Chapter 38 short story hill country night

Our home is in the lake area, which used to be a lake. Later, people blocked the lake water with dams and surrounded endless rice fields.The soil is very fertile, rice and rapeseed are growing well, and our life should have been rich and peaceful.Unfortunately the dirt enclosures always collapsed.Once this happens, our homes will be flooded in an instant.As far as I can remember, this horrible situation happens every two or three years.Usually, when the flood lasted for more than ten days, my mother became irritable. She made pancakes from morning to night, and the salt sweat from her forehead dripped into those pancakes.Finally, when all the dough was baked, my mother put the cakes into the basket, picked up the load, and ordered us five sisters to take their luggage and set off with her.We walked on the dangerous embankment, the sun shot overhead like a steam wheel, and the steam from the vast and boundless lake made people dizzy.I followed behind my mother with a roll of cotton wool on my back, and behind me were four unkempt younger sisters.As I walked, I would have hallucinations. I felt that the embankment under my feet was already shaking, so I screamed strangely: "Dead people!" The refugees on the embankment panicked, but quickly calmed down and used He scolded me with obscene words, which made my face flush and tears fall.After my mother saw it, she didn't stop to comfort me, but just urged me to go quickly.It usually takes a whole day to walk out of the flood and come to the mountain called "Monkey Seven Immortals".With those pancakes, my whole family was up in the mountains for a week or so, every time.Our pancakes were stale and completely ruined after eating them.

Life in the cave is miserable, and the daily work is to go out to dig wild vegetables and collect firewood.Hundreds of people lived in this cave. Early in the morning, we spread all over the mountain like monkeys, picking leaves after digging wild vegetables, and cutting down young trees after collecting dry firewood.After a while we went to the top of the mountain to watch the rising tide of the flood.In these days of bewilderment, I have met some people from the mountains.These horrible-looking people live in the valley, and they sometimes come to the mountains to collect firewood.For them, we people on the plains are some invaders, so when they see us, the expressions on their faces are always angry.The appearance of the mountain people is hard to describe, a bit like the legendary savages, but their eyes are so sharp that they seem to be able to penetrate you.Generally speaking, without squinting, they cut the firewood skillfully, tied them into two beautiful bundles with vines, and then sat down to smoke.That's when I worked up the courage to approach them while they were smoking.There were a total of six men with long hair and long beards, sitting on the ground lined up.

"Hi." I said. As if they had heard the signal, they all turned their faces to me, and soon an angry expression appeared on their faces, and their beards were raised. "I, I want to ask for directions..." I stammered and argued while stepping back. No one answered me, they all lowered their eyelids, as if they wanted to exclude my existence from their hearts.I heard an old man among them say: "The water has started to recede tonight." I turned my head as I was walking, and saw them still sitting on the ground and smoking.Soon I met fellow villagers in the Lake District, and they said that I was really daring. They saw the scene just now while hiding in the bushes. At that time, they all thought that I would definitely die if I took the initiative to provoke the people in the mountains, because one died a few days ago. Throw it in the pile of leaves, and separate the body and head.Later, my mother also came, and after listening to the stories of the villagers, she began to whip me with a rattan cane. I couldn't bear the pain, so I shouted:

"Mom, just let me die at the hands of the mountain people! Just let me die at the hands of the mountain people!" While smoking, my mother said: "Not at all! Not at all!" Then I took advantage of a loophole and escaped. I wandered around in the mountains, bitterly thinking about what happened just now.Violence, I thought, would not quench my curiosity, it would only fuel it.After a few days here, I already know the location of the mountain people's village, and I will go there tomorrow when I collect firewood.Looking from the top of the mountain where I am now, there is a vast flood, and even the long dike we walked along has disappeared. There are some black spots floating on the water. I don’t know if they are livestock or furniture, or some trees or some dead bodies.Although my mother tried her best to hide it from me, I also knew that the cake was almost finished.Yesterday, my little sister was clamoring for an extra slice, and my mother slapped her.If the water does not recede, what magic method will she have to overcome the difficulties in front of her?Only this mountain can take refuge in all directions.It is said that there is a city in the distance, where people come and go, and the water cannot be submerged, but to reach that place, we must have a boat, and we have to float on the water for seven days and seven nights before we can see the tall buildings of the city, those buildings are like mountains high.For me, a seventeen-year-old boy, it was a daydream to want to go to that kind of place.Somehow, I feel that the mountain people have been to that kind of place, and I can see it in their eyes.

When I got back to the cave, my mother had already built a small fire and was simmering some pods.As soon as my eyes lit up, I immediately became hungry.The eldest sister told me that the bean pods were collected in the fields of the mountain people, and they had already collected them once, but they were careless and short-sighted, so there were still some that were not collected, which gave us an unexpected harvest. "How do you know they are nearsighted?" I asked. "That's what everyone said. Otherwise, why did they live in the valley for generations? It's because they can't see clearly. They don't know there is a lake area, nor do they know that there are cities. What they see is hazy It's so hazy, I thought there was only this mountain in the world!"

"You have investigated them quite clearly." I said with a sneer. With the bean pods, everyone's mood is very high, a family of six sits around the fire, and even the bean pod skins are eaten clean.My mother told us with confidence that she still saw some wild vegetables around the field, and we will all dig it tomorrow morning. It was very cold in the cave at night, and our torn cotton batting was spread on top of the piled up twigs and thatch, and we all slept together.In the dark, I heard my mother sighing, and the sound she made made me very irritable, so I sat up. "Do you want to get out of this house?" Mom asked me.

"I want to take a look and find a way out, what's wrong with that?" My voice was full of grievances and disgust. I knew that my sisters were not asleep, and they were listening with bated breath.In order to avoid quarreling, I stood up and walked out of the cave. The mountain wind blew goose bumps on people's bodies, and the wind contained the fishy smell of the lake.After a short walk, you will meet someone from your hometown, and they can't sleep and come out.Those of us who grew up in the endless lake area have excellent eyesight, and we can clearly distinguish the path in the hazy moonlight.For example, right now, I see a girl about my age standing in front of me, and she is eating.I couldn't tell whether she was from the mountains or from our hometown, so I went closer to have a look.When I was almost in front of her, she chuckled and turned to me.It turned out that she was much older than me and had pockmarks on her face.

"Eat melon seeds?" She pushed the things in her hands towards me. "No! No!" I stepped aside. Melon seeds are what women eat, and I don't eat them.Now I know that she is from the mountains, but she is different from those mountain men I have seen.She withdrew her hand and snorted proudly. "You're a coward. Your mother is too strict with you. I've been to your Lake District. It's such a barren place. No one can lose sleep in that kind of place." "This kind of barren mountain is a barren land!" I replied her words, "In our place, if we sow seeds, we will grow food, and we will have enough food and clothing."

"Let's get to know each other, my name is Xiao Qiangwei." Looking at her rough, pockmarked face, I almost laughed out loud at the name, but held it back. "My name is Chang Shui." "Your name is so boring. I have noticed you for a long time. You are my ideal kind of boy. Unfortunately, your name is not good. Let me choose one for you. How about I call you Black Bear from now on? I think You're bound to look like that." "It's up to you." I said this, but in fact, I hated her calling me by that name, and I wouldn't call her "Little Rose", but I called her "Ma Po" in my heart.

She pointed to a fork in the road and said to me: "Let's go this way, now your mother is looking for you." "How did you know I was going with you?" She pushed me hard from behind, onto a fork in the road, and said: "It's because—because you only have me in your heart." I was so angry that she forced her will on me and said it was my will.Although I thought so in my heart, I couldn't find a reason to get rid of her, and my feet didn't seem to be my own anymore, so she led me forward.We walked into the jungle, and the light was getting darker, and it was hard for my eyes to make out the way.I asked "Ma Po" how she could see the road clearly. "Ma Po" said that she didn't look at all, she was as familiar with this mountain as she was with her own body; she also said that it is really unnecessary for us people in the lake area to exercise our eyesight like this, we think we can see something clearly, In fact, it is just an illusion.As she spoke, she quickened her pace, and I stumbled a little bit and couldn't keep up.If she leaves me at this time, I'm really worried, there are many beasts in this mountain.

We walked quite a long way on the mountain road, and it was always uphill, but when we stopped in an empty field, I found that we had already reached the bottom of the mountain. This empty field was the village's threshing field. "Ma Po" asked me to go to her house. I asked her if there would be any trouble. She said that as long as I said I was her fiance, there would be no trouble. She said that it was so dark outside that I couldn't go back. , I might meet a wild boar if I go into the mountains alone, so I can only stay at her house. "Can you back down at this time?" She said aggressively, spraying her breath on my face. This is a medium-sized village, the houses are very low, and the eaves can be touched with one's hand. Now the whole village is quiet, and there are no dogs barking, only the pigs in the stalls make the sound of "chuck-chuck-chuck". While I was still standing looking between the house and the aisle of the house, a low door suddenly opened, and a hand pulled me in.Before I figured out what was going on, I fell down on a bed. "This is my mother. Bear, you can't make her angry." "Ma Po" said in the dark, "Mom, what do you think of my fiancé?" "He's too thin," said the old woman, sitting on my right now, curtly. "And where are you going to put him? There's only one bed in this room, and there's no room for three people. If you ask me, let the flood drown him too." Her last words startled me so much that I almost ran out.Hearing the old woman fumbling for a match, she seemed to have knocked over something on the window sill, cursing in a low voice. "Little Qiangwei, little Qiangwei, can't you rest in peace for a few days? What are you going to make of this house?" "Mom, when you meet your idol, how can you not pursue it?" The voice of "Ma Po" turned into that kind of coquettish voice. I thought of my mother and couldn't help but envy her very much.I was a little puzzled: she actually doesn't like me at all, why would she say such things to her mother?It seems that these mountain people are very strange, and they cannot be viewed from the perspective of people from home.At this time, I heard a door on the other side of the bed creak, and the mother and daughter went out quietly, leaving me alone in the room.The pig made the same sound as when it was killed in the pen, maybe a pig thief came. I sat in the room for a while, and couldn't help getting up and looking outside. As soon as I stood in the aisle, the mother and daughter stopped me, asked me "where are you going", and blamed me for not taking care of them. Watch the house, what's wrong with the thief.I said that I couldn't see anything sitting in the room, and even if a thief came, I had to let him steal it.After hearing this, they said in unison that I "have no conscience".When they were talking, a tall man appeared behind them. He had a lighter in his hand. He struck it several times, and finally a flame ignited. Then I saw a bearded man. He was holding a lighter. The pipe was tucked into his beard. "This boy, he complains that he can't see anything." "Ma Po" said to the man. "That's how they are over there." The man came to his conclusion while smoking a cigarette. I wanted to chat with the bearded man, but before I could speak, "Ma Po" dragged me aside, told me not to talk nonsense, and said that her mother had just agreed to let her take me to the village to familiarize myself with the situation. "That man just killed an old man from the Lake District." We walked out of the aisle and turned a corner before "Ma Po" said. "Someone said that the old man was his father. I don't really believe this kind of thing. Like you, you can't become our people, you complain that our house is too dark..." "Then you still say I'm your fiancé?" I interrupted her. "So you look down on me!" She raised her voice fiercely, "If you are so dissatisfied, you can walk with your feet growing on yourself! But if you don't go, you are afraid of wild boars in the woods, no, not completely This is it, you still want to know the inside story of our place, so you can brag when you go back, you villain! I must educate you well." "Ma Po" said that he would take me to the house of an old man. This old man is the head of the village. Generally speaking, he doesn't sleep at night. People in the village go to him to talk about any distress. Everyone calls him "Uncle Yuan" ". We'll be there in a while.Uncle Yuan's house is a little higher than the other houses, and the windows are also a little bigger, but there is also no light in the house, and it is so dark that you can't see your fingers.After I went in, I heard the voices of several people, they were discussing something.I came up to them and the sound stopped and I felt like they were staring at me. A very young voice told us to go upstairs, "Ma Po" said it was Uncle Yuan.I was pushed by him into an extremely narrow staircase, and the three of us climbed up one by one.The attic is so low that I have to stoop down to avoid hitting the ceiling.There are also some chickens in such an attic, and they make a startled sound, and I guess they are kept in a cage.Uncle Yuan pulled me off and sat on a cushion, while "Ma Po" sat in the corner on the other side.Uncle Yuan gave me the impression that he was a young man. I don't know why he was regarded as an old man.After sitting for a while, I heard choked-up crying from downstairs. At first, it was one person, and then it became a chorus of several people, with the sound of blowing nose mixed in between.It seemed that they had an infinite amount of bitterness to pour out in this room. Both "Ma Po" and Yuan Bo were silent, probably listening intently.I heard it again and again, and the cry never changed, it was always so sad and desperate, but it lacked an outburst, and it was always so depressed.Could it be that Uncle Yuan asked me to come upstairs just to let those few people cry to their heart's content?Unexpectedly, these mountain people are so sentimental, which probably has something to do with their short-sightedness.These people are completely different from the impression they gave me during the day.I felt bored after sitting for a long time, so I began to imagine the thoughts of the "Ma Po" on the opposite side.I think this ugly girl must have brought me here to give me a strong and novel impression. The reason why she is silent now must be guessing me and waiting for my question. If I really ask, She would "educate" me with a disdainful gesture.My imagination was interrupted by the commotion downstairs.Those people seemed to be fighting with sticks in their hands, fighting back and forth, and one person shouted "help" and ran to the attic.After Uncle Yuan heard it, he yelled something I couldn't understand towards the stairs, and the guy who was half way up the stairs went down again.I thought they were going to leave now, but I didn't expect them to stop fighting and cry together again, this time even more sad and desperate, and stomped their feet, as if they all wanted to die quickly.The noise they made made the chickens in the cage startle.My nerves were tense, and then I finally asked, because if I didn't ask, I would cry too.I asked Uncle Yuan why the people below him were crying, and Uncle Yuan said: "The nights in the mountains are full of passion. They are summoning the undead underground. This is the time when the activities in those deep rock formations are the most frequent." "Can you see those things?" "It's a simple matter for us." I wanted to ask more questions, but "Ma Po" scolded me very unhappy in the corner, and said to Uncle Yuan, "Don't talk to him." Uncle Yuan was silent for a while, and then climbed to the side of the chicken coop. .When he came back, he stuffed me with two eggs and told me to crack them and drink them. I did as he said.The eggs were delicious, I haven't had anything this good in ages.At this time another guy rushed upstairs, Yuan Bo pushed me over and told me to resist for a while.I stood there holding on to the end of the handrail with both hands. For a moment, I felt that there was not one person rushing up from below, but thousands of horses and horses. My legs seemed to be broken, and I fell down involuntarily. .But I didn't fall downstairs, my body was stuck on the stairs, and the bottom suddenly became silent.I finally freed my body, sat on the stairs and called Uncle Yuan.I yelled a few times, but no one answered, and I listened carefully, and I couldn't even hear the crowing of chickens.Holding on to the handrails, I walked carefully down, and when I reached the room below, I groped forward along the wall, and found the benches on which the mourners were sitting. The door was open, and there was a little light outside, but nothing could be seen clearly.I don't know if Yuan Bo and "Ma Po" are still upstairs. I think they probably went down from the other end of the attic.I couldn't stand the deathly silence in the room. I wanted to break something. I fumbled around and found a kimchi jar. I picked it up and threw it down hard, but it didn't break. With a muffled sound, salt water flowed everywhere.After falling off the kimchi jar, I felt even more terrified, so I made up my mind to go outside. I groped forward between the houses and the aisles of the houses. Sometimes I used my hands to support the low eaves on both sides to maintain balance. The ground under my feet was very uneven, as if those potholes had been made artificially.All the doors were closed and no one came out.Afterwards, I felt that I had walked almost the whole village, and I still hadn't met a single person.I wanted to go back to the village chief's house, but I couldn't find his house, and I didn't dare to rush in these houses, for fear that they would regard me as a robber.I stood like this on the narrow path, propping up the thatched roof on one side with one hand, looking at the gloomy night sky and the monster-like mountain under the night sky.At such an inappropriate moment, I thought of my mother.If the water never recedes, the mother and her four younger sisters can only die.Because of eating too many wild fruits and vegetables, the second sister had a stomachache yesterday, and she rolled on the ground in pain.If the water recedes, we have to renovate the house, weave the walls with bamboo strips, re-paste cow dung, and bring straw back from afar to lay the roof.It is even more troublesome if the house has been washed away.Somehow, I think about these things as I think about other people, I don't bother or pity, I feel that these things only have to do with who I was, and what is with me now, I don't know. Know.I grew up to be seventeen years old, and I have never been to such a strange place.The people here speak the same language as me, but it's almost impossible to understand them, and the pain in their hearts also scares me, making me feel like the world is about to die.Nevertheless, I was still attracted by an inexplicable attraction.I came here with the idea of ​​finding a way out, but now I have forgotten about the "way out".After hearing the mourning just now, one can know that people in the mountains do not have hope for the future.Come to think of it, who in the Lake District keeps chickens in the attic? Just when I was thinking wildly, a child tugged at the corner of my clothes, it was a boy. "Hei Xiong, Uncle Yuan asked you to go to my house to help my grandfather take a bath." He said loudly, "Don't use your hands to support our roof, it will collapse the house. You are so tall, it's not good at all." The child said that his name was "Chicken Po", and his family lived at the bottom of the road, which was almost to the road.He walked very fast, jumping and jumping, leaving me far away.Every time I yelled, "Pocker! Cocker!", he would come back and say that I was "dragging so annoying".Then we finally arrived. I bent down and followed him into his low house.I heard him strike a match and light a small oil lamp, which he said was ordered by the village head to take care of me.He raised the lamp high and approached a bed, and I saw the old man lying on the bed in the torn cotton.The old man was moaning and struggling like a wounded praying mantis, and his grandson patiently held the lamp up high.Several times, seeing that he was about to sit up, he fell down on the bed with a "bang", so he struggled again.I said to the chicken mother-in-law, let me hold the lamp, and he went to help grandpa boil water for a bath.The chicken mother-in-law scoffed at my proposal. "What water to boil, you fool, we all bathe in cold water." His grandfather fell down again, crying in despair.The rooster held the lamp in silence.I leaned forward and wanted to help the old man, but the cock woman stopped me suddenly and said that I was going to "kill his grandfather".I had no choice but to retreat and wait obediently by the bed. "Who came in?" the old man asked, panting. "A young man, here to help you bathe," replied his grandson. "Tell him out, I can wash myself." The mother-in-law motioned for me to go to the door, and I retreated to the door with him, and he said softly to me: "Grandpa has a lot of self-esteem, we have to be patient." After a lot of struggle, the old man actually moved his legs off the bed, and he stood up tremblingly, holding on to the headpost of the bed with both hands.The chicken woman applauded his grandpa excitedly, but didn't do anything, just let the old man stand there pitifully.I couldn't stand it anymore, so I asked the cock where the wooden basin was placed, and the cock replied impatiently that it was just outside the door, and then continued to applaud his grandpa, counting loudly: "One, two, three, four ..." There is a well outside the door, I filled two buckets of water from the well in the dark, obediently and obediently. , I can't afford a basin of water.We put the tub in the middle of the house, and the chicken mother-in-law went to take off his grandpa's clothes.The old man tried to break free from his grandson with his puppet-like arms, howling like a wolf.But after all, he was old and weak, and soon his grandson stripped him naked.Under the dim light, his body looked very strange, not like a human body at all, there was no muscle in the whole body, and the wrinkled, blackened old skin stuck to the skeleton.If I hadn't heard him speak, I would have been terrified long ago.The chicken mother dragged him into the tub and sat down, and ordered me to start washing him. The water was very cold, and the old man was crying. I washed his neck with a towel, but he cursed at me bitterly, saying that my hands were too heavy, so he might as well wash it himself.I found that he is not afraid of the cold at all, maybe he has long been numb.His body was so dirty that it was impossible to wash it completely with a basin of water. I asked the chicken mother-in-law standing there holding an oil lamp to change a basin of water, but the chicken woman said no, because "Grandpa has a very strong self-esteem."I had no choice but to help the old man stand up, dry his body hastily, and I wanted to dress him, but he blocked me with his arms, saying that I didn't wash him clean, but was just deceiving him, and he sat down in the tub again.I had no choice but to wash him again with the dirty water, and now he seemed a little satisfied, no longer swearing or crying, and sat in the water with his eyes closed.He was sneezing from sitting in cold water for so long.I persuaded him to stand up and let me dry him, but he refused, saying that the towel was too dirty and would stain his clean body.At this time, the chicken mother-in-law said that his grandpa had entered a hallucination.I waited for a long time, but the old man was still stubbornly sitting in the water, so I had to force him up. He was crying loudly, and suddenly, with strength from nowhere, he broke free from me and rushed towards the pile of broken wadding on the bed. Drenched in cotton wool.I breathed a sigh of relief, and poured out the dirty water in the wooden basin together with the chicken mother-in-law.Back in the room, I suggested to help his grandpa get dressed again, but the chicken mother-in-law said coldly: "You don't have to worry about it." The chicken woman seemed to be a different person, she ignored me, walked over and blew out the oil lamp in one gulp. Now I can't see anything again, and the old man is still crying in the pile of rags on the bed, crying and telling me that his life is hard, and that he has to endure such torture at such an old age.The one thing he said repeatedly was: "Why can't I die?" I stood leaning against the door frame with my eyelids twitching, thinking that it might be dawn soon.When I thought about this, I immediately smelled the smell of firewood smoke. It was the hen mother-in-law lighting the fire in the stove.I couldn't help but be full of respect for this little boy.He is only about ten years old, but he has to shoulder the burden of taking care of his sick grandfather alone. How did he endure it?Besides, how calmly he moved.I followed the smell of smoke to the stove room, and saw that the rooster was using a thick blowtorch to subdue the wet wood. He was sitting on the ground, concentrating on it, and he was very experienced in lighting the fire.When the fire was very hot, he got up and added water to a large iron pot in which something was cooking. "You black bear, you can't do anything. If the village head entrusts you to me, I know my job will not be light." He manipulated the shovel in his hand and spoke very arrogantly.I was very jealous of him. Such a small child is in a superior position, and he can command me condescendingly. He invited me to sit side by side with him on the ground, and began to ask me in detail about the situation when I entered the village.When he heard me say "Ma Po", he interrupted me and said her name was Xiao Qiangwei.Then he said he didn't want to hear anything about her at all and that I shouldn't have gone to her in the first place.He also said that if he knew that I went to find her, he would not have agreed to Yuan Bo to take care of my affairs.His face looked serious in the firelight, even a little annoyed.I kind of regret not mentioning "Ma Po". "They don't even cook at home, and when it's time to eat, they go to other people's houses to cheat. They even rely on their own strength to grab my meal." I hastily apologized to him.He also asked me to promise not to talk to their family again, and to turn around and pretend not to know them when I met them on the road.As we were talking, the pot was cooked, and the mother-in-law ran over to lock the door and told me to eat quickly, otherwise someone would break in and snatch our food.We stood by the pot and each held a large bowl to drink this kind of mixed porridge. It seemed to contain rice bran, beans, and taro, which made our tongues shrink.I haven't had such a formal meal in a long time.I asked the chicken mother-in-law if his grandpa also ate with us. The chicken mother-in-law muttered that grandpa had a strong self-esteem and didn't want others to see how he was eating, so he filled a bowl and sent it to his grandpa's room.The fire in the stove had been extinguished, and it was pitch black again in the stove room.It should be midnight now, why are we already having breakfast?The chicken mother-in-law coaxed his grandfather to eat in the room over there, and kept saying some gentle words.The chicken mother-in-law's attitude towards his grandfather is also hard to understand. It seems that I can't even understand a mountain child, let alone other mountain people. After feeding his grandpa, the chicken woman went back to the stove, and then went to wash the dishes.I tried to help him, but I couldn't because I couldn't see anything.I heard him sigh like a grown-up, and say: "My grandpa, he's shedding his skin!" "what happened?" "He sleeps in bed thinking about his own skin. Every morning he tells me he's a different person. At night he whimpers and says he's going to shed a layer of skin. Listen, Little Qiangwei and her mother are knocking on the door of my house. These two scoundrels don’t grow crops, they just eat other people’s free food. My parents live on it, and they gave me to grandpa when I was born. Do it, otherwise can I still get such a good exercise? Now you are here again, and I have more things to do. I am a person who is born to work hard." His adult tone made me chuckle.I asked him why it was still early in the morning.He replied to me that the mountain blocked the light and it would not be bright until the afternoon.He quickly put the bowl away and cleaned the stove again.After cleaning, he sat next to me, leaned his head on my lap, muttered in his mouth that he was exhausted, and fell asleep after a while.At this time, a black shadow appeared at the door of the stove house and let out a miserable cry: "Chicken!" It turned out to be his grandfather, and the old man actually got out of bed.The chicken woman fell asleep, and the old man yelled again. The sound was like a saw sawing on the nerves, giving people the feeling that he was going to die.Then I heard him fall with a bang.I pushed the cock hard, but he still didn't wake up, so I had to put him on the ground and get up to help the old man. The old man who fell at the door of the stove house was not dead, he was naked and his chest heaved violently.I lifted his upper body, trying to get him onto the bed, and he struggled feebly, making me sick.Finally I carried him to the bed, and when I covered him with the rags of the bed, I suddenly heard him say in my ear, "I'm a worker at the oil mill in the Lake District." Then he fell silent.I thought maybe he had already shed his skin.After settling down the old man, I was exhausted, so I decided to lay down on this bed and sleep.I tried to lie on the edge of the bed, but the old man noticed it. He was very upset and kept kicking my back with his feet.I was kicked by him and woke up from time to time. I just walked to the edge of a well in my dream, and the cock mother's roar woke me up. "This is my grandpa's bed, how can you lie on it! Ah, my grandpa is going to cry again, and when he cries, I can't do anything! You beggar from the Lake District, I really shouldn't take it in you!" I argued that I was not a beggar, that I had a mother and a home in the Lake District, that we had enough food and clothing, and that I wouldn't have come to such a place if it wasn't for the flood.As I said that, I felt that I was not confident enough.After just one day, I feel that my previous life is no longer real.I imagined a flood like a vast ocean, and I had deep doubts about everything underwater.Can everything be restored to its original state?Even if it is restored to its original state, can I still live like that?Somehow, I became more and more convinced that my mother and sister would die in that cave. The chicken mother-in-law was still angrily reprimanding me, but the door was knocked open from the outside.It wasn't "Ma Po" who came in, but Yuan Bo, the village chief, and a young man. "Have you taken a shower? Have you washed it clean?" Uncle Yuan yelled. As soon as Uncle Yuan called out, the chicken mother-in-law's grandfather hummed aggrievedly in the rags. "The old man has something on his mind." Uncle Yuan leaned down towards him, "What are you talking about? His hands are heavy...he doesn't respect you! Haha, these people from the Lake District are not like that! Don't mind. He still talks to you Compete for the bed... Let him sleep in a corner, this bed is very wide! Poo! Poo!" The chicken mother-in-law stepped forward. "Guide and guide the black bear well, the poor man can't go back." "I want to train him to be as hardworking as me." The cock said solemnly. Uncle Yuan couldn't help laughing, and praised Pok Pok a few words.I quietly asked the young people around Uncle Yuan, why Uncle Yuan said that I "cannot go back".The young man said sarcastically: "That's because your great fellows moved west yesterday. They made a quick decision and abandoned their homeland." When Uncle Yuan heard the young man's words, he turned around and advised me, "Don't be discouraged." He also said, "How can a man live with his mouth open?" Then he praised me for "accepting new things and being quick-witted." I couldn't react to the news they brought for a moment, and stood there stupidly.Perhaps because of the large number of people, the chicken mother-in-law's grandfather sued Yuan Bo, saying that I just picked him up like a bundle of firewood, and threw him on the bed, almost breaking his ribs.He stammered about the matter, and even asked Uncle Yuan to help him up and demonstrate the situation just now for everyone to see. Uncle Yuan bent down, leaned over him, and softly advised him to be patient, because "All beginnings are hard".While the cock and the young man were silent as they spoke, I felt both staring at me accusingly.Their attitude made me really feel guilty.I was like a very stupid person who couldn't do anything well, couldn't learn anything, and was a heavy burden to them all; and as for my sixteen years in the Lake District, it was all for nothing.While I feel guilty, I am also a little angry. I want to rush out the door in a fit of anger, but where am I going?It was obvious that no one in the village would think otherwise of me, and I had already experienced their consistency.I don't really believe that my mother will leave me to go west. I am her eldest son and the main labor force in the family. Even if they leave me and go far away, they may not starve to death, but that is not her usual style.I think she must be waiting in that cave, even if everyone is gone, she is still there.It would be dangerous if she did that, and they would all starve to death in that cave.When I thought of this, I became impulsive, and I slipped quietly to the door.The rooster woke up immediately and said loudly: "你们看，他要跑呢!" 他这一喊，那年轻人立刻一个箭步冲到门口挡住了我。He said: "你竟然还不相信我的话，你有多么糊涂。你看，这是你的茶水壶，你妈临走之前托我带给你的，她嘱咐你死也要死在外头。" 我摸着那把小泥壶，一点都不理解母亲的心思。莫非人到了这座魔鬼山里头，就全都会变态？如果她起初就有要摆脱我的想法，那一次又为什么要打我呢？母亲既不强壮也不高大，用棍子抽起人来倒十分有力…… 床上的老头又说话了，他似乎是在批评我举动轻浮，还哭诉道："他总是让我失望，没有一次能够让我满意。"他一哭，三个人就都趴到床上去安慰他，替他按摩。这种场面又让我无地自容。母亲的态度使我明白我那十六年真的是白活了，不服气也是这么回事。在这如同煎熬似的瞬间，我突然想起了鸡婆爷爷蜕皮的事，不由得说出了口： "我也要蜕皮！我也要蜕皮……" 他们先是一愣，接着一齐笑起来。但袁伯立即收住笑，说："不要向这种可贵的热情泼冷水。"他回过身来搂住我，亲昵地对我说："小伙子可要沉得住气啊。小蔷薇等会儿会来把你接走，她可是个美丽的小姑娘，她还心怀高远的志向，你跟着她就会一天天进步。" 他们将鸡婆的爷爷哄得睡着了，就都来围着我，要我将泥壶拿出来让他们欣赏。他们将泥壶你传我、我传你地欣赏，但并不作任何评价，连鸡婆也不吭声，他只是将壶放到耳边去听。后来袁伯就问我是否已打定了主意留在村里，我说是的，他就叹了口气将泥壶还给我。他们三个人做出了一个什么决定就一齐离开了这里，临走时袁伯嘱咐我在房里等。 房里很臭，鸡婆的爷爷又总是在凶狠地说梦话，我就摸到灶屋里坐下了。我将泥壶放进碗柜，又把整个灶屋摸索了一遍，发现灶旁边有一大堆引火用的茅草，又蓬松，又柔软，我倒在茅草上打算好好睡一觉。我的企图很快落空了，老头在房里声嘶力竭地哭了起来，声音之大，恐怕几里外都能听见。我只好不情愿地又摸到他的床边，他一见到我就止了哭。他抽着鼻子问我为什么一会儿同他争床铺，一会儿又撇下他一个人孤零零的，莫非是想戏弄他？接着他又说了一句很含糊的话，并一边抽泣一边又将那句话重复了一遍。我因为听不清，就脱了鞋上床，摸到大床的里边，凑近他去听，这下才听清了，他说的是： "你必须同我呆在一起。" 因为我在这张很脏的床上躺下了，他似乎又不满意了，愤愤地抱怨我占了太多的地方，还说他的本意不是要我上床，只是要我守在他面前，像他这种垂死的人，根本就不愿别人同他共一张床。我不理他，瞌睡沉沉地躺在那里，他就又用脚来踢我，还撑起身子，用枯干的手掌来扇我的耳光，口里结结巴巴地重复说："看你下不下去？看你下不下去？"我由着他打，还是昏昏沉沉地睡着不动。他闹累了，就"咚"地一声倒下，口里还在诅咒。这一觉睡了好久。我醒来时天已经大亮了，我将房里缓缓地扫视了一遍，对这里的简陋和颓败大为吃惊起来：墙壁是裸露的土砖，已被柴烟熏得乌黑，好几个地方还出现了坍塌；屋顶盖的茅草都沤烂了，有几处已透进了天光；房里除了这只木板床之外没有任何家具，只是在门后边放着几样农具；床上的所谓"铺盖"简直就是一堆臭垃圾，黑乎乎的破絮一块一块的，被一些纱线连接着。鸡婆的爷爷钻在这堆垃圾里还在睡，他的一只腿子伸在外头，那只腿子上面有几大块霉斑。我从床上跳下地，因为再呆下去就要呕吐了。我弯下腰去系鞋带时，"麻婆"推门进来了，我这才记起睡前没有关门。我警惕地问她有什么事，她斜眼看着我，用瞧不起人的口气说： "袁伯竟把你安排在这种人家。" "这种人家又怎么样，你还不是常来这里吃白食吗？"我反唇相讥。 "原来那小子到处丑化我，我要打断他的腿。" "麻婆"一屁股坐在床上，用她的大手掌拍着鸡婆爷爷那只腿，嚷嚷道： "你看，你看，都瘦成什么样子了，都是那坏小子克扣粮食，把爷爷饿成了这个样子！真是个杀千刀的小流氓啊！" 我心里暗暗纳闷：怎么他们都不觉得这屋里脏？这"麻婆"不但不觉脏，还跪到大床铺上整理起那些烂棉絮和破布头来，搅得满屋子全是灰，我一呼吸就连连咳嗽。整理完毕后她又从灶屋里找了根小笤帚到床上扑打，说是"掸灰"，这一来我只好逃到门外站着。她自己对那浓浓的灰尘一点感觉都没有，鸡婆的爷爷也照旧睡他的觉。回想起村长他们对老爷子的态度，我心里断定老爷子是受到全村人尊敬的人。"麻婆"终于搞完了房里的卫生，她用一块花布扑打着身上的灰出来了，她说她要带我去山顶一个处所"看好戏"，她催促我快走，说不然的话，一会儿天又要黑，天一黑，我这个湖区人就成了睁眼瞎子。 我被她推着走出了小屋。我们在那些屋檐之间穿过时，我看见一些人三五成群地在巷子里议论什么事，他们的长相全是那种野人类型，相形之下，"麻婆"倒的确是山里人当中最好看的了。袁伯长得什么样呢？我想不出。那些站在路上的人一看到我们就都退进他们的屋里去了，还不忘记关上门。"麻婆"高傲地扬着头对我说，这些人都在妒忌我，这种情形从昨天就开始了；他们讨厌湖区的人，可是听说她找了个湖区小伙子做未婚夫，他们又有点羡慕她找的这个人，恨不得能取代他。我不太相信她的话，觉得她在吹牛，不过我不在意，我希望她快点带我到山顶，到了山顶，说不定我就可以弄清好多事了。当我这样希望时，她却又磨蹭起来，说她要回去同妈妈告别。她居然说出"告别"这两个字来，实在是好笑。我以为她要回家了，她却又不走，站在原地沉思起来。我忍不住催她，她就责怪我说："你急什么嘛。"就这样走走停停的，过了好久我们才登上山顶。 从山顶往下看，我看到了这样一副景象：洪水早就退了，但我们走过的那条长堤已经不存在了，长堤内那些湖区的房屋也不见了，一眼望去，平坦的大地上只有一洼一洼的水发出反光。我又朝西边看，看见一大群人像蚂蚁似的在移动，我激动地定睛注视，但很快，他们就一点一点地消失在远方的暮霭之中了。西边全部是划成方格的水田，如同梦中所见。 "你再也追不上他们了。""麻婆"说道，她刚说完这话天就黑了。 "麻婆"拉着我的手往山下跑，我因为天黑看不清，只得追随她，她的手汗津津的，让我心里很讨厌。她喘着气说，必须不停地跑，山里面的野猪常伤人。大约跑到山腰时，我听到前面有人说话，我就想，会不会岩洞里还留着一些人没走完呢？我甩脱她的手，朝发出声音的地方摸索过去，一会儿就闻见了烟草的气味，正是湖区人抽的那种烟。前方的小空地上有三个人影，正在为一件什么事争执，推让。后来他们似乎一致同意了某件事。只见矮一点的那个人举着一把刀，猛地朝另一人砍去，因为用力太过自己都扑倒在地了。接下去那个瘦子又举起标枪，从矮个子的后背往下扎去，等到那人一动不动了，他才抽出标枪，坐下来抽烟。瘦子好像在等人，他抽一会儿烟，又四处张望一下。"麻婆"对我耳语说，这个人是在等我去帮他的忙。我听了这话吓得立刻要跑，她就趁势抓住我的手领着我跑。我们弄出的响声被那人听到了，他立即反过身来追我们。有好几下，我觉得他马上要追上我们了，但他总是立即停住脚步，待我们跑出一段距离，他又继续追，他还将标枪投在我们前方大树的树干上，当时的情形可怕极了。 那人一直追到了村口，我听见他站在那里大喊： "长水！长水！你这个畜生！你把你妈妈杀死了！" 他喊了一遍又一遍，村子里的人都出来了，我虽然看不清这些人影，但我知道他们都看得清我。我多么希望"麻婆"把我藏起来，但她趾高气扬地走在前面，还故意同那些人搭讪，仿佛要向这些人展览我的猥琐似的。这些人都在议论我，说我"犯了事才逃出来的"。"麻婆"则对她的邻居说，现在我已经是她的随身保镖。"我就是看中了他的凶残。"她说。 将我展示了一番之后，"麻婆"终于带我钻进了她们的小屋。我们进去的时候，她母亲正在床上呻吟。后来她撑起来，像上一次一样到窗台上去找火柴，这回倒是找到了火柴，但那火柴受了潮，划来划去的划不燃，她气得将火柴盒摔在地上，用脚踩了几下。接着她说： "我本想在灯光下好好看看他，看来不成了。你把这种人带回来，我们该怎么处置他呢？他又不是一只茶杯，可以放在桌子上。" "妈妈完全可以就当没他这个人。" "没这个人！莫非他在这屋里可以不占地方吗！" "可以的，妈妈，可以的，我要他钻进灶屋的柴堆里去，您千万不要生他的气。您要是生他的气，我还有什么脸见人呢？""麻婆"的声音极度苦恼。 听见老婆子在唉声叹气，埋怨着，又回到她的床上去了。她似乎是有一身的病痛。"麻婆"悄悄地告诉我，这村里上了年纪的人都这样，她母亲还算身体硬朗的呢。她又说，现在我的当务之急就是到灶屋的柴堆里躲起来，不要让妈妈听见一点响动，不然她的神经会受不了的。我问她灶屋在哪里，她说就在这里，她们只有一间屋，旁边就是灶台。我随她一路摸过去，果然摸到了灶台。我担忧地想，同在一间房里，我怎样才能做到不弄出一点响声呢？灶台边根本没有柴堆，只有一些碎砖，我记起鸡婆告诉我的话，他说这母女俩从来不开伙煮饭，成天吃白食。 "这地方不错吧，你可以在茅柴里头美美地睡一觉了。凡事要想通，不要发牢骚。我们这村子，进得了，出不去。刚才骂你的那人才狡猾呢，他一直站在村口不进来。" 我把那些碎砖挪开，扫出一块平地坐下来，"麻婆"似乎有点心软，也挤到墙角来同我一块坐在地上。虽然她对人说我是她的未婚夫，我看出来她对我没有丝毫的欲望，很显然，我根本不是她所喜欢的类型，但她为什么要说我正是她所喜欢的那种人呢？她坐在我旁边，双手抱着膝头，我觉得她脸上的表情一定是很严肃的。这个时候我的肚子饿起来了，我简直饿得发晕。我把这一点告诉了她，她就笑起来责怪我为什么不早说，她起身到灶台上拿了什么，然后递给我，那是一碗冷饭，还有一双筷子。她耳语般地对我说："慢慢吃啊，不要让妈妈听见了。"我往口里扒着饭，拼命抑制着自己不发出响声。把饭都吃完了我才想起，"麻婆"今天晚上不也是什么都没吃么？我轻声问她，她告诉我说是的，她什么都没吃，因为她将她自己的饭让我吃了，不过不要紧，她这样的人饿不坏的。有时她实在饿得受不住了，就到袁伯的楼上去抓两个鸡蛋充饥。可能我们耳语的声音被她妈妈听到了，她在床上烦躁起来，将一个枕头之类的东西扔下了地。我们连忙住了嘴，我在心里惊叹着老太婆听觉之灵敏。 在地上坐久了，屁股又麻又痛，我开始不安地挪动，再看看她，纹丝不动，坐得笔挺。一瞬间我又感到了自身的猥琐，并在这痛苦的猥琐里寻思着找出路。最后，我终于站起来了，我舒展了几下身体，不管不顾地往门口走去，用手轻轻拉开门。屋里立刻就刮起了狂风暴雨，那位母亲用力捶着床板，叫喊道： "啊！啊！这是要谋杀我呀！救命！！袁伯！袁伯！！" "麻婆"跳起来抱住她母亲，两人在床上滚做一堆。竭力要挣脱的老妇人力气之大令我惊骇，她居然将床头的栏杆都踢得拆裂了，枕头被子飞了一地。我见自己的祸闯大了更加想溜，"麻婆"厉声喝住了我，说我的举动是"不想活了"。几个回合下来，她终于将母亲制服了，两人躺在床上喘粗气。 过了好久，老婆子才打破沉默，悻悻地说： "就让这小坏蛋留在这里吧。如果你不是我的女儿，我非把你的脖子扭断不可，就像我前不久消灭那条小狼一样。" "麻婆"下了床，拉着我的手要我同她去她家猪栏，说是"免得妈妈心烦"。 我们在外头拐了一个弯，又上了几级石阶，进了猪栏屋。栏里的两头猪"哼哧哼哧"地骚动起来，她让我同她一起坐在一堆稻草上头。外面月亮已经出来了，银光闪闪的，我们坐在这个地方竟可以看见整个村子。我觉得这个地方出奇的好，心里生出再也不想离开的念头。她却坐立不安，担心着她妈妈，又说猪粪实在臭得不行，想不到她会沦落到这种地步，只能到这种地方来栖身等等。 "你没来之前，我同妈妈形影不离。"她傲慢地说。 舒舒服服地坐在稻草里头，观赏着山村的美景，我想起了湖区的日子，想起了我自己的谜一般的家庭，并且长久以来第一次，想起了我那淹死在湖中父亲。父亲是在捕鱼时淹死的，有目击者说，当时并没有翻船，是父亲性急，非要去同他叉住的那条大鱼搏斗，跳进湖里就再没出来。他的尸体后来也没浮上来。我又回想起下午在山顶看到的那些水洼，那里原本是我的家园，一转眼就不存在了。但是现在，我一点都不伤感了，我正在沉入巨大的阴影之中，这里面有全新的，我完全不能理解的生活，我想我一定会成长为一个勤奋好学的山里汉子的，再过好多年，我的眼睛里也会射出他们那种锐利的光，并且我也会习惯于在黑暗里辨别一切事物的。我这样一想，又感到了一种鼓舞。似乎是进村以来第一次，我同身边这个丑陋的女孩有了一些模糊的共鸣，我不知道这共鸣是什么性质的，我想慢慢总会搞清的吧。