Dulin Kosma is the third boy in the Kosma family. In addition to his two brothers and one sister, he also has three younger brothers and two younger sisters. It can be said that the Kesma family has prospered at least until Dulin's generation.
But it is a pity that Kesma is not a prominent surname with a profound background. The so-called family... is just a good-natured joke made by the country people towards the farmer Mr. Kesma and his family. Who allowed him to give birth to so many children
That's right, Dulin is just a farmer's son. He needs to complete extremely heavy physical labor every day before he can enjoy a little free time after dinner.
If there were no accidents, Dulin might use a pack horse or two mules as a betrothal gift when he was twenty years old, and marry a man with a pockmarked face in the countryside where he lived, who was not suitable for farm work. Up and down, women with rough hands and feet are considered wives. Then he will be kicked out of his home by his father, and with the help of his brothers and sisters, he will build a log cabin of his own as close to home as possible, just like his farmer father.
During the day, farm as much wasteland as possible, expand the scope of farming and properly take care of crops that are not actually prone to problems.
At night, work on your wife's belly as much as possible, trying to give birth to enough offspring for yourself to reduce your burden in the future.
Almost all farmers will spend their lives in such an ordinary way. There may be a little flash of light in their simple and ordinary life, but that flash is just a small unwillingness in the sun and cannot be noticed at all.
However, this is something that will only happen unless something unexpected happens, and our story begins with a small accident in Dulin!
"My God! How could it be like this?" Mrs. Kesma covered her mouth in disbelief as she watched her eldest son and second son drag the unconscious Dulin out of the carriage.
It was obvious that his head was injured, and there was a dried blood mark on his forehead. It seemed that if he hadn't secretly drank Mr. Kesma's wine and fell to the ground and hit a stone, then he had gone to dig out a bird's nest again.
There are no entertainment projects in this rural place far away from the city, except for the time after the lights are turned off at night. So most young people spend their little free time drinking, gambling and peeking at girls. Of course, if possible, they would also give some thought to their stomachs, such as getting some game to reward their empty stomachs.
The eldest son, Mason, rolled up his sleeves and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He smiled wryly and briefly told the whole story. To put it simply, after finishing their work, the three of them secretly ran to the haystack to laze around. A stone flew from nowhere and hit Du Lin on the forehead, and he has been unconscious until now. .
With tears in her eyes, Mrs. Kesma walked to Du Lin and gently smoothed his hair. Her rough palms touched Du Lin's relatively tight little face, "My poor Du Lin...", she said again. When he raised his head, his eyes became a little fierce, "Do you know who threw the stone?"
In the countryside, if a woman has the temperament of a "young lady", she may not live to be thirty and die in depression. Don't underestimate the lethality of country people. The highly repetitive and heavy farm work has given them an unfriendly mouth and far more barbarism than they show. Swearing? That was just an anecdote after dinner. In the family unit, the fights that occurred because of some trivial things that could not be put on the table were the anecdotes that people talked about.
Mason smiled and scratched his head. He didn't see that person.
After Mrs. Kesma cursed a piece of trash, she asked the two brothers to move Dulin back to his squeaky bed.
They didn't hire a pastor or a doctor. It wasn't that they couldn't even afford that little money, but they needed to wait. If Du Lin still doesn't wake up after a day or two, they will invite the only priest in the town to come here to take a look at Du Lin, or they will ask the doctor who talks a lot and had four teeth knocked out to diagnose him.
Maybe in the eyes of city people, this is simply a kind of murder, but in the countryside, this is the most correct thing to do.
Unless absolutely necessary, I will never spend a penny!
Dulin, who was in a coma, had a dream, a very complicated dream. In the dream, he saw all kinds of strange things and experienced a journey that he could not describe. The poor guy woke up when something called a bullet penetrated him.
His first words after waking up caused turmoil in this family that had been peaceful for decades.
I'm going to the city!
Mr. Kesma sat on a hard wooden chair with his legs crossed. The cigarette in his hand burned out. He shivered and dropped the last piece of his butt on the ground, then raised his foot and crushed it. When he raised his eyebrows again, the family members all kept their heads slightly bowed, with very serious and humble expressions.
Mr. Kesma is the real master of this family. Without him, there would be no one here. For the ignorant and backward countryside, Mr. Kesma’s power is obviously higher than the divine law and imperial law. .
"You... want to go to the city?" Mr. Kesma tried his best to make his tone less aggressive. In his opinion, this was simply a very stupid thing. Can anyone go to the city? If the countryside is a comfortable place, then the city is a hell and a devil's cave. Every minute, every second is a kind of suffering. In that damn place, it seemed like even breathing cost money.
No money
Then you can only become a homeless person. If you are lucky, you may encounter charity from kind-hearted people and fill your stomach. If you are unlucky, you will most likely be caught by human traffickers and sent to the north for mining. After all, strong young men like Dulin are the favorite type of mine owners.
Facing Mr. Kesma's inquiry, Dulin nodded seriously, "Yes, father, I want to go to the city. I can't stay in a place like this and waste my life. Human life is extremely precious. If you can't bloom the most brilliantly, The brilliance of life is no more comfortable than death."
"You are illiterate. After you go to the city, you are like a blind man with your eyes open. You can't read street signs, you can't read newspapers, and you can't even read the recruitment briefing!"
Although he knew that Mr. Kesma was trying his best to stop him, Du Lin had already determined to leave the country. He couldn't slowly rot and decay like a zombie in this place. He needed to create his own life.
Just like the poor guy in the dream, even if his wife and children are separated in the end, even if he has nothing in the end, even if he dies under a thing called a bullet, he will still release his own dazzling light to the fullest.
If you are mediocre, it is better to die!
"Father, I know how to learn. I know you have your knowledge, but I want to leave here and go out for a while. I can repair leather shoes and umbrellas. These are the skills that I can use to live in the city. And I can endure hardship, father, I don’t want wages, as long as you give me a place to live, I believe someone will be willing to hire a fool like me.” Convincing Mr. Kesma is the only way for Dulin to leave the country.
Every week a car passes by this place called Wild Clover Town, but if you want to get on the car, you need money.
In the large family of Kesma, except for Mr. Kesma, who has money in his hands, even the eldest son Mason, who is nineteen years old, has never touched money a few times, let alone him, the guy further behind.
"Are you sure you want to leave, leave me, your mother, and your brothers and sisters?" Mr. Kesma's tone became a little harsh, which is the most intolerable thing for a parent like him who grew up in the countryside. It is the ignorant child who refuses his good intentions and continues to disobey his will.
Du Lin was silent for a moment, stood up, and took off his belt. It was made of a strip of beef tendon, very strong, and covered with a thick layer of putty. He placed his belt on the table, then took off his shirt and lay on the floor.
"If you want to enforce family law, then please implement it before I leave!" Dulin said firmly, "Because I have made the first and most important decision in my life, I want to leave. Here, go to the city.”
"Even if I will be injured or die in the city, that is the path I chose. I respect you and love you. You gave me life, but I hope that there will be a day in my life that I can personally control My own future for once!"
In the end, Mr. Kesma did not pick up his belt. He rolled two cigarettes in a row and looked at the children beside him from time to time. Although he didn't have much culture and didn't understand any big principles, life gave him the wisdom that humans should have. When one puppy runs away from the den, the other puppies will not want to stay in the den. Dulin may not even realize that his thoughts changed not only himself, but also his brothers and sisters.
In a silent night, no one was interested in communicating, and everyone was thinking about Du Lin's upcoming departure.
Early in the morning, Mr. Kesma was already sitting at the table outside the kitchen. There was a small palm-sized box in his hand. It was something Mr. Kesma brought back when he went to the city. It used to contain It was filled with a kind of filtered cigarette, which Mr. Kesma regarded as a treasure. Later... It seemed that it was the next New Year, when Mr. Kesma took out the box and found that the cigarettes that were missing one cigarette were covered with mold.
Annoyed, he exposed the mold-laden cigarettes in the sun, hoping to salvage some of them, but it turned out to be pointless.
From then on, this small iron box became a device he used to store important things, and he hid it in the cavity under the third wooden board under the bed.
Yes, the whole family knew where he hid the things, but he felt that others didn't know.
Perhaps because he knew that today he would leave this decadent countryside and go to the metropolis to create his own future, Du Lin didn't sleep a wink all night and was still full of energy in the morning. He was wearing linen overalls and a light blue canvas jacket that was washed white in some places and was very common in the countryside. He made himself clean and full of longing for the future.
"Father!"
Dulin said hello, and Mr. Kesma pointed to the chair next to him and asked him to sit down. After Du Lin sat down, Mr. Kesma pushed the cup in front of him away, took the small iron box, hesitated, and handed it to Du Lin.
"There are twenty yuan in it, which is enough for you to live in the city for at least three months. After three months, you will have two options, either live your own life, or go back to the country because of hunger. " He seemed to have a lot of emotions that were not seen in ordinary times. He patted Du Lin's shoulder hard and squeezed it tightly, making Du Lin feel bursts of pain. "Remember, you are a member of the Kosma family. Boy, no matter whether you can be like those decent guys in the future, don't forget that you still have a way out. "
"We will welcome you home at any time!"
It was hard for Du Lin to imagine that his father, who was usually unsmiling and serious, always giving people a stereotyped impression, could say such emotional words. His nose felt a little sore for no reason, and he nodded vigorously, "I understand, if one day I come back, it will never be because I am desperate and come back like a loser. I will let flowers cover the ground, and I will Let the people play on the roadside, for they will welcome a king home!"
Mr. Kesma smiled and slapped Dulin on the back of the head, "Let's go, boy, stop playing tricks on you."
The two left home without saying goodbye to their families, and walked outside the town in silence. After waiting for about half an hour, an old-fashioned bus with sixteen wheels in total came slowly. There were already some people sitting in the car, but most of the seats were still empty.
Looking at the car that was slowly stopping, Mr. Kesma suddenly hugged the son in front of him, who sometimes made him angry, and patted his back hard, as if to remember something firmly in his mind. , "Go, go, the chicks will always leave the nest and live alone. I can't give you a good family, but I won't stop you from flying into the sky!"
Du Lin took a deep breath and looked at his father, who had wrinkles on his face and his hair looked a little yellow and white, and his eyes were filled with mist. Without saying another word, he got on the bus and chose a window seat. Under his father's reluctant eyes, he gradually left the town that had raised him for sixteen years on the bumpy road.
(End of chapter)