My mother sent me a snow

In ancient times, heavy snow was divided into three seasons: "One waits for the crane gulls not to chirp; The second tiger first handed over; Sanhou Li stood out. "It is said that at this time, because of the cold weather, the cold trumpet bird no longer chirps; Since the yin qi is at its peak, the so-called prosperity and decline, and the yang qi has sprouted, so the tiger begins to have courtship behavior; "Liting" is a kind of orchid, and it also feels the germination of yang qi and draws out new shoots.

I clearly remember that during the heavy snow festival that year, my mother stopped the slaughtered chickens and ducks from marinating, so she took up her hoe and carried a willow basket to the river beach. The mother wanted to shave some thatch roots back and fatten the livestock she raised. Following my mother, my brother and I ran through the fields with joy. Looking at the distance, the green wheat seedlings and rapeseed, one ridge after another, one after another, care for and dote on the idyllic village.

Perhaps our footsteps were too open, and the winter water birds in the reeds were startled with a "whirl", flapping their wings and flying into the distance. Looking in the direction of the birds, my brother and I scrambled to shout, and the silent river beach immediately became lively.

Finding a shelter from the wind, the mother wielded her hoe hard and cut out the long, white, slender thatch roots from under the yellowish weeds. Seeing the thatch root, we couldn't wait to grab one, wipe it clean on our clothes, quickly stuff it into our mouths and chew it slowly, and the ice and sweet juice oozed out, from the corner of the mouth to the heart, spreading to every nerve, it was really wonderful.

As long as I can remember, the thatch that grows on the banks of rivers, by the road, and on the edges of the fields that is not only loved by the villagers, is not only loved by the livestock, but also loved by the children. Whether it's herding cattle or playing in the wild, we never forget to dig up a few sticks and enjoy it. Years later, I stubbornly thought that the "litong" spoken of by the ancients might be thatch, don't look at its appearance, but it has the tenacious vitality of wildfires that cannot be burned and the spring wind blows again.

"Be careful to eat a bad stomach, don't say anything about the crime, wait for the snow to come, you will not be crazy." Mother saw us chewing on the thatch roots with relish, gently reminding. When we heard that there was heavy snow, we asked curiously, "Where is the snow?"

"Wait until the roots are full of baskets, and the snow will come!"

Listening to my mother's words, we hurried over and put the thatch roots into the basket. The mother smiled and was very relieved. Tell us about the customs and folk proverbs of heavy snow, let us understand the customs of eating radishes, pickled fish, cured meat and other customs in heavy snow, and remember the agricultural proverbs such as "this winter's wheat cover is three-layer quilt, and next year's pillow is sleeping with steamed buns" and "snow piles up grass ponds, next year's grain is full of warehouses" and other agricultural proverbs. In fact, in her mother's heart, she was also full of hope that there would be a huge snow and cover the crops with a thick layer of quilts.

When the thatch roots are piled up in baskets, the snow on the heart is still delayed. When my mother saw that we were full of doubts, she did not hurry to approach the reeds, and sharply plucked a reed that looked like a flower, like a flower, and let me and my brothers dance and run with the reeds, white as snow, flying in the sky in an instant, all over the sky...

Suddenly, heavy snow came. Many years have passed, and the grand and warm snow sent by my mother is still falling in front of my eyes.

Source: Chutian Metropolis Daily (Author: Ma Xiaowei)