The wheat seedlings are fresh in April, and the boys carry baskets to pick elm coins. Yuqian is the seed of the elm tree. It is named because it is round and thin like a coin. And because it is a homophone for "surplus money", there is a saying that eating elm money can make you have more money.

Among the wild vegetables in spring, eucalyptus is the most delicious. In the past, there were no vendors specializing in elm coins in the market. If you wanted to eat them, you had to pick them yourself. Under the old tree, there are old women with bamboo poles to hook elm coins, and there are young men with cloth bags hanging on their chests, climbing up high trunks, and rolling out elm coins in handfuls. Up and down the trees, there was shouting and laughter. The usually deserted alley suddenly became alive. Nowadays, elm coins can be bought by the pound in small vegetable markets, which is very convenient, but the fun of picking them is gone.

Yellow money is rich in nutrients and is also a good medicine for disease prevention and health care. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that eating more elm money can help digestion and prevent constipation; elm money has the effects of relieving stranguria and eliminating dampness and heat, and can be used externally to treat stubborn diseases such as sores and tinea. Medical books also claim that Yuqian has the effects of nourishing the lungs, quenching thirst, and astringing the heart and lungs. "Dietotherapeutic Materia Medica" has a detailed record of the dietary therapeutic effects of Yu Qian: Yu Qian is slightly pungent in nature, can help lung qi, kill various insects, lower qi, make people able to eat, and eliminate bad qi in the heart and stomach. It is especially good if you take it for a long time.

In the folk, there are many ways to eat Yuqian: it can be eaten raw, cooked into porridge, steamed in a cage, or stuffed. My favorite way to eat it is to wash the elm money, remove the water, add flour and a little salt, mix well, spread it evenly on a bamboo grate, put it in a basket and steam it over a high fire, and eat it while it's hot. It tastes like wild vegetables. The fragrance hits your nostrils. Nowadays, people are full of greasy and fishy food, which is just as refreshing as a bowl of light food. Some people also add vinegar, minced garlic, sesame oil, etc. to make it taste better. But I think this dilutes the original flavor of elm money and loses the simple mountain atmosphere.

There is another way to eat it, sugar mixed with elm money. Wash and drain the tomatoes, cucumbers and orange segments; cut the tomatoes and cucumbers into thin slices with a diagonal knife and set aside; cut off the seeds from the orange segments with a knife and set aside; take a large flat plate and place the tomato slices, cucumber slices and orange segments evenly on the In the plate, put the elm money on the plate, sprinkle the sugar evenly and serve. This dish tastes sweet and fragrant, and has the effect of promoting fluid production and diuresis.

Not only the common people are interested in Yuqian, but also the literati of the past dynasties are particularly fond of it. Shi Jianwu, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, wrote "Playing in Ode to the Elm Pod": The wind blows the elm pods and falls like rain, and it goes around the forest and around the house, unable to stay. I know you can't bear to return to the restaurant, and you have no place to teach barbarians. Ouyang Xiu, a great writer in the Song Dynasty, left behind a poem after he finished eating Yuqian porridge. Guo Cheng, a poet of the Qing Dynasty, praised it in "Elm Pod Soup": From the bottom, the salted plum blossoms enter the green freshness, and the elm wind blows away the evening kitchen smoke. Picking a cup of tea and telling the wife of the mountain that one chopstick can really make a meal worth ten thousand yuan refers to the taste of elm money.

The elm trees in my hometown’s yard are now producing bunches of plump, green elm money. The spring breeze blows, and there is a faint fragrance floating around. The whole courtyard is filled with the smell of elm money, which is friendly, fresh and the smell of childhood. I looked up inadvertently and found that the neighbor's child had climbed up the elm tree at some point and was picking off elm coins one after another with his fat little hands.

Now, as a kind of wild vegetable, the value of Yuqian has doubled. Spring is warm and the flowers are blooming. Everyone goes out for an outing and picks some elm leaves to eat. It not only makes you happy but also helps you exercise. This way you can avoid going to the hospital. Why not?