When I was a child, I heard an old man tell me that the Dai family’s ancestral home was Leting, Hebei. About 400 years ago, our ancestors fled from their hometown in Hebei Province and came to Youwei, Jin County. Opening up wasteland and occupying grass to thrive, with hard work and sweat, 7 or 8 adobe houses were built on this salt-alkali flat. In the morning, chickens crow and dogs bark, and in the evening, smoke rises...

They walked After crossing the Red Beach on the coast of the Bohai Sea, crossing the reed marsh at the mouth of the Liao River, and on the endless grassland, they saw a tree where the sun rose. It was a big elm tree, which gave hope to those fleeing the wilderness and added strength to move forward. After a long journey, we finally arrived under a tree and decided to rest here. A few men took a break and carefully looked around the big tree, before and after, left and right, and then said: "The terrain here is flat and the land is fertile. To the northeast of the big tree is a high hill with a large area." It is suitable for a homestead. There is a pond to the south of the big tree with crystal clear water. It is difficult to find such a feng shui treasure with a lantern! Let’s settle down here. We have to thank this big tree for guiding us! Direction, when the Dai family gets rich, they will put their hands together and burn incense and kowtow.

After several generations of hard work, God's blessing is that the weather will be good and the harvest will be abundant.

When I was young, I remember that there was a big elm tree on the south side of Xitou Road in the village. Its trunk was straight, reaching into the sky, and its branches were lush, like a giant umbrella covering the ground. It looks like a tree with a thick trunk covered with criss-crossing wrinkles and moss, with thick roots deeply rooted in the soil. The branches several feet high stand tall in the sky, and the green leaves are close to the sky. There is a magpie's nest among the branches. Every year, there are always pairs of magpies flying in and out, giving birth to an endless stream of countless unknown birds chirping in the trees and singing in the sky, intoxicating my golden childhood.

In midsummer, after lunch, people, some carrying small stools and some holding straw mats, come here from all directions to enjoy the cool air.

A little boy asked his grandfather: "How big is it?" Why is half of the branch on the south side of the tree missing? What about the dark ones with no leaves? "The old man called a few children to him and said with a smile: "This big elm tree originally had the thickest branches on the south side, and there is a tree hole at the bottom. It is said that there are monsters hidden in the tree hole. God will help the people to get rid of them." Damn, a huge thunder split the tree branches. Children, you can't do bad things. If you do bad things, you will be punished by God.

While enjoying the shade under the big tree, the most active and competitive among the crowd were the young people, sitting on the ground in groups of three and two. Pick up a few stones, or pull together a few clay balls, draw a square frame, draw vertical and diagonal lines, what about picking down, connecting down, five lines down, suffocating the cow to death, swelling to death the dog... Who wants it? If you lose the game, you will meow like a cat or bark like a dog, making everyone laugh.

The old people were calm and dignified. They gathered together, smoking big pipes and chatting about the mountains and the shortcomings of their parents. Some even talked about the growth of the crops... But the children were unwilling to listen to these, and kept asking the grandfather to tell stories...

The grandfather told the past stories in detail and seriously Told it once.

After telling this story, the old man stood up and shouted loudly: "Old and young men, today, we have a carefree pastime under the big tree. It is the credit of the big elm tree. This tree is happiness." Trees. Everyone must remember that the land you are cultivating was cultivated by your ancestors with their blood and sweat. Your sheltered houses were built by the old people, and you must respect their labor.

After liberation, I couldn’t remember that year. It was almost Guyu, and the big elm tree had not yet sprouted. I remembered the teachings of the eighth old man, and that big tree was the soul of the whole village. , the branches of that big tree had fallen off in the wind, frost, rain and snow, and the bottom of the trunk had rotted into a big hole. At this time, the young people in the village wanted to tear it down. Some older people said, Respect the ancestral teachings and let nature take its course! In 1958, during the steel smelting, some Leap Forward faction in the brigade, despite the opposition of the Dai family, forcibly cut the big tree into five parts and used it as fuel for the steel smelting.

Since then, the big elm trees have disappeared from this land.

I once remembered that after the big elm tree disappeared, several elders of the grandfather generation said when talking about the big elm tree: "Children, you must know that the big elm tree is a sacred tree. Spiritual. You secretly protect your fellow villagers, protect the grains, and protect the prosperity of the people. During the autumn harvest every year, in order to repay your kindness, the Dai Di family, old and young, look up to your tall figure and set up altars to burn incense. Firecrackers.

The old man said magically: "For many years, other villages have experienced natural and man-made disasters, including pig and chicken plagues, but only Dai Si's family is safe and healthy.

There is a big elm tree missing in the village, as if there is a green barrier missing, and the unprotected village has lost its former vitality.

The old people want to build a monument to Lao Yushu, but it is difficult to speak when people are old. I can only pray for it. If the big elm tree has an afterlife, let it recreate this magical land!

2. Prose "The Girl Selling Walnuts"

Dong Kai

That autumn, I went on a business trip to Yunnan. The train entered the Sichuan-Yunnan border, and outside the window there was a stretch of barren mountains...

The train stopped at a small station. Outside the car window, there was a group of fourteen- and five-year-old children. They were all dressed in ragged clothes, carrying bamboo baskets on their shoulders, and crowded towards the carriage. There was a little girl who was very thin and had walnuts in her basket. She put down the basket sheepishly, wiped the sweat from her face with her hands, and pushed back her messy hair, revealing her pretty face and half-sleeved shirt. Her homespun top is patched on the front and back, and her trousers, one long and one short, are also full of patches. At first glance, she looks like a poor girl from the mountains.

I stood up and asked her to sit down, but she waved her hand at me and refused to sit down. And politely said: "Thank you, uncle!" I helped her pull the backpack so as not to affect people passing by. She showed me a grateful smile...

She grabbed a handful of walnuts from the basket and put them in my pocket. I wanted to refuse her, but she was very stubborn.

After a while, the little girl was no longer restrained. From her difficult-to-understand dialect, I understood that the little girl was 14 years old. There was a bumper harvest of walnuts at home this year, but there was no way to get into the car in the mountains, so she had to carry them out if she wanted to sell them. My mother was ill and needed money urgently, so my father asked me to sell walnuts.

The little girl said that she got up in the middle of the night and waited until dark before coming here. She stayed in a cave for a night and had to start back before dawn, and she had to walk for a whole day and a night.

I asked curiously: "How much money can you make from selling a basket of walnuts when you travel so far?" "I think you can have 15 or 6 yuan left!" She smiled at me, looking satisfied. .

"That's not enough for a meal!" a passenger interjected.

The little girl said: "We all brought dry food!" "What kind of dry food did you bring?" The person asked again. "Sweet potato pancakes," the little girl replied. The surrounding passengers laughed.

At this moment, the announcement in the carriage rang: "Dear passengers, due to weather reasons, this train will be delayed by 30 minutes." I used the parking time to say to the passengers in the carriage: " The walnuts sold by this little girl are very delicious. Please buy some and help her! At this time, someone asked: "How much does a pound of walnuts cost?" I continued: "It's quite cheap, it's 8 yuan per catty here!"

At this time, passengers in the car were buying them one after another. I helped the little girl count the walnuts, and the little girl collected the money herself.

While counting the walnuts, I also made an introduction: This kind of walnut skin is also very delicious when eaten raw.

After a while, more than half of the basket of walnuts was sold.

The girl carefully packed the money and said very gratefully: "Uncle, thank you, it's time for me to get off the car!"

I helped her carry the basket on her back. On her shoulders, she then took out another set of red clothes from the suitcase and put them into her backpack.

I said to the little girl: "I bought this for my granddaughter. Give it to you!" She bowed deeply to me.

At this moment, there were four migrant workers in the carriage. They stood up hurriedly, each took out 50 yuan and stuffed it into the little girl's hand. He also said: "We have brought too many things and we can't carry them anymore. Take out 50 yuan and go back and buy some medicine for your mother!" The little girl shed tears of emotion.

In the crowded crowd, the little girl got out of the car. But she didn't leave. She turned around and stood in front of the car window: "Uncle, big brother! Thank you!" Tears of gratitude hung on the little girl's face. At that moment, she didn't know what to say. She turned around and ran to my car window: "Uncle, I won't wear the clothes you gave me now. I want to save them for when I get married!" Her voice was choked with sobs...

"Uncle, my name is Dani, remember my name..."

2021.2.9.14.22 in Panjin

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About the author: Dong Kai. Pen name: Kai Yue. Online name: Shanding Baixue. Origin: Tongliao, Inner Mongolia, now lives in Panjin, Liaoning. Born in 1955, member of the Communist Party of China, university degree, graduated from Hebei University of Literature in 1993. China Native Poetry Association Member, Liaoning Provincial Writers Association, Chinese native poet, Chinese rural writer, Panjin Writers Association, Panjin Poetry Society, Panjin Children's Literature Society, Panjin Folk Artists Association, Panjin Musicians Association, Panjin Member of the Municipal Filmmakers Association, a student of the 2018 New Era Chinese Story Advanced Research Class, and vice chairman of the Panshan County Writers Association.