My hometown is a small county town in the east of the Jianghan Plain, bordering the Han River, rich in lotus roots and diamond horns, and has the reputation of "the land of fish and rice". My grandmother lived in a small village in the lake district in the western part of the county, nearly 40 years after her death, at the age of 75, according to the living conditions at that time, it was considered a high-life old man.
The villagers commented that the grandmother was a blessed person who was kind and charitable all her life, righteous and bold. Although her grandmother has long been ancient, her virtues of thriftiness, competence and enthusiasm have always been preserved in the memory of future generations.
Time back to December 1982, a cold morning, my mother's hurried footsteps, accompanied by the sound of crying, I woke up from sleep, 5 years old, I did not know what happened, saw a lot of clans and villagers gathered in the family, the father was outside the guests, the mother was also busy, and later learned that it was the beloved grandmother who died, and I was very scared. Under the joint efforts of everyone, Grandma's funeral was arranged properly, and it was very beautiful and lively.
The years flew by, and with a flick of my fingers, I was already middle-aged, and I always looked at the portrait of my grandmother and missed her very much. Every year during the Qingming Festival, I would arrange my itinerary in advance, buy flower baskets, coins and other sacrifices, clean up and pick up the weeds in front of my grandmother's tomb, stand for a long time, remember my grandmother's love for me when I was a child, and see the details of her nurturing me before she was born, and I couldn't help but be sad for a long time. I often sigh in my heart: Now that the living conditions are better, if my grandmother is still alive, how good it would be! Your children and grandchildren have grown up and are capable of doing their part in filial piety. pity!
The grandmother in the memory often has a kind smile on her face, she is not tall, a pair of small feet, love to sit with a group of old people and talk homely. We are a group of innocent children, always love to shuttle through the crowd and chase me crazy. As a young and naughty child, I always liked to do some pranks, such as stuffing yellow mud into the copper keyhole of the neighbor's grandmother's house, but my grandmother never scolded me, always silently holding a kerosene lamp, and the neighbors were slowly repairing, and I secretly ran away.
Once I heard my mother say that when I was two or three years old, one summer, my grandmother neglected to take care of me because she was busy with housework, and somehow I ran to play in the boat by the pond behind the house and accidentally fell into the water. This scene happened to be seen by the students passing by, shouting loudly, "There is a man who has fallen into the water!" ”。 My grandmother heard the noise and ran, and she threw herself into the water and rescued me. The moment my grandmother rescued me, my hands were still tightly pulling on the stern of the boat, and my little arms were black. Grandmother said, "Your life is great!" If you lose your life, Grandma doesn't want to live. ”
Before the reform and opening up, in that era of material scarcity, in addition to being responsible for household chores such as cooking, laundry, and sewing at home, Grandma also used "net kites" with her grandfather to net fish. I followed the adults, playing with them upside down, happily sorting weeds, small fish, shrimp, etc. along the way, thinking that the whole family could fight tooth sacrifices at night, and the kind grandmother had to give some to the clan every time. One of the "three masterpieces" of my grandmother's craft was that the pickle sauce technique was very exquisite, and at that time, many women in the village bay asked their grandmother for advice on how to make it, and she was always eager to teach the skills. The method of making food such as boiling sugar and expanding bean skins is very good at grandma, and several brigades (administrative villages) around our lake area enjoy a well-known reputation.
My grandmother was helpful all her life, and at that time it was still the era of the collective economy, and many families in the village were "overspending households", and my family was no exception. Not only are men in the family laborers, but women can also hold up "half the sky". My grandmother worked hard during the day to earn "work points", and when she returned home at night, she pickled vegetables under the kerosene lamp to make sauce, weave clothes, and work for the whole family, so that she could only make ends meet. Sometimes, the family had a hard time accumulating some fried rice, lotus, small fish and other materials, and my grandmother often did not hesitate to give them to more difficult people, causing our brothers to have a happy time. At that time, we didn't understand things, and we often got angry with our grandmothers for this, but now that I think about it, she set a good example for future generations.
Father often said that your grandmother has not read books, is an ordinary rural woman, but she understands many truths in the world, can tell historical figures, folk anecdotes, grandmother's noble character, rich experience, highly respected by future generations.
It's Tomb Sweeping Day again, my dear grandmother, you know that your foolish grandson misses you very much. My loving grandmother, are you good in heaven? We will continue to work hard, be diligent and thrifty, maintain and carry forward your good family style, learn from your diligence and wisdom, educate your children and grandchildren, and benefit the society, so as to comfort your spirit in heaven.
Grandmother of Heaven, I will always miss you!
Author: Zhou Binxuan