We never grew up (Lee)

People have been writing a long fairy tale all their lives.

I was born in Yunyang, a small mountain village called Fanshanyan in northwest Hubei. In the early 1960s, when the first phase of the Middle Route of South-to-North Water Transfer Project was built, Grandma Tai's family became one of the first families to move from Yunyang to the countryside. Later, my parents met and got married there. After grandma died, grandpa's family went back to the city first. I grew up in that small village until I was six years old, and then I went back to the city to live in my grandfather's house and go to school.

When I was young, I was as naughty as a boy I often stand on the back wall of the supply and marketing cooperative hanging on the half cliff with a few friends in the village and watch TV on other people's windows. She went to steal apples from her own apple orchard with Uncle Huang's daughter, and was driven away for several miles by a wasp. One of her sandals ran away and stabbed a bag, but the two green apples brought to her parents in her pocket were always taken home under strict protection. Chasing lanterns in the street during the Spring Festival, I got lost at night and was picked up by a relative. I stayed at her house for one night and was sent back to my grandfather's house the next day.

When I was a child, summer nights were a time for children to party. Grandpa's door is always busy. Every night, a group of men, women and children gather in front of the 12 inch black-and-white TV set and watch the Legend of the Condor Heroes with relish. After watching TV, the adults got up and picked up a small bench to go home, but the children ran away in a hurry and the adults kept shouting. How can a child end the carnival so soon? We also have our own "program". We played hide-and-seek in the moonlight, caught fireflies in the grass, and told friends ghost stories heard from grandma or grandma, which scared everyone to hold their arms and get goose bumps but still wanted to hear them.

I found a particularly good hiding place. There is a khaki vat and a big wooden lid under the eaves of Grandma Xu's house. I can just lie in the empty bucket and cover it to hide myself. What a nice place. I hid several times, but no one could find me. Every time around the end of this round of competition, I quietly climbed out of the vat, and I was very proud.

But then I became bored. I began to hope that they would find me. I tried to tell my friends about my secret base several times, but I was afraid that they would laugh at me or get angry and stop playing with me. Until one night, I hid in the vat again. I waited inside for a long time and never heard the end of this round of competition. I was a little tired from attending the school sports meeting that day, and fell asleep when I was sleepy.

When I woke up, it was midnight. I climbed out of the jar, holding my numb legs in one hand and a small glass bottle with fireflies in the other, and limped home depressed. While walking, I imagined that my family found out that I didn't come home at night, looking for me in a panic and anxiety, and even prepared for being scolded and beaten.

But when I got to the door, I found it was quiet everywhere. Sister-in-law got up sleepily and opened the door for me. Looking at the woman who appeared outside the door in the middle of the night, I was surprised to ask, didn't you sleep? When did you go out again?

I didn't come home at night, and they didn't know. I lay in bed and looked up at the glass bottle hanging on the bedside. The fireflies in it flashed and seemed to laugh at me. My nose was sour, and I fell asleep again with depression and sadness forgotten by the whole world.

The next day, I couldn't help telling a friend of mine, Juanzi, what happened the night before, complaining that she didn't even know to call me when she got home. Juanzi curled his lips and rolled his eyes, saying, I can't find you every time? We all thought you went home first. The more I think I'm wrong, I quickly tell Juanzi that from now on, I will never let you find me again.

From then on, I played hide-and-seek with my friends and never hid in that vat again.

At the age of "seven-year-old and eight-year-old dogs are disrespectful", all kinds of stubbornness are always constant. When I was in primary school, I would go to my aunt's house in Dachanggou, Shanyan every summer vacation. There is an old lady in her family who is over eighty years old. Summer is a good time to dry food. In my aunt's rice field, there are often several bamboo mats for drying all kinds of food. The old lady is too young to do heavy work. She cooks and does housework at home every day. Every time I see her cooking in the kitchen, I quietly squat down to the edge of the sun mat and pat her gently with my fingers. The old lady hurried out and raised her hand to the rice field and shouted: Wow! Oh, my God ... I couldn't help giggling. The old lady will chase me with anger and laughter when she knows I'm making trouble. I jumped up and down and circled around the drying mat in the rice field, but her little feet couldn't catch up. I just stood there laughing at her and making faces. When she caught up with me, I ran away again

When I went to menstruation's house in the summer vacation of the second grade, I remembered that the old lady said that she had never eaten bananas. Before getting on the bus, I begged my grandfather to buy me five bananas at the fruit stand at the station. When I arrived at my aunt's house, I excitedly went straight to the kitchen with bananas. There are no old ladies in the kitchen. I ran to her room again, but I couldn't find her. My aunt came to tell me that the old lady passed away this spring.

I squatted by the rice field with a banana and cried for a long time. Nobody can be fooled.

My sister-in-law is only seven years older than me. When I was studying at my grandfather's house, my sister-in-law often robbed me, and we had a fight from time to time. But after a few days, she will miss me again. She will also share something with me. Like bubble gum. At that time, bubble gum was covered with pink pattern candy paper and there was a thin strip inside. Five cents a piece, she buys two pieces at a time, eats one and a half pieces by herself, and only gives me half. Dare not think too little. I know that if I dare to say too little, even if it's just a pie, she won't even give me the half.

I have very little bubble gum, and I am not skilled at blowing bubbles. The bubbles I blow are always pitifully small Sister-in-law always blows big bubbles. I saw her blow a big bubble and squint at my envious little eyes and smiled. I jumped up in anger and slapped her bubble flat, covering half of her face. While she was busy pulling bubble gum out of her face, she ran away with a smile.

At that time, my dream was to buy a lot of bubble gum when I grew up and got rich, and blow out big bubbles that could stick to half my face.

Two years ago, one day I suddenly thought of this childhood dream. I just bought a box of bubble gum. The small tin box with cartoon pattern is gorgeous, and there are ten spherical colored bubble gum inside. When I was sitting on a bench in the square, I suddenly felt very sad. Tears welled up in my eyes and I choked and chewed. This bubble gum is not as sweet as when I was a child, and I have no interest in blowing bubbles.

I took out my mobile phone and dialed my sister-in-law's number.

Sister-in-law, I miss you.

Xing Yan, what did you say? I am playing outside with some girlfriends!

Nothing, I said, then wave your hand well.

Hang up the phone, I got up and ready to go home.

When they passed the fountain in the square, a group of children were playing with water happily. A little girl with two pigtails rushed into the fountain again and again, soaked to the skin and laughing happily. I walked among the children and looked at the little girl. I think she looks familiar. I also smiled happily.

The music is playing and another round of water spraying is about to begin. Some adults left in a hurry with their children. The little girl didn't dodge, and neither did I. Cold water splashed on us. ...

I looked up and let the fountain splash, as if I had returned to my childhood.

Yes, we will never grow up, but we will never stop growing. ? (Excerpted from Li's Childhood)