Father's teachings
Text/Green Leaf
I quietly typed the heavy and warm word "father" on the keyboard, and my father had gone far, long time by this time, thirty-five years. He left in such a hurry that year, without leaving a word. But in my heart, he didn't seem to go far, and his traces were often clearly displayed in my mind.
My father was a very ordinary rural farmer, hardworking, kind, selfless and generous. He only had a junior education, and poured all his thirst for knowledge into his children. The requirements for our six children are very strict, and no matter how difficult the family is, he has to find ways to let us study more. In the early 60s of the last century, my eldest sister was admitted to Jintan County High School, and was the first girl in the village to be admitted to the county middle school, which was a very happy thing for a rural family. The eldest sister saw her father's tired expression hidden in her happiness, and she wanted to give up the opportunity to study in the county and drop out of school to participate in labor to reduce the burden on her father. She whispered her thoughts to her father, who was speechless and his expression was very painful. He picked up his beloved dry tobacco stick, took a piece of sun-dried tobacco that he had grown, kneaded it into a small ball, put it into the dry tobacco pot, sat on the stone bench in front of the door, and smoked it one after another. When he had finished smoking, he knocked the pot on the stone bench, straightened up, and returned to the old house. He opened the bottle and looked at it, moved over the jar to take a look, poured the rice into a white-washed cotton bag, and prepared to sell it at the market for the eldest sister to pay for the book.
On the morning of school registration, my father carried a rice bag on his right shoulder and a mesh bag in his left hand, in which was a basin containing lunch boxes and some daily necessities. The eldest sister carried a schoolbag and a thin quilt on her back and stepped out of the gate. The eldest sister had to stay in the county and could only see her for a week, so I took the eldest sister's clothes and silently followed behind my father, walked out of the deep alley in the village, and sent her out of the village. I watched from afar as my thin father led my eldest sister and disappeared on the path leading to the county seat.
None of us dared to mention not studying, which made my father the saddest. Because I saw with my own eyes that the third sister was beaten by her loving father because she refused to study and wanted to go back to the production team to earn work. That was the first time I saw my father hit his child.
What I can do is to cut more pigweed every day after school, so that the piglets can eat enough and grow faster. One day before dinner, my father threw a handful of grass to the little pig and found that there was safflower grass in the basket. He called me to me with a calm face: "Tell me, where did this safflower grass come from?" You're telling the truth. "I didn't seem to listen to my father, I stared at him blankly, and I wanted to stop talking. At this time, my father's usually kind face suddenly became very serious, and when he saw that I was silent, he picked up a mallet and beat me hard on the buttocks. I didn't cry, I gritted my teeth. The mother hurriedly came over and stopped the mallet in the father's hand: the child is still young, just hit it a few times! In fact, I didn't mean not to say angry with my father, but I didn't dare to say it in front of my selfless father, and when I saw the mallet in my father's hand slowly hanging down, I told my father: "Today is late for school, a few of our little friends who mow the grass carry baskets on their backs to mow the grass together, and I see that the sky is slowly darkening, in a safflower grass field in the west of the village, I saw others cut it, and I cut a few handfuls, and I cut it this time." My father squatted down and hugged me, his voice trembling: "My girl! What do I usually say to you, people can't lose their ambition if they are poor, they can't take it if it's not their own, even you do it, how can I educate people as a production captain! With tears in my eyes, I said to my father, "Daddy! I promise never again next time. "He took the basket and pulled me out the door, delivered the safflower grass to the team's pig barn, and then forced the clerk to deduct his day's work. He, a small captain who is not as big as a sesame seed, is so simple that he is inconspicuous, but he is educating his children with simple actions and setting an example for the team.
"If it's not your own, you can't take it." My ordinary and great father taught me the first lesson of life when I first learned about the world. He was not good at showing his love to his children with words, but his resolute eyes were worth a thousand words. He wanted us to learn knowledge and be educated, and he also wanted us to pass on knowledge to more people, and three of his children chose to be teachers.
My kind and kind father, when others need his help, would rather suffer a little himself, and always try his best to help others. In the 70s of the last century, when the spring of that year was not harvested, a woman in the team came to my house with a basket and said that she wanted to borrow a little rice for lunch, and at this time there was only a little left in my house, and my father did not hesitate and poured the rice to her. The father said, "Her child is small and needs to grow up. Let's grab a bite to eat and just pass. "Actually, my younger siblings are not much older than her children. By the time I was in middle school, my family had improved, my eldest sister had already had a stable job and family, and my second sister had also gone to the army with the army, often sending some money to supplement the family, and most of them asked my father to help people who were more difficult than us: the baby in this family had no money to pay for books, so he sent two yuan and three yuan; If that family encounters any difficulties, he will do everything he can. There are countless things like this kind of "bad good people" who are happy to help others.
My ordinary father, his personality, and his realm are very extraordinary in my eyes, he subtly guides our brothers and sisters, and teaches us to take every step of life steadily and steadfastly. To this day, I seem to be walking on the path laid by my father's kindness and generosity, because his simple teachings have long been forgotten.
(The above pictures are all taken by Geng Huihong)
About the Author
Lu Ye, whose real name is Li Fengying, is a retired senior middle school teacher. He is a member of the Changzhou Writers Association and a member of the Flash Novel Society of the Chinese Fable Literature Research Association. Make good use of a tolerant heart to embrace all the good, and like to talk to words in the tranquility of the wind and clouds.
Source: Lights in the Silent Night