The Ladder of Love (Part II) Zhang Baotong 2017.10.10

After eating, Aunt Xu cleaned up the dishes and chopsticks and went into the kitchen, while Uncle Liu sat at the small table and drank tea with me. I was eager to hear from him about their love and experiences. I said, "Uncle Liu, the love between you and Aunt Xu is really great." Uncle Liu said, "It's not great, it's just that the object of the conversation must be based on conscience, not nonsense, especially for two people, to be united, to be affectionate, and not to make opinions." These words are so simple and simple, but this view of love from the old man's mouth makes me feel very sincere, but no, we modern people almost forget these simple truths.

After we talked, Aunt Xu had finished washing and put a small basket on the small table. The basket contained some needlework, thread and rags. The old man asked his wife to take off the apron on her body and began to sew and mend the apron for her wife. Somehow there was a tear in the apron, probably the cloth was already a little bad and not strong.

I said to Uncle Liu, "Today, I listened to Aunt Xu tell the story of her before she got married, and now I want to hear how you fell in love with Aunt Xu." Hearing this, the uncle and the aunt glanced at each other. The aunt seemed to be a little shy, but Uncle Liu behaved very generously. "Then I'll start at the beginning," he said. ”

Uncle Liu said, "According to the seniority, I should call Xiu'er Xiugu, she is ten years older than me." The first time I met Xiu Gu was when I was six years old. I remember that day someone in the village married a daughter-in-law, and it was so lively. Our Changle Village is not big, there are only twenty or thirty households, who quarrels, who scolds, almost half of the village can hear. Therefore, on the day of Xiugu's wedding, the sound of firecrackers and gongs and trumpets alarmed the whole village. Everyone crowded into the narrow aisle of the village early that morning, waiting to see the new daughter-in-law.

My front teeth were accidentally dropped a few days ago, and the old people in the village said that the doll's front teeth were lost, and as long as the bride touched them with her hands, the teeth would grow out quickly. My aunt took me out, and I also made an appointment with my neighbor, Aunt Hou, to stand in the aisle and wait, so that the bride could touch my teeth.

The loss of front teeth is not good-looking, and it will be windy when speaking. Many people laughed at me about it, so for many days I didn't dare to open my mouth and speak in front of others. I hope that my teeth can be touched by the bride and then grow back quickly, so that no one else can laugh at me.

Almost noon, the pick-up team came back, a big sedan chair staggered into the village, at this time, the sound of firecrackers, suona bursts, how many miles and miles of people around the people ran over, crowded in the village and the aisle to see the lively. When the big sedan chair came to the middle of the village aisle, the aunt and Aunt Hou blocked the sedan chair together and beckoned to the groom. The groom knew what the aunt meant, so he nodded to the aunt. So, the aunt lifted the curtain in front of the sedan chair and said to the bride inside, 'Girl, my baby's front teeth have fallen out, you can help him touch it.' The bride, who probably knew how to do this, lifted the hijab that was placed in front of her with her hand, showed her handsome face, looked at me, put her hand in my mouth, and touched my teeth with her hand.

I looked into the sedan chair, and the bride was so beautiful, her face was beautiful, she was dressed beautifully, and she was beautiful up and down, just like a fairy. I was stunned, I had never seen such a beautiful bride. Being touched by such a beautiful bride, I was a little dizzy, I couldn't help but drool, and when I sucked nervously, I bit her finger. The bride was a little upset, so she hurriedly pulled her finger out of my mouth, looked at me with shame and disgust, and covered her face with a hijab.

I was picked up from the sedan chair by my aunt. Leaving the sedan chair, I looked at the sedan chair as if I had no soul, but I kept thinking in my mind that the brother of the Wu family was really blessed to marry such a beautiful bride.

When the daughter-in-law and aunt in the village saw that I had been touched by the bride, they joked at me and said, 'Baby, do you want to marry a daughter-in-law when you grow up?' Then someone asked me, 'What kind of daughter-in-law do you want?' and I said, 'Just marry a daughter-in-law like Xiugu.' Listen, and there was a burst of laughter. My aunt looked at me and said, 'You have a lot of ability?'

Soon after, my front teeth really came out. This made me like the beautiful little daughter-in-law of the Wu family even more. The new daughter-in-law is very diligent and capable, and often shows up washing clothes and vegetables by the pond and river. Therefore, every time I meet Xiugu, I will stand aside and look at it stupidly for a while. Sometimes, when I saw her on the road, I felt that she was so noble, for fear that I would look at her with my eyes and make her dirty, so I didn't dare to look at her with my eyes, and I stood on the side of the road and waited for her to pass before I dared to raise my eyes to look at her.

Actually, there are some things that even I can't say, a six-year-old boy still can't make sense, except for playing all day, he shouldn't have any affection for women. However, I don't know if I was evil or obsessed, but I like Aunt Xiu, I like to look at her, and I think she looks good and feels kind when she looks at everything. ”

Recalling the past, 69-year-old Uncle Liu said this, and glanced at Aunt Xu affectionately, with a faint smile on the corner of his mouth. Aunt Xu was sewing an apron with her head down, but it could be seen that she still liked to listen to Uncle Liu talk about her past.

Then, Uncle Liu said, "When I was eight years old, I went to the school for two years, but I didn't like to read, so I came out of the school and apprenticed a carpenter in the village. After five years as an apprentice, he graduated at the age of 15 and began to look for work on his own. When I was 16 years old, the 10th year of my marriage, my husband died of acute meningitis. I was asked by her mother-in-law to make a coffin, and I had to make it in two days. I went into her compound and started working in the yard.

Even though our house was very close to hers, I almost never went into her house. Because someone had just died, the Wu family was sad and chaotic, crying constantly, and people kept coming. I buried my head in the compound to make the coffin. But I am very worried and worried about Aunt Xiu, who is now a dead man, a widow, and has 4 children, the oldest is 9 years old, and the youngest is only 1 year old. What should she do with the rest of her life?

Xiu Gu stayed in their house all day, crying for the dead man, and every time I heard her cry, my heart felt like I had been poked with a knife, and it was very painful. The next day, I saw Xiu Gu coming out of the hall, but her eyes were red and swollen, and her sockets were full of tears. She didn't eat or sleep for two days, she couldn't do it anymore, and she was supported when she walked. I really want to persuade her that when people die, it is useless to cry and hurt again, and it is better to protect your body. But I didn't dare, and I couldn't, because I was a sixteen-year-old carpenter, not an adult.

Originally, I wanted to do the work more slowly, so that I could stay at Aunt Xiu's house for one more day, but because people were urging me very tightly, I could only work overtime day and night. So, the coffin was quickly ready, dyed with black paint, and the work was finished. I didn't wait for Xiugu's mother-in-law to settle the bill for me, I left, because I saw that their family was poor and didn't want their money.