haunted pillow

My mother has made dumplings all her life. The dumpling wrappers are beautifully rolled, white and round, not too big or too small. A thick piece is left in the middle so that they won’t be boiled. My son loved watching her make dumplings when he was a child. At that time, the family was poor. , the only time I can eat a few white flour dumplings is during Chinese New Year. Every time my mother makes dumplings, my son follows her and watches intently.

Chopping stuffing and rolling skins are very tiring, and my shoulders and arms hurt so much that I can't lift them up every time, but as long as I think of my son's love, my mother doesn't feel any hard work.

When the dumplings were on the table, the daughter-in-law took one first, took a bite and exclaimed, "What is this?"

The mother smiled and said: "Shepherd's purse, I went out to dig it out, it's delicious."

The daughter-in-law frowned.

In front of her mother, she didn't say anything. When her mother went to the kitchen to serve dumpling soup, she saw her throw the half-bitten dumpling into the trash can, and snatched the dumpling from her grandson's mouth, and threw it together: "What? Things are dirty, don't eat them."

The daughter-in-law is the only daughter of a high official, so she must have never eaten this kind of food. She may think it is dirty. The mother thought shepherd's purse was delicious, and she must like it. She wanted her to taste it, but after seeing this scene, she was speechless. Come.

The son frowned and said, "Eat a dumpling, why are you so busy."

After taking a bite, he frowned and said, "Why are there so many fats in this dumpling?"

The mother looked expectantly: "Yes, I specially cut a few taels of extra fat. Isn't this your favorite food when you were young?"

The son clicked his tongue: "In the past, I couldn't afford meat. Fat meat is more delicious than lean meat, so I like to buy fat meat once in a while. What's the age now, why do you still eat that?"

When my mother finished cleaning up in the kitchen and came out, the family had already finished eating and dispersed. She sat at the table and ate alone with a bowl.

Halfway through eating, my mother saw the dumpling thrown by her grandson in the trash can. She hadn't even bitten into it. The white skin was not mixed with grains and cornmeal, and the inside was delicious and swollen pork.

When I was poor in the past, I couldn’t eat this kind of white-faced pork dumplings all year round. My mother was really reluctant, so she hesitated, picked the dumplings from the trash can, washed them with water, and planned to eat them.

It happened that the son passed by and saw it, grabbed it and scolded, "What are you doing?"

While talking, he threw the dumpling on the ground, and stepped on it disgustingly like he stepped on some dirty thing.

The son was wearing slippers at home, and the dumpling was crushed with one kick, exposing the stuffing in the white belly.

He said impatiently: "How many times have I told you, this is in the city, not in your country, you are my biological mother of Wang Erzhe anyway! Let people see my mother rummaging through the trash can at home every day, I am a dignified deputy Where do you put the cadre's face?"

After he finished speaking, he didn't turn his head and walked away. Mother was silent for a long time, and finally squatted down slowly, picked up the rotten dumplings on the ground, and wiped the place clean before getting up.

She was getting old, and her blood pressure was already high. When she squatted down, she felt dizzy and very uncomfortable. When she returned to the small room, she sat down beside the bed, dazed in a daze.

The mother thought of her son when he was a child.

When the son was young, the family was very poor. When his father went out to work, he died in an accident on the construction site. Except for the thousands of dollars left by the foreman, he left nothing behind.

The mother was alone, regardless of what the village told her, a young widow, she worked hard from morning to night, worked hard to make money, fed and dressed her son, went to school, and raised him. of,

At that time, their family was poor, and they only had steamed stuffed buns with cornmeal all year round. Occasionally, they went down the river to catch a few small fish, which were roasted until golden, which was a great delicacy for their son.

As for what his son looks forward to most, it is undoubtedly the meal of white flour dumplings during the Chinese New Year.

They are too poor, and they can hardly eat dumplings. Occasionally, they eat dumplings made of coarse grains and mixed noodles. They are vegan. Only during Chinese New Year, mother will buy a small bag of white noodles, and then go to the butcher stall to cut two taels of fat meat. Pork, come back and wrap a small half plate of white noodle dumplings.

Pork dumplings with white noodles, snowflake-like dough, juicy cabbage, and fragrant pork are the supreme delicacy for the young son.

But the mother really has no money. Except for the Chinese New Year meal, it is impossible for their family to eat this flour dumpling at any other time. Sometimes when the son is at home on vacation, he has to help the mother to carry the pole and the vegetables raised by the family. Sell ​​at the bazaar.

That's it.

Next to their stall was a neighbor from the village, who had met his mother before. He sold things like straw baskets and reed mats. His family was a little richer than his mother’s. , Unexpectedly, when the stall was closed, he suddenly yelled, saying that he had lost money.

Mother also helped to find it for a while, but suddenly, her movements stopped.

Looking at the young son with a flushed face, the mother's lips trembled and her face turned pale, but she didn't say anything. She just gave him the empty pole and told him that it was getting late and the mountain road was difficult, so he should go first. go home.

The son returned home like this, and after a long time, the mother did not go back until it was completely dark. As soon as she entered the door, she shouted: "Kneel down!"