to come here, but his brother wouldn't let him; Let him definitely have to eat this meal! Explain that Lou is the leader of the village and cannot hurt his face. Besides, the old ancestors are all surnamed Gao! He had to come.
Gao Minglou asked Zhan Sheng to accompany Director Gao to drink tea and smoke, and he came over to the kitchen to tell his wife and daughter-in-law not to be busy serving food.
He came out of the courtyard, called Samsung, who was smoking in the corner of the courtyard, and asked in a low voice, "Why don't you call your uncle And Garin as well?" ”
"You didn't give me Ann to call him two!" His son looked puzzled at his father's annoyed face. "Paste brain pine! Solid paste brain loose! You fucking read the book into your ass! You call me again!" A moment before the meal, Gao Yude was finally pulled by Samsung's arm.
Ming Lou hurried out, lovingly held his other arm, and asked, "Why didn't Garin come?" Old Man Yude said, "That's a spanglweed, if you don't come, forget it!" ”
Gao Yude was immediately surrounded by Ming Lou's father and son into the kiln and supported on the upper seat; Gao Yuzhi and Ma Zhansheng sat on either side. Ming Lou sat on the lower seat.
Meals came up quickly. The huge red paint eight immortals table, packed with plates, large bowls of pots, small bowls, mountain treasures and seafood, is much more hearty than the guest meals at the county guest house. This guy got so many rare things from nowhere!
Ming Lou rose up to salute. The first cup was full, and his hands were raised in unison, and he saluted Gao Yude. Gao Yude's two thin hands took the wine glass in a hurry. After a glass of wine, the old man's internal organs were stirred into a mess! He looked at Gao Minglou's smile on his face, and then looked at his brother next to him, the infinite emotion in the old man's heart, was it still used to put it out here?
Half a month later, Gao Yude's only son, Gao Garin, became a regular worker of the state; And only go to the county coal mine to report, and then you will become a cadre in the compound of the county party committee. How did he get to this point? What are the procedures in between? He didn't even know that. He filled out only one job form. The rest was handled by Ma Zhansheng. Life takes a huge turn in an instant!
The people of the village were already numb to such things, so no one was surprised. Teacher Gao Garin became a farmer, and everyone is not surprised, because Gao Minglou's son graduated from high school. It is not surprising that Gaugarin suddenly joined the county again, because his uncle is now the district labor chief. They sometimes curse some unhealthy trends in the current society in the mountains, but their kindness limits them to scolding. What else could it be? When Gaugarin left the village, his father was ill. His mother wanted to serve his father, but she did not come to send him. Only Liu Qiaozhen, who had a deep affection, accompanied him out of the village and sent him all the way to the intersection in the river bay. The covers and boxes had been transported away the previous days, and he had brought only a bag. Qiao Zhen was like a girl in the city, generously pulling a bag tie with him. They stood behind at the fork in the river bay, silently facing each other. Here, he had kissed her. But now it was daytime, and he couldn't kiss her anymore.
"Brother Garling, you often think of me..." Qiao Zhen bit her lip, tears streaming down her face. Garin nodded to her. "You'll be alone with me..." Qiao Zhen lifted her tear-stained face and looked at his face. Garin nodded at her again, looked at her sheepishly, and slowly turned around. He got on the road, turned back, and saw Qiao Zhen still standing in the river bend looking at him. Tears blurred Gaugarin's eyes at once.
He stood for a long time, looking at the cute figure of Qiaozhen poplar tree; Looking at the jagged cottages of Gaojia Village: looking at the green shrouded Dama River River Road; A feeling of infinite attachment suddenly surged up in my heart. Although he longed to leave here and live in a wider world, he felt that he still had a deep love in his heart for the fields of his hometown where he had raised him!
He wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes with his fingers, turned resolutely, and walked toward the county seat.
Ahead, on the road of life, how will he go?
【To be continued】
Writer Profile
Lu Yao (December 2, 1949 – November 17, 1992), male, real name Wang Weiguo, born in Qingjian County, Yulin, northern Shaanxi, is a contemporary Chinese writer whose representative works include novels such as "Ordinary World" and "Life". He was a member of the party group and vice chairman of the Shaanxi Branch of the China Writers Association.
Lu Yao was born on December 2, 1949, to a poor peasant family in Qingjian County, shanbei Mountain, Shaanxi Province, and was passed on to his uncle in rural Yanchuan County at the age of 7 because of family difficulties. He studied at Yanchuan Prefectural High School and returned to his hometown in 1969 to work as a farmer. During this time, he did a lot of temporary work and taught for a year in a primary school in the countryside. In 1973, he entered the department of Chinese of Yan'an University, during which time he continued to create literature. After graduating from university, he served as the editor of Shaanxi Literature and Art (now Yanhe). In 1980, he published "A Thrilling Scene" and won the first National Outstanding Novella Award. In 1982, he published the novella "Life", which was later adapted into a film. In 1991, he completed a million-word long tome "Ordinary World", which with its magnificent momentum and epic character, a panoramic expression of the social life of China's urban and rural areas in the reform era and the great changes in people's thoughts and emotions, and was broadcast on the Central People's Radio before it was completed. Lu Yao won the Mao Dun Literature Award for this. On the morning of November 17, 1992, Lu Yao died in Xi'an at the age of 42 due to ineffective treatment of cirrhosis of the liver and ascites. On December 18, 2018, the Cpc Central Committee and the State Council awarded Lu Yao the title of Pioneer of Reform, the Medal of Pioneer of Reform, and the outstanding writer who encouraged hundreds of millions of rural youth to devote themselves to reform and opening up. On September 23, 2019, "Ordinary World" was selected into the "New China 70 Years and 70 Novels Collection". On September 25, 2019, Lu Yao was selected as the "Most Beautiful Strivers".