Prose

one

In the early autumn, the sky in the south of the Yangtze River is high and the clouds are light, and the pastoral soil is fragrant. From Paifang Village, walk to the river, and it takes about 20 minutes to reach the Summer Night Bay of Paifang Group 3.

I asked the accompanying village cadres if the Bay was mainly for Ye and Xia. The village cadres must be Ye and Xia, saying that this bay is a big bay in the archway, with about 300 villagers. Speaking of it, Paifang Village is a big village in Huarong Town, with 26 villagers' groups and 29 natural bays. Most of its bays are scattered, but fortunately, after so many years of help, there are cement roads connecting the bays. The names of bays are also easy to identify, just like Summer Night Bay, which is basically named after surnames, such as Chen Xu Bay, Xu Dong Bay, Peng Xia Bay, Liujinwan, Liujiazui, Liulaowu, Wuxiaowan, Wudawan, Qianzhaowan, Houzhaowan, Gejiazui, Qinlaowu, Yanjiawan, Huajiawan, Xiongjiazui and Weijiazui. In addition, there is a Taoist Bay in the Xia Dynasty. Literally, there should be a Taoist named Xia here. There is also a Liubei Temple Bay. It is said that Liu Bei came here during the Three Kingdoms period, and the local people built a temple here, which gradually formed the "Liubei Temple Bay" around the temple. There is also a bay whose name has nothing to do with surnames. It is called "Guangtuwu Bay", which means that this bay used to be "Tuwu". Of course, the most famous is Liu Paifang. During my stay in Paifang Village, some friends came to Paifang one after another. Before coming, they all asked me to send them a location so that they could drive and navigate well. I made a location in the village, and the result showed Liu Paifang. Therefore, friends from all walks of life became interested in this famous archway after they arrived at it. During the greeting, I had to tell them the ins and outs of Liu Paifang.

There was indeed an ancient archway in Paifang Village in the early years. Because of its extraordinary architectural momentum, it was once known as "the first square in Hubei". In this Paifang village, there is a villager in Wanzi, whose main surname is Liu and Qin. According to legend, during the light years of the Qing Dynasty, only a few families lived in this bay. One of them named Liu is very rich, but he is helpful and praised by his neighbors. Mr. Liu has two sons, and the eldest son is married and has children; The second son, Liu, is not only knowledgeable, but also handsome. Unfortunately, I was seriously ill, but I didn't get better despite seeking medical advice everywhere. Just when the Liu family was at a loss, Mr. Shui claimed that he could cure the second son of the Liu family. Mr. Feng Shui said, "If your second son can marry a girl with outstanding talents and looks, the stubborn disease can be cured." After hearing what you said, the Liu family immediately asked their second son to get married. Soon, a matchmaker said that not far from this village, there was a doctor Xia with superb medical skills and noble medical ethics, and there was a good daughter at home. He is not only beautiful, but also proficient in medical skills, which makes him outstanding in talent and appearance. In this way, with the consent of Liu and Xia, the matchmaker chose an auspicious day for the two young people. On the day of blind date, Liu Jiaer's son was in good spirits, and Xia's woman was in high spirits. They fell in love at first sight and met each other late. Soon, the Liu family made a dowry to the Xia family, hoping to get married at a good time. However, before the auspicious day came, Liu's second son suddenly became seriously ill and died young. After learning the bad news, Hagar girl was heartbroken for a long time. I thought this woman from Xia family would forget it. Unexpectedly, she resolutely decided to go to Liu's house to serve Liu's parents and vowed not to marry again. Later, she really regarded her parents as Liu's biological parents, and she never abandoned filial piety to Liu's second son. In the following years, out of admiration for the beauty and personality of Xia women, many people still proposed to the family. But Xia's parents declined according to their daughter's wishes. Liu's parents have repeatedly persuaded Xia Nv that after all, she and her second son are not married yet, and it is better to get married with a suitable husband, so as not to miss the youth of the Liu family. However, Xia women still never leave and still respect the old man and Liu who does housework.

It is Xia Nv's kindness, virtue and modesty that touched all the villages and made her famous. Both Liu and Xia are proud of this, so they discuss to jointly contribute to build an archway for them. Someone told the court about it. When the emperor heard the whole story, he was very happy. He immediately wrote a letter, that is, he agreed to be funded by Liu and Xia, and the court was responsible for transporting the fine bluestone from Jiangxi to set up a "chastity memorial arch" for Xia's daughter, and ordered the local government to send skilled craftsmen for its specific construction. The address of the memorial archway was decided in the village where summer women kept their duties. This village is the "Paifang Bay" in Paifang Village today, which is also the "Liu Paifang". When I was in the village, I was lucky to see the villagers take an old photo of the memorial archway built by the imperial court in 1966. On the plaque at the top of the front, there are three characters "Xie Xiaofang" in the official script, and the inscription is the 19th year of Qing Daoguang (namely 1839). The whole archway is about three stories high and looks like an attic. The building materials used are basically large bluestone. Unfortunately, during the "Ten-year Cultural Revolution", this memorial archway was destroyed, and some collectors later only collected some stones. This "archway" has become a "homesickness" that today's archway people can't erase.

two

The years have quietly turned over page after page. Today, the archway of this building has disappeared; The archway of place name culture will always stand in people's hearts.

Today, Paifang Village is surrounded by water on three sides, reaching the Yangtze River levee in the north and National Highway 3 16 in the south, with Qizui Lake, Pengbei Lake and Houxiao Lake in the east-west direction.

When I first came to Paifang Village, I tried to find traces of the ancient archway, hoping to see its precious face. And all this is gone forever. Walking in Paifang Village, I felt the vicissitudes of time and the pain of poor villages. Through the fields, I heard the beautiful songs of birds, smelled the fragrance of trees and flowers, saw the dryness of ditches, saw the desolation of thatched fields, saw the loneliness of old people with crutches in the village, saw the dog's tail grass swaying in the wind by the roadside, saw the memorial archway village in front of me and saw the legendary memorial archway village.

In Liujin Bay, I saw an asphalt road leading to the depths of the bay with dense trees on both sides; Entering the bay, birds sing on the branches, camphor trees and osmanthus trees are fragrant, and jujube trees are full of fruits in citrus; The farmer's house has been rebuilt, and the artistic paintings on the wall show the beauty of the world. Chickens and ducks croak in front of the door, water waves ripple in the pond, and wild birds flock. In some bays such as Chenxi Bay, I saw many houses closed and many children went out to work. I didn't hear the chanting of students, and I didn't see Shu Lang's past. I only occasionally see old people in twos and threes spend the rest of their lives in front of their homes. In Xiongjiazui, I went to visit poor households with the village branch secretary. Walking up and down in the colorful yard, although persimmon trees and orange trees are covered with red fruits, the old trees silently accompany their homes. As soon as they entered Qin's home, they saw the couple holding the diagnosis results of the hospital and hearing their helplessness about their illness, their hearts were as heavy as lead. In the past, they worked hard and built a family business on their own. Unexpectedly, they were all seriously ill in their later years. Although they are grateful for the generous help of the party and the government, they are caught off guard by the violent attack of the disease and full of anxiety.

Jiang Yue doesn't know people's minds. In Paifang Village, a strong old man like Qin is now facing a serious disease, and there are many others. Take a walk and have a look. I see it in my eyes and worry in my heart.

three

The topic returned to the Summer Night Bay, which is the three groups of archways.

It seems that I feel a little relaxed when I come to this bay.

The bay is large, but the passages between adjacent houses are closely connected. Some houses have high or low foundations, but the overall situation is patchy. There are many kinds of persimmon trees, orange trees, jujube trees, grapefruit trees and osmanthus trees in the house, which can be picked as landscapes. Some family courtyards have elegant spatial layout and diverse functions. Fruit and vegetable trees get along well with their owners and are full of warm colors. Some old houses, with blue bricks and black tiles, have become century-old dwellings, but in the fleeting light and shadow, they have been sent away by the living centenarians. However, some people are poor due to various reasons, such as illness, lack of work, or other reasons, which lead to poverty, family depression, no one cares, and even few doors.

I asked the houses of several poor households, but the doors were locked. Some neighbors said they went to work outside. Some people say that there is a poor household named Xia who didn't go far and worked in his own vegetable garden in Wantou. I said, stop yelling at people and let them do their own thing.

Anyway, I am in a good mood today. I'm going for a walk in the front garden.

This summer night bay really has some flavor of life. Approaching Wanzikou, I looked up and saw a beautiful vegetable garden. There is a woman's house, in front of her house, taking advantage of the crisp autumn, wearing a needle to cover the bedding in early winter. There is running water, persimmon trees and several old trees in front of her house, and the vegetable garden is also in front of her house. Life seems to be happy. It's very strange this year. There is almost no decent rain in summer and autumn, only one or two rains in Mao Mao. The rare drought has made these farmers who don't have much harvest more confused. They say agriculture depends on the weather, and if there is no rain, they will worry about farming. Rapeseed was sown early in the same period last year, so there is no way out this year. Rapeseed was pulled back and slept at home.

In this way, I chatted with several farmers who grow vegetables. They said that this garden was planted with capital this year, and the tap water at home was piped into the garden. Otherwise, vegetables can't be grown in the garden. In this way, I walked through a vegetable field, and sure enough, I saw Xia, a poor household I wanted to see. He was very busy, and when he heard someone introduce me to see him, he quickly stopped his work.

Next to the vegetable garden is a large bamboo forest. The topography of the vegetable garden in old summer is somewhat special. In a ravine, surrounded by small forests, it is relatively hidden. The vegetables he grows are particularly refreshing, including red cabbage moss, carrots, broccoli, leeks and red peppers. The variety is dizzying. Standing in this vegetable garden, I saw his optimism and self-confidence. Lao Xia told me that although the land has been transferred, the government has helped to set up a minimum living standard, and it would be embarrassing not to put this vegetable garden on the plate.

Lao Xia returned to the bay from the vegetable garden, and Lao Xia took me to sit in his yard for a while. Looking around the yard, I saw several orange trees and pots of red and green flowers, which set each other off. The ground is covered with textured plastic covers discarded by others to prevent slipping when walking. One wall is also inlaid with old porcelain pots, which is quite artistic.

In Summer Night Bay, poor old Xia seems to be an orderly optimist.