Hometown Prose: Hometown, Can't Bear the Lightness of Life (Part Two)

Not far from home, there is a family named Ma, a Hui nationality named Ma. Ma Yin Gui didn't live in Tai Su for a long time. My family moved away when I was in primary school. As far as I can remember, he was the first family to leave Tai Su. I remember him clearly because he dug my grandfather's grave. He is hard of hearing. When talking to him, shout your mouth to his ear. Even so, he may not all listen.

One year, my father went to the county to attend the training of rural doctors and came back a month later. Grandpa's grave is planted!

Grandpa's grave is in the depression of the mountain opposite Huaertaizi, that is, on the sunny slope of Yougougoukou. My grandfather died when my father was six years old. At this time, the tomb has lost its appearance, and it is connected with the barren hills and depressions, and the traces of the tomb have disappeared. Father came back from studying in the county and didn't know about it. One day, one of my aunt's sons was ill, and my father wanted to visit. When passing by Youfugou, he found that grandpa's grave had become a buckwheat field. The shiny buckwheat flowers were blooming brightly, and the mountain wind was blowing, and the flowers were overflowing. After many inquiries, buckwheat is planted by horses.

Father went to settle accounts, his voice hoarse. He still didn't understand what happened, thinking that his father had come to ask for his buckwheat. I told my dad at the top of my voice that I would send it to my dad after running over it. My father is a little depressed. He tried to cut off the buckwheat growing on grandpa's grave with a sharp sickle and throw the buckwheat stalk into the ditch to feed the animals, but he couldn't cut it.

Tomb-Sweeping Day, the father led his sisters to kneel on the edge of the horse's land, kowtowing, making a splash and raising grave paper (Mingbi). My sister and I tried to kowtow on the wheat seedlings, but my father wouldn't allow it, saying it was not easy to plant a crop. At that time, it was officially called going to the grave, but the grave no longer exists. Every time we ask my father where Misha is, my father looks around and can't tell the specific location. He said that after all these years, he forgot, so you just spilled it.

Ma had a daughter who married in the suburbs, and he followed her to live in the suburbs. Coincidentally, many years later, I went to the county to study in middle school. One spring, the school organized to plant trees in North Xiangshan. Planting trees halfway up the mountain, after planting trees, you should go to the waterlogging pool at the foot of the mountain to fetch water and water. On the way to fetch water, I saw an old man herding sheep by the roadside, wearing a white hat, holding a sheep whip and wearing a broken cotton-padded jacket in winter. The cotton in several places has been turned out, shining like an upside-down sheep intestine. I recognized him at a glance when I passed him. That's Ma Yin Gui. Although he is older than before, I recognize his red face and nose. The wrinkles on the face are deep, like the gap washed by the flood on the North Xiangshan Mountain; Hunched over, ignoring passing vehicles and pedestrians, staring blankly at the sheep grazing in front of them. Studying alone in the county, it is difficult to meet people from Jiangsu and Thailand, and the appearance of horses gave me a short-term joy. After the joy, I remembered that he had reclaimed my grandfather's grave, and a trace of hatred surged up. Just consult with some naughty students in the class to see who hits the target-bet on hitting the sheep with a stone, and whoever hits me will buy me ice cream. My suggestion received a unanimous response. Stones flew densely to the sheep. I only saw the sheep running around happily. We picked up the bucket and dispersed in a hubbub. Not far away, the horse looked back and was still driving the sheep back and forth together. Of course, I kept my promise and paid the price. I bought ice cream with the money from breakfast for a week.

Every once in a while, we must collectively water the trees we planted. On the way to fetch water, there was an accident. Let's run and see. It turned out that the horse was killed by a coal truck from Liupanshan. No one cried, only the people who joined in the fun came in twos and threes. My heart tightened, and I quickly dodged. When I walked back, I was a little sad to see the scattered sheep still grazing.

There is also a Hui family named Ma in the west of the village. The children call him father ma, and when they shout, they change their tune. I may find it more troublesome to call it three words, so I simply omit the word "home" sandwiched in the middle and call it Ma Dad. Mom and dad, no wife. There are different versions of the story that he has no wife. One theory is that she was too poor and ran away alone. The other is the motor. There is another woman outside, who often waits on his wife with fists and rattan. My wife couldn't bear it. Finally, one day, she eloped with a Hui who often came to Tai Su to collect dogs, sheep, cows and horse skins. The whereabouts are unknown, leaving a son and a daughter who are not the very clever horse's father. The eldest son is called Gaga, and the youngest son is called a woman.

The first time I walked into Ma's house, it was a snowy winter. Not only did I creak in the snow that day, but most people from Jiangsu and Taiwan Province arrived. Nothing else, just to see a lonely goose left behind. The wild goose seems to be ill and landed in the Woods not far from Ma's house. The horse's father was attracted by his croak. A lonely goose is taller than a sheep. Father Ma, like Gaga and a woman when she was a child, put one hand on her shoulder and one hand on the lonely goose to go home. The villagers who heard the news rushed to Majia's house, and suddenly the yard was packed. I squeezed into an adult's crotch with a cat in my waist. I don't know if I stepped on someone or something, but I got a slap on the neck. Fortunately, wearing thick clothes in winter doesn't hurt, or I am eager to watch birds. Under the crowd's onlookers, the wild goose curled up under the kang wall like a new wife who had just married into the door, showing frightened eyes and making sad cries from time to time.

The Majia family has three rooms, a cowshed, a kitchen and a wing. The kitchen belongs to the woman, and the wing belongs to Ma Dad and Gaga. Judging from the number of houses or indoor configuration, Ma's family is no different from most families in Jiangsu and Taiwan Province. The only difference is that the Ma family is more chaotic. Gaga and that woman are like two yeast tanks sitting around the kang. Women turn a blind eye and look at the crowd stupidly; Gaga hung up two strings of nose cleansers as usual. More and more people came, and Ma Dad shouted at the woman to let her go down, make the kang free and let people get on it. After being pointed twice, the woman was indifferent and was kicked by the motor. The woman who was beaten had her mouth open like a trouser head. She cried without tears, as if for everyone to see. In her cry, the geese called louder. Will it take her as a companion? Gaga collapsed to the ground at the urging of Ma's father, and almost fell when she bent down to hook her shoes. The geese were very surprised. They flapped their wings several times. People all know that quack is like this. Empty and high, you can trip yourself when you walk. A few days later, the wild goose died. Some people suspected that it was Ma's father who killed it and built a pot. It was the only time in my life that I saw the geese at close range, and it was also the only time that I walked into that father's house.

Gaga walks like a 70% or 80% drunk. If you meet him on the road and don't avoid him, you may be hit by him. In a few days, he can wear his good new shoes into a rotten bowl. Either his toe pierced the toe of the shoe, or the upper was worn out first. Sometimes he wears a pair of pull-back sneakers with a white background and red edges, which are usually given by forest farm workers when they see his pity. In a few days, the shoelaces will be broken, and the foot beams will often be like several dead earthworms, hitting the vamp when walking. Most days, his shoes are pulled. Gaga can't do other farm work, she can only herd cattle, which is not a good way. He won't deliberately drive the cows to the place where the water plants are rich, but will put them in a nearby and convenient place. He is often seen driving cattle by the river. The Soviets have a swearing saying: drive you to the seaside to chew rocks! It's from Gaga.

In winter, he will also drive the cows out and release them, but they are still on the beach. Cows are lying on the beach in the sun. He found a deserted, leeward and sunny place, and opened his chest to catch lice. After all, it's winter, and it's not too cold for him to hang strings with a clean nose. Sometimes he catches lice in his crotch, and some naughty children will lift the soil into his crotch. Pants in hand, he chased the children at the head of the village.

I only met him once in the days after I moved out of Tai Su. Once, my friend drove me to Zhuanglang and passed a small town called Taoshan. Through the window, I saw Gaga sunbathing under the brick wall in front of the nursing home. Dressed neatly, but obviously old, with a few gray beards lazily on his chin; No hat, no hair on the top, and some white hair on the side. I want to ask my friend to stop and go down to see him, but it's dark and I'm afraid there will be a thunderstorm.

Women are not stupid, just stupid. As tall as my brother, I walk more steadily than Gaga, but I can't work. Tamp the firewood into ashes when filling the kang, and don't turn off the fire when cooking. Father Ma taught her to cook potatoes, but Father Ma asked her to cook a pot of potatoes by herself when she went to work. Either there was too much soup or too little cola. Once, a neighbor smelled the burning smell and thought that Ma's father's house was on fire, so he rushed over. It turned out that the woman burned a pot of potatoes and the kitchen was covered with black smoke. She is still buried in the kitchen to add firewood. Father Ma found a son-in-law for the woman and found him. After giving birth to Du She, he left on the grounds of working and never came back. The burden of the family fell on the shoulders of the motor again. Father Ma was not discouraged and recruited another one. After this woman remarried, Tai Su began to emigrate. Ma Dad and Gaga stayed, and the woman and husband moved away. A few years after moving out, the son-in-law just wants to be happy, regardless of the life and death of the woman and Du She. In desperation, the woman dragged Du Sheng around begging. Seeing that her mother was helpless, the villagers often gave her some rice, noodles, oil, salt and clothes. The good times didn't last long, and the son-in-law came home and drove the women and girls out of the house. Hearing this, the old father Ma bent down like a maggot, came to the door and took the woman and her grandson away. Today, Du She has grown up and joined the WeChat group of "Tai Su Hometown" with me. He worked outside for a long time, and often took photos after returning to Tai Su, which made people happy. Occasionally I heard that he accompanied his grandfather or uncle to the hospital, but I never heard him mention the whereabouts of that woman. I don't know whether her life is good or bad. I hope she has a home, a house, food and drink, and someone hurts.

In Tai Su Village, there is a family with a high surname, which is my aunt's house. During his uncle's agricultural cooperative, he served as the captain of Tai Su Brigade. After the land contract responsibility system, his time was fairly rich, with six houses, large and small. In my memory, the gatehouse is towering, the courtyard wall is high and the courtyard is deep. My uncle and aunt have four daughters and a son. Three women have reached marriageable age, all of whom were married by other people's big heads. My uncle saved Qin Xiao, the only cousin in high school, for the last time and changed his cousin's daughter-in-law. Brother Zhong Ping was born with sharp teeth, which shows his special mouth. He's a little hard of hearing, too. He spoke softly and couldn't hear. He always feels that others are speaking ill of him. One year, he had a lump of meat on his cheek, like a piece of candy, and his face was swollen. Table tennis balls are covered with white powdery meat spines, which are called "pink pimples" in Tai Su. After the operation, my cousin left a raised scar on his face, like a cigarette butt. Because the operation was unsuccessful, the skin on one side of the face concentrated on the scar, like a complete piece of glass hit by a naughty child with marbles. The glass is not broken, and the cracks extend in all directions. At first, Zhou Zheng's face was damaged by a minor operation, as if plastic surgery had failed. As he is over the age of marriage, no girl wants to marry him. At this moment, my uncle took out his trump card: Qin Xiao. With the help of the matchmaker, my uncle gambled on Qin Xiao's happiness and replaced his cousin with a daughter-in-law.

This kind of exchange of a sister for a brother's daughter-in-law is nothing new in Jiangsu and Taiwan Province. As far as I know, my cousin's "head change" is the third in Tai Su, because there are already two after my cousin. My cousin married my cousin's brother, and my cousin's brother-in-law married my cousin's sister. Although they became relatives, their names were different and they were not affected. When my cousin and sister-in-law are pregnant, my uncle and aunt often quarrel on the grounds that my sister-in-law eats too much and doesn't work. Noisy, the more noisy the fiercer, the more noisy the fiercer, and finally to the extent of a big fight, water and fire are incompatible. No one will let anyone, no one will follow anyone. My honest cousin is not a talkative person. One to two, the pregnant wife was rushed back to her family by her uncle and aunt. The pregnant cousin was detained by her husband's family and could not come back. Finally, my uncle had a plan and organized a group of relatives and neighbors to go to the neighboring village to pick up my cousin. I've seen people who rob their parents, not their daughters. For a time, this became a joke of a vegetarian after dinner. One rainy afternoon, my cousin wore a piece of plastic as a raincoat, waded through the mud, and came to my house to wake up my father who was dozing off and participate in the robbery of her daughter. Cousin picked it up and dad got a sap on his forehead. In the confusion, I don't know who did it After my father came home, he fainted for a long time until his father became seriously ill in his later years and had a brain CT. There is a black shadow the size of a soybean in his brain. The doctor told me that it was caused by being beaten or badly hurt. Whenever my father thinks of the incident of robbing my niece, he still has a lingering fear. Soon after, my cousin gave birth to a son in the hospital, and my uncle and aunt made their own decision to keep the baby boy around and continue the family's incense. My wife gave birth to a baby girl and lives in her husband's house.

After one experience, my uncle and aunt didn't give up. Within two years, they took my cousin as a bargaining chip and replaced her with a mistress. The good times did not last long, and the same tragedy was staged again. Even the cause of the noise is exactly the same. My uncle and aunt rushed back to their mother's house again on the grounds that their wives were disobedient. The pregnant cousin was also brought back by her cousin on horseback. The same is Ma Tuo, and my cousin has cried and shed tears, but this time it is completely different from getting married. Cousin gave birth to another boy this time, but she was sold by her uncle and aunt without even discussing it. The taste of losing my son in the second month made my cousin faint again and again. When she woke up, her cousin was already a little demented. I heard that my second wife also gave birth to a son, but unfortunately we have never met. After several twists and turns, my cousin is getting older and older, so she was mercilessly slapped by the waves of marriage on the beach of bachelors.

My uncle and aunt married my confused and sober cousin to an older bachelor in Gansu. They cured their cousin of his illness. After the cousin became a normal person again, she gave birth to two sons and soon left her mother's arms. They don't treat their cousin as a human being, and the family ignores her love. Ignoring is just a symptom. They don't want their cousin to stay at home at all. After the two sons went to primary school, the cousin was completely kicked out of the house. Back in Tai Su, the eldest son has grown up and become the only sustenance of his cousin.

My uncle, who moved out of Tai Su, fainted at noon one summer when he was preparing to chop wood and cook pots and bowls of tea in the yard, and never woke up. The remaining aunt, cousin, cousin's son, four people live alone. My cousin is cleaning in a hotel in Yinchuan, and she comes to see her dizzy aunt every once in a while. My cousin's son got married and divorced. Now he drives a tower crane at the construction site, and he drives back to visit his aunt when he has time. Cousin pouted and cocked her head. She often wandered around the Yinchuan labor market and made a living by doing odd jobs. Thinking of her aunt, she came back for a while, but she didn't come back for several months, and she couldn't remember when.

Tai Su is a river village, with six streams of different sizes coming from afar and converging in Tai Su.

When I mention the river in Tai Su, I think of two words: come and leave. Just like the original amateurs, they came here to settle down, either to escape or to grow and develop. Who would have thought that in a few years, Tai Su's descendants would meet in Tai Su Valley in a hurry, stop for a short time and go to a place as far away as a river?

The river in Tai Su is noisy and far away. Where he went is a mystery. It is also a mystery where the descendants of Tai Su went and where they will disappear. After the relocation, Taisu people were the water flowing from Tai Su.

The water is long gone.

Tai Su, like a dry river bed.