Shortly after the first semester of the sixth grade (the first half of 1964), several cars with the words "Xiaolong tungsten mine" printed on the door appeared in the small courtyard of the Ministry of Mines. These cars were here to pick up the workers who were transferred from the copper mine to Xiaolong tungsten mine. The first to be picked up were the young workers who could hammer holes in the mining field. Xiaolong tungsten mine needed these laborers. The families of these workers and their daily necessities were all loaded into the cars and moved away. The copper mine was really going to be demolished. In the next month or so, standing on the playground of the primary school, one could see cars driving by the Xiaolong tungsten mine almost every day. A large number of people from the copper mine moved to the Xiaolong tungsten mine.
The explosions in the mining site were still going on, but the number of explosions had been reduced to three times a day. His father still went to work and got off work as usual. He had not received any news about where he had been assigned to. Some workers in the mechanical and electrical workshop where he worked had also been assigned to the Xiaolong tungsten mine.
The newly built mining department building on the east side of the small courtyard was almost completed. The officers in the mine had also begun to move away. Of the three mine managers, only Zhang, who was originally a subordinate, was left. He was in charge of the copper mine's garrison and handled matters related to the copper mine's downfall. The newly built staff dormitory in front of the auditorium was not completed yet, and the construction had stopped. The cannons stopped firing, and the mining site was officially shut down. The mineral processing plant was still in production. It could only stop after the last part of the ore was turned into copper sand. At night, when he stood at the door of his house and looked at the mountain of the mineral processing plant, it was still brightly lit.
Some of the officials who lived in the row of dormitories in our family were also transferred away one after another. Some went to the provincial steel factory, but most of them were transferred to other mines in the south of the province. A few days after they moved, some students and teachers moved into their empty houses. After asking around, they found out that the copper mine's territory and property were all given to the field department for free. The field department then divided the copper mine's territory into two parts, half to the secondary school and the other half to the agricultural machinery factory.
At that time, the middle school in the farm headquarters had just opened and did not have its own fixed territory. The copper mine had just provided ready-made conditions for the opening of the middle school. Some teachers and students also moved into the empty family dormitory in the copper mine.
The disembarkation of the copper mine made my brothers unable to attend classes in peace. Looking at the cars with the names of different factories and mines, shuttling in and out of the copper mine to transport machinery, equipment, and materials, our neighbors moved away one by one. Our hearts seemed to follow them, but we didn't know where we would go. This semester happened to be the critical period for my brother and I to graduate from primary school and enter middle school. However, the distribution of the copper mine and the unknown whereabouts of my father seriously worried about my concentration in dealing with the graduation examination (substitute middle school examination). I was not sure if I could enter middle school.
After the graduation exam, the class teacher informed the whole class to prepare to take a graduation photo. First, it was for the graduation certificate, and second, it was for the whole class to take a photo as a memento. However, on this day, my heart pain suddenly acted up at the class meeting arranged by the teacher. The pain in my upper abdomen immediately caused my whole body to spasm. I lay on the orange and writhed in pain like an injured snake. A few students sitting next to me whispered to me,"Why are you sick at this time?" But the teacher soon knew that I was ill again. She walked to my side, bent down and stroked my back. She asked me with concern if I could go to the photo studio. She said that it was a very important matter and I was so painful that I was not interested in anything. She let the teacher instruct a few students. My brother helped me to the photo studio in Zhou Tiankou. My face was pale and blue, and my eyes showed extreme pain. I looked so dull. Due to the cramps in my abdomen, I couldn't stand straight. Several students dragged me forward like a dead dog. My clothes were pulled up, and my abdomen was exposed. Some students came over to help me pull my clothes down and encouraged me to hold on for a while more. We were about to reach the photo studio.
The photo studio was not far from the school. It was at the intersection of Zhou Tiankou. It was only 200 meters away from the primary school. Usually, it only took a few minutes to walk there. However, with the pain in my abdomen, the 200-meter journey was simply torture for me. My body kept falling. I really wanted to squat on the ground and stop walking because it could reduce the pain. However, my classmates kept encouraging me to "keep walking, keep walking". They could not understand my pain and helplessness. He could only be dragged away.
Perhaps it was because they realized that they might be separated forever after graduation, or perhaps it was because they had reached the sensible age, at this time, the students were much friendlier to me and even showed sympathy for me. They asked the auntie in the photo studio to take photos of me first. I was in a lot of pain, so they told the teacher to let me rest first and take the last photo. The teacher was no longer as indifferent to me as usual. Instead, she comforted me with kind words while stretching my wrinkled clothes and taking off the red scarf to tie it for me.
Finally, it was my turn to take a picture. The students helped me sit down in front of the camera and then retreated behind the physiognomist. The physiognomist wanted to make me smile, but at this time, my face was completely occupied by a painful expression. My entire face was distorted. I couldn't tell where the smile came from. The pain caused by the pain changed back and forth on my face. It was really uglier than crying, which was the exact opposite of the smile that the physiognomist wanted.
The students followed the physiognomist and anxiously inspired me, shouting at me," Smile, let me smile." The pain controlled all my nerves and did not give me the slightest feeling of smiling. If it was not in front of so many people, I would have rolled on the ground and screamed hysterically. Where else could I find a smile?
The teacher looked at my pained expression and motioned for the students to be quiet. He said softly to me," This is a primary school graduation photo. This is the only time in your life. Don't leave your pain here. Let all the pain end here." Let all the pain end here!”I repeated the teacher's words with difficulty. My face, which was distorted by pain, gradually recovered its peace."Kacha" The light flashed and the physiognomist pressed the shutter. " Let all the pain end here…" I muttered.
At this time, everything that the teachers and classmates did to me made me feel guilty towards the teachers and classmates while enduring the pain of the disease. I began to wonder if my unfriendly behavior with my classmates and my hatred towards the teachers were all wrong. The photo on the elementary school graduation certificate had frozen all the reflection and pain.
During the summer vacation after graduating from elementary school, my brother and I rented two portable ice cones (like thermos bottles, but the mouth was big, and each bottle contained 25 popsicles) at Zhoutiakou Popsicle. We sold them wholesale at two cents a popsicle and sold them at four cents a popsicle. At that time, the popsicles were made by pumping water from the Zhoutian Bridge and adding a little sugar, essence, and coloring. However, it was already a luxury at that time. The workers 'families basically could not bear to buy popsicles to eat, so they could only sell them to the families of the officials. In a day, they had to walk around the small courtyard of the mining department many times before they could sell two bottles. If they could not sell them all or the popsicles melted in the bottles, they would work hard for a day and even lose money.
At this time, the mineral processing plant had also stopped production. The entire mine had stopped. Father had not been informed where he would be assigned. He still reported to the workshop every day and guarded the furnace that was no longer lit. A lot of the machine tools in the workshop had been moved away. Father was a man who accepted his fate. He believed that his matters were not his own, but the Lord's. Therefore, before the Lord instructed him where to go, he obediently stayed beside the furnace in his workshop. At this time, he did not have to rely on himself to find a way to survive like he did four years ago when he escaped from the doctor's village. The hardships that the " Lord " had caused him to suffer over the past few years had almost crushed him. Now was the perfect time for him to take a break and catch his breath so that he could bear new hardships.
I carried the ice bucket and walked into the small courtyard of the mining department. At this time, the poisonous hot sun at noon seemed to want to burn me, closely following me above my head. I couldn't avoid its fiery flames at all. The skin on my shoulder had long been roasted by the scorching sun to a dark purple color. It hurt when I touched it. It was really " money is hard to earn, but shit tastes bad."
Just as my mouth was dry and my tongue was burning, I suddenly heard a voice calling out,"Cow, come here." I saw that it was Student Zhi's mother. I answered and walked over. After the copper mine was dismantled, Student Zhi's parents were working in the mine's garrison. Their family had moved from the dormitory at the west end of the auditorium to the empty office in the small courtyard of the mining department. Classmate Zhi's parents were very generous. They let me into the house and asked me how many popsicles were left in the two bottles. I thought about the number of popsicles I had sold (some of them were on credit) and said,"There are still 30 left.""Alright, don't go out to sell anymore. It's too hot and you'll get heatstroke easily. Just leave all the popsicles with me. I want them all." As she spoke, she opened the ice cone and grabbed a popsicle and stuffed it into my hand."You can eat it too. It'll cool you down." I wouldn't dare to eat casually. "Eat, eat, don't be shy," I said as I took out the popsicle from the ice cylinder and handed it to Zhi, Zhi's brother, and Youzhi's father. I saw that their whole family was eating, so I put the popsicle into my mouth and slowly sucked it. For the past few days, no matter how hot the weather was or how thirsty I was, I didn't dare to eat the popsicle in my hand. I only poured the melted ice shards at the bottom of the cylinder into my mouth at night to taste.
Zhi's mother told her father," Old Niu's children are so tough." Zhi's father smiled at me, probably because he agreed with his gay mother. "How many bottles do you sell a day?" Zhi's mother asked again," Give me two bottles, but it's hard to sell them." I replied," How about this, from tomorrow onwards, bring your two bottles to my house every day. I'll take care of them. Don't run around anymore." Hearing Zhi's mother say this, I thought happily," It's not a problem to earn one yuan a day."
When Zhi's mother finished eating the popsicle and wanted to pay me, she didn't have any change. I didn't have enough money to get her back." Come and get it tonight," Zhi's mother said. I thought, since we're just down the slope to the small courtyard of the mining department, I'll come back at night to get it. After returning home, she had a good sleep in the afternoon. In the evening, I went to Zhi's house and greeted his mother. I thought that her mother would give me the money later, so I went to the next room to chat with Zhi. However, after a long time, she didn't give me the money, so I said goodbye to Zhi and went to her room. Zhi's mother sat at the door and fanned herself. Thinking that I was going home, she said,"Come back tomorrow." However, she didn't mention anything about paying me for the popsicles. I was too embarrassed to ask. She could only turn back and go home. The next morning, I didn't go to wholesale popsicles because I didn't have enough money on hand. At noon, I went to the small courtyard of the mining department again. I wanted to let Zhi's mother see it so that she could remind her to give me the money for eating popsicles yesterday. Sure enough, Zhi's mother saw me and asked,"Why didn't you bring popsicles today?"”I blushed and replied," I didn't go wholesale today."" Why aren't you selling it?”" I don't have enough money for wholesale."" Aiyo, I forgot to give you the money last night, but it's only a little more than one yuan." I couldn't say anything to Zhi's mother. Zhi's parents 'monthly salary added up to about two hundred yuan, while my father's was only forty yuan. A little more than one yuan was really nothing to their family, but to my family, it was a big number. Zhi's mother didn't give me the money last night, so I couldn't ask my mother for more money to wholesale popsicles, so I had to stop selling. Zhi's mother quickly understood this and immediately gave me the change. After that, I didn't go to wholesale popsicles anymore, and Zhi's mother didn't mention sending popsicles to her family anymore.
Did I get accepted into a high school? This was a huge rock that weighed down on my heart during the summer vacation. I didn't know where to go to find out about the exam results. On this day, Zhi ran over to say that he had been officially accepted by the middle school. He also saw my brother's name, and my name was ranked third on the waiting list attached to the official admission list. I anxiously asked Zhi where he saw the admission list. Zhi said,"You don't even know?" You only care about earning money..."
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。