You should have seen the little cherries of the south, ripe in May, only the size of a finger, petite and weak. Lined under the green or emerald flowing leaves, the fruit color ranges from pure or red to a pale kumquat in the big red. Through the colorful, light-gauze-like sunlight, each one is heavy. Hanging and swaying in the gentle wind of Lixia.
Like her, I was 7 years old, wearing the same white sprinkled mung bean dot dress and two identical braids, looking like twin sisters.
Her name is Jiang Hong, and I am Zhongchun.
We were both born the same, in 1979. The difference was that I was two months earlier than her.
The small cherries on the branches are crystal clear, almost translucent. © Ash tree
That year, the cherry trees were in full bloom and were planted in the corner of the yard, and we still live in the same yard. At that time, Jiang's father gave up his work in the factory one step at a time, and went to Guangzhou and Shanghai instead, wholesale some clothing or ready-to-wear, and then sold them, while my father still worked in the tile factory. Even if the two families have a very different environment, it does not hinder the relationship between me and her.
Every time The Jiang family's mother returned to her mother's house, she always had to take the two of us, and Jiang Hong's grandmother's house was in the countryside nearby. Every time before going out, Mother Jiang always had to pull the two of us to wash our faces first, wipe a little glycerin honey, so that the left hand hooked a hairy head, the right hand took another hairy head out of the yard, and beckoned a tricycle outside, Mother Jiang herself went up to sit on the side first, leaving the vacated seat for me. Jiang Hong, who finally came up, sat directly on her legs.
The tricycle pulled us all the way to the outskirts of the farm, and gradually we could see the fields on both sides with seedlings, a green rice field, and a touch of yellow mud soup. The sun was not very big, but the wind blowing across his cheeks was a fine coolness. Jiang Hong's grandmother's house, just at the end of the rice field, is a farm house with a golden brown rice grain in front of the door. A few old women sat on a long bench to sew shoes and bags, black needles and threads pulled one by one, chatting in obscure dialects.
When the tricycle stopped and Jiang's mother was still paying, Jiang Hong had already jumped out of the car one step ahead of the other, shouting and running to her grandmother.
Add two handfuls of firewood, scoop some water, drop a handful of rice, and in less than ten minutes, the hot, fragrant rice is ready. © I see the world
Lunch that day was also eaten at Jiang Hong's grandmother's house. In the countryside, there are earthen stoves, fried sweet potato vine leaves in lard, white-seared river prawns, pine blossom eggs mixed with tofu, and a bowl of braised pork. Jiang Hong and I ate a lot at the same time, as if we had never eaten such a fragrant meal.
After lunch, we ran out again.
In front of the house, there is a spacious river, the water is blue, and the water ducks on the river are full of flowers, leisurely. The women descended the steps, crouched at the junction between the stone steps and the river, took out the clothes in the basin and soaked them, fished them out, and slightly wrung them out, so that they put on some transparent soap and reached out to rub the clothes. On summer evenings, the men sunk half of their bodies in the water, scooped up wet towels that had been twisted into twisted strips from the river, and scrubbed their chests and backs. This is a common scenery in the countryside, in the morning or evening, there are people in the river, there are also water ducks, they do not disturb each other, sharing the comfort of the blue waves of water.
In the past, the great white rabbit milk candy was a luxury and was usually difficult to eat. © Lipovsky
At this time, Jiang Hong took out a few pieces of candy from the pocket of her clothes and handed them to me: "You eat, this is called 'Great White Rabbit', my father brought it from Shanghai, it is sweeter than the cherries planted in our yard!"
The sugar had been in her hand for a long time, and it was slightly touching the temperature of her palm. Under the sugar coating on the blue edge of the white background, there is a snow white sugar body.
Jiang Hong chewed a piece of milk candy in his mouth, a lump of pink cheeks, a straight nose, a sharp chin, and a woman in a wash shirt in the distance: "You said that in the future, when we are both old, will we also bulge out a lower abdomen like her, and the back is as thick as the cutting board?"
"No!" I laughed.
Thirty years later, when we met again, she pinched her thick belly and sighed: "After giving birth to a child, I don't know how, this belly is loose at once." Remember what we both said when we were standing on the bridge? The back is as thick as the cutting board, as a result, the back is thick, the stomach is also bulging, and people are middle-aged, helpless..."
The cherry cherries are delicate and have a very short annual harvesting period. © Little card pro
No one would have imagined what they would look like decades from now, just as neither of us would have imagined that the cherry planted in the yard would always be there. It is said that cherries are delicious, trees are difficult to plant, it is not only difficult to plant, it is clear that it is squeamish, sexually warm, not hardy, drought, waterlogging, afraid of high winds. In addition, it is necessary to regularly prune, control the height of the tree, observe changes in the natural climate, beware of pests and diseases, and so on. But if you don't notice a detail, you can prematurely die a cherry sapling. Even if the planting is successful, it is necessary to be patient and wait for four or five years to see the fruit.
As for the cherry trees in our yard, it was still the three seedlings that Father Jiang had entrusted from other places, and at that time we both thought that there would be three cherry trees in the yard in the future, but it turned out to be the opposite of what we wanted.
In 1993, my father's factory was completely yellow, and he became one of the first laid-off workers. The mother was worried at home for several days. The factory promised to let my father buy out the working years at one time, so he gave some money and sent things off.
Jiang Hong's father accumulated some capital from self-employed households, running factories and recruiting workers on his own. At first, Mother Jiang had not never come to my house, and my father was stubborn and unwilling to accept the kindness of others.
During that time, the father was bored in the house all day, and the mother loved to complain, and the two people inevitably had a little quarrel, and the quarrel was urgent, and the mother ran away from home directly. At this time, the father, who had less of his wife to cook three meals, suddenly fell into a more embarrassing predicament. At first, Mother Jiang would also send a few dishes to help improve the next meal. Helplessly, the father was introverted and not good at talking, so he simply hid in the house and closed the door. When Mother Jiang saw her father like this, she asked Jiang Hong to come to me privately, and let me go to their house to eat when I arrived at dinner, and sometimes stay overnight.
Compared to cherries. The price of small cherries is approachable. © Heneedsfood.com
At night, we were both covering the same bed, and she asked, "Is your mother back?"
"I don't know, my dad doesn't want to pick her up at my grandmother's house."
"You said that if we get married in the future, will you also run to your mother's house with such a gamble?"
"What, you want to be a bride?"
"What, don't you want to?"
At that time, we were only 15 years old, and our bodies were as vigorous as saplings. Although I have not yet tasted the sweetness of feelings, the desire in my heart expands and spreads like a leaf.
In 1994, video studios mushroomed down the old streets. At that time, the school explicitly prohibited students from going to the "three rooms and one hall", the so-called three rooms, that is, the game room, the video room and the billiard room, one hall was the dance hall. Jiang Hong was a little bolder, and once took advantage of the weekend to drag me into the video room with me, where smoke rose, the sound of fighting, dim light, rows of chairs, and a Hong Kong film "Shadian Fish Murder Incident".
Halfway through the film, a hand came from behind and put it on my shoulder, and I tried to dodge it.
The second time, the hand came back.
Jiang Hong noticed that I looked different, and couldn't help but twist her face and look at it.
When the unruly hand reached over again, Jiang Hong grabbed it: "What for?"
The other party was stunned at first, and said, "Little girl, the courage is not small!" What's going on?"
At the same time, several young people who looked like little also stood up in their chairs. I pulled Jiang Hong and just ran outside, and when the two of us ran out, I found that there was no one behind me.
She couldn't help but laugh first: "Look at your appearance, timid!"
I didn't hold back: "You're bold, you almost fought with them just now!"
Old photographs taken in 1997 show the characteristics of young people's attire at that time. © Yi Brother
By 1997, Hong Kong was returned. Jiang Hong raised a long and curly black hair, and liked to put on a close-fitting sweater, a pair of tight jeans, a pair of high-top red leather shoes, while I prefer to cut off long hair, and every day I wear a wide goose yellow cardigan, khaki overalls pants, and a pair of white cloth shoes. Since that year, no one has ever seen the two of us as twins, and she and I are like two cherryes, although they are still rooted to root, but the form and psychology have undergone earth-shaking changes.
In those years, Papa Jiang's business became bigger and bigger, and the factory also expanded a lot, from dozens of workers to hundreds of workers. Jiang Hong also met Li Haiyang in the dance hall that year. Li Haiyang is 27 years old, 9 years older than the two of us. Jiang Hong seemed to be enchanted and came into contact with him. At that time, I didn't know much about him, but just watched him ride a motorcycle over every day and wait for Jiang Hong outside the courtyard door.
Once she tried on a narrow dress at my house, turned her face and asked me, "Does it look good?"
"What are you going to do?"
"What to do?"
"That Li Haiyang, you come and go with him like this, I'm afraid it's not appropriate, right?"
"I didn't think about marrying him."
"He doesn't seem to have a job."
A fruit stall in Chengdu, only cherry, no small cherries. © Chengdufoodtours.com
That day Jiang Hong came home very late, through the window, you can hear Jiang Hong's father scolding, Jiang Hong's iron sliding door was quickly opened, and he heard a burst of footsteps coming over, and Jiang Hong's roar followed closely behind: "If you 'die' out, don't come back!"
Jiang Hong really left.
At first, Papa Jiang, like us, thought she was just hiding out for a few days, but there was no news of her for several days.
The cherry trees in the yard had run out of fruit, and in the blink of an eye it was July, bare and several branches.
The south was wet and heavy, and it was raining for several days. Hearing the news again, it was that Jiang's father was critically ill and hospitalized, saying that he was emphysema, and Jiang Hong still did not show up.
Freshly picked cherry. © Little card pro
In 2004, I followed my parents' arrangement to start a family with my current husband, and in 2007, the child was born and named Twinkle. Life fell into the rhythm of chicken flying dog jumping, and my mother-in-law did not want to help us with our children, so she had to entrust The Flash to my grandmother's house. For so many years, my parents have not moved out of the old house, and the cherry tree has always been there, and it has gradually become a matter for my father alone.
When I first went to the market with my husband, I always saw some peasant women putting the newly picked cherries in the bamboo woven blue, in order to set off the freshness of those cherries, they would deliberately lay some verdant cherry leaves on the bottom of the basket, those small fruits, each one only as big as a finger, orange and bright red mixed in one place, the flesh was soft, but the water was enough, gently bite, sweet and sour.
My husband and I always have to buy some to go back. Whenever this time comes, the husband will mention the cherry tree in the old house, how to see it grow leaves, but rarely see fruit.
"In the past, there were results, but in recent years, it has been less carefully managed." I say.
"You must have been picking cherries under this tree a lot when you were a kid, right?"
"Hmm." I couldn't help but think of another face, picking those sweet and sour fruits with her.
Cherries are delicious, trees are hard to plant. © Happy Garden
In 2016, I was living in my mother's house with my children, and that day a strange person walked into the yard, with a pair of toad mirrors on his face, a tight bright red dress, seven-inch shoes on his feet, and a long, wavy hair.
"Who are you looking for?" I looked her up and down.
She didn't reply, just looked around until she found the cherry tree in the yard and muttered, "Is it still there?"
"You used to live here?"
"Cherries are delicious trees are difficult to plant, and they can't bloom without hard work."
"Ladies and gentlemen are not welcome in this private house!"
Seeing that I had begun to issue eviction orders, she suddenly took off the sunglasses on her face and said, "Zhongchun, I haven't seen you for so many years, you are still this old temper."
"Jiang Hong?" I was surprised and delighted.
She circled in front of me: "What, have I become more and more beautiful in the past few years?"
I smiled, "Yes, eighteen on the back, sixteen on the face, satisfied!"
"What, you're going to make me stand and talk to you like this?" She laughed too.
"Please come in, distinguished guest!" I welcomed her into the room, and Flash was lying at the desk doing her homework.
She glanced at her and said, "Who is this little handsome guy?"
"My son, Flash, call Auntie!"
As soon as Jiang Hong heard my words, she waved her hand at me and said, "Don't, just call me Linda, I'm not an old aunt, I'm still young!"
"Yes yes yes, you are sixteen years old!"
"Mom, Auntie is so pretty!" Flashway.
"Oh, the little mouth is sweet, it really doesn't follow you at all."
Loquat, cherry and mulberry. © Pinterest
I got up and made her a cup of tea and said, "Half half, half temper like me, half like his dad." Where have you been all these years?"
She took the tea, first blew it cold, and then took a shallow sip: "A few years ago in Guangzhou, and then I ran to Shenzhen, doing business, opening a company, and that's it."
"Li Haiyang?"
"He and I broke up a long time ago, and we have been saying goodbye in those years in Guangzhou. Later, he met my husband, got married, and had a child, but within a few years he told me that he had no feelings for me for a long time, but was a real person, and left all the children and money to me, leaving himself to the woman outside. Over the years, I have been a father and a mother, but I am tired enough!"
"Boy or girl?"
She smiled, "Girl, her name is Jingqi, do you want to book a doll with your family?"
I patted her and said, "Still so unorthodox!"
Cherry is an imported variety with larger and more hypertrophic fruit than cherries. © Pinterest
She suddenly sighed, "You see, in the blink of an eye, we are both middle-aged... Do you remember? At that time, you and I were just as big as your son is now, with two twisted braids, under that cherry tree, jumping and picking small cherries hanging from the branches, that silly look! You don't know that I have developed in Shenzhen over the years, and the big cherry of the United States, that is, the cherry, the purple skin, is much larger than our little cherry. However, after all these years outside, I don't know why I always think of this cherry tree in our yard, when we both pick cherries together, run to watch the video tapes together, and run around the street holding hands..."
"When I came back this time, did I plan to stay?"
"How is it possible, the family is in Shenzhen, the company is also there, I, come back and look at the cherries in the yard, and take it with me to see you."
"You didn't come at the right time, the cherries weren't ripe yet, green, yellow, or red."
She waved her hand at me, "It's okay, you look at you, look at me again, it's really a moment, a flick of the finger." You are now at ease with your family, husband and wife, look at this big and small child, tall and handsome. Unlike me, who went around and got married, divorced, and now has a daughter and is a single mom. Mid-spring, if we are two cherries in the knot, we will also have different tastes, you are the red cherry that is sweet to the bone, and I am the yellow cherry with a little sourness, you are always much happier than me!" 」
I held out my hand and shook it with a hand that took me by, "When you come next May, we'll pick cherries together, and let you taste the sweet and sour cherries of the early southern summer."
In May of the following year, the cherry fruit must be dressed in red, hanging, and onyx.