Chapter 16 Hands are bitter, heart is sweet

Liu Hanxiang has changed. become unrecognizable. People say, could her hand be a lice-catching hand?But someone saw with her own eyes that she was catching lice while washing clothes on the river (of course, the clothes of the "eggs")!On the river, when she was rubbing her clothes, she rubbed them and caught lice in the sun. Her fingernails were flattened, buckled and clicked, and she was still laughing. Still laughing? !That fingernail, snap it, and "Tun'er" smiles.God, a flower on the beam!In the early years, clean vegetables looked like green vegetables, and his hands were like onion branches. When he walked out, he always carried a schoolbag. He looked foreign, and he didn't want to touch the slightest bit of earthy smell. How could he catch lice? up? !

And, somehow, the man was at peace.Usually, she is very noble, she doesn't talk much when she meets anyone, even if she does, she doesn't say a word, she likes to ignore her.However, since she entered the door of the old uncle's house, she suddenly became more friendly. Depending on who she met, she would smile, talk about homely things, and ask for advice.For example, the hotness and coldness of the pan, the thickness of the pancakes, and whether to use a small koji or a big yeast when steaming buns are all still asked. I also know how to thank people, and I thank them every time. It is very "sweet". "Tian Huan" is naturally a rural dialect, it is a living language after soaking in the days for many years, it is a kind of life perception when walking with the sun on your back, and it is a warm understanding.People said, hey, how did she know that "Sweet Returns" people?

Also, those eyes are very blurred.When I saw something, it blurred, and there was an indescribable awl-like caress.A rough stone mill, what is there to see?Eh, she will stare at it for a while, with an earnest expression, and even touch it with her hand, as if she wants to feel the heat in the cold?I don't know what to think, so I went to touch it, will the convex and concave roller surface bloom?She also looked at the sparrow, a sparrow, jumping on the tree, its eyes chased after it, and it didn't fly very far, she just looked at it, and laughed after seeing it, and laughed for some reason, and the smile was also blurred Yes, childlike, raving and dazed.And raindrops, raindrops on the eaves.When it rains, stand under the eaves and watch the raindrops.The raindrops were very bright, full of bubbles on the wheat straw strips, short and fat, and then gradually fell, hitting the paving stone in front of the door one by one. Water mortar.What's there to see here?Just look at it, concentrate on it, like looking at it as a painting.A pomegranate plant in the courtyard, the Tie Qiuqiu plant, has not bloomed yet, she also looks at the small buds, the small buds are slit by slit, and when she looks closely, her face becomes poetic Make some smiles, continuous.When the sun sets, I often stand on the road at the entrance of the village and watch the fire clouds in the western sky.Those clouds, Xiaxia’s, roll out tile by tile, and float out like lions, cows, horses, donkeys, or sea reds step by step, walking like a ladder... At this time, people are very confused, as if their souls have been taken away by something.Sometimes, while walking, she suddenly turned around, as if someone was following her, as if someone had been following her!Turning around, I laughed first, that smile was blurred, there was no reason for it, it was very abnormal.Often, in a trance, he would laugh again, with a pulse, as if something had possessed him.

There is only one thing that is cold, and that is when I meet a man.What kind of man is he, whether it is a school teacher wearing glasses or a former classmate wearing a scarf, whether it is a commune cadre or someone in the county, as long as he takes the initiative to talk to her, his expression is very indifferent.Eyelids half covered, brows frowning, not looking at people, there is no one in those eyes.It seems that something has been saved long ago, very vigilant and distant.Just look at her like that and you'll take a step back if you're thinking of something.Yes, the arrogance is gone, and the attitude is also very kind, indifferent and calm, but it still makes you feel cold. There is a coldness hidden in the kindness, and it seems that he didn't say anything, but he said everything.The copper hammer who is now working in the supply and marketing cooperative in the county is fat and white, and he can be regarded as half a city resident, very decent.She often wears a new uniform, squeaking leather shoes, rides a new "Flying Pigeon" bicycle, stops beside her "day, day", and says coquettishly: "Hanxiang, come in." Are you in town? There’s a new movie in town, do you want to watch it?” Liu Hanxiang would turn her head and say, “Nah, do you want to watch a movie?” Niaodan said, “I want to, I really want to!” Liu Hanxiang would say to Tong Hammer said: "Okay, it's better for my naughty boy to watch a movie, you can take him there." Tong Hammer was stunned for a while, then he was dumbfounded for a while, and then he could only say awkwardly: "Oh, oh. Well, that, another day Bar."

As soon as this person changed, he was closer to the day, as if he had melted into the day.I saw her blowing a whirlwind in the village, a whirlwind of women.She is a person who has studied, why is she so lowered?In winter, just like a man, he went down to the bend of the river to cut reeds, wrapped his head in a ragged scarf, led the four eggs, rolled up his trouser legs, and went down the river.The river water is very cold, and sometimes it freezes, with a layer of ice balls on it. The reed leaves and ice balls cut bloody gashes on the leg. The sickle was arched forward... when it was cut, it was pulled home one by one, and stacked in bundles in the yard, piling up the yard like a mountain of reeds!When the wind blows, there are snow-like reed flowers in the sky above the yard. The reed flowers change with the sky, sometimes red, sometimes beige, sometimes golden, sometimes gray, swaying, flying, the bitter The bitter and faint aroma fills the day very full.

After all, he has been to school, and he can also do small accounts, and the door is clear.At that time, just in time for "preparing for war and famine", some people from the city came down to buy reed mats: zhang mats (a big mat with a length of one foot and a width of five feet) were braided with a collar of one yuan and four cents; Small mats three feet wide) One gets 60 cents.Liu Hanxiang didn't know how to weave mats, but one night with oil lamps on, he dismantled a bed mat and asked a woman from the Huai family nearby to teach her, and she learned it overnight.And then from that morning, she peeled off the reeds, broke them, and crushed them, and became a woman who weaves reed mats... At the beginning, some people laughed at her, a girl, like those half-old women, Standing on the stone rollers in the village street to grind the slivers, her two feet seemed to be unable to stand, and they wobbled on the stone rollers. Sometimes they fell off with a "ah!" and she laughed when they fell. !The people watching also laughed, like playing with monkeys, saying: "Hey, Han Xiang can also chase away stone rollers?" But gradually, no one laughed, no one dared to laugh.From the whole set of work of stripping reeds, breaking bamboos, grinding bamboos, and weaving mats, she spent seven days on the first mat (of course, Zhang mat), four days on the second mat, and four days on the third mat. The first mat only took two days and one night (this is the fastest speed among women in the village), and the fourth mat only took one day and one night!At this time, that hand was no longer a hand, it was bloody, and it was covered with rags everywhere; was that waist made of a slingshot? It will be fine in the future, and it will be more than enough.That hand was as fast as a fish swimming in the water, and the long strips became waves under her hands, chasing after each other, rushing, rushing, and "waves" came out. Come on, say the women, that's really pretty.At this time, she actually weaves a table a day, God, don't delay cooking and feeding the pigs!So, she bought four little piglets from the market at once, and when she straightened her waist, she went to feed the pigs happily.There are many women who weave mats yelling that their backs hurt, their hands hurt, and they are tired.In her, but never snorted.When working, the happiness overflows from the eyebrows and eyes, full of poetry.When weaving the mats, the measuring rod for the mats was placed by her side. Sometimes she measured the size of the mats for fear of making a mistake; , "Oh Chi, Oh Chi" in his mouth, he was rushing, but he was very close to that chicken, sweet and intimate.Sometimes, when we were editing, we hummed something in a low voice, always repeating two or two sentences, as if a little bit of sweetness gushed out of our throat: "Let's row our oars, little boat!" Push away the waves; let us swing our oars, and the boat pushes away the waves..." The hands never stop, the hands are always moving, and the strips of warp and weft dance under the hands, weaving one by one.During those long winter nights, whenever Daner rubbed his sleepy eyes and ran out of the ear room to pee, there was always a gray figure like a reclining cat printed on the wall, and that was Liu Hanxiang: accompanied by a A small oil lamp, on the floor of the main room, where she is still knitting mats.Counting nine cold days, the wind whistles outside the door, how cold it is!One watch, two watch, three watch...

Goudan said, sister-in-law, go to sleep. She said, sleep. Guadan said, sister-in-law, go to sleep.you sleep. She looked up and said, just sleep. 槖槖槖, Tie Dan came back from the outside in a cloak, stood there tremblingly, stood there for a long time, and didn't speak... Liu Hanxiang raised her head and said, go to sleep quickly, don't freeze.Not much left. With a bare belly, she put on a padded jacket, squatted down in front of Liu Hanxiang, and said, "Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, it's the fourth watch, it's almost the fourth watch!" Liu Hanxiang said, it's over, there's only one horn left.

In just one winter, Liu Hanxiang's onion-like hands were terribly frozen.That hand was swollen at first, swollen joint by joint, and then rotted. Frostbite appeared on the back of the hand one by one, and the thorns of the strips were hung and touched again and again. That hand, When it stretched out again, it swelled into two gas-bellied toads!Once, on the village street, Da Baitao ran into Liu Hanxiang who was carrying a bundle of new mats.When she saw her daughter, she burst into tears, and the tears came down, saying, Han Xiang, why are you like this? !Liu Hanxiang smiled, "I'm fine."Mom, I'm fine.Da Baitao said you are a fart!You are spoiling yourself.Liu Hanxiang said, really, I'm fine, it's fine.Da Baitao said, look at your hand?What's the matter?My silly girl, you didn't look at it, do you still call it a hand? !Liu Hanxiang said, this is nothing.The third aunt said that it would be fine to soak in pepper water.Da Baitao sighed a long time, and left in tears.

Hurry, hurry, it's the end of the year.On the twenty-sixth day of the new year, when the second payment for matting was settled, Liu Hanxiang borrowed a bicycle and went to the county seat.I didn't rush back from the city until it was dark.On the cart were a bag of white flour, four grass-green cloths, and a black cloth; a basket hung from the handlebars, containing a large piece of pork, several pairs of couplets, and two fire whips with three thousand heads. ... This is a new year's gift she bought.All the eggs went up to greet each other, picked up some, took some, and said, "Sister-in-law, you are back!" Liu Hanxiang held his hands, wrapped in the cold, and took out five clips from the pocket he was carrying. After burning the beef, he said: "Eat it, take it to Dad first, one for each person." Of course, there is also sugar, which is a pack of fusilli candies, the kind without sugar wrappers, and the cheap ones are given to the cowards.He is the youngest.

The next day, Liu Hanxiang hurried through the village street. When she got to the door of the branch secretary's house, she couldn't help but hesitated, hesitating, as if she couldn't move.Just right, the door opened with a "squeak", and Da Baitao walked out from the door.When Da Baitao saw her daughter, tears came down suddenly, and she choked up and said, "Daughter, you still know to come back? Come back." Liu Hanxiang stood there, hesitantly said: "Mother... I want to borrow your sewing machine." Da Baitao cried, and she wiped away her tears and said, "Girl, what is this called?! Come back and do it, take it back and do it." Liu Hanxiang's eyes turned red, he shook his head, and said, "Mother, you want to borrow it. I'll let someone carry it, and bring it back to you when you're done using it. If you don't want to borrow it, I... will borrow one from Guosheng's house, which also has one." Da Baitao sighed, and said, "Girl, you Won't you go through this door?... Lift it up, lift it up."

So, Liu Hanxiang went back to her husband's house and said to the eggs: "Go, any of you can go. Go to the branch secretary's house and bring the sewing machine back for us to use." But the eggs listened, looked at each other, hesitated, I'm a little scared.Liu Hanxiang said: "Don't be afraid, just carry it up boldly. I have already agreed. Remember, if someone shows you face when you enter the door, put it down and leave! We don't need him." When it came to this point, The eggs went boldly.When the eggs came in, Secretary Guodou had a dark face, but he didn't say a word.Da Baitao said kindly: "Carry it, it's inside." However, she still couldn't help but swear: "Your father, that bastard, burned incense in some lifetime!" In this way, for three days and three nights, Liu Hanxiang cut, cut, and sewed by herself, and the sound of "Ka Ka Ka Ka..." lasted all night!Hurry up, it's the night of the New Year's Eve.New Year's Eve is a night of staying up for the new year. In the middle of the night, there is a lot of auspicious snow, and the firecrackers outside are ringing, exploding piece by piece.Ning Dan said: "Sister-in-law, everyone has let go, so let's let go too?" Liu Hanxiang was still sitting on the sewing machine. "Ka Ka Ka..." Hurrying to work, he raised his head and said, "Let's hang it up." So, a few eggs ran outside the door, and excitedly put it up. It was three thousand heads. The ringing time is really long!After letting go of the firecrackers, I heard Liu Hanxiang calling from the house: "Come back, everyone." When the eggs ran back to the house, Liu Hanxiang had just bitten off the last thread... She took a breath, raised her head and said: "Come on, one person and one suit, try it on." The one for the old uncle was black, black denim, uniform style.Dad was already asleep, so he put it on the head of the bed.The four eggs are all army green, imitating military uniforms, or "official uniforms" with four pockets.The Dan'ers all tried them on, and they all said they fit well, but Liu Hanxiang looked at them one by one, and felt that the one Tie Dan was wearing was a bit too short, so she said, "Tie Dan, you're getting thinner, take it off. , I’ll change it again.” Tie Dan never speaks lightly, but this time he said: “Okay, sister-in-law, I think it’s okay.” Liu Hanxiang said with a tiger’s face: “Take it off. People will see you when you go out, and leave me alone.” face!" So Tie Dan obediently took it off without further ado... On the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, when the eggs woke up, they saw their new clothes next to their pillows.After putting them on one by one, the fifth child suddenly let out a "huh", and when he took out his pocket, there was still "New Year's money"!So they looked at each other, the money was brand new, one dime, ten for each person.When I entered the stove, I saw that the dumplings were already cooked, and there were bowls of meat-filled dumplings... On the pot where the dumplings were placed, there was a note that read: I fell asleep ,Do not call me. At this time, the old uncle also changed into a new uniform, his head was shaved, and he suddenly became much more energetic.He was squatting by the stove to light the fire, and while continuing the fire, he said in a low voice, "Your sister-in-law hasn't closed her eyes for three days. Get out of here to play after dinner. Anyone who dares to make a fuss, I'll cut him off as a dog!" legs!" The eggs are very obedient.After eating, they ran to the street, all newly dressed, walking in a row, like a team of army green.It was also the first time in his life that each of them had a dollar in their hands!So, I took out the brand new bills from my pocket, bought small hanging firecrackers at the consignment point, and put them all the way... That beauty!Someone saw it and said: "Hey, look at all the dicks, they are all new clothes?!" The fifth child said triumphantly: "My sister-in-law, my sister-in-law made it! Kaka, Kaka, smashed all night!" When it comes to the second day of junior high school, according to the rules on the plain, it is time to visit relatives.This "relative" refers to something, mainly referring to the woman's natal family.In the morning, the old uncle had prepared two boxes of snacks.The dim sum was newly bought, and it was just on the table.At this time, Liu Hanxiang had slept for a full day and night, and she was still a little dizzy and groggy, but she still struggled to get up.The old uncle said to her carefully: "His sister-in-law, go back, go back and have a look." Liu Hanxiang glanced at the table and said lightly: "No." The old uncle said: "His sister-in-law, this is a courtesy We are poor, so etiquette can’t be less.” Liu Hanxiang was silent for a while, but still said stubbornly: “It’s better not to go. They don’t need this.” The old uncle opened his mouth, looked at her, and said: "How about this, his sister-in-law, if you really don't want to go, let the eggs go?" At this moment, Lao Wu volunteered and said, "I'll go, I'll go!" Finally, Liu Hanxiang hesitated for a moment and said, "Dad Now that you've said it, you can go. If you don't accept it, you can take it back." But the old uncle still said in a consulting tone: "His sister-in-law, tell me, why don't you all go? Go. How to say... this, this is what it should be. Go and pay New Year's greetings to that, that... branch secretary." Seeing that Liu Hanxiang didn't say anything, it was a tacit agreement.The old uncle ordered: "Go. Remember, you can't ask for other people's things." When leaving, Liu Hanxiang confessed again: "Remember, if you don't accept it, just give it back to me!" So, the four eggs, with the fifth child carrying the two boxes of snacks, went to the branch secretary's house.When they arrived at the door of the branch secretary's house, for some reason, the eggs were a little apprehensive. You pushed and shoved you, and no one wanted to be the first to enter.In the end, the fifth child was pushed to the front, and the fifth child whispered, "This is our sister-in-law's house, this is our sister-in-law's house. What are you afraid of?" As he spoke, the eggs pushed the door in.As soon as he entered the yard, the fifth child raised the snack box in his hand high and said, "Bai, Bai, Bai, I, I, I... Happy New Year!" Da Baitao came out after hearing the sound, and when he saw it, First he was stunned for a moment, then he smiled and said: "Yeah, these kids, these kids, they are blind, they have grown into big guys... Go to the room, go to the room quickly." He walked into the main room with a pinch.In the main room, I saw Party Secretary Liu Guodou sitting on a chair with a stern face, rolled his eyes, and still didn't say a word.Da Baitao brought out a plate full of candies, and said, "Eat candy, eat candy." The fifth child was very greedy, but he didn't dare to take it after seeing the secretary's face, so he put down the box of candies and pressed on. He closed his eyes, lowered his head, and said vaguely: "My father, and I, my sister-in-law... asked me to come to pay New Year's greetings." Although I said that, the secretary's face was still dark.Seeing that the situation was not going well, the eggs stabbed the fifth child, who stammered, "That, that, that... let's go, I'm going." The face said: "Take the dim sum away!" At this moment, the four eggs were all stunned, and no one said anything, as if they were nailed.After a while, I saw the fifth child stretching out his hand slowly, probably wanting to take the snack. My sister-in-law had already told me to bring it back if I don't want it... At this moment, Da Baitao suddenly got angry, and Da Baitao said: " Who told me to take it back? Why should people take it back? This is given to me by my daughter. If you don’t want it, I will accept it!” She gave the branch secretary a hard look, turned around, and said With tears in her eyes, she smiled and said, "I'll take the gift, you guys go back." However, as soon as she finished speaking, she said again: "Wait..." As she spoke, she took out the money from her pocket, and it was all For two yuan, she counted four, and gave one to each person, saying: "Take it, those who celebrate the Chinese New Year are all happy." Four eggs, but no one dared to reach out.The fifth child said: "No, no, I don't want it." Da Baitao said: "Dare? I gave this for my daughter. Whoever dares not, I will ask him to take the snack back!" After going out, the four eggs laughed and took out their money one by one to compare to see whose one was newer.Tie Dan ordered: "Take it back and give it to my sister-in-law!" So they walked with high spirits, and they became "relatives" with the branch secretary's family! On the fourth day, "Dingling, ringing..." A series of car bells suddenly sounded at the gate of the courtyard!That's the person from the post office.So the whole family ran out to watch.Only Lao Qin at the post office shouted: "Feng Huanzhang, take the letter!" The old uncle was stunned for a while, then suddenly remembered that this was his name, and said, "Oh, oh... yes, I am." At this time, the old fifth man ran up to catch the letter, looked at it, and said excitedly: "The 'triangular badge'! The one from the army must belong to my brother." The old uncle immediately said: "Here for your sister-in-law!" So Lao Wu handed the letter to Liu Hanxiang who was standing at the door. Liu Hanxiang blushed a little, took the letter, tore it up and saw that it contained a certificate of "Five Good Soldiers"... Liu Hanxiang took the letter Handed over the certificate and said, "Father, it's Jiachang's certificate, and Jiachang has been awarded the 'Five Good Soldiers'." The old uncle didn't pick it up, but the old uncle said, "Oh, let it go, you let it go." Liu Hanxiang said Said: "This is a certificate, let's post it in the main room." But the old uncle insisted: "You son of a bitch, go and get it to your sister-in-law's room!" As a result, in the half of the room where Liu Hanxiang lived, there was a certificate with the name "Feng Jiachang" written on it.At night, when she was alone, with an oil lamp on, Liu Hanxiang carefully looked at the certificate, reading it over and over again. The name and the number of the unit were touched by her hands many times. It was like the face of her beloved!Sometimes, she still carried the certificate in her bosom, and fell asleep with it night after night, and then read it again when she woke up; sometimes, she put her mouth on it, and kissed the name secretly... ...Suddenly one day, she discovered that there were words on the back of the certificate!Those are the three words written with a pen: --wait for me. When she saw these three words, she let out an "ah" and quickly covered her mouth... How happy is she at this moment!In Liu Hanxiang's eyes, with these three words, she is not afraid of anything.It's not just three words, it's a heart, it's a love, that... that's her whole world!