Send off relatives thousands of miles away

At six o'clock in the morning on February 10th, the rooster crowed and it was still dark. Saying goodbye to the grandparents and grandmothers who stayed behind in "Siberia", the Thousand Miles Farewell Group set off in two cars.

Climb the winding mountain road and head west and north. The sky is getting brighter and brighter, and the road is getting smoother. Passing through Huichang, Ruijin, Ji'an, Pingxiang, Xiangtan, Changsha, Changde... The destination is Jingzhou, Hubei.

The farewell group was led by grandpa. To talk about the image of my grandfather in my mind, it is quite tall. Listen, when we were speeding on the highway in Huichang, he, who was blind, saw two peaks and casually said: These are the "peaks outside Huichang" that Mao Zedong said.

Um...I can't answer the question. I had to ask Du Niang silently. Thanks to Du Niang's generous answer, I was able to find out that this poem came from Chairman Mao's poem "Qing Ping Le Huichang" written in Huichang in 1934. At that time, he was squeezed out of the leadership group. In this poem, Chairman Mao noted: "In 1934, the situation was critical, we were preparing for the Long March, and we were in a depressed mood...".

After spending more than 7 hours, passing through Huichang, Ruijin, Ji'an and other red revolutionary holy places in Jiangxi, we finally arrived at Pingxiang at the junction of Jiangxi and Hunan. That's right, this girl has come to the location of Wugong Mountain again. Thinking back to those days, the scene of Despair Slope on Wugong Mountain is still vivid in my mind!

Finished the buffet lunch for 35 yuan per person at the Pingxiang service area. The family-seeing group continued northward and arrived in Songzi City at 7 p.m. The whole journey took 13 hours.

Since then, the farewell group has embarked on a five-day and four-night trip of eating, drinking and having fun. Looking back on this trip, there are so many things, so many scenes, and so many thanks that are worth recording.

The first is about food. Since the night we arrived in Songzi, we have experienced the good craftsmanship of Brother Han's mother and Erma (that is, the second aunt, the people in Songzi call them dear, uncles are called father, and aunts and uncles are called mother). Every time, there is a table full of dishes, including Hubei special hot pot, fish cakes, mung bean balls, glutinous rice cakes, etc. They also specially take care of our taste and use less chili in each dish.

While strolling around Songzi City, I saw or tasted a few special street snacks. Such as crispy egg rolls and fragrant and sweet rice cakes.

The second is about the morning scene. I don’t know since when, every time I go to a city, I want to wake up early one day to experience the local morning. On the morning of the second day after arriving in Songzi, my grandpa, parents and I walked from the lake behind the hotel to the nearby vegetable market.

There are many people doing morning exercises by the lake, some doing Tai Chi in twos and threes, some walking alone, or jogging. Although the vegetable market is not big, it is neatly planned. Whether selling vegetables, meat, wine or groceries, there are fixed stalls.

The third one is about the wedding. Sending relatives off thousands of miles away creates a wonderful story. Although the family did not want to give up Er Er to marry in Hubei, Brother Han was mature, stable and capable, and won the hearts of the family, and was finally unanimously recognized. Therefore, I promised this thousand-mile marriage.

The wedding of the two was held in Songzi on February 12. Er Er got married in a hotel, and from then on she was not only my daughter, but also other people's wives and their daughter-in-law.

Although my sister is still the same sister, although she still works in Shenzhen, and although she comes home two or three times a year whether she is married or not, when she holds the groom's hand and walks into the wedding hall, when they exchange words with each other, Ring, when the groom gave an affectionate speech, my sister and I couldn't stop crying when I thought that my sister who wore the same pants and shared the same bed with me was going to marry someone else. Not only me, but also my parents and Cui Cui seemed to be crying. Reluctance, emotion, and joy are mixed together, and along with the tears, they turn into silent blessings. I hope you two can "hold hands and grow old together."

The winds are different in a hundred miles, and the customs are different in a thousand miles. The distance between Meixian and Songzi is more than a thousand kilometers, and the customs are very different. As far as weddings are concerned, Hakka people are relatively more traditional and have many "specialties".

If people in Songzi hold a wedding in a hotel, they also need to book the number of banquet tables in advance. However, on the official day, banquets will be arranged depending on the number of guests, and the remaining ones can be postponed, so there is great flexibility. Unlike when we serve wine, we have to carefully estimate the number of guests, as we are afraid of over-booking and under-booking.

Songzi people are indeed good at eating, drinking and having fun. After the wedding lunch, most of the relatives will stay to open the table and play poker, mahjong, flower cards, etc. On the wedding day of February 2, according to observations, it was estimated that thirteen stations were opened at the same time. Played from afternoon to evening.

Immediately afterwards, the tea party started at five o'clock in the evening.

On the table were candies, biscuits, melon seeds and peanuts, and a plate of eggs, with a small stack of ginger sugar for sticking the eggs. Later, the bride and groom will pour brown sugar water to the guests one by one, and the guests will give tea money to the newlyweds, ranging from 150 to 1,800. This money will eventually be used directly by the couple after their marriage. As an unmarried person, I love this hahaha.

The fourth is about play. My grandfather and parents rarely had the opportunity to travel far away. This time we came to Hubei. Thanks to the care of Brother Han’s father and relatives, we were able to take our family to Yichang and Jingzhou at the same time in one day. Although time was short, it was gratifying to be able to "grante some of my wishes" to my grandpa.

The weather on this day was excellent and the sun was shining brightly. I thought that the view around the Three Gorges Dam would be extremely wide, but I did not expect that the wide river surface was filled with mist. However, no matter how heavy the fog is, it cannot block the majesty of the Three Gorges Dam, nor can it prevent us from admiring its greatness and magnificence.

We observed the Three Gorges Dam from three angles: looking down, looking straight up, and looking up at Tanziling, 185 Observation Platform, and Interception Memorial Park.

It is said that flood discharge from the dam is rare. Sure enough, we did not encounter it either. But the design of the five-level ship lock is shocking. The ship is sent up or down step by step, opening and closing the locks, releasing water and taking in water. The process is very slow, but the wisdom in it is amazing.

After visiting the Three Gorges Dam in the morning, we drove to Jingzhou to explore the rich cultural history of the ancient city. First, we took a sightseeing battery car and walked around the perimeter of the 13-kilometer long Jingzhou Ancient City Wall, and then came to Guan Gong Yiyuan to see the magnificent Guan Gong statue.

Since ancient times, Jingzhou has been a battleground for military strategists. There is a saying that "whoever wins Jingzhou wins the world." The ancient city wall of Jingzhou was built during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Most of the existing city walls were built during the Ming and Qing dynasties. There are words printed on the bricks used to build the wall. According to the battery car master, this was printed by the imperial court in ancient times when the brick burners were required to hold the bricks accountable if there were quality problems.

During the Three Kingdoms period, Jingzhou was also a place where Wei, Shu and Wu fought for each other. During the Longzhong War, Zhuge Liang proposed that "Jingzhou controls Han and Mian in the north, takes full advantage of the South China Sea, connects Wuhui in the east, and Bashu in the west. This is a country that uses military force." He proposed to take Jingzhou as his home first, and then take Yizhou to form a tripod. Then he tried to capture China's strategic vision.

My grandfather is a person who pays attention to history. He has read "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" many times and is quite familiar with the history of the Three Kingdoms. He also knows about Guan Yu's defense of Jingzhou, his loss of Jingzhou, his defeat in Maicheng, and his subsequent death by Sun Quan. Everything is understood. During this trip, I specially came to Guan Gong Yiyuan to admire the world's largest bronze statue of Guan Gong.

Guan Gong Yiyuan takes "righteousness" as its theme, presumably to reflect Guan Yu's righteousness and Bo Yuntian's life. Due to the rush of time, this trip was like a quick tour, and I was not able to visit in detail and feel it properly. However, the image of Guan Gong standing in the wind, holding a sword in his hand, standing like a mountain, is burned into my mind, and it must have been burned into my grandfather's mind as well. in mind.

End

It’s time to gather and part ways. The five-day and four-night trip to Hubei is coming to an end. The group will set off back to Meizhou at 9:30 am today (February 14). , has now arrived in Meizhou and is expected to arrive home in an hour.

Goodbye, Brother Han’s relatives! Goodbye, Songzi! Goodbye, Hubei! We'll meet again someday.

? Written on the way home at 0:30 am on February 15, 2017