Recently, I played "Sister" made by the Yi people on a loop. The soft-spoken image in the song reminded me of some of the past in my life with my sister.
My sister, who was born in 1977, is two years older than me. According to her parents and neighbors, she has been a sensible child since she was a child. However, I have a clearer understanding of my sister, which started when I went to school. In the third grade of elementary school. At that time, when I was in third grade, I had to go to Central Village Elementary School. My sister and I were in the same school. We would walk home every Monday morning to school and after school on weekends.
Our home is five miles away from the Central Village Primary School. We start from the village entrance, pass through a natural village, climb over a mountain, and then walk for a while to reach the school. My sister and I were boarding at school and had to bring rice and vegetables by ourselves. Along the way, my sister not only helped me carry the rice and vegetables, but also kept telling me "Don't walk on the side, and look at your feet when walking", because when we walk, There is a possibility of landslides on the roadside during the rainy season. There is a slope on the edge of the mountain. If you are not careful, you will roll down the slope. When I was studying at the village central school, I always remember my sister’s warnings to me on the way to school and home. I always remember my sister’s nervous eyes that never left me. I always remember that her eyes conveyed a kind of love and care for my younger brother.
When my sister was in sixth grade, her school was in the town’s central primary school, and I was still in the village’s central primary school. When I went to the town to study, my sister brought her own rice and vegetables, and her family would give her some pocket money. My sister, who was always sensible and frugal, was not willing to spend the money. At that time, there was a junior high school next door to the central primary school in the town. Every time when she would come back on weekends, my sister would go to the cafeteria of the junior high school in the morning to buy steamed buns and take them home for my sister, my grandparents, and me to eat after school. It was only when I entered junior high school that I realized that buying steamed buns required a lot of trouble. First, I had to save enough money, then go to the junior high school cafeteria to buy food stamps, and finally exchange the food stamps and money for steamed buns. In the 1990s when supplies were scarce, I would always see my sister’s surprise when I got home from school—three or five white steamed buns on the table. Many years have passed, but I can still remember the scene where my sister sitting aside had a slight smile on her lips, while I tore the steamed buns into small pieces with my hands and put them in my mouth. The steamed buns were so fragrant and sweet.
My sister went to Nanping Normal University to study in 1994. I studied in junior high school in the town. I remember the summer and winter holidays when I was in junior high school. Every time my sister came back, her main task was to practice the basic skills and reading skills assigned by the school. Extracurricular books. At that time, she practiced calligraphy with Yan Zhenqing's copybook, and practiced hard-pen calligraphy with Mr. Gu Zhongan's "Common Chinese Characters Six-body Fountain Pen Copybook". She wrote every stroke and every painting so seriously, finishing page by page. , this is how the basic blackboard writing skills of normal college students are developed. Whenever my sister was practicing calligraphy and she saw me watching, she encouraged me to practice calligraphy together, so I also sat next to my sister and practiced "horizontal, horizontal and vertical" regular script stroke by stroke.
The books my sister borrowed from her school library include foreign masterpieces such as "Jane Eyre", "War and Peace", "Gone with the Wind", "The Sorrows of Young Werther" and "Wuthering Heights", as well as The works of writers such as San Mao and Zhu Ziqing made me, a young man in a remote mountain village, aware of many writers and works from the books borrowed by my sister. My sister's reading volume also made me understand that only an interest supported by a literary dream can last. Later I learned that my sister joined the "Ruyan Literary Club" of her normal school. She brought back the publications of the literary club and the works published in the literary club publications to me, which made me admire her literary talent even more. At that time, my sister could not imagine what her habit of practicing calligraphy and reading would bring to her younger brother in the future. But for me, many years later, I am able to maintain my interest in calligraphy and writing, and my sister can be regarded as my guide.
After my sister graduated from the normal school in 1997, she worked in a remote natural village in a township next to her hometown. On days when my sister was working, I was studying hard in high school. At this time, I would receive a letter from my sister. In the letter, she would only briefly introduce her work situation, and more often, she would ask about my study situation and life situation, and gave me a lot of encouragement in the letter. Later, I learned from my mother that my sister, who had just started working, had a monthly salary of less than 500 yuan. After deducting medical insurance, social security and living expenses, she gave the remaining money to her mother to manage, because my sister and I were still studying at the time and the family did not have a lot of money. With small expenses, her sensible sister uses her salary to help her parents reduce the family burden.
After that, I went to college, and my sister also graduated from junior high school to a technical secondary school. My sister and I were able to complete our studies with peace of mind. How can we not count my sister’s contribution? The ancients often said that an eldest sister is like a mother. It should be said that my sister has contributed so much to the family.
Some people say that our parents will accompany us for half our lives, our wives and children will accompany us for the rest of our lives, and only our brothers and sisters will accompany us throughout our lives. Thank you sister for appearing in my life and accompanying me in the past and future years.