Life has returned to its normal state.
Six years ago, Wang Shaoxiang sold the half-acre of land before leaving for Xihai. There was no land left for farming.
In order to support her family, Wang Shaoxiang could only weave and do some needlework at home day and night.
In troubled times, Zhang Shaofei also gradually grew up.
That evening, Wang Shaoxiang had just finished eating, put down his rice bowl, and sat in front of the loom again to weave.
Zhang Shaofei saw that Wang Shaoxiang was working very hard day and night, so he said with concern: "Mom, please stop weaving like this day and night, it will tire you out."
Wang Shaoxiang sighed and said breathlessly: "Well, if you don't weave day and night, how can you have money to eat? Will money fall from the sky for no reason?"
Zhang Shaofei said with determination: "Aniang, starting from tomorrow, I will go up the mountain to collect firewood and sell it, and I will make money. I will support Aniang."
Zhang Shaofei, who had just shed his childishness, did what he was told. He picked up the woodcutter, straw gun, and rope that Wang Shaoxiang had used in the past, and followed the adults in the village to collect firewood in Taishan.
People say: Children who have been through hardships for a long time are more flexible. Zhang Shaofei, who is only 16 years old, is not only smart, kind and clever, but also physically strong. He follows the adults up the mountain to chop firewood, and can chop forty or fifty kilograms of dry firewood at a time.
The villagers were very happy to teach him. They taught him step by step how to bundle the dry firewood cut from the tree into two bundles. Then, he tied the bundle with a straw gun at a height of about two-thirds of the two bundles and carried it on his back. Pass another bundle through the same place, and then pick it up to become a load of dry firewood. Finally, park it on the ground, and then use ropes to connect the two bundles of dry firewood from the top of the firewood and tie them up to prevent one end of the load from getting higher than the other when carrying the firewood down the mountain. Come low to the ground.
Zhang Shaofei is very eye-catching and can learn it as soon as he is taught. Therefore, the villagers love him very much and say that he has ideals.
Zhang Shaofei is also always grateful to his fellow villagers.
Time flies, Zhang Shaofei followed the adults in the village up the mountain to collect firewood. Unexpectedly, an autumn and winter have passed, and the annual Spring Festival is coming again.
Families who live a prosperous life are busy preparing New Year's goods to celebrate the New Year. Although Wang Shaoxiang's family is not wealthy, according to custom, it is indispensable to buy a catty of pork on New Year's Eve and slaughter a chicken to celebrate the New Year.
On New Year's Eve, after Wang Shaoxiang finished worshiping the gods, he made several dishes with perfect color, aroma and taste from the pork and chicken and put them on the table, and asked Zhang Shaofei to come over and help open the table.
The New Year's Eve dinner started, but Zhang Shaofei only ate rapeseed, not pig or chicken.
Wang Shaoxiang always saw Zhang Shaofei always eating rapeseed, so he put a chicken in his bowl and said lovingly: "Fei'er, you are growing up now. You went up the mountain to collect firewood a while ago, and you picked it up to sell at the firewood market." , The body is exhausted too much, so take advantage of the New Year to rest, eat more meat, and replenish the body."
Zhang Shaofei didn't seem to hear what Wang Shaoxiang said. He didn't move his chopsticks and stared at the chicken in the bowl in a daze.
Wang Shaoxiang couldn't help but ask: "Fei'er, why are you still eating? Is it because it doesn't suit your appetite or because your mother doesn't cook it well?"
"Auntie, no." Zhang Shaofei looked at Wang Shaoxiang and explained quickly.
"Then why don't you eat? There is a saying: 'Be full for the New Year's Eve.' Only those who eat more meat on the New Year's Eve will have a god of food." Wang Shaoxiang looked at Zhang Shaofei and talked about what her parents said to her when she was a child. Come.
Zhang Shaofei looked at the fragrant chicken and felt that it was difficult to eat and it was also difficult not to eat. After being silent for a while, he finally expressed his inner thoughts to Wang Shaoxiang: "Auntie, when I see these pork and chickens, I think of the tragic situation when the pigs and chickens were killed, and I feel very sad."
When Wang Shaoxiang heard this, he felt that the son in front of him was so kind. He didn't know whether he was happy or sad.
From this, Wang Shaoxiang thought of her husband again and thought: If her husband could live to this day and see his son being so kind, what would he think? Is it happy or sad? Wang Shaoxiang couldn't help but shed tears when he thought of this.
Zhang Shaofei took a look and knew that grandma was thinking about dad again, so he hurriedly stepped forward to comfort him: "Mom, after dinner, I will play chess with you. You taught me how to catch chess before, but I could never catch grandma." ..." Zhang Shaofei paused at this point, and then added quite proudly, "However, when I was studying in a private school in Hepu, Mr. Ye not only taught me some wonderful chess moves, but also taught me how to catch chess; Once I beat Mr. Ye, he even rewarded me with a Go game!"
Seeing Zhang Shaofei getting more and more excited as he talked, Wang Shaoxiang couldn't help but said: "Look at how happy you are, where is the prize?"
"Bring it back, I'll show it to grandma after the New Year's dinner." Zhang Shaofei said happily and made a face at his mother mischievously, "Grandma, you have to be alert and deal with it later! Otherwise, don't It’s my fault for not being merciful.”
Wang Shaoxiang said angrily: "We'll talk about it after we win!"
"Auntie, Brother Ah Fei, are you talking about playing chess?" Wang Shaoxiang just finished speaking when Li Huilan appeared in front of Zhang Shaofei and his son wearing new clothes.
When Zhang Shaofei saw Lu Huilan, he hurriedly said: "Alan sister, you came just in time. My mother and I are playing chess, and you just happen to be the referee."
Lu Huilan smiled and said, "Oh...then I'd rather be respectful than obey."
On New Year's Eve, there were loud sounds of firecrackers outside. Lu Huilan was having her New Year's dinner at home and originally came over to ask Zhang Shaofei out to play. Unexpectedly, he became a referee at Zhang Shaofei's house.
Putting out the chessboard, Lu Huilan faced the criss-crossed chessboard and solemnly announced: "The chess game has begun.
The universe is vast across the chessboard, and thunder is hidden in the silent places. Zhang Shaofei sat down and stretched out his right hand to make a "please" gesture to Wang Shaoxiang.
Wang Shaoxiang gently picked up a white piece (in ancient Go, the white piece was held first) and clicked it on the small eye. As a result, Wang Shaoxiang's white pieces attacked fiercely, and Zhang Shaofei's black pieces were on the defensive.
Wang Shaoxiang looked at his far ahead position, and his pride was palpable.
An ancient Chinese expert said: Fat sides are easy to come by, but thin belly is hard to find. "Fei'er, it seems you don't know how to do this!" Wang Shaoxiang said proudly.
Zhang Shaofei smiled slightly and said: "Water has no permanent shape, chess has no routine, and Tao has no permanent method. Auntie, you only know how to attack fiercely, but you cannot take advantage of the opportunity to break through. There will be trouble later."
Sure enough, Zhang Shaofei's black power began to exert its force, forcing Wang Shaoxiang to panic. Fortunately, Zhang Shaofei showed mercy and everyone was happy.
…
During the New Year, Zhang Shaofei stayed at home and played chess with his mother-in-law. He and Lu Huilan rarely went to the village to show off in new clothes, go to the lion and dragon dances, as they did when they were children.
After the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, after the Lantern Festival, the adults began to get busy.
Zhang Shaofei has just turned sixteen and has already shouldered the burden of earning money to support his family.
Zhang Shaofei goes up the mountain with the villagers to cut firewood every day, and then goes with the villagers to pick firewood and sell it in the market.
At first, Zhang Shaofei traveled with the villagers. However, the villagers were not very short of money at home, and they still had to farm the fields, so it was impossible to go up the mountain with him to collect firewood every day.
Later, Zhang Shaofei couldn't keep company, so he went up the mountain to cut firewood and sell it in the market. Sometimes, several childhood friends who grew up playing clay pot with him, including Li Zhiwen, Chen Mushui, and Pan Linghao, who are similar in age to him, will accompany him up the mountain to collect firewood.
Collecting firewood relies on physical strength, and you are sweating and sweating. It is hard work and the reward is very little. It can be said that the money earned by collecting firewood is condensed from the sweat salt in sweat.
Zhang Shaofei had a mother and no soil to grow crops, so he had no choice but to make a living by collecting firewood without fear of fatigue.
However, the most tiring thing was his heart. He is a minor child who has taken on the burden of life prematurely. His innocent childlike heart has been weathered, suffered, and experienced too many ups and downs, and has become extremely deep and dignified. His face was prematurely engraved with the heaviness of life, and he prematurely lost the joy that a young man should have.
When Mu Shui saw that Zhang Shaofei was silent all day long, he said, "Brother A Fei, you always lower your head in thought and don't speak for a long time, like a little old man."
"Alas!" Zhang Shaofei sighed helplessly and said to Mu Shui: "Ah Shui, although you and I both went up the mountain to collect firewood, you came to collect firewood out of kindness and came to accompany me. You have a father and a mother, so there is no need. You make money to support your family. If you carry not only a load of firewood on your shoulders, but also the livelihood of your family, how can you still be so carefree?"
Zhang Shaofei's reasonable words deeply touched Mu Shui's childlike heart, and he felt even more that Zhang Shaofei's experience was too unfortunate.
As spring passes and summer comes, the sun scorches the earth like a furnace. The land in Taizhen Village also seems to have been roasted by fire, and the heat wave is overwhelming. Li Zhiwen and Chen Mushui's parents loved their son so much that they no longer allowed their precious son to go up the mountain with Zhang Shaofei to collect firewood in the hot summer weather.
This morning, Mu Shui and the others were waiting for Zhang Shaofei under the old longan tree by the river at the entrance of the village.
Zhang Shaofei arrived on time to meet them as usual, with a straw gun on his shoulder and a hatchet in his hand.
But that day, when Mu Shui and the others saw Zhang Shaofei, they repeated their parents' words to Zhang Shaofei very sadly.
After Zhang Shaofei heard this, he comforted Mu Shui and the others: "Ah Shui, Ah Wen, don't be too sad. Your parents are doing this out of love and care for you! I don't care. Who said I don't have the love of my father? …”
When Zhang Shaofei said this, his nose felt sour, he turned around, left Mu Shui and the others, and headed towards Taishan.
Mr. Zhang flew for a while and thought: Mushui and the others are afraid of the heat and don't want to go up the mountain with me to collect firewood. Why not go to the isolated Houliang Village and ask Lu Huilan to go with them?
Zhang Shaofei thought of this and turned around involuntarily, heading towards Houliang Village.
Zhang Shaofei had just taken two steps, but then he thought: Today is different from the past. Sister Alan has grown into a young girl. Living alone in the mountains and wild mountains alone will attract criticism...
"Alas! It's better not to look for her anymore. Who's to blame for your own fate? Just leave everything to fate. Don't think so much. If you continue to think about it, you won't be able to get firewood today, and grandma will be hungry. Zhang Shaofei turned around, He strode straight towards the mountains.
There are a lot of wild fruits in the deep mountains and old forests. Zhang Shaofei was tired of cutting firewood and hungry, so he climbed a tree to pick wild fruits to satisfy his hunger. When he was thirsty, he went to the mountain stream to drink up the running water to quench his thirst. When he was sleepy, he took a nap under the shade of a tree.
The sun hangs in the sky like a brazier, but you can enjoy the shade under the big trees, and the gentle mountain breeze blows from the mountain pass, which makes your whole body comfortable.
Zhang Shaofei, who was overworked and sleepy, fell asleep in the shade of a tree and felt his face numb.
He stretched out his right hand and touched it, which was a few mountain ants.
Those black elves were in his palm, struggling on their long, thin legs.
He thought for a moment and concluded that he must have eaten a few wild fruits before going to bed, and the sweet juice remained in the corner of his mouth, which attracted the mountain ants.
Zhang Shaofei saw that these mountain ants were pitiful. Instead of strangling them, he put them back on the ground. Then he climbed up the tree, picked a few wild fruits, tore off the skins, put them in front of the ants, and murmured : "Mountain ants, mountain ants, you must have seen me lonely, so you came to keep me company, right?"
When Zhang Shaofei said this, he looked at the ants around him and said, "You have worked so hard to find food. Now if you want to eat, just eat as much as you can..."
Seeing those shriveled mountain ants eating until their stomachs bulged, Zhang Shaofei forgot about the sad departure from Mu Shui and the others a few days ago and actually laughed happily.
Although the mountain ants could not understand human language at all, in the end, Zhang Shaofei pointed at them and said: "In the future, I will come here to pick wild fruits for you to eat when I have time. Remember, you should come here more often to accompany me." !”
After Zhang Shaofei finished speaking, he picked up two large bundles of dry firewood and went down the mountain. Take them to the firewood market in Qiu County to sell them.
Once, Zhang Shaofei encountered a piece of firewood growing in a rock crevice and covered with knots, scars, and burrs.
Since ancient times, people who go up the mountain to cut firewood have deliberately avoided knots and looked for smooth spots on the tree to chop with an axe.
Because, in everyone's opinion, the knotted areas are thick, and the wood is hard, so naturally it is not easy to cut.
And this piece of firewood has knots or scars up and down, and there is no suitable place for the axe.
I don’t know how many woodcutters saw this kind of firewood, but no one ever raised an ax against it. But Zhang Shaofei raised his ax and struck Jie Scar.
Sure enough, after cutting off the surrounding bark, a dead knot was inserted diagonally in the scarred trunk. Zhang Shaofei gently broke the tree trunk and broke it.
At this time, Zhang Shaofei seemed to have matured all of a sudden.
He is shorter than the average person and has a thinner body. However, he became a most capable firewood collector.
He picks up much more firewood from the firewood market in Qiu County every day than anyone else. Those strong men with big arms and round waists, who are extremely powerful, naturally refuse to accept it, and they cannot afford to be embarrassed. So, they secretly competed with Zhang Shaofei.
Early in the morning, before it got dark, they rushed to the mountains. In the middle of the journey, even though they were exhausted and about to fall apart, they did not dare to slack off for a moment. At the end of the day, they still couldn't chop as much firewood as Zhang Shaofei.
They thought: Zhang Shaofei is not as strong as them, and it does not take as long to chop wood as they do. He uses an ordinary hatchet, which is not a magical or sharp tool. The reason why he can chop more firewood than they are. , he must be opportunistic, and he only cuts the softest waste firewood, while they usually cut hardwood, which is more laborious and time-consuming. However, the results they quietly checked were exactly the opposite. Zhang Shaofei's bundle of firewood is made of the best and hardest dry firewood inside and out. Unlike them, it has a layer of hard wood on the outside and half-rotten soft wood inside.
Therefore, the firewood that Zhang Shaofei took to the firewood market was very popular.
"Could it be that Zhang Shaofei had help from gods?" They were puzzled.
Zhang Shaofei's immortal is himself - a person who understands the magical function of the heart and masters the laws of nature.
When others chop wood, they always chop hard towards one place, but Zhang Shaofei chops around; others always try their best to avoid the knotty places and drop the axe, but Zhang Shaofei only starts from the knotty places.
The wood in the unknotted parts of the trunk is softer, and they are strong, so each knife can cut deeply into the wood;
However, precisely because of this, their woodchopping knives always get stuck, and it often takes more effort and effort to pull the ax out than to cut down. Although the knots mean the wood is hard, the harder the place, the less likely it is that the ax will get stuck, and the brittle the wood, making it easier to cut.
The truth is so ordinary.
Because it was too ordinary, despite Zhang Shaofei's repeated explanations, other firewood collectors just refused to believe it.
Human thinking is often trapped in a vicious cycle of inertia and refuses to extricate itself.
