I never thought that on the day I came back from my hometown this time, I would meet her unexpectedly on a long-distance bus.
The cold mountain wind blew off the leaves and withered the branches, and the thin river water was too lazy to flow, and simply froze as it happened. The large and small stones were firmly frozen on the ground. Blocks are extremely difficult.
For more than a year, due to the need to widen and build the foundation of the old road built decades ago, the shuttle bus from the county seat to the hometown once a day can only temporarily detour along the river beach with almost no roads.
Last night, I deliberately stayed at my cousin’s house, which was close to the bus stop. Although my cousin repeatedly told me to sleep peacefully, saying that with her, I would never miss the ride, but I was still worried about the car, tossing and turning, and couldn’t sleep at night.
Dawn was still struggling in the dark, and I got up. As he stood in the courtyard, he gave a jerk. The cold and hard mountain wind was like a knife, about to peel off several layers of skin on the ground. After only a short while, he was beaten to the bone.
After eating a simple breakfast made just for me, my cousin flashed a flashlight to accompany me to the beach where the cold wind was raging and wait for the bus.
Can't see the stars and moon, the surrounding black is shaken by the biting wind, undulating, piled up and rolled, and the high and low trees tore the black and close again, close and tear again. After a while, there were more than a dozen people waiting for the bus like me. My cousin introduced me to two of them. One of them should be called Aunt Fen. Although I was in my hometown, I clearly felt that I was in a different place, and the strangeness and alienation of things that were neither human nor human made me even more lonely and helpless.
It seems that I have waited for a thousand years, and I have clearly waited for myself to become a piece of ice. When the ice is about to be broken bit by bit by the wind knife, the car staggered toward us like a drunk. Before it stopped, the people behind me suddenly swarmed up, and immediately pushed me from the first to the last. My cousin felt bad for my car sickness all the time, and blamed me for not being too stupid to squeeze hard. I was the first to get here, but this time I was the last one. It would be uncomfortable and useless if there was no seat in the car.
I hurriedly stepped into the carriage, and before I could say goodbye to my cousin, the door closed with a bang, and the car drove away in a twisted manner.
The last stop of this car when it came last night was Beiling Village at the top. People from that village naturally had priority to sit in the front and middle seats of the car. He can only stand alone in the corridor next to the driver, under the light of the carriage, let this sea of eyes scrutinize and examine.
Suddenly someone called my name and warmly invited me: Come and sit here, there is still a seat here.
Looking at the sound, I saw a woman in a burgundy eider down jacket beckoning to me in a row of two on the right side of the car. There was indeed a vacant seat next to her.
I had no other choice. I thanked her and walked over to her. Seeing that she was not wearing a mask, I quickly took out one and let her put it on. After talking to each other very affectionately for a while, the memory slowly woke up. It turned out to be her - Jiao Manzhi, from an administrative village of ours. Looking closely at her wrinkled face carved by the wind and frost of the years, I was at a loss for a while and didn't know what time was.
At this time, the driver stopped and asked passengers to buy tickets. I saw the conductor collect the money, but no one was tearing up the ticket. I don't know if this happened occasionally or often, so I naturally bought her ticket as well.
It turned out that she built a nursing home in Hongfengwan, east of Baili Township Government, near her home. Not only the elderly from our villages and towns came to live here, but also the elderly from surrounding towns and towns. Because of the good air here, the food is always delicious and the service is good. Warm and thoughtful, even several retired old leaders in the city come to live together every summer for three or four months to escape the heat. Over the years, her nursing home has gotten better and better, and she has been featured in county newspapers, television and radio.
As the number of people is still increasing, the original beds are no longer enough. She is considering demolishing the old house and building a spacious new house after reasonable planning. Seeing how excited she was when she spoke, I couldn't associate her with her actual age, who was almost "old".
People with motion sickness can't look at their mobile phones in the car, let alone talk too much. The more they look and the more they talk, the more they want to vomit. But she and I have too many things to say. The past, the present, and the future... After being separated for more than 40 years, our lives have undergone completely different changes. The strong desire to talk to each other is surging, and we cannot stop it.
Looking at her obviously sparse hair under the sauce gray woolen hat, I immediately thought of her two long black waist-length braids in the early years, which were swayed and tossed while walking, very handsome and beautiful.
How young we were back then! She served as the team secretary, working actively, enthusiastically and responsibly. Although life was generally difficult in those years, her family's life was much better than that of many households in the village. Who wouldn't admire her in Bailishan Township? Some non-local drivers came into the mountains to pull bamboo poles, timber, mountain goods, etc. They liked her for her neatness, eloquence, and knowledge. Most of them liked to go to her house for food, drink and accommodation, and naturally they often gave her some scarce items. At that time, not only the villagers in and outside the village brought things along and found her by car, but even school teachers and brigade cadres who wanted to take a car to do errands also went to her. Even though her skin was not white, she was very patient. She was famous. "Black Peony", in a remote mountain village, can be regarded as a character who needs wind and wind, and water and water.
She is very satisfied with her current life. She is in such a good situation, her children are filial, and the whole family is used in one place. She must make the nursing home better and better, not only to let the elderly eat, sleep and play well, but also They really feel that this is their warm and comfortable home!
She took the initiative to tell me that her family’s dogwoods sold a total of more than 100,000 yuan this year, all of which were used to build nursing homes and purchase equipment: we should take care of these elderly people as our own relatives, take good care of them, and make them happy physically and mentally. , when you come, you don't want to leave... These words are sincere and real.
I was deeply moved by what she could think and do, and I immediately gave her the apples, cookies and candy cubes in the bag as a silent reward to her.
The car dashed left and right on the mountain road, and it was about to turn people into pieces. In addition, we were talking all the time. My stomach had already turned upside down. As soon as I took out a plastic bag, I immediately vomited. Just in front of someone got off the car , I sat down.
Dizzy, the past is as clear as yesterday.
"Black Peony" Jiao Manzhi, although she graduated from elementary school, is smart, capable and eloquent. In addition, she can dress up, and she wears several sets of new clothes when she gets married, which makes her look even more beautiful. At that time, I was the battalion commander of the militia battalion of the brigade. We held meetings and studied together. We spent more time together, and I visited her house several times.
One day in early autumn, I stood in front of her hesitantly.
Sister, I, I want to tell you something. I was hesitant to speak, and I looked very embarrassed, afraid of being embarrassed by her rejection.
What's the matter, you just say it. Her eyes were full of encouragement.
It's, it's, oh well, I'm not going to say it. I really find it hard to say what I have to say.
Say! must say! Otherwise, I'm really angry, and I'll ignore you in the future. Suddenly, her face darkened, and her eyes became much colder.
I had to tell her regularly that I would go to the commune for a meeting the day after tomorrow, and I wanted to borrow her grass-green top that imitated the female soldier's clothing. I wonder if she would be willing?
As soon as she heard it, she laughed, and she agreed boldly: What is the big deal? It turns out to be this, let's go, you can go to my house to pick it up with me now.
You know, in those days, in the depths of the mountains, this was not a trivial matter. Relatives and friends wanted to borrow a decent dress from each other for marriage, but they were reluctant to borrow it. I was very moved that she could agree so readily. As a thank you, I gave her the seven eggs and a bottle of honey that I only had at home when I delivered the clothes. This is something I remember to this day, and it still warms my heart every time I think about it.
Two other things about her also impressed me.
Once I went to her house, she pointed to a cot across from her living room and told me about her uncle's unreasonable behavior. At that time, she lived with her husband, three children, her mother-in-law, brother-in-law, and sister-in-law. Although the family had not yet been separated, the family was very discordant. One day, when her husband was away from home, one of her husband's boyfriends came from afar. When staying at night, she wanted to let the friend live with her uncle, but the grown-up uncle refused to let him, and the mother-in-law sitting beside her also refused. She was silent, tears rolling in her eyes, she tried hard not to let it flow out, but in the end she had no choice but to grit her teeth and set up a makeshift bed across from her bed.
Guopeng, don't be afraid, we are both real gentlemen, we just live like this, I will tell him when your brother comes back. She comforted her husband's friend generously.
Then one summer, a member of the Baima Village production team surnamed Xia committed a style problem. The brigade branch decided to hold a general meeting of all members to "help" him, which was actually to criticize him. On the day of the denunciation meeting, dozens of members arrived early, but none of the members of Xia were there. Only later did I find out that the member Xia had run away yesterday because of the leak, and later I heard member Xia tell others that it was Jiao Manzhi's message to him. I was shocked and couldn't accept it. She clearly told me that I had to attend the meeting. Why did she let people go beforehand? I couldn't help but bluntly pressed her to question, she was a little sullen, and even more innocently denied it: nonsense! Don't listen to some people who make up and assign me, we are the secretary of the Communist Party, and you won't do that if you kill me!
Her eyes are firm and determined, so I am still puzzled.
It was time for her to get out of the car. I helped her take down her things. She repeatedly told me to take time to visit her nursing home and "give more guidance" when I came back.
Watching her go farther and farther under the winter sun, I heard my heart say: Next time I come back, can we meet like this unexpectedly?
After driving for a long time, I was so confused that I couldn't hold it back. When I got off the car, I just took off my two cardboard boxes, but forgot a bag containing several thousand yuan in cash, an ID card and several other documents in the car.
I had walked some distance when I realized the bag was still in the car. I was so anxious that I turned around while calling for help and turned back out of breath. Two cardboard boxes heavier than me were too heavy to lift. The old man was eating a large bowl of dumplings. Thinking that his dumplings would not be finished in a while, he stepped forward to explain the reason, thanked him repeatedly, and asked him to look at the carton for a while. With a smile on his face, he readily agreed.
When I finally got the bag back, the cardboard box and the old man were gone. I was stunned for a while, my mind went blank...
I walked around in front of this store and kept asking the owners of several stores adjacent to this store. They all said they didn't know, and silently pointed out the sign of this store to me. Then I looked up at the sign, and it turned out to be a temporary waiting point set up by a passenger transport company in the south. The person eating dumplings is probably a distant passenger who can't tell his address...
Deserved! Since you don't know him, why should you believe him! What's in the carton? The words of the store owners all contained ridicule and disdain.
Is there anything scarier than a lack of trust? It doesn't matter what the carton contains and what they do!
Trample trust, betray great trust, and take other people's things as their own. In my opinion, this behavior is more abhorrent and shameful than stealing. Is he so at ease?
Will I ever meet him again in this life?
Another car passed by me, and a few people waiting for the car were shouting and chasing, but the car didn't stop, but drove straight ahead.
Suddenly, my heart moved, I felt joy, and I was very happy for myself: Why isn't life like a train, you don't know when it stops, where it turns, where it changes direction, you don't know who you will meet in the same car Such a person, you don't even know when and where you will be left behind... As the famous writer Jia Pingwa said, everyone gathers and disperses suddenly, lives and dies, and each completes his own life, which is the whole meaning of existence. . And it is a great luck and blessing for me to be able to get on this train. Whether the people I meet are familiar or unfamiliar, whether I like it or hate it, it is normal. I should think, understand and thank from different angles. This is life...
The sun shines warmly, the sky is so blue that there is not a trace of cloud, the green plants on the street, the colorful roses, the warm light and fragrance are scattered in waves...
I walked forward quickly.
