On the top of the Jiuling spire, a fat white cloud was quietly horizontal for a long time, and the cloud seemed to have texture and weight. This is Zhongyuan Township, Jing'an County, Yichun City, Jiangxi Province. Jiuling Mountain runs through Jiangxi and Hunan provinces, and is majestic and majestic, and the products are abundant. Jiulingjian, the highest peak of Jiuling Mountain, with an altitude of nearly 1,800 meters, is located at the junction of Jing'an, Xiushui and Wuning counties, and the main body is in Zhongyuan Township, Jing'an County. In the summer of that year, I stayed in Zhongyuan Township, under the tip of Jiuling, for a short time, and I forgot to return.
"There is nothing in the mountains, and there are many white clouds on the mountains. "The clouds and mountains in Zhongyuan are a natural painting that does not require the painter to grab a pen and dip it in paint. The clouds are white, the mountains are deep and green, the clouds are soft, the mountains are strong, the clouds are leisurely, and the mountains are calm. Here, I also saw all the white clouds of Jiuling at different times of the day. In the early morning, the clouds rise from behind the mountains, breaking through the gloom before dawn, and are full of life, the clouds at noon, full and fluffy, white and snowy, and in the evening, the clouds are slowly and solemnly, looking for a windless valley, and lie there for the night.
The clouds and mountains of Zhongyuan Township are a perfect match for nature, as are the clouds and water. Moreover, the gurgling, clear water attracts people's attention everywhere. Speaking of water, the water in Jing'an, called the Luan River, is a branch of the Xiuhe River, which eventually joins Poyang Lake with the Xiu River. The river that flows through the middle source is very flavorful, and the taste lies in its meandering and circuitous. People should be upright, trees should be straight, but the flow of water is a little bent to have more charm. In Zhongyuan, walking along the river, sometimes you will suddenly feel that the river has disappeared, and if you go a little further, the river will naughtily appear in front of you. In fact, it was hidden behind a large row of houses or deep in the woods.
In a village called Hegang, I watched the river for a long time. It is the confluence of two tributaries of the Luan River, hence the name "Hegang". The water under the bridge is a bit fast, and the water is crystal clear. There are often herons coming and going, and occasionally resting on the river rocks, the posture is very beautiful. There are many trellises in the fields of the village, where grapes and kiwi grow. At the head of the village, there is a Wanfu Hall built in the Qing Dynasty, and an old couple is guarding the temple. Opposite the temple, an ancient stage that is also old is built along the river. Every New Year's Festival, people from a radius of miles will come here to watch the play. The temple hall and the stage are all simple and small, and they are integrated with the village.
Such a riverside is indeed suitable for farming. Not to mention rice and corn, there are peppers, okra, pumpkin, callus white, beans, taro...... Countless fruits and vegetables are planted and spread along the riverbank. Such a riverside is also suitable for reading. I brought a volume of Chekhov's works, a volume of Song Ci, and a volume of Shen Congwen's works, all of which I read by the river, and I thought about it. By the river, I felt that water moisturizes all things, and wherever the water flows, everything will be brightened. The source nourished by the river is the bright place.
The river sometimes takes me to the mountains of Zhongyuan. The mountains are empty, and sometimes you can't meet a few people after walking a long way, but sometimes there are small springs on the side of the mountain road that make a sound of "whoosh, whoosh" or "tick, tick". The spring knocks on the empty mountain, and the empty mountain is not empty, but abundant. Squat down and wash your hands, or wash your face with the spring water with both palms, the spring water is refreshing and cool.
There are always many treasures hidden in such mountains. Once, a friend drove a long way and took me to visit the famous spot "Flower Bridge". Huaqiao is in Chaping Village, Zhongyuan Township. There is Baiyun Peak in the village, which is named because of its high altitude and perennial white clouds. Huaqiao is located on the steep Baiyunfeng Canyon, which is a rare single-arch stone bridge in Jiangxi, and has long been a provincial key cultural relics protection unit. The flower bridge is hidden in the deep mountains, the bridge pavilion is one, the stone low railing is set on both sides, the railing is the relief stone carving, the carved is the lion, the deer, the unicorn, the lotus, all vivid. The stone bridge was built in an unknown age, but only the moss green of the bridge deck and pillars indicates the age of the bridge. The inscription in front of the bridge states that the bridge was rebuilt in 1792 with donations from the Liu family, who lived here. In Wuyuan, Ji'an and other places in Jiangxi, it is common to see bridges, roads, tea kiosks and so on built by public donations. The flower bridge in front of you is also an example.
I walked a few times on the 20-meter-long flower bridge, stopping from time to time to listen to the murmuring of the stream under the bridge. And after getting off the flower bridge, it is also worth lingering again. I saw that the area around Huaqiao was full of ancient yew forests, as well as some other ancient trees that I didn't have time to identify in detail, all of which were tall and quiet. That kind of tranquility is the tranquility that is hidden in the depths of the mountains all the year round and is not disturbed too much by the outside world, the tranquility that contains time, and the tranquility that has connotation in the chest. Ancient trees and ancient bridges grow together, and there are many remarkable beauties, but they live so quietly in the mountains, which can be called the "double beauty" here. This kind of tranquility is also something that people should learn: tranquility gives birth to wisdom, and tranquility is not cheesy.
Out of the deep mountains from the flower bridge, after a long time, people are already a little hungry. On the side of the street, you can see at a glance the people selling yellow rice crackers. The rice crackers are cut into long strips, golden and neatly arranged on a long table. This hall is actually a bit deep, but the golden color of rice crackers makes outsiders can see it at a glance and snatch the lead. In the Zhongyuan area, the delicacy of yellow rice crackers is popular. The rice must be Dahe rice in the local mountainous area, and the alkali is boiled from a small shrub called "Huang Nian Firewood" in the mountains of Zhongyuan Township. The golden color is extracted from a local dried fruit called "yellow gardenia". Everything is truly made from local materials. In the process of making rice crackers, the most interesting part should be beating rice crackers: pouring the steamed glutinous rice into a stone mortar, several people pick up the mallet and take turns to beat it, and it takes a long time to fight the rice crackers to have chewiness and tenacity. This is a physical work of unity and cooperation, and it is also the most atmospheric gathering time for people in the village.
Zhongyuan villagers love to eat rice crackers, and the farmhouse or small hostel will also serve a pot to entertain the guests who come to stay. Later, when I left Zhongyuan Township, I bought a lot of Huangnian rice crackers and took them home to give to relatives and friends. The kind owner also told me how to preserve it: soak the rice crackers in clean water and change the water every day, the rice crackers will not only not be bad, but also retain the original taste. I went home and tried it the same way, and sure enough.
The owner of the house that sold me Huangnian rice crackers is still a master of raising flowers. In the backyard of his shop, a large ridge of hydrangea was planted. After raising it for more than a year or two, the hydrangea is dark purple, purple almost black, but it is different from black, with a little dark red in it. The hydrangea opened quietly in a corner of the courtyard, and I walked through with rice crackers, but I felt that this scene was like a painting by Lin Fengmian or Wu Guanzhong, delicate and tranquil. Almost every family of Zhongyuan people raises flowers, and the one that sells rice crackers is the representative of this folk custom. The farmhouse where I stayed had dahlias and henna, and the dahlias were gaudy and flamboyant, like the kind of flowers that used to be printed on the face.
In the fields of Zhongyuan, there are flowers in every gap. Most of those flowers are easy to raise and bloom brightly. For example, along the edge of the rice field, there are dinner flowers, purple red, bushes and bushes. This flower blooms best when making dinner and eating dinner, hence the name. I love this flower and always eat dinner in two bites and go to see it before dark. In Zhongyuan, I really can't tell whether people are raising flowers or flowers are raising people. Perhaps, the two are nourishing and pleasing each other.
That year, I was in Zhongyuan, listening to the water, watching the clouds, climbing mountains, stepping on bridges, and looking for flowers. Watch chickens and dogs chase each other and chat with neighbors. At night, walking on the country road, I looked up and saw the sky full of stars. Occasionally, a long-distance truck drove by, and the lights flashed and flashed, lonely and bright. And so it went through a summer. Now, I haven't been to Jing'an to Zhongyuan for a year or two. When life is complicated and clueless, when my feet have been on the concrete floor for a long time and want to step on the weeds and soil, when my ears want to listen to the water in the mountains and the silence of the country road at night, I will miss Jing'an Zhongyuan, where the mountains and rivers are beautiful and the scenery is pleasant. People's Daily (2024-02-16 08 Edition)