On June 7th, the annual college entrance examination began. On this day every year, in addition to reminiscing about the past and regretting that we can't go to Tsinghua of
On June 7th, the annual college entrance examination began. On this day every year, in addition to reminiscing about the past and regretting that we can't go to Tsinghua of Peking University, we can only sing, indulge in wine and have fun, and eat some fresh lychee to moisten our voices. Looking back suddenly, I found that today's college entrance examination day seems to have only one function left. That's to remind me that the summer vacation is coming and litchi is red again. Yes, time is like a song. People who have traveled all over Castle Peak are not old, and the scenery here is unique-litchi in Conghua, my hometown, is red again!
I have known litchi since I was about three years old, and I have become attached to litchi in my life. Not only is my home surrounded by litchi trees, but even the whole Dabei village is surrounded by litchi forest. This is a southern mountain city rich in litchi, which not only has the beautiful scenery of "we see green trees around your village, but also the elegance of" a bay with green water and litchi red on both sides ". Here is not only the Xiaohai River, paddy fields, dry land and hillside, but also dense, lush and covered with litchi trees. When you come straight to the point, when you open the window and look at the moon, you will still see litchi trees. It can be said that Dabei people basically grew up under litchi trees.
Litchi tree grew up with me since I was a child. Just planting trees has brought me infinite pleasure. Litchi trees are probably the most planted trees in my life. When I was a child, my father often "refuted litchi" in the litchi garden in front of my house, that is, a branch of a litchi was rooted with yellow mud and bred into a litchi seedling. Father said that the yellow mud on the mountain is the best for "refuting litchi". As long as you cut a piece of bark around it and wrap it tightly with wet yellow mud, you will soon produce thin and long roots. When the roots grow almost, the saplings can be sawed off and planted on the ground. What makes me ashamed is that I always help to sprinkle water, stir up yellow mud and hand over tools while watching and learning. I have never cut down a tree to connect it myself, but I have also raised a sapling.
However, I have participated in all the tree planting links except "Litchi barge". In those years, I participated in tree planting activities at home every year. My younger brother and I followed our parents, picking saplings, mowing the grass to open up wasteland, digging holes to plant trees, even picking manure up the mountain, digging holes to fertilize, watering carefully and caring carefully. At that time, I always expected them to quickly pull out the first leaf bud, grow the first green leaf, bloom the first flower and bear the first red fruit, and look forward to their early growth into towering trees, connecting into a forest and casting a shade.
However, planting trees is easy to manage, and litchi trees are no exception. In addition to mastering the amount and timing of fertilization and watering, we should also master the methods to deal with pests. Besides caterpillars that only eat young leaves, litchi has two main pests: litchi stinkbug and apple moth. Litchi stinkbug, also called bedbug in rural areas, likes to crouch on twigs, leaves and flowers, blatantly destroy them, and even spray smelly liquid to hurt people, making people feel burnt. It would be terrible if it accidentally splashed on their eyes. This moth, called "head worm" by his father, likes to make holes in branches and trunks, stay up during the day, come out at night and kill him secretly. This guy is a deadly killer of litchi trees, and he is guilty of a terrible crime. No matter how difficult litchi stinkbug is, spraying some pesticides can effectively deal with this moth. You have to cut off the branches, and then use sharp tools such as steel wire to stick into the wormhole and stab it to death.
When the management of fruit trees is in place and the pests are cleaned up, we can finally sit and watch the flowers fall in bloom and wait for the harvest. Litchi bloom is silent and the flowers are heartless, which makes me often intoxicated with the elegance of "I wake up easily in the early morning of spring, and birds are singing all around", but I wake up in the sleep of "But now I remember that night, that storm, and I wonder how many flowers were broken". The morning light is faint, the dew is exposed, and it is crystal clear and lovely. Look up and take a sip, light, sweet and refreshing. This pure natural litchi honey always makes people drool. Looking at this sea of flowers from the river to the top of the mountain from a distance is always embarrassing and refreshing. This kind of happiness can only be realized when you appreciate The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival or Fuchun Shan Jutu.
If Litchi is like an annual TV series, then "Litchi bloom" is only the first song, and the climax is when Litchi is red. Litchi is red, and you will find that the artistic conception of "Populus deltoides is lighter than Han Xiao, and red apricots are Man Chun" is everywhere; The momentum of "Huang Si's maiden is full of flowers and flowers are low" is just so. When litchi is red, you will find that it is red, red to the atmosphere, and red to the bottom. In the south, you can't find a more charming piece of red. I often miss this piece of red, miss the smell of litchi red in the air.
I not only miss this mature taste, but also miss the day when litchi "broke red for the first time". I remember that every year before and after the Dragon Boat Festival, litchi fruits began to turn from bluish yellow to red shyly. At that time, the fruits on the branches grew the same every day, and the number of "first broken red" fruits increased day by day, from one or two to three or five groups, dotted the whole tree and the whole orchard. Greedy, I often break into the orchard by the river to steal some on my way to swim in Xiaohai River. Sour and sweet, unspeakable taste. It wasn't until I heard Baby Zhang's debut novel "All Bitterness is Me" that I discovered that this is probably the taste of growing up. Because the more you can't wait to taste, the more you can't wait to grow.
Litchi tree not only witnessed my growth, but also witnessed the growth of my family. There are two thin plots of land in front of my house. At first, I planted a garden with three flowers and plums. When I was four or five years old, my father replanted litchi. At first, a piece of glutinous rice paste, a piece of black leaves and nine branches of Sophora japonica were planted to make up a small backyard orchard. Growing up, this is a paradise for my brother and me. We used to swing here, dig earthworms, pick up snails, dig nests and entertain ourselves. We also grow guava, peach tree, honeysuckle, mulberry, jujube and other flowers and fruits, as well as perilla, ginger, onion, garlic, Chinese cabbage and other crops. We also secretly introduced an exotic grass called "Yuxiang" from Kangbo's fish pond. The leaves of this grass are especially fragrant with boiled fish.
Later, my father cut off three branches and the black leaf of the locust tree, leaving seven trees, which have not changed for so many years. In order to build a parking lot and garden, I am in favor of cutting off some branches of Sophora japonica. But I don't understand why I cut black leaves for no reason. Father explained that black leaves grow too fast, which will not only provoke mosquitoes, but also block the feng shui and light of the house. And the variety is cheap, the taste is not good, and it can't sell at a good price. What my father said is not unreasonable, but I still feel sorry for this black-leaf tree, which bears fruit almost every year and is the most precocious. Its disappearance made me lose a lot of expectation and happiness. In fact, I think black-leaf litchi is also very sweet, although it is far less than glutinous rice paste and cinnamon, and its reputation is not inferior. Aside from the secular vision that "things are rare", I even think that ordinary black-leaf litchi is precious.
The black-leaf tree in front of the door finally fell down, and I can't help sighing. I'm just glad that my father went easy on me and left sticky rice paste. This is a litchi full of my childhood memories. This is probably the tree I climbed the most. When I was a child, I not only climbed trees to pick fruits every year, but also often climbed them to dig the bird's nest. In my opinion, if Guiwei is the "king" of litchi, then glutinous rice paste is the "queen" of litchi. Its fruit is elegant; Its fragrance is suffocating; Sweet and refreshing. My family claims to have 300 litchi varieties, only glutinous rice paste is left. More legendary, this tree can not only bear my favorite Lingnan fruit, but also attract my favorite birds. Others want to go all the way to the Bird's Nest, so I can get something for nothing as long as I wait at home. Such an interesting story is repeated almost every year. Every time I see birds flying in and out of the branches and leaves of this tree, I guess my "old friend"-Ye Ying with a long tail seam has come to your door again, and it's time for me to make a move again. ...
In fact, not only this glutinous rice paste, but also every litchi tree in front of the door has formed a profound friendship with me and my family. In my heart, seeing them is like seeing relatives; Returning here means returning to your hometown; To protect them is to protect our home. Now, my father has built a fence around the orchard, planted mangoes, Podocarpus and pineapples in the garden, set up a small farm under the tree, raised chickens, ducks and even a puppy. Every day, dogs bark and ducks laugh, which is very lively. In the past, my brother and I's exclusive orchard turned into a nephew's children's paradise in a blink of an eye. Naughty little guys like to run wild in this garden. Sometimes they tease chickens, sometimes they tease puppies, and sometimes they walk like ducks. My nephew is two years old in a flash. I wonder if he knows these litchi trees besides his parents, family and these chickens, ducks and dogs?
With regard to litchi, Du Mu wrote Riding a Princess and Laughing in the Red Dust, but no one knew it was litchi; Su Shi wrote 300 lychees a day, and I will grow up to be a Lingnan person; Yang Shuo wrote Litchi Honey; Xin Nuxiong sang Litchi; and Maoming Gaozhou robbed the movie Litchi Red. I have no intention to follow suit, and I can't lead, so I have to.
? Litchi is red again.
Young people first knew litchi red, just like peach blossoms with rain.
When people meet litchi red in middle age, they are still afraid that their dreams will become empty.
Now I see litchi red again, but I'm afraid of my hometown.
(Postscript) Most of this article was written in the summer of 20 12. Now the whole Dabei village is not surrounded by litchi forest, but Shatangju orchard. Only in recent years have villagers switched to sugar oranges. Fortunately, there are still different numbers of litchi trees in every household, and the beautiful scenery of "We see green trees around your village and remote mountains and pale orchids" is intact; The elegance of "a bay is green in spring and litchi red on both sides of the strait" remains the same!
The small litchi orchard in the private backyard described in this paper has no small farm, no chickens and ducks, only a black dog. Moreover, there are only five litchi trees left in the litchi orchard, but parents have added many new fruit trees and vegetables and set up a small swing. The orchard that my brother and I once owned is still a children's paradise for my nephews. ...