"Elm money rice"
I have often eaten elm money since I was a child, but now it is very rare.
When I was a child, every year, the green and yellow spring and March, elm money is the poor people's life-saving food. The poplar buds and willow leaves can be eaten, but not as good as the elm money, but also as a meal.
At that time, I was six or seven years old, with a wooden comb on my head; I used to follow the maiden aunt, who was eight or nine years older than me, to pick poplar buds, willow leaves, and elm money.
Ya Aunt is a child bride, her nickname is Yatou; because there is no round house, I can only call her Aunt, can not call her Aunt.
Yang Ye'er and Liu Ye'er showed their heads first.
Poplar buds picked tender, immersed in a pot of boiling water will melt into a pot of yellow soup and green water, can not eat the mouth; picked old, bitter and astringent, difficult to swallow. Only not old and not tender to eat, pick down the water to wash, boiling water in a pot of scalding a turn, strainer up squeezed out of the water, mixed with shrimp and raw sauce for filling, with corn flour mongrel and elm skin noodles rolled thin skin, wrapped in large stuffed dumplings to eat. But this does not save much food. The willow leaves can not do stuffing, picked down is also washed and boiled water fishing, mixed with raw sauce onions as a dish to eat, but more costly meat and potatoes.
Young buds and willow leaves have just passed, and the elm money has shown up again.
Before and after the village, the river bank graveyard circle, an old elm money tree towers into the sky, a string of elm money hangs all over the branches, like a string of frost ice hanging, see the flower of human eyes, greedy people drooling. Yagyu wild, stretcher than the person's size is still big; she put the black oil braid seven wrapped around the plot on the neck, snow-white teeth biting the braid tails, bare feet, hands embracing the tree than her waist thick, giggling, giggling, and has been to climb to the top of the tree, forked legs riding in the branches of the tree.
I stood under the elm tree, a little follower, squinting up his eyes and tilting his face, a big wattle basket around him.
Elm money is very sweet to eat raw, the more you chew, the more fragrant. Yagou folded a few branches still down, while calling me by my little name and said: "First feed you!" I caught a few large bunches of elm money, sitting on my knees under the tree to eat, Ya Gu in the tree also big handfuls of rubbed into the mouth.
We stroked a big basket full of them and carried them back home, and we had a meal.
Ninety percent of the elm money stirred into one percent of the cornmeal, on the drawer pot steamed, the water bloomed even if cooked, just fill a stove firewood is enough to fire. Then, into the bowl, the chopped green and white spring onions, soaked in the old pickle soup, mixed in the elm rice; eat very smooth, but also can coax the belly.
These are the stories of my childhood, which took place in the old society and have been written in my novels.
But a decade of civil unrest saw the long-awaited elm rice reappear on the family table. Who says grass is heartless? The old elm tree came to the rescue again.
Policy is more than a year "left", food production is more than a year. More than five feet tall man, only 320 to 360 pounds of gross grain per year, grinding surface peeling, and reduce more than a dozen pounds. Big mouth, small mouth, three buckets a month, a family is considered to eat a full meal; however, half a big boy, eat poor old man, than adults can eat, rations are less than adults. Idle time to eat thin, busy time to eat dry, counting the rice grains under the pot; wait until the jellyfish (zheacute;) a Litu spring sowing season, ten families have eight households bright hoard bottom, can not open the pot. Coquettish women can't cook without rice, housekeeper can't give the children adult cake to fill the hunger; they are like hutong catching donkeys two blocking, surrounding, chasing, blocking, intercepting the party branch secretary and the captain, handheld pockets to borrow food. The branch secretary and the brigadier general were driven to desperation, and hated to be able to drill into the stove, climb out of the chimney, and escape to the sky.
Eating food depends on the collective, the collective warehouse has no particles, starving to death rats. The first thing you need to do is to get the best out of your life, and you'll be able to do it. I just hope the old elm tree will bear more elm money!
Ya Aunt has been over half a hundred years old, up the tree to climb high climb can not, but there is a daughter of two sisters, do her successor. The second sister was carrying a large basket of elm money, I have been to forty days over the noon of the people, and to give her a run for the money. I am in her favor, her family's dinner table has a pair of chopsticks, every year can eat elm rice, mix a tree full.
I have written these bitter stories into my novel.
In the spring of 1979, I corrected my "1957 problem" and returned to the city. However, every year in the late spring, I went back to the countryside to live for a long time. It is still the spring and March, 1980, not see the loss of grain, 1981, the table is rice and white flour, 1982, more wine and meat.
I don't know if I want to remember the bitter sweet, or want to play a hit of grease, I want to eat a meal of elm money again Ya Aunt and two sisters chanted. Yagu can't climb up the tree anymore, and the second sister is not willing to climb even if she can. The more I can't eat, the more I want to eat; but wear out my lips, but can't impress the two sisters. Returned to the hometown in 1981, it is the time of the ripening of elm money, but the aunt and build a new house, and to the two sisters recruited a son-in-law, double happiness, how can I clamor to eat elm money rice, to others to kill the scenery? Endure, wait for the next year! 1/21
In the spring of 1982, I rushed to the second sister's home. The second sister lives in the brick, red tile, high walls, flower gatehouse mansion, flowers and trees in the garden; gave birth to a white fat daughter, just out of the full moon. A few days in a row, chicken, duck, fish, meat, I burned my belly again. Suddenly, looked up and saw the yard behind the old elm tree is full of strings of powder a sac sac of elm money, can not help but mouth greedy up, pile up a smile timidly said: "two sister, give me a meal to do ......" two sister face frost, ruthlessly gouge out my eyes, gas puffing said: "really can't stand the crime," said. "really can not stand the crime, but there is not enjoy the blessing, you this person is born poor life!"
I know, nowadays, every family is proud to be rich, if the second sister to elm money rice guests, was seen by neighbors, not to scold her mean, but also to laugh at her small stingy child. The second sister is afraid of being poked and prodded by others, how can I give her face black?
But, the fish is fire, meat is phlegm, my appetite is lost. I didn't dare to open my mouth, who knows whether Ermeizi had looked into her eyes?
One day after lunch, I was napping in bed, and suddenly heard the second sister yelled: "Little bad gagaer, I big break your legs!" I woke up from my sleep, went out to see, only to see a few urchins climbed to the old elm tree to pull out the birds, the second sister stood under the tree holding a stick, tiger face.
Some of the children were laughing and joking, while others were wiping tears from their eyes and apologizing to the second sister. I looked at the soft heart, busy pleading on behalf of these few little bad gaga'er.
"Punish each of you to stroke a pocket of elm money!" The second sister snorted with laughter, just now it was just a fake show.
I cheered: "I can eat elm money rice today!"
"Aren't you asking me for a short?" Ermeizi put her face down again, "Where did I get cornmeal!"
Yes, the second sister's hoard, either wheat or rice; tank, either rice or white flour. And the sister's man contracted thirty acres of large fields, planted with two crops of rice and wheat, not coarse grains.
With elm and no cornmeal, I can only eat raw.
It seems that I have to say my final goodbye to elm money rice. The second sister's daughter grew up and will not be like her grandmother and mother, who had to stroke the elm money in the middle of spring to feed her.
Perhaps, the rarity of things is expensive, elm money rice because of the extremely rare, will enter Beijing's major restaurants, become a unique flavor of the delicacies.