In fact, my name was not Wang Lei at first. Everyone called me Dog Leftover when I was little. Of course, my younger brother didn't dare because I would hit him.
This name is really earthy.
But the older generation in the village all believe in the same truth: it's easier to make a living with a bad name. The more common the name, the more down-to-earth it is, the less King Yama cares about it, and children are easy to pull and less likely to die young.
My mother later told me that when I was born, I almost didn't survive.
I was born in autumn, and the weather has turned cold. I was only a little bit bigger when I was born, and my cries were as soft and weak as those of a newborn kitten.
Several old ladies in the village who helped deliver the baby shook their heads after reading it, saying that the baby was too weak and they might not be able to keep it.
My father was so worried that he couldn't even eat in those days. He squatted on the doorstep and smoked dry cigarettes all night long.
Finally gritted his teeth and gave me a name, Dog Leftover
Dogs have a cheap life and can survive everywhere. What is left is the life that God rewards.
With such a ridiculous name, I was called that from the time I was born until I was fifteen, for a full fifteen years
I'm not afraid of being embarrassed when I say it. In our Huaining village, there are a lot of kids named Dog Leftover, and there are also a bunch of idiot contestants.
Counting it all down, there are five or six Dog Leftovers alone. There are Second Dog Leftover who are two years younger than me, Little Dog Leftover who are four years younger than me, and two Young Dog Leftover who are the same age as me.
I was born first, so naturally I became the biggest Dog Leftover in the village.
When I was a child, I was quite proud. I foolishly thought that since I was the toughest and could carry the most, I would definitely be the longest-lived among these children.
At that time, I didn't know how difficult the world was. I felt like my life was pretty good just because I had enough to eat and didn't get sick every day.
Our village is very remote. It is surrounded by rolling hills, and the roads are all made of mud with potholes. We are covered in dust on sunny days and covered in mud on rainy days. There are many mountains and few fields, and the land is not fertile. Every household is very poor. It is very poor.
Our family is particularly poor
As long as I can remember, my father has been in poor health and has been unable to do heavy work. He can't handle the heavy work at home at all.
I became the mainstay of the family long ago.
When other children were herding cows at the age of four, I was already pulling weeds at the age of six. Hehe, he was just older than others.
We also have a buffalo in our family, which is older than me, slow-tempered, and docile.
Every day I would take him to the mountains to graze. After feeding the cows, I would carry the small hoe and follow my mother to the fields.
Spring plowing, summer plowing, autumn harvest, winter storage, all year round, every day
At that time, I was looking forward to rain the most
When it rains, you don't have to work in the fields. You can rest at home, which is a rare leisure day in the year.
Autumn is the busiest time, with rice harvesting, threshing and drying. I am small and cannot carry large bundles of rice, so I carry small bundles home and run back and forth dozens of times. I am sweating profusely and my arms are so sore that I cannot lift them.
It's cold in the mountains in winter, and the wind is like a knife. There is no life in the fields, so I go up the mountain to chop firewood every day. Carrying a big bamboo basket on my back, I go deep into the mountains, pick up dead branches, chop dry firewood, and carry the basket full on my back down the mountain, which makes my shoulders red and swollen.
I was busy all day long and had no time to play at all.
But I never feel bitter or wronged.
All the children in the village grow up like this, no one is exception
Everyone is poor and has to work, and no one has it easier than anyone else, so I'm used to it.
My brother is six years younger than me. He has a better life than me and has not had to do heavy work since he was a child.
He is timid, but my parents love him and are reluctant to let him suffer. Growing up, he has been the little tail following me.
I go to the fields, he squats on the ridge and plays in the mud, I chop firewood, he picks up twigs at the foot of the mountain, I feed the cows, and he rides them
He talks sweetly, and his words make people feel soft.
My family is so poor that I can't eat meat very often throughout the year. My staple food is porridge, sweet potatoes, wild vegetables, and occasionally a little brown rice.
During the holidays, you can only eat a mouthful of pure white rice, which is considered the best meal.
My mother is very handy and can pickle pickles, pickled radishes, and dried prunes.
The jars stacked under the stove are enough for us to eat for a whole year.
The first thing I knew about sweetness in my life was the Chinese New Year maltose. Every year during the Chinese New Year, my mother would buy a few pieces of that hard maltose, which were yellow-brown in color. A small piece could last an entire afternoon.
My parents couldn't bear to eat it, so they always saved it for me and my brother.
Every time I got the candy, I couldn't bear to bite it into pieces, so I just kept it in my mouth and sipped it little by little.
The sweetness slowly melts away, and it's the most delicious thing I ever tasted when I was a kid.
At that time, I secretly made a wish that when I grow up and earn a lot of money, I can buy a large piece of maltose for my parents and younger brothers to eat as much as they want.
Besides eating sweets, my greatest pleasure is to finish my work in the evening and listen to the old people in the village talking and bragging with a bowl in hand.
Talk about the strange things in the mountains, the famines in the past, and the big cities in the distance.
I love squatting next to it and listening.
They said that there were tall houses in the city, things that would light up without having to light them, and iron cars that could run very fast.
I can't understand it, and I can't imagine it either
The tallest house I have ever seen in my life is the two-story earth building in the town. The brightest thing I have ever seen is the kerosene lamp on the street in the town.
I can't think of anything I haven't seen before
At that time, my biggest vision was the town.
We go to the market every ten days, and my mother occasionally takes me there.
Walking along the mountain road for more than two hours, I went to the town to buy some salt, some fabrics, and some food for my dad Medicinal Herbs
The town is crowded and lively, with shouts of hawkers and stalls. I am dazzled every time I look at it, and I feel that it is the liveliest and most prosperous place in the world.
The happiest thing about going to the market is that my mother occasionally saves money to buy a candy for my brother and me.
A small one, transparent and sweet
I hold it in my hand every time, tightly, for fear of melting or losing it, but I can be happy all day long.
The days are so leisurely, passing year by year
There is no Great Wind big waves, no separation of life and death, every day is just about working, eating, sleeping, and spending time with my parents and brothers.
I thought that it would be like this in my whole life. I thought that I would guard this mountain, this field, my father, mother and younger brother for the rest of my life, marry and have children, farm till I grow old, and die in this mountain village.
It was probably when I was thirteen or fourteen years old that news from outside spread to the mountains.
At first, there were only sporadic refugees passing through the village. They were all from other places. They were in tattered clothes, with yellow faces and skinny muscles. Their shoes had exposed toes, and they were carrying tattered baggage. They looked panicked and exhausted.
They sat at the entrance of the village to rest, drink water, gnaw hard dry food, and kept chanting that the world was in chaos and there was a war.
That was the first time I heard the word war
I don't understand what it means. Where there is a war, I just listen stupidly.
The villagers gathered around them asking questions, and they said it was not peaceful outside and the Japanese had invaded.
After hearing this, the villagers all sighed, shook their heads, and looked sad.
But within two days, everyone felt relieved again
Some people say, it's okay, it's far away.
The Japanese are making trouble over there in Beijing. They are thousands of miles away from us Anhui Huaining. They are separated by countless mountains and rivers. The war cannot burn the poor ravines like ours.
Our poor place has no resources, no money, and no terrain, so the devils don't like it at all.
This is how everyone comforts themselves.
I thought so too.
I am a child farming in the mountains. I face the loess and my back to the sky every day. Where are the devils and what is the war? What does it have to do with me?
I still get up early every morning to feed the cows, go to the fields, chop wood, and work.
I still sit on the stone grinder in the evening and listen to the old man talking, I still look forward to a small piece of maltose during the New Year, and I still watch my younger brother following behind me.
The days look exactly like before
Just slowly, more and more refugees are passing through the village.
More and more every day
Some people were dragging their injured legs, some were covered in blood, and some were crying and holding on to their families.
The words in their mouths are becoming more and more scary.
People in the town also began to panic, fewer and fewer people went to the market, and most of the shops in the town were closed.
The atmosphere in the village sank a little bit
In the past, there was less laughter from children playing around, less gossip from adults, and every household had a sad look on their faces.
I can often hear the aunt next door Xi Niang sighing in a low voice.
I was fifteen years old at the time, so I was either too young or too old.
I started to vaguely understand a little bit of things.
I know that the world may really be changing.
But I still take a chance.
I still feel that the mountains can protect us. If we hide in the mountain valleys and live a peaceful life farming, we should be able to escape.