My first fountain pen - Liang Xiaosheng

It is black, has a thick body, and has a clumsy appearance. Naked nib, screwed cap. There is no clamp in the rubber pen pouch, and when the ink is absorbed, pinch it and bulge slowly. The ink absorbs too much, and the writing often "vomits", staining the paper and hands.

This old-fashioned product was eliminated fifteen years ago. Nowadays, it is not easier to find a "kind" than a horse coat. If it is broken, no pen repair shop can repair it, and people will definitely advise you to simply throw it away and buy a new one.

I've been using it for over twenty years. The tip of the pen has been chopped, broken, and I have sharpened it and shortened it. The pen is very thick, and if you write a word with many strokes, you can't fit two grids of large manuscript paper. I can no longer write with it, only sticky notes or envelopes. If the cap hadn't been wrapped in adhesive tape, it would have been torn apart. The pencil bag hardened a few years ago, and I canceled it to use it as a dipping pen. The barrel of the pen has been replaced, and it is hard to "install" it with fire, but it is impossible to unscrew it again.

It was the first fountain pen I used, and my mother bought it for me. That year, I was in the fifth grade of elementary school. The school has a policy of having two pen and ink lessons per week. Some assignments require students to complete with a pen. Everyone in the class had a brand new fountain pen, and some even had two. I have no pens to use, not even old ones. I only have a fountain pen dipped in water, and every time I finish my pen work, my right hand is always dyed blue with ink, and the hand that is dyed blue stains the workbook. I often feel aggrieved by this, and I dream of getting a brand new fountain pen.

One day, I finally started crying, broke the dipping pen, and forced my mother to buy one immediately.

My mother said to me, "Son, didn't my mother promise you that when your father sends back the money, she will buy you a fountain pen?" ”

I kept crying and shouting, "No, no, I want it today." You go and borrow me money to buy it. ”

The mother sighed and said embarrassedly, "You child, you are really ignorant. The money for the purchase of grain this month was borrowed from a neighbor. The money for the payment of the house fee was also borrowed from the neighbors; Give your sister a doctor, or borrow money from a neighbor. In order to buy you a blotting pen today, do you have to force your mother to borrow money from a neighbor again? How can you tell your mother to open her mouth to the neighbors? ”

I didn't care how embarrassed my mother was to borrow money from a neighbor again, and I cried even more fiercely. My mother got upset and slapped me twice. I ran out of the house crying angrily......

It was raining that day, and I wandered in the rain for most of the day without going home, my clothes were soaked, my mind was drenched, and I couldn't help but regret and blame myself. Yes, the family is living in difficulty, and the father who works in other places only sends back dozens of yuan a month to live, and the mother has to borrow money from neighbors often. My mother is a very face-saving person, and every time she borrows money from a neighbor, she needs to summon up some courage. How can I be so sorry for my mother just to buy a blotting pen? I felt so sorry for my mother.

So I had the idea to earn my own money to buy a fountain pen. As soon as the thought came to me, I braved the rain and walked towards the train station. There is a steep bridge near the train station, and some older children often wait at the bottom of the slope to help the cart drivers who pull goods up the hill for five cents or a dime.

I walked under the bridge and waited for a long time, but no trolley came. The rain was getting heavier and heavier, so I had to stand under a tree to take shelter. Raindrops crackled and whipped the fat poplar leaves, washing the road. There was not a single pedestrian on the road, only the occasional bus coming and going. A few telephone poles were far away, and it was foggy to see what was not clear.

I was feeling depressed and wanted to leave, and it was raining heavily; Wait, hungry again. Suddenly, a trolley was found, loaded with several layers of tall wooden boxes, covered with tarpaulins. The cart puller slowly and step by step in the heavy rain came here. It can be seen that the man is pulling very hard, his waist is bent very low, his upper body is almost parallel to the ground, both trouser legs are pulled above the knees, his arms are pressing the handlebars, and every step he takes, it seems to exert all his strength. The man was not wearing a raincoat and a straw hat on his head. Because his upper body was too low to see his face, I didn't know if he was an old man or a young man.

As soon as he pulled the car under the bridge, I jumped out from under the tree and asked aloud, "Do you want to help?" ”

He answered. I didn't understand what he was supposed to do, and understood that he needed my "help", so I quickly went around to the back of the car and pushed it up without hiding any strength. I don't know what to pull on the car, it's very heavy. Before I could push halfway downhill, I had no strength at all, my legs were weak and I was out of breath. That's when I learned that for some people, money is not easy to earn. Even a dime is not easy to earn. I'm still on an empty stomach. After pushing a few more steps, I really couldn't push anymore, and I had the idea of "stealing strength". Anyway, the cart puller can't see me. I had just slackened a little bit when I felt the wheels turn uphill. No, I am not allowed to "steal energy". The person who pulled the cart must have been persevering with the last bit of strength, and was tenaciously pulling up the slope. I can't bear to "steal energy". I gritted my teeth, held my strength, and let out a child's snort as I exerted, and took one step at a time, mechanically moving forward.

Suddenly, the wheels spun rapidly. Only then did I realize that I had pushed the car uphill and started to go downhill. The trolley rushed down the slope quickly, and the person pulling the cart was too light to hold down the handlebars, but was suspended by the handlebars, and his legs were off the ground, unable to control the direction of the car. Fortunately, the direction of the car did not deviate to the middle of the road, and it always stuck to the side of the sidewalk, and slid until it slowly stopped at the bottom of the slope.

I kept running behind the car, and when it stopped, I stopped. As soon as the man turned around, I held out a hand to him and said in a loud voice, "Give money." ”

The man with the cart stared at me blankly, motionless, not paying or speaking.

I looked up at him and couldn't help but be stunned. "He" ...... It turned out to be the mother. The rain, mixed with sweat, trickled down my mother's haggard face. Mother's clothes were completely soaked, as if they had been fished out of water, and they were wet and clinging to her body, revealing the outline of her thin shoulders. Her chest heaved violently, her face was pale, and she was gasping for air.

I looked at my mother, and my mother looked at me, and we mother and son were completely stunned.

It was on that day that I got that pen, the pen of my dreams.

When my mother put it in my hand, she said expectantly, "Son, you have to study hard." If you don't study hard, you'll be so sorry for your mother......"

When I was a student, I never forgot for a moment what my mother said to me with great expectations.

Now, more than 20 years later, I am an adult, and my mother has become an old woman. That pen can also be said to have completed its historical mission a long time ago. But I will always keep it, cherish it forever, and never abandon it.