"In the deep blue sky hangs a golden full moon, and below the sandy land by the sea, there are endless turquoise watermelons, and in the middle there is an eleven-twelve-year-old boy with a silver collar and a steel fork in his hand..."
This picture, perhaps flashed in many people's minds, is so familiar and so intimate. The protagonist of this scene is Lu Xun's childhood friend - leap soil. This description was seen when Lu Xun returned to his hometown after twenty years, and his heart was full of emotion in the face of the long-changed homeland, so he wrote "Hometown".
Looking back on our childhood, we inadvertently substituted ourselves into Lu Xun's identity. But as time passed, re-reading in adulthood made us realize that in fact, we are more like Lu Xun's leap soil, or the ru...
The image of leap soil is the one described above, whether it is Lu Xun himself or us, every time I think of it, I can't help but think of this scene.
At that time, Min Tu was only 14 years old, two years older than Lu Xun. The reason why he knew Lu Xun was because the local Zhou family held a big festival and couldn't be busy, and Zhang Fuqing, the father of leap soil, was hired, so he took his son into the city, watching over the sacrificial vessel on the one hand, and accompanying Lu Xun to play and play on the other.
Although there is a difference in the social status of the two, one is the eldest young master of the Zhou family and the other is the son of a long worker, this gap is not obvious. Therefore, although a little restrained at first, the two soon mingled, laughed and became close friends.
Like Lu Xun, leap earth was also favored by his father, as evidenced by the silver collar. The father was very afraid that something would happen to his son, so he went to the temple to make a wish to get this silver collar to keep him safe.
In the family of leap soil, the father worked in the Zhou family, and his life was not bad, at least he did not worry about food and clothing. The reason why Leap Earth was able to enter the city was also thanks to this working relationship, so he should also be grateful to Lu Xun.
When Zhang Fuqing worked in the Zhou family, he often mentioned his son, and every time he talked about it, his eyes always flashed with pride, as if he wanted to show it at any time. This aroused Lu Xun's curiosity, and he couldn't wait to see the young man in Zhang Fuqing's mouth and see what this boy like a legendary stroke looked like?
It was Lu Xun's curiosity that drove Zhang Fuqing to propose to let Leap Earth help, and under Lu Xun's warm welcome, the Zhou family agreed to this proposal:
"So I look forward to the New Year every day, and when the New Year comes, the leap soil will come."
This new friend gave Lu Xun a different perspective and inspired his yearning for life in the countryside. In the mouth of leap soil, Lu Xun saw a perfect country life:
"I never knew that there were many new things in the world: there were five-colored shells on the seashore; Watermelon has such a dangerous experience that I only knew it was sold in fruit stores. ”
However, we know that life in Leap Earth is far less rosy than he describes, at least compared to Lu Xun, who is at a disadvantage.
Families in leap soil live on sandy land by the sea, and this land is not suitable for growing crops, so they can barely grow pumpkins, watermelons, cantaloupe and other fruits and fruits, and it takes hard work to maintain.
While Lu Xun was enjoying the low groans of oil flies, the sound of crickets, and the long chirping of cicadas in the Hundred Herb Garden, digging He Shou Wu, picking mulberries and raspberries, the leap soil was by the beach, hard planting, fertilizing and weeding, and only in his leisure time could he look for shells, and to be honest, it was more fishing than fishing.
While Lu Xun was immersed in the clams and walls in the Sanwei Library, Leap Earth stayed in the melon field, watching the watermelons intently, for fear that they would be destroyed by wild rue, badger pig or hedgehog, after all, each melon is related to the livelihood of the family.
When Lu Xun begged Leap Earth's father for instruction on how to catch birds, he may not know that Leap Earth was hunting birds on the sand to feed his hunger, or selling them for a few dollars...
Although Lu Xun and Yan Tu's acquaintance did not happen because of mutual playmates, but because of work, this month of getting along made them all feel very happy. Lu Xun learned about the beauty of life in the countryside through the oral account of Leap Earth, and Leap Earth experienced the entertainment of urban children in his host in the city, and this exchange made them feel happy.
However, good times are always short-lived. As the first lunar month ends, they must separate. Min Tu had to follow his father to work elsewhere, perhaps to plow the land or help with other farm work, while Lu Xun had to go back to school and continue his studies.
"I was crying so hard that he hid in the kitchen, crying and refusing to go out."
Returning to the leap soil in the countryside, although he did not accompany Lu Xun to find shells and catch birds as promised, he still did not forget his promise to Lu Xun. Although he never personally sent shells and bird feathers, he sent someone to send a pack of shells and a few feathers. It can be imagined that these shells and feathers were carefully selected by him, and Lu Xun also returned the gift.
The friendship between them, as Lu Xun once said:
"Friendship is when two hearts treat each other sincerely, not one heart beating the other."
When Lu Xun returned to his hometown, he found that everything had changed beyond recognition. The two young friends, Lu Xun and Leap Earth, reunited in middle age.
His figure doubled, and his previously purple round face had turned gray-yellow with deep wrinkles. His eyes, like his father's, were swollen and red all around. ”
Even his hands became rough and clumsy, and his palms were covered with cracks, like a piece of pine bark.
When they got together again, the friendship between Lu Xun and Min Tu still existed, but it was no longer the same as before. Lu Xun excitedly called for Leap Earth, but Leap Earth showed a completely different attitude in front of him. He is cautious in his rhetoric and no longer speaks freely as he used to. Respectfully shouted:
"Sir!"
This huge change made Lu Xun confused and uneasy. He may have thought that Leap Earth was deliberately alienating himself, but in fact it was Leap Earth's clever move. Min Tu understands that his life and Lu Xun are no longer the same, he does not have Lu Xun's cultural background and has no opportunity to receive education, so he must adapt to real life and be cautious.
This is because he understands that his life trajectory and Lu Xun's life are already completely different. In those days, intellectuals like Lu Xun were very rare, and leap earth had almost no chance of reaching them. Instead, he deals with people at the bottom, who are usually oppressed, bullied, who need to endure humiliation, sweet-mouthed to please their superiors, and at the same time need to protect themselves from harm.
In this process, leap soil has grown, suffered, deceived, wronged, and even bullied. However, all this shaped him, allowing him to accumulate valuable experience and form a law of survival. He understood the importance of class consciousness and learned to treat people of higher social status with respect so as not to suffer losses.
Therefore, when he faced Lu Xun when he grew up, he instinctively realized that Lu Xun's social status was much higher than his own, and he knew that he could not associate with Lu Xun on an equal footing as he did when he was a child. Therefore, he chose to keep his distance and no longer share everything with Lu Xun like he did when he was a child.
It's actually a smart choice. In the chaotic society at that time, once Lu Xun decided to get angry with leap soil, leap earth could not resist because he did not have enough strength to check and balance. In this unequal relationship, the weak must be careful and hope that the strong will always maintain a "great heart".
Leap soil, as a product of that special era, his life carried great pressure from family, society, and history. This makes us reflect on the impact of class disparities and social status on our lives. In the society at that time, a person's origin often determined the fate of his life. Although Min Tu and Lu Xun were partners when they were children, when they became adults, they embarked on completely different paths.
Behind the simple title of "master" in leap soil carries his respect for Lu Xun and his recognition of his own status. This humility and the wisdom of pandering to the upper echelons reflected the helplessness and self-preservation of ordinary people of that era.
Leap Earth's life was full of ups and downs and hardships, but his grandson Zhang Gui fulfilled his unfulfilled dream of studying. In 1954, the Lu Xun Memorial Hall was opened, and Lu Xun's grandson, Yan Zhanggui, was specially recruited to work. Later, Lu Xun's son Zhou Haiying also went to Japan with Min Zhanggui, and the two no longer had to shout "master".