Yes, this is Jiangnan.
The wind blows cold in the willows, and the apricot blossoms and rain wet the south of the Yangtze River.
On that day, the first light rain in the long summer, I came to Pingjiang Road without an umbrella, makeup and jewelry. Wearing cotton and linen and gray shoes, I stepped on the bluestone board in the alley and walked by myself. At the end of the alley, I was led there by a loud cry. Coming out of the alley, I saw an old woman dressed simply, sitting on a pony by the side of the road, with a basket in front of her, which was full of pendants made of white orchids and bracelets made of gardenias. There is a handful of dried cattail beside the basket. Grandma pulled out a leaf of Pu Ye and kept busy with her head down. She shouted from time to time: "Gardenia, white orchid, do you want to buy?"
I stepped forward gently, went to the flower seller, squatted down gently for fear of disturbing the flowers, and asked in a low voice, "Grandma, how many brass cymbals are there?"
Grandma raised her head slightly: "One yuan a file."
I saw grandma smiling, so I went to talk to her for a while.
Grandma told me that when she was young, she sold flowers for a living, but now few people buy flowers, so business is not very good. But now that she is old and thin, and her children are filial, selling flowers is just to let her pass the time and pass the rest of the time.
Grandma's semi-Suzhou and semi-Mandarin made me swallow. So I took out ten dollars from my bag and bought ten booths.
Grandma wrapped the flowers in my hand and brought me a string of gardenia bracelets on the basket. She helped me put it on and said it was for me, free of charge. I can't get rid of it, so I have to accept it.
White orchids look like pendants, ivory in color and delicious. In the past, Suzhou people, especially women, wore ornaments on their hair and chest, and some people liked to put them in cars as pendants or in wardrobes. Generally, the two pendants pinned to the chest are of the same grade. They are strung together with lead wire and hung on the second button on the chest, which is very chic. Even if it is dry, the aroma can last for three or four days. It can also be hung in straw bags woven by cattail or platycodon grandiflorum, which is not easy to be damaged and has a more lasting fragrance. Gardenia is used to make bracelets, and it looks good to wear. The fragrance is not inferior to that of white orchids.
I took out a file and pinned it to my clothes, then took a deep breath and laid it beside me. The smell can't help but remind me of some past events.
Many years ago, when I first came to Suzhou, I rented a house in Yangcheng Lake Town, and some white orchids were planted in the yard of the landlord's aunt's house. Every summer, the white orchids bloom and the whole yard is immersed in the fragrance of flowers. Once, through the introduction of my aunt, I met her nephew. At that time, the boys had not graduated, and they were one year younger than me. He is the first heterosexual friend I met after I came to Suzhou, and I learned a lot about Suzhou from him. I remember that I often went for a walk by the lake at that time, or met a little girl selling flowers on those high stone arch bridges in town. He always comes forward to buy me a file to pin on my clothes. He is a careful man. If I go out on a rainy day, I like to walk barefoot on the wet slate. He always helps me with my sandals with one hand and pulls me with the other, for fear that I may slip accidentally.
"White orchids, white orchids?" The soft voice of Wu Nong, a little girl selling flowers, awakened spring and lit up summer. Even people who don't like flowers can't help buying one. At that time, no matter how many blocks away, whenever he heard the hawking, he would follow the sound and buy a stall for me to wear. He knows that I have never been an affectionate woman. I only like these plants and old tables and chairs with Jiangnan flavor. He once said, "You must have been born in Jiangnan in your last life, more Suzhou than me." I smiled without saying a word, jumping around with my feet on the wet bluestone board, and the white orchids on my chest also rippled in this rainy summer. ......
At dawn, the drizzle is light and the dust is light, and the grass is new. The empty alley smells bad. How many beauties did the flower shop sell?
I remember riding my bike through the streets of Suzhou. Huqiu, Changqing, Guanqian Street and Shantang Street can be seen everywhere.
With the development of society, Suzhou, the land of plenty, is changing with each passing day. In recent years, with the large-scale demolition planning, farmers have moved into residential buildings, and there is no spare place to grow these flowers and plants. Naturally, it is hard to see a little girl buying flowers in a narrow alley again. And the little girl in those days, like me, has become a good wife and mother.
Time is a double-edged sword, which can bring the past and the future, heal the pain of the past, and make the good memories last forever.
After living in Suzhou for several years, I have also raised some flowers and plants, most of which are evergreen vegetation that does not bloom. I may have a hard temper for many years, but I still don't like silly and heartless flowers. Too enchanting always feels tacky, no asparagus, green radish, Milan. But the white orchid is something I have been obsessed with and unwilling to raise. Although white orchids are gradually leaving people's lives, it is not difficult to find a pot. But I always stubbornly believe that white orchids do not belong to reinforced concrete buildings, and are more suitable for them in the courtyard walls of old houses.
At dusk in misty rain lane, I bought flowers on the bridge. Lonely and arrogant, with deep meaning, will not live up to this life.
Youth has passed, leaving without complaint. People in that year have drifted away from books, and the fragrance of white orchids has been lingering in my mind and has become the best memory. Perhaps, what I have been thinking about is not having it, but just wanting to have it at sunset or dawn. Suddenly, the voice of Wu Nong, a misty rain in the south of the Yangtze River, came from the other end of the alley-"Do you want white orchids?"
Blue sky *