After chatting with Da Niu during the day, my mood was a little heavy, and after dinner, I went to the Kapok tree at the Hanjiang Wharf alone, and everything that I was here with Xue'er seemed to come to mind-

Since the first date with Cher under the kapok tree on the riverside pier, my friendship with Cher has gradually deepened.

On the way to school, I insisted on going to the big banyan tree next to the Half Moon Pond early to wait for Xue'er, mainly because I wanted to see Xue'er more time, and even hoped to come to school with Xue'er every morning, or find a chance to chat a few words, and sometimes stuff a note for her, so she was almost used to it. Of course, when she arrives, I will keep a certain distance from Cher and follow her to school.

The notes I give to Xue'er are usually full of notes about my concern and affection for Xue'er, and sometimes I also write love poems, but Xue'er's poems are better than mine, and she has already published poems in the supplement of Haiyang Daily when she was in the second year of junior high school. We occasionally write some words of encouragement to each other, Xue'er is also very concerned about me, sometimes she will ask me about the situation of the family, she often encourages me to say that people are not poor, must draw well, often tell me to go to the "Mustard Seed Garden Painting", said that her father was to learn this book in his early years, lay a good foundation, she said that if I draw well, I will definitely have an excellent picture.

By the end of the semester, Cher and I had established a deeper relationship than ordinary classmates.

When I was about to graduate from junior high school, one day, my father, Mu Na, said to me with a little inferiority:

"Hanzhe, after graduating from junior high school, you will come out and follow the adults to do farm work in the production team. Learning farm work can also help the family and earn some work, and you can also learn to grow vegetables on your own land, so you won't go hungry. You can't continue to read, your family is so poor that you can barely make do with three meals, and your mother is not in good health, so she has no spare money for you to study. ”

My father's voice was almost crying, in a pleading tone, and he didn't dare to look at me after he said it. Because he knows that I am an obedient child.

The deep wrinkles on my father's face are engraved with the imprint of the years and the vicissitudes of life. I can't bear to go against his will, and I also know that in the past few years, my serious illness has taken out this home. The valuable things at home have long been sold, and even the cedar beams on the roof are also dismantled for money to treat the sick, and later, I really can't get the money, and the old Chinese medicine doctor has not charged me for half a year. I looked at my father, just with tears in my eyes, and nodded against my will.

On the day I took the graduation student photo, I secretly stuffed a letter to Xue'er and asked her to meet her under the kapok tree on the dock in the evening.

My memory is very clear—

That night, the moon was white and the wind was clear, a round of bright moon illuminated the blue river water more water-blue, and the slight gusts of breeze blew on the face, making people breathe fresh air, and the night seemed very poetic. A few men swimming at night in the distance were swimming naked and exuding wildness, which was the habit of country men, and they generally ignored a group of mothers-in-law on the shore, while some housewives and clans along the steps of the river were washing clothes with kerosene boat lamps. The men's naked swimming and the women's laundry are unrelated, and this is a unique scenery full of rural atmosphere.

Cher sat beside me, and I looked at her, and she held her cheek in one hand, looked at the bright moon and said:

"The lights and shadows under the moonlight, like the stars in the sky, are scattered on the river, and the lights of the fishermen are also coming to join in the excitement, and the night is really beautiful tonight. ”

Xue'er said this, I also think that the reflection of the surrounding boats and the lights of the boats are really like the stars in the sky reflected in the water. Men swimming naked in the river, women washing clothes on the stone steps of the pier, and boatmen taking a nap, these scenes are combined to create a very picturesque feeling, just like a natural ink painting. The ripples created by the women washing their clothes twisted the reflection of the river into irregular, intermittent curves. The women in the countryside chatted and whispered while washing clothes: whose family gave birth to a baby again, the production captain went to the widow's house last night, or the comrades of the militia battalion took a fancy to the girl in the village, etc.; whose sow gave birth to more than a dozen, and last night the black dog of the old Li family mated with the white dog of the ninth uncle's family next door; there are also some trivial matters of the parents' short, firewood, rice, oil and salt; from time to time mixed with indecent scolding and a little ** 's laughter, but it is also a part of the life of the country girl, and this scene is indeed another life interest.

The lights of the boathouses in the distance also dot the tranquil river.

I secretly looked at Xue'er under the moon, Xue'er's complexion under the moonlight was snow-white and snow-white, she was born beautiful, and she really had a sense of condensation, which made people feel cherished. I admired from the bottom of my heart that I was staring at Cher in a daze at night! I felt a little embarrassed when I saw her bow her head shyly.

Xue'er talked to me about some of the novels she was reading recently, reading "Dream of Red Mansions", "Red and Black", "Siege of the City" and Mr. Qin Mu's "Morning Flowers and Sunset", as well as Jia Pingwa's "Xiaoyue Qianben" novel collection, and also read Lu Wenfu's "Gourmet", Zhang Xianliang's "Half of a Man is a Woman" and so on, Xue'er said that she admired Jia Pingwa's novels the most, Jia Pingwa used very simple language to make people feel very comfortable reading, "The Family of the Chicken Nest" wrote the countryside with a sense of picture, and the story was also very good.

Xue'er also mentioned that her father was busy preparing for the commune's garment factory during this time, and the last time he went to Shenzhen, he was to contact about it. The commune leaders knew that her father could paint, so she asked her father to become a factory director and designer. In addition, because her uncle set up a clothing and computer embroidery processing company in Shangbu Shaputou Village, Shenzhen, the purpose of the commune leaders seems to be to use Xue'er's uncle's relationship to set up a garment factory in Sanjiang Commune to increase the income of some local families, after all, it has been reformed and opened up.

That night, after Xue'er finished talking about this, I felt a little heavy and told Xue'er directly:

"Cher, I'm not going to take the high school exam anymore, and I'm going to stop studying. ”

Cher was surprised and asked, "Why?"

Xue'er looked dazed at night, her face suddenly became very ugly, and her eyes seemed to be moist. She looked at the moon in the sky and wondered, perhaps asking in her heart: Why do you say that if you don't read, you won't read? Could it be that you don't have the goal of going to college? But Hanzhe is not such an unmotivated person, perhaps, something has happened in the family?

I didn't answer, my heart was a little heavy. Cher then asked again:

"Are you sure?"

I didn't dare to look up at Cher, as if I was sorry for her for not reading, and I said in a dull tone:

"Poor, my family is poor, my family can't provide for me to continue studying, I have to come out to do farm work to earn work and help my family. I strive to continue painting while making money, and when I meet a teacher, I can also learn from him, and then master a skill, which can help my family and do what I like. But when I think of my hand holding a pen, I have to hold a three-foot-six (hoe, it is said that the handle of the hoe is three feet six inches), and my heart is not tasteful. Shall I live my life plowing the fields?"

After I finished speaking, I smiled wryly, and I didn't dare to face Xue'er, and I felt very uncomfortable. I thought to myself: Will Cher look down on me? If I can't continue to study.

"You are still studying, it's a pity not to study, your grades have been very good, after hard work, it is entirely possible to be admitted to university, this is now the only way to change your life and family, jump over the agricultural (dragon) gate and become a dragon! Cher looked at me and said earnestly.

"Xue'er, the family has already decided, saying that there is no way for me to continue reading, and I have also decided, if I don't read, I won't study. But what I feel most uncomfortable in my heart is that I won't have the opportunity to meet you every day in the future. ”

"And where do you go after graduation?"

"I haven't thought about it yet, maybe I can find a job first, or go to the production team, do farm work with the adults, and then read some other books while working, which is equivalent to studying, but I didn't go to high school and college, and I went to the "agricultural university" in our village, but I will study on my own, as long as I have perseverance, I think I will also have a bright future! Life is not only one way to go to college. ”

"But at this stage, it is relatively easy to study, and after graduating from college or technical secondary school, you can be assigned a job, which is still a big change for a person or family. ”

Cher looked at me, her voice visibly anxious. It's like talking to the head teacher, Ms. Yufang, when she talks to me. She continued, with an accent:

"You can discuss it with your family again, or let Teacher Yufang have an interview with your parents' family, how about it? You don't want to see me every day?"

Cher's words are what I am most worried about, I said:

"Xue'er, don't get me wrong, I won't be able to see you every day in the future, I don't know what I'm going to do? But my family situation really can't help me continue to study, maybe it's fate! Teacher Yufang also talked to my parents, saying that it was a pity for me to give up, and also told my parents that if I work hard, I will definitely be an excellent child in the future!"

"Yes! Teacher Yufang is right; I feel that you have a certain spirit, and I can't say it now, but among our classmates, I still think that you are a little special, as if you are born with a stubborn spirit! People are very talented, and eager to learn, you give me a very good impression, I am also optimistic about you, and even a little admire you, I really hope that you will not give up, and you will be excellent in the future." ”

Cher combed her hair, and continued mischievously:

"Aren't you afraid that I went to high school and chased after other boys? I also told you last time that Ah Gou'er has also written many letters to me, and he still said how poor your family is. His family is rich and powerful, and his father is the secretary of the brigade, right?"

After Xue'er said this, I felt that she blushed in the moonlight, maybe the moonlight passed through the kapok, folded out and shone on her face, forming a natural flush. It's a beautiful light. She was a little shy, giggling with her hands in the shape of a face, and she didn't forget to peek at me. She was also watching my reaction. Of course I'm a little nervous, but the matter of Ah Gou, last time Xue'er mentioned it, Da Niu also said it inadvertently, and Xue'er never paid attention to Ah Gou'er, I knew it, so I never paid attention to it. I say:

"Dog, I still look down on him, you look down on him even more! ”

When I say this, the atmosphere is not as depressed and dreary as it was just now.

When we used to date, Cher often encouraged me, gave me confidence, always reminded me not to give up my favorite painting, and gave me her father's "Mustard Seed Garden Painting". When I was with Cher, I always felt full of strength, and she said that as long as I persisted, I might be able to draw a piece of the world. It also made me not ashamed of myself because of the difference between the two families, and I am very glad that I met Xue'er in my life!

"Cher, what should I do? Do you still pay attention to me?" I emotionally and involuntarily took Cher's hand, and both Xue'er and my bodies shook at the same time. Because the first time we held hands, she seemed to pull her hands away, but she didn't want to pull them away. I held her hand tightly, as if I would never be able to hold Cher's hand again. It's like holding your beloved treasure in your hand, and if you let go, the treasure will be lost and you will never find it again. Both of our hands were hot, our palms were sweating, and I felt a warm current enter my body, which was both comfortable and a little awkward, because it was the first time I had grabbed Cher's hand so boldly.

"Have you really decided, don't regret it?" Cher withdrew her warm, soft and tender hand.

"Yes. ”

"In that case, is there a chance that I don't know if it's a chance? You're appropriate, but try your luck. ”

When I heard this, my eyes lit up, and I hurriedly said:

"Xue'er, you want to help me, didn't you say you would do your best to help me before?"

"I heard from my dad that he seems to lack an assistant in his design studio, or you can draw a few small pictures, and I'll show them to my dad, and then see if you have a chance. ”

"Can I? Cher, if yes, then you Xue'er is my Lady of Heaven! I can still see you and be with you for two days on the weekend when you come back from school. If your dad can let me follow him, our whole family will be grateful to you! ”

"Just try, not necessarily. ”

"Try it, Cher, thank you!"

I suddenly felt that the night scene was so beautiful, the women who were washing clothes and the men who were swimming naked had all left at some point, and the river seemed quieter. The boatman also seemed to have deliberately escaped into the small cabin, eavesdropping on the whispering between me and Xue'er, and Sister Chang'e also deliberately turned on the lights of the Guanghan Palace tonight, so that the moonlight would illuminate the river scenery into flowing brocade scales, sparkling and beautiful;

Suddenly, a sentence popped out of my mouth:

"Cher, you're so beautiful! ”

"Yes, the night is beautiful. Cher smiled.