Pumpkin Boy in January 2005, written by a woman from Hunan.

Every year in March and April, after a drenching rain, the pumpkin seeds are planted. People will stand on the ground and sprinkle a few handfuls of pumpkin seeds on the ground like a goddess scattering flowers. In this way, after autumn, there will be There is more to gain.

The white pumpkin seeds burrowed into the soil in the blink of an eye and found a place to stay. Each pumpkin seed will turn the tip of its small mouth upward, sucking the rain and dew, and take root and sprout in the gap as big as the sole of the shoe. In May and June, Baogu Miaomiao pulled up the green gauze tent, and the pumpkin seedlings also spread out the green velvet blanket.

Pumpkin seedlings grow quickly. When the rice seedlings are as tall as chopsticks, the big golden pumpkin flowers are dazzlingly dotted among the fat green melon leaves. When the corn seedlings sprout bright red ears, the pumpkins begin to bear fruit.

Eating pumpkin starts from pumpkin seedlings.

The fresh melon vines are fluffy, and the soft vines, exquisite leaves, bright flowers and small bead-like fruits under the flower stalks are all so tender that they drip water. Pinch a handful along the tips of the vines, tear off the tendons, knead off the fluff, simmer in boiling water, sprinkle with a spoonful of salt, add a few cloves of garlic, and it will become a pot of jasper-like soup. The girls made garlands of pumpkin flowers with thin grass stems, and put them on their heads and necks, and they returned home in full bloom. When making soup, I shook the grass stems, and the flowers fell into the pot. Golden flowers bloomed on the boiling soup, and the fragrance of flowers lingered in the room for a long time.

Pumpkin seedlings are not afraid of being pinched. The more they are pinched, the more they grow crazily. The melon leaves look like small cattail fans, and the thick melon vines are creeping, constantly stretching and spreading, spreading out like crazy. The ground is full of greenery.

For many days in the following days, the growing little pumpkin became the main dish on the table. Or cut it into pieces and make soup, the soup will be milky white and translucent green, very refreshing; or cut into shreds and stir-fry, the green plate will shine with oil on the dining table.

The most delicious pumpkin dish is small melon. Wash a small pumpkin as big as a rice bowl, cut off the stems, use a knife to unscrew a small cover along the base of the melon, and then use a small spoon to cut the melon into pieces. Take out the meat, stir-fry the minced pork and diced mushrooms until fragrant, mix it into a stuffing, fill it into the hollowed-out melon heart, cover it with the small melon lid, and it becomes a small melon bowl. Put it in a steamer and steam it. The melon is still bright green, and when you open the lid, you will find a fragrant stuffing. The aroma of meat and mushrooms permeates the tender melon meat, which tastes very delicious.

Autumn has entered, the harvest is over, and the pumpkins are ripe. Every morning, people invite each other to go up the mountain with baskets on their backs to look for pumpkins. At this time, my elementary school will also have a few days off so that the children can help.

Finding pumpkins requires a lot of effort. Those steep slopes are covered with a thick layer of grain poles, scattered here and there in the cracks of the mountain. From the foot of the slope to the top of the slope, you have to use your hands and feet to climb up and down the shuttle, find a pumpkin, and carry it into the basket on your back. inside, and then move to another place and search again. Be very careful at this time. The pumpkin in the basket is too heavy and will make you fall straight back. If you are not careful, you and the pumpkin will roll down the slope, and you will have to carry the pumpkin on your back to climb up again. It is very strenuous.

Pumpkins can play hide-and-seek with people, either hiding in ditches or hiding among trees. I often hear someone let out a shout of surprise, then bend down and get into the hiding place of the pumpkin, regardless of the thorns snagging the grass, and try to pull it out.

Pumpkin vines also like to climb trees. They climb very high trees. Each pumpkin is like a big, fat fruit, sitting carelessly on the branches. You have to climb the tree to get them down. . Some pumpkins are suspended in mid-air like swings, and the pumpkin vines connected between two trees fall into a large arc, making you terrified when you look at them, for fear that they will break the vines and fall.

Some pumpkins are simply buried in the soil. As long as you see a conspicuous bumpkin on the ground, you will find a big, shy pumpkin with a red face lying inside.

The biggest pumpkin is one I found. People were preparing lunch at that time. That is the most delicious mountain lunch. Pick a pumpkin and cut it in half crosswise. The larger half will become the pot and the smaller half will be the lid. Put a little rice into the "pumpkin pot", add some vegetables, and sometimes a few slices of bacon, cover it tightly, paste a layer of mud on the outside of the pumpkin, and put it on the fire to burn. When the melon is ripe, the rice is also ripe. Pull a piece of banana leaf, and each person will have a ball of pumpkin rice. Hold it hot in your hands and eat it while blowing on it. The aroma is so delicious that your mouth will be licked.

After I had eaten, I went to the stream to wash my hands. Suddenly I saw a melon handle like a goat's horn sticking out from a bush.

"It's a big pumpkin!" I was so happy that I grabbed the melon by the handle and pulled it hard. The pumpkin seemed to have taken root and could not be moved. After finally pulling out half of it, it seemed like it didn't want to go home. It slid out and rolled back into its nest. I shouted to several children, found a straw rope and tied it to the handle of the melon, and then the children and I pulled it out like a radish.

This is the strongest pumpkin I have ever seen. It is as big as a cauldron, as heavy as a millstone, and there is a light layer of frost on the red surface. Everyone was amazed and gathered around to watch. No basket could hold it, so someone pulled a horse. Several young men tied it to the horse's carrier and carried it home staggeringly.

In that season, the village was shining with golden light, and every yard was filled with pumpkins.

My elementary school is at the end of the village. People who come back from the fields often put a pumpkin in front of my door, and then laugh loudly and say it is for me.

There were more and more pumpkins, and I became a little worried and said, "There are too many, how can I finish them all!"

The villagers happily said, "No. Don’t say too much, I’ll eat it until next year!”

I stacked the pumpkins against the classroom like building blocks to create a small golden mountain. The big pumpkin that was carried back by the horse looked like a stocky boy, guarding in front of my door majestically, which was very eye-catching.

My door is a lively place, and villagers like to come here to play when they have nothing to do. With this pile of melons, the people who come are more interested. Come, hold a melon and put it on the ground, then sit and smoke and laugh, or use a tile to draw a chessboard on the ground, sit on the pumpkin, and play chess pieces made of mud. Some people simply put a pumpkin in the classroom and sat down to listen to my lectures seriously.

The Pumpkin Boy has become a toy for small children. Those bare-butt dolls that can’t walk steadily climb up and down around the big pumpkin, playing and having fun. From a distance, the big pumpkin and the fat baby The doll is like a happy harvest New Year painting, very bright.

After the children touched it for a long time, Pumpkin Boy’s whole body became shiny and translucent, as if he had been painted with a layer of oil paint. The strange thing is that this little pumpkin seems to have been growing secretly. Often when I look at it inadvertently, it suddenly seems to be much bigger. I shake the melon by the handle a few times, but no roots are seen. I asked the villagers doubtfully, and they laughed and said: "This boy is very spiritual. He has been soaked in the earth's energy, absorbed the light of the sky and the dew of the night, and he is still running around!"

In a blink of an eye, he stood up! It's winter.

In alpine mountainous areas, the mountains are high and the fog is thick. Winter comes early and is surprisingly cold.

When it is the coldest, it rains. "Lin" is not snowflakes or hail. "Lin" is the visible "cold".

When I woke up in the morning, I saw that the eaves were covered with shiny ice tassels, densely packed. Long and short, it makes a metallic tinkling sound when touched. The path was also shiny, as if there was a layer of broken glass, making a clicking sound when stepped on. The grass turned into needles of ice, and the small stones turned into ice lumps. The trees have also become dignified, and each leaf is covered with a layer of ice. As long as you hold the petiole and tear it gently, you can tear off a complete, crystal-like ice leaf with clear veins on it.

The pumpkins exposed in the cold wind were also covered with a layer of ice armor, each one became hard and translucent, and made a rattling sound when knocked.

At this time, the villagers will shiver and say: "It rained last night!" People don't go out on such a cold day, but set up pots on the fire pit, chatting and cooking soup while warming the fire. . And what's cooking in the pot is almost all pumpkin.

Of course there are still classes in elementary school, so I built a brazier in the middle of the classroom, lit a pot of red chestnut charcoal, sat on a pot, and cooked pumpkins. On the bench behind the classroom, there are various bowls for the children: large earthenware bowls, small wooden bowls, bamboo strip boxes, enamel jars... The lunches brought by the children are also various: rice balls with rice balls, buckwheat cakes, sweet potato steamed buns, Potato pancake... It's usually a simple meal, with a pot of boiling pumpkin soup, so thin that I'm sweating profusely.

Under the guidance of the children, I realized that there are so many ways to eat pumpkin. Stir the pumpkin pieces into the rice and simmer together. When the pot sizzles, you can uncover the red pumpkin, dotted with pearl-like rice grains, which are moist and dazzling, beautiful and delicious. There is a layer of crispy rice at the bottom of the pot, which is a delicacy that every child admires.

The skin of some pumpkins is thick, rough, and convex, but when cooked, the flesh is like glutinous rice balls, waxy and sweet, and melts in your mouth.

Some pumpkins have smooth skin and thick green patterns. Stewing such pumpkins with carrots and potatoes can produce a pleasing red, yellow and green soup.

Pumpkins that have been frozen by "Rin" are more delicious. When cooked, a thick layer of syrup will form on the edge of the pot, and the ripe pumpkin will turn into thick melon juice. It tastes like mixed with honey.

You can also cut the pumpkin into small slices and place them neatly in a rice bowl. Spread a little lard on the bottom of the bowl, put a few peanuts or sesame seeds on it, steam it, and put it on the plate. A bowl of eight-treasure pumpkin. Or just boil the pumpkin until it's mashed, add a spoonful of rice soup and stir it in, and you'll have a delicious bowl of pumpkin soup that's very sweet without adding sugar.

Boil the pumpkin slices in boiling water, then cut them into finger-thick strips and bake them slowly by the fire to make crispy pumpkin. Cut the pumpkin into small pieces as big as a fingernail, wash and drain, boil it in a pot, put it in a small jar, sprinkle with sugar and seal it. After a few weeks, open the lid of the jar, and the sweet fragrance will hit your nose. But the most delicious preserve is candied pumpkin. Candied pumpkin can be stored for a long time. In the hottest time of summer, take a spoonful and dissolve it with ice-cold spring water, and you will have a golden-red, delicious natural drink.

The old people always tell me to drink water slowly and eat sparingly, otherwise I will be hungry during the "five famines and six months". What they call "Five Wilds and Six Months" refers to the lean days between summer and autumn, when there is not much old food left and new food is immature. It is the most difficult time for mountain people.

So I eat very frugally. Every time I cook pumpkin, I add some vegetables and grains. One pumpkin can last for several days.

I ate too much pumpkin, and my stomach felt wet, as if I was hungry but not hungry. I had drool in my mouth, which was very uncomfortable.

The neighbor’s aunt said that pumpkin absorbs oil and needs to be moistened with oil to scrape the intestines. She brought a small jar of lard and put a small spoonful of it into the soup when cooking the pumpkin. A lot of oil beads would float on the soup surface, which was very fragrant and made the stomach feel comfortable after drinking it.

In the fifth and sixth months of drought, the food shortage became obvious. There is always little rice in the mountains, so it is almost impossible to see it at this time. The gruel made from cornmeal is so clear that you can see the shadows of people. Hunger is like a multi-clawed insect crawling slowly in the stomach, causing a very sharp feeling that seems to be painful but not painful. Standing in the classroom giving lectures, the small faces in front of me are like vegetable leaves, and they are so thin that it makes people worry.

The pumpkin hill in front of the door has long since disappeared, leaving only Pumpkin Boy. Without the other pumpkins as a foil, it looked redder and bigger. Villagers passing by are always in a hurry and rarely have time to stop in front of my door. Only children still like to gather around it, or lean on it and whisper, or bite their fingers and cuddle up to it in a daze.

Many times I wanted to cook it for the kids, but I resisted. I always want to wait, and wait, maybe it’s not the most difficult time yet...

It was by chance that I discovered that Pumpkin Boy could walk. When I opened the door early that morning, the front door seemed empty, and there was a wet dimple on the ground. Pumpkin Boy is missing! I rushed out the door and saw it sitting on the side of the road, as if waiting for someone. I looked before and after, but there was no one around. How could it be here? I was puzzled, lifted up my sleeves, pushed and pushed it back.

The amazing thing is that it went again the next day, farther than yesterday. When I found it, it had already reached the intersection. With just a slight movement, it could roll into the village along the gentle sloping path.

This is really strange. Why is it going to the village? Besides, who has ever seen a pumpkin walk?

I couldn't sleep that night, so I lay quietly at the window with my clothes on, staring at Pumpkin Boy without blinking. I didn't believe pumpkins could walk, and I wanted to see what was going on.

The moon was very big, as round and bright as a jade plate. The village was quiet under the moonlight, and Pumpkin Boy became a misty shadow, standing silently in front of the door. It seemed to move in a daze, but when I looked carefully, it stopped moving again. For a moment I thought it was really walking, but when I went out and reached out to touch it, I found it sleeping peacefully in the melon nest.

In a daze, I heard someone knocking gently on my door. I rubbed my sore eyes and opened the door. It was dawn. In the clear morning light, there was no pumpkin boy. There was only a little boy standing in front of the door, looking up at me. I picked him up, and his thin little body was as light as a melon leaf. I suddenly felt sad, and at that moment I just wanted to cry.

I believe that Pumpkin Boy can really walk. I even saw a series of shallow small footprints on the ground...

Follow the path into the village, not far away There is a dirt flat where people kill pigs and cows, sing and dance during festivals. There is a dark earth stove on one side of the earth flat, with a large iron pot on it, which can cook a large pot of broth.

Pumpkin Boy is next to the earthen stove, and there are many children gathered next to him, and they are all looking at me.

I didn’t say anything. I borrowed a big meat-cooking pot from the village, put it on the earth stove, and added enough firewood to the stove.

A large pot of soup is boiling. In the golden red vortex, large pieces of pumpkin are spinning and floating, and there are many colorful things rolling rapidly in it. It can be seen that They are some plant roots, small leaves and so on...

No child came empty-handed. They tried their best to put in everything they could find and eat in the mountains. In the pot, a pot of colorful pumpkin dishes was cooked. The children still held their own rice bowls in their hands: big earthen bowls, small wooden bowls, bamboo strips boxes, enamel jars...

We ate this meal for a long time, and there were many people eating it, and it was so hot. The soups and delicious dishes are unforgettable.

With the tiredness after a full meal and an indescribable touch of sadness, we walked slowly on the mountain road.

The sky is blue and the stars have not come out yet. At dusk, the mountains and fields are misty, and the sunset glows on the horizon, like big golden-red pumpkin flowers. The setting sun was a rich crimson ball, flat and round, like a big pumpkin, resting on a large mountain.

The eyes suddenly became hot, and the red mass became hazy.

That's our pumpkin boy! It is saying goodbye to us!

We waved our hands, and the "Pumpkin Boy" also swayed gently, flashed, and quietly disappeared in the glow...