Text/Wanxi

1

Every Spring Festival, childhood friends who work outside come back one after another, and our village always briefly boils for more than ten days. . And those children who were usually taken care of by their grandparents finally received the long-lost father's and mother's love.

The neighbor’s son is called Xiaolei, and he married Xiaoyu, who is twenty kilometers away. When they got married, they were both under 20 years old. They had a lively banquet, and within a year they welcomed their new daughter. life.

In order to hold a dignified wedding, Xiaolei's parents spent their life savings to build a two-story Western-style building and purchased modern furniture and appliances. After giving birth to a child, life began to be stretched, and the two young people couldn't wait to go out to work. Although the child is less than six months old, it is too early to wean.

They were probably tired of the boring rural life with meager income. They seemed to be cheering when packing their luggage. Facing the little baby, their faces were always more confused than loving.

Some people became parents when they were still children, and hurriedly entered the society when they should study. A life that is always one step ahead is actually doomed to be dangerous. And this is almost a microcosm of young people in rural areas.

In fact, they are still repeating the hardships of the previous generation, giving up classes and studies early, but the land is replaced by assembly lines. The difference is that in the past it was because I didn’t have money to study, but now it’s because I don’t have the heart to study.

In the town's junior high school, top classes and parallel classes will be divided into top classes and parallel classes in the second grade of junior high school, and students will be clearly distinguished based on their grades. Most of the children who are not admitted to the top classes have no intention of studying because of the poor teaching staff and the general trend of the environment.

The road out of the campus leads to factories in the Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta. Entering the city actually just changed the appearance of making a living. The essence is still blood and sweat and being reduced to the bottom.

Those who have read the book can at least engage in technology and management, and take back some of the control over their destiny.

What's more, in ancient times, those who were good at learning led to officialdom, but today, the college entrance examination changes one's destiny. For those of us who have no father to fight for and no power to rely on, studying is always one of the effective ways to achieve class crossing.

2

The day before New Year’s Eve, I followed my mother to Xiaolei’s house to borrow a sieve and saw the young couple returning to their hometown. The two of them each held a mobile phone to play Landlord. The child who had just learned to walk was lying on the edge of the sofa, chewing on a spicy stick. Melon seed shells and candy wrappers were scattered all over the floor.

The child burst into tears for some reason, and Xiao Lei commanded his wife without raising his head: "Go and coax her! Hurry up!" Xiaoyu also buried her head deeply in her mobile phone: "I'm busy! "

Their fingers clicked flexibly left and right, eyes fixed on the screen. Xiaoyu freed up a hand, casually took the teddy bear and threw it over, saying perfunctorily: "Baby, be good. Stop crying."

The teddy bear hit the crying little guy with a snap. The little guy's cries instantly ignited the whole room. My mother and the aunt next door hurriedly ran down the balcony. The couple was already quarreling over who was responsible.

I watched silently, thinking about what the future of this child would be like.

There happened to be a party in the afternoon, and my classmates from primary school also brought their husbands and sons. Their family made a fortune from their vegetable business a few years ago, earning hundreds of thousands. They bought a house and a car in the town and lived a comfortable life.

During the dinner, the naughty little boy broke his job, stared at the pendant on another classmate's handbag, and even said something that made us stunned: "Beauty, can I invite you to sing? This Give it to me!" As he said that, he stretched out his hand to pull it. His parents actually looked at it with smiles, their faces full of accustomed calmness.

When talking about their children’s education, the husband said: “I don’t force him to study, as long as he lives happily. I don’t study, and I earn hundreds of thousands, which is enough for him to spend!”

Several classmates are in the same category. They open beauty shops in the town and sell popular clothes with fake logos. Their daily entertainment is singing karaoke and playing mahjong. As far as the eye can see is above their heads. That piece of sky. To put it nicely, it means taking things as they come, but to put it badly, it means being short-sighted.

Their children will most likely continue this kind of life and pass on ignorance from generation to generation.

The most terrifying thing about not studying is not that it is difficult to make a living and earn less money, but that the spiritual world is barren and desolate, which affects future generations.

3

After the dinner, there was a KTV singing. Ajuan, who was dressed voluptuously, arrived late. She was wearing a low-cut tight skirt, her smile was trembling, and she drank half a bottle of beer first. Apologize, and flutter around again, flying around like a butterfly.

When she walked up to me, she said "yo", looked me up and down, and shouted in an exaggerated tone: "Here comes the talented girl. I feel like we are really not worthy of you." Such a person talks!"

He giggled while talking, covering his mouth with his right hand, and his bright red nails were extremely eye-catching. I smelled the strong smell of cheap perfume, and before I could reply, she sat down next to her male classmate, lit a cigarette skillfully, and smiled charmingly in the smoke.

I heard that she opened a beauty shop and the business was good or bad. She had just been divorced and was actively looking for her next golden husband.

"It doesn't matter if you are old, as long as you have money!" They chatted animatedly, their eyebrows tattooed and hyaluronic acid applied, their faces delicate but not too lively, Ajuan lazily leaned on the sofa , "It's okay to be a keeper. I just want to make some good money before I get old!"

The girl who was a pretty girl back then, her smile has been stained by the dust of the world. The once beautiful world has become nothing but chaos where money and desire intertwine.

I think of high school classmates’ gatherings, the same singing and laughter, but the only difference is the atmosphere and topics of conversation. Maybe there is no difference between them, but there are distances and distinctions that are invisible to the naked eye, growing wildly with time.

The difference between studying and not studying is not only the academic qualifications and career, but also the perspective on society and the world, the understanding of marriage and family, and the choices in life and career. And these abstract nouns called "three views" will provide the most fundamental psychological support for a person's behavior. It can’t be seen or touched, but it has a profound impact.

It is undeniable that most of those who go further and better are well-educated scholars. Books accumulate the wisdom of previous generations and contain spiritual treasures. Those who truly read them will have the world in their minds and eyes, and can avoid detours to a large extent.

A girl like Ajuan has never traveled thousands of miles or read thousands of books. It is inevitable that she will be trapped in the quagmire of material desires throughout her life, and she will be confused and unaware of it.

In fact, I am not sure about her future, but I vaguely feel that it will be difficult for her to reach a bright future.

4

In fact, reading in the true sense does not refer to the simple pursuit of academic qualifications, but to extensive reading and thinking.

The things in books may not bring you anything immediately, but they are always subtle, hidden in your temperament, and attached to your inner world. Over time, little by little, you will be shaped into a completely different person.

The Xinhua Bookstore in my hometown closed down. Now the only bookstore that remains sells almost all teaching aids, and the only customers are primary and secondary school students and their parents.

This was not the case many years ago. The Xinhua Bookstore, located at the intersection of two main roads in the town, covers an area of ??nearly 100 square meters. It is a square bungalow with a cement floor, a solid wood counter, and a promotional poster posted on the wall. The painting contains Gorky's famous saying: "Books are the ladder of human progress."

The books on the counter are divided into categories, including literature, philosophy, history, agriculture, fairy tales, etc. The variety is quite comprehensive. It used to be my paradise. I often went there on weekends, read my favorite fairy tales and poems, and stay quietly all afternoon.

At that time, there were not too many people buying books. There were only three or two salesmen, either chatting in the east or west, or taking a nap out of boredom. The business was far less than the barbecue rice noodles across the door. shop. When it declined and closed down, I was actually not surprised.

The fate of a bookstore is also affected by the times and people's hearts.

The footsteps of the 21st century are mixed with the rush of materialistic desires. The days when you can calm down and read a book are becoming fewer and fewer. Many people are pushed forward in a hurry by the times, but the slogan of strengthening the construction of spiritual civilization is shouted extremely loudly. Maybe it's because you have lost it that you have to work hard to find it.

I remember when I was a child, my teacher said that reading can make sense, reading can change your destiny, and reading is for the rise of China... Countless famous sayings and aphorisms actually tell us that a life without reading will suffer from material difficulties. The spiritual desolation is even more painful due to the gradual decline of a family and even a nation.

Perhaps it started when people gradually abandoned reading.