01

I was born in a rural area in the late 1970s. Both my parents were farmers. It was still a very difficult period at that time.

My memories of childhood are already a bit blurry. Unfortunately, I have reached an age where I gradually forget some things.

The thing that impressed me the most was eating popsicles. It is like a dusty pearl, shining in my mind.

At that time, the making of popsicles was very simple. It is made of frozen sugar water, rectangular in shape, both transparent and hard. You must not eat the newly made popsicles. In fact, you cannot bite them at all. You can only slowly lick them little by little with your tongue. After a while, the tip of your tongue will turn red due to the stimulation of the ice. Numbness, fever.

I remember that at that time, I was about five or six years old. Every morning, when I open my eyes, my parents have already gone to work in the fields. I can already put on my clothes very skillfully and tie my shoelaces somewhat awkwardly. Then get off the kang and look for something to eat. In the main room of my house, there is a big pot stove. Every time I can eat hot rice warmed by my mother in the pot.

After breakfast, I will play in the house by myself and find something meaningful. For example, I would stare intently at the chicks my mother put in the box eating. They are small and tender and yellow. Sometimes I will hold them in my hand and look at them carefully. Feel their warm body temperature and whisper with them. Sometimes, the chick would flutter and fly down without any appreciation.

02

It is approaching noon, the weather is getting hotter and hotter, and the cicadas on the tree are screaming more fiercely. I walked around the yard a few times, living my own little life.

"Popsicles——, two cents each." A popsicle seller came to the village. What a seductive voice, my eyes lit up. I dropped the pebbles and some lumps of dirt I was playing with, and without thinking much, I ran into the hut and found the two cents my mother had left for me.

"Wait a minute, I'll buy popsicles." I pushed open the fence and ran out of the yard, as if I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to buy them. That was a big deal for me.

At that time, the popsicle sellers would always push an old bicycle with a foam box on the back of the bicycle to store the popsicles and prevent them from melting.

The popsicle seller handed me a popsicle with a smile, and I handed him the two cents with my body temperature in my hand. Sometimes, he would chat with me for a few words, then wipe the sweat from his head and continue selling popsicles.

I enjoyed my food to the fullest. Take a small bite first, then slurp it with your mouth. So sweet and refreshing! When I was eating to my heart's content, there were a few marks on my dirty little hands, which turned into mud!

No matter what time it is, if I hear someone selling popsicles, I will buy them. The popsicle seller always comes in anticipation of me every day.

One day at noon, my mother came home from work. Seeing me in the scorching sun, my little face turned red. He picked me up and said with both anger and distress: "Is this kid stupid? Don't you know you can buy it when it's hot at noon?" Then, my popsicle money changed from two cents to four cents.

My parents still go out early and come back late, working hard.

The countryside has undergone tremendous changes in those years. The household responsibility system was implemented. Everyone was very enthusiastic about production and their wallets gradually bulged.

I am also growing up gradually. At some point, I had forgotten the existence of the popsicle and it disappeared quietly.

There are many different styles of ice cream nowadays.

But I can’t taste that old taste anymore!