1
From Dongying, Shandong, where I live at the mouth of the Yellow River, upstream from the Yellow River, less than a hundred kilometers away is Gaoqing County, known as the "Granary of Shandong" , although it is very close, I have never set foot on that land. The ancient and prosperous Gaoqing is unfamiliar to me.
In the summer of Dingyou, my collection of prose works "The Old Road" was shortlisted for the "First International Oriental Prose Grand Prix". Therefore, I was fortunate enough to attend the award ceremony, and I was also fortunate to be with the writers who came to receive the award. Went to Gaoqing to collect folk songs.
The bus we took was speeding along the Binbo Expressway. About an hour later, the bus stopped in a village called Coiyifan. This is the hottest time of the year. The earth is scorched by the scorching sun and rolling with heat waves. Standing on the ground is like entering a steamer, and you will be sweating profusely after a while. Stopping in a corner of the empty and spacious courtyard, my body immediately felt refreshed after living in a busy city for a long time, and my nerves, which had been strained by official duties and trivial matters all day long, gradually relaxed. Looking up, under the scorching sun, the sky here looks clear and high. Under the blue sky, there are clusters of white clouds blooming. Some are snuggling, some are kissing, and some are supporting each other. This scenery is like The flocks of sheep running by the Dalu Lake are like the high green land where silver flowers are blooming in late autumn.
At this time, there was a sweet cicada sound. I followed the sound and looked around, at the fields as green as smoke, the lotus pond with rippling water, the gently swaying weeping willows, and the competing hibiscus blooms. Flowers, the straight and spacious asphalt road, the flat and neat blue brick houses with red roofs... I was shocked by everything in front of me, as if I had walked into the peach blossom garden written by Tao Qian.
I am the son of a farmer. I grew up crawling among the dirt and garbage. In my memory, the small mountain village where I was born and raised only has dilapidated old houses, dusty sheep intestines and sections of high and low ruins. But the coir raincoat Fan in front of her looked like the "daughter of the Yang family" who was "raised in a boudoir and unknown to anyone", she was so beautiful and charming. As a wanderer who has been away from my homeland for decades, my wandering soul seems to have found a harbor. Coi Yifan, I'm here, your world is my spiritual habitat!
二
Coir raincoat fan was originally a little-known village in the east of Gaoqing County and on the south bank of the Yellow River. It is said that in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, people made a living by weaving coir raincoats. The family named Fan settled here and got its name. In those ancient times, coir raincoats woven from coir grass were a must-have for people to protect themselves from snow and rain. In this way, generation after generation of coir raincoat fans rely on the skills passed down from their ancestors to make a living by weaving coir raincoats and propagate their bloodline. With the advancement of science and technology and the changes of the times, this coir raincoat, which has protected the Chinese people from snow and rain for thousands of years, has gradually moved away from people's sight and withdrawn from the stage of history. However, the name "coir raincoat fan" has become a precious thing in this era. "Country Memory".
Before coming to Reiyifan, I had read the famous prose work of Mr. Han Zhong, editor-in-chief of Oriental Prose and a nationally famous essayist - "The Slowness of Gao Qing", and I learned that there is also a "Slow City" here. . Coiyifan, a village with only 187 households and less than 1,000 people, does not have the beautiful mountains and rivers in China’s vast countryside, nor the shocking historical sites, nor the small bridges, flowing water, pavilions and pavilions of the Jiangnan water towns... but Why is this small, remote village called "Slow City" and why has it become a tourist attraction that people flock to? I'm thinking.
At this time, a burst of surprise pulled me back from my racing thoughts. As soon as the bus stopped on the Yellow River embankment, the writers from the collection group rushed out impatiently.
In front of me is the Yellow River that is familiar to me and makes me dream about it. In front of me is the Yellow River that is unfamiliar to foreign writers and makes them yearn for endlessly. Facing this big river, I stood on the high embankment and gazed into the distance, while others were like children who saw their mother after a long absence, stepping on the green embankment slopes and rushing towards the Yellow River.
I am a son of the Yellow River. I grew up on the banks of the Yellow River in the Luxi Plain. After growing up and leaving my hometown, I now work and live in the small town at the mouth of the Yellow River. The blood brewed by the Yellow River water always flows in my veins. Because the Yellow River is so immersed in my blood, in literary creation, I will consciously or unconsciously extend my writing to this turbulent and turbid river. Articles about the Yellow River have been published in newspapers and periodicals one after another, like this one In the award-winning collection of essays "Old Road, Long River", the word "Long River" naturally also contains elements of "Yellow River".
According to reports, this is the only place where the "South-to-North Water Diversion" project from the Yellow River must pass. Over time, this large wetland of more than 4,000 acres has been formed. I have visited the nature reserve at the mouth of the Yellow River many times. There is a rough beauty full of "newness, strangeness, wildness and specialness", while the wetland park here presents a refined beauty that is not "Jiangnan is better than Jiangnan". . She was like a young girl walking up in the northern wilderness holding an oil-paper umbrella and wearing a Suzhou embroidered blue and white cheongsam. She was charming yet dignified, elegant yet pure. There are many small lakes scattered on the wetland. These lakes are large and small, square and round, long and short. Dense reeds and grass grow on the blue waves. As the breeze blew by, the originally tall reeds and grasses all nodded and bent down, as if to greet us guests who had come from afar. The wind blows the green waves and the green grass flutters. It looks like a woman in the bath with her hair gently pulled back.
Beams of sunlight cast down, and the lake at this time became a cornucopia of gold and silver. The crystal-clear and dazzling silver light rippled in the soft waves, and appeared in the ripples.
Right now, it is the dry season of the Yellow River. The Yellow River, which has been running for a year, is like a tired traveler, lying quietly on the high green land, quietly recuperating and recuperating. The big rivers have no water and the small rivers are dry. Naturally, some of the lakes on this wetland are drying up, but what they present to people is another kind of style. The raised orange lake bed looks like a crescent moon in the night sky or the sharp teeth of wild elephants on the African savannah. In fact, it looks more like a lively, native Yellow River carp. There is a beautiful writer named Zhang Yan from Cangzhou, Hebei Province. She obviously has a good eye for discovering and seizing beauty. She held the camera and took pictures wildly. Indeed, I was attracted and shocked by the photos she posted in the WeChat group. In order to appreciate this wonderful scenery in time, I downloaded these photos and carefully stored them.
On the green grass by the lakeside under the embankment, there are lifelike and lifelike bronze cow and snail sculptures, all of which explain the "slow" meaning here to people. The writers in the collection group were still taking photos and group photos endlessly around these sculptures.
I was thinking, aren’t these wetlands and lakes just shining pearls embedded in the Gaoqing land? With the industrious and intelligent Gaoqing people forging and polishing, this beautiful string of pearls will surely shine!
Walking along the winding paths of the wetland with the scorching sun above my head, although I was sweating profusely and my legs and feet were a little sore, my body and mind felt comfortable and relaxed. Gradually, I finally realized the meaning of "slow", and I couldn't help but admire the decision-makers here!
According to the villagers of Liyifan Village, in 2011, the village took the lead in carrying out land transfer in the county, handing over 3,000 acres of land to Daluhu Cultural Tourism Co., Ltd. for large-scale operation. The company adapts to local conditions and scientifically positions itself, and organizes and transforms it around the concepts of "Yellow River style, wetland style, ecological manor, and lakeside characteristics". Today, people from all over the country, working in all directions, and living in a "fast pace" can come here to stop and live. Come down, "slow down". Get close to nature, take refuge in the countryside, let your soul fly, cultivate your mind and nature, and recreate the grand scene described by Luo Guojun, a poet and minister of the Ministry of Rites of the Qing Dynasty, in his "Crossing the Dali Lake": "The clouds are thick and the white birds are flying, and the water and the sky are surrounded by firewood. Who knows? It’s fun in the lake, the rice flowers are fragrant and the fish are fat.”
Oh, then I realized that I was far behind the team, and I couldn’t help but speed up the pace.
三
It was night, and the coir raincoat fan that had been noisy all day finally fell silent, and the writers who had been running around under the scorching sun all day soon fell asleep. Lying on the earthen bed that I had not seen for a long time, I felt warm and comforted. It felt like I had returned to my hometown, lying on the earthen bed of my childhood, listening to my mother humming beautiful children's songs and falling asleep sweetly.
The old Sun who lives with me has a typical image of a big man from Shandong. He is about 1.8 meters tall and weighs more than 200 kilograms. When you look at him, you will think of someone who is eight feet tall and has the head of a leopard. The ring-eyed Mao Zhangfei thought of Lu Tiha who uprooted the weeping willow trees. For such a big man, the roaring sound is "like thunder". In the sound of Lao Sun's "thunder" that was as close as a rhythm, I, who had always been a bad sleeper, felt completely sleepy at this moment. Lying on the kang, turning over and over, I suddenly thought: Since I can't fall asleep, why not feel the coir raincoat in the night? So, I got up and got off the bed, gently opened the door and went out.
Although it was late at night, the red lanterns in the corridors and under the eaves were still on. Their soft and warm red light reflected the dark night brightly. I walked west along the smooth and straight Guangqing Road in the village. Under the willow tree not far away, a poetry contest spontaneously organized by Caifeng poets was still going on. In the silent night sky, poets floated in from time to time. The ups and downs of the recitation, the unrestrained laughter. I'm not a poet, so naturally I don't dare to go there and join in the fun.
At this time, I was attracted by a huge lotus pond on the north side of the road. The earthy smell and the fragrance of lotus flowers exuded from the lotus pond made me intoxicated. Instead of the cicadas chirping during the day, the occasional chirping of insects and frogs from the depths of the lotus pond added a bit of comfort to my thirsty heart.
Walking along the twists and turns of the lotus pond at night, I felt like I had escaped from Sun Xingzhe, who had been suppressed for five hundred years by the Tathagata Buddha with his five-finger mountain, and like I had been rescued from under the Leifeng Pagoda by Xu Shilin. The white lady. I truly feel that I am no longer my normal self. I can do things freely, think wildly, and sing to my heart's content. I can take off all the pretense I usually put on, break away from the shackles of the worldly world, and no longer be burdened by worldly worries. . In this situation, the scenery blended together, and I actually recited Mr. Zhu Ziqing's "Moonlight over the Lotus Pond" aloud: "The moonlight is like flowing water, quietly flowing over this leaf and flower. A thin green mist floats on it. In the lotus pond, the leaves and flowers seem to have been washed in milk; they are also like dreams wrapped in gauze..." I know that Mr. Zhu, who was walking on the small cinders road in Tsinghua Garden, faced a China with broken mountains and rivers and great disasters. , carries a heart that cares about the country and the people, but I am different. I am bathing in the dawn of happiness and peace, and living happily in a new era of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
Suddenly, drizzle began to fall in the sky, and the gentle rain soon wetted my clothes. Taking advantage of the coolness, I stepped on the way I came.
四
In the early morning, last night’s rain covered my coir raincoat in the mist. Even though I had no sleep all night, I still walked towards the picturesque Qiancheng Lake in high spirits. go.
At Hexiang Pier, each group of ten people took a tourist boat. The vast lake has long blue waves and rolling green waves. The honest and honest boat boss drove the awning boat through the waves, and the waves splashing from the stern wet everyone's clothes. As the boat speeds forward, gradually the endless lotus leaves, the magnificent scenery, and the intoxicating pictures come into view, such as "the lotus leaves touching the sky are infinitely green, and the lotus flowers reflecting the sun are uniquely red", The time-honored sayings such as "The little lotus has just revealed its sharp corners, a dragonfly has already stood on it", "It emerges from the mud but is not stained, and the water is clear but not demonic", all come to mind again and again. At this moment, how can you not be infected, how can you not feel relaxed and happy. At this time, Deng Guihuan, a female writer from Zigui, Hubei, Zhaojun's hometown, couldn't help singing "Eighteen Bends on the Mountain Road". As soon as the song ended, Li Ruiyao from Dezhou, Shandong recited Golqi's "Haiyan" loudly. Then, everyone recited "Farewell Cambridge" by Xu Zhimo in unison. I really couldn't stand the temptation of my sisters on the same ship, so I also picked up my duck voice and sang the song "Unforgettable Friendship in Life" I had just learned, with the lyrics changed:
How many literary friends are there? Ten years
We miss each other every day
Literary friends meet again today
Everyone laughs very sweetly
Hold the literary friends tightly Friendly hands
Intimate words cannot be said enough
The friendship between brothers and sisters is as high as the sky
Friendship will be unforgettable for a lifetime
The boat moves on the water, and the people are there Painting midstream. Before everyone could finish their fun, the boat had already docked and docked. We had no choice but to reluctantly walk off the boat. On the way back, a strong shepherd dog jumped out of nowhere. Not only was the shepherd dog not afraid of strangers, but it also nestled friendly at Li Wuyao's feet, wagging its tail and begging for mercy. Seeing how friendly this guy was, everyone came up to pet him one after another. The dog naturally understood people's kindness and wagged its tail obediently.
After walking a few steps, we met a sister-in-law with a young child in her arms. The baby in the arms is wrapped in a red bellyband, has bright eyes and white teeth, and looks really cute with a tender and chubby face. Li Ruyao hugged the baby happily. After a long time, when Li Wuyao left, the child was very reluctant to leave, and kept waving his tender lotus-like arms at Li Wuyao...
The song was over and everyone was reunited. It is also over, and the writers of the collection group have returned to their respective posts. Although I have returned to normal work and life for many days, my heart always feels like I am still in Coiyifan. Thinking of that happy time, even though it was short-lived, was like drinking the mellow and long-lasting Touanjing old wine, which made me recall and be intoxicated for a long time!
I think, maybe one morning in winter, or one evening in autumn, I will return to Coiyifan with a few close friends.
Coi Yifan, I have been to your world, and with you in my world, I will definitely come back again!