It's too easy for a bug to hide in the Summer Palace: there are more than 60,000 trees and shrubs here, and the trees on the mountain are connected to the trees under the mountain, and the trees in the door are connected to the outside, and it is difficult for the sunlight to leak from the gaps in the leaves to the ground. Compared with Empress Dowager Cixi, Bugs was the earlier ruler of this territory.
More than 270 years later, the best surviving ancient royal garden has become the "back garden" of ordinary citizens, and the plant protection class in the horticultural team has taken on the task of "finding trouble with bugs". They need eagle eyes, detective reasoning ability and cheetah speed to allow the plants in the garden to welcome visitors in the best condition every day.
They are the last line of defense to protect the health of plants. This team includes workers who have transferred from the old military factory in the garden, as well as doctors who graduated from 985 colleges and universities, who have to race against the aphids who are "born to be mothers and grandmothers in 7 days", and also have to deal with poking honeycombs, chasing ants and all kinds of trivial things. Generations have placed themselves in the running gears of this living antique, guarding more than 1,600 ancient trees and greenery.
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The office of the plant protection class lies in a small courtyard near the North Ruyi Gate, and the large willow tree next to the tile house is nearly half a hundred years old, and the house still retains the atmosphere of the last century. Compared to the old wall calendar on the wall, the creaking wooden door and the old electric fan embedded in the window, the computer seems to have crossed over.
Even in this era of information explosion, for the plant protection class, the existence of the computer is far less important than the legs, and experience is still the best reference book. The core job of the day shift is insect forecasting, and they want to be a pair of eyes in the garden that are always online, soaking in the garden, discovering insect pests and recording them in time while walking and observing.
Although they all walked around the garden, careful people could still distinguish the difference between the insect detectors and tourists: these people were in a hurry, suddenly staring at a leaf and circling a tree from time to time. Even walking through the long corridors of carved beams and paintings, and the seventeen-hole bridge shaped like a long rainbow lying on the waves, their eyes rarely deviate from the trees.
The sawdust on the bark is likely to be the excrement of the celestial cow, the mucus on the ground is the secretion of aphids, and a fallen locust tree may have hidden the "traces" of red spiders. The shiny leaves, the darkened, yellowed canopy, any abnormality can not escape their "fire eyes golden eyes". Sometimes they will also overlook Wanshou Mountain from the cruise ship of Kunming Lake, and identify whether there is an abnormality in the trees, and the green in the eyes of tourists is clear in their eyes.
Turning the garden is a manual task. Even though most of the employees are natives of Beijing, their first impression of the Summer Palace when they first arrived was "too big" and "worthy of being a garden built at cixi flowers and military expenses." In the daily 30,000-step experience of the plant protection class, the white shirts issued by the unit are soaked with sweat, change a pair of socks for two or three days, break a pair of shoes in half a month, and walk every corner where plants grow.
There are at least 30 kinds of aphids in the Summer Palace, and it is not easy even for doctors to understand the plants and pests in the whole garden. In 2008, 28-year-old Dr. Wang Shuang jumped out of the laboratory and landed in the plant protection class of the Summer Palace Horticultural Team, which was stained with mud. Among the newcomers who also belong to the gardening team, some secondary school students of Beijing Garden School are only 18 years old, and their production practice experience is already very rich.
Wang Shuang was anxious. Although he is a doctor and a plant protection major, he is "an expert and an outsider", originally only dealing with crops, the direction of learning is also diseases rather than insect pests, he knows nothing about garden plants and insects, and he does not even know magnolia when he first came. As soon as she took up her post, she had to hand over to the employees of the night shift prevention and control work, often describing half a day that it was not clear where the tree was and what the bugs were.
In order to remember the tricks of identifying plants and insects earlier, Wang Shuang will carry a small book with him when he transfers to the garden with the old staff. Each team found pests and diseases would call the plant protection class, she rushed to answer the phone, and ran to the field to see the situation. Her master remembered that in just over a year, she had "cleared" the trees and pest species in the garden.
Making specimens is also a method of familiar with insects, "insect catcher" Wang Shuang is actually afraid of insects, and it turns out that caterpillars will scream when they see them. The first time she made a specimen of a spotted wax cicada, she forced herself to spread the wings of the insect without gloves, and pressed the nail into the body of the insect while getting goosebumps. After doing more, she gradually became "immune" to insects, and began to catch insects with her bare hands, even if a string of small bubbles was stung on her hands, she did not change color, and took out the wind oil essence to wipe it.
At the Summer Palace, Wang Shuang began to adapt to translating scientific literacy into production indicators, "the pursuit of speed is greater than precision." "Compared with specific statistics, they often use the number of plus signs to represent the urgency of insect situations, and make a comprehensive judgment based on the comfort and acceptance of tourists." Three plus signs are to be solved within three days, and four plus signs mean that they are solved as soon as possible on the same day. Pests are allowed to exist until they become infested.
The plant protection class is busiest every spring, and the grasshoppers under the poplar trees are the first to sting, and as the temperature rises, they drill out of the soil and climb the trees. In March and April, aphids hiding in pine trees begin to wake up, busy secreting honeydew and dripping mucus. In the middle of summer, they must not idle, when the leaves grow densely, and the beetles and moths that eat the leaves begin to stir. In winter, because the weather is too cold and the spray liquid is easy to freeze, they generally go to the field to dig up insect pupae to reduce the workload for the second year of prevention and control. Sometimes tree censuses are also done, because there are no branches and leaves to cover them, and they are more likely to find out whether there are wormholes in the trunk and whether the tree body is balanced.
In 2006, the American white moth was first found in the garden, a invasive alien insect that eats a large amount and speed, can only lay a few hundred eggs and can eat a bald tree in two days. Jing Xiuyong, the 37-year-old plant protection class leader, remembers that during that time, they had to eat under the trees for lunch, and they were busy until 10:30 p.m. for a week, and a total of 375 medicine tanker trucks were used.
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In the park, the flow of workers is very slow, and most people work for a lifetime. Shen Feng, the youngest in the plant protection class, is 27 years old and joined the company in 2017, and his feelings here are "more like going to school than going to work", and his colleagues are "very Buddhist" and "have no intentions". He also thought about taking another "better" civil service exam, but he "didn't want to move" when he stayed.
The infiltration of the Summer Palace has cultivated their unhurried personality, and the plant protection class leader Jing Xiuyong summed up the work of 17 years, he pulled a straight line in the air with his hands and spat out two words, "stable".
In many ways, the plant protection class also continues the traditional prevention and control method of "slow work and fine work". "The Summer Palace is a relatively low-mechanized park", unlike other parks, the number of mountains and bridges in the Summer Palace is large, the roads are narrow and tortuous, and it is impossible to use large machinery. ”
The work truck cannot go up Wanshou Mountain, and the employees have to push the machine and more than 100 meters of pipes up the mountain, insert the pipe into the medicine pond on the mountain, and hold the pipe to spray the tree. In order to withstand the water pressure, the pipe is wrapped in dense steel wires, and one weighs eight or ninety pounds. The newly arrived employees do not have a good grasp of the method, and they must practice with clean water for a month before they can charge the medicine.
The method of moving with the weather is also handed down by the old workers. The effect of wind prevention and control is poor, they will fight before and after sunset, when the wind is the smallest; the direction of the wind is also exquisite, the north wind hits the south of the mountain, and the south wind hits the north of the mountain. They wear overalls when they go out from home, and the weather directly determines which door they want to enter from work: if the wind is strong, they must see from the west whether the willow trees on the west embankment have fallen; if they encounter rain and snow, they must go from the east gate to the main scenic spots such as the promenade and the Renshou Hall to see the disease infection of the plants.
Wang Shuang and Jing Xiuyong's master Wei Baohong have been engaged in pest control in the Summer Palace since 1985, when they were still sitting on a swaying hand tractor. After three years of difficult times, he once carried fruit saplings to the west of the garden at the call of Chairman Mao to open up the wilderness, tied a rope around his waist, and nibbled on two steamed buns when he was tired.
Although the contributions of the old workers are overshadowed by the passage of time, they do not care at all, and even enjoy it. Wei Baohong once designed a mud ring, with a very low cost to prevent grass from falling on the tree, all parks are using, but he never thought of applying for a patent, "Why do you want to apply for a patent, apply for others can not use, your purpose is not to let everyone use it?" ”
In the eyes of these old workers, the most important thing is "not to pick faults." After drying for a long time, when cleaning the oiled glass, it is important to wash the water from which direction to rinse and which direction to dry. Their familiarity with the tool is like a part of the body, they know where to find a screw dropped on the machine, and they are not willing to throw it when the cotton wool of the machine is black.
A 59-year-old veteran worker will retire next year, and now after lunch, he will still take everyone to the garden for a walk of 7.3 kilometers in an hour and a half, in order to see the trees.
Observation has become a habit, they usually like to look up at the tree, more than once "wallet foot do not know." Once Jing Xiuyong and his colleagues went to the Temple of Heaven for training, because they were too focused, the money fell out of the pockets of colleagues one by one, and they were stepped on by Jing Xiuyong who was walking behind, and neither of them felt it.
The employees of the plant protection class believe that to do this, they must be able to talk to plants and understand the language of trees. Some trees are weak as a sign that they will no longer bloom, and some will bloom wildly before they weaken.
Trees will also take the initiative to send signals like people, and Xiuyong found that when some trees obviously look more yellow than others, they must "comb it" and remove the dead branches, "like a person cutting hair to thin it, it will be comfortable in summer." ”
The plant protection team will use all its strength to find the tree's distress signal and "wrestle wits" with the pests. The double-striped cedar tengu, which has two black stripes, likes to hide in the trunks of cypress trees, and in order to lure them out, the staff will place fresh cypress sections next to the trees to release the smell. If this doesn't work, release the swollen-legged bees and let them burrow into the trees and parasitize into the bodies of the larvae of the Celestial Bull.
The habits of insects can also be used by people. Some bugs will fake death when they encounter danger, and as soon as they shake the trunk, they will stiffen their bodies and fall from the trees into the grass. Catching Tianniu in the summer is like going back to when I was a child, and the workers will catch more than anyone else, holding a flashlight and knocking down the Tianniu with a bamboo pole.
The people in the plant protection class do not "hate the insects to the bone", Jing Xiuyong always uses "troublemaking" and "tantrums" to describe the bugs, "every bug has a cute place", such as the common "hanging ghost" locust inchworm in the park, there are feet in front and back, the middle is empty, and the body is always arched when crawling, "a bit like the jade belt bridge".
He remembered that the ancients once boasted that the inchworm "has a beginning and an end", and the I Ching also recorded that "the inchworm bends in order to seek faith", and the ancients believed that the inchworm bent its body in order to move forward better. Here, bugs have also been a good omen. Cixi will encourage everyone to catch insects during the "Zhonghe Festival", and the palace maids will start looking for insects with the best horn lamps and homemade feather brushes, and the group of palace women who catch the most insects will be rewarded heavily. In the eyes of "Lafayette", there are many bugs, which means that this year is a good year.
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In addition to communicating with trees, people in the plant protection class also have to communicate with people. In terms of horticulture and greening, the plant protection class received the most complaints. Tourists see more ants climbing on the trees to complain, stung by horses and bees to complain, work trucks to complain, the wind blows the foam on the body to complain.
Around the time of the annual sting, a large number of rocking mosquitoes flew out of the water, and some tourists claimed that "a large number of UFOs appeared in the Summer Palace". Even when told that mosquitoes are "vegetarian" and harmless to people, some tourists are disgusted by the densely packed creatures that encroach on human territory.
There are also uncles and aunts who like to supervise their work, standing on the side and watching while saying that they are asymmetrically cut and the medicine is sprayed unevenly. The staff were asked a lot, and they also groped out the routine of replying: when they met tourists who were not familiar with the place and really had questions, they could explain it easily; if the other party's tone was arbitrary, like a master's style, bow their heads and echo it. Although their jobs do not include door-area services, they keep in mind one of the working principles of the Summer Palace - "serving tourists is a matter of course".
As the most unpopular "plague god", the emergency prevention and control workers on the night shift cannot avoid scolding. A night shift worker frankly said that he was most afraid of going to the East Causeway in late autumn to prevent and control, and by 7 p.m., there were many tourists watching the "golden light piercing" by the lake, and he had to wait for all the tourists to disperse before he could act, otherwise he would reap the scolding of "you don't want to kill me". Wanshou Mountain is also relatively hidden, sometimes a glance past no one, at the beginning of the operation, there will be young couples suddenly emerging from the grass.
Therefore, the night shift workers are not afraid of hardship, they are all loud and have a straight temper, but they never worry about it, "If you want to do this job, you can't do it."
From the beginning of choosing a plant protection major, Wang Shuang knows that this is a long-term achievement, many pests have a long growth cycle, and they can't see all the insect states in a year, "It is difficult for us to produce results in this work for one year or two years, and it is 10 years, 20 years, 30 years or even longer." Studying for a doctorate and coming to the Summer Palace is like a ball passing to Wang Shuang's eyes, "it's just my turn to pick up."
Plant protection majors are recognized as "not making money", some people go to sell houses after graduation, some people go home to become local civil servants, and selling pesticides has been regarded as staying in the industry. When he graduated, his tutor supported Wang Shuang to go to the Summer Palace, "at least he can still exert his professional knowledge."
At that time, there were actually opportunities to study abroad, but Wang Shuang found that many research results were limited to laboratories, for example, biological control was discussed academically for many years, but it was not widely used in production. Although many front-line production workers can find problems and facilitate access to research materials, they lack corresponding channels and high-end scientific research instruments and cannot play an advantage. Wang Shuang wants to be a bridge between research and production.
After coming to the Summer Palace, she found that although everyone can remember the time and law of spraying pesticides based on experience, when they know the scientific reasons behind it, their memories will be clearer. In addition, the insect pests are more ferocious and easy to observe, and they are more concerned in the first-line prevention and control measures in the park, while the diseases she studied when she was studying were slower and more complex, and she was generally unable to return to the sky when they were particularly obvious.
Since his research direction is plant pathology, Wang Shuang began to lead his colleagues to do scientific research projects related to begonia branch diseases, cutting off infection from the early stage. When she meets other stronger research teams interested in related topics, she will also take the initiative to contact and provide research materials, "someone must always do it", she said, while reaching out to break the withered branches on the moon in front of her.
Unlike the park team, which is directly exposed to tourists, more often than not, their work is "all conscious". Wang Shuang said, "We don't have such a hard requirement as punching in, and insect pests can also be said to be natural disasters, but you know in your heart that this is all your job." ”
Sometimes, night shift workers will call day shift workers who have already left work and discuss the plan repeatedly. Although the view is poor at night, even where no one sees, they will not miss every tree hidden in the ditch and wrapped in other tree species, and someone said, "[The park] always has a day when it is open, and every tree always has a time to be seen." ”
4
People who have worked in the Summer Palace will always remember this place. After the old employees of the plant protection class retire, they will also walk around the garden during working hours and tell the young people about the problems they see. The old worker who will retire next year lived next door to the Summer Palace when he was a child, and when he went to school, he would first enter the Summer Palace and then run out of the gate. He missed the dime tickets he had when he was young, and the excitement of everyone rushing out when the rush came.
Shen Feng, the youngest in the plant protection class, could not give up the scenery. There are many trees on Wanshou Mountain, and the mountain is surrounded by clusters, but there is a gap near the Qianfeng Caicui, which is called "the best viewing spot" by Shen Feng. You can see the South Lake Island surrounded by water waves, and you can see almost half of the Haidian District in the distance, if you can see the radio and television tower, it means that the weather is still good that day. After the end of each day's homework, Shen Feng stood here briefly, smelling the fragrance of pine cypress and letting the wind blow away the sweat of his whole body. He thinks it's "beautiful every day."
When he first arrived, Wang Shuang found that his colleagues were almost all locals, Wang Shuang was from Nanyang, Henan, and he held his heart, "To prove that he is not here to mix a hukou, mix a job opportunity, to stand up for yourself." ”
Slowly, the reason for perseverance changed from "fighting for breath" to "new day by day, and new day by day". Every year the climate is different, every year will find new bugs, she never thought of leaving, "the tree has new changes, the bugs have not yet been recognized, how can it go?" It's like a rabbit digging a radish, digging a little and then giving up digging the next place, then you will never be able to dig. Now because of the convenience of work, she can always reunite with her classmates from all over the world in the garden, and she feels quite satisfied."
Wang Shuang regards the Summer Palace as a place where various cultures meet and collide. She often stood on the bridge of the West Gate and looked at Tuancheng Lake. Tuancheng Lake is the source of Water in Beijing, the end of the South-north Water Diversion Project, in order to protect the water quality, surrounded by railings higher than people, the West Gate is the only place without railings.
For the south-to-north water diversion project, Wang Shuang's hometown of Nanyang Huaichuan has left the place where hundreds of thousands of people have lived for generations, and she always remembers the peach forest that was cut down in her hometown and the villagers who dragged their families with their mouths. The water in my hometown always has a faint sweetness, "I just came from over there, and now I am here to protect this water, protect the water bottle, and protect the bond between me and my hometown." ”
After 14 years, Wang Shuang can realize that the concept of controlling pests and diseases is also gradually changing. Previously, the ratio of beneficial insects and pests was strictly required, and the toxicity of pesticides was high and poorly targeted, and insect corpses were everywhere they went. Now more attention is paid to bioprotective, controlling the number of pests such as aphids and tianniu by introducing ladybirds and swollen-legged bees.
Wang Shuang feels that it is difficult to do plant protection in cities, "urban gardens are more fragile ecosystems." Human activities such as thermal radiation, tailpipe emissions, and globalization can affect the habits of plants and animals, and control measures in turn may affect the human life experience. Due to climate change, frequent human activities and other reasons, pine wood nematode disease, which previously appeared only in the south, has gradually broken through the temperature limit in recent years and become a potential threat to the pine forest in the north.
She mentioned a sentence in the "Garden Governance" by the garden expert Ji Cheng at the end of the Ming Dynasty, "The carving of the building is easy to construct, and the shade locust is difficult to become a jade.". The meaning of this sentence is that it is easy to build a house and paint a beautiful beam and pillar, and it is not necessary to wait for hundreds of times; an ancient tree like jasper is very rare, and it takes hundreds of years to be so iconic and rely on the sky to eat. Wang Shuang said, "Even if you study for a doctorate, you may not be able to save the fate of a tree." ”
"The Summer Palace has its own clock", Wang Shuang and his colleagues' daily work will not have drastic innovations or changes, "our job is to keep it as it is." Trees live longer than people, and you can only accompany them for a short time, and then the young comrades continue to take over from us. There are more than 1,600 ancient trees in the Summer Palace, and sometimes staring at the ancient trees with deep roots and leaves, Wang Shuang will have a sense of awe and feel that he has no secrets.
Under the epidemic situation, the Summer Palace remains open as a municipal park. Outside the summer palace road, the central part of the summer moon season, there are no high-rise buildings around, and people's steps are slow. In the garden, the uncle and aunt repeated the activity of kicking shuttlecocks, which has a history of more than 2,000 years, and the young anchor with a selfie stick told the story of Cixi's defeat to the people trapped at home and unable to come in person, everything is changing, but it seems to have not changed.
China Youth Daily, China Youth Network reporter Jiao Jingxian Source: China Youth Daily
Source: China Youth Daily