Night reading 丨 Ancient wells that are not fighting with the world

□ Lu Minghua

The ancient wells of the hometown are simple and simple, solid and practical, like the old people who are in the village without the world, with a kind of quietness and tranquility.

Gujing is located in the west of the village. The old man in the village said that this ancient well has a history of five or six hundred years. Even the heavy drought weather once in a century, this eye has never been exhausted. It is said that there are "aquatic" (water veins) at the bottom of the ancient well, which originated from the mountains of the old house.

Although the ancient well is unknown, the well water is amazing, giving people the experience of warm winter in winter and cool. Every winter when it is cold and dripping into the ice, the hot air will rise in the well in the morning, and the well water is simply a hot spring. In the era when there was no water in the countryside, the mother often got up early in the morning and habitually washed the wells on the shore of the well. Washing clothes and dishes in winter water are more comfortable than river water. The river is cold and bitter, and if you soak your hands, you will frostbite. Wash it with well water, but drives the cold, warming hands like spring. In the hot summer, drink a sip of water in the old well, cool, and refreshing. The children's favorite soda, watermelon, and cucumber are placed in the well water in the well water with the net pockets. After soaking in well water, the fruits are cold, crispy and fragrant in their mouths.

Well water is also an important component of a soil and soil. Because the well water here is good, the tofu made in the village is particularly delicious and sells very well.

Ancient well nurtured one person and people who rely on ancient wells to have deep feelings for Gujing. On one occasion, some people in the village found that the water quality of the ancient well became a bit turbid. The village spontaneously organized a dozen strong men to live, and lifted the water pump to pump the water, so that the water of the ancient well saw the bottom. Then, send a young man to the small valley to the bottom of the well, dig the mud garbage at the bottom of the well with an iron spoon, and then wash the moss dirt on the wall of the well with a bamboo broom. The legends of the old people are not wrong. There are "aquatic" (water veins) under the well, just like clear spring, and the amount of water is equivalent to the two or three tap water faucets in the home now.

Drink water and do not forget to dig the well. People who wash things by the ancient wells are endless every day, and the sanitation around the ancient well will inevitably become a problem. As a result, an old neighbor became an unknown hero who was obliged to protect well. Just when the fish belly was exposed every day, he appeared to clean the garbage by the ancient well and keep the cleaning around the ancient well. This did for decades, until the village's home was in the water.

Today, that mouth has witnessed the old wells of dozens of generations, and slowly disappeared into the change of time. A stone monument stands on the side of the old well and becomes a new scenery in the village.

Source: Excerpted from May 19, 2022, Lu Ming, the authors of the nostalgia of the Chutian Metropolis Daily Edition

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