In 2009, the fifth issue of Selected Essays, Scenery by the Old Waterwheel, won a prize.

Author: Liang

Actually, the waterwheel is not old at all.

It is the most conspicuous symbol of a tourist destination, which used to be a village. Two years ago, this place was discovered by real estate developers. Therefore, while building villas and luxury houses, it will be developed into a tourist attraction and a small Zhouzhuang.

On weekends or holidays, people in the city drive here in an endless stream, eating, drinking and having fun. So there are fortune tellers, portraits and antique dealers here; There are also wine escorts, wine escorts, singers and massagers, all of whom are beautiful farm girls. They listen all day, and their ideas are rapidly commercialized.

When city people come in droves, they will surely see an old woman and a young girl by the waterwheel. There are several 70-year-old ladies and girls who are only 16 or 17 years old, all dressed in the Qing Dynasty. The old woman described it as haggard; The girl has peach blossoms on her face and eyes like autumn water. When she looked around, the road was clear but sunny. The spinning of the old woman and the embroidery of the young girl became the foil of the scenery in the waterwheel and the wind scene. All the scenic spots pay for the tourists to see the samples, and the income is meager. Fortunately, if tourists take photos with them, they may get some tips. The old woman is a lonely old man in the village, and she has a semi-ancestral house in the village. The village benefits from tourism and gives her 50 yuan every month with some public funds. The old lady is grateful for the tourism industry, and she is satisfied to have such a business. She smiles all day long. Girls come here from other places, and bees looking for secrets are attracted by the prosperity of this tourist destination. No one knows where her home is and what her family background and life experience are like. Curious villagers have already asked, and the girls are secretive and often keep their mouths shut, so there is no problem gradually. Locals are inevitably a little bullying and afraid of hard work for outsiders. But as a 16-year-old girl, making a living does not harm the interests of people and local people. Although she is obviously a mainlander, she can find an excuse to bully her, but she can't stand it. I can't bear to bully each other, but the locals are still worried about this little girl of unknown origin. Could it be a little female thief, waiting for people to relax their vigilance, waiting for her to find out the situation of each family, seize the opportunity that is beneficial to her, steal from door to door, and then escape without a trace. As far as they know, this happened in other scenic spots in the province. It was also a girl who harmed the local people, but not a girl in her twenties. It was just that she didn't steal it herself, but worked as an eyeliner for a theft gang. So, is there a theft ring behind her? People remind each other. Subsequently, her actions were under the supervision of many pairs of responsible eyes. But as always, she was polite to people, and especially thanked the locals for taking her in. Is it because she is only sixteen or seventeen, and she is too simple to see others' vigilance against her? It is strange that such a young girl will be innocent when traveling around the country! Then, it must be a disguise. Therefore, in the eyes of local people, this little girl is still very cunning. ...

Only the old woman thinks she is a good girl.

A few days after they became "colleagues", the old woman asked the girl where she lived. The girl said that she lived in a dangerous hotel, with five yuan a day and two hours of help at night. There are mice in the restaurant, and she is most afraid of mice. "Every month 150 yuan, it also took me half a month's salary, depending on the glances of the host couple ..."

The girl said tearfully.

"Girl, live in my house. I am alone there, I like your company, and I won't be angry with you. "

The old woman spoke very sincerely.

The girl didn't expect the old woman to say this, and she was hesitating how to answer. The old woman added, "I won't charge you a penny."

……

As a result, the girl lived in the old woman's house as her hoped-for partner.

In this way, there are more smiles on the girl's face, more tourists who like to take photos with her and more tips. You can charge fifty dollars a day at most.

There are fewer wrinkles on the old woman's face. People familiar with her old face found that the deepest folds on her face had become shallow and showed signs of stretching. The bun at the back of her head is also beautiful, not as crooked as before. Her nails are no longer long and uncut, and the seams are no longer black. She obviously often washes clothes. Her good mood made her tip more.

A kind-hearted person reminded her: "Did you let that little man accompany you? Be alert, in case your money is stolen by her, you can't even wear a shroud when you leave ... "

The old woman doesn't like to hear this.

She said, "Go? Where are you going? People's children are richer than me, and they don't avoid me there. What shall I do with that money? "

She likes listening to girls.

Young girls often say to her, "Grandma, you should work hard to be happy so that you can live to be a hundred years old."

After more than 20 years of lonely life, I suddenly had a little girl who lived with me day and night, and the old woman seemed to be rejuvenated. Sometimes, an old man and a young man sit opposite each other, each holding his own money, and they exchange gifts with each other.

However, one day, the old woman suddenly went blind and then hemoptysis. The village had to send someone to take her to the county hospital. As soon as cancer was diagnosed, it had spread early. Therefore, the elderly, whether rural or widowed, can only go home next to each other.

The person in charge of the village said to the girl, "She is like this. Please move out and live wherever you want. "

The girl cried and said, "I'm not moving." Grandma is very kind to me, and I want to serve her ... "

It is not a relative, its origin is unknown, and it is still very close to "grandma, grandma", but it will not leave. What is the picture?

The person in charge of the village thought of the old woman's half-ancestral house.

This little devil doesn't want a house. What else does he want?

So, one day when the old woman was in a good state, the person in charge of the village road came to her house with a man and a woman. He introduced that the man is notarized by the county and the woman is a lawyer. He cut to the chase and told the old woman to make a decision before she died and leave a semi-ancestral house in the village. That house can be transformed into a facade. It can be sold or rented with a little modification, and the money is considerable.

The old woman said, "All right."

The person in charge of the village added, "Then put a handprint on this paper!"

The old woman was unhappy: "I don't think I will die for a while." The person in charge of the village was anxious: "This makes you press your fingerprints when you still understand!"

The old woman ignored the three men and women and turned her back on them. ...

The person in charge of the village had no idea, so he consulted several other people with ideas. They all think that the old woman may have been bewitched by goblins from other provinces, and left a will according to her fingerprints, giving a semi-ancestral house to goblins. ...

Word of mouth, a few people worry about things, overnight, as if it had become a foregone conclusion. Not bad. Why not? How can we let irrelevant people take advantage?

So the whole village, men, women and children, United as enemies.

No one wants to take care of that confused old woman. ...

The girl can't even do her job. ...

The hearts of the villagers are secretly twisted into a force-aren't you crying to be served? Take care of yourself! No matter how well you live, trying to occupy this house is a waste of time. See you in court!

Ten days later, the old woman left.

The old woman didn't save enough money to send herself, so the girl bought her a shroud … ..

A few days later, the girl disappeared without saying goodbye to anyone in the village or leaving a letter. ...

The person in charge of the village doesn't know what to do with the old woman's half-ancestral house. The price of the facade house in the scenic spot is rising, but he dare not transform, decorate or rent or sell it himself, because he is afraid that one day a girl will suddenly appear with a card in her hand, which will make the village lose the cost of transformation or decoration, and even sue him for illegal sale or rental. ...

The scenic spot is still crowded with tourists.

The waterwheel is still turning day and night.

That semi-old house is still idle and getting worse and worse. If you don't rebuild and decorate, it will soon collapse.