Chapter 17 Dad's flowers fell and I'm no longer a child

The newly built auditorium was full of people; our graduates sat in the first eight rows, and I sat in the middle seat in the front row.There is a pink oleander on my skirt, which my mother picked from the yard and pinned it to me when I came.she says: "Oleander was planted by your father, wear it, just like when Dad saw you on stage!" Dad fell ill, he was in the hospital and couldn't come. I went to see my dad yesterday, his throat is swollen and his voice is hoarse.I told my dad that during the graduation ceremony, I will receive the graduation certificates on behalf of all the students and give a speech of thanks.I asked Dad, can I get up and attend my graduation ceremony?Six years ago, when he participated in the farewell party of our school to send off the graduates, he asked me to study hard, and six years later, he also received the graduation certificate and the speech of thanks on behalf of the classmates.Today, "six years later" is here, and I've literally been chosen to do it.With a hoarse voice, Dad took my hand and said with a smile:

"How can I go?" But I say: "Father, if you don't go, I'm very scared. If you are under the stage, I won't panic when I speak on stage." Dad said: "Yingzi, don't be afraid, no matter what the difficulty is, as long as you bite the bullet and do it, you will get through it." "Then can't dad get up from the bed and go to our school?" Dad looked at me, shook his head, and stopped talking.He turned his face to the wall, and held up his hand, looking at the nails on it.Then, he turned to me again and told me: "I have to get up early tomorrow, pack up and go to school, this is your last day in elementary school, don't be late!"

"I know, Dad." "Without a father, you have to take care of yourself, and take care of your younger brother and younger sister. You are already grown up, aren't you?" "Yes." Although I agreed, I felt that what my father said made me uncomfortable. Since the time six years ago, have I ever been late again? When I was in the first grade, I had the problem of staying in bed in the morning.Every morning when I wake up and see the sunlight shining on the glass windows, I feel a burst of worry: It’s already so late, I wait, wash my face, braid my hair, change my uniform, and then go to school, I’m sure I’ll be punished as soon as I enter the classroom Stand by the door.The eyes of the classmates will cast towards you one by one.Although I am lazy, I also know how to be shy!So worried and afraid, I ran to school every day with fear.The worst thing is that Dad doesn't allow children to take the bus to school, he doesn't care if you are late or not.One day, when it was raining heavily, I woke up and knew it was late, because my father was already eating breakfast.I listened, looked at the heavy rain, and felt very worried.Not only would I be late for school, but I would also be dressed up by my mother to wear a fat jacket (it was summer!), dragging my ill-fitting oil shoes, and walking to school holding a big oil paper umbrella!Thinking of going to school so uncomfortable, I had the courage to stay in bed and not get up.Wait a minute, mom comes in.Seeing that I hadn't gotten up yet, she was startled and urged me, but I frowned and begged my mother in a low voice:

"Mom, it's late today, so I won't go to school?" Mom just couldn't do what Dad wanted, and when she turned to go out, Dad came in.He is tall and thin, standing in front of the bed, staring at me: "Why don't you get up, get up! Get up!" "It's late! Dad!" I said bravely. "I have to go even late, how can I skip school! Get up!" One-word orders are the scariest, but what's wrong with me!Have the courage not to move. Dad was very angry, and as soon as he dragged me up from the bed, my tears flowed out.Dad looked left and right, but he picked up the feather duster from the table and turned it upside down. When the rattan whip swung in the air, it made a whistling sound. I was beaten!Dad beat me from the head of the bed to the corner of the bed, from the bed to the bottom of the bed, the sound of the rain outside mixed with my crying.I cried, evaded, and finally went to school in the heavy rain.I was a little dog in a mess, and it was the first time that Song's mother took me to a rickshaw and spent five dollars to go to school by car.

I sat in the rickshaw with the awning down, sobbing and crying, and lifted up my trousers to check my scars.The bulging welts were red and hot.I pulled down the bottom of my trousers to cover the bottom scar. I was most afraid of being ridiculed by my classmates. Although I was late, the teacher did not punish me to stand, this is because the rainy day can be forgiven.The teacher taught us to be silent before reading.Sit up straight, put your hands behind your back, close your eyes, and meditate quietly for five minutes.The teacher said: Think about it, do you listen to your parents and teachers?Did you do your homework well yesterday?Have you brought all your homework for today?Did you say goodbye to your parents politely in the morning? ... When I heard this, my nose twitched. Fortunately, my eyes were closed and the tears would not flow out.

In the middle of the silence, I was patted on the shoulder, and I hurriedly opened my eyes. It turned out that the teacher was standing beside my seat.He told me with his eyes, and taught me to look out of the classroom window. I suddenly turned my head and saw that it was the tall and thin shadow of my father! My heart that had just calmed down was frightened again!Why did dad come to school after him?Dad nodded and beckoned me out.I looked at the teacher and asked for his permission, and the teacher nodded with a smile, saying that he agreed to go out.I walked out of the classroom and stood in front of Dad.Dad didn't say anything, he opened the bag in his hand, and what he took out was my flower jacket.He handed it to me, watched me put it on, and then took out two copper coins and gave it to me.

What happened after that, I don't remember, because it was six years ago.I just remember that from then until today, every morning I was one of the students waiting for the janitor to open the big iron gate.Standing in front of the school gate on a winter morning, wearing gloves with five fingers exposed, holding up a piece of hot roasted sweet potato and eating it.Standing in front of the school gate on a summer morning, holding a hosta flower picked from the flower pond in my hand, I gave it to my dear teacher Han, who taught me to dance. what!Years of mornings like this have passed, and today is my last day at this school!Dangdang, the bell rang, and the graduation ceremony was about to begin.Looking at the sky outside, it was a bit cloudy, and I suddenly thought, will my father suddenly get up from the bed and bring me a flower jacket?I thought again, when will my father's illness be cured?Why are mom's eyes red and swollen this morning?The big pots of pomegranates and oleanders in the yard were not served with sesame seeds this year. He was so anxious that he vomited blood because his uncle was killed by the Japanese.When it comes to May Festival, the pomegranate flowers are not so red and not so big.If autumn comes, will Dad still buy so many chrysanthemums and place them in our yard, under the eaves of the corridor, and on the flower racks in the living room?

Dad loves flowers so much. Every day when he came back from get off work, we waited for him at the door. He pushed the straw hat behind his head and picked up his younger brother. After passing the tap, he picked up the watering can filled with water, and walked to the backyard singing.The first thing he did when he came home was to water the flowers.At that time, the sun was about to go down, and there was a cool wind blowing in the yard. Dad picked a jasmine and stuck it in the skinny chicken sister's hair.The uncle of the Chen family said to his father: "Old Lin, you like flowers so much, so your wife gave birth to a bunch of daughters!" I have four younger sisters and only two younger brothers.I'm only twelve years old... why do I keep thinking of this?Director Han has already stepped onto the stage, and he said solemnly:

"All the students have graduated, and they are about to leave the primary school where they have been for six years to go to middle school. If you are a middle school student, you are no longer a child. When you go back to primary school to see the teacher, I will be happy to see that you have grown taller. ,grown up……" So I sang the Li song for five years, and now it's the students' turn to sing us farewell: "Outside the long pavilion, beside the ancient road, there are green grass and green sky. I ask you when to go here, and don't linger when you come! The end of the sky, the corner of the earth , acquaintances are half scattered, life is rarely a happy gathering, but there are many partings..."

I cried, we graduates all cried.How much we like to grow taller and become adults, and how much we are afraid of it!When we come back to elementary school, no matter how tall or how big we are, teacher!You will always treat me like a child! Being a grown-up, people often ask me to be a grown-up. When Mama Song returned to her hometown, she said: "Yingzi, you are old, you can't quarrel with your brother! He is still young." When Aunt Lan followed the four-eyed dog into the carriage, she said: "Yingzi, you are too old to make your mother angry!" said the man squatting in the grass:

"When you graduate from elementary school and grow up, let's go to see the sea." Although, these people disappeared as I grew up.Was it lost along with my lost childhood? Dad didn't treat me as a child anymore, he said: "Yingzi, go and send the money to Uncle Chen who is studying in Japan." "dad!" "Don't be afraid, Yingzi, you have to learn to do many things so that you can help your mother in the future. You are the biggest." So he counted the money and told me how to go to Zhengjin Bank in Dongjiaomin Lane to send the money to the innermost counter to ask for a payment slip, fill in "Jin Qi Shi Yuan Ye" and write the address of Yokohama, Japan. Leave it to the little Japanese at the counter!Although I was very scared, I had to bite the bullet and go.This is what my father said, no matter what the difficulty is, as long as you bite the bullet and do it, you will get through it. "Practice, practice, Yingzi." My father told me like this when I was leaving. I was nervous, and I went to the bank with a roll of banknotes in my hand.When I came out of the Zhengjin Bank with high steps, I saw that the flower garden in Dongjiaomin Lane was full of dandelions, and I thought happily: I have come here, go home quickly, tell my father, and ask him to plant dandelions in the flower pond tomorrow . go home!go home!Holding the white paper tube tied with the red ribbon of the newly issued elementary school graduation diploma, urging myself, I seem to be afraid that I will not be able to catch up with something, why? After entering the house, it was quiet. Four younger sisters and two younger brothers were sitting on a small bench in the yard. They were playing with the sand. Presentable because Dad didn't pick them up this year for pruning, tying and fertilizing.There were also a few small pomegranates under the big pot of the pomegranate tree that didn't grow. I was very angry and asked my sisters: "Who picked Dad's pomegranate? I'm going to tell Dad!" The younger sisters opened their eyes wide in surprise. They shook their heads and said, "They fell by themselves." I picked up the small green pomegranate.The cook Lao Gao, who was missing a finger, came in from the outside and said: "Miss, don't tell your father anything. Your mother just called from the hospital and told you to go quickly. Your father has..." Why didn't he continue?I suddenly felt anxious and shouted, "What are you talking about? Old Gao." "Miss, when you arrive at the hospital, try to persuade your mother, you will be counted here! You will be counted!" Sister Skinny Chicken is still snatching Yanyan's gadgets, while younger brother pours sand into a glass bottle.Yes, I am counted here, I am a little adult.I said to Lao Gao: "Old Gao, I know what's going on, I'll go to the hospital." I've never been so calm, so quiet. I put my primary school diploma in the desk drawer, and when I came out, Lao Gao had already hired a car to the hospital for me.Walking through the yard and seeing the hanging oleander, I meditated: Papa's flowers have fallen, I am no longer a child. (End) shocking production 2002.11