all the way

——As soon as the bell rang for the end of the fourth class, Liu Xia was the first to rush out of the classroom, picked up the basket placed at the door of the classroom and ran, which was already filled with about one-third of the paper balls.

Liu Gouzeng ran out of the classroom and chased Liu Xia, shouting, "Wait a minute, I just made a mistake in my homework and tore it up. Here is the paper."

Liu Xia stopped immediately, and Liu Gousheng ran over with his brother Liu Gouwang, and threw two balls of paper into his basket.

Opposite the photo studio of Wangning High School, the high school has more homework and writing paper, so Liu Xia has to pick it up at noon.

As soon as he rushed out of the school gate, a person at the gate of the commune raised his hand and shouted at him: "Hey, Liu Xia, is that Liu Xia?"

Liu Xia took a look and recognized Niutuo, deputy secretary of Liujialing's brigade, and ran over: "Uncle Niutuo, what's the matter?"

Niutuo flickered his gown, which had been washed so that it couldn't see its original color and had been patched several times: "Today, the commune held a brigade secretary meeting, and you can't come, so ask me to register your cat's household registration for him today." Come on, we will harvest the wheat in a few days. Tomorrow, the land will be divided according to the population. The population must have a household registration, otherwise it will not be counted. I just remembered when I went to the police station to report. What's your name, I just said I went to the school to ask your brother a few questions, and I just saw you coming out."

Liu Xia said: "Is it really divided? My cat hasn't gotten a name yet!"

Niutuo said: "That name is just a code name. If you know who it is, you will win. Boy, look, everyone over there is waiting for me to eat. I have to come back to continue the meeting after dinner. You go Sign up for your nephew’s household registration. Well, that’s the room with the big red letter, the one to the east of the “public” character of the People’s Commune. Here, this is the proof of our brigade. I just pressed the official seal on it. Just fill in the child's name and you will win, anyway, anyone in your family can write better than me."

Liu Xia took the letter of proof, and it turned out that the red official seal had already been stamped, and the place where there were a few words in the middle should be the place to write the name.

The gate of the commune compound was open all year round, and I had never heard of a class enemy destroying it, so there was no special gatekeeper, so Liu Xia went straight into the room Niutuo pointed out to him.

A plump woman in her thirties was knitting a sweater sitting beside a vermilion mottled desk. When she saw him coming in, she smiled and said, "What are you doing, kid?"

Liu Xia laid the proof flat in front of her: "Give my nephew a household registration."

The woman put the sweater away and put it in a calico bag: "You? You are only a little older, and you have come to register your nephew's household registration. This matter needs to be done by adults."

Liu Xia put the basket down: "Uncle Niutuo told me to come. My uncle broke his leg and can't go to the ground. My mother is taking care of my uncle, so I can't come."

The expression of the woman's clothes suddenly realized: "Are you a child of Liu Changqing's family?"

Liu Xia nodded: "Yeah." But he thought in his heart, how could she know my uncle?Never mind him, it's easy to talk if you know him.He didn't know, not to mention that he used to be a soldier to resist US aggression and aid Korea, just because of Liu Changqing's handwriting, everyone in the commune compound knew him.

Sure enough, the woman smiled and looked at Liu Xia's letter of proof on the table and said, "Look, boy, you have to fill in your nephew's first name first, and then I'll find out the household registration book of your brigade." , Find your house again, but it’s troublesome, I have to go back and cook for my child now! Or... hey? Director, you’re back? How are you doing?”

Liu Xia turned around, and a man in a dark blue police uniform just entered the door, holding a big cap that he had just taken off, sweating all over his head: "It's not bad, brothers fight, as long as no one is killed or maimed, it's theirs." Housework, it’s useless if we go, I pulled them away, but I guess they have opened it again, what is this kid doing here? Hey, it’s you? The youngest of Liu Changqing’s family?”

Liu Xia wondered how these two people knew his uncle, and was secretly happy that things were easy, and the man looked kindly: "Well, uncle, my uncle's leg was broken, and uncle Niutuo said that my brigade will be here tomorrow." As for the land distribution, my uncle asked him to register the household registration for my nephew, but he forgot to ask my uncle my cat’s name, so he happened to meet me and called me here.”

The male policeman said to the woman, "Hurry up and leave, the child is out of school, and I will take care of it for him."

The woman wrapped it up with a sweater: "That's right, I must be starving, baby, ask Director Guo to do it for you, I'm off work." After she finished speaking, she stepped on her high-heeled shoes and walked away.

Director Guo walked up to a red wooden cabinet, unlocked it, opened a stack of books, took out one of them, sat down at the table, and took the letter of introduction that Liu Xia put on the table: "My child is called ——Hey, why is it empty?”

Liu Xia felt a little guilty: "Well, my family hasn't named the cat yet, uncle, can you give my cat a name first?"

Director Guo didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: “Boy, registering for household registration means writing your name in this book and stamping it with the official seal, which means that the country recognizes this person. If you don’t even write your name, how can you count as having a household registration? I heard that you There are a lot of things going on at home recently, and your uncle doesn't have time to think about this. However, in the past few days, the land of several brigades near our commune has begun to be divided. On the other hand, other people will not like it. The two fighting brothers I just went to deal with fought over a piece of irrigated land near the well. When will your brigade start dividing the land? Or, you go back today, Tell your uncle and the others to think it over, come to me tomorrow, and I'll give you a job."

Liu Xia said: "Uncle Niutuo said that our brigade will start dividing tomorrow."

Director Guo said: "Then I have to report it today, what should I do? Or, you are the head of the family to name your nephew? Your brothers and sisters all have good names, nice, and foreign, let's put it together Like poetry."

Liu Xia blinked, thought for a while, it was just a name: "Zhong, I just make a newspaper first, and change it when the cat goes to school."

Director Guo poured himself a glass of water to cool down, and took out two yellow porcelain bowls from the side: "I'm going to get a meal, think about it quickly."

Liu Xia thought about it in circles, thinking about what the family members said about naming things: cats, cats, what can be a good name and a good meaning?Liu Chuan, Liu Ling, Liu Hai, Liu Xia, Liu Wei, Liu Rui... Uncle Zeng used up all the good words, Wei Rui, Lan Yechun Wei Rui, Osmanthus, Flowers and Autumn, Uncle Zeng said that he just remembered this poem. Xiaowei's name, poetry, poetry?Willows, flowers are flying everywhere in Spring City, the cold food and the east wind drive the willows, willows?No, my uncle always said that to be a person, you must first be upright and upright, and you can't think of crooked ways... I came from the past, Yang Liu Yiyi, Liu Yiyi?Uh... the name of the little girl, others will laugh at the cat... the mountain is heavy and the river is full of doubts, and there is another village...

"Have you thought about it?" Director Guo walked in with the meal in hand: "I'll write when I think about it. If I don't think about eating, go ahead and think about it."

"Liu An...well, ahem, that..." Liu Xia felt inappropriate again, the word "dark" is not good, dark is black, the old society is dark, not good.

"Liu An? Well, it sounds very nice, like your family's name, that an?" Director Guo pulled the notebook to him and unscrewed a pen.

"Well, that is, Willow Bank, the bank of the small river, there are beautiful weeping willows, that bank." Hey, why didn't I think of it just now, the beautiful willow tree on the bank of the small river, my cat, is so beautiful and soft Yes, like willow leaves, the meaning of another village is also good.

"Well, a good name. It is said that the great professor in Kyoto has taught your children a lot of culture. It seems to be true. Even the name of your child is different from others." While writing on it, he said: "You fill in the letter of proof, and you have to put it in the file. In the future, the household registration will become more and more strict, and there is no one in your place. The family planning has begun to be strict here, and there is no letter of proof. If you can’t register, you won’t be able to have a large group of children in your family in the future.”

When Liu Xia returned to school, he first told Liu Ling and the three of them that he had named the cat. They also thought the name was nice, but they all felt that the name should be chosen by adults. No one in the family likes the name, and the cat will definitely have to change it when he goes to school.

Unexpectedly, Liu Changqing was very happy after hearing Liu Xia's words: "Well, yes, the willows are on the bank of the river, the soil is fertile and the water is beautiful, Changchun, what do you think, the land will be divided tomorrow, I am a little anxious, confused, just say let Niu Tuo I forgot such important things as registering for the household registration and naming the cat, if you don’t want to see what happened to you, I’ll go to Director Guo and we’ll change it again.”

Liu Changchun is Mao'er's real grandfather, so Liu Changchun asked for his opinion, but he had already thought of Liu Changchun's reaction in advance.

Sure enough, Liu Changchun smiled and said, "It sounds nice, so let's do it." The middle-aged Liu Changchun, who lost his wife, hadn't recovered from the heavy disaster at home for more than half a year, so he couldn't help but feel sorry for him. , including their first grandson.

This is how the cat's name was determined: Liu An.

After returning home from school the next day, when Liu Xia was feeding the cat, he knew that the ten members of his family were allotted [-] mu of land, and these [-] mu of land were located in seventeen places in five mountains.

The land distribution of the cat belonged to Liu Changchun's house, which made Liu Xia feel uncomfortable for several days, but after he went home every day for several days, he saw Sun Chang'e holding the cat as before, and the cat still followed him every day. He fell asleep and quickly forgot about it.

The results of Liu Ling's composition competition came out ten days later. Liu Ling won the first prize in Rongze County, and will participate in the provincial competition with the other two first prize winners before June [-]st.

In addition to the certificate and the quota for Rongze High School, Liu Ling also got a notebook with a pink plastic cover and a pencil case. The pencil case with the beautiful grass and beautiful golden pheasants on it surprised everyone. Liu Xia looked at it He was so greedy, he secretly thought about it, the next time the school held a composition competition for elementary school students, would he try to participate in it too?

Liu Changqing is a person with top-notch determination and ability to act. The home he lives in now was built by himself when he got married at the age of 20 and decided to separate from the old home and live alone. He alone has the final say on the excavation of the kiln. He spent a lot of effort and put more than ten meters of soil into it. Therefore, the open space in front of other people’s caves here is generally about ten meters wide and long. They are all four or five meters more towards the two sides of the cave dwelling, and the yard of his house is more than 20 meters wide, and five or six meters of soil has been planted on both sides of the five-hole kiln. The yard is very spacious, and no one here has a courtyard wall. , no need, every family is basically empty and there is nothing to worry about; for those who are hardworking, ambitious and particular, they can simply build the slope of the yard with stones or place it roughly to prevent it from falling. Wash the soil down during heavy rain.

Liu Chang was an apprentice in Kaesong when he was a teenager. He not only carved stone tablets and statues, but also carved chapters and mahjong. It is a very delicate handicraft. Using it on the rough stone used as a fence is a bit insulting to the gentleman, but this is his own home. There are stones in Xihe River and along the banks, and the stones on the mountain are inexhaustible. Liu Changqing spent several years working slowly and meticulously to build the slope of the courtyard of his house as strong and strong as his cave dwelling. There is beauty and beauty. The beauty here is not tidy, but something that can be called creativity in the future.

Liu Changqing did not cut down all the trees on the slope and turned them into stones like other families did. He kept most of the native trees on the slope. The most native trees on their mountain were persimmon, apricot and oak trees. There are countless other trees, small trees, and shrubs. Liu Changqing only cleared the weeds on the slope and a small number of small trees that affected his plan. The persimmon, apricot, and oak trees were not moved. It turned out that the persimmon tree in the main yard was temporarily transplanted elsewhere. After the cave was dug and the yard was leveled, the persimmon tree was moved back, and two oak trees and a locust tree were planted in the yard.

The stones used for soil protection are built into various shapes around these trees. Therefore, the slope of the courtyard of his house is firm and firm, and the trees are verdant. The trees in the top circle have now grown into big trees. It is shaded by trees in summer, and it feels very comfortable and refreshing. Among them, the two big persimmon trees leaning to the outside of the slope are the most favorite of the children.

It was another Sunday, and it was early summer. The mountains and plains were covered with crisp green, yellow persimmon flowers fell all over the ground, and the courtyard of Liu Changqing's house was full of fragrance.

After lunch, I pulled out a mat, and there were already several tree-shaped stools under the tree. The whole family sat and chatted. The cat was full of milk, and slept like a happy cat in the arms of the grandma. cat.

Sitting on the mat, Xiaowei and Xiaorui nervously looked at the uncles who were silently jumping back and forth between the verdant branches and leaves of two big persimmon trees.

This is a game that is most popular among children in the nearby mountains, called "touching the persimmon monkey". The game conditions are: one or several persimmon trees that are relatively close and can be safely crossed; Cloth that can cover the eyes.The rules are: before the start of the game, all the participants gather at the branch of a large persimmon tree, and use the "rock, scissors, cloth" method or the method of "turning the palm of the hand" to decide who will be the first " "Blind" person, once this person is confirmed, other people will automatically become "persimmon monkeys", that is, monkeys flying and climbing on persimmon trees, when the "blind" person closes or blindfolds in place, and then shouts "start" , the 'persimmon monkeys' began to find the branches they thought were least likely to be caught by the 'blind man', and climbed over to hide them. Everyone hid, and the 'blind man' began to close his eyes, catching people according to his own judgment. The 'blind man' was not allowed to open his eyes during the whole process, and the persimmon monkeys were free to climb to any branch during this process. At the end of the round, as long as you are on the limited trees, the clothes are caught by the "blind man" or someone falls off the tree. At the end of the round, the person who is caught or falls off the tree will automatically become the next "blind man" and start a new round. wheel game.

In the process of playing, the persimmon monkeys don't just hide blindly. The clever persimmon monkeys often tease the 'blind man', touch the 'blind man' from behind, and then quickly jump to the branch that has been watched in advance to avoid, watching the 'blind man' The blind man ran around and gloated. Sometimes the persimmon monkeys would boo together, then quickly stopped and fled to other branches.

Liu Yu, Liu Ling, Liu Hai, Liu Xia, and Liu Fulai's eldest son Liu Zhaomiao, second son Liu Zhaosen, third son Liu Zhaoyao, the seven children often play together and know each other very well. The branches of the big persimmon tree are very familiar, so each persimmon monkey is very careful to hide his whereabouts.

The 'blind man' in this round is Liu Yu, he was caught by Liu Xia in the last round, and Liu Xia was singled out when he "turned his palms and backs" to decide the role and became a 'blind man'.

Normally, if Liu Xia hadn't been 'blind' according to the rules in the first round, he would always be a persimmon monkey. He climbed trees with exceptional lightness and dexterity. People can climb to the tallest and thinnest branches that others dare not go to. Moreover, this Although there are branches intersecting between the two persimmon trees, the intersecting branches are relatively thin. Except for Liu Xia, the others dare not try to jump to the other tree.

Now, Liu Yu was touching the branch where Liu Xia was hiding, Liu Xia hesitated for a moment, and decided to change to another branch, mainly because he was afraid that if Liu Yu went a little higher, the branch might break.

Liu Yu already sensed that there was someone on this branch. Although the branch was shaking a little bit, he felt a little scared, but he didn't want to give up. He had been touching for a long time, and it was very uncomfortable to keep his eyes closed, and he couldn't climb well. Happy, always be careful.

Liu Xia stood up with an arched body, grabbed a small branch for strength, and began to gently shake the branch he was standing on. Liu Yu's eyes were blindfolded, and her balance felt affected, so she had to hold the branch tightly and slowly move forward. Climbing forward, he knew that the tree monkey was going to escape, so he had to catch it quickly.

But it was too late, Liu Xia kicked the branch hard one last time, and jumped onto another branch occupied by Liu Ling. Before Liu Ling could cry out, he had already jumped onto another thick branch where no one was standing. Liu Ling made faces.

Liu Ling made a stern look at him, and jumped onto another branch without making a sound.

Liu Yu crawled there discouraged and called: "Ah, I'm about to become really blind, Yao'er, did you jump on that tree again?"

Liu Wei, who was below, rushed to answer: "No, my uncle is picking persimmon flowers and throwing cats!"

Liu Kui was weaving a wicker basket in his hand and watched his younger brothers play: "Xiao Yu, why don't you learn from Yaoer, shake it hard when you feel someone, so that he can't stand still and can't escape."

Liu Yu said dejectedly: "I don't dare, brother, I'm always afraid of breaking the branches, Yao'er doesn't care."

"I dare too."

As soon as Liu Zhaosen finished speaking, Liu Yu jumped over following the sound. Liu Zhaosen hurriedly wanted to run away, but Liu Yu grabbed the corner of his jacket, and Liu Yu pulled the handkerchief that had been covered for a long time: "Just rely on your You still dare to talk twice, if you don’t arrest you, who will you arrest? How dare you? You dare to be a bullshit, who was the one who was so frightened to cry when Yao’er shook a branch at dusk the other day? How dare you brag.”

With a mournful face, Zhaosen took the handkerchief and covered his eyes.

"Ah, ah, ah," the cat woke up, rubbing its eyes and yawning.

Liu Xia saw it from the tree and jumped down: "Mom, give me the cat, I'll play behind his back."

Sun Chang'e stretched out her hand and slapped him: "You dare to jump if you are so tall, how long will it take you to climb two branches down? Honestly sit in the shade for me, pee the child, run around on the tree, in case What if you drop the child!"

Liu Xia agreed, hugged the cat and sat on a tree stump to urinate, and gave him water after urinating.

The cat drooled and smiled at him: "Ah—Yay——".

Liu Xia held the cat's creaking nest in his hand and lifted him up, staring at the cat's forehead with his forehead: "Ah, ahhh, my cat is growing up soon!"

Mao'er laughed 'giggle', and the saliva dripped on Liu Xia's face. Mao'er was in his early six months, and although he was thinner than ordinary children, he was still fleshy. When Liu Xia hugged him, he felt My heart is soft, very comfortable and happy.

Mao'er now drinks a pot of milk at around [-]:[-] every night, and just fell asleep after drinking, Liu Xia hugged him to sleep, but today, a group of boys are very excited, so Mao'er also refused to sleep.

Niutuo went to the commune for a meeting today, and brought back a letter from Liu Chuan, which contained a few photos of him when he was on a business trip to Chuncheng. What Liu Xia and the others envy and yearn for is not only Liu Chuan's handsome appearance, but also the high-rise buildings standing behind him, the majestic gate of the military academy, the bustling crowds and cars in front of the Chuncheng shopping mall, and the beautiful scenery of Chuncheng Park...

It was almost nine o'clock, and Maoer finally fell asleep. Liu Xia continued to talk to his brothers in the original cave dwelling where he, Liu Ling, and Liu Hai lived, imagining the outside world, and telling his ideals. After about half an hour, Maoer He didn't sleep well, he kept moving in Liu Xia's arms, it was better if Liu Xia patted him, so Liu Xia didn't care.

After a while, the cat began to whine, Liu Xia thought he wanted to pee, so he moved to Kang Yan'er to pee him, but the cat opened his eyes and looked at him blankly, grinning and wanted to cry, Liu Xia also Without opening his mouth to coax, the cat suddenly vomited, not the kind of little vomit that occasionally eats a little too much milk, but a big mouthful, one mouthful after another, Liu Xia was stunned at once, and he was careful not to let it go. The cat was choking, and ran out yelling: "Uncle, Mom, Big Brother, I don't know what's wrong with the cat, hurry up, the cat is sick!"

All the people ran out. It was a sunny day and the moon was very bright. Everyone panicked when they saw the cat vomiting.

Sun Chang'e took the cat and squatted down, let the cat lie on her lap, face down, and patted the cat's back to make him vomit, but in the end the cat's nose was leaking milk, and the cat drank the night. The milk probably didn't stop until he had vomited, the whole person was limp and limp, crying, and wanted Liu Xia to hug him, but as soon as Liu Xia took it, the cat started to vomit again.

Liu Changqing's legs were still tied with boards, so he couldn't use his strength, let alone walk on the ground. He quickly made up his mind: "Liu Kui, take the baby to the commune health center, hurry up, don't say anything, hurry up, mother, hurry up and give the baby away!" The baby bottles are filled with boiled water, and the baby vomits like this, so he has to drink water on the way, Liu Kui, remember, when you ask the baby to drink water on the road, you have to drink even if you vomit, otherwise it will be a disaster."

Because there are three children in the family, Sun Chang'e has always had the habit of keeping cold boiled water. When Xiumei deftly filled the cat's two feeding bottles and Liu Kui's military water bottle, Liu Kui just wrapped the cat tightly.

Liu Kui was holding the cat, and Liu Xia, Liu Hai, and Liu Ling were holding some small things. Although it was an ups and downs mountain road, they had to run twice a day on this road, and there were even a few trees beside the road. A few grasses and several people are clear in their hearts, so they run no slower than during the day.

Liu Yu's left arm was broken, and it would be impossible for him to carry the child when he ran the mountain road, but Liu Changqing refused to let him follow.

Mao'er cried helplessly, struggling not to be hugged by Liu Kui, Liu Xia kept close to Liu Kui's side, letting Mao'er's little hand hold one of his fingers, and Mao'er spat from time to time, feeling uncomfortable. No, when we got to the big slope of Shangyao, the cat vomited again, and it vomited so badly that it couldn't even cry continuously. Liu Xia took the cat, let him lie on his chest, and patted him. All the cat's vomit was on Liu Xia's body, and when the cat finally stopped, Liu Xia hurriedly fed him water.

The cat has been holding the bottle to drink milk by himself for more than three months, but now, he doesn't even have the strength to raise his little hand. After vomiting a wave, his eyes are full of tears, and he still insists on giving Liu Xia a smile .

Liu Xia burst into tears.

He got up and hugged the cat and started running again. Liu Kui followed him closely. Liu Xia was only eleven years old. It would be impossible to run with the cat for a long time, but Liu Kui was surprised by Liu Xia's endurance and speed. He breathed He was as thick as a blown bellows, but he didn't slow down at all, and went straight down the very long slope of Shangyao, and he was still running wildly.

Liu Kui knew that going on like this, Liu Xia might be the one who got into trouble at the end, so he grabbed the cat from Liu Xia's arms forcefully: "Don't argue with big brother, you have to take a break, big brother runs fast with the cat, you wait Your fifth brother, sixth brother."

Liu Xia didn't want to, but he was so panting that he couldn't speak at all, he just stubbornly followed Liu Kui, holding Mao'er's little hand all the time.

The cat seemed to be asleep at the moment, its small face was blue and white under the moonlight, and its usually pink mouth was the same color as its face.

Liu Xia put his hand in front of the cat's nose, his breath was so weak that he could barely feel it, his mind was blank, he couldn't think about anything except the mechanical alternation of his legs.

Although the cat is very light, running with a child in its arms is completely different from running with something of the same weight on its back. If you cannot swing your arms to maintain balance, your speed will be greatly affected. I dare not let go of the big bumps and run, but it feels very tiring and exhausts my energy.Because of this, Liu Xia was able to keep up with Liu Kui's speed.

Turning around the last ridge, you can already vaguely see the sporadic lights of the Wangning Commune in the distance. Mao'er's body suddenly trembled, and a stream of water spewed out of his mouth. Liu Xia saw that the cat's eyes were all white, and the sky was about to fall. He snatched the cat and patted the back several times. A lot of water flowed out of the cat's mouth, and the eyes kept rolling. Liu Xia shouted "Cat, cat", and ran forward crying.

The health center is to the east of the commune compound, and there is a large open space in front of it. As soon as Liu Kui turned around the commune compound, he began to shout: "Is there... sir in the health center? Sir... get up, save people!"

Liu Xia cried and shouted: "Sir, save my child, save my child—"