Chapter 41 caprice of the night

I sat with him by the river. At the beginning of the new year, there is a layer of misty moonlight on the beach.A strip of soft willow branches hung down from the top of the head, swinging leisurely, caressing my face and his bare shoulders. "How good the air is!" He raised the water with his hands, and the water droplets he raised fell into the river, making a sound like the impact of metal.He raised his head and let out a deep breath. His intoxicated voice revealed unabashed envy, "In terms of enjoying clean air and wealth, the country people are much richer than the city people!"

I am very proud.I live in the country, and I always like to hear other people's praise of the country, especially the praise of the country from the city people, which always makes me sound very proud. "How wonderful this water is!" Like a poet, he praised the air, the river, and the moon, his voice trembling with excitement, "The moon, the misty river, is so wonderful!" Although I am used to all this, I am infected by him in my heart at this moment, and I am even more proud-our village! "Uh!" he sighed, shaking his gray head regretfully, "my little granddaughter, who has grown up to eight years old, has never seen the river or touched the sand. Every Sunday, I always ask me to take him to the park, Those fake mountains and fake lakes, as soon as she entered, she ran and jumped like hell! I feel so uncomfortable to see! The rockery that has been trampled bare, the pool of stinky water that has been blackened...how can there be such a natural river? What about the beautiful scenery? If my granddaughter comes to this beach, she will be so happy!"

"Then bring your granddaughter here! How nice it is to let the children play in the country!" I warmly invited. "When I came the day before yesterday, my granddaughter was going to come with me, and I wanted to bring her too." He said, "Her grandma packed the clothes, and her mother packed the food, milk powder, sugar, cake, chocolate, huh. , I can pack a large bag, which is really enough for me to carry. The result? I led my granddaughter downstairs, and her mother suddenly said, what should I do if the child is sick? Rural people do not pay attention to hygienic habits, and it is difficult for children to adapt Yes. The first week I came to the country, I had a stomachache, and I..."

Wanting children to go to the countryside to absorb fresh air, but fearing that the poor sanitation conditions in the countryside will cause them to get sick, this contradiction cannot be reconciled.I hummed, and the enthusiasm for the invitation suddenly cooled down. "The child's resistance is poor!" He explained. I nodded, that's right. "The children in the city are so pitiful!" He knocked on his knees and sighed, "I can't eat anything fresh. Where's the milk? I can't order it. Where's the powdered milk? It's been processed, so how can there be fresh milk! The apple crumbs are gone." The tomatoes are rotten! Even the flour is old stuff from the wheat that has been hoarded for many years! I was at the landlord’s house, and I saw the head of the house milking the goat for her grandson every morning and evening. How fresh! Tomatoes are picked from the ground and eaten, and vitamins are not available No loss... I can't help but think of my little granddaughter, how pitiful! I can't eat any good things..."

I wanted to nod to strike up a conversation, but it was just a thought in my heart.The neck didn't listen to control, and he smiled noncommittally without nodding his head. He and I lived in a village called Qianzhuang, where we educated the peasants on the road. He was the team leader and I was a member of the team.After getting along for more than half a month, I generally know that he is a middle-level leading cadre in the region, a "48-style" cadre, and he was integrated very early in the "Cultural Revolution".He went to the countryside to catch some.Live in our commune.I had the honor to live with him in Qiancun, and I thought it was an honor—this is the biggest leader I have ever had direct contact with in my life.My salary of thirty-nine yuan is only worth half of his salary.Come to think of it, how much more qualified he is than I am!

I have three children and a wife who is a farmer. Although my parents are still alive, they are half-workers in the production team.The wages of our production team were four cents, and I never dared to honor my parents with a salary of thirty-nine yuan, let alone children.I tried every possible way to save every nickel, and then went to the rich areas of Weibei to buy corn.There is always a shortage of food in our team. I can guarantee that the whole family will have enough food, so I think I am the greatest respecter of the old and the young. He, my team leader, is now in the embrace of nature on a wonderful summer night, deeply regretting that his little granddaughter cannot breathe fresh air, taste fresh fruits, and drink fresh milk.I suddenly realized a philosophy of life: people will always sigh in dissatisfaction.

Looking at my unreasonable silence, he smiled and said, "It's great that you can work in the countryside! I just like the countryside, so I proposed to go to the countryside this time. There is nothing to miss in the city. You can remember my words, don't drill into the city!" I nodded, smiled, and said, "Even if I want to go to the city, I can't get in. I'm a water conservancy technician, so I don't have a job in the city! Besides, with my salary, I can get by in the countryside. Rico can't..." "How long have you been working?" He asked with concern.

"I graduated from the provincial water conservancy school in 1960, and I have been working for 15 years now, and my salary has never been raised." I showed some resentment. "The wages are lower." He comforted me, and then gave me traditional education. "When I participated in the revolution, I had no wages, so I worked hard! In the first few years of liberation, the supply system was implemented, and there was no wages, so I still poured money on them." Do your job. You can't bargain for a revolution!" In my consciousness, I strongly refuse to accept such a high-sounding education.I more or less know that when he was my age, he already had a nanny to take care of the housework.He no longer needs to negotiate the price with anyone.What he was dissatisfied with was that his grandson could not see the real mountains and waters of nature, could not breathe the fresh air in the countryside, and could not taste the dewy apples just picked from the trees!

"How nice the air is!" He stood up. "The air... is good!" I also stood up.I accompanied him, walking over the embankment and along the field paths as I liked. "It would be great if my little granddaughter would follow me!" "You bring a hygienist to..." "I'm not qualified enough!" He laughed. I thought of the words of our commune secretary.When the commune secretary sent me to accompany him to Qiancun, he confessed to me that he had voluntarily asked to go to the countryside to catch some points, and he might be promoted to a top leader.I don't aimlessly say, "You'll get there."

"I don't dare to think..." He smiled sourly. I want to say that not daring to think about it is not because I didn’t think about it, but I finally didn’t say it.A moment of sadness flashed through my heart. People whose monthly salary was four or five times more than mine actually cried to me that they were poor. How could they expect to be answered?While complaining that his dear little granddaughter can't eat fresh fruit and milk, he teaches the father of the child who can't even eat rotten apples - I, to carry forward the Yan'an spirit, work hard, and inherit the tradition... He himself It seems that only I am the most suitable successor to the proud spirit, and he doesn't need to carry it forward... It's too hypocritical!

"I must convince my little granddaughter's grandma and mother to take her to the countryside to see the real mountains and rivers and breathe fresh air." He pondered in the warm summer night air, and finally made up his mind, regardless of the sanitary conditions up. "You choose a later time," I reminded the city resident, "at that time, the apples in the orchard of the Qiancun Brigade will be ripe and very fresh..." "That's right!" He nodded happily, actually taking my words seriously...