Seek the full text of Du Pengcheng's Night Walk in Lingguan Gorge.

Walking in Lingguan Gorge at night (snowy night at construction site)

The heavy snow fell more than half a foot thick. It's foggy between heaven and earth. I walked along the railway site for more than 40 kilometers, only hearing the roar of various machines, but I couldn't see the figure or the worksite. As soon as I entered Lingguan Gorge, I panicked. This canyon, a sunny day, can't see the sun all day; Walking on the curved traffic sidewalk, whenever you look up, you can only see the palm-sized sky. At present, people are surrounded by the wind with snowflakes here, and it is really difficult to move! However, the work here is very tense recently, and people are working in the snow everywhere. The roar of generators, winches, concrete mixers and air compressors shook the valley. A small yellow fireball is countless electric lights. Can't see the cobweb-like wires in the sky clearly; I saw iron drums carrying materials running back and forth along the aerial ropeway halfway up the mountain.

I walked to the bottom of a cliff, wanted to find a shelter for a while, and then rushed to the material factory at dawn.

Looking up, a path leads to a cave on the cliff. There is still a curtain hanging at the mouth of the cave. There is no doubt that workers live here. I grabbed the branch, climbed up and got into the cave. Strange! There is a child at the mouth of the cave, who seems to be only seven or eight years old. He sat on a small bench with his elbows on his knees and his face flushed with cold in his palms, staring blankly at the cliff opposite the curtain. When I came in, he took one look and looked out again.

The cave is quite big, it's hot inside, pots and pans, beds. There is a picture of "Fat Doll Pulling Radish" on the bedside. The newspaper pasted on the wall made the stove smoke.

"Why is there no one in the house?" I shook the snow off my coat and hat as I spoke.

The child sitting there turned his head and looked at me with flashing eyes and said, "Uncle! I am not a person? " He stood up with his hands behind his back, stood in front of me with his chest out, and kept licking his lips with his tongue as if to prove to me that he was not only a man, but also a great man.

I held a round face and said, "Boy! You are very clever! " He pushed my hand away, holding two small fists, cocked his head and asked, "Hum! Call me "kid"? I have a name! " He pointed to the little girl sleeping in bed and said; "My sister's name is Baoqing (Cheng), and my name is Qingqing (Cheng) Jade!"

Needless to say, this child is like thousands of children I have seen: born on the construction site and raised on the construction site. Workers like to name their children after the site. Cheng Yu, a child, grew up on a construction site in chengdu-chongqing railway. That little girl named Bao Cheng may have been born here.

I sat in front of the fire, smoking and rubbing the mud on my hands.

Cheng Yu climbed onto my knee, craned his neck, looked me in the eye and asked, "Uncle! Will it snow tomorrow? Say it, uncle! Or tomorrow? "

I pressed my red nose and said, "If there is a telephone in the sky, I will definitely ask you. But-"

Wow! He is very angry! Jumping up, standing a few steps away from me, frowning, tilting his head, looking me up and down, he said, "You! Hum, you lied to me! There is a newspaper in your pocket. There is a weather forecast in the newspaper. "

Oh! He means that the weather forecast is published in the newspaper every day. This little guy is very good!

Cheng Yu sat at the door with his mouth pursed, his elbows on his knees, his round face in his hands, and looked at the opposite construction site through the curtains. I asked him where the kettle was, but he didn't bother to say. What a pity: I shouldn't have offended this little master!

I said, "Chengdu! It's going to snow tomorrow, so you can't go out to play? "

He didn't even look at me and said, "Dad said it would snow tomorrow, so we will stop working!" " "

I said, "Does your father care so much about the weather? What does he do? "

He proudly said: "Open the immortal (mountain) work!"

"Where to cut the mountain?"

He covered his mouth and pointed to the opposite construction site.

I looked in the direction he pointed, and I saw the light band of the searchlight shining directly into the sky through the flying snowflakes. Along the light belt, you can vaguely see dozens of workers sticking to the cliff and making holes, as if they were digging a ladder to heaven.

I said, "Chengdu! Which is your father? I can't see it at all! "

Cheng Yu said, "I can't see my father either. Dad can see me. Dad said that he shot a hole, shot a hole, and saw me later! " His feet were kicking around on the ground. "I often sit here and look at my father."

Ah! Here's the thing!

The snow and ice on my shoes melted, and then I felt the pain in my numb feet. I stamped my feet to keep warm.

Chengyu bit his lip, waved and stared. I know what he means: I'm afraid to wake his sister. I said, "You care about your sister!"

He said: "My mother said that my printing (appointment) job is to see my sister. When mom comes back, I will get off work! "

"ah! You also go to work every day! " I held him in my arms and said, "What did Mom do?"

He pointed to the transport road under the cave. I followed his hand and saw a man standing under the telephone pole beside the sidewalk. He had become a snowman, like a stone statue. She seems to be in charge of traffic. This sports sidewalk cut from a cliff is not carefree. Cars, carriages, mules, carts and pedestrians come and go 24 hours a day, which is very crowded. Without command, it is a mess.

It snows heavily today, and there are few pedestrians and vehicles on the road. She could have gone home to have a rest, but she stood there motionless. She may have worked in this position for three or five months, or three or five years. Usually, maybe she can see her husband and children as soon as she looks up; The husband who climbed the place where the mountain meets the sky, perhaps in the effort to wipe the sweat, suddenly saw the determined figure of his wife and the thin figure of his child. I guess: even if the workers, their wives and their children can't see who they are on this snowy night, they must feel deep encouragement and expectation from each other.

Looking back, I saw Cheng Yu's hands caged, his neck contracted, and he had been taking a nap. I took his chubby little hand and said, "You'll catch cold. Go to sleep! "

Cheng Yu woke up from his sleep and thought it was his parents. He identified it carefully for a while and found it was me. He shook his head like a rattle and said, "I won't sleep! I don't sleep! "

"Why?"

He rubbed his eyes with his little fist and said, "Mom and Dad said that no matter who you are, you should live in a healthy position."

I held Cheng Yu tightly and warmed his face with my face. Then put him down, wrapped his coat tightly, pulled down his hat brim, went out of the cave, went down the hillside and walked along the sports sidewalk dug on the cliff.

The wind, more fierce. Snow, more ...

Written in 1958, Chengdu, New Year's Day.