There is a jujube tree in Sanbo's yard. The earth wall covered the body of the tree, but it could not resist the temptation of the fruit. The fruit of Calligonum Calligonum is like a crooked stick, like a bird's paw, and its joints are tortuous. I suspect that melon dates were originally called "melon claws". People who haven't eaten frown when they see it, just like facing a wrinkled old woman. However, when you put it in your mouth and chew it carefully, it feels mellow and sweet, and tastes a bit like raisins. On autumn night, we climbed over the earth wall of Sanbo's house, climbed the tree and packed a bag. Raw and picked dates should be shot in the fire to make them soft and sticky. They will taste sweet. In early winter, ripe dates naturally fall to the ground. However, it is also very pleasant for children to pick up the fallen fruit scattered on the ground.
For most of the year, Sanbo's jujube trees are lonely. From spring germination and flowering to late autumn fruit ripening, the whole process is in the expectation of forbearance. It takes a long and patient wait to eat this string of sweet fruit in your mouth. After the first frost, those full fruits gradually dried up under the bullying of wind and frost, and the fruits concentrated the essence, eventually becoming a series of mellow and sweet delicacies. Buddhism says that everything is in the heart and pursues the cultivation of the world. Taoism talks about everything and pursues seclusion. The ripening process of jujube is quiet and peaceful in the outside world.
Turning the fruit of jujube tree, like the course of life, is bumpy. Its crown is shaped like a chicken claw, reaching into the sky, gathering purple gas and sunlight in the sky. Therefore, it has a nice name: Jizhaoshu. In the information I compiled, there is a long list of names of Calligonum Calligonum: bitter orange, honey bending method, mim, woody coral, chicken spacing, chicken feet, papaya, golden hook, pear jujube, gourd, chicken feet pear, smelly wolfberry, etc. Each name has a different appearance, giving people an aesthetic space. In my hometown, its names are Calligonum rubrum, Calligonum viridis, Calligonum albiflora, Calligonum fatua and Calligonum chai. Among the recorded tree species, it also enjoys generous courtesy. There is a poem in The Book of Songs Xiaoya: "There are gourds in Nanshan". "Lu Shu" said: "Say honey, say tin, because of its taste. It is called coral, chicken distance and chicken feet, just like its shape. " No matter the appearance or taste, it is unique. In Nianerzhuang, it also has many names: Calligonum rubrum, Calligonum viridis, Calligonum alba, Calligonum adiposum, Calligonum chai. These names scattered in the villagers' memories also gradually disappeared with the disappearance of jujube trees.
The villagers also know that the fruit of Calligonum Calligonum can relieve alcoholism, quench thirst, relieve vexation, dispel diaphragmatic fever, moisten five internal organs, facilitate urination and relieve constipation. It can be used for soaking medicine and treating rheumatism and numbness.
China Gleditsia sinensis
Another tree, Gleditsia sinensis, is in the corner of the old theater in the east of the village. It's like an old man, waiting alone in the corner of the theater. It knows many things, many principles and the benefits of peace. After vicissitudes of life, it naturally doesn't care if the child falls and climbs on it. Children around it hand in hand, playing hide-and-seek, jumping keys, kicking tiles, playing house … and, of course, playing soap operas. Gleditsia sinensis has thorns. Adults and children stand under the tree, aim at the acacia on the tree, hit it with bamboo poles and throw it with stones. As soon as you raised your hand, one or two strings of Gleditsia sinensis fell off. Its fruit is like lentils, seven or eight inches long, mashed and soaked in water, which can be used to wash clothes. Remove the soap particles before washing, mash them with stones or wooden sticks, put them into clothes, rub them on the washboard and beat them with wooden sticks. At that time, clothes were mostly linen, hard and thick. Knead for a long time and it hurts. You'd better hit it with a wooden stick. Fenghe River is crystal clear. On summer and autumn nights, if there is moonlight, women will carry a basin of dirty clothes and go down to the river bank to wash them. A pot of clothes, a string or two of Chinese honeylocust is ready. After a woman's cat washes her clothes, she floats her hair in water, and the water does not reach her waist. She mashes it with boiled water and washes it.
There are many old crow's nests in the crown of Gleditsia sinensis. We often climb trees to dig birds' eggs. At this time, Master Sen, who lives next to the theater, will come out and shout, "Come down, come down, roll, fight!" " "Master Hu Sen has a long beard. After dinner, he put a black towel on his shoulder and shook a cattail leaf fan. He sat under the tree with his head tilted and his ears propped up, as if listening to the heartbeat of the tree. Sometimes, he squinted and imagined the dream that the tree had had. Now, his appearance is blurred, but the scene is still clear. When I think of Gleditsia sinensis, music rings in my ears. There is an old man with a beard and a cattail leaf fan under the tree.
The crown of Gleditsia sinensis is like a huge umbrella, quietly spread over the old theater. Its leaves are oval, ovate-lanceolate or oblong-elliptic. Petals are yellowish white, oval or oblong in May every year. Let every day in full bloom be warm and colorful, and then fall again and again. In the dog days, lying in the shade, the leaves and fruits of Gleditsia sinensis collided in the wind, making a chirping sound, like the flute from nature, affecting my nerves. Beautiful melody and sad tone lead me into a piece of pure music. With the change of wind, music sometimes plays with fish, sometimes with breeze, sometimes with birds, sometimes with scattered clouds ... just like listening to the famous classical song "Playing with Water in Western Western jackdaw". Peace of mind, peace of mind Unfortunately, it was still difficult for me to understand this state at that time.
The old theater in Ererzhuang was demolished thirty years ago. Master Senhu also died that year. Without his care, the acacia dried up and was burned by the villagers as firewood.
gingkgo
There is a ginkgo tree hidden in the Niangniang Temple in the village, with branches and leaves covering the sun and sheltering from the wind and rain. We play games under it: fighting, kicking tiles, skipping rope, rolling iron rings, playing four corners and playing apricot stones. If it is night, we will play hide and seek. Its trunk is five or six meters above the ground, and it is divided into two branches, one upward and the other eastward. There is an old crow's nest hanging on the east branch. We took off our shoes, climbed the tree and dug the eggs of the old crow. There is a big hole under its root. When the weather is too hot to breathe, we hide in it and play cards. It seems to be a kind of play called "Being a Queen", and there is nothing to win or lose. It's raining, and we don't like staying at home. The only place to go is under the ginkgo tree.
I can't recall the complete growth process of ginkgo biloba. In the shadow of our hurry, it sprouted green buds yesterday, grew leaves today and will bear green fruits tomorrow. In a trance, I remember that it was spring, and its buds were stained with a touch of turquoise on the branches of the class. At first, I could hardly see anything, but I felt that the branches of Ginkgo biloba became soft and stretched a lot, and the color was moist and bright. The next day, the branches were covered with a fluffy green. Later, those fine buds grew out one after another and stretched day by day until the sparse branches were wrapped in thick leaves. When summer comes, ginkgo trees suddenly blossom and bear fruit. However, we never pay attention to the shape of its flowers, but only covet the orange string of fruit. In autumn, the fan-shaped leaves turn golden when you open your eyes. When we put on our mother's cotton-padded clothes, the ginkgo tree turned into a golden mountain, where thousands of dancing "Huang Die" gathered. The late autumn sun shines on its body, and the light gray branches and yellow leaves hug each other tightly, like golden rockets, soaring into the sky.
There is an inscription under the tree, and the words on it are very vague. According to records, this tree is over 1000 years old. No one knows how many natural and man-made disasters it has experienced in the long years. Its body is engraved with cuneiform characters, which no one can read. Old people say it's longer than Niangniang Temple. Which came first, the temple or the tree? Questions like that have nothing to do with our children.
One summer night when I was in junior high school, a loud noise woke the sleeping people in the village. After dawn, the villagers found that the ginkgo tree in the temple was struck by lightning. The upper end of its trunk was broken, a large piece of its crown was torn off, and broken branches were scattered all over the floor! The incident was recorded on a torn stump in the middle of the tree. And how many times this happened, no one can know.
After taking part in the work, when I was looking through the county annals, I saw ginkgo trees in my hometown temple in the chapter of ancient and famous trees. There are 7 ginkgo trees recorded in the chronicle, all of which are over a thousand years old. But everything else was destroyed in the great steelmaking movement. The other six trees either grow on the roadside or are displayed in front of the ancestral hall, attracting attention. The ginkgo tree in our village can extend its life because it is hidden in the Niangniang Temple in the middle of the village. The villagers affectionately call it ginkgo tree. At the temple fair and Chinese New Year, we will give it red firecrackers to worship devoutly, and even the dead branches are not allowed to break.
elm
The dean of my house planted an elm tree. The uneven bark looks like my grandfather's vicissitudes. Countless ants are crawling around on it.
When I was a child, I often saw my grandfather squatting under the elm tree and measuring its waist circumference with his palm. When my grandfather planted this tree, he had a hope that when it grew up, it could be used as wood for building houses.
In the spring sunshine, the young leaves of elm trees cover the branches with green. The bird fluttered its curved wings and rushed there, crowing happily. Grandpa's palm spread out and looked at it on his forehead, as if he had never seen branches sprout. Seeing him like this, I broke things at home on purpose. Laundry balls, stools, textbooks, everything. I just want to make a scene and make my grandfather restless. "Wow, you've never suffered." Grandfather muttered to himself alone in the yard.
The sun is getting warmer, and the leaves of those elms are covered with strings of snow-white flowers. Every year when the elm blossoms, my grandfather will move a ladder and put it on the tree to pick fresh elm flowers. Grandma washed those flowers, wrapped them in corn flour and spread some butter to make pies. As soon as the hot corn pie came out of the pot, the sweet smell filled the earthen house. Grandfather forbade me to pick flowers from the tree. He said: If you are really not hungry, let those flowers hang on the tree.
In the backyard, summer has drifted away. Sunlight, cool and chaotic, passed through the branches and leaves of elm trees and fell stubbornly on my grandfather. On the ground, layers of elm leaves fall down. Thin, yellow, each leaf is distributed with round holes eaten by insects. Grandpa sat on a small stool. He sat all day. After a while, grandpa picked up a handful of dead leaves and sniffed hard. After a while, rub with two palms until the whole leaves are rubbed into pieces. Autumn wind blows grandpa's beard, trembling and helpless.
Grandpa is old, and his steps are not so heavy and steady. Sometimes, he doesn't even have the strength to walk under the elm tree. He just stands at the back door and stares quietly. Under the comfort of grandpa's spirit, elm seems to have telepathy, groaning and trembling.
The wall of my old house collapsed because of the continuous rain. Father had the old house torn down and a new house built on the original site. The trunk of that elm tree is enough to make purlins. However, when the carpenter came to saw it with a saw, his grandfather waved and let the carpenter go.
"Let him die of old age."
My father works in a photo studio in town. He came back by bike with a camera to take pictures of his grandfather. Father asked his grandfather to sit at the door. Grandpa didn't say anything, but went into the yard and stood under the elm tree. I quickly moved the stool under the elm tree and let grandpa sit down. Grandfather stroked my head, coughed and sat down with a big smile on his face.
In spring, the sparse and transparent sunshine left me an eternal image. Grandfather sat askew under the elm tree as if he had taken a nap. On the tree, ants line up in a row, scrambling to send messages to the leaves of elm trees. Suddenly, the leaves on the tree danced together, as if to see grandpa off.
With an elm tree as the background, my grandfather's mediocre life has a unique scenery.
walnut
There is a walnut tree in my aunt's yard. When spring comes, it always bears uneven green fruits. As soon as my aunt went out, she raised her neck and looked at it. When I was a child, my stomach was always empty, and I liked to go to menstruation's house in summer. Walnuts, hanging in the air beyond your reach. My aunt moved to the wooden ladder and went up the tree to pick it out for me. She broke the green meat wrapped in walnuts with a stone, and then broke the walnut skin to reveal the white walnut kernel. Aunt fried walnuts in an iron pan. The faint golden color exudes the fragrance of walnuts, which is crisp.
My son-in-law said he planted the walnut tree. He smiled and said that he threw a walnut on the ground and the tree grew. The son-in-law said, stroking the tree's body with his calloused palm as if it were his child. At the end of July, before the fruit of walnut was ripe, I went up the tree to pick its fruit. My uncle is very sad. He said, "It's still fresh water. If you leave the tree, you will not die early. " Walnuts ripen during the summer vacation. I live at my aunt's house. I like to watch the scene of beating walnuts. The son-in-law waved the bamboo pole between the branches, and in an instant, the walnut fell to the ground.
Walnut fruit is not that kind of delicious thing. I put it on the smooth washed stone by the river and smashed the blue shell with stones. You can't hit the walnut skin hard, and the green juice splashes on the clothes, which is difficult to wash off.
I can't forget menstruation's walnut tree, which is also related to a cricket. In the summer vacation of grade four, I caught a cricket in a river ditch. It has a long beard, bright wings and a clear voice. My uncle doesn't like me playing cricket. What did he say about playing with toys? But I just like cricket. I put it in a jar and hid it in the grass under the walnut tree. The vibrant branches are covered with dense fruits. When my uncle is not at home, I will open the grass and feed the water. It crows for me when there is silence all around. I just lay on my back, looking at the fruit on the tree and enjoying listening. Crickets' cries are slow and short in the groans of fruits. As Robert I later heard? Schumann's collection of songs "Myrtle" and the third "Walnut Tree". The melody of that song is mostly short-breathing sentences, accompanied by beautiful arpeggios, which shake the poetry of rustling leaves. I fell asleep as the crickets died down.
Walnut, also known as walnut, is also called "four dried fruits" with almonds, cashews and hazelnuts in the international market. It grows in deep, moist, loose and fertile soil, and there are many cold elements in its character. Walnut kernel is a good tonic. It is said that a kilo of walnuts is equivalent to five kilos of eggs or nine kilos of milk. Walnut kernel is a kind of medicine, which has a good effect on kidney deficiency, lumbago, lung deficiency, chronic cough, asthma, constipation, weakness after illness, neurasthenia and so on. When I was in college, my aunt sent me a packet of walnuts. "Walnut kernel looks like a human brain and can replenish the brain." My aunt said so.
After going to college, it is difficult to see walnut trees in the city. But its fruit was placed in the stalls of fruit shops or fruit markets, which made me see the shadow of walnut trees.
Chinese toon
When I was eight years old, I stayed at my grandmother's house for a while. There is a Toona sinensis tree in grandma's yard. It grows outside the window and sticks to the window. It's one of those wooden windows. In winter, newspapers are mushy. In the new year, grandma puts up white paper and window grilles. When the weather turned warmer, I took advantage of grandma's inattention to dig the paper in the window with my fingers to see if the trees had sprouted.
The temptation of Toona sinensis leaves pervades the whole spring. But always, when spring comes to the depths, grandpa asks my uncle to climb the tree and break the leaves. I know that the leaves it just opened are the most tender and fragrant. In this way, my eyes will hang on its leaves for a long time. Seeing my dementia, grandpa always repeats one sentence: "You greedy cat." I know grandpa's mind. He not only asked me to eat fragrant leaves, but also asked the whole family to eat a bowl of Toona sinensis for dinner. At that time, we seldom ate sesame oil. Grandma cooked Toona sinensis leaves with water, mixed with steamed rice, sprinkled with salt and stirred for a while. This is a rare lunch. It's a big iron pot, which is full of rice. My grandmother gives a bowl of this and a bowl of that, so people in the street can taste it. On that street, only my grandmother's house has a Toona sinensis tree.
The leaves of Toona sinensis are thick and dense, and a dense layer of black spots under the tree is the witness of moths defecating everywhere. Grandma had to clean every day and curse every day. The silkworm dung swept by grandma is not poured into the toilet, but buried under the roots of flowers and plants in the yard. It is a rare fertilizer for flowers and plants in summer. The leaves of Ailanthus altissima fall late, and it is late autumn, and it still refuses to finish falling. Under the wind, the leaves fell heavily on the ground. If the wind is stronger, even the branches will break and a series of "crack boards" will appear.
During the summer vacation, a cicada climbed on the Toona sinensis tree and cried tirelessly. Grandma allows me to play in the yard, but the cicada climbs very high. I can see its body, but I can't catch it.
In winter, the sunshine is dim, cold and long. If my grandparents go out, they will lock me in the house. At this time, my only happiness is to tear off the newspaper on the window with my fingers, look at the bare Toona sinensis tree and see the birds flying occasionally in the sky. They have wings and will land on the branches of Toona sinensis trees, screaming like no one's watching.
Less than a year after my grandmother died, my father went to a new school, but my eyes were lured by the branches of Toona sinensis, and they were infinitely elongated ... When I returned to my parents, my eyes were still shaking from time to time from the window of my grandmother's house, the window hole torn by me and the branches of Toona sinensis.
Grandpa didn't break his word. I not only ate the Toona sinensis leaves he gave me as I wished, but also took me to eat a bowl of Toona sinensis rice. Toona sinensis sees me, just like a long-lost friend, shaking the remaining leaves happily, as if welcoming applause. I wanted to say a few words to it, but I couldn't think of a word at the moment, so I touched it for a long time. It seems to be thick and tall, and it has some zits on it.
My grandmother's yard is filled with the kind of fragrance I yearn for. Until I step into the threshold of middle age, the fragrance of Toona sinensis leaves still lingers in my life.