Chapter 5 Going Home


Chapter 5 Home

After that, Dad no longer forced Zhou Zhi to take a nap.

But at home, I soon added another book, "Complete Poems of the Tang Dynasty".

So when Zhou Zhi used knowledge as an excuse to study Xiaoxiaosheng's works, Dad still followed the old rules and presented evidence, and we sought truth from facts.

So Zhou Zhi explained his reading experience to his father. He thought that although the book was written in the Song Dynasty, the social background and structure were that of the Ming Dynasty. He cited many officials, titles, and customs. example.

There are also several dialects in the book, such as "Yale" and "円不去", which are still perfectly preserved in the current Jiachuan dialect.

This not only proves that the Jiachuan dialect belongs to the northern language family, but also proves that it greatly retains traces of ancient languages. The specific evidence is precisely in this book.

Therefore, Xiaoxiaosheng’s works are clear evidence that Jiachuan dialect can be called a living fossil of ancient northern dialect.

Although Cantonese is also a living fossil, Cantonese is heavily influenced by southern dialects and may not necessarily be the original form of the ancient language.

In any case, Jiachuan dialect should have its important position, but it remains to be verified which stage of the change from Southwest Mandarin to modern dialect is an "intermediate product".

These things were issues that my father had never thought about when he read the original version of Xiaoxiaosheng. He couldn't help but be very happy and wanted to organize an article carefully.

This allowed Zhou Zhi to escape that death.

At that time, Zhou Zhi smiled to himself. Dad is like this. His open-minded thinking is due to the broadened horizons brought to him by reading, rather than due to his own agility.

Can’t I watch exciting content and think about the Jiachuan dialect as an ancient language fossil? cut!

Thinking of this, Zhou Zhi couldn't help but have a strange smile on his face.

Because he suddenly thought of something else, right! Isn’t this the key to solving the problem?

In another time and space, during the summer vacation of his sophomore year in high school, Zhou Zhi once did something, which was to write an article, submit it to "Bashu Literature", and get it published.

The work of a sophomore in high school could be published by the most authoritative literary magazine in the province. This incident also caused a small sensation in Jiachuan County at that time. Manzhou TV Station and Shudu Daily reported that at that time I also did a small news interview.

Actually, in Zhou Zhi’s mind, he just wanted to earn a little pocket money through this method.

The Zhou family is not used to children, and Zhou Zhi's pocket money basically comes from contracting meals during the holidays, and he planned and dug out the money Su Xiuqin gave him for "contracting work and materials".

Therefore, the manuscript fee really nourished Zhou Zhi for a long time.

Now this article, in a careful plan, must play a much greater role than it did then.

The influence of public opinion.

Today's influence of public opinion, compared with the headline click rankings of later generations, can only be regarded as just beginning.

But that does not mean that it is not powerful. Judging from the fact that a little bit of news in Jiachuan can spread throughout the city in one night, the influence of public opinion can also be used.

Shudu Daily and Manzhou TV Station are at the provincial and municipal level. If they are operated in time, they will be blown into the Jiachuan political arena, just like the cyclone from the Pacific reaching the deep inland Shuchuan Basin, even if there is only a slight The impact can also bring a light rain.

What's more, with my current writing power and the materials I have at my disposal, why should I stick to just one essay? I can completely make this trend even bigger!

The wound recovered well. Three days later, after Uncle Xinhua’s examination and approval, Zhou Zhi returned home to recuperate.

Zhou Zhi's home was the dormitory of a sugar and liquor company. Before the separation of sugar, liquor and tobacco in 1984, the prosperous sugar and liquor company built the first seven-story residential building in Jiachuan for its employees. It was considered the best in that year. house.

While digging the foundation, we also excavated a porcelain kiln, which was full of bottles and copper coins. The cultural relics unit came to see it and said it was of no value. Those bottles, jars and copper coins were all used by children from the sugar and wine company. They played with it.

By 1991, this house was in a bad situation, because it was close to the three-story high wall of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China next door, and the lighting was relatively dark below the third floor of the dormitory building.

Unfortunately, my father adhered to his usual style and chose the second floor at that time.

The building has been renovated twice. The living room at the entrance of the earliest building was very small, but the kitchen next to it was quite large, because there was a large wood-burning stove that no one in later generations would believe.

There are only two units in the building. The residents in each unit share a flue. On the stove is a large iron pot, and there is a cement water tank next to it. Above the water tank is a cupboard, which is similar to the kitchen of my uncle's rural home. The layout is almost the same.

Up from the front stair passage, there is a long balcony on each floor. A family with two units can hang out clothes and do housework on the balcony while chatting.

Later, natural gas was connected, and another addition was made on both sides of the building. Each house had a small kitchen and a small shower room behind the corner at the end of the balcony, and a large wood stove kitchen at the entrance. And the flue, of course, will not be used.

So each house demolished it and combined the old kitchen and small living room into a larger living room. The long balcony outside was also separated by wooden doors and stairs, and became a large living room in each house. private balcony.

Later, the cement floor turned into a small tile floor, the walls turned into white latex, and the light bulbs turned into fluorescent tubes. The dormitories that used to be bustling and unobtrusive became a place where everyone of a small family.

Zhou Zhi's house is more than 70 square meters, and it can be counted as more than 80 square meters with the new kitchen and bathroom. It has three bedrooms, two larger ones with large beds, desks, and wardrobes. Mom and dad live in one room, and the third sister and Grandma lives in one room.

Zhi Zhi himself, living alone in the smallest room.

Unlike the walls of other homes, the wall of Zhou Zhi's home is similar to that of a hospital ward. It is white on the top and green on the bottom, but there is an extra red line in the middle.

Because grandma has limited legs and feet, she has to hold on to the wall to walk. Over the years, there will be marks left by the groping of a palm on the wall at the height of the red road.

Later generations have a nice word - Baojiang. You can avoid this problem with simple decorations like this, and just repaint every two years.

When you open the simple yellow-painted wooden door that seals the balcony, you can’t help but feel thoughtful.

When I first came back, the uncles and aunts from the sugar and wine company’s store and office in front of the dormitory came over to show their concern and greetings. Although the house became bigger and bigger later, this kind of kindness became less and less.

Downstairs, Uncle Yu's house plays the cross talk "Escape from the Tiger's Mouth" that Zhou Zhi is familiar with. His daughter is from a household worth ten thousand yuan and has a stereo and vinyl records at home.

The unit is U-shaped. Uncle Yu’s small patio and the building below form a natural large amplifier. Once it is turned on, it can be heard throughout the building.

As long as it didn't disturb the people, everyone was happy to hear it.

You can hear it most clearly on the second floor of Zhou Zhi's house. Zhou Zhi knows the cross talk by heart.

There is a small dining table at the end of the balcony, and grandma is sitting there, doing female makeup under the rare sunshine in Jiachuan winter.

There is a small dustpan on the small table, which contains a ball of thread, yellow wax, an awl, and various colors of cloth that my mother found from the tailor shop of her best friend, Mrs. Zhao.

Grandma will cut those scraps of cloth into suitable strips of cloth, glue them to the insole patterns cut out of paper with glue, and then use thick threads to sew them finely into pairs of beautiful insoles.

Every time someone comes to the house, grandma will bring out a bunch of insoles and ask the guests to pick out the ones with the right size and take two pairs with them.

Grandma would use slightly larger rags to make aprons and seat cushions.

The best cloth ends will be kept. On the Dragon Boat Festival, cotton and spices will be found to make cloth monkeys for Zhou Zhi, sachets and five poison handkerchiefs for Third Sister.

Grandma has several picture books that she went to from Zhou Zhi. They are all embroidery patterns she drew herself, and some of them are very beautiful.

The end of the balcony is also the end of the high wall of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China next door. The light is best there, so my grandma works as a female queen there.

Beside the small balcony, there were several pots of flowers and a pigeon cage placed on the wall of a bank.

Zhou Zhi found wood and nailed the pigeon cage himself, but it is empty now.

Because Guan Tingting’s family on the fourth floor later also raised pigeons. After her pigeons discovered a higher habitat, they simply defected.

Those pigeons were given to Guan Tingting thoughtfully. There was nothing she could do if she didn't give them away, because those birds had no intention of coming back at all.

Seeing her grandma, Zhou Zhi could no longer hold back her tears, and burst out of her eyes: "Grandma! I'm back!"

Grandma's last few years at Zhou Zhi's home were the most rebellious years for the middle school boy.

Grandma comes from the countryside and follows old rules. When she was a child, before going to school, she would politely say to her "Grandma, I'm going to school." When she came back, she would first say "Grandma, I'm back." .

After high school, Zhou Zhi, who was in the second year of middle school, thought this was a bad feudal custom, so he stopped this rule.

Grandma asked Zhou Zhi one day: "My dear grandson, why don't you even say you are back now?"

Zhou Zhi remembers that he felt confident at that time: "Grandma! Those are bad habits, now they are new Time, we have stopped talking about it a long time ago!”

"Oh, it's not good, so we won't talk about it..."

Although grandma replied like this at the time, the frustrated look on her face would often linger in Zhou Zhi's mind in the years to come. In his mind, it became his endless regret.

"Grandma, I...are back."

"My dear grandson is back?" Grandma looked at Zhou Zhi distressedly, and her response was the same as when Zhou Zhi had confessed to her. So natural.

But this time he stood up.

"Don't cry, don't cry. Is it still hurting?" Seeing Zhou Zhi's current state, grandma was a little anxious. She supported the wall and used her little feet that had been wrapped to touch Zhou Zhi little by little.

Zhou Zhi's wound has not healed, and he is also unable to take long steps. Both of them are holding on to the wall, with similar postures.

This scene is actually quite funny in the eyes of outsiders, but neither grandfather nor grandson noticed it. They just walked towards each other with small steps, holding on to the wall.

"Oh, mom, don't move." After my mother thanked the driver from the unit who had sent Zhou Zhi off, she came in carrying a basin, water bottle and the like. She was frightened to see her grandson and grandson looking like this.

Whoever falls down is a big deal!

He quickly threw away the things and ran over to help grandma: "Didn't I keep telling you that everything was fine? Look, I'll be back soon!"

"The doctor has said that it will be fine in a few days. Okay, it’s okay.”

“I still have to let Doctor Zhao come and take a look.” Grandma is here. With the help of my mother, I returned to the stool and sat down: "He came to see and said everything is okay, so that's safe."

"Okay, okay..." My mother said casually: "Sit down first, I'll go. Pack your things and don’t get up..."

(End of this chapter)

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