C16 Autumn Lotus Peacock Dance Under the Stars

Coming back from his own tea field, the johns' light steps suddenly froze. She once again heard the sound of people reading aloud from the big tea village primary school. It was so impassioned. She quickly took the tools used to cut the tea field from her small shoulders and placed them on the ground. She gazed in the direction of Da Tea Village Primary School.

Her gaze fell on the roof of Da Tea Village Primary School, in front of the school building. The five-star red flag swayed gently in the absence of wind. She had never been to the place called "school. " She was at the foot of the Great Tea Mountain. She often passed by the tiny monastery. Sometimes, there was the sound of a bell. She felt that the situation in the school was. . . It should be similar to that.

Compared to her thin and tanned body, the bamboo basket hanging from the bend of her arm. . . It appeared to be so big again, completely disproportionate to her body. 'Might as well. . . ' She placed the bamboo basket on the ground and stood under the sunlight. She narrowed her eyes and stared at Tea Village Primary School. She used her hands to wipe the sweat on her forehead. Her yellow hair. . . It was thin and soft. It had been a few days since she had carefully combed it. A strand of hair had already fallen to the side of her cheek. She simply ignored it.

Qiuhe could vaguely hear the students' voices coming from the empty window of Teahouse Primary School. She stood on her tiptoes and approached the school dormitory. She tilted her head to look inside and listened attentively.

At this moment, a boy in the school dormitory noticed her. He made an expression that looked like a cat chasing her away. He was threatening the invaders with his teeth bared. Qiu He shrunk her neck and returned to her body in disappointment. She recognized him. He seemed to be called Ah Liang. Before this school, Ah Liang had been running around the village. Occasionally, he would greet her, but after the school, He had never spoken to her again.

From this year onwards, she had already stepped into the age of thirteen. She had started at ten years old. Grandpa took care of the tea field at home. That year, he was bedridden. Grandma's body had also become inflexible from that summer. She lost her playmate from earlier on. So early that even she couldn't remember how old she was. The girl thought about how naive and childish those children were. Even if they hated her, it wouldn't affect her mood at all.

She wore a red shirt and the thin skirt was washed clean by her. After standing there for a while, she turned around and walked back.

"A lot of people have seen elephants, and they say they are big animals. Actually, there are animals that are much bigger than elephants, and that is whales. " Behind the autumn lotus, the sound of someone reading aloud rang out again. It came from a text called 'Whale', and one of its sentences.

"How should the word 'whale' be written? What kind of word is' whale '? Why don't I remember it at all?" As he walked, Autumn Lotus pondered this question. She didn't know how to write a single word. There was once when she tried to write her own name, "Qiu He," but when she lifted the tree branch, she stood there blankly. She found that she didn't know how to write at all.

Those of the same age should be able to write their own names, right? Qiuhe looked back and saw that Da Tea Village Primary School was getting further and further away.

But so what if they could write their own names? The paddy still needed to be trimmed. If she did not eat, she would still starve. Her family couldn't leave her no matter what. She was the pillar of the family. She thought with relief.

But if she had time, it would be better to squat outside the school building and listen to what they were saying. If she could see how they wrote on the blackboard. . . If I read too much, I will naturally be able to learn. But it will be good if I have time.

Qiuhe is very confident that no matter what she learns, she will be able to learn very quickly. She had long learned the ability to spend less time doing more things. If she was given a chance, she would definitely become very outstanding. At that time, She thought that her peers in the village would fight to be with her. When she thought of this, Qiuhe's footsteps became light again, and she even tried to jump around happily. She temporarily forgot about the hardships of her life. It was as if she was still so young and naive.

Her petite body was carrying a large bamboo basket. Her footsteps were very light as she walked in the village. In the afternoon, in the hot and humid village. There was no one on the road. The adults were all taking an afternoon nap, right? The kids were reading Whale in the elementary school of Big Tea Village. She was the only one who felt the heat and leisure in the afternoon. She heard the cries of some chickens and ducks, and the whole village was roasted by the sun. The red dirt road under her feet was very hot.

Along a dirt road that was washed by the rain, Autumn Lotus walked up. The rainy season. This road was wet and slippery, able to sink shoes in. The weather was clear, the mud was fixed in shape. It would become this bumpy and bumpy road, and stepping on it would be a bit difficult. Qiuhe walked all the way to the foot of the Great Tea Mountain. She bent down towards the wild vegetables.

After working in the tea field, she still had to come and cut some wild vegetables. She didn't need too much, just a little bit was enough. She swiftly picked up the head of the wild vegetables with one hand, and with a small knife, she used all her strength to cut off the head of the wild vegetables and threw them into the basket. The sunlight unceremoniously shone on the back of her neck. She felt that her entire narrow back was burning, extremely hot.

She was a bit thirsty, but there was no water by her side.

From the foot of the mountain, she could see the entire Da Tea Village. Bamboo towers that blocked the shade of the trees were arranged in a row. There were countless red dirt paths in the village. Green tea fields covered the tea village. Looking further into the distance, The endless green mountains seemed to have extended to the horizon. She had long since become accustomed to this kind of scene. The hot temperature caused the air in her eyes to form an optical refraction effect. Some places clearly didn't have puddles, but looking from afar. . . It was like a mirror reflecting light, like a bright white puddle.

In the afternoon that was being roasted, not even birds were willing to come out to hunt for food. The dark blue sky was so clean that not even a speck of black could be seen. After resting for a while, the autumn lotus continued to cut wild vegetables.

"I'm the only one working. The adults and children are all hiding under the roof. Sleep, sleep, learn. But they don't understand how relaxed I am right now. I can't see how blue the sky is right now. . . They always miss some good times, only Qiuhe. . . She is alone. . . Enjoying the beautiful scenery. " Autumn Lotus uses her strength to cut off the wild vegetables. In the Dai village's dialect, she muttered in a low voice.

Not long after, Qiuhe carried half a basket of wild vegetables. When she went down the foot of the mountain, she would only come here to cut wild vegetables in good weather. If it was a rainy day, she wouldn't dare to climb up. After catching up to the rainy day, the rapid flow of water flowed down from the top of the mountain. After passing by the entrance of a few houses at the foot of the mountain, it gathered into a muddy canal. This caused the residents at the foot of the mountain to be unable to go out. In such weather, she was afraid of slipping down the slope. She could only stay at home.

Qiuhe's house was at the foot of the mountain, in the second last old house. This old house probably had a few decades of history. It was a house built from pear wood and clay blanks. The erosion of time made it look like it was riddled with scars. The walls in a few places fell off, revealing the rotten pear wood inside. It was not easy for a house to stand tall in the courtyard. Qiuhe's grandmother was holding a wooden stick in her hand. She looked outside the courtyard.

As soon as she entered the courtyard, Qiuhe walked towards the vegetable field in the courtyard. She looked elsewhere and said, "How hot is it? Aren't you hot?"

"The weather is starting to get hot. The rainy season is coming. The rainy season is coming. There will be no shortage of water in the tea field. You won't need to water the tea field from the stream. " Grandma watched as Qiuhe squatted beside the vegetable field. She took out the wild vegetables and used a small knife to cut them into pieces. She slowly raised her chin, which had many wrinkles, in one direction. That direction was her family's tea field. It wasn't a large piece of land, but it relied on the labor ability of a young girl named Qiuhe. That place was still too big.

What made people even more worried was that even after putting in a lot of work, the final product of dried tea was only a tenth of the fresh tea leaves. In the end, there were even fewer people who could be exchanged for food and drink.

"There's no need to water it. It looks to be fine, but I'll have to weed it out. Besides water, there are also weeds brought by the rainy season. "

"Yeah, we can use weeding if there are conditions, but our family can't. Our family can only rely on the small hands of Qiuhe. "

Qiuhe chopped the wild vegetables with all her strength, and the vegetable stump made a "bang bang" sound. After chopping a few times, she stopped. Staring at Grandma, Grandma seemed to have a trace of a kind smile on the corner of her mouth. She said, "I just went to the front door of Da Tea Village Primary School. I heard a little kid like me reading 'whales' aloud. If I could read aloud like them, Instead of chopping vegetables here, I wouldn't feel so sad. But grandpa and grandma didn't want me to write with my hands. I came to work. Every time I wanted to give up, I will remind myself, just like my grandma just reminded me. I'm the pillar of the family. "

Grandma's face was a little stiff. Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she didn't. In a trance, she remembered that the girl in front of her was already thirteen years old. She once again faced the direction of the tea field and asked, "How's the growth of the tea field?"

"It's green. "

"The dried leaves in the tea field have to be taken off. The fallen leaves have to be picked up and thrown to the side. "

"That's what I did. "

" As long as they grow well. " Qiu He's grandmother sighed and turned around, no longer looking at Qiu He's petite body.

Qiu He chopped up all the wild vegetables she had cut and stirred them with water. She walked to a corner of the courtyard and poured the wild vegetables into the food trough. A white duck came over to eat and made a sound. This was the only duck in the Autumn Lotus family. It was like a lonely autumn lotus.

Grandpa was lying on the bamboo bed in the bedroom. He had not been able to get out of bed for a few years. Occasionally, he could sit up and lean against the bed. He would not be able to hold on for long. Most of the time, he would fall down. His eyes were becoming more and more muddy. There would always be something murky flowing out from the corners of his eyes. His hands were always trembling, and his body functions seemed to have rusted. He was old.

"Is it hot?" Qiuhe walked into the room and glanced at her grandfather. He stared blankly at the ceiling. Qiuhe seemed to be able to read her grandfather's thoughts. "I'll help you relieve the heat. " As Qiuhe spoke, she turned back and scooped a basin of cold water from the outer room. She wet the towel and wiped it on her grandfather's arm.

Qiuhe's grandfather's mouth hung down, and his face was covered with wrinkles. His face was pale, and he looked very weak. He was very thin and weak. It was as if someone had sucked away his essence energy. He stared at Qiu He as she skillfully wiped his arm. The corner of his mouth twitched, but he was unable to make a sound.

His gaze did not have a single focus. His eyeballs moved about, and the dim light disappeared when it was bright.

"Grandpa, don't worry. Elder Lee from the Great Tea Village School never looked for me again. The new teacher didn't look for me either. I was just giving a lecture and thinking about random things. Those kids wouldn't have thought of what I was doing while they were studying. In Grandpa's words, I was working to survive. "

After wiping with a cold towel, Qiuhe gently pinched Grandpa's stiff arm. Grandpa had been quiet since last year. Since Qiuhe could read from Grandpa's eyes, she knew that Grandpa must have heard the conversation between her and Grandma. Therefore, he probably didn't know what to do.

After hearing what Qiuhe said, Grandpa's lips curled up again, then trembled and hung down. His eyes seemed to have found the focal point on Qiuhe's dry hair, and he started to stare.

Qiuhe ignored him and continued talking to herself. She massaged her grandfather's arm. This was the most ordinary day of her countless days. She had to spend every day like this.

Looking out through the empty window, the road behind the house was filled with little orange flowers. Autumn Lotus's gaze was lowered, and the little flowers became more and more blurry.

Two years ago, a primary school was built in the village of Tea Village. Elder Li and Wang Ke went to every family in the village that had children. Naturally, they also went to Qiuhe's house. Elder Li and Wang Ke talked about the importance of compulsory education. They said that knowledge could change fate. The older generation of the Great Tea Village had never left the mountain, and the younger generation should not follow in their footsteps.

Knowledge was power, hope, and children were the seeds of hope. As he spoke, Elder Li and Officer Wang looked at the restrained Qiuhe by the side. Qiuhe's star-like eyes emitted a look of longing and unwillingness. Her body leaned forward. "This child is very smart. " Elder Li sighed.

However, Qiuhe's grandfather shook his head repeatedly. No, nonsense. Can learning fill one's stomach? In order to survive, one had to work. Not working was not practical. The Dai people have been like this for generations. Only by working today could one sleep well at night and not worry that there would be no food tomorrow.

The tea field needed someone to take care of it. Otherwise, it would not be able to produce tea. Without tea leaves, they would not be able to exchange for food and drink. Even if they wanted to eat simple sour bamboo shoots, they would still need to work. That year, Qiuhe's grandfather was still very energetic. At the very least, it didn't take much effort for him to speak.

"Qiuhe doesn't need any culture or compulsory education. She has a hard life and can't afford to waste time. She should learn more about keeping a family. She's just a girl, and she'll have to find her in-laws in a few years. Our family still has to rely on Qiuhe. If she goes to study culture now, our family will be separated. "

Grandma and Grandpa Wan Yan sent Elder Li and the others out of the house. Qiuhe didn't say a word. Standing at the door of the house, she felt as if she had lost something very important, and her body became light and light.

Later, Da Tea Village Primary School came to some of the city's branch schools one after another, and the school did things like that. Most of the children of appropriate age in the village had gone. The noise from the past had disappeared, and only the life of Autumn Lotus had not changed. Elder Li and Officer Wang had come once or twice, and Dao Xiaotong had come as well.

Every time Dao Xiaotong came, she hugged Qiuhe tightly. She did not say anything. However, it seemed like she had different feelings for Qiu He. However, every time they came, the result would be the same. Her grandfather and grandmother rejected them. Just like the first time, Qiuhe stood at the door of the house. She watched them leave. What was the real hope in her heart. . .

In the future, no one would come.

Qiuhe got up from the bamboo bed and took the medicine for her grandfather. This kind of small black pill was to improve the condition of the cerebral vessel disease, so that her grandfather could sustain it. Qiuhe's family's originally low income from the tea field was mostly spent on this medicine. As a result, her family needed to reduce the expenditure again on the basis of poverty.

Today, the Qiuhe family was the only family in the village that did not have access to civilian electricity. Until now, her family did not have an electric light. In the night, Qiuhe was always lying in the darkness. She felt as if she had lost her breath, sinking in silence and darkness. At a certain moment, she was thinking. . . Was she already dead? Until she once again caught a glimpse of the light from her neighbor's house through the window. . . Only then did she come back to her senses.

The night was also completed in the darkness. She walked barefoot on the bed and fumbled out the door in the darkness. The starlight in the courtyard fell on her body all of a sudden. Although life was so realistic and arduous, Qiuhe always had beautiful dreams. She dreamt that the starlight in the night illuminated a small part of the world for her. This was the light that only belonged to her, and only she could feel and see it. She felt that. . . As long as there was faith, she would be able to feel that light.

She also didn't know what her faith was. It was indescribable. Only in the depths of her brain could she feel it. Of course, She also dreamt that her life at home had become better. She no longer had to worry about her basic survival. She didn't have to worry about starving or working day and night anymore. She also went to Da Tea Village Primary School to study. Grandpa's body also gradually recovered. . .

When she put the medicine bottle back to its original position, Qiuhe's gaze fell on the old-fashioned mirror. In the mirror, her tanned face and dry lips were reflected. She curled her lower lip and used her teeth to bite off the skin that had surfaced, causing a trace of blood to flow out. She looked at herself indifferently.

Very quickly, she shifted her gaze to the mirror frame. A green feather was inserted into the gap in the mirror frame. It was very beautiful, under the diagonal rays of the sun. It reflected blue, green and colorful light. This green peacock's tail feather was when her father was still alive. The only thought left. It had been inserted into the frame for many years.

After cleaning up the potatoes planted in the back of the house, it was already 5 PM in the afternoon. Qiuhe washed her hands in the clear pond. She wiped her face. She started to cook dinner. It was an extremely ordinary steamed potato and glutinous rice. She first ate two potatoes in a hurry in the outer room. Then she ate some glutinous rice that was slightly more advanced than the potatoes. After wolfing down the food, she continued. She then went to her grandfather's bedside and fed it to him.

She left more glutinous rice for her grandfather and grandmother. Because her grandfather ate very carefully and slowly. . . Usually, as he ate, the sky would turn dark. There was no light in the room. The room quickly turned dark, and Qiuhe borrowed the moonlight and starlight from outside the window. Grandpa waited for his grandfather to slowly eat, but he did not make a sound when he ate. Qiuhe felt that he was resting while chewing.

As the sky turned dark, the room fell into darkness. Qiuhe's house also became very quiet. There were all kinds of sounds during the day, and the villagers in the village were shouting. The sound of the calabash and elephant's foot drums, the wind, and the chirping of birds. But at night, Qiuhe felt as if there was a cover covering her courtyard. The sounds of the outside world suddenly disappeared. The family stayed silent in the darkness, quietly experiencing the flow of time.

Time was also based on feelings. The Qiuhe family did not have anything that could be used to look at time. Her family always worked and rested when the sun set. After accompanying her grandfather to dinner, Qiu He cooked the last thing she did every day in the dark. She prepared the glutinous rice the next morning and also had to wash the potatoes and put them in the pot. She only needed to wait for the morning to light the stove.

She was sure that Grandma was lying down. Qiuhe was washing her hair with clear water in the outhouse. Her hair had grown a lot longer, and it had already touched her shoulders. She twisted her hair dry as if she were wringing clothes. All of this was done in the darkness. Raising her head, she leaned against the wall and walked outside. She thought to herself, Today's work is over.

Arriving in the courtyard, The starry sky was so beautiful that it was unreal, as if it was a dream. Qiu He reached out her hand as if she could touch it. The short starry sky made her feel a little dizzy. She raised her small chin and stared at one of the bright stars. She stretched her hand over her head and pointed at it.

Suddenly, her feet could not help but start jumping. Step by step, wrong step. Moving forward. His calves and thighs bent together with his waist and abdomen. His back, his back, and neck. It formed three curves. Her entire body began to bend gently as she looked up at the starry sky. Her arms, wrists and palms. . . Another three curves, her body and arms were like waves. . . They started to shake slowly. They were agile, graceful, and graceful.

However, when this dance was performed by a girl, it was more delicate and simple. The Autumn Lotus imitated the Green Peacock's eyes, which were as beautiful as a deep pond. It flickered and blinked, changing its angle along with its nimble head. Its eyes were filled with the light of wisdom.

Qiu He pinched the Peacock's Mouth Type Hand and waved it above her head, as if the Green Peacock's head was moving agilely. At this moment, her eyes seemed to have come alive and had her own soul. She displayed the alertness and intelligence of the Green Peacock in the forest.

Her eyes were full of life, and she even displayed a kind of beautiful childishness.

Qiuhe did not remember how she learned the traditional peacock dance of the Dai clan. When she was very young, she remembered some parts of it when she saw her parents dancing. Later, when the men and women in the village were dancing, she observed from the side and learned it so easily.

Not only that, but she also learned the essence of the Dai peacock dance. It was to imitate the auspicious birds of the Dai people. After the peacock, she made some more delicate adjustments to make herself look more like a colorful peacock. The peacock's frown and pause were all vivid and vivid in her mind.

She often imagined herself as a green peacock. Without any accompaniment music, she would dance under the starlight of the courtyard alone. At that time, she forgot everything and indulged in the beauty of the peacock dance itself. Hope, labor, darkness, and food were all thrown out of her mind.

She imagined the fresh and melodious melody of the Phoenix-Tail Bamboo under the moonlight and started to dance to her heart's content under the starry sky. She unrestrainedly swam around the world of national dance. There was no sound from the outside world. However, her heart was already silent, and the melody resounded by her ears.

She was immersed in the silent expression of the body language. Only at this moment did the heavy burden on her thin shoulder lighten up. The pressure that had accumulated in her heart was completely released in the dance. Peacock Dance was the last paradise in the depths of her heart. It was the cheapest happiness she could obtain.

Qiuhe mimicked the peacock playing in the forest. She put her other hand behind her back and pinched it into a sparrow's tail. She bent her waist and shook it. She spread her legs again and lifted her hands from both sides of her body to the top of her head. Then, she slowly fell from the top of her head and made the posture of a peacock spreading its tail.