Fushun led the old ox on the way home, carrying a heavy iron plough on his thin shoulders, the steep spring breeze blew on his face full of mud, the ox walked behind him whirring out of the atmosphere, the owner didn't know what to be anxious about, grabbed the cow's nose rope and kept moving forward, but this was not the way home.

Fu Shun's heart was empty, in fact, he would rather not go home than return to the Yang family. Stopped at a fork in the road, tied the ox to the clearing, and climbed up a large rock, he knew that there was a road in front of him that led to the commune of Stone Bridge, from which it was an hour's walk to the mud ditch.

Muddy Ditch is a brigade of Shiqiao Commune, and there are thirteen brigades in Shiqiao Commune: Dry Field Ridge, Xie Jiaba, Yangjiawan, Guandi Temple, Xinmiaozi, Muddy Ditch, Yi Doushan, Li Huan Temple, Jiudaoguai, Lingquan Cave, Ma Braincase, Chen Longping, and Sunjiawan. The name of the brigade has changed after the liberation, but people are always used to calling the old place name, which either carries the blood of the clansmen, or contains the form of natural landscapes, and some no longer know the origin. And Fu Shunneng is most familiar with Yangjiawan and Mudditch. The mud ditch is the place where he was born, Fushun grew up there for 8 years, he watched his father and eldest brother make a lot of exquisite furniture, and the third uncle taught him to read and write.

In fact, Shiqiao Commune was still called a year ago, and now it is called Shiqiao Township People's Government, and the former brigade and production team have also been renamed as villages and groups. But habits are always difficult to change, and for many years to come, the older generation will always like to use their previous names, perhaps the mission and special meaning given to them by that era, as well as the pain and joy of collective labor, have become a unique emotion in their lives.

As the name suggests, the village is in a depression, the road is rotten, but the people are hardworking. It is about two kilometers away from Shiqiao Township, the upstream of Shiqiao River originates from Yidou Mountain, flows through Jiudaogui, Chen Longping, and mud ditch, passes through Guandi Temple, the seat of Shiqiao Township Government, and goes downstream to Sunjiawan, Li Huan Temple, Xie Jiaba, Lingquan Cave, it can be said that Shiqiao River is the mother river of Shiqiao people, nourishing this side of the water and soil, and nurturing this side of the people. The "rotten" of the mud ditch is related to the soil quality and waterlogging in the ditch, it may be that the ancestors have dredged the river for generations, and the silt that has been fished out has fertilized the fields in the ditch, but the road here is not good, the people in the ditch are afraid of rain, the soup and water are full of ditch flow, and the sparse depressions are put everywhere, and when the weather is clear, the rice in their fields may go to other people's fields, and the wheat that has just sprouted sprouts may be uprooted and washed into the Shiqiao River. If it was a year ago, eating a big pot of rice, "and thin mud" earned more work than picking up dung.

But Fushun's thoughts have to go back to six years ago.

In August 1974, several children in the Liu's compound in the mud ditch were crying, the women were busy, and the men did not report to the production team to work. Carpenter Liu in the West House held his last breath and shouted the names of Fuqiang, Fushun, and Fujia, the eldest brother was 13 years old, Fushun was 6 years old, and the younger brother was only 3 years old.

Old Carpenter Liu kicked and called Fu Qiang to him. He knew that his time was short, and the doctors of the commune and the brigade were reluctant to visit the doctor again, and the few mouthfuls of rice soup he swallowed every day made him gasp.

"You have to take care of your two younger brothers, your mother died early, and your stepmother gave birth to a rich family and died. I'm sorry for them...... It must be...... Be...... It was your mother who recruited me. The rich family was born to your stepmother, and he is still young...... You and ...... And Fushun must be ...... To ......"

"Daddy...... Daddy...... "The three children cried together.

The strong Fuqiang hugged his two younger brothers: "Shun Wa'er, Jiawa'er, don't cry...... I can take you well when my mother is gone, I can also bring you up when my father is gone, and there are uncles and uncles, they have to take care of us. Dad, don't worry, I am just a cow and a horse for the production team, and I will also pull the baby and the baby to grow up! ”

The two brothers of the old carpenter buried him in a hurry and returned to work in the production team. The big pot of rice of the production team is made in the courtyard of the Liu family, but the work earned by the three children is not enough to eat, and the uncle and uncle are managed by the uncle and Sanniang, and they do not give the three brothers any help at all. Fuqiang followed his uncle to do carpentry in the production team, and the work was relatively easy to earn is not less, and the sensible Fushun took the rich family to pick up dog feces in the production team, 2 cents per 5 catties of dog dung. In this way, Fuqiang and his two younger brothers survived year after year, but only these three children know the bitterness and bitterness.

Fuqiang's carpentry work is getting better and better, and sometimes the cabinets, chairs, and stools that are beaten out are more exquisite than those of the uncle, and the more the production captain Liu Guohong looks at it, the more he likes it. Shiqiao Commune wants to commend a group of "active people who study ** works", that is, the special "model worker" of that era, Liu Guohong pushed this child who had just turned 14 years old to the mud ditch brigade without saying a word, and the captain Liu Guoneng looked at the materials of several candidates, "Fuqiang's child is good, and the old Liu carpenter is also an active supporter of the ** idea, Fuqiang has participated in the Red Guards, engaged in criticism, and when he was ten years old, he was able to memorize the "** Quotations" backwards, I think it can. ”

The brigade held a meeting in the muddy ditch canteen, each production team sent representatives to participate, the participants also earned work points, Liu Guohong took care of the three boys, Fushun and Fujia as representatives witnessed the big scene of the eldest brother bringing the big red flower. Brigade Captain Liu Guoneng announced: "Comrade Liu Fuqiang used the idea of the best to grind stones, repair broadcasts, and do wood work for the muddy ditch brigade, he always stood in the position of the Red Guards to think about the problem, participated in the criticism of the capitalist roaders, counter-revolutionaries, after the death of his mother and father one after another, he has always adhered to the idea of **, just like ** said, 'hard work is like a burden, in front of us, see if we dare to bear it', he took the burden of the family and the production team, did a good job of the wooden road, and brought the two younger children well. Comrade Fuqiang is a well-deserved exemplary figure, and he is the pride of our muddy ditch brigade, we want to recommend him to the commune, to the county, and to the county, where to recommend, we want to let the old people know! ”

The thunderous applause spread from the mud ditch to the Shiqiao Commune, and Liu Fuqiang's advanced deeds were greatly exaggerated: Comrade Liu Fuqiang in the process of responding to the call of the first class, the red treasure book as a classic, led the 13 students of the mud ditch brigade to participate in the big tandem in the county, fought the capitalist roaders, overthrew the statue of Guanyin, and demolished the Temple of Caishen, and every household has a statue of the chairman carved by Comrade Liu Fuqiang. In the process of a series, Comrade Liu Fuqiang and 13 Red Guards got on the car and went to Chahe Commune to fight Li Gengda, the principal of Chahe Elementary School, Li Gengda fled when he heard the news, and the witty Comrade Liu Fuqiang locked Li Gengda's escape route with a keen eye, and he jumped out of the car to chase the poor Kou regardless of the danger of his life, and finally, the reactionary Li Gengda was sent to Chahe Commune for education.

1976 was an extraordinary year in Chinese history. In January, Premier Zhou Enlai passed away; In July, Chairman Zhu De, who had gone out from northeastern Sichuan, passed away for a long time.

In the distant muddy ditch, Liu Fuqiang's image of "tall and complete" has just been established, and he is still looking forward to Beijing's ** knowing his glorious deeds. On the afternoon of September 9, the news of his death reached the commune of Stone Bridge on the radio: "...... Comrade ** of China, Chairman of the Central Committee of China, Chairman of the Central Military Commission, and Honorary Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese Civil Affairs Consultative Conference, the great leader of our Party, our army, and the people of all ethnic groups in our country, and the great mentor of the international proletariat and the oppressed nations and oppressed people...... He died at 07:00 on September 9, 1976 in Beijing. "The broadcast of the news communication guò brigade spread in the muddy ditch, and the crying in the whole ravine shook the sky.

Fushun and the rich family don't know why the eldest brother knelt in front of the statue of ** and cried, the heart-rending howl is more sad than the death of his father. But they know that the deeds of the eldest brother will never be known to the **.