——An interview with Zha Shixiang Village in Bengbu
April 5, 2021, the last day of the Qingming Festival, was a sunny morning. The golden sunlight reflected early into my house through the window glass on other floors. The room was bright and dazzling, giving people a bright spring feeling everywhere.
I had a good night's sleep. I drove to Hefei, the provincial capital, yesterday, and I was mostly tired. After coming back, I cooked some rice, ate, took a hot bath, and went to bed. At first, I couldn't fall asleep, so I turned on the TV and watched... When I woke up, it was already past six o'clock the next morning. How I fell asleep, I didn't know. I just knew that after driving all day yesterday, People are tired.
After getting up, I thought about what the teacher had said earlier: going to Shixiang Village to sketch things. See how the weather is so good, the sun has come out, and there is a magnificent world outside the window. Wash out the door. Riding my electric bicycle, I followed the direction of the sun and headed all the way to the western suburbs of Bengbu City.
Shixiang Village is located on the south side of the Huaihe River Gate in the west of Bengbu City, where it intersects with Qinji Town. It faces the Huaihe River in the north, Heihu Mountain in the east, and Tushan Village in Huaiyuan County in the west. It is affiliated to Yuhui, Bengbu City. District Changqing Township. There are about 900 households and about 3,200 people in the village. The actual land area is 4,560 acres, mainly engaged in agriculture and transportation. Some villagers also conduct a small amount of nursery and bonsai planting to make a living by exporting.
Entering Shixiang Village, the roads are well built, thanks to the national road access policy for every village. There are cement pavements and brick-walled buildings everywhere in the village. It can be seen that the lives of the villagers are now very good. After food and clothing are completely solved, we can no longer see the kind of earth walls and thatched roofs, short and without sunlight, and indoor humidity all year round. A thatched house that smells musty.
Nowadays in Shixiang Village - every family has buildings and courtyards, and many people have already driven cars. There are only very few people in the village, and the doors of every house are closed. A small number of old people sit in a corner of the village in groups of three or three, chatting about trivial matters at home and interesting things in the village under the sunshine of spring. There were quite a few children running around and playing in the village. When riding bikes passing by their homes, there would occasionally be dogs barking, but not much. While asking for directions and chatting with a villager, I learned that the young people in the village have now bought houses in the city, saying that it is for the development of their children. The houses in the village are basically unoccupied, and they only come back to visit occasionally. I only saw a small number of villagers working in the fields in the village, and they were all in their fifties and sixties. I didn't see a single young person.
Because the weather is good and it is spring, the village has been bathed in the morning sunshine. There is no wind today, and it is the season of spring flowers. There are spring gardens everywhere in and outside the village. Needless to say, blue sky and white clouds are common, as are green mountains and green waters. The farmland outside the village is full of rapeseed flowers, and many fruit trees are also blooming with red, pink, white, and yellow flowers, which are very beautiful. The air is also good, slightly cool, slightly sweet, and leisurely. This village is very close to the Huaihe River. I looked around and saw that it was only a few hundred meters away. Standing in the village, I could see the water of the Huaihe River flowing not far away. I thought: This is also where the Huaihe River is nourished, and it is at the Bengbu Gate of the Huaihe River. Above it is the water of the Huaihe River that flows thousands of miles along the Jingtu Mountains and goes to Bengbu downstream.
? There is another scene outside the village. The road is rugged and difficult to walk. There are many potholes. There are also many roads with mud and water. The road has become very narrow, but it is closer to the mountain. , you can see it clearly and it’s very comfortable.
The floral fragrance of rapeseed, the sweetness of the breeze, and the brightness of the sun. Empty mountains and fields, green everywhere, and working people. Looking at everything in front of me, and thinking about the peaceful villages, leisurely old people, and happy children I passed just now, I felt relieved from the bottom of my heart.
? The spring countryside, the spring-colored stone alley, is really a new world in the countryside, a changed world.
The sky and the earth are long and wide, and spring comes early. In the depths of the universe, only China is safe. The central government has issued an order to pinpoint poverty alleviation points. Today's results show, the ground is full of spring beauty. There is no more thatch in the new agricultural land. Follow the Communist Party closely, and the joy is unlimited.
Written at the northern foot of Zhanggong Mountain on the banks of the Huaihe River