Hangzhou Bay is in the shape of a trumpet, connecting the Qiantang River on the top and the East China Sea on the bottom. Day after day, year after year, a fertile tidal flat is formed on the north and south shores, and is especially fertile on the south coast, producing many kinds of seafood, including crabs, peeing shrimp, jumping fish, clams, and most notably mud snails. The people on the south coast live mainly by drying sea salt and catching seafood, and although they are not wealthy, they can still make a living.

At noon on this day, as soon as the sea water receded, a large number of men, women and children carrying bamboo baskets and trouser legs, barefoot, stepped on this fertile tidal flat to capture the gifts given by God.

At noon in summer, there is no wind at all on the sea, and the sun is very scorching, tormenting the people who go to the sea mercilessly on the endless and unobstructed water. The sea water could not stop its rage, and it evaporated silently, and people were like entering a huge steamer, and it was a little difficult to breathe.

Not far away, a boy of about sixteen or seventeen years old was bending over to pick up mud snails. I saw that he moved quickly, with three or two mud snails in one hand, he swung in the sea water with his hand, and put his backhand into the bamboo basket tied to his waist. Beneath the straw hat swayed a slightly darkened face, a masterpiece of nature that has been exposed to the wind and sun for many years. The forehead was already covered with fine beads of sweat, which were slowly pulled together by gravity, gradually converging into the size of a soybean, and smashing along the chin to the surface of the water in an orderly manner.

There are a lot of mud snails in the bamboo basket, and when you look at the past, the dense mud snails carry a thin black shell on their backs, stretching out the mud and yellow juncture to bring a trace of comfort and pleasure to the young man. He slowly lifted up, supported his waist with his hands, and made a few wrapping motions. The waist is not thick, but it looks strong and strong, and it is quite tall, looking at it from a distance, it looks like a bamboo pole, and in an instant this bamboo pole bends down at 90 degrees.

The sun gradually moved westward, and oblique figures formed on the water. There seemed to be the sound of rushing water in the distance, and I don't know who shouted to go ashore, so the sound of going ashore came and went in the crowd, and everyone waded through the water to the south of the sea pond. The boy climbed up the sea pond with a heavy bamboo basket on his back, found a pair of shoes woven of straw rope in a stone pile marked by himself, put them on his feet soaked in the sea, and walked briskly towards his house.

His home is four half-grass houses, the east one is where his parents live, and the next one has a table of eight immortals and four benches, which is usually a place to eat and entertain. The one in the past was his and his brother's bedroom, and the westernmost one contained all kinds of tools for going to the ground and the sea. The kitchen is half to the south of where my parents live. The house is surrounded by a bamboo fence with some vegetables and a flock of chickens and ducks.

The boy pushed open the bamboo door directly south of the fence wall and saw two people sitting in the main hall. "Brother!" the boy shouted happily, put down the bamboo basket and ran over quickly. "Hey, Ah Feng. One of them quickly stood up and came out, ignoring the boy's mud and picking him up.

It turned out that the young man's surname was Li Mingfeng, he was seventeen years old this year, and his brother's name was Li Gang. Their parents, who couldn't read a few words, wanted the brothers to be strong and promising, so they asked an old man in the village who had been to Shanghai to do business to take the name. Li Gang's eldest brother is two years old, slightly shorter, stronger and whiter-skinned. The similarity between the brothers is that they both have big eyes, but the elder brother has thicker eyebrows, and the younger brother has two sword eyebrows.

Li Gang studied at Hangzhou Normal Middle School, and due to the inconvenient transportation, he rarely went home. This summer vacation, I took my classmate Lin Lu home together. Because his family was not wealthy, Li Feng dropped out of school after a few years of study, and went to the sea with his parents to farm for his brother to study. Li Gang always felt sorry for Li Feng for this, and usually went home to teach Li Feng to study and talk about the situation outside to make up for his guilt.

"Come, let me introduce you to my classmate Lin Lu. Li Gang pulled Li Feng with one hand and pointed to Lin Lu with the other, and Lin Lu also walked out, patted Li Feng on the shoulder cordially and said, "Hello." "Hello, Brother Linlu. Li Feng said hello shyly, leaned slightly behind Li Gang, and a red cloud appeared on his dark face, which flashed purple against the background of the setting sun. "Look, like a big girl. Li Gang said with a hearty smile.

Lin Lu said kindly: "It's okay, once born, second ripe." Li Feng, when your brother first arrived at school, he was the same as you, but now it is different. Manly, you need to go outside and practice a little more. Li Feng responded a few times, hurriedly went to the vegetable field to pull vegetables, picked a pumpkin and a gourd, and went into the kitchen to prepare dinner. Li Gang looked at Li Feng's shy appearance, couldn't help but smile and shook his head, turned around to catch the chicken, and the chickens flew and ducks flew for a while.

When dinner was ready, the two brothers carried the table of eight immortals outside, and four benches were set up, on which were fried greens, pumpkin with chili peppers, fried gourds, and a bowl of stewed chicken. Li Feng's parents also came back from the field, and after greeting Lin Lu, they washed their faces and started eating.

Li Feng and the other three sat on one side, and Li Feng's parents sat on a bench together. Countrymen are more honest. He is not good at talking when there are outside guests. just said vigorously: "It's hard work on the road, there's nothing to entertain, it's really embarrassing." ”

Lin Lu was embarrassed, and hurriedly said: "Uncle, aunt, don't be polite to me, Li Gang and I have a school, a class, and a dormitory, and we will be like brothers and sisters in a few years, and I will treat this as my own home." After that, give Li Feng's parents a chicken leg and Li Feng a chicken wing, and then he and Li Gang each share a chicken claw and chew it.

The sun had sunk into the horizon, and the afterglow had dyed the clouds red in the west, and after dinner, Li Feng, Li Gang, and Lin Lu went to swim in the pond not far from home. At this time, Li Feng was already relatively open, and just after piercing a fierce man, he swam to Lin Lu's side. Ask how the school is and how his brother is doing. Lin Lu was also very enthusiastic about him, answered them one by one, and then asked casually: "Li Feng, you are seventeen years old this year, you should also have your own ideas, do you plan to farm at home, go to the sea, or do you plan to go outside to expand your horizons?"

Li Feng was taken aback, this sentence of Wen Zou Zou was like a thunderbolt on a sunny day that blew him up. He also often thinks about going outside to study and explore like his brother. But when this question suddenly came to mind, I didn't know how to answer it. His eyes were a little glazed, his lips trembled slightly to look at Lin Lu's friendly gaze, and he suddenly went ashore, put his clothes on his wet body, and lowered his head and walked home.

Lin Lu was overwhelmed by Li Feng, and wanted to smile relaxed on his face, but it was more ugly than crying. "Am I asking the wrong question? I feel that Li Feng is enthusiastic about people, can endure hardships and is willing to work, and should be able to adapt to the outside environment, and I also want to be good for him. Li Gang sighed, patted Lin Lu on the shoulder and said, "Don't blame yourself, my younger brother is smart and strong, and he has been wronged by the family farming association for a long time, but you have also seen the situation in my family." When I graduate and get a job, find a way to get him out. ”

A few clouds drifted through the sky, draping the moon with a few strands of veil. The moonlight was not bright, and through the window of the grass house, it faintly shrouded Li Feng. After the second watch, he had not yet fallen asleep, and the fatigue brought by the day's work was pressed down by a question from Lin Lu. This sentence wandered in his mind like an elf, and suddenly he ran up and down in his heart. He didn't want to see the outside world, and in his usual conversations with his brother, he learned about some of the conditions outside, which was full of temptation for him, but the reality of the family was like a mountain blocking this desire.

The parents are not old, but the years of hard work have caused premature aging. The harvest is okay, but the exchange money is not much, and in addition to my brother's expenses for a year, I can only maintain a life of coarse tea and light rice. If you also go out to study, there is one less laborer in the family, and there is an additional expense outside, so that the pressure on this family is unimaginable. Li Feng is a sensible teenager, he loves his parents, his brother, and his family. I don't want my parents to worry, I don't want my brother to be distracted. Slowly, he suppressed the strong desire, but tears flowed from his eyes.

The next day, Lin Lu quit because he was going to a nearby relative's house, and the brothers took him to the main road. Lin Lu put his hands on Li Feng's shoulders and said solemnly: "Don't worry, when there is a proper opportunity, I will help you realize your dreams." Don't care about temporary gains and losses, being able to bend and stretch is the true character of a husband. Li Feng's throat tightened, and he swallowed the next sentence in his stomach.