Grandma's small fireplace

A few cool breezes, a few cold rains, autumn is gradually going to the depths, the cold winter is coming. I often think of the winter of my childhood, of my grandmother's small fireplace, her kind smiling face, the warmth of that small home, although simple, but full of childhood memories.

My old grandfather died before my siblings were born. As far as I can remember, my grandmother was the "old lady" of our family. In those days when we did not have enough to eat and wear, Grandma was the only person in our family who did not worry about food and clothing. My father said, "It's okay for us to be hungry and cold, but your grandmother must be fed and clothed." To make Grandma's winter more comfortable, my father bought her a small fireplace. This kind of stove is hard to see nowadays; it looks like a small basket of fruit in a fruit store. Only, it was a tile body and the carrying handle was not as high.

When winter came, it started to freeze my hands and feet, so my mother had the additional task of cooking breakfast with as much "hard wood" as possible. If there was no firewood or roots, she would use some branches and twigs to make a fire, so that when grandma got up, the burnt coals would be ready for her fireplace. Sometimes, there is no larger charcoal fire, my mother will also use some sawdust, rice husk, etc. on the bottom of the stove, attached to the charcoal, the charcoal and then covered with a layer of grass and wood ash, and then pressed hard. This loaded fireplace, not only to maintain a long time, the bottom layer of sawdust and other ignited, but also not too much smoke.

At that time, adults from morning to night, are working in the production team, grandmother to bake fire for cooking, you need hard firewood. The task of cutting firewood and digging roots was the task of us children, and grandma had no way to do heavy work because of her poor legs. We were too young and too weak. The roots on the ridge were easy to dig, but if the team cadres saw us, we would be beaten up. Therefore, my sister and I searched for the roots of the shrubs on the barren hills, which were small, but easy to dig and easy to light after drying.

If we couldn't find them, we would find a bamboo pole and tie a short wooden stick to one end and go into the pine forest to shoot pine cones. Every winter, our family's yard, there will be a lot of small roots, wall nooks and crannies, are also full of pine cones. If there was no charcoal burning for breakfast one day, my mother would light the pine cones and roots for my grandmother to keep warm. Pine cones do not boil fire, but they are easy to light and can set those roots on fire. These firewood did not burn, but when covered with burning coals, the fireplace would stay warm longer. Grandmother all day to hug this lovely little stove to warm, of course, will not freeze hands and feet.

Grandma has long since passed away, and the little stove has become history. But the glorious Chinese tradition of respecting the old and loving the young has always been there. We can often see the scene of children and grandchildren pushing the wheelchairs of the elderly on the village roads and in the parks, walking and chatting.