-01- During the Qingming Festival, I went home to visit tombs and worship ancestors. Taking advantage of the April weather in the world, I could let out the long-suppressed mood of city life in the breeze of the hills, and enjoy the colorful spring scenery.

When staying in the mountains, people are always easily moved by the scenery. A grass, a wild flower or even a ray of sunshine can bring back childhood memories, and then linger in simple happiness and savor the beauty of time.

Especially when I was visiting Taizu's grave, I found large tracts of mugwort under the tea tree. I couldn't help but lower my head, push aside the grass and cut it out one by one, as if I wanted to capture every bit of the past.

I remembered the fun of playing Youth League with my mother and sister when I was a child, and the fragments of life in which neighbors lived in harmony around the bluestone alley in my hometown.

It is said that good neighbors are relatives cultivated from previous lives, and this saying is not true at all.

At that time, my hometown was a very large village, with one side facing the mountains and the other facing the sea. It had a real artistic conception of facing the sea with spring flowers blooming. The people in the village were very simple, working in farming and fishing in the sea.

There are more than a dozen families living in the alley where we are. The parents are of the same age, and the children are also of the same age.

Xu got married and had children at about the same age, and lived together for many years. In my impression, their relationship was like that of brothers and sisters, with mutual respect, love, and mutual help.

So this is a loving alley. The relationship between neighbors is particularly good, and the friendship between children is particularly innocent. It is the kind of mutual love that is difficult to encounter again in the reinforced concrete jungle of the city.

At that time, although the materials were poor and the money was not much, the people were rich and sophisticated. There may be few icing on the cake, but the warmth of providing help in times of need will definitely not be absent.

-02- People here always greet each other warmly and politely, regardless of whether they are old or young. They always come forward without saying a word when someone needs help. They always sit together in the alley when night falls.

We can chat happily, and we will talk about how the farmers' vegetables in the fields are growing, and how much fish, shrimp and shells are harvested in the sea.

Sometimes when there are no children present, we will make a few jokes about the couple's affairs, and also talk about who among us children has done the most ugly things.

People living here have a feeling that no matter how cold the winter is, when everyone gets together, it is as warm as spring in March. For this reason, the alley is also called Nuanxiang.

I remember that it was also a time like this. During the Qingming rain, the hostesses of each family would take their children to the nearby fields to pick various wild vegetables. They were also most enthusiastic about picking some mugwort to take home, either drying it in the sun to make medicine or steaming it on the stove.

Make snacks in between.

At that time, the alley will be filled with the aroma of mugwort leaves and the fragrant smell of rice noodles being steamed in a hot pot. Then someone will move out a few tables and chairs and put them in an open space for everyone to sit in groups.

Come down, grab a handful of yellow pine flowers in your hand, sprinkle them on the table, and use your skillful hands to make steaming green dumplings.

Neighboring grandmothers and grandfathers would also come hearing the sound, leaning on crutches and smiling at the children playing.

When evening comes, smoke rises from the chimneys of each house, and soon a variety of dishes, including seafood and crops, will be placed on the dinner table.

Our small children are always sent by their respective mothers to deliver extra portions to nearby neighbors, and each time they deliver, they will bring back some delicious food accordingly.

This time is very much like the scene in the Korean drama "Reply 1988", the friendly relationship between several neighbors living in the alley of Ssangmundong.

Like the Deshan family, the Shanshan family, the Zhenghuan family, the Aze family, and the Bayu family, they interpret the love and warmth of the years.

Not relatives are better than relatives.

-3- After returning from the tomb sweeping this time, my aunts and I also picked a lot of mugwort, and then called my aunt and asked her to make Qingtuan together.

During the production process, the nearby neighbors came to help. Some helped to watch the heat, some made green balls together in the stone mortar, some sat down around the table and glued the shapes, and some made the balls on the tabletop covered with pine flowers.

Each semi-finished product is pressed into a round green dough.

Hidden in the mottled sunlight on the bluestone wall are the softest moments deep in my memory.

During this period, my sister asked me: Sister, why do so many neighbors come to help us when we are in the Youth League?

Besides, we are our aunt's nieces, and they are our aunt's neighbors and are not familiar with us. The one who beats the youth league in the stone mortar does all the physical work of hammering and hammering, but why are they rushing to help?

What a simple passion.

I say this is a matter of affection. No one rushes to do things after eating and has nothing to do. It is nothing more than the accumulated neighborly relationship and the help that comes from loving the house.

It is the fusion of years after living together, and it is also the true meaning of the saying that distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors. It is more like the tacit understanding after being together for decades, and the gestures and gestures have long been far better than many relatives who appear to be distant but are distant.