lemon balm

Tell you a story? "I looked into his eyes.

"Okay!" He blinked.

The story begins quietly.Many years ago, my mother was a girl about our age.She is very beautiful, the most outstanding of the three sisters, and the one who looks the most like grandpa.Small face like grandma, long round face, big eyes like grandpa, seem to be able to see through people's heart, shallow dimples with a full smile.Unlike her two elder sisters who have the same small eyes and flat faces as her grandmother, the whole family loves her very much.

My mother is smart and playful, so she continued to go to school after graduating from junior high school, but she only went to a technical school.I studied beauty and hairdressing, although not everyone could go to school at that time.Old photo album of a mother in a round hat and a men's plaid shirt in her youth, next to a boy with a big smile.They sat on the grass, looking happy, and it was about the age she was most proud of.

The presumptuousness and happiness of boys and girls is probably the most heartless.After graduation, his mother took him home.This morning, before dawn, they were waiting at the door of Grandpa's house to open.Grandma, who got up early, wanted to open the door, but was stopped by grandpa.The two of them stood for a long time in the foggy morning, until the tip of mother's hair was wet, only then did they see the angry-eyed grandpa.

"Dad, why did you open the door?" Mother was a little dissatisfied, but she could only lead him into the house.

"I'm old and not in good health." A voice came from his nose.

"It's okay, we came early." It turned out that the sunny boy could only smile awkwardly, but his grandfather gave him a meaningful look.

The dewy gift was placed on the old wooden table, which seemed a bit out of place.The aunt who came down from upstairs could only squeeze out a smile when she saw this situation, "Come on, have you eaten yet?"

Mother was a little hot-skinned, so she smiled and went to prepare food.Grandpa sat there and began to check his household registration, from where he lived to where he was going to work, and where he bought his clothes.While talking and laughing, the sun set, and the young man who loved to laugh was sent away, and the family had dinner together.

"I think he's a nice guy. He's energetic and smiling. There are many brothers in the family, so it's not a big deal. He has a job assigned to him." After my aunt said something casually, my grandfather glared at her. What's better?" Everyone stopped talking and hurriedly washed up after eating.The night in the countryside in summer is not peaceful, and the sound of rumbling cars on the road makes people a little uneasy.

The days are neither salty nor dull, with traces of the years and a little carelessness.In this summer when the girls were not allowed to stay in university, my mother found a job in a larger barber shop in the county town.Xu's mother has a professional diploma, so she doesn't need to start as a shampoo girl in a barber shop, and the salary is not low.Although not as neat as the uncle who pulls the truck, he can hold his head up in a family of young and old.

The mother is good-looking and has good craftsmanship, so the boss appreciates her quite a lot.No one knows the name of the boss, but they just heard people call her Lao Xu, and the big guys call her that.Old Xu is not good-looking, even mediocre, but she has a pair of deep eyes, which make people feel that she has a kind of courage.She has permed red hair, which is very eye-catching, and her dress is also avant-garde.People can't help but say that in those days, there were only a few types of people who dyed their hair, one was celebrities, the other was artists, and the other was barbers. It can be seen how much everyone yearned for barbers.Maybe my mother learned to cut hair only because of her love of beauty?

With Lao Xu's appreciation, his mother began to become a first-class hairdresser in the shop.It seems that there are local rules for doing anything. To be a teacher, you need qualifications. On the one hand, but qualifications are also on the other hand, you have to bow your head when you see a master.Therefore, Lao Xu's appreciation made his mother's status rise rapidly invisibly.

At the same time, the mother started to dress up, she was good-looking before, but people could see her dimples more.My mother began to wear all kinds of fashionable clothes, the ankle-length woolen coat, taupe with a smell of coffee; the white vertical striped sweater with a high collar, the most surprising thing is that the sleeves are only half, and it is said that it should be matched with a small jacket, I can't imagine, it should be very modern; there are also flared trousers with wide trouser legs, which can be considered serious with a pair of platform shoes; The white, gray and red, and that kind of indescribable red, with a touch of yellow or green, rough edges, and the old-fashioned feeling of turning over large and small pieces of material.There is also a gauze dress that she has never seen worn before, the color of pea green, with layers of folds.It's just that she seldom wore these clothes later, and I didn't dig out this pile of old clothes until she died. The various colors reflected her past age, and there were colorful ripples.

At this moment, the mother still has the ruddy and vigor of a teenager, her round face is painted with bright colors, the blue-purple eye shadow is probably learned by Lao Xu from foreign countries, and some pale powder is painted on her face , seemed unreasonable, and the red lips made people feel that this was her again.However, there was less and less news about that boy. My mother only knew that he was working in a shop, and his monthly salary had to go home.I don't know if I can take turns turning around, or if I've lost weight. It's probably because there are good news but not bad news. But working part-time every day probably doesn't have good news to report, so I come and go again and again, and the contact has decreased.It's just that the mother is still waiting to get married, waiting for him to come.

I heard that the young man had been here.He earned a lot of money by working part-time and came to propose marriage.He came in the morning when his breath was white, and left before noon, without staying for lunch.After that, no one saw him again, and my mother cut off contact with him.After that, my mother, who hadn't heard from her for a long time, took a few days off and went to his house to look for him.

"Master, do you know where He Sheng from this family has gone?" The mother was wrapped in a purple coat with a fox fur on the collar. It is said that the mother spent half a month's salary to buy it.The fox fur shone in the sun, making her face pale.

After a while, the old man said slowly, "Going out to work." The old man's hair was gray, and the winter sun was very bright, but his face was yellow, covered with fingerprints of years.

"Going to work?"

"I've been there for half a month, and I said I went to the south." The old man stopped talking and put his hands in his sleeves.

"Oh, that's it." Mother didn't ask any more, looking at the crowded house thoughtfully.She turned away.Under the sunlight, the purple fur turned white, making it impossible to see the person's face clearly.

The man was never mentioned again after that.

The barber in Lao Xu's shop has returned to his hometown, probably because he is old and wants to go home and open a shop to be more stable.The mother naturally became the number one master.The guests also liked her, until later, some people came to the house and asked their mother to do her hair.They all said that the hair she touched was magical and softer.Old Xu still looked like he was watching the flowers bloom and fall in front of the court, as if it had nothing to do with him.

Amidst the bustle, large swaths of snowflakes are scattered in winter, reflecting the fiery red of the Spring Festival.Grandpa was wearing an old yellow-green overcoat, staring at his boss's eyes, looking at his mother who came back late.His hair has long been gray, probably the white hair left by blood, and it looks very vicissitudes in the wind and snow, even the wrinkles have snow condensation on it.

"It's the Chinese New Year, so I'm coming back."

"En." The mother was wrapped in her floor-length coat, her hair was covered by a round hat, leaving only a row of bangs, blown by the wind, no one could see her face.

Quietly, this year has passed.Grandma told her mother several times that the New Year's Eve, why not be happy, was reprimanded by grandpa.She didn't dare to say anything, just looked at her mother silently, and shed tears quietly.Later, my mother said that grandma was really pitiful.Parents died early, and a few brothers were brought up by one person before they got married.It turned out that the younger brothers were heartless. It turned out that the youngest had cerebral palsy.She cried to death, and since then she has lost contact.But grandpa has a bad temper, and grandma has been swallowing her anger for many years.

During the Chinese New Year, when the family eats, grandma is busy with other things, and never serves the table. She only serves a little rice and eats it in the kitchen.When I was young, my mother and several sisters ate on the water tank in the kitchen, and my grandmother watched them by the stove, smiling quietly.But this year, my mother is also eating at the table.She insisted on asking grandma to sit in the room. Grandma looked into her eyes and was about to go to the kitchen with the bowl, but was pulled down by her mother.She was a little uneasy, and seemed to be in a hurry, and even made her grandfather fall for her several times.Finally, amidst the sound of firecrackers, the New Year is over.

In the new year, a new shampoo girl came to the shop.At night I live with my mother in a dark room in the store.The little girl's name is Xin Ke, and everyone calls her Xiao Ke.She is not very good-looking, and her facial features are not very outstanding, but she has a good temperament.I don't know why, people are always flocking to things like temperament.So, she replaced her mother as the new shop flower.In this warm and cold spring, out of ten men who came to the store, nine of them came to see her.

In the warmer spring day by day, grandpa's mind became active again.My mother received a call on the weekend, saying she was asked to go home for dinner.This morning, the big sun shone warmly on the body, and my mother went home by bus.Along the way, the wheat field outside the window is green, with yellow and pink wild flowers in the middle, everything is full of hope.The endless fields give people a feeling of vastness. My mother said that this is the most beautiful sight she has ever seen in her life, even more beautiful than the plum blossoms she saw in school in winter.Plum blossoms bloom in winter, no matter how beautiful they are.

Entering the yard next to the road, I had a face-to-face meeting with the oncoming aunt.She faltered and said nothing, not like her usual style.As soon as I entered the yard, I heard my grandpa drawing people to drink tea.After entering the room, I saw a young man of half age, with a fair face, narrow and tight, and half-long hair. This man was my father.My mother said that my father was wearing a colorful shirt and a pair of skinny jeans, and he looked more delicate than her.It's just a mouth that is the parents' short-handed glib tongue, which is very annoying.She didn't realize what happened until her grandfather warmly asked them to say hello.

It just so happened that this afternoon I pulled corn stalks from the field to burn. After all, my grandfather was getting old and my uncle was away, so I had to take a rest.Somehow they were chatting, so my father took the initiative to help grandpa pull the cart.Grandpa was happy and leisurely, but he couldn't laugh anymore after a while. The father, who was not working hard, pulled the car into the ditch.The work was not done, and he lost his life in vain, which made men, women and children in a village all look at him as a joke.In fact, I can't blame my father. He was thin and weak, and he hardly did any heavy work. It was just that his face turned pale and red when he was so angry.

That night, after my father left, my grandfather didn't know what to say to my mother at the gate, but my mother cried and shouted "I'm married! I'm married!" No amount of people could persuade her.No one knew what grandpa said, but grandma kept crying too, and grandpa couldn't stop crying even when he whipped her with a belt.No one knows what they said, but the mother probably resented, otherwise she would not have married and never returned home.And other people can only mourn their misfortune and anger their incompetence.

Then it became clear that my mother was married.When she met her father not long ago, she hadn't quit her job in the barber shop.Xiao Ke and her, as the two golden flowers in the store, go shopping in the street every day.On the streets at night, there are couples in love and various snacks: sour candied haws; hot roasted sweet potatoes with white flesh and a rustling taste; and fragrant fried chestnuts and peanuts.My mother said that everything I ate before was delicious, but when I ate it later, it didn't taste right.In the steaming mist, Xiao Ke said that she had a partner in her hometown, who was very good-looking, with a straight nose and bright eyes.He also bought a silver necklace for Xiao Ke, and he wore it around his neck.

When they went back at night, they soaked their feet in hot water from the store, and then hurriedly fell asleep.In the early spring night, it was very cold and people were sleepy.In the middle of the night, around one or two o'clock, two or three men rushed in from the store and searched for it.Finally, I saw the two girls on the bed. Xiao Ke and her mother were illuminated by electric lights, and they snatched Xiao Ke's silver necklace by herself. Xiao Ke cried and grabbed her own necklace.In the end, I don’t know who suggested it, but she was pretty. My mother started to fight hard, and was pinned down by several people. She messed up her hair, and Xiao Ke, who was sixteen or seventeen years old, was raped in the confusion.

She cried desperately and wanted to call the police.When Lao Xu heard about it, he hurriedly comforted her, and advised her that it would not be nice to have a girl's innocence ruined, and bought her many things, including a necklace that was exactly the same, but Xiao Ke was still crying, and after a while, Xiao Ke went home.Maybe she cried so much that she was ashamed to see her partner?

Not long after Xiao Ke left, his mother and father got married, and everything was taken for granted.On the day of her wedding, her mother was wearing a pure white wedding dress. She looked very different when the information was blocked.Bright eyes were slightly alienated, just like her usual.With a round, long face and a fair face, she looks like a peach blossom in the warm spring sun.My father also said that when his mother got married, she was the most beautiful bride in eight villages at that time. He also decided to marry his mother because of her faint smile at the door.It's just that after this spring, everything has nothing to do with the past.

Chui Chui Da Hit, the day is over.This family is in a village not far from my grandmother's house. The road is very poor, and the sun can't even dry the wet mud on the road, so the impression is also bad.Before the happy words on the door had dried, they entered the city again.It is said that at that time, my father’s family was relatively well-off, so he took some money and opened a barber shop in the county.She is far away from the old Xu before, and occasionally goes to see her.My father also cuts hair. My mother didn't know it at first, but when she saw his long hair touching his shirt, she asked him, but she still went with him.

The barber shop is small, about [-] square meters, and my mother specially decorated it in a modern way, probably not too ugly today.The pure white decoration and all the utensils are black, which looks very clean.The pale yellow lights sprinkled on the white tables and stools, giving it a little bit of bleak feeling.Mother's skills are very good, after all, she is a major, and she will always be meticulous.She cut her hair quietly, and only smiled faintly "How is it?" Her faint expression made it impossible to associate with her avant-garde red makeup.And the father's face was full of sunshine, as if he had married three wives and four concubines.My father would talk to the barber about the size of the family, what hairstyle was suitable for him, how to wash his hair, and that he married a beautiful wife.

Another day, when my father was chatting with others that fried buns in the shop next door were getting more and more expensive, my mother told him that she was pregnant.The father laughed, "Really? You coax me?"

"Really? Have a baby?"

Only then did the mother take a closer look at the father. His face was long and thin, with an air of depression.The eyes are very bright, and the eyebrows are faint like a puff of smoke.The nose is a bit short, which makes the face look longer, but it doesn't look old, which can be clearly seen later when the mother is getting older.

Since my mother was pregnant, she stopped cutting hair in the shop.Father himself is busy in the store all day, and mother will deliver meals to him at noon.The rented house was getting more and more crowded, the yellowed walls were disgusting, and the mother looked helpless with her big belly.When I was about two years old, I moved and bought a house. The house suddenly grew bigger and seemed very empty.

Only one thing, my mother insisted on selling the barber shop, or leaving the city.They arrived in this small city nearly [-] kilometers away from home, bought a house with a loan, and opened a shop.Soon after settling in, the grandmother in my hometown insisted on coming to help.The home that had just been settled was not peaceful again, like a pool of spring water, but it was broken by someone.