Prose: Beyond despair is hope

It was an early spring afternoon when my cousin, Uncle Kang Rong, called me from Shatou Village, Nansan Island. Uncle Kang Rong said that we haven’t seen each other for many years, and he hoped that I could take the time to go back to the countryside of Nansan Island to meet everyone’s relatives and talk about family ties and nostalgia!

When I received this call, a warm feeling suddenly surged in my heart. Oh, I really didn’t expect that people from my hometown and hometown feelings would always be so lovesick and affectionate! Yes, I haven’t been back to Dingtao Shatou Village for a long time. I said on the phone right now, yes, I will eventually go back, to my grandmother’s hometown! This also reminds me of my uncle.

My great-uncle is cousin Kangrong’s father—my grandmother’s biological brother, who is also my mother’s biological uncle. He worked hard all his life, was gentle and kind-hearted, and was a strong and brave seaman from Nansan Island! Although I didn't have many opportunities to interact with my uncle in the past, and even had a vague impression of him, the time my uncle talked about his experience of being in danger at sea is still fresh in my mind.

My uncle is from Shatou Village, Nansan Island. Shatou Village is a small coastal half-fishing and half-agricultural village located at the southernmost tip of the Three Islands. The villages are spread out in blocks along the coast. Because this place was often affected by sandstorms in the past, and the village was at the forefront of sandstorms, the village got its name.

At that time, the economy of the three southern islands was very backward, and the villagers were always in a state of hunger for food and clothing. Although it was not possible to say that there was no meal, they could eat shredded potato or other food with every meal. It is common for the waiter to eat rice and potatoes to satisfy his hunger. I remember that when I was in the countryside of Minamishima, what I always ate at my grandma’s house was Fanshu shreds or Fanshu rice. At first, I was not used to eating it, and even felt a little nauseous. But in the face of these difficult days, I I can only swallow it by force. However, I have never shown any fear in front of my grandma. I always tell myself silently in my heart, my grandparents can eat it at their age, so why can’t I eat it? So, when I thought about it this way, I gradually got used to it, and sometimes I even felt that it was a kind of training in life. Over time, I became accustomed to eating Fanshu shreds, especially Fanshu rice. It tastes delicious and always makes me think about it. I once secretly told my grandma this feeling. Grandma praised me and said that you can taste the sweet potato rice now, and you will be able to do great things in the future! Because if a person wants to achieve great things, he must first work hard. When I hear my grandma's words, I always feel a little mysterious. How can this person who eats Fanshu Miyi be related to doing important things? But no matter what, I believe what grandma said without a doubt. Because in my mind, grandma is not only kind-hearted and charitable, but also so sincere and down-to-earth. Grandma will never be upset with me.

What makes me most happy is that my grandma kept telling me the story of my great-uncle farming the sea, which made me realize that there was such an uncle in Shatou Village. My great-uncle lives in Shatou Village. Since the village is close to the sea, he makes a living by plowing the sea and supplementing his income by farming. At that time, my uncle bought a small fishing boat and mainly went fishing in the offshore fisheries near Naozhou Island. Every day, he was always in and out of the wind and rain, drifting in the sea, and spent hard and practical years fishing. Although it is very difficult and the years are tiring, he never fears or retreats. Because he has been fishing at sea all year round, my uncle knows the wind and waves very well. He can tell the climate changes by looking at the sky, and he can tell the size of the wind and waves by looking at the flowing water. Therefore, during his decades of fishing career at sea, he has always I have never encountered a real disaster, and even if I did, I could always avert danger.

For a fisherman who works on the sea all year round, the biggest disaster is to encounter a typhoon at sea. The wind and waves sink the boat, and he drifts into the sea, struggling to survive in the wind and waves. However, no one wants to think of this terrible scene!

Once, my grandma told me about my uncle’s experience of being in danger. It was a mid-autumn season, and my uncle drove a boat to the sea outside the mouth of the Dahuang River for fishing operations. It was almost evening, and there were wind and waves on the sea. The sky was dark, and a large dark cloud was gradually closing in from the west. Come over, and after a while, the sky suddenly started pouring rain. Suddenly there was a storm on the sea, rainwater and waves mixed together, and the sea was covered with mist and mist, so that it was difficult to tell the difference between east, west and north. Only then did my uncle realize the seriousness of the situation. If the weather was like this, he would definitely encounter a typhoon when he returned. If he sailed against the current, the sea would be too rough and the waves would be too strong. The fishing boat would definitely not be able to return to the harbor on time to take shelter from the wind. In such a dangerous situation In this situation, panic is of no use. At this difficult moment, my uncle was calm and calm, holding the course firmly with both hands, driving the fishing boat along the wind and waves, trying to keep the boat as balanced as possible. In his opinion, this is the only way to ensure that the fishing boat will not be capsized by wind and waves, to safely enter the harbor, and to save his life.

Because of such a strong will, my uncle still firmly held the course of the fishing boat in the wind and waves. Although it was sometimes tossed around by the waves, and even sea water entered the cabin, the fishing boat stayed on my uncle's side. Under control, it is like a well-behaved child, bravely walking through the undulating sea, letting the wind and waves blow, and driving forward aimlessly...

Just Three hours passed like this, and the wind and waves on the sea gradually became smaller. The heavy rain in the sky also stopped. Only sparse raindrops fell on the sea. The sky also changed from dark clouds to dark clouds. Now the rain has passed and the sky has cleared up, and the clouds have finally opened and the moon is shining brightly. At this time, my uncle was also exhausted, and his fishing boat finally docked at Wailuo Fishing Port in Xuwen safely. He finally returned to his hometown and relatives safely.

This was the first story my grandma described to me about my uncle who was in danger at sea. However, it was this inadvertent story that aroused my admiration for my uncle. In my mind, I think my uncle is a great hero! I thought at that time that one day, if I could get together with my uncle, I would definitely ask him to tell me more about his strange experience of farming the sea, so that I could truly experience it.

Later, such an opportunity finally came across, and inadvertently. It was an early spring afternoon. My grandma came to the city from the countryside in Nansan Island to visit me. From her conversation with Yuquan’s father, I learned that my uncle, who I had admired for a long time, would soon come to the city from the countryside for medical treatment. And he has to stay in our house for a while. Doesn't this provide me with a very rare opportunity?

Sure enough, within three days, my uncle came to our house dragging his tired and weak body. It was Yuquan's father who went to Nansan Pier to pick up his uncle. After my uncle entered the house, I said to him obediently, "Hello, uncle! Welcome to our home. Your body is weak and you need more care."

Uncle He was very happy to see me. He stretched out his big rough hands and touched my head and said to me with a smile: "You are the shrimp boy, right? I often hear your grandma praise you! It seems that you are really good You're sensible."

I took a closer look at my uncle's appearance while he was speaking. My great-uncle is of medium height. His face that has been baptized by wind and rain shows copper-colored skin. The gaze from his deep-set eyes makes people feel resolute and powerful. His voice like a bell exudes a manly atmosphere. The unique charm can penetrate your mind and echo in your heart for a long time.

My uncle couldn't resist me, so he finally told me one evening during dinner when he told me about the thrilling scene of his narrow escape from a typhoon while farming in the sea.

One summer, the wind and rain in the Guangzhou Bay area were changeable and the weather was ugly. In this summer alone, there were six or seven strong typhoons. The typhoons were so fierce and mixed with so much rain. All are extremely rare in previous years. It was in such unpredictable and bad weather that my uncle set sail to sea. This time he will take the fishing boat to the fishing ground off Naozhou Island to catch yellow croaker. For three days in a row, my uncle caught croakers on the sea surface in this area. The sky was clear and the sea was calm. But in the afternoon, the weather began to change drastically. At first, the sky was getting dark, and large swaths of dark clouds gradually gathered into a thick layer of clouds that pressed down from the sky to the sea, as if the sky and the sea were connected into one; then, a flash of lightning flashed across the sky, and a dull thunder sounded. The bang of lightning disappeared where the sky and the sea meet. After a while, it started to rain heavily in the sky. Suddenly, the wind and waves rolled up, and the waves roared. The undulating waves on the sea suddenly turned into huge peaks and valleys. My uncle's small fishing boat was like a broken leaf floating in this almost crazy place. On the sea, let the wind and waves blow and sway, and there are dangers everywhere. Facing such bad weather, my uncle remained calm and calm. He firmly held the direction of the oar and tried to keep the balance of the fishing boat. However, no matter how hard his uncle tried, in the face of such strong winds and waves, he finally failed. Nothing can be done. At this time, water had begun to enter the cabin, and wind and waves were still pouring seawater in. Because there was too much water in the cabin, the hull was tilting to the left and downwards, and it was about to capsize. When my uncle saw that things had come to this, he sighed helplessly. It seemed that today was already going to be a bad day! But at that moment, he immediately realized strongly that no matter how the situation changed, he would never be able to leave the fishing boat. If he did, there would be no hope of survival. At the moment when the fishing boat capsized, my uncle returned to the cabin like lightning, held the two handles of the hatch with both hands, and pressed his body firmly against the side of the cabin. The capsized fishing boat was drifting in the sea with the wind and waves, and my uncle was floating in the sea with the capsized fishing boat. When the wind and waves lifted the fishing boat up and down, he took the opportunity to exhale, and then took a deep breath. Taking a breath of air, I just persisted and kept rotating, never giving up the desire to survive...

The wind stopped, the rain stopped, and the turbulent sea finally calmed down. My uncle's fishing boat, which was overturned by wind and waves, also drifted to the sea near the coast of Wenchang County, Hainan Island. When the kind-hearted fishermen of Wenchang saw a sunken ship floating on the sea, they organized a dozen people to rush to the sunken ship, and everyone worked together to turn the sunken ship over. At this time, they never expected that there was someone in the cabin, and it was a big living person! When my uncle saw someone flipping the fishing boat over, he realized that he was on the verge of death! I can finally see the sky again.

My uncle was exhausted at this time and his whole body was limp and without any strength, but he was finally saved! ...

Many years later, I still vividly remember my uncle’s life-and-death struggle, and I drew a spiritual strength for survival and struggle from it.

Yes, in a person's life, no one can accurately predict or grasp disasters that may or may not be foreseen, but once you encounter a disaster or are in the face of a disaster, if what you show is will If you are fragile and lose the confidence and courage to overcome disasters, you will definitely die! If you face a disaster calmly, face it bravely, and have full confidence in the future, you will naturally have a solid response measure, seize opportunities, and turn defeat into victory! I think the belief that supported my uncle's survival at that time was probably that there was hope on the side of despair!