The past under Huangguoshu

Childhood stories often appear in my memory.

When I was about 4-5 years old, my brother and I went to primary school at my grandfather's house.

At that time, it took an hour to go to school every day and an hour to go home by mountain road. I went downhill when I went and went uphill when I came back. At that time, my grandfather's family, my grandfather's family, my grandfather's family and my grandfather's family all got along well in my eyes.

There is a path under my grandfather's house. The entrance to this path is steep. Every time grandpa walks behind my back, he will put me down and walk by himself. There was a Huangguoshu tree on that path, which was very big at that time. Every time we pass the tree when we come back from school, we will have a rest under it.

It is said that when my mother and my aunt were young, my mother went to school, and my aunt would wait for her mother to come home under the Huangguoshu every Friday, and my mother would use the money saved to buy two ice creams and put them in a small box to speed up the pace of going home, for fear that the greedy aunt would not eat ice cream.

They always eat those two ice creams under that tree before going home.

When I first went to kindergarten, my grandfather would send my brother and me to school every day, then go home to do farm work and pick us up after school in the afternoon. When we are older, grandpa will send us to the hillside where we can see the school, watch us walk to the school by ourselves, and then go home. In the afternoon, he will wait for my brother and me on the hillside with a pot of rice soup. Every time after waiting, grandpa will give me and my brother rice soup first, and he will finish the rest. Grandpa will let me go to school by myself when the farm is busy. After school in the afternoon, he will wait for us at Huangguoshu, with the pot of rice soup in his hand. We are still very happy to see grandpa, start drinking rice soup and then go home happily.

There is a mountain behind my grandfather's house. Sometimes grandparents will work nearby, and grandpa will wait for us halfway up the mountain with that pot of rice soup. There are many stones there, smooth and flat. I occasionally sit on those stones and look at the mountains, trees and houses in the distance, wondering what the outside world is like.

Children of four or five years old are always full of imagination. Every thunderstorm, I am afraid of thunder and wonder if God is angry, but I just sleep soundly every night.

I remember that once it rained heavily, my grandfather disappeared in the rain with his hat and hemp fiber. Grandma said grandpa went to help corn, and a lot of corn was poured in the field. At that time, I would complain, why did it rain so hard that grandpa risked going out to work?

But later, after learning knowledge and increasing experience, I realized that before every bumper harvest, there would be several heavy rains, and those crops that survived would grow well, while those that failed would be depressed. Just like life, no one's life is smooth sailing. After encountering setbacks, people who face difficulties may not have a perfect ending, but it is better than lying down and waiting for failure.

Grandpa came back, took out the money soaked by rain or sweat from his pocket and spread it on the table to dry. My brother and I didn't take a dime when we saw it. This matter has been told many times by my grandparents to outsiders that we are honest-this is the first good quality my grandparents taught me.

Grandpa said, to tell the truth, it's not that you can't take your own things, but you have to weigh whether you can accept what others give you, so that honesty can take root in others' hearts and raise your head in front of others.

At that time, there was a lot of money. Most of the time, these bills were stuck with tape because they were too easy to break. Many older people are used to saving. They used to lead a hard life. They have a little money in their pockets, and they are still reluctant to spend it. Even though the days are getting better and better now, I still keep the habit of saving money.

I seldom go back now, so it's hard to imagine the rickets of that Huangguoshu tree!