Painting the Soul (short story) Zhang Baotong

Ding Shaoguang began a three-month part-time life at Yujuan's house. www.biquge.info Every morning, as soon as he heard the birds chirping in the trees outside the window, he began to get up, and it was just dawn at this time, and there was no movement outside, in fact, he could take a nap for a while, but he wanted Yujuan's family to know that he was a diligent person, and a diligent person could not sleep lazy, and he did not have the habit of sleeping lazy.

At this time, Yujuan had already gotten up and was looking at the bright light outside the window and grooming in the mirror. He loved to see her focus and grace as she dressed up. It stands to reason that she didn't need to dress herself so meticulously, because as soon as the morning dawned, the whistle of the production team sounded, and people had to go to work in the fields. Working in the fields is a very tiring and dirty job, so if you work in the field for a while, no matter how beautiful you look, you will be ruined. However, Yujuan just likes to dress up, even if she goes to the field to work immediately, she has to dress herself up fresh and neat. It seems that I have to dress up and let someone watch.

After getting up, Ding Shao didn't wash his bare face and didn't brush his teeth, so he picked up a bucket and went to the village well to fetch water. Seeing that he was going to carry water, Yujuan hurriedly picked up the basket and some vegetables and accompanied him to the well. He came to the well, made two buckets of water, put them by the well, and looked around at the view of the village. After Yujuan washed the dishes, he carried the bucket and walked back with Yujuan.

Back in the house, Yujuan's parents began to get up. Ding Shaoguang began to use shovels and brooms to dig down cow dung and sheep dung under the bamboo building. Because the Dai people tie their cattle and sheep under the bamboo building at night, after one night, a lot of cow dung and sheep dung accumulate. If you don't clean it, you will attract a lot of flies and odors. Because this kind of work is dirty and smelly, Ding Shaoguang doesn't let Yujuan get close. Yujuan had no choice but to stand far away, watching him accompany him. By the time he finished his work, Yujuan had already prepared warm face wash and toothpaste water for him. He casually washed it and it was done. Because at this time, the whistle of the early workers on the production team sounded. He went to work in the fields of the production team with Yujuan and Yujuan's aunt.

Because married men don't come out to work, the fields are almost all women. But there are also a handful of young men. The men did heavier work, ploughing and ploughing the fields. Because Ding Shaoguang is a scholar, the production team did not arrange for him to plough the fields, so he planted seedlings or pulled weeds with the women. Even planting rice and pulling weeds are quite tiring, so after a while, Ding Shaoguang has to straighten up, take a breath or stretch his waist, and he can't help but look at Yujuan for a while. Yujuan worked with the other girls on the team, and their clothes and looks were beautiful, but Yujuan was the most beautiful of them. Yujuan is beautiful, and the more she looks at it, the better she looks, and the more she looks at it, the more it makes him excited. At this time, Yujuan would also straighten up and smile brightly at him. It was as if his every move was in her senses. It's strange to say, they look and smile like this, but it's also magical, he immediately stopped feeling tired, but felt full of energy.

When it was time to get to work, the group washed the dirt on their hands and feet by the stream, and walked barefoot on the path back to the village. At this time, the girls laughed and joked, and said something around Yujuan that Ding Shaoguang couldn't understand. Yujuan's face was red, but she had a very sweet expression. Back on the bamboo floor, at this time, Yujuan's father had already prepared the meal and placed it on the small table, so everyone began to eat around the small table. At this time, no one spoke, just buried their heads in eating. But every time he came to pick up vegetables, Ding Shaoguang still couldn't help but look towards Yujuan. And Yujuan would also look straight at him from time to time. He felt that they were eyebrows and eyebrows, indicating that they had been heart-to-heart and deeply in love with each other.

When people have love, they feel really different. In the past, he worked alone in the production team of the former village, and he always felt that the day was very long and the work was very hard. However, since being with Yujuan, daily work and life have become very interesting and meaningful. In the morning, before dawn, they went to work together in the fields, and in the afternoon, they went to work and ate, and that time was their best time.

After finishing work that afternoon, they went to the forest behind the village to cut firewood. Ding Shaoguang carried a machete and a burden. Yujuan, on the other hand, accompanied him with an easel and a painting bag. When he came to the forest, Ding Shaoguang climbed on the tree and chopped the branches with a machete. Yujuan picked up the cut branches under the tree and tied them with ropes. Ding Shaoguang finished chopping wood and came down from the tree, and at this time, Yujuan had already set up the easel. Ding Shaoguang began to paint Yujuan. According to different landscapes and backgrounds, he asked Yujuan to do various gestures and paint all kinds of paintings for her. They waited until it was getting dark, and then they put away their easels, carried firewood, and began to go home.

When I got home and had dinner, my grandmother sat on the side and weaved. And Ding Shaoguang will sit at the small table and draw. And every time he painted, he had to call Yujuan to the side, and under the dim light of the kerosene lamp, let Yujuan continue to paint her in different postures. Sometimes, Yujuan also took out her various clothes to change, and changed different hairstyles for Ding Shaoguang to paint.

Then, Ding Shaoguang began to teach her to read and recognize. Because in every village of the Dai nationality, there are Buddhist temples. The Buddhist temple is not only a center of religious activities, but also an institution for villagers to educate their children and a place to learn Dai language and traditional Dai culture. Therefore, for the Dai people, the Buddhist temple is a school, the Buddha is a teacher, the scriptures are textbooks, the monks are students, and the temple has become a special school for the Dai society. And because Yujuan is a girl, she did not go to school in the temple, but attended primary school for three years in the township-run primary school, so her education level is higher than that of ordinary people. However, her Chinese language skills are still relatively poor. Therefore, Ding Shaoguang taught her to learn Chinese and Chinese characters every day. Yujuan worked hard and was very smart, and it didn't take long for her to learn a lot of words.

Ding Shaoguang also often tells stories to Yujuan. Once, Ding Shaoguang told Yujuan a peacock story: "In the beautiful forest, there is a beautiful and proud peacock princess, she has a colorful feather, which is very attractive, and she also likes to make friends." Once, the peacock princess was playing with Sister Bear, and when she saw that Little Bear was wearing a pair of pink bow clips on his head and a yellow dress, she said proudly, Sister Bear, look at your black skin, ugly, look at how beautiful my feathers are. The bear cried sadly, turned and ran. Later, the peacock princess played with the little squirrel again, and the little squirrel accidentally fell, getting covered in mud, and accidentally got the mud on the peacock princess's body, the peacock princess saw it and said angrily, little squirrel, you have soiled my beautiful clothes, I want you to pay for it. The little squirrel heard it and hurriedly said: I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. But the peacock princess was still angry and refused to forgive the little squirrel. The little squirrel sadly walked away. Then the elephant walked by, and said to the peacock princess, although you are beautiful, you must not be too proud, if you are not modest, no one will be friends with you in the future. The peacock listened to the elephant and began to slowly correct his pride. Since then, the peacock has really become a cute and popular princess in the forest.

After telling the story, Ding Shaoguang asked Yujuan, "Do you know where this beautiful peacock is?"

Yujuan innocently replied, "Didn't you say in the Great Forest?"

Ding Shaoguang said, "Actually, this beautiful peacock princess is you." ”

Yujuan was stunned and said, "Why could it be me?" But I'm not a princess, and I'm not proud. ”

Ding Shaoguang said, "But you are the most beautiful and proud princess in my heart." ”

Hearing this, Yujuan's heart warmed, and her cheeks couldn't help but turn crimson. She looked at him with hot eyes, how she wished he could take her in his arms and kiss her gently. However, the thought rushed through her mind like a shooting star. Because it's a luxury for her. Moreover, Grandma was sitting on the loom not far from her. They can't let Grandma watch them kiss and feel that they are too frivolous. However, it was then that she began to look in the mirror and dress more carefully, because she wanted to truly be the beautiful princess in his mind.

She also began to pay attention to him, whether he was in the house or going out, she always had to make him dress neatly and cleanly, even if he worked in the fields, she had to make him look like a cultured person in the city.

That day, Ding Shaoguang came to Jingtai Mountain Zhai Primary School again and gave a painting to Yurong. Yurong looked at it for a while and asked, "Did you paint me?"

Ding Shaoguang was stunned and asked, "What, isn't it like it?"

Yurong shook her head and said, "It's not that it's not like it, but you painted me too beautifully, I'm not so beautiful, right?"

Ding Shaoguang smiled and said, "This is art, art is out of life, and it is higher than life." Actually, this painting is a painting he painted for Yujuan. Because he really didn't have time to paint for Yurong alone. Moreover, Yurong and Yujuan have many similarities, but Yujuan is younger and more beautiful than Yurong.

Xie Guangrui looked at the painting and said, "This painting is for me." I'm going to frame it, frame it, and hang it next to my bedside. ”

When Yurong heard this, she was very happy, but she said, "No, if you hang my painting on the edge of the bed, and look at my young and beautiful appearance all day long, you will feel that I am slowly not young and beautiful." ”

Xie Guangrui said, "Why don't you let Shaoguang paint you an old and ugly painting, so that when I see the painting, I will think that you are still young and beautiful?"

Yurong pursed her mouth and said, "That's not good." I'm not going to let anyone else see me getting old. ”

However, once, Ding Shaoguang took Yujuan to Jingtai Primary School as a guest. As soon as Xie Guangrui saw Yujuan, he said, "How do you think you are so familiar, I always feel that I have seen you somewhere." ”

Yujuan said, "Did we meet at the bazaar?"

Xie Guangrui shook his head and said, "No. "Because he really didn't pay attention to her at the bazaar that time.

Hearing this, Yujuan said, "Then I don't know." Because she has never been to Jingtai Primary School, and she has never met Xie Guangrui.

It wasn't until everyone was having dinner together that Xie Guangrui suddenly saw the painting hanging on the wall at the head of the bed, and realized that the painting on his bedside was actually a painting of Yujuan. So, he called Ding Shaoguang outside the door and said to him, "Shaoguang, why do I think your painting is Yujuan, not Yurong?"

Ding Shaoguang was stunned and said, "Why not? Dai girls are almost the same." ”

Xie Guangrui said, "No matter how similar it is, it is not the same. Look at the smile in the painting, the energetic look, at first glance, it is Yujuan. You're grafting. ”

Ding Shaoguang said frankly, "I used Yujuan as the prototype, but my painting is indeed Yurong." You can't let Yurong know about this. ”

Xie Guangrui said, "Anyway, you are painting a Dai girl." This girl can be Yujuan or Yurong. ”

Ding Shaoguang relieved his heart and said, "That's right." (To be continued.) )