□ Cao Xianbin
At the age of 12, I was admitted to Laowuji Junior High School from the remote primary school in Dashan Village, Lichuan. My father took me to school with an old bed of cotton wool and a wooden box. At that time, the mountain road was winding and winding, going up dirt slopes and down stone stairs. It took 17 or 8 miles to get to school. The journey was by walking, and everyone laughed at the "No. 11" bicycle.
In the three years of junior high school, every time I passed the road section of the old house, I saw more carro?as, one person pulling in front, and two or three people pushing in the back. Occasionally, I saw bicycles and tractors that made "chug chug chug" sounds to transport items, and I longed for it, thinking about when I could get on the scenery!
After graduating from junior high school, I was admitted to the city to go to school, and only then did I know that there was a bus that shuttled between Zhonglu Road and Lichuan. At that time, if you wanted to go to Lichuan by car, you had to wait by the old house road in advance. I still clearly remember that the first time I took a bus was chasing after my classmates, clutching the window at a turning slope, and being dragged in by a kind adult.
At that time, the school I was studying at was on the outskirts of the city. Every weekend, I would make an appointment with my classmates to go to the city to watch movies and go shopping. When I got tired of shopping, a few classmates pooled together money to occasionally take the "Tu Ma" or ride the bicycles of wealthy classmates back to school.
In the late 1980s, I started working. The village where I was located had a wide plowing road, and I often saw tractors, bicycles, motorcycles, etc. going back and forth. In a few years, the villagers rushed to go out to "work" or "go to the sea", and three-wheeled motorcycles, "double-row seats", and Changan automobiles gradually entered every household. Passenger transportation, electric numbness, etc., as long as you are willing to pay, you can go to the market, visit relatives and friends, and take you anywhere you want.
At that time, I saved up a year’s salary to buy a motorcycle. In my spare time, I made friends and rode my beloved motorcycle out for drag racing, and the "riding" was endless fun.
In the early 20th century, during the summer vacation, I occasionally went to Wuhan for training. I had to take a bus one day and one night in advance, and then take a few buses or taxis to arrive.
In 2010, the Lichuan Railway Station opened. When my son was in college, our family took the green leather train from Lichuan to Changsha, which swayed for a day and a night to reach the destination. Today, it only takes 4.5 hours to reach Wuhan by train, and it only takes seven or eight hours to change trains halfway to Changsha.
My family’s "Buick" car 10 years ago has now been replaced by a "Mercedes-Benz" off-road vehicle. During the holidays, my wife takes our family of four to visit relatives and friends, and to visit the mountains and rivers.
Returning to my hometown during the Spring Festival this year, I found cars parked on both sides of the highway and in the courtyards of every household, which became a beautiful scenery in the mountains and villages.
The motherland is taking off and my hometown is developing. The change of cars has witnessed the rapid changes in urban and rural areas and the change of transportation means in our state over the past 40 years. I am extremely proud to live in such a country and such an era.