Prose|Water Memory

? 01/...

I was born in the south of Henan Province, a small county of ancient simplicity, I remember when the site of the ancient city wall still exists, the city of east-west and north-south straight cross cross streets connecting the alleys and homes. My home is in the county north street urban-rural combination of an alley.

It was a time when the material and spiritual life was not rich, and there were no buildings in the city, and as far as the eye could see, all the cottages were of the "human" type structure. There are also brick and tile and adobe houses. A few wealthy people lived in tiled houses. The majority of those who live in grass houses are from rural areas, but there are also a few towns and cities, and my family belongs to the latter. The grass house is different from the thatched houses like the Du Fu Cao Tang that you see when you are traveling nowadays. Firstly, the roof of the house is not thatched, but a kind of local wild and durable Huai grass. Secondly, the roof of the grass house below the edge of a row of protruding to the wall outside the eaves, commonly known as the drip eaves, used to prevent rainwater dripping to the wall.

At that time, I didn't feel that there was anything good about the building of a big house, and I didn't feel that there was anything bad about my straw house. What impressed me most was that on rainy days, my neighbors closed their doors for fear of rainwater squeezing into the house, while my house was wide open because I wanted to catch the rainwater.

Every time we look at the sky to rain, we sisters will habitually put the house of pots and pans to find out, one by one in front of the door under the eaves. Even if it rains in the middle of the night, either according to the grandmother's instructions, the daytime has long been set up in advance, or the grandmother temporarily up, alone one by one on the set.

At that time, it seemed to rain more than now. When it first started to rain, we were like chattering birds, huddled together at the door, competing to see and discuss. Despite the different sizes and heights of the pots and pans, there was one ****ing thing in common, they were all round. My brother said it looked like a string of candy canes and said the sound of dripping water sounded like a concert. Grandma stood behind us and didn't say a word. Our hearts rejoiced as the water level rose in the pots and pans, or, we were anxious because we couldn't catch the water from the thunder and the rain.

At first, mom and dad were teaching in the county elementary school, and then, dad responded to the call to go to the remote countryside to teach, went to the county more than 30 miles away from a rural elementary school.

I was 7 years old the year my mom died, my brother was 9, and there were two sisters and a brother younger than me. I'm not sure if you're going to be able to get a good deal on a new one, but I'm sure you'll be able to get a good deal on a new one. The day of the funeral back has been late afternoon, although the yard or that yard, home or that home, but the feeling, like just been burglarized, the yard tree leaves sparse, the house is messy. In the evening, one of my father's best friends, who was also a neighbor, led a cart with a ceramic water tank in the shape of an inverted dome. The tank was so big that my brother and I could just hold it, and it was as tall as my 5-year-old sister. The water tank was unloaded from the car and carried hand in hand to the stove house, where it was placed in the corner behind the door.

At that time, I had never heard of the word "tap water". The only two ways to use water for living are to go to a pond for washing and brushing, and to go to the nearest well for drinking water. Because of geological reasons, there are only a few wells in the county, and they are very deep. Every household in the small town had a stretcher, two buckets, and a bundle of well ropes that looked like long coiled snakes. The well 300 meters to the east of my house was the closest. There was a drought one year, the well was temporarily depleted, Dad had to go to the North Guanwai to pick up water, the North Guanwai that well more than a mile away from home, Dad picked up a full tank of water to six back and forth.

The water is a laborious job, and bringing it out of the well is both skillful and risky. This is not a big deal in other families, but in my family, it's a big problem - Grandma is past her prime, and my brother is only nine years old, and we can't pick water for the old and the young, so the burden of picking water naturally falls on Dad alone. The county to dad teaching place not pass public **** car, dad riding a bicycle to work, home once a week, so, every weekend before leaving, dad must be full of a tank of water.

Usually grandma tries to save water, can go to the pond to wash as much as possible to go to the pond, wash the water clarification of the repeated use, so tightly a tank of water enough to eat a week. Occasionally, when there was not enough to eat, or in the summer heat, the water on the head spoiled in less than seven days, and Grandma had to think of other ways. When you meet your uncle or cousin and other relatives at home, it goes without saying that you have to take the initiative to store water in the tank, and sometimes you have to ask your neighbors for help.

Grandma didn't like to bother the neighbors all the time, so another way at that time was to catch the rainwater. My brother and I would take the pots and pans full of water under the eaves of the house and carefully move them into the house and leave them there for half a day or a night, and when the water was clarified, we could use them to brush our teeth and wash our faces, and to wash the dishes and pots. Grandma said, rain water can not drink, drink to the stomach will grow stone, so we never drink, grandma of course, will not use rain water to cook.

When I grew up, I realized that drinking rainwater would not make my stomach grow stones, and that my grandmother was lying to us.

? 02/...

At that time, I was the most mischievous one among my five sisters.

On snowy days, the snow water from the melted snow on the roof of the straw house seeped down from the grass, and with the lowering of the temperature at night, it formed ice, and in the morning, the ice skates that were more than a meter long and as thick as a mallet were hanging below the eaves, glittering in the sunlight after the snow had cleared. Every time, I will take a stick to knock down the ice skates, or as a free popsicle in the mouth, or as a sword waved at younger siblings, and even while they are not prepared, stuffed into their necks. The curved, interlocking eaves of the beautiful tiles became as uneven as our teeth because of my repeated knocking of the ice skates. And of course, I was reprimanded by my dad and grandma.

The grass house lived for a long time, the roof will be born in different sizes like succulent plants, some green, some dark green, some blood red, some purple, the bottom of the Huai grass light color, looks like a great art textbook oil painting. Grandma said it was called tai tao grass, can not be pulled down. But I didn't listen to her, and often took advantage of her not paying attention to pound a few plants down with a bamboo stick. I didn't realize until after I grew up that the grass represented a blessing and contained my grandmother's high hopes for the family and for our sisters.

At that time, my brother was more quiet than me, much more understanding than me. The second year after my mom died, my brother was once interested in carrying water. A few times I saw, Dad finished the last load of water, my brother followed behind to take the well rope, while Dad did not pay attention, secretly look into the well. Influenced by my brother, but also driven by a strong curiosity, that day I was asked to take the rope, I also looked into the wonderful world of the well - I carefully approached the mouth of the well, bowed forward to poke out half of my head, when my eyes fell through the empty darkness, only the grandma's face mirror the size of the surface of the water, I couldn't help but mental I can't help but mentally jump, and instantly put half my head back.

After that, I had my first experience of carrying water with my brother.

I remember that it was a summer day filled with cicadas at noon, and my grandmother was asleep in her recliner with a banana fan in her hand.

It was the first time that I had to carry water, and it was the first time that I had to carry water.

I close to the ladle of water and inhaled the nose, and indeed smelled a fishy odor. I nodded. My brother said, "Let's go carry water!"

I can't help but think of the time I looked down the well, and my heart was pounding like a drum again.

Quietly walked to the eaves, my brother followed my father's example, picked up a flat shoulder, clumsily hooked up two buckets, I picked up a bundle of rope, tiptoeing to the door, out of the door I couldn't help but look back, Grandma is still asleep.

Originally, there were often people chatting under the willow tree near the well, but it was probably because it was too hot that day, in addition to the chatter of the robins on the tree, there was no one under the tree. The world is too empty, or I'm too timid, like the soles of the feet on cotton, I trembled in the two meters away from the mouth of the well to stand.

My brother took the rope I handed him and put it on the edge of the well, hooked the bucket loop with the looped iron hook at one end, and stroked the rope, smoothing it into the well one by one. Feeling the bucket touching the water surface, he began to swing the rope from side to side, and then, one by one, he pulled it upward, and each time he brought up a small half-bucket of water. So repeated four times, and finally evened out into two large half barrels ...... Since the beginning, I was a timid bystander, and to this day I can still feel it, and then I held the well rope tightly in my arms, and I never held it so tightly, as if the other end of the well rope was tied to my brother's fate.

Along the way rested twice, finally the water burden to the home. But, after all, it is the first time, and so far away, put down the bucket when "clang" sound - grandma woke up. To see what is going on, the grandmother suddenly stood up, with a small foot rushed over, the hand of the banana fan upside down, grabbing the end of the banana fan leaves, fan handle like rain crackling down on the head of the brother.

They were simple-minded at that time, and only thought that my brother had done something good, but also received a beating, but could not realize that their "good intentions" had brought a huge psychological burden to the elders.

That Saturday night, my brother timidly hid under the dim kerosene lamp in the inner room to write, fearing that my father would come back to know that he would be beaten again.

The weekend night was dark and long, and until the hypnotic sound of the grasshopper sent me to sleep, Dad didn't come back, and Dad was always so busy.

The next day, although my father only reprimanded my brother for a few words, but this is not the end of the matter--

After my father left the weekend with a full tank of water as usual, he suddenly came back early the next morning. Looking at his face full of haggard and tired, my brother and I, and of course, Grandma, we are surprised - although it is the summer vacation, but Dad in charge of the school logistics, responsible for the school's house, tables and chairs repair, never stay at home more than one day - why last night? Just left, this early in the morning and came back?

Dad and Grandma said a few words in the inner room, came out and touched his brother's head, hugged his younger siblings, drank half a bowl of noodle soup handed to him by Grandma in one gulp, and pushed up his bike and left again.

After my father left, my sisters gathered around my grandmother and asked my father what he was doing. Grandma couldn't help but ask again and again, and sighed: "Your father had a dream last night that his brother fell into a well, and when he woke up, he couldn't sleep any more, so he rode his bike back in the morning before sunrise."

Grandma's eyes were moist, and my brother cried.

I didn't cry, but it seems like I was less naughty after that.

03/...

My brother promised my father that he would never carry water again, and he came up with another idea - to save money to buy water. When he said "buy water", I instantly thought of the old man selling water and his ringing bell.

The entrance to my home was about 100 meters away from the street. In those days, there were no cars roaring on the street, no stereos playing, not even the sound of shouting. In the relatively quiet environment, there are three kinds of sound in my memory: one is the goods seller's rattle "Bo jang jang" crunch; one is the oil seller's hand iron "jing jing jing" knocking sound, long and long; and one is the water seller "The other is the water seller's ringing bell, which is much louder than the first two.

Of the three different sounds, we naturally liked the rattle sound best. Once the rattle sounded, we would immediately stop all the games, springing up from all directions, swarming up, around the goods man, rummaging through the pockets of the coins hidden for a long time, in exchange for sugar beans or something else. Grandma missed the oil seller the most. When the oil seller left with his load and we returned to the yard, Grandma said to herself as if she were talking to us: "The oil seller hasn't come for a few days." Her words were full of anticipation. At this time, I knew that the bottle of sesame oil in the kitchen was about to reach the bottom.

Childhood sensitivity to all sweet things, let me Xiguan outside the "sweet water well" full of unlimited imagination, and later from the eyes of adults gradually understand that the well water like sugar beans as sweet is a joke. The so-called sweet, is not salty not astringent just. After school, the road to meet the water seller, will inevitably stand next to watch: rubber wheeled rickshaw, lying across the gasoline barrel made of tin transformed into a large bucket, the upper part of the bucket to open a book-sized square holes, welded on a four-square funnel, for water injection. The bottom of the barrel welded on a section of the diameter of 3-4 centimeters of the round tube, the round tube and then set on a section of the inner tube of the bicycle, for the release of water.

The water is sold by the bucket for 5 cents a bucket.

Throughout the year, the water seller's ringing bell would ring once a day in the morning and once a day in the evening, regardless of rain or wind, hot or cold. But Dad and his neighbors would never go to buy water. Moreover, when they occasionally met someone who bought water, they often showed contempt - in those days of dire straits, how could they throw money away on buying water when there was free water to eat? Dad's monthly salary of 36 yuan, to support a family of seven people, in addition to coal, rice, oil and salt, and then pull a few feet of coarse cloth for us to do clothes on the no. Now I think, at that time, Dad is a real "moonlight family", not only monthly light, often have to advance, borrowing.

In my childhood, the four streets of the small county, East Street has a movie theater, there are 10,000 people will be sentenced to death in the square; West Street has a theater, there is the county government compound; South Street has a Xinhua Bookstore, and then to the south, there are the ruins of the ancient city wall and the footstools. Only the North Street seems to be cold, only a scrap yard. However, as if God's willful arrangement, people did not expect, then there became my brother and I took the money "bank", buy water money are all in the sale of waste products there to earn.

The first collection of scrap is particularly difficult, before the lure of the seller, under the eyes of the seller, scrap iron, scrap copper, scrap books, newspapers, etc., have been sold net. So, that time chose to sell broken glass, a school will go out to pick up, pick up a few days in a row. In order to pick out the glass on the ground, the hand is cut.

That day back from school, my brother and I panicked to the basket of broken glass to the purchase station, and then carry the exchange of 10 cents and 3 cents to return to the home in a hurry to wait. When I heard the water seller's ringing bell ringing at the entrance of the alley, I realized for the first time that the sound was so beautiful.

My brother took two buckets and walked in front of me, I took a stick and followed behind, my small-footed grandmother chased me to the front door, and I turned around and proudly raised my hand, and I said, "Go buy water!"

We put ten cents to the old man selling water, eyes looking straight at him to the bucket of water, see did not put the water to the mouth of the bucket flush, at that moment I was so disappointed. As a result, I put a stick on the bucket loop and carried it a few steps before the water splashed out. My brother blamed me for not knowing how to walk and put the bucket on the ground. Once again lifted to walk or splash water out, and then put down ...... brother let me draw off the stick, alone hand pawed the bucket, walk six or seven steps to put down a breath of rest, and then walk six or seven steps to put down a breath of rest ...... I followed, helpless, aggrieved, but also distressed, tears almost spilled out of my eyes. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do this, but I'm going to be able to do it.

The good neighbors saw, came forward to help carry the water back home, and also to the grandmother praised us for growing up. The first time I saw this, I was so happy to see you, and I was so happy to see you.

After that, I dug into my head to collect things to sell, and sold peach kernels, almonds, orange peels, acacia rice, neem fruits, and also sold the earth turtle seeds, cicada shells, and so on. Later on, when I was really struggling to think of what to sell, my dad gave us an idea - digging up the ground bone skin. On the weekend, my father also brought us back a tool for digging the ground bone skin - the iron rake of the peanut grinder in the countryside.

Ground bone skin is a kind of Chinese medicine, in fact, is the root of wolfberry. Digging ground bone skin to the outside of the city, farmland edge, along the ditch, half slope of the old city wall, everywhere. After school in the afternoon to go out to dig, to come back in the dark, you can dig a basket. Back home, pick up a section of the newly dug roots to the stone, with a hammer gently smashed, smashed a skin cracked, pick up the skin, spread to the sun to cool, dry can go to sell.

At that time, every time I went to sell my bones, I could sell as little as 30 or 40 cents, and as much as 60 or 70 cents. In this way, my brother and I used our own hands, our own labor, and finally changed the family to receive rainwater, hard to eat the situation. Just dad every weekend to go, still the water tank full.

Dad was happy for us to exercise ourselves through labor, but he didn't want us to be too tired.

Then once to dig outside the city, accidentally found a landslide in the soil, exposed a string of green rusty copper, we were nervous and excited to jump up, and is to pick up, and is to dig, the head of the hat down to put the copper, did not go home directly to the purchase station. To this day, I can not forget the copper money into the buyer's scales, "clattering" crunch. That time a **** sold 7 yuan, 7.76 cents, equivalent to one-fifth of my father's monthly salary more than five cents a bucket of water can buy more than 150 buckets. My brother and I ran home with the money joyfully, and when we got home we told our grandmother exactly what had happened, and said that Dad would not have to carry water in the future.

On the weekend, my father came back and heard about it, and he was really excited, and reached out his hand to my brother, "Where's the money? I see." To be brother proudly handed over the money, but I did not expect the dad counted, only the zero returned to the brother, while the money into the jacket pocket, while saying: "How can not carry water it ...... give you two a person to buy a pair of liberation shoes, like it or not?" Dad said, took up the bucket to pick water to go.

Looking at the father out of the door, a side of the grandmother said: "It is not afraid of you to go to the well again to carry water, otherwise a point will not be returned to you."

? 04/...

That summer vacation when he was ten years old, Dad transferred back to the county elementary school. From then on, Dad no longer had to carry a full tank of water at a time. Dad also forbade my brother and me to collect rags and herbs, and told us to concentrate on our studies.

In 1977, the National College Entrance Examination was resumed, which had been stopped for ten years, and my brother and I were in the countryside at that time.

In the fourth quarter, the above notification to prepare for the college entrance examination can go home to study, my brother and I at the same time by my father recruited back to the city to review their homework.

My father temporarily canceled the idea of renovating the house to provide us with a quiet environment to study, and invited the teachers he knew from the county high school to come to the house to give us guidance on studying.

In my dreams, I didn't expect to see my brother get the first place in the county, and I got the fifth place in the county. The first time I saw this, I was able to see that my brother and I didn't have any special feelings, but my father was very happy, and he became a celebrity in the small town.

Subsequently, I went to Shanghai to study, my brother went to Beijing. Four years after graduating from college, just in time for the heavy knowledge, heavy talent, I not only stay in Shanghai to work, and the unit also allocated me a two-bedroom house.

Clearly remember, the first day of the unit reported to the evening alone back to the new house, excitedly fiddling with the kitchen faucet, the shower between the showerhead, the mind instantly surfaced in childhood under the eaves of the water - the most unforgettable every time it rained just up, because the pots and pans are still empty, the eaves of the water droplets on the heavy smashed! Whenever it rains, because the pots and pans are still empty, the drops of water on the eaves of the house hit heavily on the bottom of the pots and pans, making a variety of sounds, some dull, some crisp, some like the morning bells and twilight drums, and some like gongs and cymbals. In the daytime, to the ho-ho want to boil the sound of the city added life, in the night, but also to the silence of the night to bring some bleak. And the drip of water under the eaves of the tile in my childhood is y engraved in my mind, and grandma and dad's love for us.

At that moment, I couldn't help but run out into the street and make a pay phone call to my dad, and I said, "Dad, I have a house, you must come to see it, that is, nothing else, but also to come to see the tap water in my house, the tap water that never runs out ...... "

Another three years later, Dad retired, in my repeated urging, Dad finally came to Shanghai. Because I mentioned to my dad that my girlfriend and I often cook and eat together, and as a result, my dad came with a lot of local specialties from his hometown, sesame sesame oil, sesame sauce, peanut rice, pickled wild garlic, and doughnuts and my favorite Yang family pastries. The first thing I did was to go to the Hongqiao train station with my girlfriend, Xiaohui, to pick him up. I took off my dad's chest and back, looked at my dad's white hair and wrinkles like dried oranges, and looked at my dad's uneven shoulders because of his long years of carrying water, and I really felt that my dad was getting old.

After my mom died, my dad was all alone, busy with his work and our growth, and he didn't even go to his hometown, the provincial capital. This time, I deliberately asked for three days off, plus Sunday, I according to four days, designed for my father to "water" as the theme of the river, lake and sea tour. The river is the Huangpu River, the Yangtze River, the river is the Suzhou River, the lake is Dianshan Lake, the sea, of course, is the East China Sea.

Suzhou River line, in addition to viewing the natural scenery on both sides of the river and some of the outstanding historical buildings, but also along the way to visit the site of the four rows of warehouses, the Shanghai Mint Museum and my alma mater. 1937, "Songhu" at the end of the war, the Kuomintang troops retreating to the west, leaving behind more than 400 people to defend the four rows of warehouses, and they are for the sake of peace and face the cannon fire, the blood and flesh, and the blood and flesh, and the blood and flesh, and the blood and flesh of the people. They faced the fire for peace and swore to die with their flesh and blood, which demonstrated the Chinese people's spirit of dying rather than giving in. My father lamented the hard-earned happiness of life and urged me to cherish it. Located on the banks of Suzhou Creek, the Shanghai Mint Museum, with its unique display of "minting technology" and a wide range of products, reminds Dad of the 36 yuan per month that he valued more than his life, and the difficult journey of a family of seven who relied on this salary to support them along the way. Looking at the window of the ancient coins used throughout the ages, I can not help but think of that time to sell to the scrap yard, sold for 7 yuan, 7.06 cents of the hat of copper plate, looks exactly the same as the Kongfangzhi. In my alma mater, after visiting the Chinese and Western combination of style school building teaching building, as well as my former dormitory and classroom, evening in the student cafeteria to experience the student meal, before leaving the father of the students did not turn off the faucet one by one.

Huangpu River line, visited the Bund, the East Bund and Wusongkou. Standing on the Bund to look out or wandering in the middle of it, the sparkling river cruise ships on the river, the embankment on the Chinese and foreign tourists bustling. Whether it's the architectural complex of different styles or the Waibaidu Bridge standing at the confluence of the Huangpu River and Suzhou Creek, both are important historical sites and representative buildings of modern China, and are one of the landmarks of Shanghai. The Yangshupu Water Treatment Plant on the East Bund was China's first modern water treatment plant, built in 1883. In the following 100 years, with the construction of more water plants and reservoirs along the "two rivers", Shanghai's raw water supply gradually changed from 70% Huangpu River water and 30% Yangtze River water to 70% Yangtze River water and 30% Huangpu River water, which greatly improved the quality of Shanghai's tap water. Came to the tap water exhibition hall, dad look extra carefully, on the water purification process, how to avoid sudden pollution, how to deal with salt tide invasion to see an understanding. Wusongkou is the entrance of Huangpu River into Yangtze River. Historically, it used to be an important military base for guarding the Yangtze River and the Huangpu River, and the Qing government once built a naval battery here. Standing on the embankment, looking at the Yangtze River flowing through the motherland of 11 provinces in front of the Yangtze River water into the East China Sea, Dad could not help but send out the "big river to the east, the waves are exhausted" feeling.

When looking at the sea at Nanhui Mouth, the most southeastern part of Shanghai's land area, the tide was falling. The air is filled with the faint salty smell of seawater, the endless sea, drifting boats as small as dust. On the mudflats, there are people everywhere picking up mud snails and catching crabs. My father and I rolled up our pants and walked barefoot on the mudflats, feeling the warmth of the sand under our feet while chatting about the sea. Dad said, "Although the ratio of water area to land area on the earth is 7:3, the fresh water resources on the earth is less than 3% of the total amount of water. If we don't conserve water, the last drop of water on earth will be human tears!" Unexpectedly, Dad had memorized word for word the tagline he had seen the day before at the water display.

Dianshan Lake is located in the upper reaches of the Huangpu River, is Shanghai's largest natural freshwater lake, known as the "wind blowing reeds down, the fishing boats on the lake, the pond lotus smile" reputation. During the tour, I accompanied my father to a section of the lake that is not defended, and sat down on a reef. Sunshine on the water, the lake water quality is clear, the bottom of the water small conch climbed over the marks, like a big calligrapher's handwriting. The soft water plants floating out of the water, like an extension of the calligrapher's handwriting. Dad used his hand to scoop up a handful of cool lake water and gazed at it for a long time. The water seeped out of his fingers like the bark of a dead tree, drop by drop, dripping into the lake, dripping and melting.

Dad suddenly said: "You use water, the water pipe is open to the maximum, wash your hands and play soap also do not turn off the water pipe, the water has been flowing. And Xiaohui wash dishes, one leaf by one leaf. Brush dishes also, rinse repeatedly."

I pondered a little, explained: "Now the vegetables sold on the market, there is no insect eye, the top of the pesticide residue may be; there are insect eyes, did not play pesticides, the top of the insect eggs may be adhered to, you have to wash carefully."

Dozens of seagulls, circling the lake for a while, and then fell, lying around the lake, like in a meeting.

"Your grandmother also bought water once." Dad looked at the group of seagulls meeting in the distance, immersed in memories of the past, "That morning, your grandmother was cooking, and when she scooped water into the water tank, she found a dead rat floating in the tank. The water could not be eaten, and could not go to other people's homes to borrow water (hometowns have the custom of not borrowing water from other people's homes), what to do? Grandma had to bake the buns and let you eat them with salted vegetables, then drink some boiled water and let you go to school first. Then just wait for the water seller's bell ...... If it was a vegetable worm that fell from the tank at that time, would your grandmother buy water?"

Grandma died during my freshman year. Grandma was a person who came from that society, grandma was a small-footed woman, housewife, did not see grandma read and write. But in my heart, I never felt that my grandmother was an uneducated person, not only because of her good character and person, but also because of my perception of her as such - she could read the weather. During those years when food was hard to come by, she was able to accurately determine the future weather changes and whether it would rain or not through the changes in her surroundings, the phase of the sky, and the flora and fauna. I still remember the weather proverbs that she often put on her lips: "South of the clouds, water ripples; north of the clouds, sun-dried billets", "long sunny fog and rain, long rain fog and sunny", "swallows fly low and birds take a bath, and heavy rain follows. ""The ants are moving and the snakes are crossing the road, and the rain will come soon"" "The water tank is sweating and the toads are calling, and there will be a heavy rain."...... Her weather forecasts are often better than The person in the square box hanging above the doorway of the house was more accurate in her forecasts. In my young heart, my grandmother is a meteorologist. I have asked her more than once: how do you know so many weather proverbs?

Now that I think about it, at that time, not only did we have to catch the rain to subsidize the water for living, but also the warmth and coldness of the weather also concerned our clothing and our health. Life is pressure and motivation, and the grandmother's ability to recognize the weather was forced out by life.

What you can't hold in your hand is not only water, but also time. Time passes, never stop, like the autumn wind rolled away leaves, it can roll away all the people, grandmother is one of them. In that moment, I sobbed as I imagined how hard it was for Grandma to go to the entrance of the alley to buy water on that unusual morning, upside down on her little feet. I said: "Dad, you are right ......"

05/...

Writing these words, my father left the world has been nearly ten years. The original old house of the tile eaves grass room, after several remodeling, now, my brother has long been in the original foundation of the three-story building. Similarly, the well that carried water back then has long been trampled under the feet of high-rise buildings. And, once the scrap yard, but also in the later expansion of the street moved away and no trace of ...... occasional thousands of miles back to their hometowns, no grandma, no dad, look around, all the traces of childhood are missing. However, those memories of receiving water, carrying water, buying water, but vividly, as if yesterday. I regret that I was too young to understand the hardships of my grandmother and father, and I regret that when I grew up, I was so greedy for the comfort of my own small home that I didn't come home to see them more often, and my telephone exchanges were few and far between. I'm not sure how much I'm going to be able to do this, but I'm sure I'll be able to do it in the future.

-- END --