Cattails of childhood

Cattails of Childhood

In the afternoon, the rumbling sound of machinery in the city extends the reinforced concrete to higher and further distances. The gray-white buildings and anxious cars make my head dizzy, and I want to find a decadent mood. A sense of peace, so I want to go back to the hometown I just left.

Walking on a green country road, there is a small river that is about to dry up. The river is mixed with various unknown wild flowers and weeds. Their vitality is extremely tenacious. I tilt my head to resist. In the hot summer. There is no one on the road, so slow down and enjoy the scenery, letting the greenery fill your heart.

Suddenly my eyes lit up and I saw cattails again, just like they did in childhood.

It is connected one by one, one tree next to another, crowded with the river, stretching alone to enjoy the love of the sun. The slender and flexible strip-shaped leaves swayed charmingly and slowly in the wind. The fluffy cattail sticks protruding from the straight leaf sheaths were plump and strong, long and short, high and low, glowing with alluring charm in the tender green. Brown-red, the wind brings a unique fragrance like ethereal music. The slightly swaying cattail stick seemed to send me an invitation to pick.

Seeing how familiar the scene was, I couldn't help but stop and get out of the carriage. I stood in the sweet potato field on the riverside just a short distance away. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. My childhood and that The cattail sticks of childhood squeeze through the floodgates of memory and flood the memory.

My hometown is deep in the countryside. The village is close to the water, and the mud houses are close to the river. There is a bridge on the river. Under the bridge, clear water passes through five holes. No matter it is windy or raining, there will be a piece of clean cement on the bridge. land. In those days when there were no concrete roads or electricity, this area undoubtedly became a geomantic treasure place for children to play.

After finishing dinner with the last ray of the setting sun, we picked up a straw mat and a shabby quilt and followed the wind passing through the river to the bridge. Three or five children They spread their respective mats together, wrestled cocks and led old oxen, caught spring bouncing and touched cicada monkeys, and had great fun. Ignoring the adults' scoldings, I jumped into the river under the bridge and continued to enjoy myself after getting sweaty from playing. Tired of playing, they all gathered on the straw mat again, discussing that the Zhang family's cantaloupes were blooming, the Li family's jujube trees were still green, and the Zhao family's tomatoes could be harvested to fill their bellies, so they discussed who would let loose and who would take action. , swearing that no one can tell anyone...

I gradually became tired and sleepy, and some mosquitoes also gathered around me. A friend took out a cattail stick and lit it. Everyone knows this magical thing. The gadget can repel mosquitoes, so a few naked guys were quickly gathered around, and they were trying to please each other by discussing whether to sleep closer to him or to place them closer to each other. The child with cattails was as proud as a general at this time, holding up a cattail stick glowing with red fire and smoke, and giving orders at will, and his friends all obeyed him obediently. Children without cattails can only stare at the cattails with envy on their faces, and try their best to perform better. If good performance can be exchanged for a cattail stick, it will be as if they have all the joy in the world.

Fighting, making noise, complaining, and getting excited, a group of children were making noise together again. Gradually it returned to silence, and I don’t know when I fell asleep one after another. But when I wake up, I will find that the position of the burning cattail stick has quietly shifted every time. Not only does it feel like it really has the effect of repelling mosquitoes, but the quiet night with all the people around me finally sinks in. Go to sleep.

The next day I went home and told my dad that I also wanted a lot of Pu sticks, and I also wanted my friends to surround me with envy. My dad looked at me and smiled and said, "This It's easy. There is a large area in the river across from Xu Xiaozhuang. I can spare a few cabins. I'll get some for you when you have time."

I was anxious and couldn't wait for my father's promise to "come back when I have time."

Because dad is always busy. He was a well-known local "water floater". He was always working tirelessly day and night to catch and sell fish to earn money to support the five of us brothers and sisters. Carrying a boat with clear light at night, returning in the morning with a morning mist, and a pair of eyes that are always bloodshot, the creaking pole is connected to the river on one end and the family on the other.

So, after lunch, while my father was catching fish at night and catching up on his sleep during the day, I called my best friend Qiangzi and quietly came to the river together. Qiangzi couldn't maneuver the boat, so he could only walk on the shore to accompany me. I got down to the river, got on my canoe, and rowed towards Xu Xiaozhuang quickly.

Don’t doubt my water skills and boating skills, and don’t doubt that my little friends will drown. We are all residents by the river. We grew up in the river, and we all looked like slippers in the river. The little hero is like rain. In the hot summer, the river is our home, and our parents are used to it. It’s only when we roar at the top of our lungs during meals that we reluctantly go home. At that time, the river water was clear, the aquatic plants were long, the fish were in groups, the banks were gentle, everything was strong, and the cattail sticks were absolutely attractive.

During the journey of more than a mile, the sun was shining brightly and the river was steaming in summer, but we were completely unaware of it.

When we arrived at the destination, we were like playful children entering a toy store, jumping and screaming with joy, breaking and dressing up like crazy. The curtain-like leaves were graceful in the wind, and the brown-red patches attracted people's attention. Catching my eyes, the large field of cattails was waiting for me to choose. The disturbed river birds in the dense forest-like cattail pond fluttered their wings away with their shrill chirps. There was actually a fish out of the water that jumped into my pond. cabin. Because I am short, some cattail sticks are very tall, so I have to break the cattails at the waist and then tidy them up. As a result, the boat plowed through the water, and everywhere it went was a mess. Sweat got into our eyes and soaked our stomachs, but it still couldn't affect our happiness and our hard-working little hands.

On the return trip, the loot covered most of the cabin, and we carried it twice in nylon bags. My mother looked at my face that was stained by sweat and my arms that were red from the sun, and scolded me lovingly, Then he was busy helping me spread the cattail sticks to dry in the sun. Qiangzi and I accompanied the cattail sticks to dry in the sun, straightening out the cattail sticks one by one like soldiers going out for exercise. Soon, my friends knew that I had made a lot of cattail sticks and they all came to watch. The envy written on their faces and the sweet words flowing in their mouths made me very proud.

My mother bent down and gave out about ten pieces to each of the children who came to watch. I shouted like a brown bear whose tail was stepped on: "Okay! Okay! Don't give me all the pieces." !" Mom just laughed and ignored the pity in my eyes.

After a period of time, we all had our own pu sticks. Strangely enough, maybe from that time on, we suddenly seemed to have grown up and learned how to live, and we discussed it in unison. Two people burn one. So that summer, cattail sticks accompanied us for a long time.

What’s more worth mentioning is that after the weather turned from hot to cool, the cattail sticks were no longer needed. My mother trimmed the remaining velvet of the cattail sticks and filled a porcelain basin. , I sat in the arms of the sewing machine and put a pillowcase in my arms, put the fluffy and soft cattails exuding the fragrance, and made me a small pillow. I was happy to hold the pillow and show it off everywhere. During that period, It seems that dreams are sweet.

In July 2015, my son was bored at home after taking the high school entrance examination, so I suggested implementing the "100-mile cycling plan". So also in the hot July, the two of us rode one each Biking, I rode out of Gongxinji, Liji Town, entered Bozhou City, and came to Madian Bridge. In the small ditch next to Madian Bridge, I saw the cattail sticks from my childhood again, so we stopped the bike. , went down to pick a few and stuck them on their bicycles and set off again. On the way, I told him about the cattail sticks of my childhood, my childhood friends, the blue sky and the free flying birds in the sky, and my childhood. The clear water and the free fish in the water, the cicada monkeys in the woods and the big watermelon in the cotton field behind the house in childhood, the boat in childhood and the day and night that my father ferried in the boat, the smell of cattails in childhood is mother's love The taste...

The distance of a hundred miles was very short that day, but the story on the road that day was very long. The story made my son envious and fascinated, and the story made me burst into tears...

And now , I saw the cattails again, but they were no longer the cattails of childhood. What was also lost was the blue sky, the clear stream, the sweet wind, the free fish, and the innocent friendship. , and my aging parents...