When I was in the third grade of elementary school, I studied best among all the children in the yard.
At that time, in addition to studying, I also had to go to the mountains to cut firewood, break stones, etc. Firstly, tuition and book fees were waived, and secondly, I could work with adults to earn some money for my family. So we often went out to work with my mother on Sundays.
I remember it was a morning after the rain and the weather was very cool.
People in the compound still get up early as usual, those who sweep the yard sweep the yard, those who make breakfast make breakfast. The children are yelled by their mothers, open their sleepy eyes, and get up slowly, and they still wake up on the way to the toilet. Yawning. Apart from greeting each other, the men were busy washing up, eating, and then going to work.
Everything is so warm and natural.
After my brother and I washed our faces, we sat on the small bench in front of the door and waited for our mother to serve us food. My mother was also very nimble. She was talking and laughing while cooking. It was like magic. It was done in a short while, and she asked us to quiet down with laughter and curses.
Suddenly, sister Yinlan opposite called out: "Hey, come and see, Yanzi, Yanzi!"
I followed her hand and saw a pair of swallows hovering in the sky. Slowly, as if shyly, they flew over our compound.
That was the first time I saw a swallow, really. At that time, I had only seen tits, pheasants, cuckoos, magpies, ghosts, etc., but I had never seen swallows.
Just when we were curious, the pair of swallows seemed to have discovered something. They flew straight to the door of Aunt Zaohua's house in the upper courtyard, and landed on the wire with a cheerful cry.
As their sweet calls spread, hundreds of swallows flew in from all directions in the sky.
Oh, Bai Ling died that time . They were flying, playing, standing still, or calling each other. It was really dizzying and curious. For a while, everyone in our compound was stunned and even forgot. Have a meal.
Just when I was wondering, I heard a baby crying from Aunt Zaohua's house: "Wow… wow…"
Oh, it turns out that Aunt Zaohua gave birth to a baby.
As the baby's cry came out, the swallows flew up in the air and chirped loudly. They flew around our compound three times in formation, then scattered in all directions and disappeared in the blink of an eye. .
I remember the scene clearly, and I can't forget that scene to this day.
That night, I seemed to hear my mother say: How smooth it was for Aunt Zaohua to give birth to the baby. Maybe the baby was the reincarnation of "Hu Yan" or something. Anyway, we children are not sensible and are just curious. However, from then on, I learned one thing, that is, this kind of swallow is called – "Hu Yan".
What’s strange is that the next morning, a pair of lake swallows came to our compound and built a nest under the eaves of Aunt Zaohua’s house. It was then that I realized what it was like for a swallow to make a nest with mud in its mouth. It was so hard. At that time, I was very naughty. Sometimes I would use a stick to make noises and yell at the lake swallows in the sky. At this time, the old people in the compound would scold me with a sullen face, and I was so scared that I did not dare to hit them. Swallow.
Aunt Zaohua gave birth to a girl, named by the people in the yard – Yan'er.
Yan'er has been different from other children since she was a child. She is smart, lively and cute. People in the compound, young and old, like her very much.
But there are also many strange things about Yan'er, such as: Why does she always jump around when walking? Why does she dance involuntarily when music is played? Although no one has ever taught her. Why were the pair of swallows under the eaves inseparable from her? It would hover over her head from time to time when she was playing, and would sit on her shoulder and chirp when she cried. When she went to school, she was always sent to the school gate, and when she was out of school, she was always welcomed back home, even though everyone knew that no one had ever raised an animal like the Huyan.
What's even more strange is that on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month every year, Yan'er sleeps for a day and a night without eating or drinking, but the next day she is as normal as usual. Similarly, a person under the eaves of the house that day falls into a coma. The swallows also disappeared, but the next morning they were still happily catching pests and feeding the little swallows. At first, Aunt Zaohua and her family thought she was ill, but they got used to it later. The second mistress said: They followed the swallows to the sky to build a bridge for the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl to meet each other. Whether it's true or false, I still can't figure it out.
What’s more, swallows become extremely lazy as soon as autumn arrives, are very afraid of the cold, and wear very thick clothes when going out. When the pair of swallows under the eaves are migrating, they also circle left and right in the courtyard. They flew back and forth in the sky, unwilling to leave for a long time. It was not until the swallows waved to them and said "goodbye" that they reluctantly flew to the south. Her sweet singing could not be heard all winter until the swallows returned in the following spring and began to dance lively again. It's like this every year, how strange it is!
Later, Bai Ling died that time , and Yan'er went to a key junior high school. In the second year of junior high, she was selected by the Nanjing Military Region Comrades Art Troupe and became an art soldier.
Aunt Zaohua didn't want to let Yan'er go, saying that the south was too far and the child was small, so she was reluctant to let her go and cried all day long. It was the second mistress who persuaded Yan'er that her child was originally from the south and it was God's will to return to the south. Wait, so Yan'er was allowed to go.
After Yan'er left, the pair of swallows under the eaves never left. They moved back and forth as usual day after day, year after year, as if they were accompanying their mother for Yan'er. It's just that the nests of the swallows have been changed several times. I think the old swallow must have died and the younger swallows have come to take over. After all, I haven't paid much attention to the swallows and haven't marked them.
Later, I heard that Yan'er came back to visit her parents every few years. Each time, she brought big and small bags and brought a lot of fresh goods to the family. Then I heard that Yan'er got married and gave birth to a daughter, who looked exactly like her mother. Both of them were officers, so majestic, etc. At that time, I had moved out of the compound and had never seen him.
A few years ago, I went back to the compound to take a look. The antique courtyard was already dilapidated. The roof was overgrown with weeds, and the yard was piled with rocks. Because people had moved away one after another, the whole courtyard looked very desolate.
The swallows also disappeared, leaving only seven or eight shabby nests still hanging there. This reminds me of the joyful and lively compound back then, and the group of carefree and intimate people. Seeing things and thinking about emotions makes me shed tears…
After sighing, he asked about Aunt Zaohua. Uncle Jiu said: "A few years after Yan'er got married, he took Zaohua to Nanjing and there has been no news. I heard from Yan'er's brother that she passed away. That’s great, haha, man, I don’t know what kind deeds Zaohua did in her previous life, what a fate to have such a daughter!”
Uncle Jiu added: Ever since Zaohua moved away, Hu Yan didn’t come the next year, and it’s still strange until now.
After listening to this, I suddenly had mixed feelings, and a beautiful picture suddenly appeared in my mind: On the bank of West Lake in the south, a group of lake swallows surrounded a beautiful and delicate female soldier. They were flying and hovering, making sweet calls. Voice. The female soldier smiled and saluted me among the lake swallows, and said softly: "Brother, how are you? The swallows miss you!"
Alas, is this true?
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