Grandma’s small yard, is my childhood happy world, where there are three special friends, grandma gave them a loud name – the Yangtze River, the Yellow River, Taishan. Although they are three Chinese rural dogs, they are more like grandma’s family, with different personalities, but with their own ways to accompany grandma, decorate my childhood.
The Yangtze River, a pale yellow hair, soft as a blanket, always quietly followed her grandmother behind, eyes full of loyalty and humility. I remember once, I was playing in the yard accidentally fell down, the pain tears in the eyes, the Yangtze River quickly ran over, with its warm tongue licking my small hands, throat made a soft whimper, like comfort me “don’t be afraid, I am in.”
Once, when a suspicious-looking stranger was wandering around the yard, the Yangtze River was immediately alert, pricked up its ears, stared closely at the man, and barked loudly at him, low and powerful, until the man left, it relaxed and continued to guard the yard. At that moment, the Yangtze River gave me a complete sense of security.
The Yellow River is a synonym for stability, it is a golden hair, shining gold under the sun. He often lies quietly in the corner, observing everything around him. I always love to take a small leather ball to find the Yellow River to play, throw the ball out, it ran slowly, with the mouth firmly hold, and then trot back to put the ball at my feet, with serious eyes, it seems to say “then play it, I will not let you down.”
Every afternoon, my grandmother took me and the Yellow River to the vegetable field to pick vegetables, the Yellow River is not idle, holding a basket closely behind us, tirelessly running back and forth, that practical work appearance, like a hard-working little helper.
Taishan is a combination of Chinese rural dog and pug, relatively short, but also more clever, it is like a child who will never grow up, naughty and cute, always full of energy, like to chase butterflies, but also love to eat snacks, my hands often have to share half of the candy with it. If not, its two hind legs will stand high, the two front legs together, hard to beg me to give it a little, no one can stand its eyes.
I like to tease Taishan, once, I took a branch pretend to hit it, it was first startled, and then quickly hid behind grandma, poking out a small head, eyes drooping at me, that look made me and grandma laugh. Another time, I snuck out to the creek behind my house to play with Tarzan trotting along behind me. It ran excitedly around the stream, but also jumped into the water from time to time, splashing a piece of water, and pulled me into the cool river, we played in the water, spent a very happy afternoon.
Three dogs are grandma’s heart treasure, grandma’s love for them hidden in the life bit by bit. Every morning, when the first rays of sunlight poured into the small yard, Grandma would carry a vegetable basket and go from house to house looking for pig lungs in the bustling meat stalls of the vegetable market. After returning home, grandma plunged into the kitchen, cut the cleaned pig lungs into small pieces and put them into a large pot, and then added water, oil and salt. The stove is burning, the soup in the pot is rumbling, the rich aroma spreads, and the whole courtyard is immersed in the warm human fireworks. The dog smell and chase to the grandmother, the grandmother while making food for them, while mumbling: “The dog eat food should not be too hot, don’t worry!”
At the time of the meal, Grandma carefully mixed the cooked pig lungs with the rice, and then put them into three small bowls, each bowl full. She gently called: “The Yangtze River, the Yellow River, Mount Tai, dinner!” His voice was full of indulgence. When the three dogs heard the call, they came running happily and gathered around their grandmother’s feet, wagging their tails, their eyes shining with anticipation. Watching the dog devour, Grandma’s face filled with a satisfied smile.
On summer nights, we sat together in the yard to enjoy the cool, my grandmother shook the fan to drive away the mosquitoes for me, the Yangtze River, the Yellow River and Mount Tai obediently lay at our feet…
Those days are a warm time in my childhood memory. Now, my grandmother has long left us, and the familiar courtyard is still the same, but there is less of my grandmother’s figure and the dogs’ fun. Standing in the middle of the yard, the good memories of childhood came to my mind like a flood, the laughter and warmth of the past, as if it was only yesterday.
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