Prose: Figs

Winter passed, last night a rain, and it was a little cold. I suddenly remembered the fig, which I had spent my energy on playing with, and presumably the leaves had begun to fall by this time.

One summer, we went to Jiangbian Village in Le'an, Jiangxi Province, and in the courtyard of a friend's house, we saw a fig tree that was more than one person tall. The tree grew very luxuriantly, full of fruit, round and large, purple and purple, many of them cracked, diffusing a strong sweet smell, attracting bees to "buzz" around and fly around. However, the owner did not eat the fruit. We were not polite, reached out and picked, gently peeled the peel, put it in our mouths, soft and sweet, and the aftertaste was endless. Many years have passed, and the prosperity and delicacy of a tree in that small courtyard have become a beautiful memory in my mind forever.

Back in Wuhan, I kept thinking about planting a fig tree. It happened to be a weekend morning, on the side street of Hanyang Shilipu, I saw a person selling flowers and grass on the side of the road. I used to talk to him and learned that his family had a garden, and there were more flowers and seedlings in the garden, including figs and figs. So, following him to the top of the building, a rather large garden appeared in front of him, and a black black black cloth covered it. His fig tree was not very tall and tall, and the branches were curved and curved, growing in all directions, with a strange shape, and the most surprising thing was that this small tree had grown small fruits, the size of corn kernels, which were cute, really a treasure, and did not hesitate to take home.

My garden is also on the top floor, the place is not large, but it is also full of greenery, which is very eye-catching. The little fig tree became a new member of the garden, and it touched my nerves every day, making me take care of it wholeheartedly, water and fertilize, see dry and wet, and remove yellow leaves. Its leaves are wide, thick and thick green, and if they are broken, they will gush out white pulp-like juice, do not know whether they are poisonous? Its fruit grew larger day by day, from pale green to dark green, to green with purple in late spring and early summer, and I knew they were ripe. Wait, don't pick it. In the brilliant sun, the figs are fuller, and some even crack the hole from the top, and from that mouth you can see the secret, which must be sweet. On a Sunday morning, we went to pick the figs, one two three four four five six, auspicious, six six big shun. We have finally tasted the sweet fruit of our own labor.

Tasting the sweetness, I also thought that everything in this world is really strange, the original flowering only bears fruit, and this fig is really worthy of the name and does not flower and bear fruit; without flowering, there is no need to pollinate, the fruit will grow out and mature, and it will also attract bees to come straight to collect honey. This fig is truly generous.

As soon as winter came, the leaves of a tree fell, leaving only the bare main pole and branches. I knew the tree was going into hibernation. I went to the seed fertilizer shop to buy bean cakes, broke the soaking water, and when the green leaves germinated in the spring, I poured the fat into the fig pot, and after half a month you saw that the fig leaves were big and green, almost black. There are several more fruits this year. This fig became the highlight of my roof garden, and I often quietly watched it and thought about it, such as wang Yangming, a scholar of the Ming Dynasty, in Gewu.

It is said that many flowers and plants may be propagated by cuttings. I will try it, choose the leafy twigs of the fig tree that are not old and tender, cut them with scissors, insert them into the pots filled with fine sand, water them thoroughly, and place them in a ventilated and cool place; after half a month, new leaves and roots and whiskers are born, and it is alive, and a pot of figs is added. I was so excited that I was able to create life. So, the pot was changed with soil and fertilized, and placed on the edge of the previous pot, so that they "mother and son" would meet, and let the sun shine on it; it began to grow normally, emitting more leaves and branches.

Mr. Yang, the old leader of the unit, heard that I raised flowers and grass, so he exchanged experiences. I gave a new generation of fig trees to Mr. Yang, and Mr. Yang gave me a pot of grapes that enriched my garden. When another summer came, Mr. Yang excitedly told me:

"The fig tree you sent me bears twenty-six fruits. Big and sweet. ”

I am very happy and proud of it, this pot of figs did not embarrass me, so that my technical achievements have been displayed and continued. Of course, from Mr. Yang's introduction, I know that he has also paid a lot for this small tree. Once again, I realized that labor creates fruit, and it is difficult to return without paying.

I told the people in my hometown about planting fig trees. My mother said that the family also planted a tree, which was planted on the roof of the East Wing, and the tree was straight and straight, but it grew too fast, for fear of crushing the roof, and she had no choice but to call my cousin to cut down the tree. When I think about it, this tree of mine is just like a bonsai, and it is not tall and tall, but it does nourish the eyes and mouth, and those tall and straight figs have to be planted on the ground...

One year, I went to Pingyao Ancient City in Shanxi Province for tourism, and I saw that there would be a small fig tree in the courtyard of the ticket number in the city, which was very clean, and also added green and vitality, and inadvertently had a sense of beauty, which made me feel excited. I think this fig tree is really an elegant and holy thing, and one tree can soothe people's feelings.

A few years ago, I moved, and because there was no one to water it, I endured the pain of cutting love and gave away the flowers and plants that I had accumulated over ten years, including fig trees. Today, I wonder if that pot of figs is okay? What did it look like? Hopefully, it will remain leafy and fruitful.

November 17, 2020