1

It's the first month of the first month again, and the first month of the first year of the first year seems to make me more restless than in previous years, in previous years, I just waited for the sixteenth day of the first month to start, and after I went to college, I had to go to school if I couldn't spend the Lantern Festival at home.

The earlier you leave home during the New Year, the busier the new year will be. My cousin, who had just worked, had to go out on the 10th of the first month, and he was satisfied that he was going to work on the eighth day of the first month, and the teenagers who grew up always came home too late, and they always left home too early.

He Li and I made an appointment to go to the primary school on the third day of the Lunar New Year to pay New Year's greetings to my grandmother, and satisfaction was already waiting for us. I got up early in the morning, the winter morning was a little cold, there were still many people riding motorcycles on the street, the motorcycle back flowers tied with red wrapped gifts, at a glance it was to go to relatives. There are tightly wrapped children playing with firecrackers in groups of three or five, a pair of small hands are frozen red, but it still doesn't matter, the lighter is so little, throw off the firecrackers indiscriminately, and run away, leaving only a piece of laughter.

After the New Year, although the town is cold, it is not deserted at all. Red lanterns are lit in every house, and there are red couplets in front of the door, and the whole New Year is a festive color. From time to time, I heard the sound of firecrackers, it must be a rare guest.

When He Li and I went to elementary school, we didn't see my grandmother, and I guessed that my grandmother must be in the kitchen. Sure enough, Grandma and Satisfaction are cooking over a fire.

Grandma's kitchen is still the same kitchen, the pot is still the same pot, although the kitchen was cleaned with satisfaction a few years ago, it is still difficult to hide its dilapidation. The walls of the kitchen were yellowed, and in some places the red bricks were broken to reveal the red bricks in the walls, and the stove was blackened, with jagged corners more than the gaps in grandma's teeth.

Like Grandma, Grandma's kitchen is much older. Grandma hasn't changed much in the past few years, and at this age, how old can she be! The hair is all gray, there are not many teeth left, and the walking is not steady, and the years have taken away everything that can be taken away from grandma, so don't be too greedy.

"Happy New Year, Grandma!" He Li pounced on his grandmother when he saw it, and in front of his grandmother, we were always jumping around like children.

"Yo! I've become a big girl. "Grandma's face is loving. Saying that, the grandmother walked to the room tremblingly, opened the cabinet, and took out the fruit plate and filled it with a lot of snacks.

Grandma's snacks are still the same as many years ago, with peanuts and melon seeds fried by herself, as well as cut cakes and peanut candy that she hasn't eaten for a long time. When I was a child, my grandmother used to give us these snacks to eat, and before I could put them in my mouth, my mouth watered. Nowadays, there are all kinds of snacks such as chocolate, sandwich biscuits, etc., but grandma's fruit box still tastes like before.

"Thank you, Grandma!" I say.

Grandma: "Be polite to me." ”

He Li and I bought some hibiscus cakes and snacks for my grandmother, which was regarded as a New Year's greeting for my grandmother, but my grandmother didn't accept it, she said, "I'm still in school!" What a penny! ”

He Li: "Grandma, you can take it, this little thing doesn't cost much money, and when I make money in the future, I will buy you more delicious food." ”

Grandma: "Okay, grandma, take it." "Grandma didn't fight with us anymore, she hurried back to the kitchen to add firewood, He Li followed to help, and I sat down with Satisfaction to chat.

In fact, after satisfying the work, I added a lot of new goods to the home, such as gas stoves, induction cookers, and smoke machines. After I bought it, I went home to teach my grandmother, but my grandmother never used it.

The kitchen of the primary school was long gone, and many new buildings were built in the school, and the old houses remained empty. The principal asked her grandmother to move to a new dormitory building, but she didn't want to, so she guarded the old tiled house, and the cooking on weekdays was still the old pot stove that had eaten a lot of students.

Grandma can't do without that pot.

I asked, "Why is Grandma so stubborn?" ”

Satisfied with a long sigh and said, "Alas! Miss her son! ”

Satisfaction always takes grandma can't help, grandma is too stubborn, guarding the pot for many years, and in the end, the pot is old.

The one who built the pot was the satisfied father, the son of the grandmother.

2

Near noon, grandma's lunch was ready, although the big pot stove was old, the cooked rice was still the same fragrant as before, and there was a golden pot, I was sure to put two big bowls.

Grandma made her best rice noodle tamale, I have loved to eat since I was a child, the rice noodles are fragrant, the fine meat is flossy, the fat meat is not greasy, especially under the rice, if it is paired with the pot, not to mention how delicious.

There are also meatballs, which are made by grandma herself, which are much more delicious than those sold in the supermarket, and He Li's favorite is the meatballs made by grandma, and she began to slander them at school.

Halfway through lunch, grandma saw that He Li's pants were open, put down the dishes and chopsticks and said, "Look at your torn pants, I'll make up for you, how cold it is in this winter!" ”

The three of us laughed when we heard it.

He Li: "Grandma is fine, these are ripped pants, that's all, fation." ”

Grandma: "What's bothering?" Isn't this cold! Don't freeze at the girl's house. Grandma went to dump He Li's pants, and as soon as she tried He Li, she wore a thin warm base and nagged: "Why don't you wear woolen pants!" ”

I said, "Grandma, you eat, leave her alone, she stinks and is beautiful!" ”

He Li: "Grandma, I'm not cold, it's warm pants, I'll buy one for you to try it tomorrow to ensure warmth." ”

Grandma believed the letter halfway, and when she returned to the dinner table, she told He Li: "Don't freeze!" ”

He Li: "Got it, let's eat!" ”

There are always people who don't care if you look good or not, fation or not, he only cares if you wear warm or not.

It was almost dusk, and He Li and I said goodbye to my grandmother, who wanted to leave us for dinner, but we had to go home early. Before leaving, my grandmother brought us two large handfuls of peanuts.

I said, "Grandma, you can keep it for yourself." ”

Grandma: "It's not a rare thing to hold it." ”

He Li: "No, grandma's fried peanuts are a rare thing." ”

Grandma: "Just you can talk." ”

He Li and I still stuffed two big bags of peanuts and candy, and there was a bag in our hands, and my grandmother grabbed one handful after another.

"Come back often." Grandma said.

"Okay!"

Maybe grandma wants us to come back to see her more, when we were hungry, we would always bother grandma from time to time because of these small snacks of grandma, but she was not angry, and gave us some every time. It's just that now that I'm older, the attraction of these snacks to me is gone.

I still miss my grandmother, but when I start to miss it, I'm destined to be far away.

"Come back often." Grandma said so.

"Okay!" I answer the same way.

In fact, everyone knows that it will take a year and a half to see each other again.

A year and a half is not a very long time, but you never know which one and a half years will be the last one and a half years of life.

At that time, I didn't know that "always go home to see" was the last thing my grandmother said to me.

3

Grandma is a stubborn person.

She never used the rice cooker and induction cooker she bought back with satisfaction, so she guarded her earthen pot stove.

The school had already built a new staff dormitory, and the principal asked her grandmother to move in, but her grandmother refused, so she lived in her old house, and no one could persuade her.

The primary school also built a new canteen, and there was no need to burn firewood anymore, but it was difficult for grandma, and the school hired a new canteen aunt, and grandma received a pension and didn't have to do anything. It stands to reason that grandma doesn't have to cook anymore, and she is satisfied that she has a job, so she just needs to enjoy the blessings, but she can't be idle, and she does the chores of cleaning the school by herself.

The principal always advised grandma: "Grandma, you are retired, just rest, let us young people do this work." ”

Grandma shook her head and said, "I'm not old yet, you just need to teach and educate people." ”

Grandma doesn't want to be a burden to others.

At the beginning of the year, he returned to Hefei satisfied, he contracted a courier point, the business was good, and he could send some living expenses to his grandmother every month, and his grandmother did not spend, they were stored in the box, and his grandmother said that he wanted to save it together with the pension and keep it for the satisfied daughter-in-law.

Satisfied, he often persuaded grandma: "Grandma, we are not short of money now, you can buy some food!" ”

Grandma not only didn't listen to persuasion, but also picked up plastic bottles and cardboard boxes by herself, and saved them to sell for money. The elderly grandmother walks slowly on weekdays, and if she sees the waste, she immediately gets energetic, as if she has seen a baby.

Sometimes he was satisfied with the fact that he was busy with his grandmother from a distance, and he didn't go to help, because his grandmother wouldn't let him stretch out his hand, so he looked at his grandmother from a distance, and when he was satisfied, he asked him: "Why do you say grandma?" ”

The principal said: "The older generation has been busy all their lives, and they have endured hardships all their lives, and they are used to it. Speaking of this, the principal sighed, and he continued: "Your grandmother has been thrifty and thrifty for most of her life in order to support you, and you have become a billionaire outside, she still doesn't spend a penny of your money, or she won't leave her old house, or use her pot, these are the roots she sticks to!" ”

Satisfied nodded, but in fact he still didn't understand.

Many times, satisfied with his newly bought Mercedes-Benz back to see grandma, met grandma with a broom over and over again to clean the road in front of the school, grandma is always very careful, every fallen leaf does not let go, she is not in a hurry or dry, just like a broom sweep all dusk.

Satisfied with the car, followed far behind, he didn't know how to face grandma, he once said not to grandma to work so hard, but now he drove a big Mercedes, and grandma walked in front of him with a broom, like a sharp claw scratching in a satisfied heart.

Satisfied also knows that at such a moment, grandma does not want to be disturbed, and in the deep dull labor, it is the conversion of her heart.

The sun was about to set, grandma walked to the end of the road, the afterglow shone on the beads of sweat on her forehead, her shadow was stretched for a long time, the wind stirred the silver threads of her sideburns, and the young man in the car not far away was already in tears.

After grandma swept it all and was satisfied, she wiped her tears, packed up her emotions, dropped the car and ran to grandma with a smile.

Satisfied: "Grandma! ”

Grandma: "I'm back satisfied!" ”

Satisfied: "Hmm! Grandma, I'll help you. Satisfied, he took the broom from his grandmother's hand.

Grandma: "Let's go!" Go home and cook. ”

Satisfied: "Good. ”

The grandmother and grandson returned home, lit a fire to cook, as usual, it was still the old pot stove, looking at the fire with satisfaction, and the grandmother cooked hot dishes.

The old pot stove is very old, like a twilight hero, there is still a fire in the hero's heart, as long as there are still people who remember the old pot stove in the mountain village elementary school in their childhood, the fire will not be extinguished.

Everyone who remembers is a firewatcher.

But there will come a time when no one in this world will remember it, we will not forget, but we will die.

Anyway, most of the heroes are nameless.

4

In the second half of 2014, the school announced that it was going to demolish the old houses and use them to build a new playground.

Subsequently, my grandmother had high blood pressure and had a sudden cerebral infarction, and since then she has been unable to take care of herself and even speak.

It's hard to say that there isn't much connection between these two things.

When I saw my grandmother, she was already in the provincial hospital, and after a serious illness and several turnovers, my grandmother lost a lot of weight, and her shriveled skin was piled up on her face, without any blood and anger, and she still had a needle in her hand, and the medicine in the needle dripped very slowly, slower than grandma's weak breathing.

"Grandma!"

As soon as grandma saw me and He Li, her eyebrows furrowed, and the folds on her forehead became more obvious, she cried and mourned, her legs moved, and she didn't know what to say in her mouth, like a child who was playing with her temper.

I had absolutely no idea what Grandma was going to say.

Satisfied, he said, "Grandma wants to go home." "Only satisfaction knows grandma's thoughts.

Hearing the satisfaction say go home, Grandma nodded, and she looked at us with begging and helpless eyes, hoping that one of us could take her home.

He Li lay on the edge of the bed and secretly wiped his tears.

I coaxed my grandmother like a child: "Grandma, wait a little longer, and we will go home when we are cured." ”

Grandma nodded, helpless and tired.

I asked Satisfaction to find a place to take a nap, he has not rested much in the past few days, leaving me and He Li to look at grandma, grandma's tired eyes gradually disappeared under the eyelids, and then fell into a deep sleep.

He Li and I sat dryly on the edge of the bed, He Li stared at the bottle of hanging water in a daze, and from time to time hit my shoulder with her head, and we didn't say anything, and we didn't feel bored.

After a long time, I suddenly felt a warmth on the back of my hand, and I saw that it was a bony hand with green tendons, and that hand had no strength, so light that I could only feel the warmth.

It was grandma's hand, she gently held my hand, the other hand held He Li's hand, grandma put me and He Li's hand together, let me and He Li hold each other's palms tightly, seeing me and He Li holding hands, grandma smiled and nodded, there was some light in her eyes, she spent a lot of effort to spell out a vague "good" word.

It was the first time I can remember holding He Li's hand, and we held hands for an afternoon, like a lover who has been in love for a long time, like my own right hand holding left and right, like two clouds in the sky meeting, one cloud has the other. We are not excited, we are not caught off guard, and our lives are the same.

Grandma has always wanted to drink the wedding wine of me and He Li, and she used to say, "You have been together for twenty years, and another twenty years will be a lifetime." ”

Many people have said that He Li and I will definitely be together, grandma said it, satisfaction said, Li Shu said, Sister He Qing also said, but He Li and I have never been able to find love in our relationship.

Maybe it's me and He Li who know each other too well, and we believe from our bones that neither of us will really leave anyone, and we know each other because of many years of habit and instigation, so we just toss, anyway, we are all in a range that will not destroy the safety of each other's relationship.

But more often than not, I feel that He Li and I have become each other's constraints, and we can't become lovers, and we can't let each other learn love from others.

Regarding love, He Li and I are both newcomers.

That afternoon, He Li and I held hands, left the hospital hand in hand, went to the restaurant hand in hand, and went back to school hand in hand, and we were speechless all the way, but we both tacitly agreed to one thing: it was time to make a decision about our relationship.

He Li and I broke up downstairs in her bedroom, and we naturally let go, no one was a second earlier or a second late, and there was no reluctance, and there was just one cloud in the sky that was peeled off, and one cloud lost another.

5

The school's old cafeteria will eventually be demolished, and no one can stop it.

Grandma sat in a wheelchair at the intersection and watched from afar, she was a little uneasy, she wanted to stand up and get closer, but her left hand, which could only move, made her struggle with every simple movement, and the roar of the excavator drowned out the squeaky sound of grandma, and the pot stove she guarded for half her life turned into a pile of ruins.

Grandma used her only left hand to prop up her whole body, and she wanted to do something, but she could only move her bulky body with the help of satisfaction. Grandma and her people struggled to stand up, but a wall easily fell, and the dust jumped up to the sky and dissipated in the sky, like a lonely soul that had been withdrawn, and there was no place to go.

The excavator quickly bulldozed a row of old houses, and the grandmother's hand holding her satisfied arm gradually loosened, and she let herself fall on the wheelchair, like a rope lock that suddenly broke, and fell down like a mess.

Grandma waved her left hand, signaling satisfaction to push her away, she had a lot to say, she couldn't say it, she simply stopped forcing herself, she couldn't say anything, she was silent, silence was her most powerful goodbye.

The old house fell, and the grandmother left without looking back, but at this moment she was quiet, like a leaf falling on the ground, and the end was already doomed.

The old house is gone, and there is no place in this world where grandma can rest her life.

Three days later, my grandmother was gone.

Grandma has been around a pot stove for most of her life, this is her lifelong obsession, the pot stove is gone, and the people are gone.

When grandma left, I, He Li and satisfaction were all there, since the old house was demolished, grandma was in a coma, she hadn't eaten for a few days, her breathing was unusually smooth and peaceful, as if it was gone, but suddenly became short. We felt that something was wrong, we all watched from the sidelines, death seemed to be nearer, and what we could do as the closest people was to send grandma on the last ride, to say the last word, to see her one last time.

Grandma gasped for breath, her eyes were closed, and she didn't look very comfortable, but the young dolls could only do it in a hurry.

The old village chief said, "Who hasn't arrived?" ”

Satisfied: "Is it Dad?" ”

Village Chief: "No! ”

He Li: "Li Shu? ”

Village Chief: "It should be, satisfied, you go and talk to grandma, let her go with peace of mind, it's too painful." ”

Satisfied knelt in front of her grandmother, crying and said, "Grandma, Li Shu has gone to be a soldier, he has to protect his family and defend the country, he can't come back to see you, you can leave with peace of mind." ”

After speaking, grandma slowed down her breathing as if she had heard it, and the breath gradually became weaker, and gradually weakened, and in a few breaths, grandma's mouth opened slightly, and she spit out a big breath, which was considered to be out of breath.

I don't know if there's any superstition in this, but at least it's certain that Grandma was thinking about us "firewood brothers" until she died, and we said we were all her children.

When He Li was sorting out his grandmother's relics, he found a small yellowed book, which looked a little old, and he was older than me.

The small book is one of the few relics of grandma, open it, you can see a few crooked names: Yu Satisfied, Li Shu, Jiang Xingyu, He Li, it's hard to believe that grandma who doesn't know a single big character actually wrote our name. After the name is a neat circle, which is the catty tael recorded for us when we chopped firewood.

The sour plum soup is cool and sour, the antique-like old name is rusty, the past flashes, the memories are flashing, and the forgotten ones have fallen into the black holes, so the years are mottled and dreamlike.

"Send the small book to Li Shu, he has the most circles." He Li said.

Satisfied: "Okay, he can't come back, just give him a thought." ”

Two months later, the new playground was completed, with a plastic track, a concrete flat court, all kinds of fitness equipment, and a line of slogans on one side of the track: "Exercise for one hour a day, work healthily for 50 years, and live happily for a lifetime." "And the shadow of the old house has disappeared without a trace.

Children are exercising on the playground, teenagers on the field are sweating profusely, the residents of the town will come here to run, the old house is gone, but the old place is lively.

People come and go, and there will be a few people who stop and sigh: "In the past, this row was an old house, the school kitchen is here, or a wood stove, there is a cooking grandmother, and the cooking rice is fragrant." ”

The child on the side asked, "What is a wood stove?" ”

"Firewood stove, firewood stove is ......"

An old house, an old stove, an old grandmother, the people of the town all remember these pictures, in their hearts, in their childhood, in the stories they have to tell.

As long as the story is good enough, it will not be easily forgotten, and over time, it will become a legend.