I was seven years old that year, and I grew melons at home. One summer, my mother sent me to study. The road on the donkey cart was very bumpy, and there was no dry food, but I brought a watermelon that had to be the size of the mouth of the tank, and ate it all the way. When I arrived at the city gate, I was surprised, because I had never seen such a tall building, such a big gate, the little donkey cart was not allowed to enter the city, my mother led me to walk, this walk, I felt that the soles of my feet were like stepping on the pebbles in the small riverbed, but the hardness made me comfortable, but I didn't feel steady. My mother walked with great steps, and her hands were hunched and she dragged me like a calf, and I almost fell several times, but my brain was almost blank, but I felt as if I was filled with all the novelties in front of me, there were no watermelon fields, no little donkey carts, no little oxes, and no small grass huts that smoked like home. It's all new, and there's a big scary donkey cart coming and going, and I later learned that it's a horse and not a donkey. The people who walked by around me were wearing the kind of clothes that had a little glow in the sun. All this was incompatible with her mother's dark, sweaty face. The soles of my shoes were very solid, and when I walked on the road in this city, there would be a muffled sound of a horn, so I opened my mouth and never closed my mouth from the sight of the city gate, and I walked all the way to the foot of the horn, and I didn't know how far I turned, and I didn't know how many streets I turned, and I heard the sound of reading not far away.

A gentleman with a black goatee, dressed in a long white robe, vaguely remembered that his shoes were very delicate, with dark green brocade moire on both sides. Next to a tall carriage, talking to a father and daughter, my mother and I walked over quickly, my arm was dragged very painfully, I felt like I was going to be picked up, my mother trotted, I was half in the air all the way, my toes stuck to the ground, I was dragged to a front of them in a daze, I knelt on the ground, the strength was slightly overpowered, and I hit the father and daughter standing next to me, the father hugged his daughter and fell backwards, and there was an obvious disgust in his eyes:

"Eh, I thought I was leashing a dog." The tone of my eyes made me afraid to look up.

"Mr. Pan, Master Pan, I'm here with my child! Son, say hello to my husband! "My mother kicked me to my knees.

"Uncle Pan is good." My voice was so low that I didn't dare to look up at all, and my mother was smiling silly and flatteringly.

"Madame, please wait a moment." The old gentleman didn't even look at his mother.

I slowly and tentatively raised my head, and I knelt at the door of the school on the side of the street, and the students in the same age as me looked at us from the small lattice window, all of them were hippie smiles, and I looked down at the other place. A faint scent of lavender wafted through the nose.

It's a shoe, no, no, it's a pair of shoes with a fragrance all over the body, a small pink brocade edge, no pattern, but exquisite, compared with the old gentleman, the fabric used in this pair can hardly see the needle and thread, delicate, no bit of soil, to be exact, no dust. The skirt is pale green, the color is translucent, and the green gauze shines through the white background inside, which reminds people of jasmine. The pink sachet on the waist is tied with green thread, and the yellow stamen is embroidered in the middle, as if the whole skirt is a small lotus pond, which is so beautiful that I forget the eyes of others. I gradually straightened up my waist and saw the hand next to the lotus pond, pink and slender. Suddenly, it shook in front of my eyes, and my eyes followed it, and my eyes involuntarily lifted up inch by inch.

"Haha," she looked at me and laughed

I jerked my head up, and I bowed down again, kneeling lower, holding my knees in my hands, curling up, tightening my body as hard as I could. The face was pressed against the ground and did not dare to lift it. The moment he just looked at her, it was like incense in the temple, the moment the incense ash fell, it revealed the brightness of the starlight at the tip, and when she closed her eyes, the firelight could still be seen like that, like a brand, lingering, more profound than incense. Under her brow was a lake, clear and glowing with agate, and I was like a piece of rubble, falling into her eyes and waving slightly. The nose is delicate, the mouth is like a peach blossom bud, compared to her I am mud, yellowed coarse white cloth clothes, jute cloth shoes, like a bag of grain, really like me now.

After some conversation between the adults, it was finally our mother and son's turn.

"Get up, don't kneel." The old gentleman looked at me with a slight bow.

I slowly got up on my own, and as soon as I looked up slightly, everyone in the room started laughing, including her, of course. Before I knew what was going on, my mother quickly wiped the lower corner of her dress in my face:

"Laughing, laughing, adults, I'm really here. Let kneel, the face is close to the ground. ”

"It's okay, it's okay, the child told Uncle what is your name?" After the old gentleman smiled, his tone seemed very kind.

"Shao Qi!" I read it very clearly

I don't know where I got the courage to read it so loudly at that time, maybe it was because they laughed at me and got angry with the dirt on my face. Or she was by her side at the time and wanted to show more, which also pleases the old gentleman:

"Okay, good, loud, the words are round, I will stay in the future, and when I enter the college, I can no longer be called uncle, I should be called sir."

My mother talked to my husband for a long time, but I didn't listen to what she was talking about, and she still lowered her head and looked at her standing beside her, and her eyes never dared to look over.

I don't know how long it took, but I was probably fascinated by the moment I saw her all the time. My mother led me away from this group of people, and I came back to my senses to see the bustling world again, there are many shops selling things on the street, and I still let my mother lead me, unlike just now, now I am very gentle. After leaving the old gentleman's place, I saw no more carriages passing by in the city, but I always saw children as old as me, dressed in clothes that would shine in the sun, and there was not a single "beam bag" like me.

"Son, now I'm going to fetch you the two new sets of clothes I made earlier, and I'll send you back to my husband's house after a while, and you will have to stay and study at his house for a long time to come. Every once in a while, your mother will come to see you. The mother's tone was gentle

But this sudden incident made me stunned for a moment:

"Mother, won't you stay?"

"Son, you have to be obedient, this Mr. Pan has some old friendship with your father, you have to cherish this opportunity to enter Yueling Academy, here are all the children of high-ranking officials and nobles, ordinary people can't get in at all, study hard here." Mother said this, her tone was already shaking.

"Got it." I have a very small voice

Now I don't have the mood to see the world. He silently bowed his head, counted the big stone bricks under his feet, and forgot where he was. After walking a short distance, I arrived at a very small store, there was a pile of colorful fabrics in the stall at the door, and then I went into the store very messy, there were cloth corners everywhere, and the threads were clustered, and my mother talked with the store for a while, and then asked me to come and wear new clothes.

The owner was an old man, who looked very old, and always felt that he was squinting all the time, and his beard was very sparse and thin. I seem to know my mother very well, and she told me in person that there is something in the academy for me to come to this old man. The new clothes were two sets, a light beige cloth, and the other was a little yellow and a little gray. I chose a white one and put it on. I washed my face seriously in the back, and now I am a delicate baby, there is a big bronze mirror in the store, I like the clothes very much, and it is the first time to wear such a good cloth dress, although it is not the kind of floodlight, but it is not a little bit better than what I have worn before. My mother squatted down to comb my hair, at the age of seven or eight, my hair was just over the shoulders, my mother divided my hair into three parts, on both ears and on the back of my head, and braided each into braids, and finally put it on the top of my head, wrapped it tightly with a white cloth strip of rope, and told me that I would wash my hair in the college once in the next two or three days, and Mr. Pan would re-tie it for me. At the same time, my mother found a simple package, opened it and found a new pair of shoes, which I changed into in black muslin. This brand new outfit made me dare to look up. Walking around in front of the bronze mirror, it is called a beauty in my heart. Farewell to the old man in the shop, my mother led me to the academy, all the way was very slow, at first I didn't feel anything, but I felt that it was good to go to college, and there were new clothes to wear, bouncing, looking at everything around me, I felt that I was no different from other children in an instant. When I was almost there, I felt heavy in my heart, and I looked at my mother again, and found that my mother was also looking at me, and I was very surprised, so I kept looking at each other, and there was something in the depths of my eyes that I couldn't read, and I couldn't see it, but I realized that I had arrived at the academy, and I was separated from my mother. I don't know how long it will be to say goodbye.

"The front is here, study hard, and when the shoes are worn down, go to the clothing store just now to find the uncle, if there is anything to tell him, you can also tell the gentleman who taught you, and they will send a letter to the mother." Study hard, don't make Mr. angry, if you are kicked out, you will be ruined. Mother's words had begun to choke up.

"Got it."

I instantly felt as if I had fallen into the deep well of my hometown, watching the light at the mouth of the well get farther and farther away from me, and the circle slowly turned into a point of light, and finally disappeared.

When I arrived at the college, the doors were open, and many students my age walked outside, most of them glancing over me and whispering. My mother led me into the walk and met Mr. Pan a few steps away.

"Hello sir!" I still knelt on the ground, my face was very low, humble and cautious.

"Get up, get up, you don't have to make a big salute, in the future, you, just accompany me in this Yueling Courtyard, and the days will be long." My husband's expression was kind, and I missed my father.

The mother didn't say anything more, and instantly fell silent, and they all froze.

"Okay, son, follow sir. My mother went back, and the donkey cart was still tied at the gate of the city. The mother turned and walked away, without any further instructions.

"Get up, come with me." The gentleman gently pushed my back with one hand.

And I want to look back at the door to see if my mother is gone. All this is happening at such a fast pace, and I am not allowed to interject a word, and I am not allowed to slow down.

The door comes in and goes inside, and there is a hall full of books, and you have to take off your shoes when you enter. The gentleman led me through here, and the back felt like home, with small stone tables, small stone benches, and a few peach trees. There is a path paved with small stones under the trees, and there are large porcelain pots with wide mouths along the road on both sides, and all kinds of flowers are planted, which I have never seen before. Further inside is a bamboo house, the top is covered with new green bamboo leaves, three or four steps can smell the bamboo fragrance, so that people are clear and clear. Walking up two small steps, the gentleman led me into the hall and sat down:

"Get up, you will stay here in the future, there will be no one here at night, and the entire Yueling Courtyard will be under your control, and the flowers, grass, and cooking will be good. I'll walk around you again and see how I take care of it, you have to keep it in mind. There are people who deliver food in the morning and evening, and they tell the people who come the day before what they want to eat. Also, when someone calls me sir, when no one speaks less, here is perennial the fragrance of books, every object has spirituality, you just came here, do everything lighter, shocked by the fragrance of the book, you have to be punished, write it down? ”

"Written down!" I thought that the loud voice would be appreciated by the gentleman, but the old gentleman asked me to stretch out my hand and kneel, and pulled out a handful of black, shiny logs from my waist, and lifted my arms into the air and smashed them down, and before I could react, the old gentleman bent down and put my index finger to his mouth and made a long shushing sound. At the same time, I was so stunned that I didn't dare to speak, my eyes burst into tears, I wanted to blink but I felt like my scalp was being pulled hard, my face was stiff and I couldn't move, my eyes rolled down, and I saw that my hand was already red, and a red mark protruded with blood.

"You didn't write it down. It's getting late, and I'm going back to my home. You came suddenly, you don't have food tonight, you should be punished, what do you want to eat tomorrow morning? The gentleman waved his hands and motioned for me to get up.

"I want to go home, I miss my mother." My voice was so small that I couldn't hear it, but my heart was still frightened, and the strength in the words was dried.

"Stretch out both hands." The gentleman came over, pulled out the wooden plank he had just taken back, lifted it higher and smashed it into his other hand, and the force passed through my palm, and the pain was not only the flesh and skin, but also the bones and joints were trembling. The gentleman's eyes looked at the palm of the hand that had been hit for the first time, and he got up:

"It's still a little bit worse, I miss you for the first time, and you will receive the punishment tomorrow morning." The old gentleman turned around and walked out of the house without looking back:

"I won't take you around the yard, just see for yourself. Wherever you go, you can clean it up. ”

The gentleman walked away, and I was still kneeling on the ground, but I could not hear the footsteps of the old gentleman, and I still did not dare to move, and let the tears run and scream. For a long time, I knelt and moved my legs to the front, sat down, my hands were slumped on my legs, my head was tilted to one side, my tears had dried up, and the cool breeze blew into my arms through the bamboo door, making me chill, and my hands were very comfortable. I looked at the peach tree outside the door, my mind blank, watching the dead moon being wrapped in black clouds.

I slept quietly, dreamed of the lotus pond, dreamed of the intoxicating lake, dreamed of the scent of lavender...... Ten alleys and 100 steps deep, one flower drunk and one person; Huangkou doesn't kiss his mother, and he meets the living in a strange place. The lonely lamp is silent with dry tears, and the bamboo fragrance is full of towels; The dead moon reflects the weeping willows, and the dream is true.