Water Wheel

One That day, we went to visit the Fujian-Taiwan Yuan Museum and saw an old waterwheel model. I stood there for a long time. I don't know if it was because I was a little older or because I had a kind of nostalgia for the past. I stared at the waterwheel for a long time and couldn't bear to leave. I wanted to search for some memories of the past. I remember that behind our current new home is the old warehouse of the production team. Previously, there was an old waterwheel parked on the beam frame, which was about ten meters long. Later, due to the disrepair of the warehouse, the beams collapsed, and the waterwheel was exposed to the sun, wind and rain. After several years of wind, sun, rain, and termite gnawing, it finally fell and turned into soil, and could no longer be found. Our family's old residence was originally in our clan's large ancient house. This is an old house passed down from our ancestors. It is a standard large house with ten red bricks and black tiles in southern Fujian. In front of the gate is a stone slab paved with long stone strips. Going up to the second step of the gate, I saw a couplet on the stone gate. What was written on the couplet, I can't remember now. There is a single side door on both sides of the gate. In ancient times, because the gate was closed first at night and there were many families, a side door was left on each side for the convenience of entry and exit in the morning and evening. Entering the door is the small front hall. There are two photo rooms on the left and right sides of the small hall. There is also a corner room on both sides of the photo room. Further ahead is a large patio. In my memory, there is still a little bit of uncut barbed wire on the beams beside the patio. It is said that it was set up by wealthy families to prevent bandits from kidnapping. I heard from my father that in the past when bandits kidnapped people, they would first issue a summons, saying how much money they had to send to a certain place by a certain date, otherwise they would kidnap the person. Those who obey can be sent away, but those who are disobedient will be kidnapped by bandits at night. My father said that when the bandits came, they should first surround the house in front and back, then find a few experts to climb on the roof, light a bamboo tube soaked in cloth and kerosene, and throw it down from the top. Then, the whole big house was as bright as day, and the bandits jumped down and took away the person they wanted to kidnap. Those who are wise should quickly give money. Those who are not wise will be kidnapped and locked up in the gang's den. If they are detained for too long and do not give money, they may be expelled.