Travel Notes | I only remember this feeling

Before we arrived at Yang Di, my mother called us and said that Uncle Xie asked us if we would go to his house so that he could arrange whether the children would come back. At that time, we had no control over the subsequent play time. So I couldn’t tell the time. As soon as I got off the bamboo raft, I contacted Uncle Yang. After asking for the specific location, I followed the navigation and drove there.

My father used to work in a geological exploration unit. Uncle Xie was one of the few college students in the unit and a fellow villager of ours. He was a few years younger than my father. For a while, the two families lived only 2-3 miles apart. Uncle Xie has two children, Jiang Feng and Zhenhua. They have to walk further to school than us and need to pass by our door. Sometimes when they are busy with work, they will stay at my house, especially after my brother and I have transferred schools and returned to our hometown. (I found out this later). Later, due to work reasons, Uncle Xie's family came to Guilin, and now there are three generations living under one roof. Unfortunately, Aunt Yang left due to illness. My parents visited Guilin once a few years ago. This time they heard that I had arrived in Guilin. My parents wanted me to go and see it on their behalf. Uncle Xie also wanted to meet me, which was also a wish of mine. Therefore, the Guilin tour itinerary was specially arranged. rapid.
When we arrived at the agreed place, we made a phone call and Uncle Xie came to pick us up with his young son Zhenhua and his family. I haven't seen him for nearly 30 years, and I have completely forgotten his appearance. If I met him by accident, I would definitely not recognize him. We first arrived at Zhenhua’s house, where delicious food was constantly being put out. Uncle Xie hurriedly asked about his parents’ situation and some of my situation. His affection and concern were beyond words.
Originally, we planned to stay in a hotel because we didn’t want to cause any trouble to the old man. However, the old man had to arrange accommodation for us. During this time in Guilin, tourists flocked to Guilin and all the guest rooms were full. He asked his eldest son Jiang Feng to find a way. Solved, Jiang Feng was on his way back hundreds of kilometers away.
After dinner, the Zhenhua family accompanied us to visit the Two Rivers and Four Lakes scenic spot. Uncle Xie repeatedly requested that we must stay for two more days. We have not seen each other for decades and we must have a good chat. In the end, because his daughter had to rush back to work, I also wanted to go to Chenzhou to meet my old classmates and visit where they used to work, so I reluctantly agreed to stay only for one night, but I had to eat lunch the next day.
Early the next morning, the Zhenhua family accompanied us to visit Luotuo Park and Xiangshan Park. We also climbed to the top of Xiangshan Mountain to overlook Guilin city. At noon, we made a reservation at a well-known local restaurant early, and there was a full table of ten people. After two days of chatting, I realized that I was once an annoying "other people's child" because among these fellow villagers, I was the first to be admitted to college. They may not have thought that I was also regarded as "other people's child". "The children at home" have been tortured enough.

I originally wanted to go around to Lingqu to see this great water conservancy project during the Warring States Period, which is as famous as Dujiangyan. It connects the Xiangjiang River and Lijiang River from the upper reaches. It is one of the oldest canals in the world and has the "Pearl of Ancient Water Conservancy Architecture in the World" ” the reputation. Because there was absolutely no time, I had to give up. The day before, Xiong Juhua was asked by phone to make an appointment with some of her best classmates, such as Li Zuowen, Xie Songjiang and others, to have dinner together in the evening. There was no limit to the number of people. When I drove to the current Chenzhou base of the geological survey team, she arranged for me to attend another private dinner of hers, which was of a higher standard.

After eating and settling in, several classmates rushed over from nearby. It was half past ten before everyone arrived. There were also some other classmates, but it was too late to call them. On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, leisure shops rarely open for business. I finally found a coffee shop and opened the bayberry wine specially brought by Xie Songjiang, hoping to rediscover the feeling back then. Under the dim yellow light, I talked about the naughty and troublesome days, as well as the wild fruits and game in the mountains, especially the dried muntjac meat from Li Zuowen's family. I drooled just thinking about it, and I finally figured out what Dongmao is. Mouse, how delicious it tastes. There was also the innocent one who was stung by a bumblebee. At that time, we all lived in a bungalow. Li Xiong was in the same work area. In the mountains, Li and Xiong were still in the same row of houses. That time I went there and was sitting on the eaves. Next, the gang of boys found a honeycomb in the Xiong family's woodshed and had to destroy it. As a result, with a stick, the honeycomb was gone. A frightened bumblebee escaped straight away and hit me on the forehead. , and I had a good intimate moment, and before I knew it, it was already extremely hot.
When it was time to close, everyone was still interested. I said, I want to go to the original place tomorrow. I just need to get off the highway and take a short detour. I haven’t been there for more than 20 years and my work unit has moved. After Chenzhou, the place was abandoned, but I still wanted to see it. Unexpectedly, Xie Lixiong had this intention and had already wanted to go. Let's take this opportunity to go together, but Xiong had something to do the next day and couldn't go.
On the morning of the fifth day of the lunar new year, there was some fog. My classmates and I drove there in separate cars. In the car, I told my daughter and my wife how difficult the road was back then, how hard it was to walk in certain places, and what things were there. , in an instant, the most difficult part has arrived. Now a magnificent suspension bridge has replaced the dozens of miles of mountain roads. The Chishi Bridge once occupied the world's highest suspension bridge. It brought us here so easily. Unfortunately, the weather was not bright. Well, the observation deck is also closed during the Spring Festival.

After 2 hours of driving, we entered the place where we lived. Before we arrived, I pointed to the mountains and rivers next to the car and said, where can I swim, where is the beach, and which beach has turtle eggs? Wherever you can fish and dive, even my daughter said, Dad, you are so verbose today.
The units were moved away, and a small number of houses were sold to local people. Some of these houses were demolished with usable materials, and the brick houses built later are still in use. Those houses that were built for playing base that no one wanted, or even houses with mud on the sides of bamboo slats, the extremely warm place we used to live in, have all been lost in the years.
The school that used to be on the top of the mountain is now a piece of thatch. I have been talking about how many laps we have to run to reach 3,000 meters, which is far beyond the playground for athletes. Finally, we found a cement floor, which required turning to reach 100 meters. The track has become a forest, the school building is gone, and there is no trace of it. The toilets made of wood with transparent partition walls, and even the cesspools have been buried flat with mud and grass. Only the mountain is still there.
The synagogue in those days was often used as a movie theater in the later period, and it was also a cedar forest. The two rows of houses for "other people's children" can only be found by memory, which is a source of pride. The illuminated stadium is now the "Memorial of the Central Red Army's West Route Army's Battle in Rucheng". After the fierce battle, the Central Red Army entered the Guangdong and Guangxi regions, and then gradually moved towards victory.
The house that houses the popsicle room is still there, but it is not known what it is used for now. It was our favorite place in the summer. To buy a popsicle, we would sometimes get a glass of ice water. Under the fan, we could smell the ice machine. The aroma of popsicles wafting out of the room was so noisy that I missed it so much. We also found the last house we lived in. It was a brick house, and it was occupied by people. They looked at us curiously and looked at what we were doing. Later, they told us that we were revisiting our old place and warmly invited us to come in. We smiled and declined.
When I came to the streets of Jilong Township back then, it was no longer what I remembered. Yes, everything should change. We have all changed too much. The suspension bridge has become a cement bridge, but the river is much shallower. Many of the swimming routes that flowed down the river in those days have now turned into stone beaches, small hydropower stations that were a mecca for swimming and diving, and what is left is just the concrete bay, and the water pool under the bay is also made of pebbles and thatch.
I found a restaurant at noon. They had the old yellow rice cakes, the same rice wine, and my favorite bracken. I ordered some and drank a small bowl of rice wine. No one here checks for drunk driving. But don’t drink too much.

After dinner, we went our separate ways. I went to the work area where I was, and they went to theirs. This is the junction of Hunan and Jiangxi. Our work area is in Hunan, and theirs is in Jiangxi. The river next to it is the Ganjiang River. One of the tributaries flows into Jiangxi after a few kilometers.
The house I have lived in for more than three years is still there because it is a warehouse for important materials and is much stronger than other houses. However, half of it has collapsed and the surrounding area has become grass or weeds.
I asked 2 people and found my former partner. The last person I asked was the person I asked. When I asked, I felt it was him, but I didn't dare to confirm. If it were a few minutes late, he would have driven out to do errands. He is the same age as me and is now a grandfather. When he meets me, he doesn't care about other things. After more than 20 years, very few people come back again. He enthusiastically pulled me into the house, drank tea and chatted, filled the table with all kinds of food, and called his wife and a child back. Soon he called his eldest brother, saying that he must stay for dinner in the evening. We haven’t seen each other for more than 20 years, so we need to have a good chat. He had to drop out of school due to poverty. He has done well in recent years and is still a member of the county CPPCC. However, his parents have passed away many years ago. I said, since I’m not going to eat, I’m welcome to ask for something. First of all, I want the kind of dried pork liver that is only available in the local area. The whole pig liver is dried in the shade together with the gall. The taste is very special. He said that no one makes it now, and I He asked his wife to go upstairs to get some of those yellow cakes and rice wine, and then put them directly into the trunk of the car. I was not polite.

At around 9 o'clock in the evening, I returned to Longyan. I opened the trunk and saw that there were so many, enough to fill a washbasin. I cut some of it, steamed it until soft, and dipped it in some sugar. My daughter said it was delicious. The next day, I fried some more and the taste was different.
After a few days, I returned to Xi'an and brought some back with me. My parents said it tasted like back then. I kept asking them about various situations, opening the photo album, looking at the current situation, and the changes in the wasted years.