Chapter 7 Chapter VII

The miscellaneous wood river flows in front of her in a clear and lingering manner. It was just over three hours away from the research institute to the hydrological station, and Deng Chaolu was not tired from walking.When the noon sun shone on the old one-story house under Tianxian Ridge, Deng Chaolu stepped across the suspension bridge.She heard a flute sound, and felt joy in her heart, it was Uncle Lu playing it.Soon her heart darkened again, because the sound of the flute was the melancholy "Su Wu Shepherd", a person's exile and peerless love, the gorgeous despair floating from the Western Han Dynasty.

A dog rushed out from the small courtyard at the foot of the mountain, with four legs flailing and barking, it ran for a few steps and suddenly stopped, then turned around and ran towards the rocks in the woods to the south of the courtyard.The dog's name is Huang Huang, and it is Uncle Lu's faithful companion. It is going to call Uncle Lu.After a while, Huang Huang bit Uncle Lu's trouser leg, ran over wagging her little tail, and shook her head and tail at Deng Chaolu.Deng Chaolu hugged Huang Huang, feeling affectionate and joyful, and after being affectionate for a while, he said to Lu Bo, "Hello, Uncle Lu."

Lu Bo recognized that it was Lulu, and he was so excited that he didn't know where to put his hands. He looked up and down at Deng Chaolu for a long time, and said in a trembling voice, "Why are you getting thinner again? Have a meal." Deng Chaolu smiled mischievously: "There's no such thing as skinny, you're already a chubby pig." As he spoke, he put his face on the yellow head affectionately. "Huang Huang, tell sister, are you being naughty with Dad?" Huang Huang barked a few times, looked at Lu Bo, then at Deng Chaolu, shook his head shyly, and put his head in Deng Chaolu's arms.

"Why did you come here, without a car?" Lu Bo looked towards the direction of the river, and there was a road down the river, which stretched all the way down the mountain and to Gushui City.But the road is clean, there is no dust at all, let alone the shadow of vehicles. "Come here, and set off yesterday." Deng Chaolu said. "No way?" Lu Bo looked at Deng Chaolu in surprise, and asked again, "Where did you stay last night, under the mountain?" "Mao Zangcheng, three yards at dawn, to the bottom of the Honggou River." Deng Chaolu lied and didn't tell Lu Bo about the accommodation on the mountain.Lu Bo had a conflict with Dean Fan on the mountain. Dean Fan told Deng Chaolu about Lu Bo last night. After watching the wandering lights, Dean Fan said that he couldn’t sleep. ?It was so windy outside that I couldn't stand upright.Deng Chaolu didn't want to sleep either, so when she arrived at the office with Dean Fan, the two started talking again.Talking about Lu Bo, Dean Fan said worryingly: "Your Uncle Lu has changed, and you are no longer the road worker you used to be. Now you have another bad habit, messing with dubious people all day long. , Do some inexplicable things." Deng Chaolu was about to be surprised, but Dean Fan said: "It's no wonder he, he has suffered too much injustice in his life, and it is a blessing not to fall down."

"They were all the same at that time." Deng Chaolu sighed with emotion. In fact, he was protective of Lu Bo in his heart. "No, even though they all suffered misfortunes, some people's wounds are not serious and they can recover. Your Uncle Lu's wounds are too severe, and his life..." Dean Fan half-spoken, but didn't say anything. up.Deng Chaolu's heart thumped fiercely. She understood what Dean Fan had said, so how could she not understand it?Lu Bo never married in his life. The love he lost during the "Cultural Revolution", as well as various legends about him and his lover, have always been topics that colleagues like to talk about. It's just that people don't talk about it these years. It's a bit cruel to expose people's pain. , but too many people are still mourning for him.At this moment, Deng Chaolu suddenly remembered Dean Fan's words last night, and couldn't help but looked over affectionately.

Lu Bo is more haggard and older than before. The hair at the temples was not so white when I saw him last time, and the wrinkles at the corners of the eyes were not so deep, but now his temples are actually gray.How can a person age so quickly? "Mr. Qin is okay, how is your health?" Lu Bo asked as he walked, someone came out to greet Deng Chaolu, Deng Chaolu nodded with a smile, and said to Lu Bo: "He is not in good health either, he was hospitalized just now, It hasn't recovered yet." "I'm old in a flash, age is not forgiving." Lu Bo sighed, reaching out to stroke his thin and gray hair.Deng Chaolu saw the scar at a glance, and his heart skipped a beat.

That scar was for her.In her senior year, Deng Chaolu came to the hydrological station for an internship.That summer was exceptionally rainy, and the weather was like a child with a weird temper. A few minutes ago, there was a scorching sun, and suddenly there was a thunder, and the dark clouds rolled in, followed by heavy rain.The water of the Zamu River also continued to rise that year, and the water was fierce, and the downstream reservoir was constantly in emergency.One day, Deng Chaolu went to the river on a sheepskin raft to measure data. He measured three points in a row. When he was going to the fourth observation point, there was a sudden thunder in the sky, and then the sky changed, and he had not reached the observation point. , The heavy rain poured down.The fourth observation point was far away from the hydrological station. When Lu Bo heard the news and arrived, the sheepskin raft had been washed away by the sudden surge of river water.Lu Bo called her loudly by the river, telling her how to control the raft, all the people in the station rushed out and looked at her nervously.Deng Chaolu was so flustered that she didn't know what to do with her hands, she just kept screaming.Another flood rushed down, and the sheepskin raft bounced several times and overturned.

Deng Chaolu was rushed more than ten feet away by the roaring river that day, and the vicious waves beat her, making her unable to get up at all.Like a ferocious beast, the flood swallowed her frail body and did not intend to spit it out.People said that if Lu Bo hadn't been there that day, Deng Chaolu would have died.Mother Deng Jiaying also said that it was Uncle Lu who saved her life.The scar on Lu Bo's head was reserved for her. Lubo was indeed ill.Seeing a pile of medicine bottles on the table and beside the bed, Deng Chaolu knew that Uncle Lu was suffering from a disease. He walked over anxiously and grabbed the medicine bottles. He always felt that his mother was hiding from her. He is also hiding it from her.After reading a few medicine bottles, she felt relieved. It turned out that she was still old and sick, not as terrible as she thought, so she smiled at Lu Bo.

"You girl, there are so many ghosts, what are you looking at?" "You guys are cooperating to hide it from me, I have to supervise." Deng Chaolu made a grimace, and was busy helping Lu Bo tidy up the house.Lu Bo's house is so messy that it's almost impossible to get in. This man has never cleaned himself up in his life, and he will always live in chaos.Every time Deng Chaolu comes, the first thing is to clean up for him. People kept coming in and talking to Lu Bo.Those who recognized Deng Chaolu warmly greeted her, those who didn't recognize her gave her a rare look, and when they heard that she was the station master's niece, they tutted and went out.The Zamu River hydrological station is the hydrological station with the longest construction time in the basin, and it is located at the uppermost reaches of the Shiyang River. Naturally, its status is different, and its staff is more than other stations.Lu Bo poured Deng Chaolu a glass of water and told her to rest.Deng Chaolu said she wasn't tired, she was anxious because of the chaos in the room.

After tidying up the house, Deng Chaolu sat down and stared at Lu Bo like a painting.Lu Bo was embarrassed by her look, and said, "What are you doing, your mother asked you to come?" "I did it myself." Deng Chaolu happily replied, seeing that the bedside table was in a mess, she went over to tidy it up.Lu Bo suddenly said, "Don't move there." Deng Chaolu stopped, wanting to retreat, but took two steps forward curiously.She saw a folder, buckled on the bedside table.She is familiar with everything in Lu Bo's place, but this folder is unfamiliar. It looks old, so she couldn't help but pick it up. The photo is from the 20th century, a photo of a middle-aged woman and a young woman.Middle-aged women with short hair, the cadres of that era.The young daughter who was snuggling with her had a fair and delicate face, with a high nose bridge, two black eyes, very energetic, a mole on the right side of the nose bridge, and two long braids behind her.

Deng Chaolu had never seen these two people before, so she was curious for a moment and asked, "Who are they? They look very kind." Where.When they sat down again, neither of them spoke, Deng Chaolu felt uneasy, who were those two women, and what relationship did they have with Uncle Lu?Lu Bo also seemed to be immersed in something, he seemed dazed for a moment, and forgot that Deng Chaolu was still sitting beside him. Mother's phone call came at three o'clock in the afternoon.After researching all the urgent matters, he couldn't find Deng Chaolu, so he called Deng Jiaying.Deng Jiaying didn't know where her daughter had gone, and after asking around, she found out that her daughter had gone to Zamuhe. "Why did you leave without saying hello, you kid." Deng Jiaying said.Deng Chaolu said that I missed Uncle Lu and came to see him.Mother said that it is right to see you, Uncle Lu, but you should ask for leave from the unit. How can this continue?As usual, my mother put on a businesslike tone, which sounded very dogmatic and orthodox.Deng Chaolu felt bored, why were they so disciplined in that generation?So he said: "It's okay for them to have an opinion. At worst, I will be fired. I don't want to continue working." "Nonsense!" Deng Jiaying criticized.After a while, Deng Jiaying said again: "You child, how do you talk? No wonder the professor is going to get angry. You should call the professor immediately and do a self-criticism first." "There is no signal on the mountain, I will go back and explain to them." Deng Chaolu prevaricated.Lu Bo also said: "The unit has been wronged, this old man Qin, he can't be accommodating." He wanted to call Qin Jizhou to explain, but Deng Chaolu stopped Lu Bo. Deng Jiaying hung up the phone a little unhappy.At this moment, there was a sudden noise in the yard, followed by a voice calling Lu Bo. "Old man Lu, old man Lu, why didn't you play the flute today? I couldn't hear your flute all the way, so I was flustered." The title Old Man Lu made Deng Chaolu very uncomfortable. When he looked up, he saw a group of weird-looking people, all of them were sallow and thin, with messy hair and dirty clothes. They looked unruly, I knew I had encountered a "stupid wave". There are many sayings about "Benbo" on Maozang Plateau.The earliest "Benbo" was actually the "messenger" sent by the Han people on the plateau to the Tibetan area. The Mao-Tibet Plateau is a place where Tibetans and Han people live together. Most of the places, especially the grasslands under the snow-capped mountains, are all Tibetans, but in the grasslands There is still Maozang City in the surrounding area, but there are a large number of Han people living there.At the beginning, the Han people wanted to be friendly with the Tibetans, so they sent envoys to communicate with the Tibetans, familiarize themselves with their way of life and work, and exchanged cattle, sheep and butter from them.Later, these "envoys" fell in love with "Bawo", and felt that "Bawo" were very mysterious. They knew astronomy from the top, geography from the bottom, and they could talk to all things in the language of the gods.The Han people regarded them as gods and followed them devoutly.Later, some Han people pretended to be "Benbo". They regarded it as a job to support their families, and also used it to deceive women and property.They said that they can observe the sky, can know the birth, old age, sickness and death of others, and can also know the major events that happened on this plateau.The simple minds of the Han people quickly believed this, and regarded them as people more miraculous than "Bawo".If there is a sick person in the family, these people should be invited to "doctors", if there is no feng shui in the grave, these people should be invited to refill it, if something strange or terrible happened in the village, these people should be invited to resolve it and relieve the eyes.So there is soil for them to live under this sky. After a few generations, these people have great prestige among the Han people and become the spiritual leaders of the Han people. In that great movement, the Han people who pretended to be "Benbo" and the real "Bawo" in Tibetan areas met the same fate, and they were all beaten into ghosts and monsters.When the reservoir was built, there were these people in the team of the five types of elements, and Deng Jiaying once led these people.Luoba's father was the most criticized person on the reservoir back then.Time has passed, and these people have become active again, but their behavior and virtue are far inferior to those of the past.These people like to fan the flames, spread rumors, and always gather together when they have nothing to do to tell tales.They took advantage of the Tibetans, secretly spoke ill of the Tibetans, stole their cattle and sheep, and pissed on the holy mani piles.When they came among the Han people, they imitated the tone of the "hands-on" again, pretending to be ghosts and making troubles.Their behavior angered the "Bawo". For a period of time, the real "Bawo" on the Maozang grassland had a tense relationship with them. When Luoba's father was dying, he reminded his companions not to go to their place. Well, don't take them as your own.Naropa also adheres to a principle and never interacts with these people.But the river gave them the opportunity to easily restore their relationship with the "Bawo".Now, they seem to be the spokespersons of the grassland and snowy regions, and they have become the saviors of the river basin. Because these people are very good at making use of contradictions, they can see clearly that the biggest contradiction between upstream and downstream, between Han people and Tibetans, is actually the contradiction between rivers.The Tibetans above the grasslands under the snow-capped mountains have always believed that the sky is theirs, the snow-capped mountains are theirs, and of course the rivers are theirs too.But the people downstream don't think so. They think that the river's water flows wherever it goes, and it shouldn't be given to anyone at all.Their ancestors drank the river water and grew up. Of course, they also had to drink it. They have the right to open up wasteland, use the river water to irrigate farmland, and have the right to use the water in the river to benefit them.In short, they are more reasonable than upstream.The deeper the conflict, the happier these people who pretend to be "dumb waves" are. Sometimes they act as lobbyists to reconcile the conflict. When the lobbyists are not effective, they deliberately create conflicts to make the upstream and downstream people even more hostile. "This is a group of greedy people, they are real devils." The young Naropa once said.Although Deng Chaolu didn't know these people well, she was full of contempt in her heart.Anyone who has other plans for the river cannot be regarded as the guardian of the river, at best they are a group of conspirators, this is Deng Chaolu's understanding. Hearing the sound, Lu Bo walked out with a knowing smile on his face. "Here we come, Lao Yu, here we come, Wu Yang." Lao Yu and Wu Yang came up immediately, grabbed Lu Bo's hand, and said mysteriously, "Have you heard about the release of water upstream?" It’s done.” Lu Bo let out a groan, and looked back at the room, seeing that Deng Chaolu hadn’t followed, and the people in the other rooms hadn’t poked their heads out, so he took Lao Yu and Wu Yang’s hands and said, “It’s said outside. Said outside." A group of people walked outside, sat in front of the listening rock that Lu Bo used to sit on, and talked about it. They talked about the water shortage in the lower reaches, and they talked about the sand lake and Longshan.Lao Shi has a bald head with very little flesh on his head, and his colleagues call him Yu Gantou.Among these people, Yu Gantou was the loudest, spitting all over the place when he spoke.Wuyang is short, not as tall as Deng Chaolu, and his eyes grow into a slit. He belongs to the sheep family. When he was born, his family was very poor. His parents traded him for five sheep, which was equivalent to selling him to someone else in a Tibetan area. The family is a son, so there is the name Wuyang.This man spoke in a strange voice, sizzling, hoarse, but not like a hoarse, a ball of wool stuck in his throat, distorting his voice. Deng Chaolu was a little sad, but Dean Fan was right. Uncle Lu was not only in contact with dubious people, but also had a lot of fun.She went outside twice, but she didn't go to the side of listening to Shanshi. Seeing that Lu Bo was talking happily with those people, she felt breathless in her heart.He came so far to see him, and left her alone in the office. Fortunately, he ran to chat with others.Deng Chaolu wanted to yell at Uncle Lu back, but she didn't dare, so she could only get angry with herself.Later, she comforted herself, maybe Uncle Lu was not that kind of person, but someone else was talking nonsense.Although these fake "stupid waves" are annoying, it doesn't mean that they don't do serious things. Maybe Uncle Lu and them really have serious business.Thinking of this, I felt better. When I went back to the house again, I felt a little sleepy. I wanted to sleep for a while, but before I got to bed, I suddenly saw the folder again. I couldn't help but pick it up and hold it to look carefully.Looking at it, an idea suddenly popped into my mind. Could it be that the young woman in the photo is the same as Uncle Lu back then? God, how stupid, why didn't I think of this layer. Deng Chaolu suddenly became excited, and hugged the folder tightly, for fear that if he was not careful, the person in the folder would slip away.Deng Chaolu had heard about Uncle Lu's story a long time ago. Uncle Lu was labeled as a rightist in the year when the reservoir was built. At that time, Uncle Lu was in his twenties, older than his mother, and about the same as his mentor Qin Jizhou.It is said that he broke up with his sweetheart in the third year of the construction of the Longfengxia Reservoir, and he has never seen him since.My mother said that after Uncle Lu was labeled as a rightist, that person tried every means to rescue Uncle Lu. Unfortunately, in those years, no one could rescue a rightist.It is also said that after Uncle Lu was forcibly reformed, she was also put on a hat and became a ghost and a snake spirit. Life was very difficult, and she could not even meet Uncle Lu.It is also said that she was extremely beautiful, and her beauty harmed her, and she was raped by the rebel leader, and she couldn't bear the humiliation, so she died.All in all, a sad story.After several reservoirs were repaired, when Uncle Lu went to look for her again, there was no one in her family, and her parents left their hometown in Henan without leaving any information for him.Uncle Lu didn't believe that his sweetheart was dead, he firmly didn't believe it, he waited and waited until that idiot moved everyone. Until now, he is still waiting. There are always so many stories in the previous generation, including Uncle Lu, mother Deng Jiaying, and mentor Qin Jizhou.Although there are tears and blood in those stories, they have them.Deng Chaolu was so jealous, but she didn't even have a story. Hugging and stroking, Deng Chaolu felt very kind. If Uncle Lu could really find that person, it would be great, it would be great.Deng Chaolu smiled sweetly, as if Uncle Lu had found that person, the love and treasure of his life.She stuck the photo to her face so tightly and so warmly.Later, she fell asleep with the photo in her arms, and it seemed that she had never slept more soundly than today. When I woke up, it was completely dark.It gets dark earlier in Zamuhe than in the provincial capital. Once it gets dark, the sky will cover everything tightly, unlike Yinlu in the provincial capital, where white and black are indistinguishable.Deng Chaolu felt hungry and her stomach was growling. She woke up from hunger and didn't eat a mouthful after arriving at the hydrological station.He opened his eyes and saw Lu Bo sitting on the bed, looking at her quietly, his eyes were kind and focused, like two beams of moonlight, covering her tenderly.Her lips moved, she wanted to say something, but she didn't say it, she lay on the bed with a little nostalgia, not wanting to get up soon. "You're starving, the food has been reheated several times." Lu Bo said softly. Deng Chaolu hummed, and under the dim light, she could see Uncle Lu's face clearly.This face was hazy at first, then clear, then vivid, and then, it was so kind that she wanted to cry.She is actually a person who can't stand warmth and love.She said to Lu Bo: "I'm hungry, so hungry." "Get up quickly, you slept for a long time, I asked the mountain, you didn't sleep all night last night." Lu Bo said, got up to help Deng Chaolu heat up the meal . Too bad, let him know in the end that she lived in the white house last night. Deng Chaolu smiled unnaturally, put on his clothes and got out of bed. Fires are lit on the mountain all year round, so it’s summer again despite the heat outside, but at night, the cold seeps into every pore of the night, making the mountain no different from autumn and winter.People on the mountain can't do without the fire all the year round. Only around the fire can they be at ease. When Lu Bo was heating up the dishes on the stove, Deng Chaolu had already washed his face and sat obediently in front of the stove.Lu Bo watched her eat.The meals are very rich, including chickens, mountain rabbits, and fish they raise, which are also raised in the small fish pond in front of the station.After Lu Bo became the station master, he set up a lot of places in the front and back of the yard to grow vegetables, flowers, and raise chickens, making the hydrological station look like a small manor.He used to carve out a vacant lot over Tingshan Rock, whimsically wanted to cut down trees to build a small yard for himself, but when his superiors found out about it and severely criticized him, that beautiful plan ran aground. Lu Bo kept picking up vegetables for Deng Chaolu, and kept persuading her to eat more, while persuading her, he asked, "Is it delicious? I cooked it myself." Deng Chaolu said intoxicatedly, "I've already tasted it was yours." It’s so delicious, it’s been a long time since I’ve eaten such delicious food, and this fish is my favorite.” "Eat more, eat more, you look so thin, this old Qin head, you have made my daughter so thin." Deng Chaolu felt warm in his heart. Lu Bo always regarded her as his own daughter. When she was young, she was beaten by his mother. Lu Bo would angrily chase after his mother and denounce Deng Jiaying: "Why are you so cruel? You have grown up! No, dare to beat my daughter, I will never let you see me again when I take it back this time." Deng Chaolu really asked Lu Bo to take him a few times, but he really refused to let Deng Jiaying see him, so angry that Deng Jiaying scolded everyone: "Let him scream for nothing. A few times, girl, take it seriously, if you snatch it away, don’t give it back to me." Some people persuaded: "Let him live with him for a while, he is really kind to Xiaolu." Deng Jiaying would say: "I can share the real and the fake. Qing, the problem is that he always snatches my daughter away. In the future, my daughter will really treat him as her own father. What should I do? This is the old way, and things don’t work properly.” Some people joked, “That’s fine, neither of you will marry. If one doesn’t marry, one will be a father and the other will be a mother in the future, and there will be no problems.” Hearing this, Deng Jiaying was not in a hurry, nor did she blush, but said: “There is someone in my heart, please don’t mess around. Some mandarin ducks." People who don't understand think that Deng Jiaying really has something in his heart, but in fact, no, both of them are dead.Sometimes they are like brothers and sisters, sometimes like colleagues, and more often, they are like two orphans, two old orphans. Deng Chaolu quickly filled his stomach, and when his stomach was full, he became more active in talking and interested, and chatted with Lu Bo a lot in one go.Including their research institute, they also told Lu Bo a lot.Lu Bo listened with relish.He didn't care what Deng Chaolu said, he only cared about what she said, and he liked to listen to whatever she said.The old and the young chatted for half the night, and then Lu Bo said, "I discussed it with your mother, and I plan to transfer you to another unit, so I won't do this job." "Why?" Deng Chaolu opened his eyes wide.She has some complaints about this business, especially now, but she is still surprised to let her go. "No reason, there's nothing to do in this line of work." Lu Bo wrote lightly, as if he was talking about an unimportant matter. "That can't be done, I don't want to part with my major." Deng Chaolu was anxious. "I still have a major now?" Lu Bo dropped a sentence strangely. Seeing Deng Chaolu stare, he laughed dryly and said, "Clean up and go to sleep. I'll go to the guest room." After walking through the door, he came back, picked up the folder, and rushed to Deng Chaolu. Chao Lu gave an ambiguous smile and left. Deng Chaolu was dumbfounded.