Into Gen Fang’s prose
Genfang is an ancient village. The Feng Shui position of the village coincides with the "Gen" direction in the Bagua compass, so it was named Genfang.
In the long river of time, I have walked into Genfang countless times. Walking into Genfang seems to be an indissoluble bond in my life, and that bond has persisted in me countless times.
1
I was a teenager when I first entered Genfang. At that time, I followed in the footsteps of adults to go to the market in Wei Town or go to Baijia Middle School. I passed through Genfang, a medium-sized village, countless times. When I started from Jiuxian Fengshi Village, eight miles away in the south, walked along the rural road extending to the north, winding through fields and alleys, and finally climbed up a higher slope in Hujianao and walked for one kilometer, Gen Square land is stepping on my tired feet.
In my eyes, Genfang is undoubtedly a geomantic treasure. Standing on Baijia's high platform and looking out, Genfang's territory is uniquely located. It is adjacent to Baijia's prosperous Wei Town to the north, to the west is the rippling blue Gan River, and to the east and south are thousands of acres of fertile farmland. The traffic arteries in Genfang are at the right time and the right location. The north-south rural roads run majestically beside the skin of the village, and the busy Baijia Ferry gently inhabits the "back garden" of the village.
The land area of Genfang is wide, and the large land generously describes the unique layout of the village. On the pavilion of the carved railing pond, there are ancient trees leaning against each other, and a group of herons soaring and dancing in the clouds. Although the building distance between the houses is too large, it is so large that each other cannot feel the warmth of living in groups. However, it is precisely the ample land in front of and behind the house that has resulted in all the vegetable plots here being spread out. There are several free borders with fragrant melons and fruits, lush greenery, and you can enjoy the beauty of the warm picture of a farmhouse.
2
In the years to come, I thought that walking into Genfang would become a stranger in my life and would drift away as time goes by. However, after I started working in the county town, my wife worked in Baijia Hospital. On weekends and holidays, I often went to Baijia for vacation.
After Baijiaju Street was relocated, my wife was also transferred to work in the county town. After more than ten years, I never had the opportunity to visit Genfang again. Although my mother-in-law’s house is also near Genfang, and I visit her house every year to pay New Year greetings, I always come and go in a hurry, and I never walked into Genfang again for a long time. < /p>
I asked: "Where did you hear that?"
Xiao Li said: "I just went to Genfang and walked around, and it was written on the buildings there. It was on TV last year I saw the rural tourism promotional video and learned that Genfang was doing a good job in the construction of new rural areas. After arriving, I went to Genfang to experience the results of beautiful rural construction.”
After hearing this, I wanted to go immediately. To feel the atmosphere on the spot, after returning from Tian Xin’s New Year greetings, it was already past five in the afternoon. My wife, Tsuen Tsuen, and I hurried to Genfang.
Arriving at the fork in the village, the scene before you is a new archway. The frame archway with blue brick veneer is simple, bright and simple, showing a bit of elegance. The word "Gen Fang" is written on the front.
Walking into the archway, the refreshing spring breeze of construction blows in your face, and the sunshine of achievements that shines in front of you is particularly dazzling. The old houses and the new ones complement each other, and the current situation of the village after the changes makes it impossible for me to capture the old appearance from the impression. Every passage in the village has been poured with cement, and there is no longer a dirt road that remains in my memory for the villagers’ exit. There is a brick wall around the pond, and there are railings on the brick wall. The railings are equipped with grid guardrails, and the guardrails are painted with green paint. Each ancient camphor tree is surrounded by a brick wall, and each vegetable field is divided into sections with red bricks.
Behind the archway is an open flat land where hundreds of wine jars are gathered. In the front and center of the wine jars is a guide sign that reads: Baijia with the Fragrance of Wine.
"Yaotou Tofu and Baijia Wine." I have heard this sentence for a long time. Yaotou Town is famous for its tofu, but Baijia is famous for its wine. Baijia rice wine has been famous since ancient times. According to legend, during the Tiansheng reign of the Song Dynasty, Ouyang Xiu tasted Baijia rice wine when he came to Baijiahan Mountain Temple to explore the secluded area. He praised it as "the wine is not intoxicating, but everyone gets drunk". It is also recorded in "The Biography of a Liquor Seller" written by Wei Xi, a famous essayist in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties: "There is a liquor seller in Wan'an County who gets rich by making good wine and never deceives others in his life."
In ancient times, there was a custom of making wine in Genfang. With the local first-class water quality and honest attitude towards others, Baijia wine has achieved a reputation that is well-known in the local area. Baijia wine has the characteristics of luster, transparency and sweet taste. Although the purely manual brewing process is simple, the steps and processes are rigorous. First, select high-quality glutinous rice and soak it; secondly, filter the soaked glutinous rice and pour it into a rice steamer, and steam it over a fire; thirdly, mix the ingredients, loosen the steamed rice grains, pour it into a large clean water tank, and Add a small amount of water to the vat, and then add an appropriate amount of distiller's yeast; finally, seal the vat, and when the fermentation is sufficient, the vat can be opened. If it is made into liquor, several more steps must be added.
Baijia fine wine, rich and fragrant, overflows with Baijia and is fragrant. When you drink Baijia wine, you are not only drinking pure glycol, you are drinking the simple folk customs of Genfang, and you are drinking the pure heart of Genfang. This cup of fragrant Baijia wine, along the tunnel of time, seems to convey the past glory and glory of Genfang, and seems to gracefully elucidate the excitement and prosperity of Baijia.
After staying in Baijia for more than ten minutes, we came to an authentic scenic spot - Gushi Mountain.
Ancient Stone Mountain, located 100 meters northwest of Genfang Village, was announced as a county-level cultural relic protection unit in December 1990. It is an ancient building from the Ming Dynasty. It sits southeast and faces northwest. In the second year of tomorrow's Qi Dynasty, Liu Shizhen, Minister of the Ministry of War, built the entire stone mountain made of stones.
The ancient stone mountain is called a mountain. In fact, the shape of the mountain is not obvious and resembles a bunker built for war. It was built in a chaotic manner with sand, stone and mud, but it is actually very strong. The whole structure has survived hundreds of years of wind and rain, but only a small part of the front has collapsed. The building has the second floor, with a total height of about seven meters. Below it is a cylindrical round platform with a diameter of more than 20 meters at the bottom. It has a labyrinth-like quality inside. From the entrance to the abdomen, there are many small circular passages that can accommodate one person and extend upward in a spiral shape. The second floor is a platform, and the structure of the upper floor is changed to six garden columns. There are large gaps between the columns. Standing in the gaps, you can look out at the surrounding activities. The surroundings and top are covered with dense thorns and vines, and the vines are green all year round. This centuries-old ancient stone mountain is the only ancient relic in Genfang and has profound historical and cultural connotations.
Three
Unconsciously, the sky gradually pulled down the black curtain, and we set foot on the road home.
I have walked into Genfang countless times, and only this time gave me a comprehensive and multi-angle understanding of Genfang. This is the birthplace of Wan’an dragon boat culture and the place where Baijia wine is brewed. The place of origin is the hometown of Liu Shizhen, Minister of the Ministry of Justice. It is a fertile land where literature and virtue are respected. Here is Baijiaganfang, a simple village with beautiful scenery and rich culture.
Ancient camphor, Baijia wine, ancient stone mountains, dragon boat culture... are like business cards of Genfang. Walking into Guzhang, I felt the rich history of Genfang; walking into Gushi Mountain, I felt the vicissitudes of Genfang’s past; walking into Baijia Wine, I felt the pride of Genfang; walking into the new rural construction Geng Fang, I feel that its "appearance" is so dazzling today.
Walking into Genfang is like tasting a jar of fine wine that has been stored for thousands of years. It is fragrant and has a long-lasting ancient charm.
Walking into Genfang, I felt the profound cultural heritage of the countryside, saw the rapid development of a beautiful life in the countryside, and witnessed the beautiful changes on the road to wealth in the countryside!
I hope that Geng will continue to bloom new faces, brighten up new appearances, and show new postures in the construction of new rural areas!