Touching 100 Siblings of Middle School Students - There is a Song Deep in the Years

Author: Teng Gang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: A Song in the Depths of Time
In the spring of my tenth year, the leaves on the trees that could be eaten were all picked clean, the wild vegetables in the fields were almost dug up, and the elm trees were stripped bare of their bark. I, who was in the midst of growing, was like a drought-stricken field of grain. Fortunately, I could eat a black wheat bun every day. This black wheat bun, made from mixed grains or bran, was earned for me by my older sister. She was four years older than me and, due to poverty, had not been able to go to school. At a young age, she had already become a laborer in the production team. To combat natural disasters and ensure annual grain harvests, the government called for large-scale water conservancy projects. Our village had only more than forty households, but sixty people were drafted to the water conservancy site, and my sister was one of them.
Every day after school, I would come to the fields outside the village, walking along the winding path southward while digging wild vegetables, waiting for my sister to return. Whenever my sister appeared on the path, I would run eagerly to meet her. At that moment, she would put down her hoe, take out a black wheat bun wrapped in a handkerchief from her pocket, and then unfold the handkerchief to hand it to me.
"You must be hungry, brother," she said. "Eat quickly." Watching me devour it hungrily, my sister stroked my head, and a contented smile spread across her face.
One afternoon, the south wind was blowing, and the weather was warm. The warmth of spring made the hungry feel even more tired. I had already dug a lot of wild vegetables, but my sister had not yet returned. Usually, my sister would appear in my sight just as the sun was setting. However, the sun had already set that day, and I still couldn’t see her figure on the winding path. My heart began to race, and I followed the path forward. When I reached the edge of the woods, I stopped in my tracks. By then, dusk had fallen, and the forest was deep. I didn’t dare to enter. Just as I was starting to feel a bit scared, a person emerged from the forest. I recognized him at once—it was Shuangliang Uncle from the neighboring village, and he was carrying someone on his back. It was my sister.
I didn’t know what had happened, and I was terrified. Shuangliang Uncle said, "San'er, quickly go home and tell your mother to find some sugar—any kind will do, brown or white."
When Shuangliang Uncle brought my sister back to our home, he was already out of breath. Seeing the situation, my mother was terrified. She quickly took my sister and placed her carefully on the bed. My mother brought over a chair for Shuangliang Uncle, who wiped the sweat from his face with a towel I handed him. "Don’t be afraid," he said, panting. "It’s nothing serious. This child has fainted from hunger. A little sugar water will bring her around."
It was then that I remembered Shuangliang Uncle was a village doctor. My mother gave my sister half a small bowl of sugar water. My sister’s eyes fluttered open.
I stood by the bedside, and in the dim light of the oil lamp, I saw my sister’s eyes were dazed. She probably didn’t know what had happened. When she fully came to her senses, she turned over and saw me standing there. She reached out with her frail hands to hold mine. She didn’t speak, just looked at me with a loving gaze.
After a while, she seemed to remember something and reached into her pocket with her right hand. She struggled to pull out a black wheat bun wrapped in a very clean handkerchief, smiling as she handed it to me. "Brother, eat this. It’s what I saved for you."
I burst into tears.
Time flows like water, and many days passed in the blink of an eye. When my daughter grew to be the same age as I was then, one night, I told her this story, which had been buried deep in my memories. After listening, she stared at me with wide eyes for a long time. "Dad, is everything you said true?" I replied, "Yes, it’s true."
From then on, my daughter no longer wasted food and hardly picky anymore. I suddenly realized...