I still remember that at that time, the river was very clear and slightly cold, and it was very comfortable to touch it with my hands. Three families lived on a flat land not far above the river. We called them three village, and there was a big fruit tree next to it. The fruit tree was very close to the river, and we called it "bean jelly fruit" tree. Its tree was obliquely engraved with three Chinese characters, "three village", and its fruit was delicious. There was a kind of fruit in the core.
Although there is still a long way from home, we will go there as long as we don't have classes. Even if we have to climb a big steep slope when we go back, we always enjoy it when we are young. We always go home after having a good time, making ourselves dirty and getting scolded when we get home.
Every time we go to three village, if the fruit is ripe, we will never let it go. I still remember another time, which is funny and worrying when I think about it now. A little boy in the team climbed to the tree to pick fruit for us, but because he didn't notice an ant bag on the tree, he accidentally pulled it. In an instant, the ant fell down, and we were lucky to escape from it, but the people in the tree were unlucky. The ant suddenly fell on the tree and escaped. Many ants who landed beside him or on him gave him a welcome gift. At one time, he cried and shouted in the tree, but he didn't know how to get down at once. He didn't dare to jump. He could only cry while patting ants on it. Finally, an adult passed by and held him down. Since then, he has been afraid to climb the tree for a long time. It seems that it gave him a great sequela.
There are a lot of fish in the river. We like to catch a kind of fish called "big head fish" and crab shrimp. Shrimp is my favorite because it is crispy and fragrant, but my parents often tell us not to go because sometimes the water in some parts of the river is still deep, but how can we listen to it? Always sneaking off to take a bath, catching shrimps and fishing.
There are smooth boulders in some places in the river. When we take a bath, we like to hide behind the boulders. Sometimes we lean against the boulders, with our feet slightly tilted and our hands slightly supported, and one of them is slightly suspended in the water. It feels very comfortable and exciting. We tried to find out the water ourselves several times like this, and sometimes we would look for a deeper pool to wash. We could all dive under the water and come out after a while.
At that time, we were still young, so many times we men and women would take a bath in a pool. We girls would wear clothes and pants, and some boys would take off their clothes. We fought in a big water to see if we were happy or not. After washing, some sat on the stone, some lay on the lawn, and waited until our clothes and pants were almost dry, so we chased them home all the way.
When the river is small, we will turn over rocks, because there will be crabs under some rocks near the water, small crabs under small stones, and big crabs under big stones. At that time, we were very courageous, even the bigger crabs dared to catch them with our hands, but sometimes they were caught by their big armor carelessly, which was still very painful. However, after others helped us to take them down, we began to catch them again. At that time, we were courageous.
In the rainy season, when the river rises and there are lots of bracken, when we go to play, we can always pick a handful back. Some things that really grow in nature will still have leeches on the shore. Those leeches can't be thrown away as long as they stick to it, but we have a unique trick. Every time we go, we will bring some salt. As long as they stick to it with a little salt, the leeches will die immediately. However, some naughty children will catch the grasshopper that has not been stuck too tightly, then turn it out from the inside out with a small stick, bask in the ground too far away, and soon die.
In some places of the river, many yellow flowers will grow, which are similar to sunflowers. When they are in full bloom, they look good. In addition, the banks are full of various small flowers, which attract many butterflies in colorful ways.
Butterflies stopping by the river are in droves, some dozens, some hundreds, and even thousands, but most of them are small yellow butterflies. When they stop quietly on the shore, their wings flap gently, as if the little stars are blinking all over the sky, but when they are frightened and all fly, the picture is very beautiful, and sometimes the beauty can't be described in words.
We started a picnic when we were a little older. Because we used to be small, our family didn't trust us to light a fire by the river, even where there was water. After junior high school, our family didn't object too much. We would take rice and some pots and pans, leftovers and so on, and go to the river for a picnic after the scene.
Pick some side dishes, catch some small fish and turn over some crabs, so our meal is over. Clean the side dishes we picked and cook them in a small pot. Clean the small fish and shrimp, add salt, chili pepper and other leftover materials, wrap them in layers of leaves, and then put them into the carbon we have burned beforehand. When the fire is turned up and the fragrance is spread, it can almost be taken out. We call it "package burning".
The taste, though not top-notch, is absolutely unique. It seduces all the saliva around us. Then after everything is done, a small group of people gather together and start to unload eight pieces. They soon eat up. There, even if it is not very delicious, everyone eats it with relish, and sometimes they "cry" one by one, because chili pepper is too spicy.
Sometimes we go for a picnic, just in time for the corn harvest. After we eat our own cooked food, someone will pick some corn from the corn field and throw it directly into the burning fire. If the fire is not big enough, each person will throw a few branches in, and the fire will burn quickly. After eating the corn, everyone's faces will be dark. Wash them with water and put out the fire, jingling.
At that time, we were all very simple and easy to satisfy, and we never thought too much. We always felt that there were others to support the sky, as long as we had food and play. Who would think about those messy things?
A few years later, we occasionally went for a picnic, but the clear river is no longer the same. Now there is only a small ditch, to put it mildly, a small stream. There are no yellow flowers, butterflies, grass and flowers around, and everything is gone. Instead, garbage, dead trees, dead grass, etc., and not far from the inner shore, there are either large tracts of rubber forests or large tracts of other fruit forests. The beautiful scenery and all the places where we can play happily are gone.
Looking at that small stream, I can't help sighing. Is it that our life is just like this stream? Maybe we will have beautiful moments, but in the end we will dry up and die, or will it be contrary to the stream? Our dry land without any watering will eventually become like when we first started, with flowers blooming, green grass and butterflies around it.
success is a beautiful scenery, and failure is a dry river.
But no matter how our life ends, I know that the river that has accompanied us through many joys and stories will never return to its former state.
Those beautiful things can only be realized in my memory. Xiaohe, thank you, thank you for everything you have given us. I will always cherish those years lost by the river, and I will try my best to turn my life into the beautiful scenery left by the river.