Seventy-one, the broken green train

Shandan was fascinated by this vibrant scene.

Red tomatoes, green cucumbers, purple eggplants, green beans crawling all over the pergola, and a sea of pumpkins and yellow flowers, this qiē is so orderly and vigorous.

In such an environment, sit down and look at the green peach of melons, watch bees and butterflies flying, watch a flower slowly bud, slowly open, slowly wither, and then a small melon fruit will be born, watching them grow up slowly, what kind of joy should the harvest in my heart be? What kind of comfortable life should this be?

She looked at this small farm yard with curious eyes, it was really orderly and full of life.

Gu Haiping was very relieved to see Shandan's joy, and this time he took the liberty to bring her back and did not disappoint her.

Back in the house, Shandan saw that Gu's mother was changing into a shabby half-sleeved shirt, and with the help of her daughter, she was changing into a new dress.

Once again, Shandan felt the abruptness of his visit.

They came to the door without any preparation. Suddenly there was a kind of displeasure or regret in my heart.

People say that the transaction that is delivered to the door is not called a transaction.

Although he didn't volunteer to come, after all, he was still not reserved enough, would the other party's parents look down on him?

Gu Haiping repeatedly assured Shandan that his parents would not look down on her, but Shandan still felt that this trip might have some impact on their future relationship.

After all, how many years of folklore in the countryside is like this, although they have studied and been admitted to university. But how did they change this ingrained folk custom in the countryside?

The countryman's requirements for etiquette are not too strict, but the eldest girl will lose her identity if she takes the initiative to come to the door. This is clear in the grasslands of Shandan.

Now because he loves Gu Haiping deeply, he obeys his wishes. She only hopes that Gu Haiping's parents can understand their feelings and not despise her behavior. I also hope that Gu Haiping's parents are as loving as his own parents.

Next is the autumn harvest season, Gu Haiping's family only has four or five acres of land, all of which are in front of and behind the courtyard, and the farthest is only two miles of land.

It was the 80s, when the farming was turned into non-farming, Gu Haiping's father transferred several children to urban hukou, and only kept Gu Haiping's mother's rural hukou, and only four or five acres of land were planted by one person.

After the agricultural reform, all the children of Mr. Gu's family were all urban hukou, and they once envied a group of people in the village. But the children have no land, but they also have no jobs, and they have become landless farmers and citizens without jobs.

So life has been going on tightly. It all depends on Mr. Gu's meager salary to get by. Although Gu Haiping once helped his family earn money for a few years, it was a drop in the bucket and could not solve practical problems.

Teacher Gu's crops are all harvested by hand, with one acre of wheat, one acre of potatoes, and two acres of wheat and peas.

It is not easy to reclaim the home by hand.

The family goes out early and returns late every day, and they are tired and have back pain.

Shandan can also help a little, she could have helped a lot, but in order not to be looked down upon, she still selectively helped, for fear of being thought that she was too upside down, so she was still more careful. This is simply a torture for Shandan, who has always been straightforward and capable.

Gu Haiping participates in the autumn harvest every day, digging potatoes, bagging them, pushing them home with a wheelbarrow, and then putting them in the potato cellar.

At the end of the day, it was really unbearable for Gu Haiping, who had not done any work in the farmland. His whole body was sore, and Shandan would avoid his family to help him massage it.

Shandan helps cook at home every day, and he doesn't help with everything, only saying that he can't do it. Occasionally going to the field to help out is also a little light.

Fortunately, Gu Haiping was more considerate and understanding, and there was no dislike between the two.

Before the autumn harvest was over, it was time for Shandan to start school.

The day before the two returned to school, Teacher Gu took out 300 yuan to give Shandan, but Shandan refused to accept it, so Gu Haiping had to take it himself.

The two of them squeezed into a train like canned tropical fish and started their way back to school.

That day, both of them got up early, Gu's mother helped make poached egg noodles, and the two hurriedly ate a little and began to rush to the train station.

The railway station of the county seat is like a small mountain outpost, standing alone beside the railway, separated from the county by a wall, and the people entering the station enter through a small gate next to a large iron gate, which has been locked with a thick rusty iron chain and a bull-headed lock, and the wind and frost have eroded the iron chain and lock beyond recognition.

The depression of the small station can be seen.

The ticket office and the duty room were both in the small station with the mottled white and gray façade, and through a stained glass window, the conductor was powerless to deal with the people who came to buy tickets.

There were also a few sporadic who came to inquire about the time, and the conductor had an extremely impatient expression. Fortunately, most of the people who inquired were peasants from the countryside, who were accustomed to being called around, especially by the staff of the small towns who thought they were from the city, and their sense of superiority gave these simple peasants a stronger sense of oppression. and made their backs, which had been bent by the wind and frost, even more hunched.

Each of their faces, tanned by the strong sun of the Mongolian plateau, was full of humility.

Although they heard scolding and spitting, they always had a simple smile on their humble faces, and that tolerance or numbness had penetrated deep into their humble souls.

Everyone's face was like a layer of dust that had accumulated over the years, and no other expression could be seen.

The waiting room is a room of about 20 square meters, with several wooden chairs that have long been indistinguishable from the color of paint.

On the creaking and shabby chairs, a few listless people waiting for the bus sat or lay around, surrounded by large and small woven bags.

On that morning on the Mongolian plateau, where the autumn air was crisp and fresh, Shandan and Gu Haiping seemed to have walked into an African slum, a bleak and decadent scene.

You don't feel a trace of vitality.

Shandan was infected by such a lifeless atmosphere, and his heart was full of depression.

Gu Haiping said: "This is the railway built when it was just liberated, and it was the only road connecting with Hohhot and Baotou at the beginning, and it was particularly prosperous at that time, and many people lived by trains. The famous roast chicken here is famous by train. ”

Looking at Shandan's disdainful face, Gu Haiping continued: "Don't you believe it? But since the highway was built and there were shuttle buses, the railway has slowly declined. People are opting for faster and more convenient cars instead of waiting for trains to arrive on time and on time. Passing through here are all slow trains, which stop at every small station, which is much slower than the shuttle bus, and are all poor people, and it can be very crowded. ”

"Then why did you choose to take the train?" said Shandan, a little unpleasant.

"Haven't you ever been on a train? I'd like to give you a ride. Gu Haiping said.

"Alas, in my imagination, the speeding train is a symbol of progress and speed. Looking at this scene now, my beautiful yearning and imagination for trains have been ruined. How can the train be so dilapidated and backward and depressed?

Gu Haiping said: "The train represents progress and speed, but not every train represents! The train here just represents the depression after the passage of time, do you want to take the train, or we go to take the shuttle bus?"

"Forget it, let's take the train when you come, isn't the train still cheap? Shandan pretended to laugh chicly.

In fact, Shandan has always disliked a crowded, lively, noisy, and noisy environment, she is a quiet person, and she also likes a quiet environment and life.

When I was a child, the village held a big Yangge for the New Year, and children, young people, and even the elderly all came on the field to twist it, but Shandan was not interested in it. She didn't participate or even look at it, and although the noise without any beauty was booming, it was not what Shandan liked.

The two bought their tickets and walked to the railroad to wait for the arrival of the train.

Although the train only stops at this small station for 2 minutes, there are still many women in the town who carry baskets and push wheelbarrows along the side of the railway, with tea eggs, fried dough sticks, corn cobs, sweet potatoes on them...... And so on.

Shandan and Gu Haiping stood by and watched the various crowds of people stirring, and when they heard the sound of the train whistle, they saw a green train slowly entering the small station in the distance......