Lu Xun’s hometown abbreviation 300

I braved the severe cold to return to my hometown, which is more than 2,000 miles away and has been away for more than 20 years.

Since it was late winter; as we approached my hometown, the weather became gloomy again. The cold wind blew into the cabin, making a whining sound. Looking out from the gap, I saw a few horizontal lines far and near under the pale yellow sky. A desolate deserted village with no vitality. My heart couldn't help but feel sad. Ah! Isn’t this the hometown I remember from time to time in the past twenty years?

This is nothing like the hometown I remember. My hometown is much better. But if I were to remember his beauty and describe his good qualities, I would have no images or words. It seems like that's it. So I explained to myself: The same is true in my hometown - although there is no progress, it may not be as sad as I feel. This is just a change in my own mood, because I am not in a good mood when I return to my hometown this time.

I came here specifically to say goodbye to him. The old house where we have lived together as a family for many years has been sold to another family member. The deadline for handing over the house is only this year. Therefore, we must hurry up before the first day of the first lunar month to say goodbye to the familiar old house and stay away from the familiar place. Hometown, move to a different place where I am looking for food.

I arrived at the door of my house early the next morning. Many broken stems of withered grass on the corrugated roof were shaking in the wind, explaining why this old house inevitably changed owners. The main family who lived a few rooms away had probably moved out, so it was very quiet. When I arrived outside my room, my mother had already greeted me, and then my eight-year-old nephew Honger flew out.

My mother was very happy, but she also had a lot of desolation in her face. She taught me to sit down, rest, and drink tea, not to mention moving. Hong'er had never seen me, he stood far away and just looked at me.

But we finally talked about moving. I said that the apartment outside had been rented, and I bought a few pieces of furniture. In addition, I had to sell all the wooden furniture in the house and add more. Mother also agreed, and the luggage had been gathered together. Most of the wooden items that were difficult to carry were sold, but they couldn't collect the money.

"You can rest for a day or two and visit your relatives and family, and then we can leave." Mother said.

"Yes."

"And Runtu, every time he comes to my house, he always asks about you and wants to see you. I have already brought you home Let him know about the date, he may be coming soon."

At this time, a magical picture suddenly flashed in my mind: a golden full moon hung in the deep blue sky. Below is the sandy land by the seaside, where endless green watermelons are planted. Among them is a boy of eleven or twelve years old, wearing a silver ring around his neck, holding a steel fork in his hand, and stabbing a harpoon with all his strength. But she twisted her body and escaped from his crotch.

This young man is Runtu. When I met him, he was only over ten years old, which was about thirty years ago. At that time, my father was still alive and my family was well off, so I was just a young master. That year, my family held a big sacrifice for the new year (3). It is said that this sacrifice only happens once every thirty years, so it is very solemn. During the first month of the year, there are many offerings to the ancestors, and the sacrificial vessels are very particular. There are also many worshipers, and the sacrificial vessels must be guarded against theft. My family only has one busy month (there are three types of workers here: those who work for a certain family throughout the year are called long-term workers; those who work for a certain family on a daily basis are called short-term workers); those who also farm their own land only come to work during the New Year, festivals and rent collection. It must be called a busy month for those who work), and he was too busy, so he told his father that he could ask his son Runtu to take charge of the sacrificial vessels.

My father agreed; I am also very happy, because I have heard the name Runtu a long time ago, and I know that he and I are about the same age. He was born in the leap month, and the five elements lack earth, so his father is called Runtu. He is Runtu. He can pretend to be [Gong Jing] and catch small birds.

So I look forward to the New Year every day. When the New Year arrives, Runtu will also arrive. Finally, at the end of the year, one day, my mother told me that Runtu was coming, so I ran to see her. He is in the kitchen with a round purple face, a small felt hat on his head, and a bright silver collar around his neck. This shows that his father loves him very much and is afraid that he will die, so he made a wish in front of the gods and Buddhas. The circle caught him. He was very shy when meeting people, but he was not afraid of me. He would talk to me when no one else was around, and within half a day, we became familiar with each other.

We didn’t know what to talk about at that time. I just remember that Runtu was very happy, saying that he saw many things he had never seen before after going to the city.

The next day, I asked him to catch birds. He said:

"This can't be done. It must snow heavily. It snowed on our sandy ground, so I cleared out a clearing, used a short stick to prop up a large bamboo plaque, and scattered the grain. When I saw the birds coming to eat, I just pulled the rope tied to the stick from a distance, and the birds were covered under the bamboo plaque: rice chickens, horned chickens, swans, blue-backed... ”

So I looked forward to snowing again.

Runtu said to me again:

"It's too cold now. Come to us in the summer. We go to the beach to pick up shells during the day. There are red and green ones, ghosts." There are people who are afraid, and there are also Guanyin Hands. My father and I will take care of the watermelon in the evening, and you will go too."

"No, people who are walking are thirsty. Picking a melon to eat is not considered stealing here. What we have to worry about is the badger, the hedgehog, and the harpoon. Under the moon, listen, the harpoon is biting the melon. Walk gently..."

I didn't know what this so-called thing was at that time - and I still don't know it now - I just felt that it looked like a puppy for no reason. ferocious.

"Doesn't he bite?"

"There is a Hucha. When you get there, you see the harpoon, and you stab it. This beast is very smart and runs towards you. Instead, it escaped from under the crotch. His fur was as smooth as oil..."

I never knew there were so many new things in the world: there are such colorful shells on the seaside; watermelons have such dangerous experiences, I just knew that he was selling out in the fruit shop.

"In our sandy land, when the tide is coming, there are many jumping fish that just jump, with two legs like frogs..."

Ah! There are endless strange things in Runtu's heart, which are unknown to my ordinary friends. They didn't know something. When Runtu was at the beach, they, like me, only saw the sky at the four corners of the high wall in the yard.

Unfortunately, the first month passed and Runtu had to go home. I was so anxious that I burst into tears. He also hid in the kitchen, crying and refusing to go out, but he was finally taken away by his father. He later asked his father to bring me a pack of shells and some nice bird feathers. I also gave him things once or twice, but we never met again.

Now that my mother mentioned him, all my memories of my time here suddenly came to life like lightning, and I seemed to see my beautiful hometown. I responded and said:

"That's great! He, - how is it?..."

"He?... His situation is also very unsatisfactory..." Mother said, then Looking outside the room, "These people are here again. They said they were buying wooden utensils, so they just took them away casually. I have to go and have a look."

My mother stood up and went out. There were several women's voices outside the door. I invited Hong'er to come closer and chat with him: I asked him if he could write and if he was willing to go out.

"Shall we go by train?"

"We will go by train."

"Where is the boat?"

"First Take a boat,..."

"Ha! This is what it looks like! The beard is so long!" A sharp and strange voice suddenly shouted.

I was startled and quickly raised my head, only to see a woman in her fifties with protruding cheekbones and thin lips standing in front of me, her hands on her hips, without a skirt, and her face open. The two feet are like the thin and lonely compasses in a drawing instrument.

I was stunned.

"Don't you recognize me? I even hugged you!"

I was even more stunned. Fortunately, my mother also came in and said from the side:

"He has been out for many years and has forgotten all about it. You should remember it," she said to me, "This is the second sister-in-law Yang across the door,... open From a tofu shop.”

Oh, I remember. When I was a child, there was indeed a Mrs. Yang sitting in the tofu shop diagonally across the door all the time, and everyone called her "Tofu Xishi"⑹.

But with the whitening powder on her face, her cheekbones are not so high, her lips are not so thin, and she sits all day long, and I have never seen such a compass-like posture. At that time, people said: Because of this, the business of this tofu shop is very good. But probably because of my age, I wasn't influenced by it at all, so I completely forgot about it. However, the compass was very uneven, showing a look of disdain, as if mocking the French for not knowing Napoleon⑺ and the Americans not knowing Washington⑻. He sneered and said:

"Forgot? This is really a noble person... ”

“That’s what happened...I...” I stood up in fear and said.

"Then, let me tell you. Brother Xun, you are rich and cumbersome to move. If you want these broken wooden utensils, let me take them. Our small family needs them. "

"I'm not rich. I have to sell these and go..."

"Oh, you let go of the Taoist platform, and you still said no. Rich? You have a three-bedroom concubine now, and you can carry a sedan with eight carriages. You can’t hide anything from me, so I kept silent. , stood silently.

"Ah, ah, ah, the richer you are, the more unwilling you are to relax. The more unwilling you are to relax, the richer you are..." Companion turned around angrily. He said coquettishly, walked out slowly, stuffed a pair of my mother's gloves into his waistband, and went out.

After that, my family and relatives from nearby came to visit me. While socializing, I took some time to pack some luggage, and this went on for three or four days.

One day it was a very cold afternoon. After lunch, I was sitting drinking tea. I felt someone came in outside, so I turned back to look. When I saw it, I couldn't help but be very frightened. I stood up in a hurry and walked towards it.

This is Runtu. Although I knew it was Runtu as soon as I saw it, it was not the Runtu in my memory. His stature has doubled; his round purple face has turned gray and has deep wrinkles; his eyes are also swollen and red like his father's. I know that, farming by the sea People who live with the sea breeze blowing all day long are probably like this. He wore a broken felt hat on his head, and only a very thin cotton coat on his body, which was tangled all over. He was holding a paper bag and a long pipe in his hand, and his hands were not as red and round as I remembered. His hands were thick, clumsy and cracked, like pine bark.

I was very excited at this time, but I didn’t know what to say. I just said:

"Ah! Brother Runtu, - you are here?..."

I then had a lot of words that I wanted to say in succession: horned chicken, jumping fish, shells, quail,...but I always felt like something was blocking me, just whirling in my head, and I couldn't spit it out. Go outside the exit.

He stood still, with a look of joy and sadness on his face; he moved his lips but made no sound. His attitude finally became respectful, and he shouted clearly:

"Master!..."

I seemed to shudder; I knew that there was a distance between us. A tragically thick barrier. I was also speechless.

He turned around and said, "Shui Sheng, kowtow to the master." Then he dragged out the child who was hiding behind him. This was exactly the Runtu from twenty years ago, but he was thinner and had more hair on his neck. There's just no silver ring. "This is the fifth child. He has never seen the world and is hiding..."

The mother and Hong'er came downstairs, and they probably heard the sound.

"Old lady, I received the letter a long time ago. I really like it very much. I know that the master will come back..." Runtu said.

"Ah, why are you so polite? Didn't you call me brother before? It's still the same: Brother Xun." Mother said happily.

"Ah, the old lady is really...what kind of rule is this? I was a child at that time and was not sensible..." Runtu said, and asked Shuisheng to come up and do some arching, but the child was shy and clumsy. The ones were only attached to his back.

"Is he a water creature? The fifth one? They are all strangers, so it's no wonder they are afraid of them; Hong'er should go for a walk with him." Mother said.

When Hong'er heard this, he came to recruit Shui Sheng, but Shui Sheng went out with him happily.

His mother asked Runtu to sit down. He hesitated for a while, then finally sat down, leaned the long pipe against the table, handed over the paper package, and said:

"There is nothing in winter. That's why. The dried green beans are dried there by me, sir..."

I asked him how he was doing. He just shook his head.

"It's very difficult. The sixth child also helps, but there is always not enough to eat... and there is no peace... money is required everywhere, there are no regulations... the harvest is bad. Plant something. , if you choose to sell it, you will have to donate a few times and lose the money; if you don’t sell it, it will just rot..."

He just shook his head; although there were many wrinkles on his face, he didn't care at all. It moves like a stone statue. He probably just felt bitter, but he couldn't describe it. After being silent for a while, he picked up the pipe and started smoking silently.

My mother asked him, knowing that his family was busy and he would have to go back tomorrow; and he had not had lunch, so she asked him to go to the kitchen and eat fried rice.

He went out; my mother and I both lamented his situation: many children, famine, heavy taxes, soldiers, bandits, officials, and gentry, all of which made him look like a puppet. My mother told me that anything that does not need to be moved can be given to him and he can choose for himself.

In the afternoon, he picked up several things: two long tables, four chairs, a pair of incense burners and candlesticks, and a lifting scale. He also wanted all the straw ashes (we use straw for cooking here, and the ashes can be used as fertilizer for the sand), and when we set off, he would carry them there by boat.

At night, we talked some more, all of which were insignificant; the next morning, he took Shuisheng back.

Another nine days passed, and it was our departure date. Runtu arrived in the morning. Shuisheng did not come with him, but he only took his five-year-old daughter to take care of the boat. We are busy all day long and have no time to chat. There were also many visitors, some seeing off, some picking up things, and some seeing off and picking up things at the same time. By the time we got on the boat in the evening, all the old, big and small things in the old house had been swept away.

As our boat moved forward, the green hills on both sides of the bank turned a deep dark color in the dusk, retreating towards the stern of the boat.

Hong'er and I were leaning against the boat window, looking at the blurry scenery outside. He suddenly asked:

"Uncle! When will we come back?"

"Come back? Why do you want to come back before you leave?"

"But Shuisheng invited me to his house to play..." He opened his big black eyes and thought dreamily.

My mother and I were also a little confused, so we brought up Runtu again. Mother said that Sister-in-law Yang, who is a Tofu Xishi, has been visiting my house every day since we packed her luggage. The day before yesterday, she took out more than ten dishes from the ashes. After discussing it, she decided that Runtu had buried her. Yes, he can move them back home together when the ashes are being transported. When Second Sister-in-law Yang found out about this, she took credit for it, so she took the dog and killed it (this is the equipment for raising chickens here, with wooden plates on it. The fence contained food, and the chickens could reach in and peck at it, but the dogs couldn't. They could only look at it and get angry.) He ran away as fast as he could, but thanks to his small feet, he could run so fast.

The old house is getting farther and farther away from me; the mountains and rivers of my hometown are gradually moving away from me, but I don’t feel any nostalgia. I just felt that there were invisible high walls around me, which isolated me and made me very depressed. The image of the little hero with the silver collar on the watermelon ground was very clear to me at first, but now it suddenly blurred, which made me feel very depressed. Very sad.

Both mother and Hong'er fell asleep.

I lay down and listened to the gurgling water under the boat, knowing that I was walking my way. I thought: I am so isolated from Runtu, but our descendants are still angry. Isn't Hong'er missing Shui Sheng? I hope that they will no longer be like me and become estranged from each other... However, I don't want them to live like my hard work just because they want to be the same, nor do I want them to live like Runtu's hard work and be numb, nor do I want them to live like each other. They all live indifferently like other people's hard work. They deserve a new life, one we have not lived.

I thought about hope and suddenly became afraid.

When Runtu asked for the incense burner and candlestick, I laughed at him secretly, thinking that he always worshiped idols and would never forget them. Now what I call hope is, isn’t it also an idol made by myself? It's just that his wish is close, while my wish is far away.

In my haziness, a piece of green sand on the seaside spread out in front of me, with a golden full moon hanging in the deep blue sky above. I think: Hope does not matter whether it exists or not. This is just like the road on the earth; in fact, there is no road on the earth, but when more people walk on it, it becomes a road.