After looking through a lot of archives, it is difficult to find written records about "Dongxia Mountain Back". Such a small place name that cannot even be marked on the map is indeed likely to be ignored, but it has left an indelible mark on my life and is an indispensable stop in my growth process.

"Dongxia Mountain Back" is a hillside with no village in front and no store in the back. The nearest village is Dongxia Village, hence the name.

The road to "Dongxia Mountain Back" is all muddy. If it rains, it will be very difficult to walk on the muddy road. Wear rain boots, because the muddy loess sticks to the ground, and the rain boots become rain boots, which are too heavy to carry. If you walk barefoot and slip one step after three steps, you may fall down accidentally.

It is dusty on sunny days and muddy on rainy days. This is the true description of the "Eastern Summer Mountains" by local villagers.

My junior high school alma mater is built on the "Dongxia Mountain Back". It is a teaching bungalow in the shape of "work", facing north and south, and has 6 classes from the first to the third grade of junior high school. To the north is a row of teachers' dormitories and offices. The classrooms and offices are separated by two vegetable fields, and there is a concrete corridor in the middle.

Except for the walls built on the east and west sides of the teachers’ dormitory, the entire school is open and outsiders can enter and exit at will.

You can often see nearby villagers tying their cows on the school playground. Naughty students can catch a few loaches from nearby pits during lunch breaks.

In our eyes, the campus at that time was a pastoral. You could see the green mountains in the classroom, and you could see farmland full of crops and farmers working in the fields when you left the school. To the southwest of the school is the magical and picturesque Jiufeng Mountain.

Such an idyllic campus, a playground full of local flavor, and classrooms filled with the smell of crops are simply a fantasy and unimaginable to today's students. 1 junior high school. Since they were all from nearby villages, everyone spoke with the same accent and wore the same style of clothes. No one thought anyone was special, and everyone got to know each other quickly.

I have a natural affinity with students from Chencun, Taosi, Dongxia, Fengbian, Huxu, Yau Ma Che, and Baihe Diankou, because I have been to these places with my family. , can casually mention some characteristics of their villages.

Places such as Lijinwu, Daijia, Zhaikou, Shangjing, Hudi, and Jiangcun are a little unfamiliar, but students from these places can describe their villages very distinctively, which makes them very familiar. You have an immediate urge to go and take a look.

Houda is a large village with a large population. It is not far from "Dongxia Mountain Back" and can be reached in half an hour. Compared with the students in Chencun who have to roll up their trousers and wade across streams to go to school (the wooden bridges are often washed away by the water) and the students in Taosi who go to school on the mountain road, our thick and large students have a geographical advantage and feel that they have gained a lot of advantages. .

The biggest change in junior high school is the lifestyle, that is, steamed rice must be eaten at school for lunch.

Every morning when I put down my schoolbag at school, the first thing I do is not pick up my textbooks, but pick up my lunch box and rush to the well at the school gate (there was no running water at the beginning) to fetch water, wash rice, and put the food in the lunch box The rice is washed and then placed in a large steamer in the cafeteria.

In the morning, many students arrived, and everyone gathered around the well waiting to fetch water and wash rice. There is only one bucket, but no one is fighting for it. It is natural to follow the order of first come, first served.

During the three years I was in junior high school, I never encountered any quarrels over fetching water and washing rice, which shows the kindness of rural people.

It’s just that everyone’s lunch boxes look similar, and careless students occasionally pick up the wrong ones when eating. Therefore, it is necessary to engrave your name on the lunch box.

As soon as the bell rang at noon, our stomachs were already growling. We immediately rushed to the cafeteria, noisily gathered in front of the steaming steamer, found our lunch boxes among the lunch boxes, and carried them in our arms. I ran back to the classroom (there was no table or space in the cafeteria, the desk was the dining table, and sometimes I would take my lunch box to the playground to eat), and took out the enamel cup from the mesh bag hanging on the nail on the side of the desk, which contained the food I brought at home. Dried or pickled vegetables are served, and sometimes there are poached eggs, but rarely meat.

Everyone was talking and laughing together, tasting each other’s food brought from home, and eating fragrant white rice. Perhaps only we at that time could understand the happiness and satisfaction.

The living conditions at that time were harsh. We ate only simple meals, wore coarse clothes, and walked on muddy roads. But we did not feel how miserable we were, and instead took joy in the suffering.

If you eat pickles, dried vegetables, and white rice, you can keep up with the nutrients your body needs to grow. This disease and that disease have never been heard of.

The diet at that time was natural and safe.

Especially steamed rice, when I open the lid of the box, I will never taste the aroma of rice again, but it still makes me salivate when I think about it.

2

Accidents during spring outing

The reason why I want to write about spring outing is not only that spring outing is the most coveted extracurricular group activity, but also a personal experience with me. It was related to the accident. What the spring outing left me was not just memories, but touching.

At that time, the whole class organized a spring outing to Dayan Reservoir (i.e. Jinlan Reservoir), led by the class teacher Fan Fuhua, and walked all the way from the back of Zhengu Mountain in Houda to Shangsheng and then to Xucun to Dayan. Also accompanying him was Hou Da’s photographer Fan Tianjian.

When I returned, maybe due to fatigue, I accidentally sprained my ankle when I was almost walking to the back of Zhengu Mountain. I was in so much pain that I couldn’t walk. Even though I rubbed hard with both hands, the ankle gradually became red and swollen. . The teacher also squatted down and rubbed me for a long time, and the pain was slightly relieved, but it still hurt a lot when my feet touched the ground.

On the back of this desolate Zhengu Mountain, it was more than 4 miles away from the nearest Jiufeng Agricultural Middle School. There was no phone at the time, so I could only grit my teeth and keep walking on tiptoe.

"Wait a moment",

"Why don't you ask someone to carry it on your back?"

"Jin Yuji, Fan Weiqiao, you two are stronger."

Without allowing me to answer, the teacher had just finished speaking. Jin Yuji and Fan Weiqiao had already run to my side and were about to carry me on their backs without any explanation.

We are just classmates, about the same height, and we are all very tired from walking. How can I have the nerve to let my classmates carry me on my back?

Despite being embarrassed, I really can’t let go of this shame. It’s just that my feet hurt.

After my repeated refusal, everyone came up with a compromise and asked them to help me walk.

I was supported by two classmates for a while. After the pain gradually eased, a single classmate took turns supporting me and continued walking.

Seeing the sweat on the foreheads of Jin Yuji and Fan Weiqiao, I was full of apologies and felt even more grateful.

Because I walk slowly, it affects everyone’s walking speed. If I walk like this, it will be dark by the time the students who are far away get home.

The teacher decided to take the other students to go first. Jin Yuji and Fan Weiqiao supported me and walked slowly behind, and were responsible for escorting me home.

It’s not far from Zhengu Mountain to Houda, but we walked for nearly 2 hours. It was already dark when we got home.

It was the meticulousness and thoughtfulness of my teachers and classmates that saved me from the pain of skin and flesh.

Although more than thirty years have passed since this incident, I still remember it fresh.

I would like to thank Teacher Fan Fuhua again, thank Jin Yuji and Fan Weiqiao, and thank the students!

3

Late? Zi? To take care of our study, the teacher will not assign a lot of homework for us to go back to do, but only catch it before the final exam of each semester for concentrated review.

It was natural for us to go home after school in the afternoon and use the time before dinner to help the family with farm work or housework.

Since there is no TV at home, I am very free at night. Therefore, the teacher suggested that "villages with conditions can organize their classmates to study at home in the evening." We have more than 10 classmates in Houda Village, so of course we have conditions.

Shu Hongdi is the study committee member and has won the trust of all teachers. It is natural for her to take the lead in organizing "evening self-study".

After dinner, I took my textbooks and went to Shu Hongdi’s house.

Fan Lanfang, Chen Juqing, Fan Yuefang, Fan Aihua, Fan Fengjuan, and Fan Saiqun were all female students. Among the male students, it seemed that only Fan Jianyu and I were participating.

But this is not important, it is not mandatory in the first place.

I said I was here for "night self-study", but as soon as I opened the textbook, I forgot the purpose of my trip, and went off topic while talking. Instead, I talked most about interesting things during the day at school and teachers from various subjects. Anecdotes.

Teachers who were usually called seriously now suddenly changed into names such as "Fuhuading" (Teacher Fan Fuhua)" and "Yougenwa" (Teacher Fan Yougen). Note: Teacher Fan Yougen passed away two years ago. , express my condolences) or simply call him by his first name, accompanied by bursts of laughter.

The girls couldn't hold back their chatter, and Shu Hongdi gestured several times to ask for silence. After finding a moment of silence, the scene that had just been quiet became lively again with the joke "Hongdi, you held the book upside down".

In the midst of the laughter and frolicking, the open textbook disappeared. Looking at the previous page, one night passed quickly.

At that time, I didn’t seem to feel the pressure of the high school entrance examination. There was not so much competition between each other. Classes, homework, and exams sounded boring.

Although we are from different villages, we live together like brothers and sisters. There is no comparison, no jealousy, and no busyness like today's students. Going to cram school, I felt like I was facing a big enemy when I took the high school entrance examination.

The study life at that time was full of fun, which makes it so worth remembering now. > Hard-working teachers

The junior high school offers many courses, including six main courses: Chinese, mathematics, English, physics, chemistry, and politics, each taught by different teachers.

What impressed me deeply was Teacher Zheng, who taught English (when I was writing this article, I learned that Teacher Zheng had passed away last year, and I felt really sad, so I would like to take this article as a commemoration). An old educated youth transferred from the Northeast, with a chubby round face, two thick lips, a strong Northeastern accent, and a black felt hat on his head all year round, as if to hide some secret on his head .

The key to learning English is context. If we use English in daily communication, it should be of immediate help to learning English.

At that time, many of our parents were even illiterate. Apart from listening to the teacher read English in class, we would only be in a daze when we got home and read English books.

There are also students who are good at learning, especially girls, whose English scores are generally better than those of us boys.

Seeing how unsatisfactory our boys were, Teacher Zheng was anxious and resentful.

During English classes, boys are often called to the blackboard to write down English words and practice pronunciation. Even when we spoke Mandarin with a dialect accent, we couldn't read according to the standards, so we had to accept Teacher Zheng's special punishment.

During the punishment, he lowered his head, bent over and raised his buttocks, allowing Teacher Zheng to hit his buttocks with a broom.

Hit one word if you write it wrong, hit it twice if you make two mistakes, and hit it three times if you pronounce the wrong phonetic symbol.

There were no boys in the class who had not been beaten. In my impression, Liu Zhengzhong and Liu Weihai were beaten the most.

Of course, punishment is only a means, and learning English well is the goal. Teacher Zheng’s heart is like a clear mirror, and his subordinates have their own sense of proportion.

Now that I think about it, Teacher Zheng is doing this because of his job responsibilities. Due to historical reasons, he himself was delayed at his best age. I hope we will cherish the current opportunity and learn English well. He wants us to become talented so much.

Teacher Fan Fuhua used to be our class teacher, and he was also the teacher who had the most profound influence on me.

He once studied in the Chinese Department of Zhejiang University. Due to historical reasons, he came to teach Chinese with us before graduating. While teaching, he continued to study university courses on his own.

Teacher Fan is very knowledgeable, elegant, eloquent, and has good calligraphy. His calligraphy is eloquent, unconstrained, yet self-contained, very much like his character.

Especially in class, Teacher Fan never brings any handouts, and walks into class with the textbook under his arm.

When giving lectures, he explains things in a simple and easy-to-understand manner, and he grasps the topics easily and closely. The main themes of the texts come to mind with his unconstrained thoughts, and he often has unique insights into the articles in the textbooks.

I fell in love with writing just by listening to his class.

Teacher Fan also helped me a lot.

At that time, in order to prepare for the exam and strive to have more time to study, I wanted to make use of the time spent on the road every day. I didn't dare to speak, so I asked my family to talk to the teacher about this matter. Unexpectedly, Teacher Fan agreed to help solve the problem.

In fact, it is living on campus. At that time, "Dongxia Shanbei" did not have a student dormitory, so Teacher Fan arranged for me to live in his room for more than a month.

It was during this month that my various subjects were consolidated and my grades were significantly improved.

It is the teacher who created conditions for me to make full use of my time on the road and at home every day, and that is why I have achieved this. I sincerely thank Teacher Fan Fuhua.

Teacher Fan has a special characteristic. He likes to take us out to collect information. Go to a random place in the vast field to observe, and come back to write a composition. The subject matter and format are not limited, and it is required to be completed in class.

The compositions of Shu Hongdi, Fan Xuyang and I are often used as model essays for evaluation.

There are also Fan Weiqiao, Fan Aihua, Zou Chaoying, Hu Hongbin, Fan Lanfang, Wang Peiliang, Xu Jianzhong, Fang Genyuan, and Jiang Xiangyang, all of whom were the teacher's favorite students.

Teacher Fan has a habit of never leaving his hand, except in class. Later, I went to school in the provincial capital. In a provincial essay competition, I wrote an article titled "Teacher, please quit smoking" and won the second prize.

The teacher’s words and deeds affect us growing up every moment, absorbing nutrients and benefiting us for life.

More than thirty years later, I still maintain my writing habit.

Politics class is taught by the principal, Mr. Shao Haichao, who gives the impression of being capable and decisive. We are often given some common sense in daily life in class, such as squatting in the toilet for a few minutes when getting up in the morning, regardless of whether you feel the need to defecate or not. After using half of the toothpaste, put it upside down so that the toothpaste is on the head and there is no need to squeeze it out from the bottom. .

I have always done this, especially the first one, which has benefited people a lot. Thank you Teacher Shao.

Back then, there was a teacher Lei Shoulin from an ethnic minority. He was young, energetic, full of pride, with long black and shiny hair. When he shook his head, his face was full of handsomeness. He was The physical education teacher at that time, both boys and girls, liked his physical education class.

But there were also older teachers who couldn’t stand the young people with long hair at that time. They called Teacher Lei “A Fei” behind his back and said that Teacher Lei looked like a “gangster.” Looking back, I find it funny that there are still men wearing pigtails on the streets.

Teacher Fang, who teaches our music class, has a good voice and plays the organ well. He likes to wear bell-bottom pants that were popular at the time, his leather shoes are shiny, and he is full of vitality.

The song "Ocean, My Hometown" he taught was soulful and beautiful, and I can still sing the entire song according to the melody.

There are also Teacher Wang Genru, Teacher Lin Shenggui, Teacher Fan, Teacher Sheng, Teacher Xia, and Teacher Xu. These teachers who sweated in the "Dongxia Mountain Back", taught us with all their heart, and gave us warmth. , are now in their twilight years.

Teacher, please take care of yourself and enjoy your retirement.

Teacher, thank you!

Thanks for the deep land "Dongxia Mountain Back".

Postscript:

On the first day of the first lunar month in 1990, Shu Hongdi, myself, Fan Xuyang, Fan Yuefang, and Fan Aihua took the lead in organizing a junior high school reunion. With the strong support of Teacher Wang Genru, the venue was selected. In the former Class B classroom of "Dongxia Shanbei" (Note: "Dongxia Shanbei" junior high school stopped enrolling students in the second half of 1990), the students were all present and very happy. This class reunion was the result of Shu Hongdi braving the cold, riding a bicycle to notify villages one by one, and inviting classmates one by one.

Here, I would like to express my gratitude again to our study committee member Shu Hongdi for her sincere dedication.

Special thanks to Shu Hongdi for her help with this article.

Thank you Fan Xuyang, Xu Jianzhong, and Liu Hongli for the information.