When I was a child, I lived in my grandmother's house for a while. Every holiday, my cousin would take me to fish in the river and climb the tree to pick apples. On one occasion, my brother took me to the vegetable field and picked cucumbers and tomatoes at will. Later, he was found to have run to my grandmother's house and accused us of "crimes". It was my cousin who took all the mistakes. Of course, he was also beaten and punished.

Every year, Grandpa will plant a beautiful flower around the horse-blocking wall of the pit yard, which is yellow and orange. He will sit in the pit yard and look at the sky and the flowers fluttering with the wind. It is very beautiful. Grandpa said that this orange flower is for viewing, only yellow flowers can be eaten, and I didn't know its name-day lily until I grew up.

? This time is the best memory of my childhood.

? When I grow up, I seldom see this kind of flower again. Once, the writer teacher Mo Bai said that his hometown was full of day lilies. With this memory, we came to Huaiyang, the hometown of day lily in China.

Daylily is a unique species in China, with a planting history of more than two thousand years. The day lily in Huaiyang has seven pistils, which is the best day lily. As early as the Han dynasty, it was famous all over the country and became a pilgrimage tribute. When Su Shi, a great writer in the Song Dynasty, went to Chen Zhou (Huaiyang was called Chen Zhou in ancient times) for an outing, he compensated Huaiyang for the day lily, and wrote a beautiful sentence in Su Po Pavilion, Chen Zhou, "There is no treasure in a farmer's house, and yellow flowers everywhere are golden hairpin", which was highly praised.

at dawn, we came to Zhang Qiao village, Cai Zhen, a day lily planting base of Huaiyang Jinnong Industrial Co., Ltd., and the villagers were racing against time to pick the endless fragrant day lily fields.

The daylily we eat is actually an unopened bud. Day lily blooms in midsummer every year. When picking day lily, the best quality can be guaranteed when the day lily is about to bloom. Every picking is a race against time. Secretary Zhang of the village committee said: In ancient China, daylily has always been a symbol of children's affection for their mothers, and its status is comparable to that of carnations now, and it is the mother flower of China. "but how much love has the inch-long grass, reported three Chunhui", that is, day lily. After telling the story, he also showed us the unique seven cores of Huaiyang day lily.

Since ancient times, daylily has been regarded as a precious table treasure. It is cool and sweet, and has the functions of clearing away heat and diuresis, invigorating spleen and appetizing, relaxing muscles and tendons, stopping bleeding and relieving annoyance. It is rich in nutrition, containing 1.5 times as much protein, fat, calcium and iron as spinach, and 1 times more vitamins than cabbage. It is also rich in minerals.

The harvested buds should be cooked immediately, otherwise, the flowers will still bloom, and the day lily steamed in the farmer's pot tastes the best. After steaming, the color of the yellow flower becomes darker. After several days of drying, the delicious day lily can be listed. This traditional technology has gradually disappeared in the rural areas where labor is scarce at present, and it has been replaced by a processing method of adding various additives to fumigate and prevent corrosion. Now, it is not easy to eat the original day lily.

Land can always give people hope, but it needs the hard work of human beings. This time, I would like to thank Yuan Lixing of Huaiyang CPPCC, Yuan Dongsheng of Huaiyang Photographers Association, Zhang Huawei, the inheritor of Huaiyang clay dog, and other teachers for their contact and leadership. When Dashu returned to his hometown, every kind of folk food has the contribution of friends from different regions. This is another deep search and return, and I wish Huaiyang day lily can get better and better, and it can really be well-deserved as a national geographical indication protection product.

? Brief introduction of the author

Zhang Jiao, founder of Dashu Space, documentary director and advocate of intangible cultural heritage protection.

?

? Brief introduction to the photo author

Yuan Dongsheng, a member of China Portrait Photography Association and China Photography Copyright Association, is currently a member of the 13th Committee of Huaiyang County of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and vice chairman of Huaiyang Photographers Association. Most of his photos are documentary about the natural scenery and humanities in his hometown, and many of his works have been published in national and provincial media.