In the distance to the east on May 15, a red sun rose from the deepest part of the sky. For a time, the sun was shining, the breeze was light, and the trees on the side of the road were verdant and green. This is the best weather for camping. I went to my son's bedside and woke him up and said, "Joy, the last time I came back from Little Chahantan, I saw a piece of Suosuo forest not far away, which seemed to be very suitable for Cistanche. I'm going to dig Cistanche, are you going?"

When my son opened his eyes and looked at me, he was a little incredulous and said, "Dad, it's so hard to find Cistanche!"

"I have a strong hunch. I will definitely be able to dig it up. ”

"Let's go. Is Dad calling Brother or not?"

"You ask. ”

The son quickly got up and called. It seems that adults and children are prone to enthusiasm for what is possible.

After a while, the son finished the phone call, looked depressed, and said, "Dad, my brother is not going." ”

"Why?"

"He said that the last time he went to Little Chahan Beach he was exhausted, and he never went camping again, and his brother didn't go, how boring it was!"

"Joy, your own joy is created by yourself, and you don't do what others don't do, right?"

"Not true. ”

"Today we're going to cook in the wild, you prepare what you camp with, I prepare what you cook. ”

"Let's go cook in the wild!" To the cheers of our sons, we set off. Entering the wilderness, I took a few deep breaths of fresh air. I am glad that we can once again put aside the life with the word SARS.

In summer, only the low-lying areas of the grassland are a little green. The son's bicycle sang on the asphalt, and overhead, the birds flew by and occasionally chirped.

"Swan, swan!" When they reached the small puddle of water nine kilometers, the son shouted. Not far away, a swan was desperately flying into the distance. "It's pathetic," I said in a tone of frustration.

"Dad, it's a pleasure to see a swan, why do you say that?"

"Joy, more than twenty years ago, there were many small lakes scattered around my hometown. Every spring, flocks of swans come, in 1996 Dad saw a flock of 41 white swans at most, now you see not swans but wild geese. The wild goose does not fly alone, which means that the wild goose's partner was hunted. What does it mean that we are so far away and that it is still flying so far?"

"Swans are afraid of us. ”

"Joy, are you willing to be the kind of person who makes swans afraid?"

"I don't want to. ”

"That's why people learn, and through effective learning, people can improve their humanity and reduce their animal nature. ”

"Dad, what do you mean by bestiality? I haven't heard of it. ”

"People who destroy nature, people who deceive people, people who panic, people who don't keep their reputation, and people who don't have sincerity are all beasts, but beasts are very good at camouflage, not easy to see, only through useful learning, can they have the ability to distinguish beasts. ”

"Dad, don't talk about this, it's boring, tell a story. ”

"Good. For every story I tell you you have to sing a song. ”

"No problem. ”

My son rode side by side with me. I was in a good mood and he sang loudly. After riding a big turn, the shuttle forest appeared in front of me. Getting off the road and putting away my bike, I stood on a high place and looked out at the forest, observing which area was most likely to grow Cistanche. "Dad, why are the trees so short here?" asked the son.

"The drought period is too long, and it is very difficult for the shuttle to grow. ”

"Dad, have you found a place where Cistanche grows?"

"In my experience, there is a good chance that cistanche will grow in the sandy strip in front of me. I laughed and said,

My son walked quickly in the direction I was pointing. About 150 meters into the sandy strip, I looked for a suitable place to rest and cook, because it was ten o'clock in the morning from six o'clock in the morning to now, and breakfast had not been eaten. "Cistanche" - my son's scream scared the hunger in my stomach all of a sudden, I followed the direction of my son's running and looked, about 20 meters away there was a flowering cistanche head, too unexpected, too smooth.

"Dad, it's not hard to dig Cistanche. The son asked.

"It's not difficult. The difficulty is whether you can find the area where Cistanche grows," I said.

"If you find a place where Cistanche grows, it will be easy for a little doll to find Cistanche. The son knelt beside Cistanche and said happily while digging the sand. His words gave me a revelation: find the right direction and do things to achieve results.

"Joy, learning to find the Cistanche area, learning to grasp the details of things, these are all difficult things that require extensive and long-lasting accumulation. ”

It was a lone cistanche seedling, and we dug it up smoothly, and it was about 60 centimeters long. Then, dig a pit for cooking rice in the shade of a saxon tree, bury the pot, light a fire, and cook the meal. I said, "Joy, you eat first, and I'll go find Cistanche." ”

"Okay. ”

I went along the edge of the sandy slope to look for Cistanche, but I was not at ease, and kept looking back at my son, who was getting farther and farther away. In the right world, as the son just said, "Find the right place, digging cistanche is so difficult, but it is also easy for the little doll." "In the natural germination of thoughts, it didn't take long for me to find Cistanche. At this point, I couldn't contain my excitement and turned back, ready to show off. When I was almost there, I watched my son sit there silently across a section of the shuttle tree, and I showed him Cistanche, but he didn't respond. I approached and asked:

"Have you finished eating?"

My son suffocated his face, two lines of tears "brushed" and roared out, his emotions were intense, and he suddenly got up from the ground and threw himself at me. He hugged my waist and buried his head in his arms, and I felt him tremble. He cried and muttered, "Dad, all the rice in the pot has been poured out, the fire has been extinguished, and the water is gone...... his son's tone became more and more indistinct, and there was a strong self-reproach in his cry.

"Rejoice, don't cry, heaven will help you. I touched his head and said, "Don't cry, you're hungry! ”

The son stopped crying. I looked at the kettle, and the water in it was gone, so I took out two spare bottles of water from under my camping bag, and then quickly found an old withered shuttle, rubbed it with my hands, and a small pile of shredded firewood skins came out like paper. "Dad, you also used this method at the small dam last year, why didn't I remember it. The son said, "I'll light the fire." ”

The fire was lit, and the son smiled. "Dad, in a while, you'll dig so many cistanches!" That's when he paid attention to the cistanche I was digging.

"How's Daddy's hunch?"

"That's right. ”

"Joy, Dad wants to know how the rice in the pot was dumped?"

"Dad, I'm hungry early, after you left, the rice finally got cold, I happily went to scoop, but I didn't expect that after that, the cuff hung the spoon handle in the pot, and the pot was overturned all of a sudden. The fire was extinguished. I was so angry that I cried. The son said, "When I stopped crying, I found that I had knocked it down at some point, and there was only a little water left in the kettle, and I drank it all." ”

"Joy, now you understand why you should be careful in doing things, this is the details that determine success or failure. ”

"Understood. ”

"There's an idiom in this matter, go back and write a diary. ”

"What's the idiom?"

"Joy begets sorrow. ”

"That's right! Today, I ran into Cistanche on the road, and then poured the rice again, which was really happy and sad. ”

The meal is ready. We sat under the Suosuo tree, with a delicious meal in front of us and seven seedlings of cistanche beside us, not to mention how beautiful it was.

"Dad, do you love the cistanche roots?" the son suddenly asked during the meal.

"Loved. ”

"Great, we can still dig cistanche here next year. ”

My son's words made me understand for the first time the essence of living and working in peace and contentment from the origin of human nature, a small child, when he has a full stomach, he can think of caring for Cistanche roots, let alone adults.

After eating, I rested for a while. I said, "Joy, in which direction do you say you can still find Cistanche?"

He didn't say anything, he followed my example, walked to a high place next to him, watched, and said, "Daddy, go over there." We walked together in the direction he was pointing.

"Cistanche" didn't go far before his son found two seedlings, "Dad, look at how good the direction I chose! ”

The son ran away, and it seemed that it had become his duty to find Cistanche. From a sporting point of view, cistanche digging is actually a form of orienteering. There's a kind of creativity here. Every time his son finds a seedling of Cistanche, it is like winning a competition, and it will continue to give him confidence and make him believe in himself.

"Daddy, come on! Daddy, come on!"

The strong shouts of my son lifted my spirit. I ran over and saw him pouting his ass and shaving Cistanche. I couldn't believe my eyes. The closer you get to him, the more your smile becomes. I lost my voice and said, "Joy, so much, what a blessing!" ”

"I feel like there's cistanche here. ”

"How many seedlings?"

"Jiumiao. Dad, you dig it, I'll look for it again. ”

I was so excited that I hurriedly squatted down and dug in. After a while, the son returned. This time he didn't find Cistanche again. After digging the cistanche pit, it was not too early, so we walked to the side of the road to put our bicycles. "Dad, there's a sign over there, let's go over and see what it says. The son said.

"Good. I said.

"Australian nature reserves," our son said when we got to the sign, "Australia is the country of Oceania. Next to it is a country called New Zealand, where the Maori people used to eat human flesh for a long time. ”

Listening to my son's words, my heart jumped violently.

"It seems that education is a process of life permeating. I have been telling my son about the stories in the Versailles collection for some time, why does he have such a clear memory? Because in the process of telling the story, I often let him hold the globe, and when the story is finished, he also knows a little bit about the distribution of the earth's continents and the simple common sense of life. I thought for a moment and said calmly, "Joy, can you tell Dad about the earth?"

The son quickly talked about the continents and important straits, and when it came to the Panama Canal, he emphasized it in particular, saying: "It is a canal made of the bones of Chinese laborers." ”

"Do you want to know the specific situation of the Australian family on the sign? Do you want to know why this country came to our country to control desertification?"

"Yes. ”

"Joy, China's economic development is now at the cost of destroying natural resources, and we have seen its consequences, and it is becoming more and more difficult to see swans. Is it true that economic development comes at the expense of nature? The world's answer is no. In 1985, when your father was twenty years old, Japan was born through a new type of industrialization, and they proudly declared to the world that they did not have an inch of bare wasteland. In 1995, when your dad was 30 years old, Australia was rich, but they gave the world another way to think. Australia is very similar to the natural situation of our Alxa League, with little rain in most parts of the country, with an average annual precipitation of 470 mm, making it the least rainied continent in the world. Before the Second World War, Australia was not wealthy due to sheep farming, and was known as a country that rode on the back of sheep. The Second World War led to the rapid development of Australia's mining, machinery, chemical industry, munitions industry, etc., and with the discovery and exploitation of a large number of mineral resources, the country quickly became rich. At this point they realized that mineral deposits were finite and non-renewable. The resource economy is like cutting the belly, and in the end it will only kill you with a full stomach. To this end, they adjusted the national development strategy and relied on the resource economy to continuously improve the ecology of the grasslands and deserts. Today, Australia's ecological strategy has paid off, the country's economy is less dependent on resources, and grassland products have become a staple of the country's economy. After Australia's ecological transformation has paid off, their desire is to help others clean up the desert. So the Australians came to China to help us clean up the desert. Rejoice, the land is barren and people will lose interest in the land. This result was clearly seen by the second team on the way. What happens to a country if people lose interest in the land?"

Since we were running out of water, we had to go home. Once on the highway, I sorted out my things, "Joy, we only have half a bottle of water left, and we are going to be tested on the way home." I smiled wryly at him.

"I know, I accidentally gave it all the water," said my son, "it's okay, I can ride back." ”

He first got on his bike and ran in the direction of his home.

At this time, it was past four o'clock, the sun was shining a new and dazzling light on everything around, and the heat evaporating from the asphalt road was constantly drifting upward. Everything on the earth lay motionless because of the horror of summer, and lost its spirit. Occasionally, a tornado frolicked in, and after the "wind drifted", the body was cold, and the heart was refreshed, and there was a feeling of special happiness.

"Dad, you can take a sip too," said his son, who walked to the second team to rest.

"Dad is an adult and has the ability to tolerate thirst, so I'd better leave this little water for you to drink. “

"Dad, go," the son said with a sip of water.

The son only drank a small sip of water, which shows that he is blaming himself for accidentally throwing the water out, and this psychology is also the beginning of the right path in life.

"Dad," my son got on his bicycle and walked forward for more than thirty meters, stopped, turned back to me and shouted, "Why don't you go?"

At this time, I noticed a herd of camels next to a dilapidated house about 200 meters away from us, and I felt hope for water in my heart. I said, "Rejoice, do you see the camel?"

"See. ”

"Camels are most likely to gather around houses in the wilderness. ”

"What is possible?"

"There's water there. ”

"Dad, it's dry here, there's no water. ”

"Joy, you wait here to conserve your strength, I'll go over and scout it, what if there is!"

I walked quickly towards the goal with a kind of luck. Turning the earthen house, his slightly tired face suddenly turned red, and an irrepressible pride rose in his heart. I stood happily on a high place, raised my head, and shouted to my son, "King Xile, bring the kettle, there is water!"

In the desert, what could be more penetrating than the words "there is water". Like a madman, the son ran towards this side with a kettle.

"Dad, where is the water?"

"Look, you see, the iron pipe next to the camel is called the well. You've never seen a well like this. Press the upper bar a few times and the water will come up. ”

The son ran over happily. Clang, clang, and say, "Daddy, nothing?"

My son's actions made my brain feel that a child's understanding of life is just an imagination, and the task of education is to combine this imagination with reality. I walked over and said, "Joy, there's a bottle of water hidden by the sink of the well, what is it for?"

"I don't know. ”

"It's the job," I said, opening the cap and pouring the water into the well. Then say, "Joy, this time you press." I helped him to work harder, and after more than a dozen times, the water flowed out.

"Dad, that's great. The son said excitedly.

The camels crowded in while we were watering, and they drank up the little water in the pool in a few times, and my son was now having fun, and he kept asking me to press the water with him. At this time, the sound of the son's pressed water and the sound of the camel drinking water are intertwined, and he enjoys the happiness that nature has bestowed upon him with a smiling face.

"Daddy, let's go," he said, knocking over the bottle of water next to the well, "take this bottle back and don't let it pollute the environment." ”

"Joy, do you know what you have in your hand?"

"It's a plastic bottle. ”

"Nope. It is the hope of grassland life. ”

"Why?"

"We didn't fill the well with water just now, can the well press out water?"

"No, you can't. I see, you have to pour some water into the well to press it out. Why is that?"

"It's middle school physics. Irrigation is to seal the air and press out the water, which is related to air pressure, and you will learn this knowledge when you grow up and go to middle school. I said, "The grassland is so big and so dry, if a herdsman comes from far away to get water and finds that the bottle is gone, or there is no water in the bottle, can he get water?"

"No, you can't. ”

"What will happen to him?"

"Very upset. ”

"It's a small thing to be unhappy, but the point is that your life is in danger. ”

"Dad, you're right. The son wanted to fill a bottle of water from the pool, "Dad, what should I do if the camel drinks so fast and there is no water in the pool?" said the son.

My son's appearance was so funny that I couldn't stop laughing, and I said, "There must be a way." ”

"We just poured the water from the kettle into it. The son thought for a moment and said

"That's smart. I said.

The son poured the water from the kettle into it, and then I pressed the water, and he was responsible for filling the water, and finally he said proudly: "Dad, this time the bottle is safe, and the people who come here to get water will not be in danger!" Looking at the children's expressions, I realized that there is really an indescribable ingenuity in educating people with concrete things.

Thirteen kilometers from home, we rode up a high slope. I felt sweat on my forehead. Look, he's struggling to pedal, and the sun in the west is still so hot. I said with concern:

"Joy, you're too tired to do it! ”

We stopped the car, built a pergola, sat down and drank water, and no one spoke. At this time, it can be seen that his son is really tired, and he has not run away in the sand nest when digging Cistanche today, and his physical exertion is very large, and if there is any more consumption, he will be afraid of riding a long distance. I said, "Joy, tie this rope to your handlebars, and Daddy will drag you along." ”

"Dad, I'm okay. I still have some strength. ”

"With that little strength, you just have to hold the handlebars. ”

I tied the rope to his handlebars.

"Dad, it's tiring to drag and ride like this. The son whispered.

"It's okay, Daddy's so strong. ”

In this way, I dragged my son all the way home, and the father-son relationship was deep.