Memories are like a faint wisp of blue smoke, always lingering in my mind in the thick of longing, and the scenes of scenes of deep affection are presented in front of my eyes...
The hustle and bustle of the city cannot erase the tranquility and clarity of the mountain village in my hometown. It was a field with high mountains, thin water, green trees and lots of rain. The ravines were like the wrinkles on the foreheads of the elders in my hometown, pregnant with many stories and the power of life.
My family lives in a small mountain nest next to the ravine. We did not live here before. After our parents got married, due to the hardships of life, they did not let their children show their lives several times in that special era. After constantly seeking medical advice to no avail, an accidental Feng Shui master finally told me that the foundation of my home was not good, and my poor parents had to move the family to a mountain nest due to lack of food and clothing. In my father's mind, this is a geomantic treasure land where generals are to be born. My father often feels particularly proud to live here. When I was very young, I often heard my father and his fellow villagers say intentionally or unintentionally that the foundation of our house was built on the head of a tiger, which was called Hungry Tiger Coming Down the Mountain. of. Opposite my house are five big mountains, which means there are five sisters in my family. I don’t know whether it’s because of the foundation or a gift from God. When my parents were still in their thirties, after my family moved here, they had three sons and two sons. Women, and this also confirms the hard work of their parents throughout their lives.
Behind my house is a high stone mountain. The mountains in the south are different from those in the north. The mountains in the north are bare and desolate, while in the south, although there are stone mountains, they are already lush green and all kinds of colors. Such flowers and trees, and at the same time, under that inconspicuous rock, there will always be a trickle flowing out, as clear as a dewdrop in the morning glow, winding down the gentle hillside. Down below, nurturing green life. As a child, I spent my carefree years in the dense shade of trees.
With sweet dreams in mind, after my father sent his brother to the army and spent almost all his energy to marry off his two sisters, the beautiful wish fell on my head like a shooting star. superior. When I was in junior high school, my father, who had been running around in the wind and rain for a long time, had been worn out by the years and his forehead was covered with wrinkles. The bags under his eyes were like balloons without enough air. His once powerful mouth suddenly disappeared in a wisp of darkness. The yellow beard looks so full of life. For the dream in his heart, my father nurtured hope with his unique love. The beautiful mountains and rivers of my hometown did not bring a rich life. Working in the fields all day long could only guarantee the normal necessities of life. And the pitiful few schools made many childhood friends devote themselves to the fields early. embrace. I remember when I was taking the high school entrance examination, because there were only a few high schools in the county, in our remote rural middle school, there were very few people who could be admitted to the high school. Sometimes there were only three or two people in a year. Dreams tempt the hearts of many parents, but the cost of three years of high school seems like a heavy burden, which discourages parents with dreams. Being able to successfully enter a technical secondary school, work early, and become a national cadre is what parents in my hometown are most proud of. I went against my father's wishes and only filled in the form of high school when I filled out the application form. When the test results came out, I had full hopes of going to a technical secondary school, but I lost the chance. Looking at my father's worried eyes every day, I But I just dreamed of going to college. Despite this, my father never said anything to me, never hit me, or scolded me. He just imagined the path I should take according to his own ideas in his heart. I heard from my mother that in order for me to go to high school, my father, who had never been to school, secretly went to a very far away temple in a popular local temple and spent the money he had earned with his hard work without mercy to make a wish for me. Re-teach junior high school and take the exam for a technical secondary school. At the same time, my father once quietly knelt down to the Kitchen God in front of my kitchen and asked him to bless me to pass the exam smoothly. Love is a natural expression of a selfless soul, and love is a sincere thought from the heart.
My father burned the steps of my life with the simplest love. When I got the admission notice from high school, when my firm eyes made my father feel the flame of my dream, my thin father quietly turned his back, and his eyes that had lost their luster were covered with bloodshot eyes. I just felt that he was using I wiped my face with my hands. Now in my heart, I no longer know whether my father is happy or bitter. But I know that my father will burn for me again. He has already endured too much of the source of life.
On the first day of school, when I got up and packed my things in the dim morning light, next to the full basket was my father’s smile, which looked like a beautiful oil painting in the dim light, and it stayed in my heart forever. . Since the high school I was going to attend was more than 30 kilometers away in the city, the backpack contained a month’s worth of meals, as well as necessary daily utensils and bedding. Facing the cool humidity of the morning, walking on the uneven mountain village road, two figures, one big and one small, moved in the morning and dusk.
Life is like the stream behind my house, always making a small bend inadvertently. I have always studied very well. When I was taking the college entrance examination, a young friend from my village who was visiting relatives from the army spent one night watching the video. The next day, I was groggy and confused when I went to the examination room. I didn't know why I walked in. In the girls' restroom, the screaming lady made me feel dizzy and scared to the point where I was sweating profusely. When I walked into the examination room and got the test paper, I was sweating like an autumn thunderstorm. Failure in the college entrance examination made my heart feel like a cave on the mountain in my hometown, dark and full of gloomy atmosphere.
Although my father, who doesn’t like to talk, still works in the fields and eats as usual, it seems like there is nothing wrong with him, but I know that failure is like boiling water stirring my father’s heart. The various words of the neighbors in the small mountain village stimulated my father's heavy body. My superstitious father used the money he saved to constantly ask Feng Shui masters to find out the reason why I could not go to college. At the fork of the mountain with the long ravine in our village, there is a small piece of flat land. On the flat land, a small hill stands like a wall. Next to the hill, there is a tall white fragrant tree. It is a tree with a particularly long growth cycle and very hard wood. Because the tree grows very big and tall, its branches spread out like a huge umbrella. The villagers regard this tree as a sacred tree, so red strips of cloth fly in the wind all year round, adding countless mysteries from a distance. The small hill is covered with dense trees and green bamboos. Mr. Feng Shuiyu said that this is a door god that blocks the way out of the small mountain village. In order to allow me to leave the mountain village, my father sold the New Year Pig at home. On a spring rain, In the morning like a pillar, I took a machete and cut off the bushes and bamboos alone on the hill and leveled the foundation. I ran to the town dozens of miles away, carried bricks on my back, and built a mountain temple on the plateau. The spring rain in the mountain village was filled with a deep chill, and the bone-deep coldness penetrated into the skin. However, my old father was sick for more than a month due to the cold air of the spring rain. Perhaps it was God's blessing that I successfully entered college that year, and my father's heavy face finally showed a bright smile. I was the first college student in our remote mountain village, which made the quiet mountain village boil. My father also enjoyed the envy of the villagers in the joy of success.
Now I live in a clean building, shuttle among high-rise buildings all day long, the traffic coming and going is like the rushing river in my hometown, modern living conditions and beautiful living environment, I can’t drive away the nostalgia for the small village in my hometown. of remembrance. I often think of my father in the dead of night. My father has been gone for many years. He has not enjoyed the beauty and joy of my life in the city. I have lived in the city for more than ten years, but I have never picked up my father to visit. , recalling it, my heart is like the waves in the sea, impacting my soul. Unknowingly, I thought of the clear spring behind my hometown. That clear trickle was like my father's love, pure and selfless, forever nurturing life.