Chapter 44 On difficult days (5)

A night of cold wind blows away the neither cool nor hot autumn.The nasty winter followed the last batch of geese migrating south and descended on the Loess Plateau.The undulating mountains and ridges soon became desolate.The mountains and fields around the county seat are bare, and there is no more green color to be seen. In the morning or evening, the smog over the city suddenly thickens, and the air is filled with an unpleasant smell of charcoal smoke—this means that all kinds of heating stoves that have been idle for a year are now in use again. The sun and the moon are passing, the time series are changing, and I am still basically the same.Since the National Day, Wu Yaling took the initiative to find me twice, saying that she wanted to help me with something, but I avoided them.I withdrew from her cares with a sense of gratitude, and grew even more estranged from her.In addition to the cautiousness and timidity of the country bumpkin, the main reason is that I am not used to accepting help from others for no reason.Although I can see that she is sincere, but I am neither her relative nor someone she knows very well. Why should I accept this kind of help?Strictly speaking, she was still a stranger to me—before National Day, I hadn’t even spoken to her.Besides, she's still a girl.Generally speaking, our age is afraid of getting close to girls.

But Wu Yaling's behavior undoubtedly cast a ray of sunshine on my spirit.If a person is in bad luck, even a little sympathy and friendship from others is very precious.Some people will immediately follow the trend, and regard other people's sympathy and friendship as the straw to free themselves, and once they grasp it, they will not let go.But for me, I just feel that we should cherish this kind of good kindness and give it back with the same noble heart. I'm increasingly shy about my grades now; I know why I've focused my mind so intensely on this issue in the first place.Yes, I have reached such a backward point in my studies, how can I be respected?

Under this new strong mental stimulation, although hunger made me feel dizzy, as long as I sat in the classroom, leaned on my desk, facing the textbooks and calculus, everything was quickly controlled, just like The springs are tightly compressed together without any slack.But once you leave the classroom, your spirit relaxes a little.The "spring" dissipated with a "bang".I immediately felt that all the joints in my body had been disengaged, and it was as soft as a puddle of mud... Fortunately, during the autumn harvest in the outskirts of the city, I once picked up some potatoes and a dozen ears of corn cobs that were not plump on the land where the stubble was left.Of course I couldn't put this dry food in the dormitory; after thinking about it for a long time, I decided to hide it in a broken burnt brick kiln abandoned by a production team on the mountain behind the school.After reviewing my homework in the evening, I would grope this desolate place in the dark, gather some dry firewood and dry grass, make a fire, and burn a few potatoes; or pop a handful of popcorn in the fire.I can't imagine a better dinner than this one.After eating the buckle, if you have a little energy, you will recite the new mathematics, physics and chemistry formulas you learned that day in the dark; or just type the draft of the composition question in your heart, and say something... Ah, brick kiln!This has become my "winter cottage" again.I can no longer go to the comfortable nest by the small river, because in winter, the wind in the river is very hard and the cold is unbearable.And this new place not only avoids people, but also shelters from the severe cold.Soon, the final exam began, and I threw myself into the exam with a full heart.The result of the test even surprised me: the average score of each subject was the first in the class!David Zheng, who is smart and eager to learn, had to come in second.My deskmate Zhou Wenming was the same as the last exam. He was still the bottom one in the class, but he barely passed the grades compared with the scores in sports and singing (he complained everywhere that the work of the cultural and sports officer delayed him. learning).

After announcing the results, I walked out of the classroom silently, like a victorious boxer, exhausted with an indescribable joy. When we arrived at the big playground, the excitement rose further.Although my legs were limp from hunger, I wanted to walk, even run. I came alone under the big wall in the backyard of the school, and walked alone on the decaying withered grass.A few old pear trees along the base of the wall have lost all their leaves, and their bare branches are gray and clean, standing upright quietly in the cold wind of early winter.One of the treetops miraculously left a huge leaf, which was dyed crimson by the frost, waving like a banner under the blue sky.

At some point, I suddenly felt a hand gently resting on my shoulder.I was startled, and when I looked back, it turned out to be David Zheng.With a gentle smile on his face, David turned around and came to me, and said, "Jianqiang, you are really good! I really didn't expect you to be able to solve the last question of the physics test satisfactorily. It is indeed too difficult. I think there is a part of it that we haven't learned. You don't know, Mr. Wang in our physics class once said that he was sure that no one would get 100 points in this physics test. I was not convinced, but this question failed. I can answer it. But you made Teacher Wang’s words come to nothing! This is really a pleasure. Although students have opinions on such difficult problems, I support Teacher Wang very much. It is also good to do this, because we are already high school students. I have to be forced to learn more things that are not in the textbook. To tell you the truth, I still don’t know how to solve this problem. Teacher Wang said that he will teach it in physics next week. I don’t want to accept it ready-made. It can’t be solved. But it really can’t be solved now. You must not tell me the steps to do it now, you know what I need is inspiration..."

The squad leader who is generally respected by the students suddenly appeared in front of me and asked me for advice with such a sincere and modest attitude, which made me feel a deep respect for him in surprise.True, David is also a man of few words—although for different reasons than I am.He is smart, hard-working, and very self-cultivated.In the past, I avoided other classmates, but I could say that I kept a respectful distance from him.Now, he took the initiative to come to me for an exam question, which at the same time made me admire this person very much-because in my opinion, only capable people are so honest and meticulous in learning.I immediately told him to take a look at "Five Hundred Solutions to Physics Puzzles". There was a question on it that was very similar to this question in the physics exam.I told him that I bought this book from the bookstore the day before yesterday (of course he didn’t know that, in order to buy this book, I exchanged the only few cents left in the month for food tickets into cash).

David said happily: "Thank you so much. Today is Saturday, the bookstore closes early, I have to go quickly!" He was about to leave, but he grabbed my shoulder again and said, "Look at you cold I am trembling, go back and add some clothes... I am leaving, come to my house to play when you have time, you are very withdrawn and often hide from others, why? Our house is very close to this school, just behind the stadium. , the first row, the fourth and fifth cave dwellings!" He hurried away, and his fit figure flashed around the corner of the second-grade classroom and disappeared.I stood alone for a long time, not knowing what I was thinking.I don't think I've ever felt as happy as I do today.

It took me a long time to feel that my body was numb from the cold.I remembered what David had just said - he asked me to "add clothes." I couldn't help but sighed.Immediately my thoughts returned to my own misfortunes, and I realized that, with the onset of winter, I faced a new difficulty: the cold.Hunger is hard to endure, and cold is even more difficult.Except for the unlined clothes, I just wear old coarse cotton clothes.As for sweaters, fleeces, sweaters, all these transitional clothes, I don't have a single one.Of course, I dare not wear cotton-padded clothes on my body now, because the weather is not yet the coldest time-once such a time comes, I don’t have a coat on it like others, this set of cotton-padded clothes is my defense. The last line of defense for the severe cold attack.

In order to keep out the cold, I wanted to run a few steps in the same place, but my hunger made me quickly give up this plan-how can I run when I am so hungry? It's still early, and I think it's Saturday again, so I might as well go for a walk in the street. After leaving the school gate, I followed Xiao Gong who was stuck in the road with gravel, and came to the intersection.It is said that the stone-slab streets were laid in the late Qing Dynasty, and now they have been worn uneven by the feet of several generations.There are a few very old shops on the street; these dilapidated houses line up with the newly built shops, canteens, medicine companies, post offices, banks, etc. It also looks shabby in the queue in the class.Next to the old society is the dyeing workshop, now the old house of the iron shop, and the county state-run canteen built only two years ago.Through the large glass windows, you can see the people inside leaning forward and backward after eating.In these difficult years, this place replaced the county cultural center and became the busiest place in the city.I tried my best not to look into the glass window.I want to go to Xinhua Bookstore.I heard from my Chinese teacher that I recently published a book called "The History of Entrepreneurship", which is very good.The title sounds like a history book, but it is also a novel.Of course I can't afford thick books, I just want to stand in the bookstore and look through them.

When I was about to go to the bookstore, I accidentally caught a glimpse around a large table behind the glass window in the cafeteria. The people who were eating seemed to be students in our class. Indeed!Isn't that Zhou Wenming?Look at him carrying a few plates of food to the table.The sons of the bureau chiefs and ministers were eating happily, laughing and joking, playing and fighting while eating.I remembered, today is Saturday, and the exam has just finished, this group of good friends probably had dinner here.For some reason, the root of my nose was sore, I turned around and turned back to the alley where I came back.I don't think I should be out on the street for this thrill.This reminds me of the absurd wish I made to myself earlier: When I pass the exam, I must have a full meal!Alas, I said in my heart: You passed the exam, but you didn't get enough food.Blessed man Zhou Wenming is the last one in the back-to-back exam, but he eats his fill every day!

Like a ghost, I suddenly remembered my little potatoes and corn cobs in the broken brick kiln.I immediately made up my mind: yes, go and burn the potatoes!Go Popcorn!Congratulations to me for getting a good grade in the exam!