The weather is beautiful, I would be sorry if I didn’t go out for a walk. When you go out and turn right, you will see a poplar forest. In winter, the poplar forest is a bit lonely. Without the green leaves, it is dry and "luxuriant" and it is not close to it. The woods are not big enough for me to walk around, and the snow that fell a few days ago has not melted away yet and is distributed in patches. I deliberately stepped on the snow, and the squeaking sound made me have the illusion of a forest and a snowfield.

Hold on a big poplar tree that is not too tall, my heart is very peaceful. I am not a poet and my inspiration can't flow like a spring. I can only hold it with my hands and look at the cracks left by the growth of the bark. Now the only tree species that appear in large areas in the village are these fast-growing poplars. Others, such as willows, elms, and locusts, have disappeared. Now the emphasis is on speed, and these fast-growing poplars can be exchanged for money in three to five years. The market has also taken advantage of big interests, which is not people's fault. I patted the big poplar tree, like a leader patting his subordinates, and said pleasantly: Not bad, not bad. As for what's good, I can't tell. This shot transported me into those years.

In those years, there were many tree species in the village, such as sycamore, toon, ailanthus, elm, willow, and black locust. Wait, everyone has two or three trees in their yard. There is an old locust tree growing to the west of our house. It seems that someone planted it in old age. Although there have been changes in the village, no one has touched the old locust tree. Still protecting this land. We liked this old locust tree very much. We didn’t know why at that time, just because it brought us good things: locust flowers.

In May, when the scent of locust flowers comes, the old locust trees spare no effort to bloom. In the village's saying, it is "Tilitanglang" (which means a lot). The dense green leaves are no longer able to cover up the whiteness of the Sophora japonica flowers. We were overjoyed at this time, and my tree-climbing skills were already very good at that time. It’s not that I’m extraordinary, because the sweet locust flowers make people have to climb the tree. In fact, there are also personal feelings in it. When you climb the tree and stand on the branch of a big tree, looking at the trees below. A few pairs of adoring eyes, do you feel like a king? I wonder if you have heard of the saying: It’s easier to climb a tree than to get oil from a tree. It means that it is easy to climb up the tree, but you have to pay the price when getting down. Clothes will be torn, hands will be pricked, and the skin on the inner thighs will be broken. Everything is possible. This shows that God is fair, and you have to pay something to get delicious sophora flowers. After a little hard work, I got delicious food, and they always consciously left me an extra tiara. It is said that if you eat too much of this stuff, your eyelids will swell, but I haven't had any swelling. When I think about swelling it is no longer there.

Because the boys saw that I had a hard time breaking the locust flowers, some smart people suggested using a sickle, which is to tie the sickle to a long bamboo pole and then pull it down. This can pull down big branches. I don't know who this guy got the real information from. This plan was immediately rejected by the opposition headed by me. I told them very seriously that if you break a big branch, it won't grow back next year. This is not how sensible I am, my parents told me at this time. Not to mention that parents are their children's first teachers. I was lucky enough to have two good teachers.

I have always believed that the old locust tree is spiritual. I remember that year, my mother came to sell fried dough sticks on Pancake Street. At that time, fried dough sticks were a luxury item for the children of farmers. A cry: Hot fried dough sticks! Seduce all my appetite. I asked my mother to buy me fried dough sticks. At that time, my family was so poor that even a penny was spent, and my mother was reluctant to part with it. I was very angry (I have never behaved like a fool in my memory), so I ran out and hit the old locust tree with all my strength, first hitting it with rocks and kicking it, and then I climbed the tree without looking back. Then I fell down without hesitation. This was the only time I fell from a tree. I really fainted when I fell, and now I can’t remember how high I fell. Later, I heard from my sisters that after I fell, I just said "wow" and then "ran out of gas." My mother and they all cried in fright. My mother hugged me and ran into the house. The door frame was scratched by her hand, but she didn't feel it at all. I always feel guilty when I think about it now. Fortunately, I cried "Wow" again. This didn't cause any problems. Speaking of this, my mother said that the old locust tree had the spirit to catch me. I always thought this way before, if it was really spiritual it wouldn't let me fall off. But now I believe it, otherwise why is it so clear in my memory.

Later, there were major changes in the village, and the old locust trees were cut down. I had left home to study at that time, and I could imagine that when the old locust tree full of flowers was cut down by the chainsaw that made a ghostly sound, the scent of the locust flowers still lingered. So white, so sweet.

I can’t say how kind I am, I just often think like this: When one day our descendants ask us how these things disappeared, how should we answer?