On a March night, when the fire had long since been extinguished, and the air in the room was filled with a chill, Luli lay on his cot, snoring, his quilt rubbing him together, his legs exposed, curled up in the cold. He seemed to be dreaming, kicking one leg around,

In the empty sea of consciousness, it seems that someone can be heard, "Child, all we can give you is a key to open your life, and how to use it depends on your own exploration." …… Remember, love is the root of everything, and never let lust cloud the light of your heart. ”

What Lu Li saw in his dream, in the hazy light and shadow, the person who spoke was very tall, and the only thing he could compare with was a six-story building like the department store on Heping Road, which was beyond imagination, and the tallest figure in the family was his uncle Compared with these people, like ants, he couldn't tell whether he was open or asleep, and listened blankly, "Why?" ”

At this moment, he suddenly found that he usually stammered, but when facing these people, he didn't stutter at all, "What key?" ”

The man in the shadow of the light seemed reluctant to explain too much to him, but kept repeating, "Remember, love is the root of everything, and never let lust cloud the light of your heart." ”

Luli does not understand, what love? Love what? But his intuition told him that these people were leaving, although every time he woke up, he couldn't recall the scene in his dreams, but every night when he closed his eyes, there would be these tall people to talk to him, for a child, it was a novel and expected thing, he took two steps forward, but felt that his legs were extremely heavy, and he was not at all able to calm down, "Wait a minute!" ”

The other party refused to wait at all, the light and shadow gradually disappeared, and the voice sounded again, "Remember, never let selfish desires ......"

"You are my ......," Luley hesitated for a moment, and shouted out the words he had not uttered in the seven years since he was born, "Mom and Dad?" ”

The light and shadow did not answer, and finally dimmed, and everything returned to darkness again, and Lu Li was startled and opened his eyes! "Tiny, tiny? What happened to you? "It was my sister who came down from the dark stairs to make it easier, heard his whispers in his dream, and walked to his little bed with concern." Little...... Why did you get up so early? Wu Zhaodi's short ear-length hair was as messy as a chicken nest, and he rubbed his sleepy eyes to his brother's bed, "Let's sleep for a while?" ”

"Sister...... Sister...... Sister...... Dry...... What are you doing? ”

"Go to the bathroom." Wu Zhaodi touched his brother's head, "Sleep, wait a while to call you to school." ”

Lu Li suddenly realized, tore off the quilt, covered his smooth little body, and looked at his sister.

"Lack of morality?" Wu Zhaodi scolded with a smile, "Don't let people see it?" She laughed a few times and turned her head to go outside.

Luli couldn't sleep, looking at the sky outside, it was hazy and dark, and the surroundings were even more terrifyingly quiet, staring and thinking for a while, it seemed that he was talking to someone in his dream? He wanted to sleep a little longer, and then feel it in his dreams, but he couldn't sleep. Pick up the quilt, put on clothes, go to the small courtyard to pick up a toothbrush and tooth powder box, and start brushing your teeth and rinsing your mouth.

The tooth powder box is made of metal, and it is painted with exquisite patterns - if you look at it now, it can even be seen as a handicraft - and when you open the lid, there is pink tooth powder inside, which is pressed very tightly, like the foundation used by girls, and you can use it by applying a layer with a toothbrush.

In addition to these two essential products for daily oral cleaning, there is also a type called a tongue scraper, which is used to scrape the tongue coating.

The tongue scraper is more beautiful, the Wu family uses a piece handed down before liberation, sterling silver texture, the two ends are twisted into twisted handles, the middle part is a thin flat piece, the quality of the product is very good, can be bent at will, and it is not broken, but for children like Lu Li, it is not used, this is the special product of the uncle and his wife - they smoke all year round, and if they don't use it in the morning, they will feel that they have not brushed their teeth clean.

When he was done with his business, Luli went back to the house and started to make the stove.

This is his skillful work, using shavings to ignite the firewood, and when the fire gets higher and higher, the sound of whirring flames comes from the hearth, and when he pours briquettes into it, black smoke gurgles come out, he takes the kettle and puts it on it, and goes out and begins to clean up the yard.

When he was done with all this, the sky was slightly white, and the air was very humid, his bare skin shrank with a chill, and he hurried into the house, looking at the horseshoe watch that was rattling and walking, he didn't know the watch, and he didn't know the time, so he picked it up and raised it, raised his face and asked, "Uncle, uncle...... Mom, several... A few few... Dot...... Finish? ”

My aunt upstairs hummed, her breathing suddenly stopped, and after a while, "Puff~!" Burst~! Puff~! A series of fart sounds sounded, followed by the eldest sister's complaint, "Mom, what are you doing?" His voice was muffled, as if he had covered his mouth and nose with a sheet.

"Cool air, cool air......" My aunt said vaguely, and then held her breath again, as if she was struggling, "Puff~!" Poof! ”

Lu Li people couldn't smell any stench below, but they also covered their mouths and noses with their little hands, and asked again in a muffled voice, this time my aunt reacted, and her hair was messy and probed down from the side of the building, "Six twenty, why are you making trouble so early?" Lack of morality! ”

Luli put his mind at ease, picked up the kettle, poured himself a glass of water, took a bite of pickles on the cold steamed bun, hastily had breakfast, lifted the kettle to see that the fire was already burning, and closed the damper below as much as possible - this was a technical job, it was too tightly closed, and the fire was easy to extinguish; It's too loose, and it will burn a furnace of briquettes, but fortunately, the experience of making a stove many times has made him find the trick: take a piece of wood shavings that ignites the fire, stuff it by the damper, close the damper, tear off the shavings, and leave a gap just right!

After doing all this, there was the sound of footsteps near the door leading to the second floor, and the uncle walked into the house from the hole downstairs, wearing a dark blue police uniform, holding a hat in his hand, and putting it on his head, "Xiaoxiao," he called his nephew's nickname, "it's time to go to school, right?" (Note 1)

"That's it...... Walk. ”

"Don't be skinny today, you know?" Wu Baokun smiled and rubbed the child's head, "Always ask the teacher to invite the parents, how much does it hurt for your aunt to beat you?" ”

Lu Li grew up in his uncle's house, and he was usually very obedient, just like a good baby, but when he arrived at school, in the words of his aunt Yu Fang, 'it was simply not him'! So that the teacher always invites parents, every time he invites, the teacher has no brains to even adults and children to train together, Yu Fang's face is disgraceful, and when he goes home, he will be angry with Luli, and his uncle is sometimes really distressed, but when he heard his wife talk about his nephew's naughtiness at school, he felt that this kind of lesson was not a bad thing for him.

Lu Li listened to his uncle's words, neither agreed nor objected, and stood for a while, "Grandma, grandma...... Grandfather. ”

"Oh, Dad, you're up too," Wu Baokun turned around and said, "Why don't you sleep a little longer?" ”

"I don't sleep." Wu Jihou looked at his son and grandson, his long horse face was expressionless, he walked past the door, and went out of the door.

"Did you eat early?" Wu Baokun reached into his pocket, and when he stretched it out again, he held a five-cent coin, "Here you go." ”

"Eat, eat, eat...... Eat and eat. ”

"Take that too." The uncle put the coin in the child's hand, "Don't spend it, you know?" ”

"Oh." Lu Li clenched the coin and began to calculate in his mind: plus the three cents given by his uncle yesterday, these money can buy eight pieces of fruit candy! Give one piece to each of the three good friends, one piece for yourself, and four pieces left, just one piece for Gouli and Daxin!

In 1965 China, just ended that period of time from top to bottom could not eat enough, the economic situation improved slightly, and the problem of urban residents eating was basically solved, but the supply of many things still had to be based on ticket vouchers (this kind of ticket supply of goods is varied, and it will be presented one by one in the text), which also includes sugar, but this sugar refers to white sugar and brown sugar; Fruit candy and toffee are free of tickets, fruit candy is a penny a piece, toffee is two cents, and what is sweet and silky in the mouth is the great love of children.

With eight cents in his arms, Lu Li picked up his schoolbag and went straight to the school, stopping at the 'water shop' at the school gate on the way - the water shop, as the name suggests, sells water, and sets up a large iron pot common in the countryside, with a fire underneath, and a pot of boiling water is filled, which is sold for only three cents. In the summer, when someone thinks the stove is too hot, they will let the child go to the water shop to fetch water. In winter, he sells some small pocket goods, and Luli doesn't know if there are such places in other cities, anyway, there are a lot of them in Tian (Tianjin).

He was a little disappointed that there was no candy to sell in the water shop, so he had to take a detour to the grocery store to buy it, put eight fruit candies wrapped in candy paper in his pocket, and turned around and went straight to school.

At the entrance of the school, there were senior students wearing red scarves on duty, and when they saw the teacher come in, they raised their hands and saluted, and asked, "Hello teacher." When he saw a school worker come in, he said, "Hello uncle." ”

Lu Li followed behind the adult and nodded in a big way, "You...... You...... Hello. ”

A sentence provoked the senior children to look at him angrily, but he ignored it, taking advantage of the senior children and filling the other party's 'seniors', making him extremely happy, but he was not happy for a moment, and his arm was grabbed, "Luli? ”

Lu Li rolled his eyelids and looked at the man in front of him, this is Teacher Ma who teaches physical education at the school, and today he is the teacher on duty, "Do it...... Why? ”

"You little stammer, how can you take advantage of others and become a big person? If you don't study well all day long, sooner or later, like your father, you will commit suicide! You little scum! ”

"You...... Just...... Fail...... Classes too! Lu Li didn't understand what scum meant at all, but he also knew that it was not a good word, so he scolded, suddenly stopped stammering, and opened his mouth to say, "I'll order your house when I go back!" This sentence is his mantra, and he has spoken a lot, and he is also proficient in tightness, not stuttering at all, but extremely smooth.

Teacher Ma was furious and raised his hand to fight, when he suddenly heard someone outside shouting, "Oh, oh, oh! Teacher Ma hit someone? Come on, huh? Teacher Ma'er is an adult beating a child? Lu Li knew in his ears that it was Li Xueqing's voice.

Li Xueqing was very 'ga', and deliberately added it indiscriminately in places where it shouldn't be added, and shouted as if he was saying "Teacher Ma, son".

Teacher Ma really didn't dare to make a move, and let go of him stupidly, "You...... Stare at me. ”

"What time am I staring at you? You sb thing. Li Xueqing scolded with words that he didn't understand the specific meaning.

Watching the teacher leave, Li Xueqing, Xu Yunjian, and Li Tiehan jumped up the steps, "Xiaoxiao, what's wrong?" ”

"No, no, no, no......" Lu Li shook his head with a smile, looked at the best companions in the class, reached out and grabbed the candy, and put it in the palm of his red and white palm, "Give!" ”

Li Tiehan was overjoyed, he was the first to take it, peeled off the candy paper and put it into his mouth, "Eggs, why do you smell bad again?" Got in the pit? Stay away from me! ”

Danzi is Li Tiehan's nickname, he was born with a round nose, round eyes, and a round face, so he got such a nickname, originally called Erdanzi, but to Lu Li and Li Xueqing, a few friends who have a good relationship with him, they call him Danzi. He has a very bad habit, that is, he doesn't brush his teeth, and he gets up in the morning to rinse his mouth with water. That's not all, but his family loves to eat stinky tofu, and his mouth is full of sour smell, which is annoying. (Note 2)

Li Tiehan couldn't afford to provoke Li Xueqing, so he said with a smile, "My father bought it yesterday...... Stinky tofu...... Yes! He only cared about talking, the sugar cube in his mouth slipped unintentionally, and fed the land lord in vain, "This, this...... Ay? Tiny, give me another piece, right? ”

"One for each person, why do you want more? Tiny, don't give it to him. Li Xueqing said hatefully.

Lu Li was also a little embarrassed, the amount of sugar was just right, it was distributed according to the head, Li Tiehan ate one more, and others would not be able to share it. After thinking about it, I still couldn't bear to refuse my good friend, so I had to stop eating it myself, "That, that, that...... That and that...... Give it to ......" He picked up the candy cube that belonged to him and handed it over reluctantly.

"Thank you." Li Tiehan happily took the candy, this time he was careful, took the sugar cube under his tongue, licked it little by little, and savored the cool and sweet feeling. Lu Li swallowed greedily, touched the sugar in his pocket, and looked at the few people with sugar, "Okay, good, good...... Eat? ”

Note 1: Xiaoxiao is Lu Li's nickname, and the following words such as San'er and Xiaoli refer to him.

Note 2: Eggs. The word 'zi' is pronounced as an egg, and the meaning of this word is very indecent, referring to the testicles.