Those things and people in my hometown
Those things and those people in my hometown
My hometown is the place where each of us grew up. It contains our memories and longings, so our distant hometown will always exist. In our memory, it will never be forgotten in our minds for a long time. Let's read about those things and people in our hometown together. Those things and people in my hometown 1
Before leaving my hometown, I often stood at the foot of the ancient camphor tree on Naoshang and overlooked the entire village. I saw the old houses on both sides of the ancestral hall next to each other, all covered with black corrugated roofs. The narrow alleys were paved with bluestone slabs and intertwined with each other. At any time, you can see the hurried steps of adults carrying water and firewood, and the immature figures of children chasing and playing. . There are more than a hundred families living in the village with an area of less than 5,000 square meters. Although the old houses have different orientations and shapes, they all have blue bricks and blue tiles, wooden doors and wooden windows, stacked on the same wall, and the households are close to each other. , work hand in hand to advance, and live in harmony with full of family affection.
"A wisp of solitary smoke is thin, and firewood is flourishing in hundreds of households." As if traveling more than five hundred years ago, I vaguely saw the old man Fuzu, who was over fifty years old, and his two sons Jin. Shou and Jin Hou came here from the "Bird's Nest" dozens of miles away with all their belongings. In order for the small root of the surname Liang to grow into a leafy tree, they chose this Feng Shui treasure land to build a house and village near the lake. The elder brother Jin Shou lives in the east house, and the younger brother Jin Hou lives in the west house. Brothers support each other, and children and grandchildren accompany each other. The closer they stand, the closer they get, and they have mutual dependence. Mutual dependence and interdependence have gradually become a habit after several generations. The habits of the whole village have become customs followed from generation to generation. Old houses are naturally built in groups. More than ten households share an alley, and alleys are connected to alleys. There are alleys connecting them. In the narrow alley, one person can only carry a load of firewood through it. He is afraid that if the alley is too big, other things will get wedged in and block the blood connection between them.
On a moonless night, the village is quiet and lonely. In order to save lamp oil, the villagers hurried home after the sun went down and were busy cooking, eating, washing, and then turned off the lights and went to sleep as soon as it got dark. On the night of the full moon, the restless hearts of the children can no longer be suppressed. As long as one person shouts in the alley, the children of each family, whether they are big or small, whether they are boys or girls, will come out in full force. In the lanes, alleys, and in front of the ancestral hall, children were playing and playing everywhere, and the whole village was boiling. Starlight and moonlight deliberately stay on the cyan corrugations, while also pouring on the calm lake. At this moment, Chihu Lake, the village, and the old houses all share the same sky, light, and earth colors, and through the looming choices, they have become the paintings of Liang Shu in the village. In his painting, the sky is used as the cover, and the old houses under the moonlight are like silkworm houses, and the people are like silkworm treasures. The layers of layers are perfectly combined, and an ancient village is integrated with the heaven and earth. It is a beautiful picture image. The land preserves the appearance of the village and the appearance of the old houses.
Crops are harvested one after another, children are born one after another, and the popularity of the village increases year by year. The trees are divided into branches, and the children are divided into houses. The narrow old houses can no longer accommodate these grown-up children. Although some people have begun to build houses outside, the old houses are still preserved like this. With the arrival of the new century and the new millennium, the spring breeze of reform also blew into this ancient village. The old houses were lost and the old appearance was no longer replaced by rows of buildings in the new village. With the same structure and specifications, more than a hundred buildings are neatly arranged. They seem very grand, but you can't find the intimacy and attachment of the old houses. Nowadays, older people will recall the old house every time they walk in front of the ancestral hall. Every time I talk to people, there is a sigh, and the ancient villages and houses have become helpless memories...
Some time ago, I returned to my hometown, and I was chatting with Brother Hongsheng and Brother Jinsong about the old days. When they were in the house, they still had very clear memories of whose home was there and what kind of building it was there, which gradually brought me closer to the ancient village where I lived as a child.
On the west side of the ancestral hall, from top to bottom, are the houses of Uncle Guangdu. The house built by Uncle Guangxiang now is the foundation of Uncle Guangdu’s house in the past. It is very small, just a long room. It is made of adobe bricks.
In front of it is a narrow alley, opposite is the house of Brother Xianbo and Brother Xuewen, and facing away from their house is the house of Uncle Guangdou and Po Sifeng. Sifengpo's house is a wooden structure, very unique and very old. There is an alley next to it. To the west of the alley are the houses of uncles Guangwei and Guangjun, and next door is the house of cousin Guangsi. In front of this row of houses is another narrow alley. To the south are the houses of Brother Jinsong, Brother Liang Xi, and Brother Liang Shu. Corresponding to their houses are Uncle Guang Ben, Brother Xuejun, Brother Liang Guang, Brother Gengcai, and Auntie. Lihua's house. There is a north-south alley between the two rows of houses. Going further to the west, there is another alley with two rows of houses facing each other, from north to south. There is an open space next to Uncle Peng on the east side of the alley. It was left after the old ancestor of my third master Guangfeng was demolished. Going forward, follow this horizontally. The houses of Brother Xian'an and Dad Fancai are to the south, and to the south is Uncle Guangzao's house; to the west of the alley from north to south are the houses left by my grandfather, and next door is Uncle Guangjin's house. Between Uncle Guangjin and Uncle Guangshi There is a gate in the middle, and you enter into an alley. Surrounding the alley are my third father's house and Uncle Guang Geng's house. To the south are Uncle Guangkai's house and Uncle Guanglun's house. There is also a gate between the two families. Entering into it is another alley. Surrounding the alley are the houses of Uncle Guanghuo and Uncle Guangchang...Between Brother Hongsheng and Brother Jinsong With the description, the old house in my hometown gradually became clear in my mind. It's a pity that the old houses that have lasted for hundreds of years have been demolished to pieces. Whether it’s regret or helplessness, I can’t tell. Just use words to give a simple description, and use a pen to simply describe the village of my childhood. At that time, every house was very small, and we were like silkworms living in a matchbox, warm, happy and happy. Those things about my hometown, those people 2
My hometown is at the junction of the southwest of Jungar Banner in Inner Mongolia and northern Shaanxi. It is a typical mountainous Liangmao area. Because there are two peaks standing side by side on a beam, it is named Shuangshanliang.
The area around Shuangshanliang is crisscrossed by undulating mountain ridges and ditches. At the same time, it is far away from urban traffic and is very remote. This special natural condition and cultural environment gave birth to the unique folk customs in that area. The natural living habits and interests of the honest and unsophisticated hometown people are still unforgettable to me even after being away from my hometown for decades.
The sour fruits are full of love
Shuangshanliang is known as the "Land of Flowers and Fruits". Indeed, the fruits produced in that area not only come in many varieties and colors, but also have a large output. Mainly include sea red seeds, crabapple seeds, sand fruit, betel nut, sour apricot, mountain peach, etc. Those fruit trees are very drought tolerant. Because their roots are very deep, they can absorb water from the groundwater two to three meters below. At the same time, the crown of the tree is low, and the branches are draped downward, almost covering the ground. In addition, the branches are dense and dense, which can withstand the wind and sand. Another advantage is that they do not pick the ground and can grow on fat or thin soil. These characteristics are well adapted to the natural conditions of this area of barren land, drought, little rain, wind and sand. Therefore, it is widely planted by local people. There are three, five, ten or eight fruit trees everywhere in front of and behind every house and in the valleys and valleys. It looks lush and lush and very pleasant.
When the fruits are ripe in autumn, every household, including adults, children, men and women, will go out together, carrying baskets, carrying burdens, and carrying baskets, to "drop fruits" in the fruit trees. In those fruit trees, the shadows of the trees are dancing, the fragrance of the fruits is overflowing, and people are laughing and laughing. The scene is really intoxicating and fascinating!
The fruits produced in this area have a strong sour taste. They taste sour and astringent at first, making you grin and salivate. After eating a few, I tasted it carefully and found it sour and sweet, with a strange fragrance. So you will eat one piece after another under the warm urging of the host: "You eat, you eat." The local people eat delicious food and never tire of it.
In autumn, after the fruits are collected, apart from some being transported to the market for sale, many families always keep some for their own consumption. Among all fruits, sea red seeds produce the most. Because the fruit is hard and not easy to rot, many families store large quantities of it so that they can eat fresh sea red fruits throughout the winter and early spring. The storage method is generally to put it in your own yard and cover it with sorghum straw thatch.
Many people also pick out large, dark red ones and put them in a porcelain jar, spray a small amount of white wine on them, then paste a few pieces of linen paper on the mouth of the jar and apply some glue to seal them, which is called "Zuihaihong". The "drunk" sea red color is delicious, sour, sweet and crispy, it is really delicious. In winter and spring, when relatives and friends come to visit, the host will definitely grab a plate of frozen sea red or drunk sea red to entertain them warmly while chatting or before tea and after dinner.
Folks also have the habit of cutting fresh fruit into segments and drying them for consumption. During the fruit harvest season, various fruit petals are hung to dry on the beams of many houses and on the nails on the interior and exterior walls. There are a dazzling array of red and yellow ones, which is very interesting! The dried fruit has moderate sweetness and sourness. Chew it slowly and savor it, leaving a fragrant aroma in your mouth with an endless aftertaste. It is a delicacy that women and babies who like snacks often eat, and it is also a coveted product for pregnant women. When visiting relatives and friends, people never forget to bring some dried fruits, dried apricots and give them to the children of relatives and friends out of town for a "rare taste".
Millet rice and sour rice are delicious and delicious.
In my hometown, millet rice is mainly grown, and millet seeds are mostly grown. Rice milled from millet is the staple food. Since there was a serious water shortage in that area, it was difficult to eat vegetables because they could not grow many kinds of vegetables, so they made rice into sour rice. Because if you eat sour rice, you can not only eat it, but you can also eat it with flavor. Generally speaking, we have sour rice and stew at noon, sour porridge in the morning and sour porridge in the evening. To make sour rice, first wash the rice, then pour it into a porcelain jar containing physalis and "slurry" it for four or five hours. Before adding to the pot, wash off the excess soup from the sour rice, then put it into a pot of boiling water to cook. What is cooked and fished out with a strainer is called sour rice, and what is mixed and eaten is called sour porridge or sour gruel.
Eating sour rice is a dietary habit of people in my hometown without exception. "Every family has a jar of rice, and they can't live without eating sour rice" is a true portrayal of it. Every time you go to a house, you can see a jar of rice paste placed on the kang near the pot.
"In my sleep, I saw my sister standing next to me, reaching out to hug a rice jar." When the young men sang folk songs, they thought of the rice jar at the end of their own kang. This shows that this thing plays an important role in people's lives. How important!
The habit of eating sour rice for generations has given the women here good experience and skills in making sour rice. They placed the jar of rice paste near the pot that was neither cold nor hot, and wiped the inside and outside of the jar clean to remove the foam from the soup at any time to avoid any contamination. At the same time, no matter how busy you are with your business, never forget to stir it with chopsticks in the rice syrup pot half the morning and half the afternoon to maintain the activity of the rice soup and prevent it from changing taste. There is a local saying that "to know whether a woman is diligent or lazy, first look at her rice jar." How well the rice jars are taken care of has become a measure of the diligence of the hostess.
The sour rice made by the women in my hometown is plump, sour and sweet, with a pure taste without any peculiar smell. They have a trick for making sour porridge, which is to insert the head of a spoon into the boiling porridge pot at the right time and stir it back and forth quickly when the rice grains are about to rot, making a "batta-batta" sound. Then scoop the porridge into a basin while it's still hot and cover it for a while. The sour rice made in this way tastes sharp and delicious, making people want to eat it again.
Eating sour rice can produce fluid and quench thirst. On a scorching summer day at noon, people returning from working in the hillsides and valleys have parched lips and parched tongues, and are unbearably hungry and thirsty. After entering the door, I picked up the leftover sour rice soup bowl and drank half of the sour rice soup that had been left to cool down. My thirst was instantly quenched and my whole body was refreshed! Then get on the Kang and enjoy two bowls of sour rice and braised cabbage. After eating and drinking, I wiped my mouth and sweat, lay down on the luggage behind me, and felt my round belly. I felt an indescribable sense of comfort all over my body. This is one of the joys of being a farmer in my hometown!
Optimistic and open-minded folks
My hometown is a vast area with sparsely populated areas and scattered residences. Most of the land is in ravines and bays. People work alone in the ravines all day long. , it’s rare to see each other, and we can’t help but feel lonely and bored. Maybe it's for this reason that people are very cordial when meeting each other. They always make a few jokes, say a few jokes, and "swear" for a while before starting to talk seriously.
In the eyes of outsiders, the people here are particularly "monkey-like". The farmers there mostly like to speak in figurative language, and what they say has a "literary color".
After the government implemented the policy of returning farmland to forest and grassland, trees and grass were planted on the hillside. The villagers no longer had to "suffer" by climbing all day long. Everyone walked out of the mountains one after another and integrated into the trend of market economy. Smart hometown people have noticed the trend of diversified needs of city people and brought their own local products into the towns to sell them to make a living. Fruits such as sea red seeds, crab apples, and sand fruits produced in my hometown can be found everywhere in Mendian supermarkets in nearby towns. It is said that a few years ago, several of my fellow villagers were hired as chefs by several big hotels in the city, specializing in cooking special dishes from their hometown. Some have opened their own restaurants, selling local flavor food. There is a "Zhunqi Flavor" restaurant not far from my home, where I can taste the sour rice, stewed vegetables and buckwheat that I have been accustomed to eating since I was a child. Noodles and other "hometown meals".