Text: Wang Qun
Figure: Source network
Last night, A dream took me to my hometown again, only because my mother said on the phone that the old well in the west ditch at the mouth of the village was going to be filled. When I first heard it, I was still silent for a long time, because it was as if the deceased person I once knew had passed away, but I still left a deep sigh in my heart, so that night I turned my stomach and dreamed.
The old well in the hometown of Xigou, in the hearts of children of my age, does not remember its origin, only to listen to the old man said, when there is our village and the neighboring village Xizhuang, there is this old well shared by the two villages. In my memory, the reason why the old well is old is that it has a smooth and round well platform, a few square bluestone paved well platforms, I don't know how many hard feet have been sharpened, shining in the sun. Every time they followed the adults to fetch water, they were always supported a little farther, and the adults were afraid that the children would play by the well platform and slip into the well. Between the bluestone slabs, there is green moss that never spreads to the stones, but it is always in the crevices of the stones.
Every morning and evening, when the old well is the most lively, the adults rush uphill or after the work, fill their own water tanks, and then carry hoes to work. So whenever this time comes, the morning fog surrounds the ravine, and one figure carrying water will float up from the ditch, and one by one the figure carrying an empty bucket will float down. The creaking sound of the hooks resounds crisply all the way, bringing a special joy to the mountains in the morning and evening.
Seeing that the adults are all at work, the ravine has become a happy world for children, and after a stomach full of wild fruits, they will lie on the edge of the well platform and take pictures inside, and the bold boys will even jump around the well platform. But such an adventure will also be fearful, mainly for fear of being seen, poking at the parents, it is inevitable to drink a strong drink.
The people in the mountains rely on the sky to eat, and whenever the spring and autumn drought season, the water of the old well will be in short supply, and it is necessary to go down a long well rope to hook a bucket of water. I remember one year, the wheat in the field was plucked by hand, sprinkled in the yard, let the chickens, ducks and geese gouged through the work, and each family ate red wheat imported from the United States. The water in the old well was almost cut off, and many people had to get up in the middle of the night, take their children to the well, and scoop up the bucket spoonful by spoon. My family's "honor" to enjoy this treatment is my sister, I was too heavy at the time, my brother was too small, my sister's weight was just right, and I always felt as if my sister had touched the glory of the bottom of the well. Later, I thought about it, three times in the middle of the night, I was woken up, went down to the bottom of the well tens of meters deep, illuminated it with a flashlight, scooped up the water, the cold bottom of the well, and wore a small cotton jacket in winter, so it was a thing that was fresh and afraid of half a life! But in the child's heart, it seems that yan still envies such an adventure, or envies that her sister who returns from the well every time can have a bowl of hot soup noodles with poached eggs to eat.
The youthful childhood, because of the simple state of mind, those stories of the old well, are bright and happy in the memory!
In the flow of people who came to the old well to fetch water, they could not forget the blind man in Xizhuang, the husband and wife were both blind, and the three children they gave birth to were healthy and clever. Every time the blind man came to carry water, three young children took turns to lead with a long wooden stick, although the well platform was slippery and wet, but the blind man's cleverness was amazing, always able to stand just at the edge of the well platform, without the well rope, with a flat shoulder down the bucket, left and right, the bucket was full, the left and right arms were coordinated, two buckets of water fell on the well platform, groping for the hook, and then walked back on the shoulder. At this time, the traction child will consciously hand the head of the stick to the father's hand, lead the other end himself, and the grandfather and the grandfather will go home laughing.
At first, some people looked at this poor family and helped them pick up a burden, but the couple was resolutely unwilling, always stubbornly emphasizing: "Everyone is busy enough, don't give us kung fu!" "After a long time, everyone saw that the family's life was also passable, so they no longer helped to work hard, but from time to time they sent some old clothes to their children." I have been sent several times by the order of my mother, and the blind couple always happily sends them out the door, and they can't forget to put some peaches and apricots in my pocket, and there is a sweet tooth sacrifice on the way back. Once, because the little girl of the blind family leaked the I had built in the river beach, I burst out in disbelief: The flower gown you are wearing is still given to me! The stubborn little girl took off her breath and threw herself on the ground, wearing only a small vest, and ran home crying. Naturally, I was scolded by my mother, and I was embarrassed to go to her house for a long time to deliver something.
Listening to the old family, drinking the mountain spring water of the "old well", the life is hard, the temperament is also hard, look at the blind family, I seem to have some firm belief.
The water of the old well, how many years have been shared between the two villages, has also strengthened the relationship between the people of the two villages. According to the adults, the apricot grove on the edge of our village was exchanged for the locust grove on the edge of their village, so that the people of both villages were convenient. My family's relatives alone, there are several in Xizhuang. A mouthful of sweet well water nourishes the industrious and kind mountain people, and makes the mountain people love each other regardless of each other.
"Once the vicissitudes of the sea were water", far away from the homeland, in the city to drink more than a dozen yuan a bucket of pure water, but the mouth is still numb, because the sweet and refreshing old well water in the early years, has been filled with tongue moss, no matter where you go, no matter what kind of water you drink, the taste of the old well, the attachment to your hometown, are solidified in your heart. "Although I know that tonight is bright, I still cherish the moon of my hometown", I am talking about this state of mind!
The old well has gone, and it is better to go back to the dream often. The illusion of silent shadows will warm the sun, moon and moon in a foreign land!
Original works are welcome to be submitted, and the submission email [email protected]. This number accepts manuscripts of nostalgia, nostalgia and nostalgia. Please enclose the author's name and a statement of originality. It is best to bring original pictures.