Author Wang He
The years passed, and nearly seventy years flew by. Looking back, many things have faded into oblivion, and even the professions I studied and the skills I rely on to support my family are becoming more and more unfamiliar.
But my childhood experience is still fresh in my mind.
Even trivial things.
For example, the tree in Grandpa's house.
They are three date trees, two ailanthus trees, a toon tree, a neem tree and a pepper tree, and finally an orange tree.
Each tree has its own story: the jujube tree was planted by Grandpa and his father; the Ailanthus neem tree grew by himself; the toon was moved from the family of the aunt of Xiaoguankou; the pepper tree came from grandma Wang's carpenter's mother's house; and the orange tree was brought back from the old river mouth by Grandpa when he went to Hubei to do business.
Every tree has its use: the jujube tree, which is an important fruit during my summer vacation. In early August, the dates on its branches began to turn red, and it was a daily lesson for me to throw stones and rush down to pick them up and eat. In the fall, Grandma dried it and went back for winter break, or my snack.
The main function of the toon tree is to feed on its young shoots. Cold toon is a taste feast for Grandpa's family in early spring. Grandpa's toon picking must have been exhausting and fishing, since I recognized this tree, it has no branches, a straight single tree, a small crown on the top of the head, like a tall man, wearing a small straw hat. I need to look up to see its canopy clearly.
The leaves of the peppercorn tree are indispensable condiments for stir-frying squash vegetables in summer; the peppercorn powder made of peppercorn seeds is an essential additive for the Spring Festival dumpling filling.
Two Ailanthus trees are located at the front of the yard, and in summer, its thick leaves shade the family, and in autumn, its thick branches are stacked with dried sweet potato stalks, which are the backup rations for sheep in winter.
Only the orange tree is different, it is different.
The first time I returned to my hometown when I was nine years old, I heard my uncle say that there was an orange tree in my house, so I couldn't wait to meet it.
I cheered for its sparse green fruit, but the third uncle poured cold water on me and said that in autumn, the fruit of Huang Chengcheng looked pleasant, but it was not delicious - the skin was thick and rare, extremely sour.
Where do I believe it, thinking that the third uncle is afraid that I will not wait for the fruit to ripen, and deceive me!
Grandma knew my yearning for oranges and left them for me. I went back for winter vacation, and Grandma took it out of the cupboard and gave it to me. When I peeled off and ate, the third aunt and uncle stared at each other, thinking that they were jealous of my partial food. I took a bite, and Fang knew that he was deceived, shouting "Sour! ”
Instantly laughing over the uncle and the third aunt, Grandma also opened her mouth with missing front teeth and smiled and said, "Don't let you taste it, you will think that Grandma is reluctant to give you food!" ”
Why aren't the fruits of orange trees delicious? After reading books and seeing the "South Orange North Orange" allusion, I understood it.
In order to write this small article, I went online to find out: tangerine belongs to the citrus genus of the family Rubiaceae, and citrus aurantium is a genus of citrus in the family Rubiaceae, both of which are different genera in the same family, and at best distant cousins. Citrus aurantium, is a common tree species in the countryside, because it has a lot of hard thorns, the old home is used to make fences, as far as I know, Fangcheng, Tanghe, Nanzhao, Sheqi, Zhenping these counties have villages called Chen Ciyuan; the fruit of the fruit, my old family called it Chen thorn egg, can be used in medicine, the name of the medicine citrus shell.
In this way, judging by a strict scientific attitude, "south orange and north orange" is a mistake.
At that time, I mistakenly thought that the fruit of the orange tree was unpalatable because of lack of water and little fertilizer, so I often watered it; buried the fish Caught under the roots of the tree; when I had urine when I was playing outside, I would hold the urine and run home to make fertilizer next to its roots.
But its fruit, the sour taste, is still the same.
Grandma took it off in the autumn as usual and kept it in the cupboard. I went back for winter vacation and never ate it again. A guest comes from afar, I will prank to the guest to eat, see him sour, I laugh!
Twenty years ago, the second father ripped off the old house and built a bungalow on the original site. When he built the house, he cut down all the trees in the yard, leaving only the orange trees and moving them.
It is often said, "The man moves to live, and the tree moves to die." The second father moved the orange tree, and it not only did not die, but was rejuvenated.
The second father once told me that after moving the nest, the orange tree grew very well, grew quickly, and produced more fruit.
This year's Cold Food Festival, my brother and I took our children and grandchildren back to the cemetery of our hometown to visit our grandmother.
I called my cousin in advance to go back to his hometown to wait, and when the memorial was over, I took my whole family into the village to visit the old house of the Wang family.
Cousin Hengwa lent the old house to a ben family, which made the yard dirty.
The only highlight was the orange tree, full of yellow and clear oranges, which made us breathtaking!
My brother went up to the second floor platform to pick a few, and I couldn't wait to peel them off and try them, oops! It's incredibly sour!
Decades have passed, it has not changed its original intention, as always, sour teeth!
I stood under it, caressed its torso, and couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion.
This orange tree was born in the 1930s and came to my grandfather's house when I was two or three years old. Now it is in its eighties, still full of life, lush foliage, and at this time of year, the fruit is plentiful.
It once witnessed the transformation of the grandfather's old house: in 1945, the tile house was destroyed by the soldiers, in 1958, the grass house collapsed, in 1967, the tile house was rebuilt, becoming one of the good houses in the village; after the reform and opening up, the family moved away, increasingly dilapidated, and was ripped off by the second father to rebuild the bungalow.
It also bears witness to the departure of generations in my family: to witness the funeral of my grandfather's grandmother; to remember that the carpenter who rushed to make the coffin at his side when my grandfather died; to hear my weeping for my grandmother's funeral; to see my father's urn in the church house before it was buried; and to place the coffin under its shade after the death of my second father.
It sent three generations of my family away!
No, it's four generations, and me!
I definitely can't live it!
At the thought of this, my teeth are sore again!
I kicked at the orange tree,
It stood up and didn't move.
My toes hurt and I shouted again, "Ma yay! ”
2020/11-1