Nostalgic Prose: Auntie

Zhao Er is my mother's only sister and my only aunt.

Zhaoer is aunt's name. Listen, how grounded and characteristic of the times!

Hometown people have an ironclad habit of calling them by their first names. They like to add the word "zi" before their names intentionally or unintentionally. If they don't, it's embarrassing for them not to say it. Aunt's name is very corny. After adding the word "zi", it is simply dusty and foggy. Every time it sounds like a handful of sand carried into the ear fossa.

Mother has an elegant official name. I wonder if aunt has it? I think there should be. As for the name, I never asked. In my hometown, as a junior, I can't call my elders by their first names, otherwise it will be considered disrespectful and disrespectful, but not all. It's no use asking. When I was a child, my teacher taught me not to worry about meaningless things. Maybe it doesn't make sense to ask aunt's name.

My mother told me that my grandmother gave birth to eleven children and four survived. My mother is the boss, and I have a younger brother, that is, my great uncle. My aunt ranks below my great uncle, and my aunt has a younger brother, who is my broken uncle. I don't know how many sons my grandmother gave birth to before she gave birth to her aunt, nor how many sons she gave birth to after she gave birth to her aunt. But one thing is certain, grandparents are extremely eager to have sons or more sons. Otherwise, I wouldn't give menstruation a name full of infinite hope.

In my hometown, there are many people named Zhao Di and Yin Di, but my aunt's name is unique.

My mother and aunt are like two domestic birds raised by my grandmother. When my mother came of age, the matchmaker matched the bridge and flew eastward to the depths of the jungle 20 miles away from my grandmother's house. My aunt and mother are in a similar situation. They were introduced by the matchmaker and flew to the south. They landed in a village called Xujiawan. The village is located on the ridge with a mountain behind it. Although there is a river ahead, there is a ten-mile-long mountain ridge in the middle.

Although there is no old forest in Xujiawan, there are always deep mountains. After my aunt got married, she spent most of her life farming, herding cattle, picking firewood, mowing grass and digging medicine in the back hill.

My aunt's marriage to Xujiawan is quite dramatic. The method of mother management is called "three sticks" In my opinion, menstruation's way of looking for her husband's family is similar to the material exchange in the old society.

What a coincidence, my uncle is old enough to get married, but he can't find a marriage partner. Grandpa is so sad about this. When he is free, he sits on the ridge in front of the door all day and smokes with an old hookah. He will never forget to stroke his gray beard over and over again. One day, an old man about the same age as grandpa walked behind him. Maybe he's tired of driving. He opened his mouth and asked grandpa for a can of cigarettes. When they smoke, they take out a lot of things. The old man not only went to grandpa's house to drink water and eat, but also made two couples.

This old man is my aunt's matchmaker, my later neighbor and my uncle's father.

When the old man heard that grandpa was looking for a daughter-in-law, he thought that the daughter-in-law had three sisters and immediately promised to be a matchmaker for his uncle. Not long after, the old man sent a message to grandpa, asking him to come and discuss an important matter. Grandpa grabbed the hookah, grabbed his hand and hurried to the market fifteen miles away.

The old man said that my uncle's wife wouldn't get married, but on one condition, my grandfather had to promise to marry my aunt to Xujiawan, so my uncle's marriage could be successful!

Pick another day. Cowherd's aunt released the cow and got engaged under the management of two adults.

My uncle is very tall. Now, when you are with him, you should look up when chatting. My uncle, who is close to the market, mistakenly thinks he is from Sichuan, showing a natural sense of superiority in his bones. When my sister and I go to the market, we often see my uncle walking with his head held high in the crowd, especially like a big goose walking among ducks, arrogant and indifferent. At first, I thought he didn't see my sister and me. But after many times, I gradually realized that once he greeted me, he lowered his status as a Sichuanese.

Hearing this, my father disagreed and said with a smile, do you think he can do it?

At the fair, although my uncle didn't take our brother and sister seriously, my uncle's mother was just a sick pot, accompanied by medicine all the year round. At this time, my uncle will come panting, either asking my father for medicine or asking him to make house calls. My uncle entered my door and found that he would bow his head, too.

My uncle has two hobbies, hunting and being an official. He is famous for his ability to shoot flying guns. Pheasants that fall to the ground never strike. When he found it, he threw stones first, and the pheasant that took off in fear became an unavoidable prey in his uncle's eyes. When I was a child, I didn't know my uncle's official position in the village. Don't understand until you grow up. He always wears the captain's official hat and can't bear to take it off. It was not until the relocation of immigrants began that many people in the village moved away one after another, and there were only less than ten families left in the village, and it was my uncle's turn to be the village party secretary.

When the weather is fine, my uncle doesn't care about crops and is busy with the work of the village department; On rainy days, I left my job and went to the mountains to find prey with a shotgun on my back. Because of my uncle's inaction, I forced out the most powerful aunt, who can plow, plow, carry crops and pile wheat ... without my aunt, I wouldn't do this.

One summer, my mother and I went to menstruation's house to visit relatives. One or two adobe houses in my aunt's house collapsed, and the outer wall was propped up with poplar branches. Only the old aunt's house can barely get by, but water leakage is inevitable when it rains.

The wing where my aunt and uncle lived completely collapsed. My aunt and two dolls moved into the kitchen, and the front wall of the kitchen was crumbling. Aunt found boards and purlins to support her, and the gables of the mule pens also tilted outward. ...

As a husband, uncle is incompetent, but as a son, he is a dutiful son. At any time, menstruation can't treat her mother-in-law, otherwise it will attract a fist. One year in the first month, I went to pay a New Year call to my aunt as usual. Haven't set foot in the door of my aunt's house, she heard her mother-in-law scold her aunt's voice:

"What can you do? Kang can't be heated! "

Look at my aunt, kneeling under the eaves that can't get the sun, burying her head on the kang for her mother-in-law, whose head is resting on the window, and her face is ferocious. Seeing relatives come in, the old woman immediately stopped swearing and compensated us with a smiling face. No matter the tone or expression of her voice, she has completely changed.

My aunt heard me say hello, put down the rake and slipped back from the table, like a child who was afraid of falling from a height. At that time, I heard from my mother that my aunt had gynecological diseases. I didn't know what gynecological diseases were when I was young. I didn't know my aunt had uterine fibroids until I grew up. Unfortunately, when I knew, my aunt had already had a hysterectomy!

As a rural woman, my aunt can't make cloth shoes. Finally, she learned it under the careful guidance of her mother, but the needling was far less precise than her. Even if I learn sewing, my aunt only makes shoes for two dolls and always wears yellow cloth shoes. My mother sometimes makes it for my aunt. My aunt said that she was not used to wearing cloth shoes. It's fake, but she actually loves her mother. Yellow rubber overshoes are a must for rural men, and they don't have to be changed when going up and down the mountain. Aunt's yellow rubber shoes are more than that. She doesn't even change relatives. I have seen the yellow rubber shoes she wore when she came to my house. One has shoelaces and the other doesn't. There are only hemp ropes instead of shoelaces. Because I don't change my shoes all the year round, the shoes are full of mud and grass clippings. My aunt sits on the table at leisure and smashes out the condensed mud, like a broken insole-it stinks.

Grandpa participated in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and he loved cleanliness all his life. Even if he is ill in bed, he can't hide the dust on the table. Once he does, he will be furious with his grandmother and throw pillows at people when he is angry. My children and grandchildren visited grandpa in succession during the summer vacation when he was critically ill. Shortly after taking the door, menstruation's hind feet came, wearing work clothes and yellow rubber shoes, with messy hair and grass clippings. As soon as she took off her rubber shoes and prepared to go to my grandfather on the kang, she was scolded by my short-tempered grandfather:

"Get out, you're smoking people to death!"

It turns out that grandpa doesn't like aunt's feet because they stink.

My aunt was taught by my grandfather to sit outside and wash her feet on the table, crying while washing. Her tears are not only bitter salt, but also grievances, sufferings, or other things. At that time, it was difficult for me to understand the difficulties behind my aunt's tears. Many years later, I look back at that distant summer. No matter who I am, I feel distressed. Because my aunt's feet stink, my grandfather is always very hard on her. My aunt didn't dare to go near her at all. My grandfather not only scolded her, but also hit her with a fist the size of a garlic bowl. The sick old man's hands are not too heavy.

According to my analysis, grandpa's abuse of aunt has multiple meanings. One is that he is dissatisfied with his hardworking aunt, hating that she can't give birth, disappointed, angry with her mother-in-law and angry with her own man; The point is to be dissatisfied with my uncle and dislike him. On one occasion, menstruation was beaten by his uncle and refused to go back. When my uncle came to invite me, he swore in front of my grandfather that he would never bully my aunt again, but after a few days back, his hands itched again. From this, I think of John, the hero in the novel The Pendulum by American writer O Henry.

When grandpa was alive, my aunt didn't come near. When grandpa died, my aunt had the opportunity to bow her head in front of him and burst into tears. Her eyes are numb and her eyelids are swollen. I went out to the toilet at night and plunged into the hospital, scaring my relatives out of their wits. Mother gave her aunt half a bowl of water, and then she woke up. After waking up, she continued to cry, holding her waist in her hands while crying. I feel very painful to cry.

I heard that my aunt is very capable, but I have never seen it with my own eyes. One autumn, that is, the season of ploughing the autumn fields after cutting wheat, as the father of barefoot doctors, he will go to the county for training for a period of time. So, mother sent a message to call her aunt and asked her to help plow two acres of land. When my father came back, the land turned into a steel plate-this was Niang's original words.

At the beginning of ploughing, my aunt rolled up her trouser legs, revealing her calves and ankles, wearing a jacket, bare arms, holding half a poplar branch in her hand, spitting on her palm, shouting, Ow-autumn-stop, the educated black mule and rhubarb horse bravely hoofed forward in the furrow, and the black soft soil rolled like waves at my aunt's feet. At that moment, menstruation's pace was light, which was her best pace and the rhythm she was most familiar with.

My aunt was ploughing when a magpie suddenly flew over the head of a black mule. Maybe he was shy with strangers, his ears moved quickly, and then he raised the shovel. The sudden fright made the unsuspecting aunt lose the plow and treetops, and watched the black mule and the yellow horse escape to the field. Under the restraint of the rope, the unloaded plow that didn't come rolled behind the animals, and the share of the plow splashed with sparks. My aunt was completely scared. Since then, my aunt has stopped helping my family plow, but every year when the farm is busy, photos come.

If someone in the village said that my aunt could sing Shaanxi opera, I never knew that my aunt still loved literature and art. Although my mother can't read, she stayed at school for a few days. My aunt didn't study all day, and probably didn't recognize her son's name. But she can find me out from many names on the roster, because there is a word "small" in my name, and she specially remembers it. As a woman, my aunt only likes to sing old songs. A neighbor said that her aunt sang "Lower Hedong" so well that she didn't dig medicine for a long time and listened to her sing in the distance.

This neighbor always exaggerates, and I doubt it. Once, my aunt went into the mountains to fold bracken and stayed with me for a few days. I was lucky enough to follow my aunt into the mountains. In the mountains, I cried and listened to my aunt sing. In order to satisfy me, my aunt cleared her throat and sang "Xiahedong". At an early age, I thought that all the Shaanxi operas were in the same tune. Except for the clown scenes such as "Picking Up Money" and "Saving the Night", all the other plays made me want to sleep. When I was a child, I liked to run into the theater for fun. I don't remember what my aunt sang at all, but I remember her rich voice and coherent singing.

As soon as he entered the role, menstruation's sadness and sadness were all in the play. She forgot that she was in the mountains and probably forgot me as an audience.

Many years later, I learned about my aunt's lyrics, and made clear the identity and situation of the protagonist. There was a description of my aunt in the original opera:

Hedong City trapped Song Taizu. ...

Aunt is not a character in the play, nor is she a king. She is just a rural woman who is tired of life, but she never listens to her. Maybe singing opera is her way to relieve pressure and vent her grievances. Only in the play can she forget the triviality of life briefly, find a quiet corner and unload her fatigue.

My aunt has two babies. The eldest is a girl who is naughty and people call her a monkey. The second child is a crying son since childhood. I call him a bug. When he cries, he doesn't cry much. His eyes were closed, his mouth was like a smelly bowl, and he looked up and cried. Grandparents, grandparents and uncles all scolded their aunts for raising two "scum".

The woman didn't go to school early, stayed at home for some days, went to work in Lanzhou, and found a son-in-law the next year. At first, my uncle and aunt disagreed, but the woman insisted on marrying. At that time, elopement was popular, and my uncle asked for 40 thousand bride price and got married in a hurry.

After graduating from high school, my cousin went to Xinjiang to decorate with others and didn't earn a penny for several years. Seeing that people who are almost 30 years old can't find a daughter-in-law, uncles and aunts are so anxious that they don't think about tea and rice, and they ask people to fix them up everywhere. Two years ago, my cousin married a primary school classmate, and she was a spare tire. Like my cousin, my uncle and aunt are not very satisfied, but there is no way. What does it mean if I miss it? Borrowed money everywhere and finally married a wife.

After graduating from high school, my cousin went to Xinjiang with others and didn't earn a penny for several years. A 30-year-old man cannot find a wife. Uncle and aunt are so anxious that they look for people to date each other everywhere. Three years ago, my cousin finally married a primary school classmate. Like my cousin, my uncle and aunt are not very satisfied, but there is no way. If they miss it, they know better than anyone. A living example is in front of us. People in their forties are still single! Uncle borrowed money everywhere, raised enough 80 thousand bride price, and finally married his daughter-in-law into the door.

In order to marry a wife, my uncle promised her to buy a building in my city. Married a daughter-in-law, bought a house, drained all the oil and water from her aunt, sold all the livestock, left two rotten houses, and the old couple set foot on the road to work in Xinjiang. After half a year, running away from home, the sadness of life is probably nothing more.

My cousin stepped into the society and learned no skills. He stayed in my town for half a year, but he couldn't find a suitable job. My cousin's daughter-in-law has a superior vision, but her vision is very high. She doesn't care about selling clothes in the mall, and she doesn't care about being a waiter in a restaurant. She just wants to find an office job. After searching, the couple didn't find a satisfactory job. Last summer, they locked the door and flew to Xinjiang like two happy swallows.

It is a good thing for a family to get together in a foreign country. However, new troubles followed. Daughter-in-law is pregnant and lying in the rental house. Cousin stayed with her and didn't mean to look for a job.

My uncle works as a doorman in a residential area, and my aunt cleans the restaurant. Cousin daughter-in-law has a habitual abortion problem, and her stomach gradually bulges for the third time. My aunt and uncle regard my daughter-in-law as a panda. My aunt's daughter-in-law doesn't like the simple meal she cooked when she came back from work. She often goes out to eat on the grounds of pregnancy taboo. When my cousin has no money, he reaches out to his parents again and again. Although my aunt pays her son a monthly salary, she can't take back his kindness and always loses her temper with my aunt. How many times, my aunt and mother cried when they talked on the phone.

During the epidemic, my mother and my aunt made video calls every day. In the video, in front of the family, my aunt speaks hesitatingly. My mother saw my aunt in trouble, and after repeated comfort, my daughter-in-law was in poor health, so she paid attention to her health at work, and so on.

A month ago, my cousin's daughter-in-law successfully gave birth to a daughter. Cousin is working outside, and menstruation resigned to serve next month. My aunt, who has been cooking for most of her life, is nothing more than rolling long noodles and tongue, or frying potato dishes and mixing soup, unlike the city people who can fry so many kinds of dishes, let alone cooking for the next month. Cousin's daughter-in-law can't eat delicious food, and she pulls her face all day, which makes her aunt in a dilemma. Cousin occasionally comes back from the construction site, and the daughter-in-law goes in one ear and out the other, and is waiting for her aunt.

From time to time, menstruation took the opportunity of buying food to call her mother and pour out her sufferings. My mother always comforted me and said, "Look at one person instead of another. If my granddaughter has it, she will have to endure her anger and serve her delicious food. " .

Hanging up the phone, my mother couldn't help sighing and saying, "It's hard to have a wife without one."

I don't know whether my mother's words are for myself or for my aunt who is far away, but there are many right and wrong, grievances and grievances between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law in this sentence. My mother is illiterate, and I haven't heard anything profound from her. Only this sentence touched me. A seemingly insignificant sentence contains her understanding of the way of mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.

A few days ago, my cousin took a photo of her aunt holding her granddaughter in a circle of friends, and her eyes narrowed with laughter. It is rare for my aunt to be so happy. At the moment, she must be very satisfied and practical.

Aunt Zhu, always smile!