Before Tomb-Sweeping Day, my daughter changed jobs. After the handover, she took a few days off and went home. Parents are naturally happy when their daughter comes home. The first thing is to arrange the daily menu. Fish is easy to find, but vegetables are hard to match. I always don't like out-of-season vegetables in greenhouses. I always feel that fresh vegetables in the season are almost natural and nourish the stomach. At this time, the Chinese cabbage is too old, and the most common dish should be peas. Walking into the supermarket with a vegetable basket, there were a lot of peas in it, but when I saw the price, I was taken aback: 7 yuan a catty! "Is it that expensive?" Walking to the farmer's market, the stalls are more expensive to sell. Sister-in-law also said, "I sold 9 yuan a catty last week!" " Is it too expensive for your daughter to come back? Buy two Jin, too. Picking the handle to remove the tendons, adding red pepper to stir-fry the meat slices, and watching my daughter eat soundly and smile sweetly reminded me of the past 30 or 40 years ago. ...

At that time, in the countryside, in late autumn and early winter, rape was planted in the fields, and Chinese cabbage was planted in the few plots, so peas that could only be eaten next year were planted in the corner of the boundary. Especially on the ridge, dig a small hole with a hoe, order two pea seeds every once in a while, and then step on it. It doesn't matter, two hard-tied seedlings will appear in a week. Then he climbed and dragged, sticking out his paw-like beard, climbing up when he saw a higher branch and looking at the sun. Insert a few sticks that are not too long but bifurcated, and then connect them up and down with fiber belts or bamboo strips, and the pea seedlings will flourish against the simple fence. After the vernal equinox, pea flowers are in full bloom. Pale red and purple flowers, when peaches, plums and apricots are in full bloom, are as simple as a village girl in a blue rag gown, as brilliant as in the spring sunshine, and whisper happily in the warm wind, giving birth to flat and long pods. At first, she was very thin, and soon she was fattened by the spring rain. She was round and bulging, reminding people of that powerful village girl again. Farmers' vegetables were picked early in the morning. Pick peas and let the children go as usual. In the field, among the layers of pea seedlings with dew, you will soon take off half a basket. If you can't walk half a ridge, the basket won't fit. That pea never seems to finish picking. Poke bean sprouts, and then come out a few. Poke them backwards, and then a few come out, just like children playing hide and seek. Sichuan style pork is rare, cooking is also very good, and you can never get tired of eating a meal. Because every family grows them, they can't afford to sell them or eat them. Many peas are old, their pods are hard and chewy like hemp, so they are peeled, boiled in water and cooked for dinner. At that time, it had not been processed into "smart beans" that children liked. Unexpectedly, the most common dish in this season has become the most expensive dish!

In recent years, the land in the suburbs has been swallowed up by the giant arm of steel, and the land where peas take root has become less and less, while the young and strong laborers from rural areas have integrated into the cities, from planting peas to eating peas. How can peas not be expensive? Can elderly parents who stay in the countryside still grow peas? Who will eat it after planting? Is it us, not just for living, running around the city and forgetting the fields full of reddish and purple peas?

Pea seedlings can be used to make soup and boil pods. They are an ancient vegetable. Wild peas are called "Wei" in the Book of Songs. Long-term wandering has hardened people's hearts, but occasionally I see reddish and purplish pea flowers, choose peas, and gently recite "picking the EU, picking the EU, picking the EU is also soft." When I said, "When I get home, my heart will no longer be concerned," I thought of the ridge where there were no pink and purple pea flowers. I recalled the scene of eating pea rice before, and a fog rose in front of me.