Chapter 24 dream river

My deepest memory of my hometown, Haimen Town, is the nameless big river in front of my house. The river is very wide. to the other side of the river.What makes me even more curious is that there are wooden boats moored on the river, with tents and cabins living in each family. I always see the women on the boats bending over the side of the boats to wash rice, and the children on the boats standing barefoot on the bow to play. scull.How I longed to jump in the boat and live on board for a day, or let the wooden boat take me across the river to visit the other side!But when I was seven years old, my mother took me to Shanghai. From then on, I left my hometown and never returned, and that deep-seated wish seemed to be gradually indifferent and even forgotten.But I don’t remember when the big river in my hometown sneaked into my dreams unknowingly and became an established dream, which often flashed in my sleep and remained unchanged repeatedly.

The repeated dream was clear and peaceful, without any story or plot, just like a lightly colored watercolor painting: a quiet river, floating boats, white reeds nearby, and black tiled houses in the distance... At first, I can't explain why this picture appears repeatedly in my dreams?At first, I thought this dream only existed in my life, but recently I met my uncle and aunt and talked with them about my hometown and the past. My aunt told me that she often dreamed of the old house in Haimen. "And the big river in front of the house?" I couldn't wait for him to say. "Yes, that big river, the bean field by the river." My sister-in-law was also excited.She also told me that the third uncle who worked in Shanxi was seriously ill one year and while he was being treated in the hospital, he asked the leaders and relatives to let him go back to his hometown no matter what, to see Langshan in Nantong, to see Still staying in the old house in Haimen, look at the big river in front of the house.The third uncle got his wish, went to Langshan, and met Dahe.The hardships of the journey not only did not aggravate the third uncle's illness, on the contrary, after the return, the third uncle's illness has improved.I think, it must be the mountains and rivers of my hometown that infused the third uncle's life with the power of resistance.

One day, I also suddenly wanted to go back to my hometown to have a look.Once this idea arises, it is as unstoppable as a volcanic eruption.And in the thirty years since I left Haimen, I seem to have never had such a strong thought.I know that I have entered a certain stage in my life, and I need to look back at my original and fundamental -- that is with life.Life must have something connected. Back to Haimen by boat and then by bus, my heart was beating all the way and I was excited all the way imagining the big river that often appeared in my dreams.Maybe, after I have seen a lot of great seas and big rivers, when I look at the big river in my hometown, I will feel that it is very small and narrow, but I don’t want to have this feeling. The river in the middle is more magnificent and longer.

The dusty car stopped in front of a row of dilapidated tile-roofed houses.The uncle who accompanied me pointed to the tile-roofed house and said, "This is our old house." I jumped out of the car immediately, but there was no river in front of the house. "Where's the river? Where's the river here?" I hurriedly stopped a passerby to ask.A passer-by replied: "The river has been filled, here, houses have been built." I looked ahead, and saw that the place where the river used to be was in full swing, and construction was in full swing, and some buildings had already seen their scale.In my memory, the yard in front of the house has also become a small square of the bus station, with various vehicles passing by.I stood there blankly, what I saw in front of my eyes, and the great river in my dream.boat.white reeds.The black tile house is completely different.

Hometown has changed.That simple and light watercolor painting has really become an eternal dream, and it can no longer be found.I strolled onto the "big river" and easily crossed the "river" to the opposite bank.And there are high-rise buildings rising from the ground on this bank and the other bank. I feel strange, with surprises and regrets. There are tall buildings for our small town, and there is no big river for my hometown... But will I still dream of the river?