Chapter 70 secret place

In my hometown, there is a small river. The small river runs through the mountain road, through the farmland, and through the fields full of small wild flowers.There are many pebbles in the crystal clear river, and the water on the stones walks out of our field of vision with small irregular steps and the sound of Cong Cong's music. In my childhood cognition, the river has no destination. Its destination is seen from a distance, and it has entered the soul of the blue sky. Every year in Mengchun, when the roses are in full bloom, the music of Xiaohe Congcong turns into a resounding song. At that time, Xiaohe becomes the happiest place for children. We often take walks along the river bank, smelling the fragrance of wild flowers and grass, and sometimes Sometimes I would jump into the river to catch fish and catch clams, or stick a bamboo pole along the river to catch frogs.

If there is plenty of rain, clear ponds will be formed in the low-lying places of the small river. We jump into them to swim in the water. When we have enough fun, we climb to the embankment by the river to bask in the sun until the sunset from the distant mountains. The notch sank before I dressed and went home. That river has always been the place where people in the village we live depend on for their livelihood. People who grow rice go to the fields every morning to patrol the fields and divert the river water to the fields; Motors are used to pump the river water to the dry land; those who grow vegetables form a vegetable garden along the sandy land by the river.

Women, some in the early morning and some in the evening, carry baskets of clothes to the river to wash. They line up in irregular rows, while doing laundry, they talk about household chores and socialize with each other. Their speechlessness has become the best object for them to confide in the suffering of life. In my memory of my hometown, there is never a dry season in my hometown, and the river has never been cut off. Even in the coldest and driest winter, the water in the river has decreased, but the river still swims briskly across the fields like a snake. banks of the river. I walked across the river almost every day. When I went to school, I walked parallel to the river all the way to school. When we played games, we were almost in the river or in the fields beside the river.During the busy farming season, my father and I went to the fields to inspect the water, or used the hemp rope to drive the motor, and watched the river water flow into the banana orchard. At dusk, I often went to the river with my mother to wash clothes.While my mother was doing laundry, I went for a walk on the embankment alone, standing on my heels, to see where the end of the river was.

I love that river so much, I don’t know why, in that small closed village, as soon as I looked at the river, my heart seemed to follow the river, passing through the fields and the market, and flowing to an unknown distance—— The distance has always been very yearning. Probably when I was in the third grade of elementary school, the school was going to hold an excursion, which prompted me to have the determination to explore along the river bank.I made up a lie, told my mother that I was going hiking, and asked her to prepare a lunch box for me; told the teacher that my family was busy with farming, and I couldn’t go hiking with the school. The next morning, I took the lunch box and set off from the river not far from our home. , At that time, I saw my classmates singing all the way, forming a column, and setting off for a tourist attraction not far away.

I knew in my heart that I was still young, and it was really not suitable for me to travel far alone, but I figured that going hiking with my classmates was just singing and playing games, and it must not be as interesting as exploring along the river, not to mention that I knew the river would not Those who lose their way, as long as I walk along the river, I will definitely be able to return along the river.The sun was very bright that day, and the air was filled with the unique fragrance of grass in the countryside. The two banks of the river were not full of thorns as I had imagined, but covered with fine sand and stones; the left bank of the river almost followed the shape of the mountain Yes, the edge of the right bank of the river is the plain where people live, and human farming has been expanding from the right bank, while the mountains on the left bank are still tropical and full of primitive atmosphere.The needle-like seeds of dandelion and leucaena fall from the mountain to the river from time to time, and flow to the distance with the river. I think this is why you can see dandelion and leucaena no matter where you are!

Acacia trees are the most abundant in the mountains on the other side. I don’t like acacia trees the least. I always feel that their trunks are deformed, low and ugly, and their slender leaves seem to never be regular. But whether I like it or not, it is walking along the road. Say hello to me. I just walked like that, enjoying the scenery at the same time. When I was tired, I sat by the river to rest and put my feet in the cool river water.In less than an hour, I passed a completely unfamiliar town or village. The people there were dressed the same as those in my hometown. They wore bamboo hats and rolled up their trousers, as if they had just returned from work in the fields. The farmers who also planted vegetables and watered me saw me walking along the river bank strangely, and greeted me kindly, asking if I lost my way. I told them that I was hiking, and then left.

Not long after, I entered a new village and town, and I saw some women washing clothes by the river, pounding their clothes vigorously, and even their postures were very similar to my mother.I left the river bank and walked into that village. At that time, I was already literate. I knew where the bus stop sign was and where the post office was. I walked around the unfamiliar city streets alone.Seeing that this village is older than the place where I live, and there are many wild dogs running on the street, I thought, if it is too far to go home in time, it is also a way to go back by car. I went back to the river bank again, and then I slowly discovered that most of the right side of the river has been reclaimed, and the people in those settlements have a similar temperament and attitude towards life, they rely on the river for their lives , work constantly, and live together in groups, relying on each other.I went until the sun was slanted to the west, and passed through eight villages and towns. I felt that it was getting late, so I went home along the river bank.

Because there was no shade on the river bank, my skin was hot from the intense sunburn when I got home, which caused my mother to complain: "How can I go for a hike at school?" For the next few days, the students were still excited about the hike. Emotionally chatting, only I have no information about the conversation, but there is a secret place in my heart-that is, the small river and the life on both sides of the river. In later years I often played this game, going for walks along the river, and playing in strange villages and towns when I arrived, so that I knew at a very early age that there were many other places besides my own. The strange vast world, they are more attractive to me than playing boring and repeated games with my classmates.

As time goes by, Xiaohe and I have a secret friendship. When we are frustrated in life, we always go to the river to spend time with Xiaohe; when we are happy, I let Xiaohe share.Sometimes looking at the speechless flowing water, I can really feel that there is a pulse of life in the silence of the small river. It not only allows the farmers in Shang'an to irrigate their fields with its water of life, but also comforts a growing child , Let me have a kind of strength when I am frustrated, and I also have a secret friend to share when I am happy.When you laugh, you seem to hear the joyous singing of the river, and when you cry, there is the river singing along with you.After growing up, I often miss my hometown and the flowing water that runs through it. Every time I think of it, I always seem to keep a secret, where there is a warm light source like sunlight reflected.

Is it true that others, like me, have a secret place in their hearts when they were young?It may be an open plain, it may be under an acacia tree, it may be the backyard of a large temple, it may be a beach, or even a book that can be read again and again with joy, sorrow, sorrow...they are treasures When we were growing up, there were many secrets that even our parents and brothers could not understand. Everyone has a secret!It may be a place, it may be a love, it may be the ridiculous years that cannot be told to others, so there must always be someone to confide in, like Xiaohe and me. One day I passed by Wai Shuangxi, and saw a small river that was the same as my hometown, and it was lingering there.I know that my time in Xiaohe has passed away far away, but I remember those days clearly, and I also believe that Xiaohe keeps my secret.

— November 16, 1982