I will never forget the Spring Festival that year
Xu Chengbin
In 1988, I joined the army in Qingdao. On the eighteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, I got married in my hometown, and after staying for a week, I took my wife back to the army to spend the Spring Festival in Qingdao.
On the third day of the Lunar New Year, the new son-in-law greets the New Year, and I want to send my wife back to my hometown. In order to make it easier to take the long-distance bus, an old brother in our village, who worked as the first mate of the Qingdao Shipping Company, insisted that my wife and I go to his house for a night the night before, and then go with him to take the long-distance bus home when it is dawn the next day. I know that he has good intentions, because his wife and children went back first before the year, so I went to his house for one night, and the next day it was convenient to take the morning bus, and his house was closer to the long-distance bus station in Sifang District than the military guest house where I lived.
I said yes and asked for leave. My wife and I went to his house with big bags and small bags. Who knew that his house was very small, with an area of 16 square meters. Although the house is not big, it is very clean inside. His family of three lives, of course, it can't live, usually the elder brother Yu built a shed in the air, he and his wife slept on it, and his son slept on a long chair that was both a sofa and a bed.
Big Brother Yu saw my concern about his family's current situation, and explained with a little embarrassment: he usually doesn't go home to sleep on the boat. Although his family is a little narrow, he is still very content with people who don't have a house to live in. I heard from my eldest brother Yu that he was assigned to Qingdao for the entrance examination, and he had no relatives, and everything was on his own. This small house was originally owned by a lonely old man, and he helped the old man by chance, so the old man left a will to give him the house before he died. At first, he could live alone in any place, and later he could make do with his daughter-in-law, but when he had children, he felt that the house was not enough. If it weren't for the fact that his home was close to the Sifang bus station, he wouldn't have let us come to his house. I saw the friendliness and helplessness of the elder brother, he is a strong man in life, and the pride of our village. That night, we talked late and didn't remember to go to the toilet until it was time to rest. Brother Yu told me to go out and go north, turn right and go straight and then turn left to find the public toilet, which is also a convenient place shared by six families in their small building. It is convenient to come back, the elder brother Yu asked my wife and I to climb to the top of the shed to sleep, the covers are laid for us, although there is no heating, but the house is small and the clothes do not feel too cold to lie down. Brother Yu lay down on his son's bed, tossing and turning all night. I felt that as soon as I fell asleep, the alarm clock of the elder brother went off. We quickly got up, got down from the shed, washed briefly, picked up our things and went outside. Brother Yu said: It's so early, and I didn't get any food for you. I said, "Let's talk about it on the road!"
In this way, in the haze, we got on the bus and soon arrived at the Sifang long-distance bus station. When I entered the waiting hall, I asked: Is there a car? A: Yes. Hurry up and get your tickets. When the car drove over, the people hugged it. It doesn't matter who is seated, who is rushing to sit on it. Because I'm a soldier and I'm wearing a military uniform, I can't compete for a seat with the crowd. Brother Yu was anxious when he saw my appearance, and hurriedly called me: Don't be stupid, come up quickly, find a seat and sit down. When I finally got in the car and got into my seat, the car started to start. "Oh no, I didn't buy anything to eat!" said Old Brother Yu regretfully. But when I looked out the window, there were no people who got up early to sell anything, and even if they wanted to, they couldn't buy it. I said to Brother Yu, I'm not hungry yet, and I can buy it when I get to the station halfway! Brother Yu said, that's it. Who told us to go so early? I pandered to him and laughed, and my wife said, "I'm not hungry in the morning, let's talk about it at noon." We talked and laughed and forgot that we were hungry. Looking at the carriage full of cars, the voices of people were noisy, and because it was cold, the windows could not be opened, so the air was filled with the smell of bad breath and bad feet.
The car ran for a long time, and when we arrived at Haiyang Liugezhuang Station, the driver told all the people in the car without consulting anyone: The car is broken down and can't be driven, so you all take your things and transfer to another passing car! When we heard this, we were all dumbfounded, and they protested one after another! Why don't we find an empty car and pull us all on, and resolutely refuse to get on the passing car! After listening to everyone's opinions, the driver didn't take it seriously at all, and said: If you don't get off, just stay in the car, and my car won't open anyway. It was a stalemate for a long time, and the idea of buying food halfway through was gone. Eating is no longer as important as going home.
I saw that the situation could not be delayed any longer, so I said to Brother Yu, let's go down and change trains, otherwise we won't be able to get home after dark. Brother Yu still had to find a driver theory, but he couldn't find a driver, so he had to agree to get out of the car and change to another car. As soon as the people in the car saw that my man in military uniform was about to get out of the car and change the car, they hurled and wanted to get out of the car one after another, and the car door was blocked for a while, and everyone had to go underground one by one. When they got to the outside of the car, people gathered in groups of three, some scolded the driver for his lack of morality, and some scolded the car company for being bad.
In the midst of the complaints and abuse, finally came a passing car, the people on the car were already full, as soon as they heard that we were going to change cars, the driver was immediately unhappy, the reason was that the Chinese New Year, who didn't want to earn more, and took our car for free, did he earn? After the person in charge of the bus station came out to negotiate, the driver of the passing car agreed to let us get on the station. As soon as the driver agreed to let everyone get into the car, people began to crowd in front of the car again. In the end, it leads to not being able to go up or down. Several youths peeked through the car windows. Brother Yu said, quick, I'll pinch your belly, you go up first, hand over the things and then talk. I said, there were already a lot of people inside, and things had to be put on the roof of the car. Otherwise, I'll take you first. In this way, Brother Yu finally got into the car window, and then shouted at me to hurry up. How can I compete with the common people to get on the bus while wearing a military uniform? Besides, how can my wife's petite figure earn more than a wolf-like passenger? I advise my eldest brother not to worry, and wait for one by one to get on slowly. Who knew that halfway through, the carriage would not be full. When the driver saw it, he quickly closed the door and drove away. Brother Yu shouted in the car: My bag, my things!
I chased the car, and the driver didn't stop at all to wait for me. I shouted to Brother Yu: Don't worry, I'll find a way to get it back for you.
The car that Brother Yu was in drove away. My wife and I were left to do the rest. Some of these people were also pulled away by the car. So, the stomping and jumping high are all scolding the driver for not being a thing.
My wife said, "I finally came to a car, let it run, when will the next train come!" Don't worry, I'll ask the people at the station. The person at the station replied with just three words: I don't know! I asked my wife if she was hungry? As he was talking, another passing car came, and when he saw that there were not many people on it, the car had not stopped steadily, and the people below hula and squeezed up again. The ticket seller shouted loudly: Don't rush on, let the one who gets off the bus get off first. Before he finished speaking, several young people rushed down from the car, and the people on the ground crowded towards the door of the car together. I was relieved to see my wife squeeze into the car and find a seat. I quickly went to the driver to help me tie things up to the roof of the car and get into the car. The car was also full of people. When I sat down, my wife said that Brother Yu was so worried about his things, and he didn't have a phone call, and he didn't know anything about the situation on both sides.
By the time the car drove to our hometown, it was already past four o'clock in the afternoon. As soon as the car arrived at the station, the elder brother Yu hurriedly ran over to find us, he said that he was in a hurry at the station, and he came to ask a car, he was afraid that we would not be able to sit in the car! We unloaded the things and counted them separately, only to feel hungry and gurgling, I said: Let's go buy something to eat?
When we walked to the entrance of the village, we saw from a distance that my family and my eldest brother's family were picking us up, and they said: From the morning to the afternoon, we are about to freeze the grass and chickens!
……
Time flies, and the years are like songs. The memories of that year's Spring Festival are a thing of the past. Now that the high-speed rail network is all over the country, it is no longer difficult to go home during the Spring Festival.
About the Author:
Xu Chengbin, pen name Weihai Sky, born in 1964, a native of Weihai City, Shandong Province, a veteran, a member of the Communist Party of China, a national property manager, a national registered second-level constructor, a member of the Chinese Prose Literature Association, a member of the Shandong Writing Society, and the deputy secretary-general of the Yanwei Writing Alliance of the Shandong Writing Society. His works are included in the "2023 Jiaodong Prose Annual Selection" and "Jiaodong Prose Ten Years Selected Works (2013-2023)". More than 10 works have won awards in various essay competitions. His first collection of prose essays, Lao Xu's Anthology, was selected into the "Shandong Writing Society Writing Series" series.
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