The pomegranate tree of the hometown
Text/Wang Zengrui
When I was 16 years old, I dropped out of school because I couldn't go to school. There is nothing to do at home, just work with your back to the loess. I was reluctant to repair the earth at home for the rest of my life, ignoring the hard work of my parents, I ruthlessly left the second elder, and resolutely left my hometown and went to the big city to work hard.
As a result, I suffered a lot outside, and it was difficult for me to gain a foothold; Although there are a few relatives in the big city of Xi'an, their lives are not very rich, and there is nothing I can do to help, so I have to work my own.
Ten years later, I still have no place in the city.
Every Spring Festival, I would return to my hometown from a distant big city to reunite with the two elders. After spending the New Year at home, after the fifteenth day of the first month, he returned again. The night before leaving, after the family had dinner, the second elder began to get busy again: make wontons for me and eat them when he leaves the next morning. The father lowered his head and chose the vegetables in the dim light, and the mother bent down to make the noodles slowly...... It was busy until the middle of the night, and a curtain of small wontons with a decent appearance was wrapped.
The next day, as soon as it was dawn, the second elder got up early. My father was busy packing my bags for me. Mother was busy lighting the fire. By the time I lazily got up from the covers, the hot ravioli had already been served.
The second elder watched silently from the side, and I ate it in a big gulp. After I had eaten, my father picked up my heavy luggage for me and took me to the village entrance to wait for the bus......
Year after year, I grew up and had a wife and children, and I didn't have a foothold in the city. At this point, the parents are already old. The night before I left, the second elder was not as silent as before; That night, they often quarreled endlessly over trivial matters. After a long time, I realized that the quarrel between the two elders was fake, and I hoped that I would stay, marry a wife and have children at home, and live a stable life is the real purpose; But none of them would express it directly to my face, but only hinted at me through arguing and arguing. At this point, I was silent.
The two elders are noisy, noisy and noisy, the wontons before leaving are still wrapped, and the next day they still get up early to cook wontons for me, and my father still carries a heavy salute and silently sends me to the entrance of the village...... Every time I leave, I always think of Meng Jiao's song "The Song of the Wanderer":
Alphabet hand line,
Wanderer's top.
Dense seams on the verge of travel,
I'm afraid I'll be delayed.
Whoever says an inch is careless,
Reported three Chunhui.
If they have done so for me, what shall I receive? What does just reading this poem mean by heart? Oh......
Twenty years later, I'm still the same. At this time, I was past the age of marriage, and my parents were getting old. During this period, my old father personally traveled thousands of miles from his hometown to the big city of Xi'an to see me. Look at what I'm doing, how I'm doing, and have a good idea, and if I can't do it, pull me home.
As a result, my old father didn't say anything to move me. I've been wandering here for more than 20 years, and I've just gone back to the village to repair the earth, what do the people in the village think of me? I don't have the face to go back. I just kept looking for opportunities.
Then came the days when I struggled with my parents. Fighting for my marriage. What they mean is that they are either looking for a partner at home or in the city, they can't go on like this anymore, there are no more men over 30 years old in the village, give them a good word! My eldest brother and sister-in-law also started to run around for my marriage, looking for matchmakers everywhere and introducing me to someone at home......
I was undecided for a moment, and my mind went blank! But there is no reason to resist, after all, after more than 20 years, he is still empty-handed, and he can only let them follow the platoon. You can go on a blind date with other girls, it's just a show; Everyone saw that I didn't care, and they all said goodbye to me...... By the time I was 40, I was still single.
In the spring of that year, I went back to my hometown alone to visit my mother; The second is that my father has passed away, so I will give him an old man's house to burn paper. When I came to the yard, I found a pomegranate tree planted in front of the old house. It can be seen that this pomegranate tree is growing well under the careful management of my mother.
My mother knew I was coming back and waited for me in the yard early. Looking at this pomegranate tree in the yard, I said to my hunched mother: When did you plant a pomegranate tree and grow so tall!
When my mother saw me, her expression was gloomy, and she sighed and said, "It will soon produce pomegranates, and when it bears pomegranates, I will leave them for my grandson to eat......
After saying this, the mother bent over, toasted her two little feet, and silently returned to the old house.
Seeing this, I was sad for a while, at a loss, and I didn't know what to do.
After a few years, I finally got a foothold in the city and a foothold; And I also talked about the object, a woman from Shaanxi - I am more than ten years older than others! Unfortunately, my mother was no longer there at this time.
I didn't go back to my hometown for a few years after I got married, because the two old men were gone; In the past, every Spring Festival, I went back alone to reunite with the second elder.
One autumn a few years later, I returned to my hometown with my wife and children and went directly to my eldest brother and sister-in-law's hospital. They were so happy to see me and have a wife and son!
During this period, my eldest brother said to me, "Let's go to the old yard and have a look, shortly after my mother died, a couple moved into the old house with a child." Well, now our old house is intact! Especially the pomegranate tree in front of the house has grown and produced a lot of pomegranates! By the way, pick a few for the children, children in the city are rare this thing.
I said yes, but I didn't leave. Now that the second elder has a daughter-in-law and grandson, but they are no longer there, who should I visit in the old courtyard? Alas! Whoever says an inch is careless, and he will be rewarded with three springs. I couldn't stop my tears from falling.
After staying in my hometown for a few days, I saw that my eldest brother and sister-in-law's family were all very good, so I was ready to get up and leave.
On the day I left, my sister-in-law said to me again, go to the old yard to pick a few pomegranates and bring them to the children, if you don't go, you won't have a chance! Let's go, let's go together!
I excused myself again and said that it was too late, and that I had to clean up quickly, and that the city was busy, and I had to leave immediately; When the pomegranate is ripe, let the couple leave it for their children!
When I got back to the city, I remembered what my mother had said: "It will soon produce pomegranates, and when it bears fruit, I will leave it for my grandson to eat......
Now she has a grandson, and she's gone! At this time, I regret not going to the old house to have a look, and pick a few pomegranates for her grandson to bring, isn't this a wish of the old man, isn't it? Alas! ……
I think that when the pomegranates on the pomegranate tree are ripe, the couple will definitely pick them, and when they taste the pomegranates with their children, they will definitely think of the old man who planted the pomegranate tree. But they would not have thought about the old man's intention in planting the pomegranate tree.
About the Author:
Wang Zengrui. Man. Born in '78. Engaged in teaching. A native of Cangxian County, Hebei Province. College degree. His works have been scattered in "Cangzhou Daily", "Novel Monthly", "Selected Essays", etc.