南海潮歌

16 The rain stopped, and two picture books were read to the end. I returned them to Runtong, then drove the cattle to the hillside and fastened the string. I felt a little hungry, so I returned home to get something to eat. When I passed by the well I saw some people fetching water from it or doing some washing by the side of it. The well was a square. Each side was about five or six feet long. To the northeast of the well the ground was higher, and there was a path through. Between the path and the well there was a low wall. On the wall were four large words: WAN AN WELL SPRING. Spring of the well was full all the year round. Water flooded up from a round stone hole that was as big as a bowl in the middle of the bottom, and flowed into the fields through another hole which was higher. Water of the well was cool in summer and warm in winter. It was crystal clear. Several small crabs could be seen crawling slowly at the bottom. Some small fish were swimming happily and they could be counted. Visitors couldn't help letting out a praise of "swimming fish can be counted". I got home for a zongzi and several litchi. I walked towards the hillside while eating. On the way I met with an aunt and a girl who was older than me. They were not from our Chen's family. I was afraid of them. Usually I stepped aside or turned back away when I met them. I noticed that the aunt was in a threatening manner and that she was staring at the litchi in my hand. "What bad luck! And I seemed to be in trouble," I thought. Then I heard an angry cry from the aunt, "Why did you steal our litchi?" I explained, "No, I didn't. I picked them up with Watson this morning." She got even angrier at my words and rubbed her hands and feet, then scolded, "You greedy mouth! You dare to steal my family's litchi. I beat you to death!" With these words, she kept on beating me on the shoulder with two fists. Pain made me burst into tears. Slowly I walked towards the hillside.

17 In my homeland, if fruit dropped down from the trees, it was allowed to pick it up to eat. But why was the aunt so cruel? And why did she scold and beat me when she saw me eating litchi? I didn't tell my mother about it but asked , "Why do other people have fruit trees, but we haven't?" Mother said, "Don't ask why." In fact, I had known why when I was very very little. Mother also knew I just pretended to be foolish. But she didn't say it out. I said, "I want to plant some trees." Mother said, "Don't do like that." I asked, "Why not?" Mother said, "The monkey jumps dead but the Hunan guy eats." That was a proverb which was spreading in the local countryside. The meaning was very clear: A person worked hard even was tired to death, but others gained the benefit instead. Originally, in the past, some Hunan guys came to the small towns with monkeys. They performed juggle and forced the monkeys to jump up and down. The monkeys made tumbles hard, but the people who got money were Hunan guys not the monkeys. People had seen that so much and said so much, then it became a proverb. The reality that people had seen was that those who hadn't planted trees had many trees, but those who had planted trees didn't have any. So, whoever planted trees who suffered losses. I looked up at Mother. I found there were some tears that others couldn't see in her eyes. I looked at the table carelessly and saw the basket. It was empty, none litchi in it. I asked, "Mother, Why no litchi yet?" Mother said, "They went bad and were thrown away. Don't go to pick up litchi from now on, and don't play together with them. Remember?" I nodded and said, "I remember, Mother." Chen's family was a big clan, going through many great changes. Children were clever and sensible. We played together happily. It was the saying "things or people of the same kind get together".

酸菜鱼 18 At noon my sixth elder brother came back from school. He studied in Hongde Primary School, a place once belonged to one of our Chen's families, and it was very near. It was said that several years ago the family of the owner had been forced to move away. Then the houses were used as a school. I asked, "Brother Eighteen, will Brother Seventeen come back?" He answered, "No, he will not. Their school doesn't have a holiday." Brother Seventeen was my fifth elder brother. He studied in a big town called Gongguan. It was thirty li away. There was no traffic. My brother had to get there on foot. He was always barefoot except that he wore shoes When it was very cold In winter. Brother Eighteen gave me some picture books and said, "These are picture books. I borrowed them from our school. Have a good read. Don't damage them and make them dirty. They must be returned two days later." I said, "I see." I opened the books and asked him to tell me the story. One of them was called CHILDREN of CHINA. It said that the children of New China were flowers of the country and were growing up sturdily in the warm sun. It also said that we were the successors of communism. I showed great interest in those stories. meanwhile, I envied those children. Their life was better than that we had seen in the dreams and it was more magical than the stories of Journey to the West. Their families had many fruit trees. The fruits were big and nice. They could eat as they wanted. But we didn't have any. They lived in the houses that were new and bright. Some even lived in the tall buildings. What about us? We lived in the houses that were small and shabby. Water dropped down when it was raining. I was amazed that how happy they were! I asked my brother, "Are the stories in this book true?" Brother said, "Is it worth asking? Of cause they are true. Otherwise how do they say so wonderful?"

19 Among my six elder brothers, Brother Eighteen was the most intelligent in study. He was excellent including progress and moral quality. Everybody trusted in him and elected him monitor. He actively supported the Communist Party. He went to every villages with his schoolmates to sing in the dark night, publicizing the party's policy. But some schoolmates envied him. They insulted him with some words, such as "Near red become red, near black become black". My brother didn't take notice of them. He worked hard and made progress. That night we played games as usual, then Aunts told us a story: Once upon a time there was a naughty boy. He was very self-willed. One day he climbed to a tree and play. Suddenly he saw a man passing by. The boy was afraid of nothing. He passed water to him. The man looked up and found a boy making water to him and laughing. He was very angry. He wanted to teach the boy a lesson. Suddenly he changed his mind, He said with all smiles, "Little Brother, how are you so wise? Get down, I give you money." The boy got down. He was proud and received the money. "You are here for just a moment. A rich man who was riding a white horse will pass here later. If you make water to him, he will give you more money." With these words, he left the woods. Soon the boy saw that the man riding a white horse was coming. He climbed up quickly. When the man arrived, the boy passed water to him immediately. The man looked up and said, "Little Brother, get down. I give you money." The boy got down and reached for the money with a smile. The man caught hold of the boy. He beat him hard and bellowed, "You devil! Beat you to death! I see whether you dare to pass water to me next time!" The boy cried out and beg for mercy, "Forgive me! Now I know I was wrong! I dare not do it any longer!" Hearing the story, my brother said, "The boy was awful." AWFUL is an English word. When it became Kejia language, its meaning was "suffer".

20 I had indissoluble connection with English when I was very young. in my homeland, people said some simple English words as local language, such as FILM, BALL，VIALIN. SHOOT, PASS. Sometimes my father said something queer. Once I asked him, "What did you say, Father?" Father was very glad. He said that it was English and he told me about it. I was curious and learn to say. Later I went to study in Lianzhou Middle School. I loved English best. Everyone continued talking about the story, I asked, "Why doesn't the first man that is drenched beat the boy?" Aunt said, "The first man is the cleverest. He knows that someone will be sure to beat the boy." Runqing asked, "How does the man know someone will beat the boy?" My hall sister-in-law said, "The rich are powerful. Who dares to urinate on him? So he is sure to beat the boy." My mother arrived. She said, "a person must learn to be smart. When others bully you, you must give in and go away." Runlian said, "Don't fight back." Hall sister-in-law said, "To fight back is to fight with others. It isn't worth it. Being hurt gets pain, being killed is dead." Aunt taught us, "Money for medicine must be compensated if others were hurt. The killer will be severely punished if others were dead." Hall sister-in-law said, "So it is the most stupid to fight personally. It is the most clever to Let others fight." Aunt taught us sincerely and earnestly, "The saying goes well: Toleration becomes gold. Also, bullying causes suffering but being bullied gets blessing. These words are very useful and all of you must learn by heart." All of us said in chorus, "Yes, we do." Hall sister-in-law looked around and then said, "Those people think they are great. In my view, they are sure to get retribution someday." Another hall sister-in-law said, "Don't take any notice of them. The others will make reprisals against them for you in the future."

Note: 1. Chinese lunar calendar is only used in this article. Generally speaking, lunar calendar time is a month later.

Note: 2. It's an altar for worshiping the Earth God. The villagers have ceremonies four times a year: The 2nd of February, May, August and November. Chestnuts were good to eat. Later the trees disappeared.

Note: 3. The village is called Liangjiashui, because in the west of it there're two branches joining into one. The surname of the villagers is Chen. Several generations of generals were born here.