Author: Zeming Academy, Lu Xin
Source: Zhouzhi County Zeming College
There is an old locust tree, when I travel far, I always think of it inexplicably; such an old locust tree, standing in front of it, or hugging and looking at it, I can always surge a warm feeling in my heart.
Such an old locust tree, a tree of more than 600 years old, is old and old, flowers bloom and thank you, silently watching over this homeland - Zhangjiabao.
Old locust tree in Zhangjiabao
Zhangjiabao, a small village in the central and western parts of Guanxi, was the place where I grew up as a child. For as long as I can remember, the old locust tree has stood outside my grandmother's house.
Listen to the elders, this old locust tree is older than the history of Zhangjiabao. When they were young, the old locust tree was here.
Two or three years ago, the village pruned the branches of the withered part of the old locust tree to make it grow better. The old locust tree is hollow, but it is still full of life and leafy. Spring sprouts, summer blossoms, autumn bears fruit, waiting for another four-season cycle under the warm winter sun.
Once upon a time, the tree hole of the old locust tree was a good place for children to hide and seek, and the open space under the old locust tree and the narrow street on the east side were a "press parlor" for the neighbors.
The old locust tree, like an elder who has experienced many vicissitudes, has come from more than 600 years ago to today; the old locust tree is the founder of life and vitality, no matter the wind, frost, thunder, lightning, the four seasons, the sap of youth is still rushing in the branches. People and trees, living in harmony and protecting each other.
The old locust tree is also the guardian and witness of the growth of life, guarding every inch of time and every inch of land here, witnessing life and death, gain and loss, beauty and ugliness, glory and humiliation, witnessing people's joy and sorrow, gathering and separation, growth and aging.
The old locust tree is also the guardian and witness of my childhood, after years and years, I feel nostalgic in my chest, and when I "know the year of right and wrong", the past often comes to mind, and I can't forget it for a long time.
At that time, winter was always cold. Snowflakes are the best gift for children in winter, and it is common for a few heavy snowfalls to fall. Snow-free winter days, even if the sky is high, is always boring. Snowflakes fall one by one, often for two or three days. After the snow melted, the ice picks hanging on the eaves also became the children's favorite.
Thinking back to the loneliness and happiness of my childhood, which came easily and went quickly, it is now difficult to have it again. Those warmest emotions are also like the ice picks that are rarely reproduced, deeply hidden in the heart of memory.
In the cold winter of the ninth month, my hands and feet will always have frostbite, itching and pain, and when it is severe, it will suppurate and ulcerate. I remember one cold winter, my grandmother saw that I had frostbite again, so she circled me on the fire, in addition to going to the toilet, all winter's eating and playing on the fire, frostbite slowly subsided. Without frostbite, I can finally bask in the afternoon sun.
At this time, Grandma used a comb to gently and gently comb my hair braids that were already like felt pieces, without a trace of pain, some were a trace of warm currents, like the footsteps of the sunshine into the skin, into the blood, making people feel relaxed and lazy.
That cold winter, that frostbite, and that warm winter afternoon will forever burn in my memory.
In spring, the old locust trees are always greener late. The tea-green willow branches are already swaying in the spring breeze, but the young buds on the branches of the old locust trees seem to be nothing. It wasn't until the spring breeze warmed up, and from a distance, the branches of the old locust tree had green leaves. Every day after that, the tender green branches and leaves grew wildly in the spring wind, and in the blink of an eye, the green shade was like a cover, as if chasing the footsteps of spring, chasing and chasing, spring is not old, summer has arrived.
After the rain, the streets are muddy, under the old locust trees, it is a good place for friends to catch stalls, hide and seek, play with mud, in that era of lack of toys, but never lack of playmates, no lack of happiness, so that there has never been a hot and difficult day in the memory. Occasionally, when I am alone, I will sit under the old locust tree and eat popcorn and fried corn beans, hoping that my parents will come to see me.
In the evening, the chirping of summer cicadas rises and falls, and the branches of the moon and the frogs chirp. When the wind rises, the branches and leaves of the old locust tree rustle. After a busy day, adults would often gather in the courtyard and listen to Grandma talk about the past in the old paper pile.
Grandma gently shook the big fan and spoke loudly and colorfully. To this day, I still have a picture in my mind of "a robbery bandit hidden in the shadow of the old locust tree.".
Grandma's story has been told many times, we have listened to it many times, each time, there are different imaginations, different expectations, different questions and speculations.
My grandmother loves to be clean, and on rainy days, my grandmother will put a row of bricks in the yard, so as not to step on the mud of the yard and bring the muddy water from her shoes back to the house. When it rains, the most inconvenient thing is to fetch water.
At that time, the village's drinking water had to be drawn from a well several inches deep, and when it rained, the road was muddy and slippery, and the adults carefully carried the water home, and if they were not careful, they would fall. However, the muddy and watery road is a paradise for children, blocking the water with mud, treading water, and having fun.
Where do we understand the hardships and hardships of life as children! I remember when I was a child, it rained for several days, and I jumped on the bricks and ran to the gate to stand under the eaves, looking at it for a long time, I couldn't resist the temptation of the game and joined the middle of the friends who played water, playing with words without speculation, we scolded each other. It's nothing more than never playing with you again, you're an ugly kid and so on.
Thinking about it now can only make people can't help but be funny. Mu Xin said, "The years do not spare anyone, and we have not spared the years." ”
Where are your childhood playmates now? But like me, in the moment of silence, I think back to the beautiful childhood that was once carefree!
My grandfather and grandmother
The leaves of the old locust tree gradually began to yellow and fall, and we know that autumn is coming.
Autumn is the harvest season, I remember when I was a child, I followed my uncles to the field to break corn, and the uncles carried the basket on their backs, skillfully threw the corn into the back basket, the corn was filled with baskets, pressing the uncle to bow his back, and the shoulders pressed out a deep mark.
Between labors, my uncle folded sweet stalks for me to chew, and until now, every time I chewed sugarcane, I would taste the sweet stalks. As the sun set, my uncle put me in an empty basket and carried me home.
When drying the grain, I was Grandpa's little helper. The grain dried on the mat should be turned from time to time to slowly evaporate the water at the temperature of the sun, which is convenient for processing and storage. When the long shadow of the old locust tree is projected on the outer wall of the neighbor's house opposite, it is time to collect the dried grain.
I helped my grandfather hold up his pocket and use a dustpan to pour grain into his pocket, but there would always be people who didn't want to enter the bag and jumped to the ground. My grandfather and I picked up the fallen grains together, and the sweat slipped quietly down our cheeks, and we didn't dare to let go of the "fish" that slipped through the net.
Grandpa used to say, "Don't you dare to waste grain!" "Cherishing grain and returning the grain to the warehouse is not just talking, it is the frugal concept that every household adheres to." Now that the materials are abundant, I dare not forget the teachings of my grandfather.
Autumn is also full of the smell of various foods. After the autumn harvest, the sweet potatoes stored in the cellar are eaten in the spring of the following year. At that time, sweet potatoes were almost a staple food that was necessary for every breakfast and dinner. I remember that my grandmother would often cut sweet potatoes into small squares of four or five centimeters, and stir-fry them with green onions to make a delicious fried red potato egg, with the sweetness of sweet potatoes in the oil.
Golden corn harvested in autumn is stored under the eaves or on corn stumps. The peeled corn kernels have been processed to become the corn grits that people in the north often drink in the morning and evening, and the thickening can not only be according to preferences, but also rely on the experience accumulated by the cooks.
On rainy days, Grandma would often make grits noodles, cut the rolled noodles into diamond shapes, boil them until they were seven or eight ripe grits, stir and boil, mix with fried green onions and coriander foam before coming out of the pot, and a delicious meal of grits noodles was ready. Coarse grains are made finely, and my grandmother often uses this method to improve our lives.
Taken during the Spring Festival of 2000, my grandmother and my daughter.
When I grew up, I went to school in the provincial city and went to work in other places after graduation. The days of going home are getting less and less, but as long as you go home, you must come back to visit your grandmother and grandfather. The first time she took her fiancé back to Zhangjiabao to visit her grandparents, grandma liked this future granddaughter-in-law, and specially instructed the concubine to make a bowl of poached eggs, and there were three in a bowl.
In the Spring Festival of 2000, I took my husband and daughter to pay homage to my grandparents. We had lunch together, and My grandparents always told me to eat more as usual. Asked me with concern, "Is everything all right?" Playing small is light, always so thin, you have to take care of yourself outside. Looking at her great-granddaughter who was running around and playing in the yard, Grandma murmured, "Seeing the baby looks quite like you, it was really when you were young!" ”
The old locust tree is still the old locust tree, time has never stopped moving forward, the ruthless years have not made them young because you love your loved ones; the terrible disease has never been opened because you love them deeply.
In 2006, the summer when the old locust tree was covered with greenery, my grandmother left me forever! Grandma has never been afraid of illness, always insisted on fighting against illness, full of confidence in life, and insisted on exercising every day. On sick days, Grandma would occasionally recognize the wrong person, but every time she came home to visit her old man's home, she never recognized me; she cut her nails in the warm sun, and Grandma retracted her fingers like a child until I said, "It will not hurt you." She smiled reassuringly.
In the past, it seemed as if it were just yesterday, and in the past fifteen years, my grandmother, grandfather, uncle, and my dearest relatives had left me. The love that my grandmother and grandfather have for me will always be hidden in my heart! The thoughts of them never stopped, and every time the holidays became deeper and deeper.
My grandmother and grandfather's belief in life, kindness and tolerance, charity, perseverance and courage deeply affected me and continued from generation to generation.
A tree that has experienced vicissitudes, an old locust tree, gaze at you with thousands of emotions!
You have witnessed the life and death and separation of the people of Zhangjiabao, hardship and laughter, fearlessness and poverty and embarrassment; you have watched over the indomitability and tenacity of your relatives. You are the loyal guardian of Zhangjiabao, protecting the ancestors here for generations, and carrying the long-term memory of this village.
It is also these children of Zhangjiabao who were once Zhangjiabao, the uncles of Zhangjiabao, grandfathers and grandmothers, who weave the memory of Zhangjiabao and jointly change the present and future of Zhangjiabao.
Family portrait of Zhangjiapu Village under the old locust tree
Zhangjiabao, my dear and lovely hometown! This is the dream home of countless long-distance wanderers, and it is our eternal root. There is a strong family affection, a childhood playmate, a fireworks unique to the hometown, and a beautiful scenery - the old locust tree!