A grandmother with a story A storm
After my grandfather passed away, my grandmother often stared at the sky, but her expression was unusually calm. I followed her gaze, and there seemed to be nothing but changing clouds. Of course, there were occasional airplanes, but I believe my grandmother wasn't there to see the plane, because it was the same size as the paper airplane we used to fold in cigarette boxes when we were kids, and my grandmother had poor eyesight and couldn't see it at all.
I couldn't help but wonder and asked my grandmother what she was watching.
Let's see if Mantuo is riding the colorful auspicious clouds to pick me up. "After a while, my grandmother spat out this sentence leisurely, as if I had disturbed her sweet dream.
Mantuo is my grandfather.
Grandma, you're too romantic, aren't you?You and your grandfather are the most beautiful love I have ever seen, which can be called a textbook. "I was amazed.
Grandma's eyes turned to me"You little girl, what do you know?"
Saying I don't know, that's good, I have to pester my grandmother to tell her and my grandfather's love story. My grandmother couldn't resist me, so she had to clear her throat and start talking.
If it hadn't been for Daddy's illness at that time, I would have been able to become a cultural person.
But there are no ifs in life.
I've only been in school for a few days, and my dad is sick. A-Niang said,"No way, you're the boss, you have to help me feed my younger siblings. "
That means I can't read. Daddy can't work, Auntie has to replace Daddy, I have to replace Daddy.
After I dropped out of school, my husband from the school came to my house and said that I was a good seedling for reading. But seeing the mess in our house, Mr. sighed helplessly and left.
So, laundry and cooking, feeding pigs and chickens, and taking care of my younger siblings have become my new homework.
The people in the village praised me for my ability, because with my help, my younger brothers and sisters were able to enter the school smoothly.
I was so busy every day, and time passed quickly, and in a blink of an eye I was sixteen years old. Daddy's body is slowly improving, but he still can't do heavy work;A-Niang was overworked, and her body was much weaker.
I don't think it's possible to go to school anymore. A-Niang said,"Girl, I'm sorry for you, don't worry about studying, girl, what's the use of studying?In the future, my mother will find you a good family, and if you get married, you will want to be blessed. "
Although many girls in the village are married, I am not ready yet. When my mother said this, I blushed and hurriedly took some clothes and went to the creek to wash.
I flattened my soaked clothes on the stones, raised my mallet and began to hammer.
There are a lot of clothes, especially my brother's clothes are so dirty, I have to use a hammer to wash my clothes, I actually sweated. Stopping the mallet in my hand, I brushed the bangs off my forehead. When I raised my eyes, I saw a junior on the other side of the creek painting me with an easel.
The man smiled at me and motioned for me to continue hammering my clothes.
I also like to draw, which I learned from my grandmother. Embroider a pillow, insole or something, you have to draw a sample first, but I can only draw some flowers and grass, not people.
The first time someone drew me, I had a little white rabbit in my heart, and I couldn't get up with my hand holding a mallet, and I couldn't wash my clothes.
After a while, the afterlife came to life and raised the painting in his hand.
At the beginning of the sun, a gentle breeze was blowing, and a washergirl was waving a mallet, and the stream beside her was dancing happily with a silver light.
Is it good-looking?"The latter asked me.
Smelling the warm smell of sweat on my body, I blushed and nodded, I never knew I could be so good-looking. It's just that there is a line written next to it, I can't read, and I'm embarrassed to ask him what he wrote.
If only I could be literate.
Hou Sheng asked me if I could go to the stream again the next afternoon, and he wanted to draw a picture of a washergirl at sunset, and I agreed without hesitation.
Early the next morning, I got up and walked into the creek to get ready to do my laundry. I couldn't help but snicker at the thought of my promise to the afterlife, and I felt my ears burn a little.
I am still beautiful in the sunset.
Later life said that I was his best model, showing a natural and wild beauty.
Although I don't know what wild beauty is, I feel very happy when I praise me in later life.
Later, he also painted a scene where I cut hogweed.
After painting a few times, I learned that Hou Sheng was actually the son of Boss Wang's family, who sold groceries in the town. Since he was studying abroad, we didn't have much to do with each other.
One day, when Mantuo was drawing me, he was bumped into by the village sister-in-law Shunfa, who covered her mouth and laughed secretly.
It didn't take long for rumors about me to spread in the village, some saying that I had a mind on a man, and some that I had an ...... with a man in the grass
Needless to say, this is spread by the sister-in-law. She had an argument with A-Niang, which ruined a girl's innocence, which was the biggest blow to her parents.
A-Niang was in tears.
But she didn't scold me, nor did she accuse me to my face, but silently took some things and went to the east of the village to find the matchmaker.
It didn't take long for the matchmaker to come.
I heard the matchmaker and A-Niang say: "The Wang family has taken a fancy to your daughter, and they are very happy when they take the eight characters together." I told you a long time ago that your daughter is a prosperous husband with many sons and many blessings. ”
A-Niang is still worried: "I heard that the cub is a little weak. ”
People are cultured, and they don't have to work in the fields, so it doesn't matter if they are physically weak. What do you think, people's conditions are so good, why are you still so picky?People are interested in your daughter's eight characters, and it is your daughter's blessing......”
A-Niang also told the matchmaker some things that I couldn't hear clearly.
In short, I am really happy to be able to marry a cultural person like Man Tuo. I have always longed for a literate man, although I aspire to go to school, but I don't have the opportunity, marrying a literate man can also make up for my regrets.
My mother-in-law's family is a family that pays attention to etiquette, and I was married to Mantuo.
Oddly enough, when I first modeled for Man Tuo, he was enthusiastic. Now that I am his wife, his attitude has become indifferent, and even in the life of the husband and wife. He also painted significantly less frequently.
Maybe he's not quite used to it, I thought to myself.
Until one day, I found my mother-in-law and my neighbor basking in the sun, and I wanted to invite my mother-in-law to dinner. I heard a neighbor ask, "Why didn't Man Tuo marry the girl from the Li family?"The relationship between the two of them is so good, and the conditions of the Li family are also good. ”
I quietly retreated, hiding under the wall and listening to their conversation.
The two of them don't get along, and that girl Kefu, my family is already in poor health. Don't look at the daughter-in-law I picked is an illiterate rough girl, but she is a blessed child. The mother-in-law explained.
It turned out that Mantuo was indifferent to me, and there were others in his heart.
I touched my already bulging belly and sighed. I don't know if it's more than a blessing, but it's sure that there are many sons.
After eavesdropping on my mother-in-law's conversation, I couldn't help but be curious about the girl of the Li family in her mouth. From then on, I began to pay attention to Mantuo's every move.
However, after the birth of my son, I was so busy taking care of the child that I didn't have the heart to worry about whether there was anything wrong with Mantuo.
Interestingly, I also met the Li family girl at her wedding. She married the Gu family, who was not too far from our family, and their family was a wine shop, and the family was not bad. The Gu family had some dealings with my mother-in-law, so we were invited to the wedding banquet.
The bride's appearance is not outstanding, she is thin, but she looks particularly comfortable and has a unique temperament. I can't say what is so special about it, but it's the kind of atmosphere that I don't have.
I was really envious, and as soon as this envy flare-up, the neighbor revealed her last conversation with her mother-in-law, saying that she had been the object of Mantuo's courtship.
No wonder Man Tuo refused to come to Gu's house to drink the wedding wine, it turned out that she married the girl in his heart.
I'm secretly glad in my heart that this time Mantuo shouldn't be thinking about other people anymore.
Later, I had some contact with that Li Mei.
My mother-in-law got a high-quality ginseng and asked me to make wine for Mantuo to recuperate. When I went out to buy alcohol, I somehow decided to go to Gu's house.
There, I saw Li Mei playing with her month-old child, still teaching him to recite the poem, "Goose Goose Goose, Song to the Sky." ”
A woman who knows words is really good. I suddenly understood what the quality of her was that it was called intellectual, and I didn't understand it.
I teased my son, and I could only say, "Zhang hits the iron, Li hits the iron, and sends the scissors to my sister ......."”
After I bought the wine and went home, I never went to Gu's house again. Every time I see Li Mei, it makes me feel even inferior.
Surprisingly, not long after, Li Mei's husband died suddenly and unexpectedly, and she became a widow.
Mother-in-law's vision is really unique.
Mantuo was depressed, I could understand him, I just didn't know anything, and concentrated on doing my part.
One day doing laundry, I accidentally flipped through a note in my trouser pocket. There are two lines of words written on it, which I don't recognize. Although I don't know it, I know that it wasn't written by Mantuo. Although Mantuo looks fresh and handsome, his words are particularly powerful. And the words on this note are very beautiful, it should be from a woman's hand.
Inexplicably, I thought of Li Mei. So, I imitated the words on the note one by one.
It didn't take long for Man Tump to hurry around, and I took out a note and asked him if he was looking for this.
Taking the note, Man Tuo breathed a long sigh of relief. This note must have been written in a mound.
When my sister-in-law came back from school, I asked her how to pronounce the words out of order.
The meaning of the patchwork is: see you tomorrow evening, the bad beach.
The bad beach is an untreated dangerous beach at the east end of the river, which was later built into a waterproof dam and became a bamboo forest. I once pulled bamboo shoots there, and the bamboo was dense and green, and it was a good place for a tryst.
I suddenly didn't know what to do.
Do you use your mother-in-law's authority to ask questions, or do you pretend that you don't know anything?
Because of the secret hidden in my heart, my whole body felt restless, and my walking was erratic.
The next day, it was a little overcast. In the afternoon, Man Tuo said that he wanted to go out to do something.
I stared at him blankly for a moment before asking, "What is the matter?"”
Perhaps it was my stupid expression that surprised him a little, but Man Tu smiled and didn't answer.
Then he retreated again, for the sky was filled with rain stars.
I went inside and got an umbrella and came out, "Don't get wet, you're not in good health." ”
Mantuo looked at me in a daze, "Forget it, it's not a big deal if you don't go." With that, he went into the back room.
As the rain became heavier, I fiddled with the soles of my shoes at the door, and my mood gradually calmed down.
However, the new shoes I made for Mantuo were not finished, and he had already put on the new shoes. There is a dragon embroidered on the upper, which looks pretty good, but the sole is thin and the heel looks a little forced. Mantuo said the shoes were bought at the bazaar.
Mantuo is a person with high requirements for life, how could he buy a pair of shoes that are not suitable?
I was angry, but I couldn't find a reason to vent.
I had to rush to work overnight to finish the shoes on my hands.
The next morning, I handed Mantuo new shoes, "Change them, your shoes don't fit your feet." ”
Man Tuo looked at it and said, "I think it's good." ”
Pretty good?Don't you see your heels grinding blistering?Do you like these shoes that much?”
Mantuo looked at his feet, his face crimson, as if I had revealed some of his secrets.
Man Tuo eventually changed into the shoes I made.
I was very happy, but I didn't know what it was for, but I just had a sense of accomplishment in defeating my opponent.
The days are like the water at the door of a stream, with ripples from time to time, but more often than not, they are uneventful.
However, a sudden flash flood changed everything.
Three difficult years have come, and everyone has begun to live a life of tightening their belts.
In our family, fortunately, my mother-in-law was a shrewd person, and she hid something valuable.
The winter of that year was unusually cold.
I hid the glutinous rice and cabbage in the cellar at the back of the house to prevent them from freezing. Although our family situation is better than that of ordinary people's families, food is still scarce in that era.
At noon, I was washing the dishes, and my mother-in-law asked me, "Didn't you carry the glutinous rice to your mother's house?"Now it's down to a few. ”
A few days ago, my mother-in-law said that I carried the sweet potatoes to my parents' house, and today she said that I took the glutinous rice cakes, which is simply ridiculous.
I went to the cellar to check, and sure enough, there were eight missing glutinous rice cakes.
How is this possible?
It occurred to me that Mantuo, who was always absent-minded when he was eating, and then went out with his hands on what seemed to be hiding something.
I chased it out.
The scene I least wanted to see appeared, and Man Tuo knocked on Li Mei's door. I heard that Li Mei's father-in-law also passed away, leaving only a sick mother-in-law.
The door creaked open, and Li Mei, who was originally thin, looked haggard, and I felt pity when I saw it.
When she saw the glutinous rice dumplings that Mantuo had taken out, she looked happy, and then tried to wave her hand to refuse. Man Tuo placed the glutinous rice on the ground, and then took out a small bottle containing Vaseline. Man Tuo also took out a crimson silk scarf from his pocket and wrapped it around Li Mei's neck, which became a beautiful scenery in the cold wind.
touched my bare neck, and infinite sadness swelled in my heart: I have long wanted to buy a silk scarf, but in today's situation, how can I give it.
I don't have much to say about sending some food to Li Mei;But with Vaseline and a silk scarf, it's not just pure mercy.
Man Tuo hadn't bought clothes for a long time, and the pockets of the padded jacket on his body were torn, and I sewed it with stitches and threads, but I didn't expect him to use it to load things for other women.
Perhaps it was Mantuo's heart that warmed Li Mei, and the flush on her face covered the bitterness on her face.
Tears had blurred my eyes.
I wanted to rush up and make a big fuss, but the thought of the starving children in the house made me retreat home.
When I got home, I opened the box and flipped through it, and I saw a pile of ill-fitting shoes, cleanly washed and as good as new. When I look at Vaseline again, it's a lot less. My hands crack and get moisturized in the winter. I used to use alabaster, but now I can't afford it, so I use Vaseline instead, but even Vaseline is expensive. Mantuo actually dug up half of it.
My heart felt as if it had been cut by the cold wind outside, and it was swishing straight into the cold air.
My mother-in-law watched me enter the house with a cold face, and probably guessed something, so she stopped talking.
Many years later, time passed better and better.
I also had some free time and decided to learn to read and write.
I learned quite quickly, and Man Tuo always praised me for being smart, saying that I had the strength of Jiang Dongxiu.
I smiled and asked, am I as tiger as Jiang Dongxiu?
Man Tu waved his hand happily.
I don't know when he cut off contact with Li Mei. I don't even know about him going to the bamboo forest to go on a date with Li Mei in the first place, if it hadn't rained at the time, would he have go?Or maybe he had already guessed what was written on the note I asked his sister about.
During that time, he and Li Mei's tortuous experience, I don't know what he thought.
As time passed, the family situation became more and more difficult, and in order to live a good life, Mantuo's heart gradually returned to the family. For me, that's all that matters.
My mother-in-law said that I was blessed with many sons, and I gave birth to three sons and two daughters in one go. If he doesn't take care of us, how can these children thrive?
Life is getting better, and I'm getting older. The things that used to bother me don't seem to matter anymore.
Learning to write and write, planting flowers and grass, and accompanying my grandchildren, this is the life I dream of.
The mound also laughed with us.
It's just that sometimes he will play a little temper, like a big child.
But I chose to ignore him, and everything would be fine.
The years are quiet. I thought that such days would continue forever, but I didn't expect Mantuo to have Rausch's lung cancer.
The family tried their best, but they couldn't recover Mantuo's increasingly weak body.
One day, he trembled and pulled out a bright red silk scarf and handed it to me.
I didn't ask why I was given a silk scarf, but just smiled: "It's an old lady, and she still wears such a colorful silk scarf." ”
I owe you, I owe you so much in this life. Man Tuo also smiled.
I'm illiterate, marrying you a literate person, it's worth it. I'll marry you in the next life. ”
Tears flowed down his face, "That, your hands are easy to crack, I'm leaving, you have to remember to buy hand cream yourself, your children won't be so careful." ”
I couldn't hold back my crying too.
After the days were better, Man Tuo never forgot to buy me hand cream, and I never asked him why.
On a warm afternoon, Man Tuo took me by the hand and never woke up. I felt sad and relieved. It is enough to accompany me through the ups and downs of the past few decades.
I still often remember the poem he said: "Although life is hard, there is a dark fragrance in the sleeves." ”
Grandma finished telling her story with a smile on her face, but two cloudy tears fell from the corners of her eyes.