01
“I came to Datong Township for the first time
It’s like heaven on earth
I met the most beloved woman
From now on a world cannot satisfy me. “
—- Datong singer, Xia Muxier
Before I even walked in there, I wasn’t even sure that tin box was the home that was going to host us tonight.
Although there was no signal in Xiaotong Village, when we set off from Datong Township, three families had already heard the news that we were coming, and they were all ready to entertain us.
Tong means a long and narrow valley in Tajik, and Xiaotong means a small and long valley. There are only more than 300 people here, and they are distributed far away.
Due to the difficult and dangerous roads, few outsiders have been involved here. It was not until the arrival of jade mining that this place was gradually known to outsiders.
Even in such a remote mountainous area, the changes in this year can be described as earth-shaking. Almost all the old houses were demolished, and the villagers lived in the resettlement houses newly built by the government. The area may only be a quarter of the previous houses. The house is cold in winter and hot in summer, which is in line with the laws of nature.
Everyone tried hard to adapt to the new life, making naan in the open-air naan pit and cooking in the hot house.
An elder said to me, I hope you will come here more often, when we still have a little bit of home.
It was getting late, the heat finally faded, and I approached this home.
This home looks like a shipping container from the outside, with a simple door and no windows. It stands next to the ruins of the old house, the only current residence for the family of three.
I walked in with everyone, and what surprised me was that the interior of this “container” was actually colorful. The hostess wrapped the surroundings with all the colorful cloths, and the iron wall faded its hostility, making it a little more gentle.
A cabinet, a simple kang, a stove, a speaker, and a clock are all of this home.
In addition to the warm greetings from the hostess and hostess, we were also greeted by music.
With music, colors, and a bowl of freshly brewed milk tea, I seem to have returned to the Tajik family I have been to.
The mountains of Pamir seem barren, but they are full of vitality. Just like the houses of the Tajik people, they look like simple piles of mud and stones. When you walk in, you will be surprised by their pursuit of beauty.
The layout of the rooms in the corridor is exquisite, with five pillars supporting a prismatic skylight, which provides excellent lighting. Exquisite wood carvings and paintings, and bright bedding piled up neatly on the kang.
You will be amazed that there is such an exquisite interior wrapped in the earthen wall, just like a person with a humble appearance, but his heart is so rich and warm.
We always understand everything with a higher attitude than others. We think that those who herd sheep only have to work hard; .
In fact, we do not understand that happiness does not only come from material things. In fact, we do not understand that real happiness is a simple life.
Hospitality is one of the most important traditions of the Tajik people, who care about the feelings of their guests even more than themselves.
The land here is not rich, and sheep are their most important asset, and if this family wants to receive an important guest today, they will slaughter their only sheep for this guest.
Salman said that we have been trying to protect our original culture and character until now. We respect what this land has taught us. We are not the masters of the land. We are raised by this land just like all other creatures. of.
So we will be humble to the land, cherish food, be friendly to guests, and live in peace with all living beings.
The meat and naan have been set, we sat around on the kang, the host brought over a bottle of wine, and selected the wine commander (a traditional drinking culture, one person is responsible for pouring the wine, the whole wine bureau has only one cup, and the wine The commander assigns who will drink, and the person who finishes drinking must return the cup to the commander of the wine), chat and drink, and have a good conversation.
During the banquet, the hostess was either hot milk tea, or sitting next to the host, she was as quiet as the shadow of the host.
Even such a housewife, her sitting posture still exudes the inherent elegance of a Tajik woman.
This kind of love is popular in the countryside.
If you fall in love with a girl, you will first observe her, when she is eating bread, when she is fetching water, when she is with her family and when she is alone. After you have mastered these situations, when she goes to fetch water alone one day, give her three matches wrapped in red cloth. Then you do nothing. If a girl is also interested in you, she will start observing you after receiving the token. If she also falls in love with you, she will also give you a handkerchief embroidered by herself when she finds you alone.
Then you are together, and you hardly show intimacy when there are other people, because you feel that this beautiful relationship belongs only to you and you don’t want to share it with outsiders.
The hostess and hostess also communicate in this way, because I feel that although they are doing their own things, there is a strong and stable feeling that only belongs to them fermenting in the air.
When my eyes met hers, she smiled politely at me.
There was no weariness on her face, no displeasure, no boredom of not being able to participate.
She kept getting up and sitting down, busy in this 8-square-meter space.
Because as long as people are complete, the home is complete. Although it is small here, there are people she loves, and this is a warm paradise.
At night, after three rounds of drinking, she may have noticed that we were a little hungry, so she walked out of the room and came to the ruins of the old house.
I followed her out and saw her lighting a fire in the ruins. The fire light shone on her beautiful face without knowing it. She became the only light in the dark night sky.
The adobe bricks of the old house collapsed on the ground, and she built a stove with these adobe bricks that are meaningless to others. At this moment, she wants to cook the most delicious soup and rice for us with the warmest fire.
Fire can make people see hope. Maybe in the near future, on the ruins, they will use their own hands, like their ancestors, to build their own houses on the land of their hometown again.
Satisfied with wine and food, the host became interested and danced the eagle dance with one of them. The eagle dance was supposed to be stretched freely, but he retracted his arms several times. The house is really too small, but this didn’t affect his interest at all.
He was still intoxicated by the sound of the music, he was like an eagle that accidentally flew into the cave, circling on tiptoe, finally, he found the exit.
They walked out of the door, and finally they were able to fly freely between the heaven and the earth.
Of the 56 nationalities, 55 sang and danced after drinking, and only one bragged after drinking.
This is true.
We stayed here until late at night, and I was more shocked and satisfied than ever.
The shock comes from this tin house, the owner has carefully arranged it, and their attitude towards life is always good. They don’t emphasize poetry and distant places as much as we do, and they live in the present life. For them, every day now is worth it be sung.
The satisfaction comes from the fact that I finally feel that I have become a part of this land. Even if it is slow, careful, and repeated, I will eventually belong here.
On the way home, we walked on the floating soil left by the construction. Every step we took was like stepping on the clouds. The surrounding mountains towered. I saw a mountain peak, which was like a transparent crystal, hiding the starry sky behind it.
Everything is like a dream, no wonder the people here once said that they came from fairyland.
Finally, let me end with a quote from Ji Ye, the director of Phoenix Satellite TV.
“If the sky is always dark, then live in the dark; if it is dangerous to make a sound, then keep silent; if you feel powerless to shine, then crouch in a corner.
But don’t justify the darkness when you’re used to it; don’t be proud of yourself; don’t mock those who are braver than yourself
