The way home

Thirty-five years ago, I was in "Xiangshan Middle School" in Hancheng County, more than 20 miles away from my hometown Dongpeng Village. Because my family is poor, I can't eat in the canteen. Every Saturday afternoon, I have to go home to get dry food.

There are two ways to go home from school: one is the road taken by cars, horses and mules, which is a little far, but the road is easy; One is to climb "Xiangshan", cross Dangshui River and walk a long way along the railway. Actually, that road is not a road at all. It is completely at the edge of the ridge, beside the drainage ditch, beside the river bed and beside the railway line. Wherever I can go, it's all roads. Because I have walked, it is called my way home, but usually no one walks.

Every time I go home, I choose this road for no other reason: I just ate boiled steamed bread at school for a week, and then I went to eat Chili. I only have a burning feeling in my stomach. I always miss coming on Saturday, hoping to go home early, eat persimmon buns made by my sister, drink a bowl of porridge made of dried sweet potatoes and millet, stir-fry radish rice noodles and sauerkraut.

These may not be a rare meal for others, but they have become a luxury in my eyes.

Because my parents died early, my third brother worked outside, and there was only one unmarried sister at home. Besides planting crops in the fields, I have to take care of my brother who is in high school. The family economy is very poor. Usually, when my sister is alone at home, she always scrimps and seldom cooks a hot and delicious meal for herself. Only when I go home on Saturday night, my sister will make my favorite persimmon buns and radish rice noodles early, wrap me up with dry food for a week, and then sit at the intersection where I want to go home and wait for me to eat together. On Sunday, I went outside to collect some firewood to cook for my sister, filled the urn with water, washed clothes with my sister by the river, helped her do some farm work in the fields, and told her something that happened at school and on my way home. After supper, I always wait until dark.

"It's getting late. Let's hurry. It is difficult to walk in the dark. " My sister urged me to put steamed corn flour and salted leek into the bag.

It snowed heavily one winter, and I couldn't go home on time, which made my sister fidgety. She was worried that something would happen to me on my way home. What happened? Towards evening, I still didn't see my figure. Despite the cold weather and the danger of slipping in Snowy Road, my sister carried dry food on her back, locked the gate and hurried to school along the path I told her. When I saw my sister at the school gate, she had completely turned into a snowman. A thick layer of snow fell on the thin scarf on her head. Because of sweating, the sweat on her eyebrows formed one by one, and the stiff trouser legs and shoes became a whole. When I took the bag full of dry food from my sister, I couldn't stop crying.

Because I didn't come home unexpectedly, my sister suffered so much. After that incident, my sister and I made an agreement: I will go home on time when the weather is good, and my sister will send me meals to school when the weather is bad or the exam time is tight. In this way, my sister and I traveled between school and home for two whole years.

Because I eat boiled steamed bread for a long time, my nutrition can't keep up, and I often feel dizzy. Once in class, I really couldn't hold on. I fainted on the ground. Teacher Yang, the head teacher, asked other students to help me to the dormitory. The school doctor who arrived said it was caused by malnutrition. Many kind-hearted students brought home rice, vegetables, steamed bread and pies for me to eat after they knew it. Some classmates told me to go home and have a good meal. When I left, my uncle and aunt even stuffed a dollar or two into my hand. When I was a child, during the Spring Festival, I went to the city to play, and my parents always gave me five cents, ten cents and twenty cents. I have never taken so much money. You know, at that time, the tuition fee for one semester was only 1.70 yuan, which was enough for me for a long time.

After entering the second year of high school, I am more nervous about my study. Once when I came home, I forgot the jar of sauerkraut and had to go back to school to get it. Because I was in a hurry, I accidentally slipped on a stone by the railway, and my hand was cut, and my blood was flowing, and my bag was thrown far away. When I got home, my sister found that my hands were covered with blood and there were scratches on my legs. She said sadly, I am studying hard now. If something happens to you, how can I tell my parents in the spirit of heaven? Don't run back and forth in the future, just study hard, and I will send you meals to school on time every week. In this way, until the end of the college entrance examination, I never walked the road full of hardships and stayed in my memory.

After graduating from college, I was assigned to work in Lanzhou, which is thousands of miles away from home. The road to go home is much longer, and there are fewer opportunities to go home, but I will never forget the bitter days when I was a child, and I will never forget the road I took. At the end of 2008, my sister had an acute cerebral infarction. After learning the news, I finished my work in a hurry and went back to my hometown by train. In the days when I was with my sister in front of the hospital bed, the most talked-about topic was the hard way to study in high school in those two years. I can't stop crying when I'm sad. Even so, my sister lying in the hospital bed stroked my head with her hand and kept comforting me. I once had the idea of giving up my studies and going home to help my sister, but she stopped me every time. "My parents left early, you have to go your own way. Your own happiness can only be created by yourself. Only by eating the bitterness of today can we get the sweetness of tomorrow. " "You must study hard and strive for a good future." It is my sister's words that have always inspired me to study hard and work hard. I feel ashamed to think that I haven't visited her often, bought her a decent dress or even taken her out for a meal after leaving my hometown for so many years. Without her care and encouragement, it is difficult for me to finish high school, let alone go to college and work. Sister said who let me be your sister! Yes, for me, my smart and studious sister gave up her studies and future and took on the responsibility of taking care of my family and me. In order to let me study with peace of mind, my sister has repeatedly postponed the wedding date. In order to make me full, my sister would rather eat less than one meal and go to school more, and send steamed bread once a week instead of once every three days, saying that it would make me eat fresher. In this way, my sister cooked me dry food for two years.

Now, my sister is the mother of three children. My well-educated sister has sent all her children to high school, college, a house, a home and a better job. Seeing that the days are getting better every day, she has a cerebral infarction and can't take care of herself. Sometimes I want to go home and see my sister, my alma mater, and the teachers and classmates who have helped me, but I am always delayed by various reasons. Fortunately, it is much more convenient to contact now, but I really can't remember. Call a family meeting and send a picture to have a look.

Looking back, in those two years, on my way home, I knew I would encounter so many difficulties and setbacks, but I chose it as my shortcut home. Because, there is a kind of concern waiting for me at home. Although so barren, I can't hear my parents' warm hugs and cordial calls, but I can feel my sister's expectant eyes. Similarly, I also hope to go home as soon as possible through that path, because it is the nest of my life and the dependence and yearning in my heart. Now that I think about it, there is nothing wrong with me choosing this road full of bumps and thorns to go home. Although the road I walked out of because of going home was difficult and dangerous, I also gained something: I was constantly inspired to cope with difficulties, and I was honed and exercised, grew and progressed, and I experienced the ease and happiness of going home after twists and turns.

Until now, I still miss that time. Every time I think of Saturday, I can embark on the road home that is difficult to walk and expected, dangerous and yearning. I can't forget it for a long time and I have a lot of thoughts. Decades have passed and the distance to go home is getting farther and farther. The distance is a little vague, and some make me feel out of reach. I don't know when I can set foot on that road again. It's a long way home, but the "heart" road to home is getting closer and closer. After work, I often think of the past and chat with my friends. I will talk about the past, and even in the process of writing articles, I will mention unforgettable things in those years.

On the phone, my sister said: Because of the high-speed rail, because of the high speed, because of the construction of new countryside, the path that walked home from school countless times in those years was gone.

I think: although the road I walked home in those years is gone, my heart to go home is still there. Home is the destination of my soul, where there are my roots, my childhood, my sister who will never forget me, my teachers and classmates who have helped me, and the way home is always in my heart. Yes, there are thousands of ways to go home, whether it is a road or a path, whether it is the road taken by others or by yourself. As long as the home in my hometown is in my heart, the way home will always be in my heart.