I braved the bitter cold and returned to my hometown, which was more than 2,000 miles away and had been separated for more than 20 years.

Since it is the depths of winter; As we approached our hometown, the weather became cloudy again, and the cold wind blew into the cabin, whining.

Looking out from the tent, under the pale yellow sky, there are several deserted villages near and far, and there is no vitality. My heart couldn't help but feel sad. Yes! Isn't this the hometown I've remembered for 20 years?

None of my hometown I remember is like this, and my hometown is much better. But if I want to remember his beauty and speak of his beauty, there is no image, no words.

It seems like that's it.

…… The next morning I arrived at the door of my house.

The broken stems of many dead grasses on the corrugated grass shook in the wind, which explained the reason why the old house inevitably changed hands. The main family of a few rooms has probably moved away, so it is very quiet. When I got to my house, my mother had already come out, and then my eight-year-old nephew had flown out.

…… My mother spoke again about leap earth.

At this time, a picture that I have been haunting for many years suddenly flashed in my mind:

In the deep blue sky hung a full golden moon, and below the sand by the sea, where endless green watermelons were planted, and in the midst of it was a boy of eleven or twelve years old, with a silver ring around his neck, and a steel fork in his hand, and stabbed as hard as he could at something that could only shout 'Cha woo,' but the thing twisted itself and fled from under his crotch.

This boy is the earth of leap.

When I met him, he was only a teenager, and it will be thirty years from now; At that time, my father was still alive, and my family was well-off, and I was a young master. That year, my family was a year of great sacrifice.

This sacrifice is said to be more than 30 years before it can be turned, so it is very solemn; In the first month, there are many offerings, the sacrificial vessels are very particular, and there are many people who worship, and the sacrificial vessels are also very important to prevent theft. (After many years, I don't know who is being sacrificed, I only know that it is the outline of a person, and I can't see what it looks like, so I think it is really a fairy apparition.) ）

I had only one busy month in my house, and I couldn't keep it busy, so he said to my father, "You can call his son Runtu to take care of the sacrificial vessels."

My father allowed it, and I was glad that I had heard the name Runtu and knew that he was as old as I was.

So I looked forward to the New Year day by day, and when the New Year came, the intercalary earth came. It was finally the end of the year, and one day, my mother told me that the leap earth was coming, and I ran to see it.

He was in the kitchen, with a round purple face, a little felt hat, and a bright silver collar around his neck, with some patterns on it, which I thought was a wish made by his father in front of the Buddha.

But a silver circle can really trap him, I don't think it can't.

But he is precious, for fear that others will touch it, and I have never seen him take it off when I have seen him, so I thought it was some kind of old country custom.

It also shows that his father liked him.

He was afraid of life, but he was not afraid of me, and when there was no one else, he would talk to me, and often, I thought he was trying to tell me something, but he didn't speak, and I thought maybe we weren't familiar enough.

We didn't know what to talk about at that time, but I remember that Runtu was very happy, and said that after going to the city, he saw many things that he had never seen before, and the next day I asked him to hunt birds.

He said, "No, it has to snow heavily, and there is no time when the sea is not frozen." ”

I don't know why it doesn't snow when it doesn't, but he's an expert and I'm a real layman at it.

I was looking forward to the snow again.

Then he said to me, "It's too cold now, so you come to us in the summer." We went to the beach to pick up shells in the day, and there were red and green ones, ghosts and fears, and Guanyin hands also had ......."

I nodded frequently, and he seemed to remember something, and changed his words: "I'll go with my dad in the evening to take care of the watermelon, and you will go too." ”

"Thief?"

"No, when a person is thirsty, he picks a melon to eat, and we don't steal it here. It is the badger pig, the hedgehog, and the Ru to be in charge. Under the moon, you listen, the cheer is ringing, and Ru is biting melons. You pinched your fork and walked softly......"

I didn't know what it was then—and I don't know it now—but I felt that the black shadow I saw in the night in the shape of a puppy was unprovokedly fierce.

Now that I think about it, I think the fur on it was abnormal, like the lizard scales I had seen in the zoo later—I had never seen anything like this anywhere else.

If you want to come to your hometown, there are always some sayings that there are many strange things on the sea, and there are not many people who go to the sea.

- And then I asked about the 'Ru'.

"Doesn't he bite?"

"There is a fork, when you go, and when you see Ru, you will stab. This beast is very clever, and he runs towards you, but he runs under his crotch, and his fur is oily......

He didn't say whether the thing would bite or not, but if he thought that something as tame as a rabbit would resist, it was inevitable that he would steal melons.

I had no idea that there were so many new things in the world: the seashore was like a five-colored shell; Watermelon had such a dangerous experience, I only knew that he was sold in a fruit store.

When I was a child, I missed a lot, and the elders in my family didn't let me go outside to play, and later on, I lost time to make a living, and I didn't go to the beach.

"In our sandy land, when the tide is coming, there are many jumping fish just jumping, and they all have two legs like frogs......"

Yes! There are endless wonders in the heart of the earth, which my usual friends do not know. They didn't know something, and when the earth was by the sea, they all saw the sky at the four corners of the high wall in the courtyard, just like me.

Unfortunately, when the first month passed, Runtusu went home, and I was so anxious that he cried, and he hid in the kitchen, crying and refusing to go out, but was finally taken away by his father.

He later asked his father to bring me a bag of shells and a few beautiful bird feathers, and I gave him something once or twice, but we never saw him again.

Now that my mother has mentioned him, all my childhood memories here have come to life like lightning, and it seems that I have seen my beautiful hometown. I replied:

"That's great! What ,—— he do? ……”

"Him?" The mother hesitated, and without waiting for her to answer, she looked out of the room, and said vaguely, "...... He's not doing well either......"

"These people are here again. I said I was buying wood, and I took it away, so I had to go and see it. ”

Mother stood up and went out, and there were several women's voices outside the door, and I just thought she could avoid the topic, but come to think of it, why a few women?

I recruited Hong'er to approach him and gossip with him: ask him if he can write and if he is willing to go out.

"Shall we take the train?"

"Let's go by train."

"Where's the ship?"

"Take the boat first,......

"Hah! This is what it looks like! The beard is so long! A high-pitched, strange voice suddenly screamed.

I was taken aback, and hurriedly looked up, only to see a woman in her fifties standing in front of me with bulging cheekbones and thin lips, with her hands between her hips, untied skirts, and her feet open, like a delicately legged compass in a drawing instrument.

I was stunned.

"Don't you know? I've hugged you! ”

I was even more stunned. Fortunately, my mother came in and said:

"He went out for so many years that he forgot about it. You should remember," he said to me, "this is the second sister-in-law Yang diagonally across the door,...... Whoever runs a tofu shop. ”

Oh, I remember.

When I was a child, there was indeed a second sister-in-law Yang sitting in the tofu shop diagonally opposite the door, and everyone called her "Tofu Shih". But with the white powder, the cheekbones are not so high, the lips are not so thin, and I sit all day, I have never seen this compass posture.

At that time, people said: Because of Yi, the business of this tofu shop is very good.

But because of my age, I didn't have the slightest influence, so I completely forgot about it.

But I remember that she had a wonderful temperament, just as she said when she hugged me when she was a child.

But if I really climb up relatives, I can't tell, who her husband is, and now I can't tell where these are, there should not be much contact with her at home, counting her as my elder, I am indeed rude.

However, the compass was very uneven, showing a look of disdain, as if sneering at the French did not know Napoleon, and the Americans did not know Washington, and sneered:

"Forgot? This is really a noble man's eyes......"

I don't know where her hostility came from, but my mother didn't have such a temper in terms of age.

"That's what happened...... I ......," I said, standing up in fear.

"So, I say to you. Brother Xun, you are wide, and you are bulky to move, what else do you want these broken wooden tools, let me take them. We are a small family, and we can use it. ”

"I don't have a wide range. I'm going to sell these and go ......."

"Ah, you've put the platform, and you still can't say it's wide? You now have three aunts; When you go out, it's a big sedan chair with eight lifts, and it's not wide? Scared, you can't hide anything from me. ”

I knew that there was nothing to say, so I closed my mouth and stood silently, understanding that most of the malice was a proposition that was "wide" towards me.

"Ahh......h

After that, my family and relatives from nearby visited me, but all of them were women.

While socializing, I packed some luggage in my spare time, and this went on for three or four days.

One day it was a very cold afternoon, I had lunch, sat and drank tea, and felt that someone outside had come in, so I looked back. When I saw it, I couldn't help but be very surprised, and hurriedly stood up and walked towards it.

This is the intercalary earth, although I knew it was intercalary earth at first sight, but it was not the intercalary earth of my memory.

He doubled in stature; The previous round purple face has turned gray and yellow, and there are deep wrinkles, especially the two on the sides of the cheeks, like cat whiskers, but they are different.

His eyes were like his father's, and they were swollen and red, and I knew that those who farmed by the sea were probably like this when the sea breeze blew all day long.

He had a tattered felt hat on his head, and only a very thin cotton coat on his body, and he was covered in scarf.

Now that the weather is not at its coolest, and the earth dragon in the house has not yet burned, I don't think this is the case for people like him.

He carried a paper bag and a long pipe, and it wasn't the red round hand I remembered, but it was thick, clumsy, and cracked, like pine bark.

I was excited, but I didn't know what to say, so I said:

"Ahh Brother Runtu,—— are you here? ……”

Then I had a lot of words that wanted to pour out like beads: horned chickens, jumping fish, shells, and ,...... But I always feel like I'm being blocked by something, just swirling in my head, and I can't spit out.

He stood still, a look of joy and desolation on his face, and his lips moved, but he was silent.

His attitude finally became respectful, and he clearly called me an honorific title.

"Ah, how can you be so polite. Didn't you call you brothers? It's still business as usual: Brother Xun. Mother said happily.

"Ah, the old lady is really ...... What a rule is this? It was a child, and he was ignorant...... "Runtu said, and called the aquatic to come up and arch, but the child was shy, and stuck to his back.

When I saw the aquatic life, I only thought that he was eight points like Runtu when he was a child, but he didn't have a silver ring around his neck—and Runtu's body was gone, and then I heard that it was a period of downfall, so he sold it at a discount.

I regret not contacting him, but I can't remember it when I didn't think about it before.

Probably this is also the forgetfulness of the Chinese people.

I thought about taking some time and money out of the water to go to the temple to ask for a silver object, but that would be a long time coming.

"He's aquatic? The fifth? They are all living people, and it is no wonder that they are afraid of life; It's still Hong'er who goes for a walk with him. Mother said.

Hong'er heard this, so he came to recruit Shui Sheng, but Shui Sheng was relaxed and shuang, and went out with him all the way.

His mother told him to sit down, and he hesitated for a moment, but at last he sat down, leaned the long pipe against the table, handed over the paper bag, and said, "There is nothing left in winter." This dried green bean is dried there by home, please ...... it."

I asked him how he was doing. He just shook his head.

"It's very hard. The sixth child also helped, but he always didn't have enough to eat...... It's not peaceful...... There are no rules for asking for money everywhere...... The harvest was bad again. When you grow something and pick it up and sell it, you always have to donate a few times and discount the capital; If you don't sell it, you can only rot ......"

He just shook his head; Although there are many wrinkles carved on his face, he does not move at all, like a stone statue.

But I thought that there were many people out there who said that it was much more profitable to go to the sea than to farm, so I asked him why he didn't fish with the rest of the people.

He just shook his head silently, probably just feeling bitter, but he couldn't describe it, and after a short silence, he picked up the pipe and smoked silently.

My mother also tugged at the corner of my coat, telling me not to ask about it again.

His mother took the call and asked him, knowing that he was busy with family affairs and that he would have to go back to-morrow. He hadn't eaten lunch again, so he asked him to go to the kitchen to eat fried rice.

When he went out, my mother and I lamented his condition: many sons, famine, harsh taxes, soldiers, bandits, officials, gentry.

He was so miserable that he was like a puppet, and my mother told me that I could give him whatever I didn't have to move, and I could let him choose.

And then I asked about the sea --

"There were a lot of people dead on that sea." Mother said, "There are many shipwrecks, he is the pillar of the family, how can he go to the sea......"

I thought it was an answer, but I didn't think it was right.

The hero in my memory is not afraid of this, maybe it's different when he gets married, but he still has indescribable feelings that are difficult to disperse.

Perhaps I should pay tribute to a warrior who once spoke to me.

In the afternoon he had picked up a few things: two long tables, four chairs, an incense burner and a candlestick, a scale, and he asked for all the ashes of the grass (we cook here with straw, and the ashes can be used as fertilizer for the sand), and when we set out, he carried them by boat.

I thought I could give him the statue of my mother on the stage, but he shook his head and refused in horror, saying that he could not afford it.

Coupled with the fact that my mother was a nostalgic person, the statue probably had to be moved, so I dismissed the idea.

In the evening, we talked about idle days, all of which were inconsequential; The next morning, he took the water and went back.

Nine more days passed, and the date of our departure. The earth came in the morning, and the water did not come with him, but he took only a five-year-old daughter to take care of the boat. We're so busy all day long that we don't have time to talk anymore. There are also many visitors, some see off, some take things, and some see off and take things. By the time we got on the boat in the evening, all the old house, big and small, had been swept away.

As our boat moved forward, the green hills on both sides of the river, all dressed in deep colors in the dusk, retreated to the back of the boat.

Hong'er and I leaned against the window of the boat, looking at the blurred scenery outside, and he suddenly asked:

"Uncle! When are we coming back? ”

"Come back? Why do you want to come back before you leave. ”

"However, Shui Sheng asked me to come to his house to play......" he thought with his big black eyes open.

My mother and I were also a little confused, so we brought up the leap earth again. Mother said that the second sister-in-law of Yang of Tofu Shih Tzu, since my family packed up her luggage, it was necessary to go every day, the day before yesterday, Yi was in the ash heap, took out more than ten dishes, and after discussion, it was determined that it was buried in the intercalary soil, and he could move it home together when transporting the ashes; When Yang's second sister-in-law saw this, she thought it was a success, so she took the dog and killed it, and ran away as if she was flying.

The old house is getting farther and farther away from me; The mountains and rivers of my hometown are gradually moving away from me, but I don't feel much nostalgia.

I only felt that I had invisible walls on all sides, which separated me from me, and made me very depressed; The image of the little hero in the silver collar on the watermelon field, which I knew very well, was now suddenly blurred, and made me very sad.

Mother and Hong'er both fell asleep.

I lay down, listening to the murmuring of the water at the bottom of the boat, knowing that I was going my way. I thought: I've been isolated from the leap earth to this point, but our juniors are still angry, isn't Hong'er missing the aquatic life? I hope they're not like me anymore,

And everybody was separated up...... However, I don't want them to live like my hard work because they want to be angry.

I don't want them all to live like the hard numbness of the leap soil, nor do they all want to live like the hard work of others.

They deserve a new life, one that we have never lived.

I thought of hope, and suddenly I became afraid. When he asked for an incense burner and a candlestick but not a statue, I secretly laughed at him, thinking that he always worshipped idols and never forgot it, and after so many years, it has never changed.

Isn't my so-called hope now also an idol that I have made myself? It's just that his wish is near, and my wish is far away.

In the haze, I saw a field of turquoise sand by the sea, and a full golden moon hung in the deep blue sky above. I thought: Hope is something that doesn't matter what it is, what it doesn't care about. It is like the way of the earth; In fact, there was no road on the earth, but when many people walked, it became a road.

January 1921

I had a ridiculous dream last night while resting on the boat.

Coming from the turquoise sand of the seashore, with a golden full moon hanging in the deep blue sky above, the hero of my youth chased the black shadows of the rats in the fields with steel forks in their hands.