1
My parents' new house in South Island is located in a village behind a small town. The town used to be a team under the South Island Farm. Now the farm has been abolished and merged into the local area, but it still retains its original style. There are schools, hospitals, markets and small hotels in a small street. Although the former headquarters office building in the center of the town is mottled and old, it still exudes the majesty of the old times.
Turn in from a fork in the road, cross a small bridge along a winding path, go up a slope and stand downstairs in the new house. Because there are two huge banyan trees on the slope, this small building stands like a village entrance.
If you continue to walk backwards, there are nurseries and fish ponds shaded by betel nuts, coconut groves and various miscellaneous trees along the way, and you will reach the end in ten minutes-a small waterworks is built on the mountain. There are only two local families along the way.
If you go out by another road at the entrance to the village, you will go around the back field. Standing with a negative hand, looking from afar, the long hills, scattered rice fields and vegetable fields make people feel relaxed and happy. A coconut tree with a crooked neck or a pile of sugar cane will grow freely in the field. You can see fat snails swimming slowly in the water when you bend over. When the breeze blows, it brings the fragrance of vegetation and the faint smell of farmyard manure. The leaves of crops rustle, and the faint barking of dogs and crows in the distance make people feel more spacious and silent between heaven and earth. When I come out at night, I look up at the bright stars in the sky. ...
2
Parents are conservative people, and it is thanks to the current tide of economic development that they can come all the way to this "Tianya Haijiao" place to live poetically.
At the beginning, a real estate developer in our hometown of Jinnan took a fancy to the livable environment here, but the economy was backward, and reached an agreement with the local farm and workers to "transform the old house"-the real estate developer funded the transformation of the old house of the workers' bungalow into a three-story building, and the workers got the bottom floor for free, while the developer sold the second and third floors to the outside world, so that the three parties got their own places: the workers improved their living conditions for free, the farm completed a project to benefit the people, and the developer made a profit. Because developers began to publicize, they mainly sold acquaintances in our hometown, and the results spread widely, and everyone came one after another. In less than ten years, they have become large-scale, and several "villages" and communities have formed in this small town where the old people support the elderly together.
Last year, my parents came to see it with others with a curious attitude. They were very satisfied with the result and immediately decided to buy it. At that time, although I also raised funds to support it, I was still a little skeptical and worried that there would be legal disputes in this house without property rights. Now I am not only relieved after reading it myself, but also ashamed that although I am in Beijing, I have been sitting in my room all day, and my thoughts have become rigid and outdated, even worse than the old people.
three
There are two Li families living next door to us, one of which is called "Acai".
The economic conditions of "A Cai" family should be good. They did not participate in the "old house renovation" project on the farm. Although the main house has also been built, it still retains the pattern of bungalows, and the wing room retains the dark and old tile house. There is no fence in the yard, only sparse bamboo fences and planted vegetables around the house. Chickens, ducks, geese and dogs can swim freely, and neighbors can come and go freely.
The gas stove in their house is only a spare, and they are more used to cooking with firewood every day. When a large iron pot is propped up in the yard, it is just like camping in the wild, but it is raining hard and motionless. A finger on the ground is a thick black rebar, which is said to be a tool they use for barbecue!
It is said that the rice grown in their fields is only for their own consumption, not a cash crop. Meat and seafood are their main ingredients. Bananas are within reach by the roadside. If you don't pick the tall coconut, it will fall by itself-when dad picked us up in town that day, he picked one in his arms.
A Cai's family consists of husband and wife, three children and her mother-in-law. The eldest daughter, Huiyuan, is only in the third or fourth grade, and her family is simple and cheerful. Because our daughter Doudou was fascinated by his little paparazzi, we met his family on the first day in the village. Adults are standing chatting, and several children are screaming and running in the yard ... When they leave, they must give me a big coconut that has just been picked.
It's tropical here, and adults and children like to walk around barefoot. I stayed in the village for more than ten days, only one day I saw "A Cai"' s mother carrying a small basket and saying that she was going to work in the fields. The rest of the time, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law stay at home and occasionally lie in hammocks in the yard. "A Cai" is not always at home because he is driving outside to pull goods, but he always looks relaxed and happy when he comes back.
In a word, although their lives are primitive and rough, they are far more free and comfortable than the farmers in the mainland. Think of the farmers in their hometown who are facing the loess and facing the sky. Far from them!
four
Within a few days, we were completely assimilated to the life rhythm of the islanders-just eating and drinking Lazar, wandering around and fishing leisurely every day. The children stay at home during the winter vacation and get together all day. Daughter Doudou has been with them for a long time. Because peas are coming, my father deliberately built a fence with cement under the banyan tree in advance and poured sand on it. It occurred to me that I tied a swing to them under the banyan tree above the bunker, which became a paradise for children in winter vacation.
That day, I saw them gathered on the banyan tree like monkeys, and I didn't know what they were busy with. At the same time, Doudou hurried back to find something and ran out again. Curious, I followed the tree and found that they built a "house" on the tree with a shabby cardboard box and many ropes, and turned it into a virtual cosmetics store. "Hui Yuan" took her sister and brother to steal cosmetics such as lipstick and eye shadow from home. Others rushed to buy them, smeared them with "money" painted in white paper, and laughed heartily!
Later, when a girl named "Qin Xiao" ran down from the tree, she stepped barefoot on a raised dead tree root, and at that time, her foot was punctured, grinning and crying. Everyone immediately gathered around to check the injury and made comments noisily. Although this big banyan tree is intertwined, its crawling roots are as smooth as pythons. How can you prick your feet? I looked at it carefully and found that it didn't seem to be the root of the banyan tree itself, but a kind of miscellaneous wood embedded in it. I found a tool and pried it hard. I didn't expect to pull out a one-meter-long dead wood, which caused an exclamation! But then another child stomped into the pit and made a big mistake. A group of old people and children onlookers laughed their heads off, and Qin Xiao couldn't help laughing through tears. Finally, someone called Qin Xiao's mother, took her away and put her on a motorcycle.
In the afternoon, when I came back from the outside, I found Qin Xiao standing under the tree, smiling and playing with others. Her feet were still wrapped in white gauze.
five
After living for a few days, I finally found something unhappy on the island.
There lived a man under forty years old and three boys. The oldest was only seven or eight years old, and the youngest should be less than two years old-running barefoot and babbling in his mouth. I stayed on the island for many days and never met the hostess of this family. The man only greeted me once, and he didn't look like a bad guy, but he always ran out on a motorcycle most of the time, and the three children didn't care at all.
One night, it was very late. I went downstairs for a walk and went back to sleep. Suddenly, I saw the youngest boy crouching silently in the bunker like a puppy, leaning against the concrete fence, unattended. Another night, my family came back from the city and passed by the door on the first floor. We saw the little boy stuck in a corner outside the door, struggling with babbling, and there was loud music in the room. While helping the child break free, we knocked at the door and told the man to pay attention to the safety of the child. He seemed unhappy, grabbed the child's arm and hugged it back like a chicken. The night before I left, I went shopping in town after dinner. The child suddenly appeared out of nowhere and chased me down the slope like a puppy, screaming eagerly. I guess he was hungry, so I took him home and brought him food. Sure enough, I took it and stuffed it in my mouth. My mother shook her head, sighed and told me that it was not the first time that she had "helped" a child.
In the meantime, I gradually learned that this man lost his family business and beat his wife because of gambling, which finally led to the cruel woman leaving her children and running away from home, so we saw this scene. I also heard from my father that this man's official occupation is the river chief in the village. However, when I walk during the day, I often see garbage such as plastic bags and promotional papers on stones and trees in Xiaohegou, which shows that he not only ignores his family, but also fails to do his duty.
Alas! Real life is always a mixture of truth, goodness, beauty, falsehood and ugliness, and this place is no exception!
But on the whole, the trip to South Island was pleasant and beautiful. The holiday is so short that we can't bear to say goodbye. Back in Beijing, Doudou wrote a letter to Huiyuan and got a reply. The two sides agreed to get together again next year. I am looking forward to getting rid of secularism as soon as possible, retiring in South Island, working at sunrise and resting at sunset, and being a farmer with a hoe.
Written in Beijing on June 25, 20 18.