Lychee as Matchmaker Prose Essay
Ruoqing, a beauty born in the 1990s, posted a set of pictures of lychee fruits in her WeChat Moments, along with the extremely provocative text: I’m ripe , are you making an appointment?
I thought the matching of the picture and text was quite creative, so I gave her a thumbs up and couldn’t help but add a joking comment: It’s rude to be familiar without making an appointment!
Unexpectedly, this joke was a big one! Ruoqing quickly called me and warmly invited me to her hometown Putian this weekend to taste lychees. In order to dispel my doubts, Ruoqing told the truth. It turns out that Ruoqing, who works in Fuzhou, has found the one she likes and wants to take her back to her hometown in Putian to meet her parents, so she urgently needs a matchmaker to accompany her. I said, why does this need a matchmaker? It clearly needs a big 250-watt light bulb. Besides, I, Old Huang, don’t look like a matchmaker! Ruoqing said, Lao Huang, you are eloquent and knowledgeable. My dad is a cultural person like you. You must have endless topics to talk about. With you here, the atmosphere will not be awkward. What's more, you are still Drivers who bring their own cars for free, where can I find a more suitable candidate than you?
Listening to Ruoqing's naughty words on the phone, I didn't know whether it was out of a deliberate desire to bring about a good marriage, or because I was flattered by the little girl, but I unexpectedly agreed.
In the hot summer season, despite the high temperatures and scorching heat in downtown Putian, the street streets are still bustling with traffic and a bustling scene. It is impossible to tell that this is a disaster area that has just been hit hard by Typhoon Nibert. It is said that Putian is a city that has won the most national-level regional brands, such as the hometown of Chinese painting, the city of Chinese woodcarving, the capital of Chinese classical crafts and furniture, the Chinese jewelry and jade jewelry characteristic industry base, the Chinese silver jewelry hometown, and the Chinese government and business gift industry base. and the capital of Chinese Buddhist art, but I am indifferent to so many national titles. In my opinion, these are nothing more than the product of politicians self-proclaiming their achievements under a special political environment, and they cannot withstand the long history of history. Panning. However, Putian has two nicknames given by local history and culture, one is Xinghua and the other is Licheng. Xinghua refers to Xinghua Prefecture (also known as Xinghua Army), one of the eight prefectures in ancient Fujian. Xinghua is one of the special places in what is now known as the Fujian land. This is where the local specialty snack "Xinghua Rice Noodles" comes from. Come.
The so-called Lychee City, as the name suggests, is the city of lychees. Since the Tang Dynasty, Putian has been famous for lychees throughout the country. Historical records show that in the Song Dynasty, every household in Putian used lychee trunks as firewood for cooking, which shows the history of Putian There are many lychee plantings. Although you can still see lychee trees when walking on the streets of Putian today, the scene of "my own lychee village" described in the poem is no longer there. In the 1960s, Guo Moruo visited Putian and wrote the inscription "Lychees are everywhere in Lychee." This disappointed some Putian officials at the time. They felt that as the Minister of Culture, Guo Moruo only left these few when he came to Putian. This word is really too common. Besides, there are so many lychees in Putian that “lychees are everywhere”! Later, people learned that Guo Moruo, a great master of the generation, used the technique of fictitiously writing about lychee but actually writing about the people of Putian. It is not known whether the inscription praised or criticized the people of Putian.
Ruoqing lives in Xitianwei Town in the northern suburbs of Putian City, which is a famous historical and cultural town. The famous Southern Shaolin Temple is located on Jiuhua Mountain in the town. On the hillsides on both sides of the road leading to the town, you can see patches of lychee forests everywhere, with fiery red fruits hanging on the branches. The scene is quite spectacular. There are also lychee trees planted in the yards of every household in the town. The feeling of picking them easily is like walking into the Queen Mother’s back garden!
Ruoqing’s father, Lao Chen, is a few years older than me. He is a cadre at the town’s cultural station. Lao Chen has very systematic and professional insights into local customs and customs. The issues I want to know about, Lao Chen can tell a lot of stories by drawing inferences from one instance to another. Lao Chen feels that the reason why Putian is widely planted with lychees is not only that Putian’s geographical climate is very suitable for the growth of lychees, but also the character of the Putian people. , there is an attractive lychee fruit growing in a yard, and the parents of the neighbors will teach their children not to envy, let alone steal other people's fruits. We will also plant one in our own yard. At this time next year, we will You can eat delicious fruits, so fruit trees are planted in every yard. In the same way, whichever family in the town builds a western-style building or buys a car will have more families building buildings in the town the next year. Buildings, buying cars. Lao Chen's grassroots insights gave me a sudden understanding of Putian's lychee culture. I thought of the inscription "Lychees are everywhere in Lychee" and seemed to understand a bit of the author's original intention.
Seeing me and Lao Chen chatting enthusiastically, Ruoqing, who was like a ghost, took the opportunity to drag her partner out and went shopping. Lao Chen's wife beside her also frequently winked at Lao Chen, meaning that we should talk. Get down to business. Of course, I did not forget my mission as a matchmaker, so I took the initiative to change the topic to young people. If Ruoqing's partner, Xiao Zheng, was born with good conditions, tall, elegant, and talented, Lao Chen and his wife had already noticed it and were very happy in their hearts. The young man is a graduate student and has a good major and a good job in Fuzhou. Old Chen and his wife were even more happy after hearing this.
It's just that Xiao Zheng's hometown is in rural Hebei. When Old Chen and his wife heard this, they looked embarrassed as I expected. Old Chen's wife said worriedly: "We only have one daughter. How can we marry so far away in the future?" That’s good!”
In fact, I already had a countermeasure, and I just wanted Mr. and Mrs. Chen to think more about this issue, so I deliberately let it slip: “This is really a problem! "So I also fell into "meditation".
After a long time, I saw the old Chen couple still frowning. If they continue to "meditate", the young people will come back soon, so I'd better take care of it.
"Old Chen, I think this issue needs a dialectical analysis. You see, although Xiao Zheng is from rural Hebei, he also has brothers and sisters in his family. He and Ruoqing both work in Fuzhou. When he gets married, he will naturally regard your place as his home. Didn’t you get a son for nothing? Besides, your Ruoqing is so smart and independent, so she won’t have the final say in everything in the future! Waiting for the blessing!"
After hearing this, Lao Chen and his wife really frowned, especially Lao Chen, who nodded like a chicken pecking at rice, but he did not forget to scold his wife: "That's right! ! The daughter we raised in our family is afraid that she will fly! You ladies are ignorant, go to the kitchen and cook!"
Naturally, I was also happy when I saw Mr. and Mrs. Chen bickering happily. I laughed out loud, thinking that my mission as a matchmaker should basically be completed.
During this dinner, I ate the delicious food cooked by Old Chen’s wife and drank the old lychee wine made by Old Chen’s family. I felt as comfortable as if I had successfully gone on a blind date. What I hate the most is the rural Hebei countryside. Boy, my blind date is as easy as an outsider, which makes me a little worried. Will young people not know how to cherish happiness because it comes so easily? So, I used the strength of lychee wine to get this guy drunk, but I couldn't get drunk myself.
That night, I stayed in the guest room of Lao Chen's house and couldn't fall asleep for a long time. I recalled the grassroots lychee culture Lao Chen told me, and also thought of "How can I be named after Song Fang? My family The poem "Lychee becomes its own village" reminded me more of Guo Moruo's inscription "Lychee is everywhere in Lychee". I suddenly felt that this trip to Lychee was not so much about being a matchmaker for others, but rather using lychee as a matchmaker. The matchmaker provided a profound lesson in folk culture.