My rural hometown is in ruins, and in addition to backwardness, it is also full of all kinds of ugliness of human nature
Children's paradise. When I was a child, the small river in the mountain village was murmuring, the swimming fish were swimming in the water, and the birds were flying in the air. The gurgling water is the source of life. The creek was a paradise for us as a child. In the past, a few of us naughty little guys often went to the river to play and fish together, even if there were bubbles under our feet, we were reluctant to leave. The current stream is no longer as beautiful as it used to be, except for some puddles left in some low-lying areas, the rest are dry. Due to the lack of water, the rivers have dried up, and the problem of drinking water has become more and more problematic. The nearby water source has been cut off, and everyone has to transport it to a large pool in the mountains to ensure that each family's life is completed within a certain time. The waterhole is deep and resembles a huge square well, giving people a very terrifying feeling. It wasn't until the Spring Festival in 2023 that I realized that in reality, even taking a bath has become a luxury.
Looking back at the road in my hometown, I realize that the road is winding, like a mountain road hanging on the mountainside. Before, the road outside was made of dirt, and although there was no road, we treated it as a wide road, as if our village was the core of this world. The roads are now hardened and there are more and more cars, but the roads are still very narrow and crowded. Whenever a car meets them, they stop, or take a detour, struggling to find a gap. In addition, there are several slopes on the road, the road surface is very narrow, and there are many cars coming and going, even a passerby like me can't help but shiver. Since Brother Jin drove the car to my house, he didn't dare to drive home anymore. This small town that we consider to be the best on the planet is now so small that even a microscope is difficult to capture.
When it comes to the countryside, many people will say that there are not so many young people in the countryside now. But in my hometown, not only are there fewer and fewer young people, but the number of elderly people is also decreasing. For so many years, he has been working outside, and after earning money, he bought a house in the town, then a house in the city, and he has to be busy with work every year, and he will only come back when he is in the city for the New Year. Those who have families will also bring their elders to live in the town, but those who have not left their hometowns when they are old can only die alone, or their children are not filial. As the years passed, the elderly who remained in the village passed away one after another, their breath gradually disappeared, and the fireworks in the village became more and more scarce, a bleak scene. Due to the declining population, the land has long been deserted. In the past, this land was the place where they lived and where they depended, so any place that was a little flatter would be reclaimed and used to grow all kinds of crops. Even the rice paddies by the creek are now uncultivated, let alone cropped.
With the continuous degradation of the living environment, the mountain village gradually declined; At the same time, due to the large number of migrant workers going to the city to work, the gap between the rich and the poor in the village has become wider and wider, and the "sincerity" in the village no longer exists. There was a family in which after the death of his mother his parents left all their possessions to three children, but none of the three children accepted him. It wasn't until the intervention of the local ** that the old man was placed in a safe place. My wife, on the other hand, has been complaining that my mother is not good, saying that they have no salary and have not built a house at home, and others say that as long as they have money, they can build a house, but they don't know that my mother is raising two children and has never asked them to donate their property. These are all things that happen every day in the small village, and they are nothing more than gossip. "For example, the third aunt often comes to our house, tells us bad things about our relatives, and talks about my mother behind our backs. More than a month ago, the third aunt told my mother about some old stories, which was nothing more than that her mother didn't treat her very well at the beginning, and said that she stole her things while she was away. In the past, my mother had a good relationship with her and often praised her advantages, but the third aunt has been dead for more than 40 years and still wants to separate them.
The evil of human nature. People living in the countryside are much more diligent and simple than ordinary people, but when it comes to money, all kinds of ugliness will be exposed. An old lady's mother died, and her father divided his property and savings among his three children, but none of them wanted to accept him, and in the end it was the people of the village who helped him get the house done. In our family, the sister-in-law often complained to my mother, and was also instigated, saying that my mother abandoned her parents-in-law and did not build a house at home, which made my sister-in-law feel very uncomfortable, so this happened. In their spare time, the villagers can only rely on small talk to pass the time. Just like recently, the third aunt often talks to her mother about the past and wants to break them up. Although my cousin is a woman in the village and her life is peaceful, she cheated on her at the age of forty-five and her husband found out about it. The young man in the village, who is single, spends more than 300 days a year on the Internet, but his mother bought him an Audi and took him home for the New Year. This is the situation in the village, there are ugly things everywhere. Just as there is no proper etiquette during the Spring Festival every year, after returning to his hometown, he gradually lost his former passion. I only remember the joy of childhood. Now, the hometown has changed and has become a thorn in the hearts of those of us children who have traveled far away.