fresh flowers

【Chinese Story】

Author: Qiao Tu (member of the Chinese Writers Association)

One

Speaking of which, Grandma Xie really loves to go out. When she was young, the unit she worked for often needed to send people on business trips, and the leaders generally arranged for male employees to go, and when female employees had to go, most female employees were trying to find various reasons to shirk it.

Grandma Xie is the opposite, always the first to sign up actively, and then she also tries to find all kinds of reasons to go, and strives for the few places. The opportunity she won for a business trip made Grandpa Xie extremely annoyed, so much so that many years later, Grandpa Xie teased Grandma Xie countless times about it: "I don't think you really want to work, in fact, you just want to find a reason to go out." ”

Hearing this, Grandma Xie did not refute, but laughed happily, her face was full of joy like a child, and then she talked endlessly about what she had seen and felt when she first went out.

Although she loves to go out, Grandma Xie has never been far away in her life, especially after marrying Grandpa Xie, the opportunity to go out has become less and less. Family, work, in-laws, children and grandchildren...... Things are always one after another, in her words, there is no big emptiness, and there is no small emptiness. But she always finds some opportunity in these little air, and sneaks out of the door whenever she has time. Even if she walks on the road at the edge of the community for a while, it is a pleasant thing for her.

In this way, after many years, Grandma Xie became old.

Illustration: Guo Hongsong

Grandma Xie, who is old, is not as good as before. Especially after Grandpa Xie died, her health deteriorated. Especially the waist and legs, it is uncomfortable to move for a little longer, and sometimes she feels a pain in her heart when she walks out for ten minutes. Grandma Xie, who is not in good health, let go of everything, but she still has a soft spot for going out, she can't walk, so she hopes that Xie Yiming can often drive her out for a spin.

"Let's go out and have a look while we can still move." Grandma Xie said, "Otherwise, maybe one day I won't see it again." ”

Grandma Xie's words made Xie Yiming very sad to hear it. As Grandma Xie's only son, Xie Yiming knows very well in his heart that his mother likes to go out. But the problem is that Xie Yiming is very busy with work and doesn't have much time to take Grandma Xie out to have a look. He worked as a middle management worker in a private company, working late every day, sometimes so busy that he couldn't rest even on weekends and holidays. Therefore, every time Grandma Xie said this, and the number of times she said this, Xie Yiming was a little unimpressed.

By the time Xie Yiming finally came to his senses one day and wanted to take Grandma Xie out to have a look, it was already a long time later. At this time, Xie Yiming suddenly figured out that the time left for Grandma Xie in this world may be really short, after all, she is a person of this age, and her health is poor. Therefore, he tried his best to meet Grandma Xie's request with a sense of guilt, and every Sunday, he drove her out as much as possible to take a look.

But at this time, Grandma Xie is no longer suitable for going far, even if she is in a car, she can't last for a long time. Every time Xie Yiming pulls Grandma Xie out, he walks for more than half an hour at most, and then he has to stop and let her get out of the car to rest. However, even so, Grandma Xie is still happy to go out. On Sunday, I got up early, ate an egg, drank a glass of milk, then dressed up in the mirror, put on crutches, put on a maza, and sat at the door waiting for Xie Yiming to drive. If it happens that Xie Yiming can't leave, Grandma Xie will be like a child without a smiling face for a day, and she will not have a smiling face for the next week.

Two

Because he can't go too far, Xie Yiming usually takes Grandma Xie to take a look at the scenic spots around the county. Sometimes they go to Changchun Lake, sometimes to the Mou Manor, and sometimes to Tiangu Mountain. The mountain can't be climbed, so Xie Yiming found an open space at the bottom of the mountain and put the horse in place, so that Grandma Xie could sit there for a while and look at the tourists and the mountain scenery. But every time she sat for a little longer, Grandma Xie would urge Xie Yiming: "It's okay, it's okay, let's go." So, Xie Yiming helped her into the car, and then left.

Xiacheng is so big, and there are so many attractions, after going there a few times, Grandma Xie's interest is obviously a little low. Xie Yiming no longer took her to scenic spots, but went to the villages and towns around the county. Sure enough, as soon as the place changed, Grandma Xie's interest rose again.

When they go out often, they will often encounter some rare things.

Once, they came across two goats on the road, who were fighting. The two goats did not give in to each other, and pressed their heads tightly together, and suddenly you retreated and I advanced, and suddenly I retreated and you advanced. The two sides stalemate for a long time, and the battle began to escalate. A goat leaps up and smashes its head down; The other goat did not flinch and fought with its head. The two sheep collided with each other with a muffled "bang", and blood flowed down the crooked horns of one of the sheep. Then the two sheep jumped up again, collided again, and soon dyed the white wool a blood-red.

Xie Yiming looked very strange, so he took out his mobile phone and prepared to shoot a video and send it to Moments. Grandma Xie couldn't bear it, and while picking up her own crutches to drive them away, she kept persuading them: "Oh, don't fight, don't fight." But the two goats didn't take Grandma Xie seriously at all, and they still fought desperately. Grandma Xie was powerless, so she had to shout loudly that Xie Yiming came to help. Xie Yiming obediently put down his phone and shot to disperse the two sheep.

On another occasion, they coincided with a funeral procession.

Xie Yiming didn't want to stop, but the funeral procession was too huge, with hundreds of men and women, stretching for nearly 100 meters, walking out of the village entrance in a sparse manner, crossing the road, and walking towards the mountain on the other side of the road. Xie Yiming had no choice but to stop the car and wait for the crowd to pass slowly. It happened that Grandma Xie was also tired, so Xie Yiming helped her out of the car and asked her to sit on the side of the road and watch the funeral procession with others.

From the narration of bystanders, Xie Yiming knew that the identity of the deceased was not prominent, he was a farmer, but he was old enough, ninety-nine years old. Passing away at such an advanced age is a natural and fortunate thing. Therefore, in the crowd of funerals, there are no particularly sad people, some people show a smile on their faces from time to time, and relatives and friends are also walking unhurriedly, chatting about daily topics, with a natural and affectionate look. It is conceivable that at the later guest banquet, these people who come to the funeral of the deceased will drink and eat meat, as if they are not attending a funeral at all, but a cheerful party.

The funeral procession finally passed, but Grandma Xie stubbornly sat on the side of the road and refused to get into the car. "Look at it a little longer." She said. Xie Yiming didn't know what to look at, but he could only rely on her.

The old man was buried on a west-facing hillside, which was already dotted with dozens of graves, large and small, surrounded by pine forests and locust trees. The afternoon sun shone down and covered the old man's freshly scented grave like gold through the dense foliage. Xie Yiming suddenly remembered the last time he and Grandma Xie passed by his grandfather's graveyard.

Three

That time I went out, Xie Yiming originally planned it. The night before, he had dreamed of a somewhat dilapidated village, in which a girl in white was running as fast as she could in the old alleys of the village. After waking up, Xie Yiming remembered that the name of the village was Zoujiazhuang, which was Grandma Xie's maiden village. And that girl is vaguely what her mother looked like when she was young. Xie Yiming had never had such a strange dream, he didn't know what kind of future this dream portended, but he suddenly had the idea of taking Grandma Xie back to Zoujiazhuang.

Zoujiazhuang is not too far from the county seat, about forty or fifty miles, but Grandma Xie has not been back for more than 30 years. Since her two brothers passed away, Grandma Xie has not returned to the village. Xie Yiming guessed that Grandma Xie must be very willing to go back and see, after all, it was her birthplace.

Xie Yiming didn't tell Grandma Xie his plan beforehand, he wanted to surprise her. As if he had no intention, he drove the car onto the road to Aishan. Zoujiazhuang is just in front of Aishan, and it is a necessary place to go to Aishan. A tall mountain soon appeared in their sight, and Grandma Xie looked at it quietly for a while, and suddenly asked, "Is that Aishan?" ”

"Yes." Xie Yiming said.

Grandma Xie was a little excited, and said, "I said how it looks so familiar, it's really Aishan." Then Grandma Xie babbled to Xie Yiming about the story of when she was young at home, she went to Aishan to collect firewood. This time it was Xie Yiming's turn to be a little surprised. Aishan is five or six miles away from Zoujiazhuang, it is the highest mountain in Xiacheng, in recent years, it has been engaged in tourism development, the mountain has built roads and steps, Xie Yiming has climbed once with his friends, he went up empty-handed, and his legs are weak for a few days. But Grandma Xie had to pick up a load of firewood from there.

"Is there any ready-made firewood?" Xie Yiming had nothing to say, so he asked Grandma Xie.

"Where is it," said Grandma Xie, "to look for it in the woods, and sometimes you have to climb up the trees and break off the dry branches." ”

Grandma Xie talked about the past, as if she realized something, and asked Xie Yiming, "Aren't we going there?" ”

Xie Yiming smiled and said, "If you go inside, you will arrive at Zoujiazhuang, let's go and see if your village is okay?" ”

Grandma Xie said, "No. ”

Xie Yiming said: "Why don't you go? How many years have you not been to Zoujiazhuang? ”

Grandma Xie still said, "No, no." ”

Xie Yiming didn't care, and still drove forward, but Grandma Xie's next reaction surprised Xie Yiming. Just when the car was about to drive to the entrance of Zoujiazhuang's village, Grandma Xie suddenly screamed: "Don't go, I don't want to go!" Let's go! ”

Xie Yiming was startled, he didn't expect his mother's reaction to be so strong, he didn't dare to go against Grandma Xie's wishes, twisted the steering wheel, turned the car onto another road, and quickly walked around the village. He peeked at Grandma Xie, but saw that her waist was trying to straighten up, her expression was serious, and her eyes did not squint, as if the Zou Jiazhuang on the side did not exist at all. It wasn't until the car drove through the village that Grandma Xie's waist suddenly went limp.

Xie Yiming thought that Grandma Xie might be tired and wanted to stop the car. Grandma Xie said, "Don't stop, go." Xie Yiming didn't know what he meant, but he had no choice but to continue to drive forward. After driving a short distance, Grandma Xie said, "Stop." ”

Xie Yiming stopped. He opened the car door, helped Grandma Xie out, and put Mazha for her to sit. Grandma Xie didn't sit down, but leaned on the side of the car, her eyes looking at the slope in the distance. Xie Yiming didn't know what she was looking at, and followed her eyes.

There is an orchard on the slope, and the apples in the orchard are in the ripe season, and the red color is very attractive. Next to the orchard is a cemetery, which is overgrown with weeds, and occasionally a few red wildflowers stand in the grass. Xie Yiming didn't see anything special there, and said to Grandma Xie, "Sit down and rest for a while." ”

Grandma Xie didn't sit down, looked at it twice, and said, "Let's go." ”

And they went on. After a long time, Grandma Xie suddenly spoke: "That sloping land just now is the graveyard of your grandfather's family. Xie Yiming was startled, stopped the car suddenly, and looked at Grandma Xie in surprise, but Grandma Xie looked as usual.

Xie Yiming has never been to his grandfather's grave. He hadn't seen his grandfather and grandmother either, and they both died early when Grandma Xie was still very young. Xie Yiming turned his head and wanted to take a closer look at the slope, but found that the slope had already hidden behind the mountain.

"Your grandmother and grandfather are buried there," Grandma Xie said, "and so is your uncle." ”

"Why didn't you say it sooner?" Xie Yiming said, "If you said it earlier, I'll help you go up and have a look." ”

"What's there to see?" Grandma Xie seemed a little tired and said, "Generations after generation, it's all the same." ”

Four

The last village that Grandma Xie visited before she died was called Houxujia Village.

Houxujia Village is a small village surrounded by mountains on three sides, and it was a well-known poor village in the early years. In the past two years, through the construction of the new countryside, the appearance of the village has undergone earth-shaking changes. The streets are clean and tidy, the river is clear and flowing, the front and back of the houses are refreshing, and the courtyards in the village are simple and elegant. The gables and alleys are also covered with festive murals...... The former dilapidated village has been transformed into a beautiful village known far and wide, and countless tourists come to visit and learn every day.

Grandma Xie was very interested in the changes in Xujia Village, and the flower garden in front of the village committee surprised her. There are dozens of varieties of flowers in the flower garden, they are purple and red, and the flowers are full of flowers, so that Grandma Xie forgot about her physical discomfort for a while, and she walked around in the flower garden, lingering. Xie Yiming also thinks that those flowers are really beautiful, but except for a few common varieties such as cockscomb and four seasons chrysanthemum, none of the other flowers can be named.

At that time, Xie Yiming would not have thought that this would become Grandma Xie's last journey. After returning from Houxujia Village, Grandma Xie couldn't afford to get sick, and she couldn't go out anymore. Once, Xie Yiming insisted on carrying her to the car, but she refused to allow her to live or die.

"Let's go out and have a look while the weather is good," Mr. Xie said, "and it might snow someday." ”

"No need to look at it," said Grandma Xie, "I've seen everything I should see." ”

Xie Yiming was speechless, his heart was really uncomfortable, and he regretted that he didn't pull Grandma Xie out a few more times earlier.

Soon, it was the traditional day of sending winter clothes, and according to the convention, Xie Yiming wanted to go back to his hometown to send winter clothes to Grandpa Xie's grave. When he went out, Grandma Xie suddenly said, "When you come back from your hometown, stop by and go to Houxujia Village and get me some flower seeds." ”

"What do you want to do with seeds?" Xie Yiming asked curiously.

"When I'm dead, you scatter them on my grave, it's beautiful." Grandma Xie said with a smile.

Xie Yiming didn't speak, he thought that Grandma Xie's words were too unlucky. He didn't take it to heart, and came back directly after sending the winter clothes. Grandma Xie said, "What about the flower seeds? Xie Yiming remembered it at this time, and it was hard to say that he had forgotten it, so he had to lie and say: "People say that the flower seeds are not ripe yet, and I will get them when they are ripe." ”

Grandma Xie glanced at Xie Yiming and said nothing.

In the blink of an eye, it began to snow lightly. Grandma Xie said to Xie Yiming: "It's snowing, and those flowers are afraid that they will be crushed into the snow, and the flower seeds will rot if they don't come down." ”

Xie Yiming said: "It's okay, I've asked my friend to get it, and I'll wait for him to bring it to me next time." ”

After the Spring Festival, Grandma Xie suddenly became a little unconscious. During the days she was dying, she spent most of her life in a coma. Xie Yi will watch Grandma Xie tomorrow, fantasizing that there will be a miracle. Sure enough, one morning, Grandma Xie suddenly opened her eyes. Xie Yiming called out in surprise: "Mom." Grandma Xie didn't answer, but slowly raised a hand and said, "Give me those flower seeds and let me touch them." ”

The flower seeds haven't been brought back yet, and Xie Yiming doesn't know what to do for a while. He was ashamed to hand his hand to Grandma Xie, and Grandma Xie's unwarm fingers touched the back of Xie Yiming's hand.

Before the first month, Grandma Xie died. On the day she was buried, Xie Yiming suddenly remembered the matter of flower seeds. The next day, he hurriedly ran to Xujia Village, came back with a bag of flower seeds, and scattered them all on Grandma Xie's grave.

That night, Xie Yiming had a dream that on the hillside where his mother was buried, a sea of blooming flowers suddenly appeared. Among the flowers, a girl dressed in white is running around in it, which is very beautiful.

When he woke up, he burst into tears.

Guangming Daily (2025-04-04 06 edition)

Source: Guangming Net-Guangming Daily