The breakfast shop is run by a couple, about forty years old, who speaks Mandarin with the flavor of northern Shaanxi, giving people a strong local flavor. There is also a handyman in the shop, about 70 years old, with an authentic Beijing accent. He is very polite and kind to people. The old master is not an employee in the shop, he is a volunteer to help.
After a while, we became familiar with the master. His teacher's name is Zhang Zhongyi, and he is from old Beijing. I worked in the Education Bureau before I retired, and I have been retired for ten years. Teacher Zhang Zhongyi has lived in northern Shaanxi for more than three years, and he told me in detail about his dribs and drabs when he settled in northern Shaanxi.
1In late July, 1969, Teacher Zhang Zhongyi and 20 Beijing educated youths arrived in Shaanxi by educated youth train, and then transferred to buses and donkey carts to arrive at Lijiagou Brigade in northern Shaanxi. These six female educated youths and sixteen male educated youths came here to jump the queue for re-education of poor and middle peasants.
Before the educated youth in Beijing arrived in northern Shaanxi, Li Mingqu, secretary of the branch of Lijiagou Brigade, led the members to dig a three-hole earthen kiln for the educated youth in Beijing, set up a heatable adobe sleeping platform and a stove, prepared pots and pans for daily necessities, and set up the educated youth point in Beijing. This educated youth point is behind the brigade headquarters, next to the barn of the second team.
After a group of 22 people came to Lijiagou Brigade, Li Zhishu divided them into two production teams according to the ratio of male to female. Six female educated youth live in a one-hole earthen kiln, and sixteen male educated youth live in a two-hole earthen kiln. Although their twenty-two educated youths work in two production teams, they all eat together. Uncle Wang Daliang, two members of the first team, and Li of the second team take turns cooking for the educated youth in the educated youth point.
The weather in July in northern Shaanxi is already very hot. Sorghum and corn all over the mountains are growing well. Sorghum and corn planted early are half a person's height, and millet and buckwheat are all green. Lush green crops mask the true face of the Loess Plateau. The yellow dust flying in winter and spring disappeared, and the Loess Plateau became a green ocean. The striking green is intoxicating and exciting. Yuan Ye on the Loess Plateau is really beautiful in summer.
When I first arrived here, the educated youth in Beijing were all impressed by the beautiful scenery. It is said that northern Shaanxi is poor and backward. I didn't expect such a good scenery in northern Shaanxi. But after dinner, the distress of educated youth came, probably because it was close to the barn. There is an unpleasant smell from time to time where the educated youth lives. There are many mosquitoes and fleas in the cave. The flea was really silent, and his leg ached.
Fortunately, caves are not so hot, and educated youth have mosquito nets. After a period of adaptation, educated youth will get used to it. In Zhang Zhongyi's words, the teacher said: Maybe I have antibodies on me. After the flea bites, the itch is not so much, and the bag is not red and swollen.
In Zhang Zhongyi, they rested for a day or two, became familiar with the surrounding environment of the village, went to the commune grain depot to collect their own treasury materials, settled down their lives, and educated youth began to participate in productive labor.
There was no important farm work in Shan Ye at that time, so the members led the educated youth to weed and loosen the soil in the fields, taught them to use hoes, identify various crops and remember their names. Some crops need topdressing, so the members will lead the educated youth to pick manure up the mountain and teach them to topdressing the corn interplanted in the wheat field. Educated youth is modest and eager to learn, and has gradually mastered many labor skills. The members all praised the educated youth for their literacy and strong learning ability.
On the tenth day when the educated youth came to Lijiagou Brigade, Li, a member of the second team, cooked for the educated youth, and Li Sangou, a seven-year-old boy from the Li family, followed him to the educated youth point to play. I don't know when, Li Sangou sneaked into the earthen kiln where the educated youth lived, took out a pack of biscuits and a few peach cakes and put them in a yellow canvas bag. When the educated youth came back from work, Li Sangou had eaten two peach cakes and opened the wrapping paper for milk biscuits.
Zhang Zhongyi suddenly saw a child stealing cookies, and the zipper of his bag was unzipped. He was very angry. He grabbed Li Sangou by the hand and neck and pulled him out of the cave.
When Li saw that his doll had caused a catastrophe, he was afraid and angry. He grabbed Li Sangou and hit him. Li Sangou screamed.
Seeing Li Zhen's collision, he quickly grabbed Li and said with a wry smile, "Forget it, a child who is not sensible, besides, it's nothing valuable, just a little food." "ouch! This doll is so bold that she dares to steal food. If I go home, I will knock out his teeth. Comrade educated youth, look at how much your food is worth. I will pay. " Li looked apologetic and said that he was staring at Li Sangou with his eyes.
After a while, the educated youth all returned to the educated youth point, watching a child sitting on the ground sobbing, and everyone gathered around to watch. Explained the reason to everyone, everyone said that Li should not hit the child, which child is not greedy. Soon, the educated youth all returned to the cave. Some people brought cookies, some people brought candy, and some people brought peach cakes and sausages to Li Sangou. Looking at the educated youth taking out all the delicious food, Li was so excited that he burst into tears and couldn't say a word.
The Li family has three boys. The older one is 15 years old, and his name is Li Dachong. They have been working for more than a year and can earn women's jobs. Second, a 13-year-old named Li Erzhu drives two sheep up the mountain every day to herd sheep. None of the three children in the Li family have been to school. It's not that Li doesn't provide education for his children, but that his three children don't want to go to school.
Since then, educated youths have become familiar with Li Sangou. Everyone wants to teach him to read, but Li Sangou really doesn't want to learn and doesn't care who teaches him. Later, Zhang Zhongyi came up with an idea. As long as Li Sangou can learn five words, give him a biscuit. If he can write five numbers, he will get a peach cake. Not to mention, it really works. In a month, Li Sangou can know and write more than 100 words, and learn to add and subtract within ten minutes. Li was very moved to see the educated youth teaching their dolls to read and write the next day after work. He told everyone that the educated youth from Beijing are all big shots and living bodhisattvas.
Seeing that my brother has learned a lot of words, he can still count. Li Dashui and Li Erzhu often go to the educated youth point to learn to read and write. Although his brother's handwriting is not decent, he really wants to learn it.
Knowing that many people in the village can't read and want to learn to read, Zhang Zhongyi consulted with the educated youth and set up a peasant literacy night school at the educated youth point to teach the dolls of the members to learn to read. This move won the appreciation and support of Li, secretary of the brigade. Secretary Li also ran to the commune and managed to get a steam lamp, which provided convenience for the educated youth to run evening classes.
In order to repay the educated youth for teaching the dolls to read, on the Mid-Autumn Festival, Li killed one of his own sheep and cooked mutton soup for the educated youth. His aunt and three dolls didn't even catch a bite of mutton soup.
Knowing that the sheep only grew so big after half a year, knowing that the sheep is the result of half a year's labor, and knowing that a sheep is enough for the Li family to eat salt and buy oil a year, the educated youth are very moved and guilty.
The first educated youth who jumped the queue during the Spring Festival was spent in Lijiagou. Although the educated youth have prepared the New Year's Eve dinner in advance, at the time of dinner, two dishes suddenly appeared on the kang table of the educated youth. One dish is stewed chicken with dried Chili, and two big cocks stew three bowls. Another dish is fried oil cake, and the crispy oil cake is also three bowls. These two dishes were prepared by Li from home and sent to the educated youth point. He said that it is not easy for Beijing dolls to be outside, and they are far from their parents. Chinese New Year, let the dolls have a good meal and make the dolls in the province homesick.
Li's aunt and three children were also having New Year's Eve dinner when they arrived at Li's home with a few white steamed buns and a bowl of braised pork. On his kang table, there are half a bowl of pork, a bowl of rice cake and a bowl of stewed tofu. See that scene, Zhang Zhongyi's eyes moist, his heart has a kind of unspeakable uncomfortable taste.
197 1 During the autumn harvest, Zhang Zhongyi accidentally sprained his ankle while picking corn cob in the yard, so he could only grin with pain and could not walk at all. Seeing this, Li Dashui, Li's eldest son, put down his burden, took him home and put him on the heatable adobe sleeping platform. Then, he went to the back team to find Master Ma with ancestral bonesetting experience and asked him to treat the disease. Master Ma straightened Zhang Zhongyi's ankle and asked Li Dashui to look for elm branches, willow branches and pepper branches outside the village. There seems to be some branches. There should be five branches. Li's aunt boiled those branches into medicine soup to soak her feet and promote blood circulation.
Three days later, Zhang Zhongyi was able to walk. During the three days of Li's recovery, he could eat a boiled egg every meal, and no one else could catch it, including Li Sangou. Every time she eats eggs, Li's aunt will drive Li Sangou out of the kiln until she finishes eating them.
1972 autumn, Lijiagou Brigade was recommended to go to college. Under the recommendation of the team secretary and team members, Zhang Zhongyi became a lucky dog. He was fortunate to be the first educated youth in Beijing to leave Lijiagou Brigade. On the day of leaving Lijiagou Brigade, the villagers sent Zhang Zhongyi to the village entrance. Li's mother-in-law filled her schoolbag with boiled eggs and red dates and said with tears, "Baby, I can't bear to let you go." At that moment, Zhang Zhongyi burst into tears.
After graduating from college, Zhang Zhongyi was assigned to be a teacher in a middle school in Beijing, and later promoted to be the principal. Ten years later, he was transferred to the office of the Education Bureau as the director, and then he was promoted to the director.
Although I left the Lijiagou Brigade, I didn't forget the villagers and township party secretary Li and Li family of Lijiagou Brigade. He often wrote letters to villagers and later sent money and things.
In the spring of 2009, Li, the second son of Li Dazui, suddenly came to Beijing and found it. He wants Uncle Zhang Zhongyi to find him a job. Although Zhang Zhongyi was embarrassed, he agreed to the request of the distant guest. After many twists and turns, I rented the facade room near my home to Li and helped him open this breakfast shop. Because Mr. and Mrs. Li are very practical, the business in the store has been very prosperous.
After retiring from the Education Bureau, Zhang Zhongyi was hired as a lecturer in a vocational school and worked for five years. Later, his wife stopped him from teaching, so he retired. After resting at home for a while, Mr. Zhang, who is busy with work, took the initiative to come to Li's breakfast shop to help. The gang lasted for more than three years.
I have been away from northern Shaanxi for more than forty years. Whenever I talk about the day when I jumped the queue in northern Shaanxi, my teacher Zhang Zhongyi will burst into tears. He said that he would never forget the experience of jumping the queue in northern Shaanxi. I will never forget the enthusiasm, simplicity and kindness of my fellow villagers in northern Shaanxi, and I will never forget the selfless care that the old couple Li gave him.
Author: grassroots writer