The long-distance bus bumped on the bumpy mountain road for more than half a day before it arrived at a stop on the edge of the Tang River, and it was past noon from 9 a.m. to its destination. There were not a few people on the long-distance bus, only Wang Hongju got off the bus alone.

Wang Hongju stood under the stop sign and looked around with great interest, only to see that he was in a towering valley, and the endless cliffs turned the blue sky narrow and slender; In the steep slope of the riverbed, the river swirls and whirls noisily and hurried downstream. Wang Hongju, who touched the scene, remembered Li Daoyuan's wonderful description of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River in "Notes on the Book of Water": "In the seven hundred miles from the Three Gorges, there are mountains on both sides of the river, there is no place for a little, the heavy rocks are stacked, the sun is hidden, and the moon is not seen at midnight in the non-pavilion. He felt that it was appropriate to use Li Daoyuan's description to describe the scene in front of him.

Wang Hongju wanted to inquire about how to get to Tanghe Primary School, where Huang Tingting taught, but there was no one around, only an eagle hovering leisurely in the empty valley with its wings spread.

"Anyone?" Wang Hongju shouted loudly in the valley with great interest, and the voice echoed in the valley, as if several people were shouting continuously.

When Wang Hongju looked left and right, there was a man staggering over under the root of the mountain in front of him with a large bundle of branches on his back, and he hurried up to meet him if he wanted to ask for directions. When he approached, he saw that the person carrying the firewood turned out to be a short, dark and thin boy. The boy was about eleven or twelve years old, his clothes were ragged, his face was sweaty, and he was panting from exhaustion.

When the boy saw someone standing in front of him, he put down the firewood on his back, he wiped the sweat on his face with his hand holding a woodcutter, and looked at Wang Hongju timidly.

Wang Hongju asked with a smile on his face: "Hello little friend, I am from the city, can I ask for directions?" ”

The boy politely asked, "Uncle, where are you going?" ”

"May I ask how to get to Tanghe Elementary School?"

The boy pointed to the mountain in front of him and said, "Climb over this beam and you'll be Tanghe Elementary School, just follow that path." ”

Wang Hongju looked in the direction pointed by the boy, a thorny path stretched from the bottom of his feet to the steep ridge, and Wang Hongju said to himself: "Drink, this road is difficult enough." ”

The boy saw Wang Hong's embarrassed appearance and laughed: "Uncle, you haven't climbed the mountain, have you?" It's not a difficult road, we're used to it! ”

"Who says I haven't climbed a mountain?" Wang Hongju asked with a smile, and he asked again: "Where are you going, little friend?" ”

"I'll go home, my home is not far from Tanghe Primary School, you can follow me!" After the little boy finished speaking, he picked up the firewood and left, Wang Hongju ran to the front to stop him and said, "Little friend, you put down this bundle of firewood and let me carry it for you." ”

"This one is too heavy for you to carry!" The boy said with a little disdain.

"I'm a lot taller than you, why can't I carry it? You put down this bundle of firewood. Wang Hongju grabbed the boy's arm and wanted him to put down the firewood, but the boy had to agree.

Wang Hongju picked up Chai He and said with a smile: "This is not much weight!" Children, I'm not afraid if you put another bundle of firewood! ”

"Uncle, aren't you afraid of getting your new clothes dirty?" The boy looked at Wang Hongju's brand-new white shirt and asked.

"Don't be afraid! I don't have to wash my clothes when they're dirty, and I have a piece of clothing in my bag. ”

"People in the city are still rich, but we rural people are reluctant to wear new clothes to work! I haven't worn a new dress in years. When the boy said this, Wang Hongju felt a little uncomfortable in his heart, he looked at the ragged child and asked, "Won't your mother make you new clothes?" ”

The boy replied with some shame: "My family is poor, and the clothes I wear are all made from the old clothes worn by my father, you can see how many patches there are on my clothes!" ”

Wang Hongju asked sympathetically, "Did you go to school?" ”

The boy said with some grievances: "I didn't go to school! I really wanted to go to school, but my father didn't let me, saying that the family had no money to pay for tuition. ”

"What can a child do if he is not educated? Your dad is really! The tuition fee is only a few dollars a year! ”

"My dad said I was a laborer and I couldn't earn money for my family as soon as I went to school."

"No wonder you have to go up to the mountains to chop wood at a young age! Is your dad relieved? ”

"Our rural children have to work since they were young, and that's it!"

Wang Hongju said: "Your father did something wrong! He should send you to school! ”

"It's useless! Principal Huang from Tanghe Primary School has recruited students from our village, but few of them go to school. ”

Wang Hongju hurriedly asked, "Little friend, the Principal Huang you said is a woman, right?" ”

"Yes."

"Isn't she young and beautiful?"

"Yes, she's pretty good-looking! The voice is also good! In order to let me go to school, she also asked my dad! ”

Wang Hongju said proudly: "Yes! That's what I'm looking for! ”

"Who are you?"

Wang Hongju jokingly teased the little boy and said, "That Principal Huang is my daughter-in-law!" ”

"When I grow up, I want to find a daughter-in-law who is as good-looking as her!" The boy looked at Wang Hongju enviously and said.

"Drink! I didn't see that you were still a daughter-in-law at a young age! ”

The child chopping wood was blushed by Wang Hongju.

The two walked and chatted on the rugged mountain road, and after walking for a while, Wang Hongju was too tired to walk, and the bundle of firewood that he felt very light just now had become a thousand catties of heavy burden on his back, and his legs were as heavy as lead, so he had to put the bundle of firewood on his back on the ground and gasp and said, "I can't walk, let's rest for a while." Wang Hongju saw a big rock on the side of the road and wanted to sit on it to rest, but the boy shouted anxiously: "Uncle, don't sit!" And grabbed his hand, Wang Hongju asked strangely: "What's wrong?" ”

The boy pointed to the stone with his hand and whispered, "Look." ”

Wang Hongju couldn't help but gasp when he took a closer look, it turned out that half of the gray snake body was exposed in the gap under the stone, the snake's head was triangular, it opened its mouth and spit out a slender snake letter, eager to attack people. Wang Hongju turned around in a panic and wanted to dodge, "Uncle, don't be afraid!" I saw the boy step forward, and with a wave of the machete in his hand, the snake was divided into two parts, and the severed half of the snake's body twisted on the ground a few times before it moved.

"This snake is about the same color as a stone, and you can't really see it if you don't look closely!"

The boy asked, "Uncle, you haven't seen snakes in the city, have you?" This snake is venomous and falls five steps after being bitten. ”

"Yes, I've seen it a few times in the south, but I've never been so close. If you hadn't grabbed me just now, I would have been bitten by a snake! Thank you! Wang Hongju said in shock.

The boy cut a wattle on the side of the road and handed it to Wang Hongju, who asked puzzledly, "What should I do with it?" ”

The boy whipped the grass beside him with a wattle and said, "Use it in front of you to hit the grass on both sides, and if there is a snake, you will scare it away!" ”

Wang Hongju suddenly realized: "I understand, it turned out to be a grass startling snake!" ”

"Uncle, let's go."

"Okay." Wang Hong lifted the bundle of firewood again.

The boy took the bundle of firewood on his back first, and said with a sneer: "Uncle, you are not as good as me!" Shiro has grown so big! ”

Wang Hongju shook his head helplessly.

Wang Hongju and the boy walked for more than half an hour before climbing to the top of the mountain beam, standing on the ridge and looking at the slender line of the sky just now, the sky has become much wider, and the sun is still so golden in the afternoon. In front of Wang Hongju, a valley surrounded by mountains suddenly appeared, and on the flat land between the valleys were patches of farmland of different sizes and shapes; A small river meanders through the valley like a silver streamer; Most of the black-walled and black-tiled farmhouses are built on the hillside and are nestled in thick greenery. From a distance, everything seems so peaceful and quiet, far away from the noise of the world.

Wang Hongju stood still, he greedily admired the beautiful scenery in front of him. He even said: "This is the mountain and the water, and there is no way out, and the willows and flowers are bright and another village!" It's really a peach blossom paradise! Beautiful! Wonderful! ”

Wang Hongju sighed with emotion, and the boy next to him looked at Wang Hongju curiously.

Wang Hongju said excitedly to the boy: "Children, your hometown is so beautiful!" ”

"What is so beautiful about our poor ravine, full of big stones? My dad always said that we were born in a poor ravine, and our lives were not good. The boy said flatly.

After listening to the boy's words, Wang Hongju said with emotion: "Yes, the beautiful scenery can't be eaten!" ”

The boy pointed to the rows of blanched gray houses in the valley and said, "Look, that's Tanghe Elementary School." ”

Wang Hongju said happily: "I saw it! Then we're almost there! ”

"It's still early, we mountain people often say: look at the mountain and run a dead horse; Also, it's easy to go up the mountain and difficult to go down, so you have to walk slower down the mountain. We still have to walk for more than half an hour! The boy spoke like a little adult.

Wang Hongju looked at him happily: "Interesting! You're not a big person, and you still talk in one set! ”

"Uncle, I don't lie to you, what I said is true!"

The two of them laughed and walked down the mountain.