Before sorbet appeared, in my impression, there was no such thing as frozen summer food at that time. In the middle and late 1970s, the material conditions were still very poor. People in rural areas have lived on the land with their backs to the loess for generations. Although they are barely self-sufficient, they are generally not out of poverty. As far as I can remember, before going to the fields in summer, people like to throw cucumbers picked from their own fields into a cool water tank for soaking. When they came back from the field and were thirsty, they took out the soaked cucumber and took a bite. Suddenly they felt cool and comfortable.
At that time, materials were scarce, and people used the same old-fashioned porcelain jars to hold water and deliver food when they were working in the fields. Fill a jar with water, then take a shallow bowl, press the jar mouth down, pick up the hemp rope tied to the jar and go. On the ground, put it on the ground, pour a bowl when you are thirsty, and pour it with a splash, which is also a bit heroic. Anyone who can fill water in a military kettle is already enjoying a high standard. My family is fortunate to enjoy this "high standard" treatment. Because my father is a soldier, it is not surprising to have such a military kettle, and because my father is a national worker, relatively speaking, our life is not as hard as ordinary farmers. At that time, we needed to work in the fields. In addition to soaking cucumbers in water tanks like everyone else, sometimes my father used boiling water to make lemon juice from lemon powder that I didn't know where to get, similar to carbonated drinks today, and put it in military kettles. Although I didn't like the taste at that time, I was happy to help my father make lemon juice every time out of the principle that rare things are precious, but not many times.
In the early 1980s, unconsciously, there began to be more people selling sorbet with thermos bottles on the street, and some people tied a wooden box on the back seat of a bicycle with the word "sorbet" on it. The boxes are wrapped in cotton mattresses, put in sorbet, and then go door to door to sell. Some people will also sell in the fields, but few people who work at that time are willing to buy an ice cream for themselves, but they often make our children greedy. The seller is probably one of the earliest activists who followed the pace of reform and opening up. They stopped and stopped in the street, shouting "sorbet, sorbet ..." The voice seemed to have a fascinating magic, which once dragged greedy insects out of our mouths one by one, dragging our thoughts to pieces.
If you sit in the classroom, that Hawking will be like a soul, causing a group of greedy cats in the class to lose their souls and swim with Hawking. If you are at home, you can't help looking for a steel shovel to get the long-awaited cold and sweet sorbet. At that time, due to poor heat preservation measures, the sorbet sold in the morning was intact and sold for 50 cents each; After noon, the sorbet has begun to melt. At this time, the price will generally be reduced by 30 cents. After 3 or 4 o'clock in the afternoon, the sorbet has been basically halved, and then sold for 20 cents; If it is not sold out at night, there is not much sorbet left, and a penny will be disposed of. Just like this, we can't buy sorbet at different times and at different prices at any time. At that time, family conditions were generally poor. Even if we rummaged through the house behind adults' backs, we usually couldn't find a penny.
Occasionally, whose parents give a little pocket money, like charity, a group of young periophthalmus meet to buy an ice cream and get together in a pile. You take a sip and I'll take a sip. We absolutely didn't want to bite at that time. Not only can it be eaten for a longer time by sucking, but the ethereal white gas rising in the mouth during this period also intoxicated us like a cool and pleasant fairyland. At this time, the hot summer is no longer annoying because of this sorbet. Its continuous coolness is like a breeze rising from the wind, which temporarily drives away the summer heat. Its sweet and refreshing taste is just like our childhood fantasy. Even though it has been ravaged by poverty for thousands of times, it is still as simple and brilliant as the rising sun. The picture of the wooden box with the words "sorbet" written on the back seat of the bicycle has also been fixed as a close-up of an era, thus staying in people's memory forever.
Later, the cry of selling popsicles turned into "sorbet, ice cream ..." The pattern of sorbet is being updated, and the products have made new breakthroughs. I remember "banana ice cream", which is divided into white banana and yellow banana. Based on the traditional frozen rock sugar water, it adds an improved formula to make the taste sweeter and smoother. With the development of social economy, more and more kinds of ice cream began to flood in hot summer to meet people's demand for cooling off the heat. Our living environment has changed, the quality of life has been greatly improved, social materials are gradually sufficient, and the lives of ordinary people are heading for a well-off life. I remember riding a bike on a hot day, and the heat wave made me want to faint, so I went straight to the roadside cold drink stand and asked my boss to bring an ice cream. The boss asked, which one do you want? I'm like an ant on hot bricks. Just say it and take it! Unexpectedly, the boss really took out a "take it casually". Later, I found that the variety of this ice cream is really changing, with everything. Over time, from taro grapes, small puddings, ants climbing trees, bitter coffee and so on. , to Qiaolezi, Ice Factory, Honey Bean, Fried Yogurt, etc. It can be said that it is really innovative.
But now I'm losing interest in ice cream. Although these ice creams have different tastes and varieties, which are suitable for all kinds of consumers and taste particularly good, the sticky, sweet and mouth-dropping feeling is somewhat contrary to our original intention of eating ice cream to cool off the heat. After a short refreshing time, a stronger sense of thirst will surge up, and people can't help but yearn for the meager boiled water. Moreover, many additives are added in the production process of many ice creams, which have the functions of thickening, color fixation and seasoning. And the content of sugar and fat is too high. Therefore, people will inevitably get fat when eating, especially when the ice cream melts, which can make people think of the fat flowing in the body and the fat that can be grabbed at will immediately feel a little more afraid, so they will be careful when eating again. Of course, these feelings are only part of it, and many refreshing and delicious ice creams really bring good enjoyment to our summer taste buds.
Every summer, as a heatstroke prevention and cooling benefit, the unit will distribute ice cream cubes to employees every day. At first, ice cream was specially produced by the group company's cold drink factory. The next day, a car will be pulled to load two freezers with a height of more than one person. That ice cream is made with the simplest technology, without any additives, only milk, rock sugar and water. The taste is refreshing and thirst-quenching, harmless to the body, and the shape is simple and compact. This often reminds me of "sorbet" when I was a child. In recent years, I don't know whether the cold drink factory of the group company was cancelled or other reasons, but the summer heatstroke welfare was replaced by ice cream varieties sold in the market. Fortunately, they are mainly refreshing, and the most gratifying thing is that they have an old popsicle.
In this summer, it often returns between hot summer and cool ice. With the cool smell of ice cream, hot days slide away like running water. Even if it rains on cloudy days, this ice cream will become a burden. I will never have a strong desire for ice cream as I did when I was a child, and I don't need to buy an ice cream with my parents' pocket money to satisfy my desire. Nowadays, everything has become arbitrary, and colorful and dazzling ice cream varieties in merchants' freezers can be selected and tasted at will. However, I often miss the ice cream in my distant memory. Miss a summer weekend morning, a group of periophthalmus, who don't have to go to school, hung in the clouds and smoke circles, holding five cents rarely given by their parents, bought a complete sorbet around the eldest brother who pushed the car to sell popsicles, and then happily sucked the cool and sweet one, with their little faces chirping like larks, making that morning as beautiful as dog tail grass swaying beside them.
Thirty or forty years have passed and the world has changed a lot. In today's bizarre society, tasting all kinds of delicious food and cold drinks, a heart often lingers in the world of mortals with the complexity of this world. We have been beaten by wind and rain, honed by setbacks and attacked by vulgar dust, but our hearts are much more flexible and strong, and at the same time we are wrapped in colorful shells, each with its own taste. But I still like the taste of the old popsicle, like its color, clean, pure, refreshing and thirst-quenching, just like the quality and color I yearn for.
We stumbled for a long time, until we could no longer touch the taste of the past. It looks back frequently when every summer comes, which is a step closer to us and reminds us of unforgettable memories every summer. Time is old, but my inner past is young. In those past events, there were once young self and once young "old popsicle". In those past events, we are all simple and happy, just like the plain and pure color of the old popsicle, sweet and cool taste. Compared with all kinds of cold drinks in today's complex society, as well as food safety problems and compensation disputes that often appear in the media, the era of "old popsicle" is as simple as the continuous land in rural areas. As you sow, you reap, so you can plant a happy childhood and harvest a source that you will never forget for the rest of your life.
The old popsicle in my eyes, in that rural land, has been deeply branded with my brand, which makes me often miss the simple and beautiful happiness of that era. Although it is far away from us, every time I recall, the simple wind in the countryside is like passing through the barrier of time and brushing my childhood face. After a long time of comfort, I freeze and play back every tiny moment, and then it is as clear as ever.