My father's prose essay

1

Under the jurisdiction of Weifen Town in Xing County, there is a village called Dongpo Village. The village has a population of about 500 households, which is considered a relatively large village. The county seat is located in the northwest section of the Luliang Mountains, with the Loess Plateau slowly passing by. This has brought endless hardships to the working people living in this yellow land. Even the problem of food and clothing depends on whether God is happy or not. Otherwise, if the weather does not go smoothly, they will suffer and there will be no hope for life.

My ancestors moved here from other places. When my grandfather’s generation arrived, they completely left their hometown and settled here. Since then, I have become a stranger to my ancestors.

My parents, my mother is a native of Xingxian County, and my father is from another place. By the time of my grandfather's generation, my father's generation had also experienced thousands of hardships and finally settled their family in Xing County. At that time, the family was very poor, with nothing but a few mouths to eat. My father and mother got to know each other thanks to my second grandfather. After he came to Xingxian to establish a business, my grandfather moved with him. The second grandfather came to Xing County and settled his family in Dongpo Village. By chance, he became the leader of Dongpo Village. From then on, the second grandfather took charge of Dongpo Village.

Before I was born, Dongpo Village had already discovered rich coal seams, which were very thick and could be excavated for decades. After receiving the news, the second grandfather gathered ten wealthy people from Dongpo Village to form ten shareholders, raised money, and opened the coal mine prosperously. Soon after, every household in the village also bought the coal mine. After getting out of the car and pulling up the coal, Dongpo Village suddenly became lively.

Who would have thought that Dongpo Village, which had been silent for many years, would undergo earth-shaking changes due to a coal mine. This is undoubtedly an unprecedented "reform" for the people living here. In addition to cultivating the land to make a living, the villagers can also work in the mines, killing two birds with one stone. When the situation changed, the villagers' mouths burst into laughter and their hearts rejoiced. They really envied the villagers living in this dark ditch. As soon as Dongpo Village became famous, neighboring villages in neighboring towns and villages were even more eager to become relatives with Dongpo Village.

This is how my parents formed a family. My father moved to Dongpo Village, which was considered lucky. At that time, no matter whether the man's family had money or not, as soon as he heard that he was from Dongpo Village, he would immediately cheer him up. In fact, when my father moved to his new home, the family was really devastated. Nothing but lots of brothers and sisters. I don’t know how my mother got married. Perhaps, it is really as the rumors say.

My mother’s home is close to the county seat and the transportation is convenient. My grandfather is a well-known figure in the village. Everyone in Lijiata Village knows him. Even with such disparate family backgrounds, the parents finally came together.

The second grandfather took over Dongpo Village, and the family began to gradually prosper. From a family with a foreign surname, it became a landed household. Obviously, it is not easy. My grandfather and second grandfather are brothers, but their family backgrounds are very different. After the Dongpo Coal Mine produced coal, the village began to improve day by day.

When my father was twenty-two years old, my grandfather married his father. But we didn’t even have a place to live. In desperation, my parents lived with my grandparents. It wasn’t until my sister was born that my family moved out of the old and dark cave dwelling.

My father’s self-reliance made my mother feel more at ease. My grandfather, after marrying my father, no longer cared about anything else. Forced to survive, my father did a lot of business. Repairing cars, selling popsicles, working in other people's fields, etc. In short, they are all hard work. Finally, for the sake of my second grandfather, I reluctantly found a job in the coal mine. My father was very strong, but because he earned little and could not bring more wealth, he resolutely chose to go down the well. This decision made my mother's heart hurt terribly. Going down the well can make a lot of money, but it is very dangerous. My mother kept telling her not to let my father go down the well, but my father was stubborn as hell, coaxed her with good words, and started a business like "traveling to hell".

Under the dark mine, life and death are unknown. This kind of living is like "touring through hell", and life seems to be caught in the cracks of rocks. Just a little accident, then it will be a heartbreaking result. Mother was well aware of this danger. She got up on time every morning, ate the meal cooked by her father and sent him away. When it was time to get off work in the afternoon, my mother would always stand on the mountain beam at the end of the courtyard, looking forward to my father's safe return. Just imagine, what a frightening life this is! From the green grass in the new spring to the snowy winter, day after day, year after year, the luxury of life seems to be to see the return of my father, and there is nothing else to ask for.

After my mother gave birth to me, the burden of life became even heavier: firstly, she had to work in the fields, and secondly, she had to support my sister and me. The burden on my father's shoulders also increased invisibly. Grandfather and grandmother never failed to notice their parents' difficulties, but instead turned a blind eye. When this happens, my father can understand it. After all, in addition to the father, there are several father's brothers who also have to rush to start a family. My father saw my mother's difficulties in his eyes and felt pain in his heart. Although he didn't say it with his mouth, he understood it very well in his heart.

As the days pass by, we grow up day by day. Day and night, like two epiphyllums in full bloom, disappeared in an instant. My father was still working hard in the dark under the mine, while my mother was pulling my sister and me to live an ordinary life. After my father started working in the mines, his living conditions obviously changed a lot, and his life got better day by day. Then my father used his hard-earned money to build two more cave dwellings in Beipoya. From then on, my father left his grandparents and lived in a home that truly belonged to us. Then, my remaining uncles also started families one after another. By this time, my grandparents were really far away from the windy beaches of the Yellow River, and could no longer hear the rolling water of the Yellow River...

　二

I don’t know Since when did my father secretly offend my second grandfather? In anger, my father quit his job in the mines and went to work in the fields. My mother was very worried. It was impossible to support the family by relying on that one-third of an acre of land. Apart from anything else, my sister and I are both in school, and my sister has just been born, so the family’s expenses are beyond our means! The father hesitated under the window of the cave, with a faint trace of blood in his two deep black eyes. The father raised his hand and slapped his face hard. The father sighed deeply, like a man who had lost his soul, without any color at all. Mother slowly climbed up from the Tukang, staggered to the door, leaned on the door frame and said: "Ling, his father. We don't have to be impatient, we can slowly find a living, and worrying about it will not help." The father remained calm. He got up, without saying a word, and staggered towards the mountain beam...

At night, the midsummer rain washed away this barren land. On the high loess mountains, the drizzle silently nourishes the yellow land. The Dongpo River has swollen slightly and has already covered the stones for pedestrians. When my father returned home, he was dripping wet, raindrops were still dripping on his clothes, the cloth shoes on his feet were also soaked, and a pair of light crimson socks were stained with a lot of mud. The mother asked with worry and fear: "Where are you going? It's raining so heavily. It's really worrying!" The father was silent. He took off his wet clothes and put on clean clothes. , stood next to her mother and said with a smile: "I found a way to make a living. I will go to work early tomorrow morning." The mother put down the cotton insoles in her hands and asked doubtfully: "What way of making a living? I think it will work? But don't be fooled. You're lying!" My father took my mother's hand and forced a fifty-yuan bill into her hand. "I went to Dongfeng Iron Works to push the flat cart. Although I was a little tired, I made a lot of money after all!" The mother said slowly, "The ore cart is very hard. Why don't you go push it!" The father replied: "Yes. I have decided that now is the time when I am young and strong. It doesn't matter if I suffer a little and make a contribution. Anyway, I just want you and the children to grow up healthily." The mother unknowingly, Tears flowed from her eyes... She looked at my sister and I who were sleeping soundly on the kang, and sobbed a few times like a dream.

Dongpo Iron Works is located at the west end of Weifen Town, very far away from our Dongpo Village. In order to get to class on time, my father had to walk on the empty road before the rooster crowed. When the faint morning light showed a little light, my father had already walked dozens of miles. Just like this, I wake up early and wander around the ridge of Luliang Mountain like a wandering spirit. The suffering and exhaustion my father suffered were incomparable. The skinny body was stained with layers of color by the years. The sun was scorching, and he was sweating while pushing the ore cart back and forth to the iron-making furnace; in the white snow, the cold air flowing in and out of his breath trembled his father's hands...

For five years, like one day, in the cold and summer I persisted for five years during the exchanges and the changes of spring and autumn. What a huge sacrifice it was! My father, with an ordinary heart, lived an extraordinary life! Whether it was snow falling to welcome spring or the twelfth lunar month of winter, he never had the slightest thought of giving up. Perhaps, it is because of my mother and us that my father is so dedicated and persistent! He created wealth with his hands and raised us with the sweat of hard work! I think there is no greater love in this world than having such a good father.

The situation at home gradually improved, and my sister and I went to school in the village one after another. From then on, I also started to read books and learn to read. At this time, our parents began to love us more. Flowers bloom and fall, flowers fall and flowers bloom, and time is gone forever. Similarly, in this passing time, the land we live in also makes our childhood life precious. Throughout the year, the shadow of youth is captured from the wilderness. The "village soldiers and generals" in the village also left their happy time on both sides of the Dongpo River.

When my father left "Dongfeng Iron Factory", my sister also went to Dongpo Primary School. My father's friend introduced me to a job, and he also went to work in a coal mine. This coal mine does not belong to the "Dongpo Coal Mine", but was opened in Guanjiaya behind our Dongpo Village. My father went to work in the Guanjiaya Coal Mine, but he resolutely chose to go down the mine. Because there were not enough people underground, my father inserted a hole in the ground and became a "overturning wheel". In fact, my mother still doesn't want my father to work in the mines. The reason is that accidents often happen in the mines, and she is afraid that something will happen to my father.

My mother warned me several times, but my father always kept a straight face and said in a serious tone: "Oh! No matter what I'm afraid of, it's okay! If it wasn't for my old acquaintance, I couldn't have gone in. Besides, since I've gone in, let's do it first Come on!" Mother said nothing, sitting on the kang and starting to sew. My father walked out of the cave quietly and sat on the stone mill at the end of the courtyard, overlooking the mountains under the cliff...

My father worked in the Guanjiaya Coal Mine for several years. Fortunately, in the past few years, my father has spent every day in peace. Over the years, my mother has worried a lot about my father. Apart from working in the fields to raise us, her biggest wish is for family harmony and for my father to be safe. For us living on this land, the greatest meaning of survival is to let life have a tomorrow and let ordinary hearts see hope. My father chose to survive in the cracks. Perhaps, in the cracks of hard rocks, survival will give wisps of dawn. In the beautiful Loess Plateau and barren loess land, we have sown endless seeds, but will we gain anything? Perhaps, it will be a romantic wait. But despite this, life still thrives here!

三

The second grandfather’s family became more and more prosperous. Money, power, and influence all came with it, and he became the parent official of Dongpo Village. Since then, more people have started to fawn over. My father has a stubborn temper and won't do anything like that. I still work hard as a worker and struggle on the edge of poverty. However, in the end, the most feared thing happened to my father. In 1999, autumn had just begun, and the fine autumn rain was falling in the sky day and night. It's almost the autumn harvest season, and the crops waiting to be harvested will definitely rot in the ground. That year was a bad year. For mountainous areas with severe water shortages, this was undoubtedly a disaster year! There was originally a drought and little rain, but it happened to be raining like this. The elders in the village all said: "Oh! Oh my God! Are you unhappy again? Are we farmers going to have to eat?!" All the village cadres in the village brigade were anxiously wandering in front of the long table. He sighed for a long time, unable to do anything.

My father was impatient and couldn't help but feel distracted when he went to work. He was always thinking about the crops in the fields. With this thought, it finally led to a terrible accident. My father's right foot was crushed by a truck pulling heavy coal. He was drenched in the drizzle, and the blood from his foot seeped onto the railway track and was washed away by the rain like a bright red color. When my mother received notification of the accident and rushed to the county hospital, her father was already lying on the hospital bed in pain, with a melancholy look on his pale face. After the mine friends came to see my father leave, my mother burst into tears. Facing her father who was in severe pain, her mother could no longer hide her inner thoughts. The father gritted his teeth, sat up with difficulty, and told his mother: "Damn, don't be too sad. I'm fine. Don't tell the children about this yet, don't delay their studies." Mother. After he agreed to the matter, his father's face gradually turned rosy.

After that terrible autumn rain, the water in the Dongpo River swelled a lot, and the mountains were washed away by the rain and cracked in patches. The soil erosion on the Loess Plateau is clearly displayed at the northwest end of the Luliang Mountains, where ravines stretch out like tree branches and spread out from all directions. The originally golden season was eclipsed by this sudden autumn rain. In the Laojun Temple in Dongpo Village, people were praying one after another. My father was transferred out of the county hospital and admitted to a private clinic. My mother was afraid that my father would suffer alone, so she traveled back and forth between the village and the county town. We children were still playing and playing in the campus innocently, always thinking that our father was still studying abroad. However, paper cannot cover the fire, and one of my father's toes on his right foot was amputated due to infection. Although the operation was successful, it was undoubtedly an earth-shattering result for the family. Eventually, we kids met our dad in the clinic. On the hospital bed, my father was still smiling, showing an honor that would never humble himself. From the tall building in the inpatient department, my father looked at the beacon tower on the south mountain of the county town and said cheerfully: "This infuriating rain has finally stopped, and the sky has turned blue!" I looked through the pretentious expression on my father's face. Looking at his expression, his father's body seemed to be shaking constantly. I thought: It must be the torture and pain caused to my father after the medicine on his feet wore off. The young father finally left the windy beach of the Yellow River and came here, but fate brought him endless trials! If survival could be easy, then my father would not have to work so hard to survive. But, you know, reality is always the cruelest. Life is not easy. If you want to survive in the world, you have to suffer and be tired!

The autumn harvest is like a smokeless battle that ends in a hurry. Due to the baptism of autumn rain, a lot of grain rotted in the fields, and every household had a poor harvest. Forced by the situation, my second grandfather brought food to Weifen Town and distributed it to the villagers. This matter was the most practical thing my second grandfather ever did. In this regard, my father had a somewhat changed view of his second grandfather. As the saying goes, "If you are an official and do not make decisions for the people, it is better to go home and sell sweet potatoes." My second grandfather had a prominent position in Dongpo Village. The coal mines, iron works, and coking plants were all under his jurisdiction. He had considerable financial resources and a wide range of connections. . Second grandfather took action, and big things became trivial.

As soon as my father was discharged from the hospital, he visited his second grandfather on crutches.

After all, they are relatives! My second grandfather did not go to the meeting and chatted with my father for a long time. The second grandfather thought deeply: "Hey! They are all descendants of the He family. They have suffered a lot for you these years! When you get better, I will give you a new job and raise the children well. This will finally work out. I am worthy of my ancestors who are thousands of miles away!" My father was silent for a long time. In the dark cave, silent leaves fell on the ground, and only the wind could be heard blowing from afar, blowing away the four-season flowers on the window. Wobbly...

After that conversation, my father and my second grandfather got back together. Although my father had scars on his body, he felt peaceful in his heart. This is a reform. He made his father know that the meaning of survival is not only for himself, but also for others. After his father recovered from his illness, he did not let his second grandfather arrange a living for him. My second grandfather also knew very well that based on his father’s character, he would fall down and get up again. My father still went to the Guanjiaya Coal Mine. It was not until the state cracked down on illegal coal mines that my father and his family left for the west exit.

My father changed his family twice, and finally stopped walking in another place. As they grow up, their older sisters have all married away. The once young father is getting older day by day, and his face is obviously covered with a layer of kind wrinkles. This is the mark that time has engraved on his body during the changes of the years. Although my father worked hard all his life, the family did come through in harmony. Sometimes, I think: As a man, my father has done enough in this life, this journey, sunset and sunrise, hard work! As children, we feel extremely proud to have such a kind and hard-working father!

When the cold night came, I seemed to see my father's difficult footsteps coming towards me again.

Outside the window, fresh snow fell, and snowflakes fell on my father's shoulders. In the moonlight, my father's figure seemed so clear and familiar in his memory...