I grew up in a small and not well-known village in the southwest plain of Luxi, three or four hundred meters north of the village, there is a river that winds east-west and is called Liulin River. In the early seventies, after digging the river and repairing the embankment, the river surface was about forty or fifty meters wide and more than ten meters deep, and there were fifty or sixty meters wide river beach and about seven or eight meters high embankment on both sides of the river, and the river embankment was covered with poplars, elms, acacia trees and other northern tree species, and the vegetation was lush in summer, and the trees were lush and green, like a green barrier, so that the villages on both sides of the river belonged to the same brigade and could not face each other across the river.
Liulin River is one of the many rivers in the hometown, it is like the blood of the earth, coiled in the hot land of the hometown, for hundreds of years, after several changes, it has always flowed endlessly, full of vitality, the river water moistens the earth, watering the farmland on both sides, and raising the simple, kind generations of parents and villagers. The ancestors who lived by the river, relying on the nourishment and selfless gifts of the river, thrived in this fertile land, forming large and small villages.
In the rainy summer, the river swells suddenly overnight, and the turbid water whirls and carries branches and sediment to the east, and the small trees that grow on the river slope are uprooted and washed downstream. Some of the brave villagers rushed to the brick-hole bridge two or three miles away, picked up some branches and trunks blocked by the bridge, dried them and cooked them on the fire, and some stood on the bridge and fished with nets.
The river is like a wild horse that has escaped from the reins, rampage, but people go to high places, the water flows to the depression, the river has long been tamed by the people, it flows along the big ditch at the gap in the river bank, flows into the big pit of the village, the big pit is filled and then flows into the ditch in front of the village, less than a day's work, the ditch is full of trenches around the village.
In the hot summer, the big pit in the village is a good place for me and my friends to swim. Parents are not allowed to swim in the pit, saying that the water in the pit is too dirty, and the geese and ducks in the village are pooping in the water, and the adults wash the children's diapers by the water, and scare the children that they will not tread the water, and they will drown in the water. But I always can't stand the heat, can't resist the temptation of water, at noon, and the village friends secretly go to the pit to wash their feet, when the age is young, can't swim, just grab the edge of the pit exposed willow roots, bang in the water, a little careless, the bottomless pit water will choke into the nasal cavity, sore and sore uncomfortable, sometimes the head is immersed in the water to practice breathing, and can not help swallowing the water into the stomach. After coming out of the water, with a bare buttocks, dancing and singing: cool, cool, cool and dry, light the fire, smoke and smoke. It can be said that the big pit in the village is the cradle and starting point for me to learn to pick up water without a teacher.
After a period of time, the water in the ditch slowly evaporates and reduces, the waterside of a section is covered with grass, choose a certain section, hit the weir from the middle or section, use the dung basket to fish, you can fish out about a handful of long, live crucian carp, "channeling strips", loach and other small fish and shrimp, take it home and put it in the pot to boil, the fragrance floats around, it is delicious, it can only eat the meat in the New Year, this is the best way to open meat and satisfy hunger.
One autumn, when the Liulin River entered a dry season, the river was less than a waist deep, and schools of fish often showed their heads, breathed fresh air, and their tails stirred up a circle of splashes. One afternoon, the villagers of the surrounding villages took nets to catch fish, and some used dung baskets and willow baskets to catch fish. When I heard the good news, I also carried a dung basket and hurried to the river to join the fishing army. At that time, I was young, I only caught a few small fish, touched some river mussels, and was so happy that I really won the Three Good Student Award at the end of the year.
In the cold winter, there is often heavy snowfall, the earth is covered in silver, the river water freezes into a thick layer of ice, and the back of the river embankment is covered with snow for a long time. My friends in the village and I commute to and from school, taking shortcuts every day, climbing over the river embankment and crossing the river along the ice, so that we can walk about half the distance. On the way home from school, I sometimes skate in the river, have snowball fights, and have fun for a while.
Speaking of crossing the river to school, there was an unforgettable event that made me always feel grateful. At that time, I had just entered the fourth grade, one day in late summer and early autumn, after lunch, I and several classmates in the village, as usual, were ready to wade across the river to go to school, and when we walked to the river, the river was surging, the water was turbulent, the water surface had reached half of the slope, and it was impossible to wade across the river. The male classmates were reluctant and always wanted to swim across the river. After a while, more than a dozen male students gathered, most of the older students would tread water, and everyone discussed, first by the students with good water nature, everyone sent everyone's clothes to the opposite bank, and then the students with average water nature swam across the river together. As soon as they said they would do it, I saw two or three senior students volunteering, lifting their clothes above their heads with one hand and holding the water with the other, and quickly crossed the river with one sinking and one floating.
At that time, I had just learned to pick up water, and some people jokingly called it dog crawling, but with the encouragement of my classmates, I didn't know how to be afraid, and I also joined the team to cross the river. When I swam to the middle of the river, my arms were weak to stroke, my feet couldn't hit the water, I felt out of breath, and my movements slowed down, although I paddled hard, my body didn't move forward, and I involuntarily sank down, and choked a few mouthfuls of water at the same time. At this time, two classmates who were older than me, seeing that I was in danger, swam to my side in time, and the two of them worked together to pull me back to shore and avoid the tragedy.
"I have been away from my hometown for a long time, and I have been half-worn recently. "A few years ago, I often dreamed of catching fish in the river, and every time I went back to my hometown, I couldn't wait to go to the river and take a look. After May Day last year, I returned to my hometown, and according to the plan, I asked a few classmates and friends to get together in a restaurant, drinking and chatting, one of the classmates who saved me, perhaps afraid that I would forget my hometown and forget the past, "still holding the pipa and half covering my face" said: "Last year, I was ready to apply for the Righteousness and Courage Award." I didn't know what to do, so I casually asked, "What's the matter?" and he seemed to remind me that he had saved me when I was a child. When I reacted, I immediately expressed gratitude: how could I forget this, and quickly toasted three glasses of wine.
Before this year's Qingming Festival, I returned to my hometown. The next morning, just after dawn and the cuckoos outside the window were "cooing, cooing", I got up and habitually went to visit the Liulin River to the north of the village. Walking through a small forest, the breath of spring is blowing in the face, at a glance, the green wheat seedlings are just like a green carpet, all the way to the distant village, mixed with a few golden rape flowers, the earth is like a thick oil painting. Walking along the field path, we walked quickly to the Liulin River, which has changed its former appearance, the embankment is gone, only a few low mounds remain, and crops such as wheat and peanuts have been planted, and poplars, willows, and locust trees about the thickness of a teacup grow on the riverside, and they spit out tender green new shoots. Maybe I walked too fast, came too suddenly, and as soon as I reached the river, I startled two wild ducks.
With the joy of returning to my hometown, I strolled on the south bank of the river, looked at the clear river, breathed the fragrance of spring, listened to the melodious birdsong, loved and thought for a long time, my eyes were moist, and a thousand words came to my heart, and I couldn't help but pour out silently: Liulin River, Liulin River, you are the homesickness that is difficult for wanderers to give up, you are the source of life, and you are the river that is integrated into the blood......
Author: Creekside Grass