Solstice Secrets

Dayan Mountain doesn't look very high, but it gets deeper and deeper as you go in, as if a mysterious door has been opened among the layers of trees, bringing their convoy into another mysterious space.

The road in the forest only allows two cars to pass by, and the red dirt road can be seen to have been repaired, but the feeling of the car passing by is not comfortable.Continuous bumps can make people feel intensely tired.Ling Dongzhi felt that this tiredness came more from his eyes: several hours passed, but the scenery in front of him was always the same.The winding red dirt road in the dense forest seems to extend to the end of the years.Except for the occasional bird chirping, there is only the hum of the car engine.Over time, it is natural to have a sense of fear of being isolated from the world.

Just when Ling Dongzhi began to wonder if they had been spinning in circles, the scenery on the roadside finally showed some characteristics different from the past.Two very tall old persimmon trees appeared at the turn of the road, and there were even a few dry leaves hanging from the highest branches.Standing under the tree is a simple wooden sign with the crooked words: Pomegranate Village.There is also a thick arrow drawn below.

Seeing this signboard, everyone was refreshed.

Ling Dongzhi suddenly felt that there must not be many merchants who can come here to collect mountain goods. These few hours of boring and almost terrifying mountain roads are not something ordinary people can bear.Looking at the other people in the team, they all looked relieved.

After walking along the arrow for about half an hour, I finally saw the legendary pomegranate village in a mountain depression.Sure enough, there are pomegranate trees in front of and behind the village. When the pomegranates bloom all over the mountain in May, it must be very beautiful here.

Professor Kong had contacted the villagers before going up the mountain. Before the convoy entered the village, the receptionist was already waiting at the entrance of the village.He was a middle-aged man in a thick padded jacket, with slightly gray hair at the sideburns.Ling Dongzhi couldn't tell his age, but seeing him patting Professor Kong on the shoulder and calling him "Xiao Kong", he was at least older than Professor Kong.

Professor Kong's people were arranged in a row of bungalows not far from the village. The room had been tidied up before, and it was clean and warm.While they were packing up, Ling Dongzhi asked the man named Lao Zhao about the situation of his aunt and grandma's family.Old Zhao pointed him to the door, squinted his eyes and looked him up and down, and asked uncertainly, "You call Mrs. Rong Cheng's aunt? Are you Xiaowu's child? The eldest or the second?"

"It's the second child." Ling Dongzhi didn't know who Xiao Wu was, and scratched his head, "My mother's name is Lin Shuquan."

Old Zhao clapped his hands, "That's right. Xiaowu's parents left early, and she lived with Mrs. Rongcheng when she was a child. Well, speaking of which, you were born in our village, and it's been many years since then. "

Ling Dongzhi looked at him blankly, "...huh?"

"You don't know?" Lao Zhao said this, with a smile on his face, "When Xiao Wu was pregnant with you, your father was sent to other places to do construction. Xiao Wu was alone, with a With a milk doll, oh, it’s your brother. How will she live? It was Rongcheng’s wife who made a lot of effort to bring Xiaowu’s mother and son back.”

Ling Dongzhi really didn't know about this.His parents never mentioned it, and Ling Lidong probably didn't know about it, or he was too young to remember.

"On the night you were born, it snowed heavily in our village," Lao Zhao showed an expression of reminiscence, "Why do I still remember so clearly when babies are born in this village every year? It was because of the heavy snow that year I always come here when I wake up in the morning." Lao Zhao gestured on his knee, his expression sighed, "People in our village have never seen such a heavy snow. Many people say that it is fortunate that your father came back a day earlier. , or if there is a letter from the mountain road, he will die in a hurry when he is trapped at the bottom of the mountain alone."

Ling Lidong scratched his hair and laughed.He felt that he was also very happy, and his parents were by his side when he was born.

"It's the one hanging the lantern in front," Lao Zhao pointed out to him, "that's your aunt's house."

Ling Dongzhi hurriedly said, "Thank you, Uncle Zhao."

Old Zhao said with a smile: "Thank you, if you were born in our village, you are half a baby in our village. If you think about coming back to have a look, you have a heart. Hurry up and go in, Rongcheng's sister-in-law probably doesn't know yet."

Ling Dongzhi drove the car over and parked in front of his aunt's house, just as the courtyard door opened from the inside, and a middle-aged woman wrapped in a thick scarf opened the door.Seeing Ling Dongzhi standing at the door with big bags and small bags, he froze for a moment, with a puzzled expression on his face, "Who are you?"

Ling Dongzhi didn't know who this person was, and smiled at her a little embarrassedly, "I'm Lin Shuquan's son, come and see my aunt."

The middle-aged woman's eyes widened immediately, "Shuquan's child? Are you... the second child?"

Ling Dongzhi smiled and nodded, "I am Dong Zhi."

Surprised and delighted, the middle-aged woman turned around and pushed the door open, and shouted into the room: "Mom, Mom, we have guests. It's the winter solstice of Xiaowu's family!"

The courtyard door was pushed open, and Ling Dongzhi saw a few trees planted in the spacious small courtyard at a glance, and a few farm tools he didn't know were placed under the trees.Two old cats lay lazily under the tree to bask in the sun, their yellow and white coats shining brightly in the sun.Seeing someone come in is also a look of indifference.

The houses in the village were similar to the cave dwellings that Ling Dongzhi had seen before, but they were different.It seems that half of the house is in the mountain wall, but the other half sticks out.But it looked more spacious than the kind of house he had seen.There are two big trees planted in the yard, the branches are thick and the leaves have fallen off, and the two bird houses on the branches can be seen clearly.I don't know what kind of bird made the nest, it looks bigger than the washbasin.It's dark, and I don't know how many small branches have been piled up.

Except for a row of houses in front, there are several bungalows on both sides of the yard, but none of them look like people live there.Lingdong Zhi guessed that it was a place like the kitchen bathroom or the utility room in the bathroom.

A grey-haired grandmother pushed the door out, with a puzzled look on her face, "Who do you think is here?"

The middle-aged woman who brought in the winter solstice shouted loudly: "It's the winter solstice! It's the winter solstice of Xiaowu's family!"

Ling Dongzhi was pushed by a middle-aged woman, and felt a little nervous for some reason.The middle-aged woman behind him introduced him excitedly while pushing him forward, "It's the second child of Xiaowu's family, the winter solstice! It's the baby born on the night when it snowed heavily!"

Midwinter Solstice, "..."

It seems that Uncle Zhao was not the only one who was impressed by the heavy snowfall.

The old lady had an unbelievable look on her face, "You belong to Xiaowu's family..."

Ling Dongzhi obediently called out, "Auntie."

A smile spread across my aunt's old face, "It's so old, what about Xiao Wu?"

"They're in Binhai." Seeing Ling Dongzhi like this, he felt that he had suddenly turned into a child, and he was the kind of child who begs for sweets at the lap of an adult, so he felt a little embarrassed, " My health is okay, but I don’t go far. My mother misses you very much..."

The aunt's eyes were a little red, "I told her not to come back if she had nothing to do. Our village is hard to go back and forth, and people outside are busy and can't afford to bother. As long as they are all good. We have also installed telephones here, and you will come back later." Give your mom the phone number and ask her to call me."

Ling Dongzhi nodded hastily.

The middle-aged woman who pushed him in was the youngest child of his aunt, and her husband took the child back to his grandparents, so he came to stay with his mother for a while.Ling Dongzhi wants to call her Auntie.There are two older brothers above her, both of whom have their own families.My aunt's husband passed away very early. She has always lived by herself, and her children live not far away. They usually take turns to take care of her.The village is just that big, and there is no inconvenience in walking around.

The relatives got together very quickly, probably because it was rare for relatives to leave in the village, and the neighbors also brought some food to join in the fun, chirping, quacking, quacking, like going to a temple fair.I have lived in a village for a long time, and after careful calculation, everyone is almost connected to each other.Ling Dongzhi had never seen so many relatives at once, and the feeling in his heart was very novel.Of course, what they talked about the most was the heavy snow that fell on the night when the winter solstice was born.It seemed that only the impressive heavy snow could connect them with this beautiful and strange young man in front of them.

"The sky started to change from the first day." The uncle Ling Dongzhi just met put his shoulders on his shoulders, and his expression was filled with emotion, "It's so windy, I can't go out at all. There are hangers on the doors and windows. With such a long ice skate, a person will freeze to death."

The neighbor's aunt said: "In the middle of the night, people can't sleep well. The ground is shaking. Later, people said that there was an earthquake in the mountains."

Ling Dong Zhixin said how to say that Lao Tzu is like a demon born out of the world, not only is it snowing heavily, but the ground is shaking...

The people around echoed, "It's winter, and it's snowing again. It's really going to be an earthquake. Where can we go in the mountains? Fortunately, the earthquake didn't reach us."

My aunt also sighed, "When your father came back, Xiao Wu had been screaming all night and day. It was difficult. On the second night, no one could survive until midnight, so your father drove him back to sleep. He kept watch alone. Come on. Winter solstice, speaking of which, you were delivered by your father himself."

Ling Dongzhi was shocked by his father's versatility, "He never said that."

"I'm afraid," my aunt patted him on the back and sighed. "At that time, the old people in the village said that Xiao Wu had a difficult delivery. They were afraid that both of you mother and child would not be able to survive. Your father's face changed at that time, and he drove us out. When I said that no one is allowed to come over, even if the two girls want to leave, he can send them off alone."

Ling Dongzhi was terrified when he heard it.No wonder his parents let go so easily when he came out of the closet. After a long time, it turned out that they didn't dare to ask for anything from themselves because they were struggling to give birth.

Ling Dongzhi suddenly felt a little uncomfortable.

"It's okay, it's okay," my aunt said with a scared expression on her face. "Your father's eyes were still straight when he woke up in the morning. Fortunately, you and your mother are fine." My aunt laughed again, "Everyone My children said that they had never seen such a beautiful baby, and they were cleaner and more beautiful than newborn dolls in other people's homes. They laughed when they were teased, and they were not afraid of strangers at all."

Everyone in the village laughed.

Ling Dongzhi's aunt also laughed, "Do you know how old you were when you were born, almost nine catties, and your arms and legs are so fat... No wonder your mother gave birth so hard."

Ling Dongzhi also laughed along with them, but the feeling in his heart was extremely complicated.He seemed to understand why his dad didn't want him to come here.Because he had nearly lost his wife and son that night, he had a deep-seated fear of the place.And Ling Ma was reunited with her husband and son after a long struggle.This place did not leave her with too many painful memories.

And my own birth really seemed to carry some kind of evil connotation. The earthquake and heavy snow almost killed my mother, and even scared my father half to death.Of course, this belated news shocked me too.

Ling Dongzhi decided to communicate with Ling Lidong again, and he was determined not to reveal the news of his going up the mountain to his father.

After a lively day, it was already past nine o'clock when I returned to the room my aunt had packed for me.People in the mountains don't have so much nightlife. At this time, the whole village has become quiet.It was the first time for Ling Dongzhi to sleep on this kind of very hot earth kang, and he felt hot and dry all over, so he simply got up and opened the window to let in the cool breeze.

There is an unusual tranquility in the night in the mountains.The moon hangs low over the valley like a huge silver plate, and the bright moonlight shines on the whole mountain village. The shadows of the two big trees in the yard are elongated and cast obliquely on the steps outside the window, dry The branches are distinct.

The picture in front of me was as clean as if it had been washed by clear water, with a kind of indescribable ethereal air.It's like coming to another world that has never been touched before.

The touch of nature to the vision will always easily shake the soul.

Ling Dongzhi felt a sudden emotion in his heart, and then there was a trace of regret that seemed to be absent.If he could lean in that person's arms, the scene in front of him seemed... would be more perfect.

A sound of flapping wings came from far and near.

Ling Dongzhi raised his head, and saw a huge black shadow passing over his head, circled the big tree twice, then flew down obliquely, and stopped on the wooden frame not far from the window.

Ling Dongzhi thought it was an eagle at first.However, upon closer inspection, it does not seem to be the case.It does not have the sharp feeling of an eagle, the beak is not as sharp, and the eyes are more round.The gray and white fur color reflects faint light under the moonlight, and the body is round and round, which looks a bit cute.

Ling Dongzhi looked at it silently through a window.He secretly wondered in his heart if he went to get the camera at this time, would the movement of turning around startle it away, when he saw it tilted its head and made two chirping calls.

"I didn't expect you to come back."

Ling Dongzhi was startled.He didn't expect that the bird would take the initiative to talk to him. Many wild animals are very wary of humans.

Fat Bird hopped in his direction twice, muttering: "You are the child who was thrown outside, I remember your smell."

Ling Dongzhi's heart skipped a beat, "What did you say?!"