Lunch was very simple. Twelve people from the three families set up two tables in the hall of the uncle's house, and the elders and juniors each sat at one table, and the dishes were the same, five plates of stir-fried vegetables and a bowl of red pepper and pork in soup.

This kind of banquet was called "enjoying the mouth" by the father, and it was actually talked about as a new word by this family, and the uncle repeatedly urged everyone to enjoy the mouth faster, and after enjoying the mouth blessing, we should go to the grave mountain, and slowly enjoy the mouth blessing, and more than ten mountains may not be able to turn around after dark!

It is estimated that except for the fact that I thought in my heart that my father casually said that it was an exaggeration, there would be no second person who thought like this, let alone dared to question it. I have learned my father's golden and jade words that can be reasoned horizontally and vertically, and that people are impeccable and indestructible, so while I hurry up to eat, my brain has been pondering how to correctly understand and interpret the word "enjoy". As I ate, I suddenly had an epiphany, put the bowl down, and asked loudly Ge Xiaofeng, who was at the same table, if he knew the meaning of the word Xiangkoufu completely? He was suddenly asked, and hung the bamboo chopsticks that were about to reach out to the plate to pick up vegetables, and shook his head inexplicably.

The reason why I asked aloud was actually to attract my father's attention, and when I got my wish, I talked about it in a serious manner: "Enjoying the blessing of the mouth, the meaning is multiple, for example, eating a very rich meal can be called enjoying the blessing of the mouth; For example, if you don't do it yourself and eat what others have made, it can also be called enjoyment; For example, those who are driving long distances are dying of thirst, and imagining the fruitful Merlin in front of them can also be called a blessing; Another example—"

I said "another example" two or three times in a row, and I was speechless, and I made a grimace to laugh at myself. Several brothers and sisters were waiting for the next step, and suddenly "burned the rolls", so they said to me in unison with some regret, "Hailiu, hurry up and enjoy the food, there will be no food!" ”

At this time, my father's sharp words flew from the adjacent table, which made me feel very embarrassed, but also deeply inspired. "Song Hailiu! How many times have I told you, but I don't remember it for long; Don't read books and newspapers when eating, and don't think about deep-seated problems, otherwise it will not only damage the stomach, but also make people's thinking more dull! ”

The father paused, and then said everything in one go. "See how you trample on the word 'enjoyment'? A few of you babies have listened to me too! Although the ocean current is not completely wrong, at least it is only in the category of eating; Eating at the food level is called 'enjoying the mouth', and eating at the spiritual level is called 'enjoying the mouth', which together is called enjoying the mouth. ”

I said in my heart, "Isn't it all about eating?"

The key lies in the latter, people must first pray if they want to be happy, and the Westerners pray to the empty God, because he believes that all things, including imported food, are born and given by God; We Chinese pray to our true ancestors, because we all believe that our ancestors were hardworking, brave and wise, and everything we enjoy today is given by our ancestors. ”

And I said in my heart, "Man shall do evil deeds - no, it is repentance."

"Praying for blessing means never forgetting to be grateful, so we should go to the grave to commemorate, remember and be grateful to our ancestors, because they have selflessly given us gifts."

My mind followed my father's fleeting words, as if I had come to the shore of a sparkling lake, and my heart lit up, ah, the meaning of gratitude is indeed much better.

"It can be said that the so-called enjoyment of the mouth is gratitude; Each of us needs to be grateful for a lot, but now the word thanksgiving is rarely known and mentioned! ”

When my father issued the "family motto", everyone at the table of the younger generation put down the dishes and chopsticks, which seemed to be a natural rule, but in my impression, from the eldest uncle to the father, there was never a hint or request. As soon as the father finished speaking, the second uncle flattered him with a glass of wine, and the father immediately put the small wine glass on the table (indicating that he would not drink it anymore), and said to the second uncle: "You pour it yourself and drink it, and I will not be able to compare the amount of three cups with you, so I will serve the meal first; You also have a good time, and there is still a lot to do today. ”

My father said that he wanted to serve rice, but before I could get out of my seat, the second uncle's family Gemeng was already very agile and ran to help my father add food. By this time, the uncle had finished eating, and took out the dry pipe from his waist, and the father took out a cigarette from his jacket pocket and handed it to him, and said jokingly, "That one of yours is too choking, smoke this ready-made milder." ”

The uncle took the cigarette, sniffed it with the tip of his nose, then drew a match to light the cigarette, took two puffs, deliberately coughed twice to make the juniors pay attention, and began to speak: "Don't just bury your head in eating, what Uncle Yu just said means very profound, you must remember it, and ponder it in your heart." What to ponder? Uh, uh, that's what you guys have to understand and figure out. ”

Uncle obviously belongs to the type of person who is clear and has poor language expression, so he stopped after saying a few words. I vaguely felt that several brothers and sisters were secretly happy in their hearts, because today they hung paper, ate all white rice, and brought meat to every dish, just like in the days of the Spring Festival. The fathers are also very relieved of their children's greed, and they deliberately slow down the speed of eating, so that a large retort made of three liters of rice (nine catties and nine taels) was hollowed out by two-thirds of the seven children.

Speaking of children who are so hungry and able to eat, here are a few incidental words.

In 1974, in the western region where I lived, the commune members (farmers) did not know what kind of new thing hybrid cultivation was, the average annual yield of grain per mu did not exceed 600 catties, and after the sun dried and dusted up, after the surplus grain on the public grain, the average annual per capita could get 260 catties (equivalent to more than 180 catties of rice), and they ate half full for two meals a day.

The party and the government will not ignore this problem of grain shortage, and from around the Spring Festival to the autumn harvest, there will be relief grain and grain resold every month. It's just traditional agricultural production, the grain output is too low, and the grain that the state can transfer from the grain depot is quite limited.

No more than 10% of the family can get relief food every month, and each person has only 5 catties of head, and it is all sorghum, corn, or even cassava chips. The same is true for repatriated grain, which can be obtained by no more than 15% of households every month, and it is not necessarily possible to buy it if they get a quota.

How can 5 catties of grain be enough for a person to eat for a month or even longer? There's a trick to it. First grind the grain into powder; Every time you cook, boil a big pot of water, put a little powder to make a very clear soup, wash more than ten catties of thick-skinned vegetables (a kind of vegetable with a very high yield, people will have ringworm on the face if they eat more) and put it in this clear soup to cook, and the family can fill the stomach.