No woman is as clear as water like you - Green Papaya

Author: Zhu Qianhua

In my garden, there is a papaya tree, those papayas , hanging on the tree one by one. Ripe papaya has a light yellow color. It tastes so sweet...

——Excerpted from the Vietnamese movie "The Taste of Green Papaya" (directed by Chen Yingxiong)

The first time I knew about green papaya was before I came to the south. At that time, I was crazy about the great Vietnamese director Chen Yingxiong. "The Taste of Green Papaya" left me spellbound. So I tried my best to find all of Chen Yingxiong's movies, including "Tricycle Driver" starring Tony Leung, and "Taste of Summer". He is indeed a master director, I am convinced. Except for Cameron in Hollywood, there is no master director who has made me so awe-inspiring as Chen Yingxiong. In addition, I am also a big fan of his wife Liu Yanhe. When Chen Yingxiong makes movies, he likes to use his wife Liu Yanhe as the heroine. Ms. Liu has a very good temperament, reserved, elegant, and a typical oriental beauty. In my eyes, only Kurihara Komaki can compare with her. There are not many women like this. It easily reminds me of the tropical plant papaya tree. Before going to the South, I tasted the taste of green papaya thousands of times in my mind. How strange. There is such a woman in the film, coupled with the light green color, it is really refreshing and ecstatic. Just like the tropical plants, they grow happily, but what you see in your eyes is full of green, which melts directly into your heart, like a cup of coolness.

This is a poetic movie. Those soft and clear pictures are flowing with deep and shallow greens, and thick milky white papaya juice is slowly dripping down. White porcelain, palm flowers, green lotus leaves, green frogs, and large tropical green plants. The house is old-style, like old-style buildings in southern China. In a corner of the courtyard, the clear sunlight poured down like water, shining on the green leaves of the papaya tree. Green papaya hangs quietly through the leaves, the water is green. The maid cut a green papaya from the tree. The milky white papaya juice slowly seeps out, drips down, and falls on the green leaves. One drop, another drop.

"The Taste of Green Papaya" is very peaceful. It was so quiet that only the sound of the green papaya growing quietly remained. Elegant, beautiful, and eloquent, it makes people feel tender and watery. The flavor of green papaya comes first from the color of the painting. There are very few bright reds and purples, and the colors in many pictures are cool, cyan, and quiet. Chen Yingxiong only scooped a few ladles of water and picked a few green papayas, and he let "Plum" grow from a girl to a woman. A green papaya creates a beautiful Vietnam. At that time, I fell in love with green papaya, fell in love with Vietnam, and eagerly yearned for exotic customs like Meigong River and Saigon. Of course, this has something to do with reading Duras at that time. Because of Chen Yingxiong and Duras, these places are destined to have a variety of charms and unspeakable scenery and ambiguity.

Mei is the maid in this old house. She often walked under the tree in the clear morning light to watch the ants busy. She tilted her head to look, and smiled softly as she was fascinated by the thought. Most of the time she was working, making fires, cleaning vegetables, washing clothes, mopping the floor, and was bullied by her boss's young master. She has black soft hair. Her habitual action is to wipe the sweat and wipe all the hard work into the few strands of hair on her forehead. Outside the window, the chirping of frogs and cicadas is endless, and the days are leisurely. Finally one day, a person discovered her gentle and tender youth, as well as her quiet beauty. The green papaya had just been picked, and after being cut open, there was a scoop full of crystal clear seeds inside. The afternoon sun is filled with the faint aroma of green papaya. Outside the window are lush leaves, sunlight leaking from the branches, mixed with whispers. The days flowed quietly under the papaya tree. The story is over. In fact, the story doesn't have any major ups and downs. It's like an old man reminiscing about the past. He talks for a while, pauses, intermittently, and is a little blurry in the middle. Then he slowly remembers it again.

After coming to the south, I couldn’t wait to see the green papayas. One evening while walking with my lover, I happened to pass by a small courtyard and finally saw the green papaya I had longed for. There was no one in the courtyard. Three papaya trees. The tree is not tall, and there are many green and plump green papayas clustered on the trunk. Close to the railing, but no one picked it. He stared at his lover for a long time before leaving.

The next morning, the sun was very bright. I came to this small courtyard alone. I told the owner that I wanted a green papaya. The owner looked at me suspiciously. I said I only wanted one. The owner didn't ask me what it was used for. He pointed out to me readily and said that one was seven years old and could be cut. I took out my knife and gently cut off one.

In an instant, milky white sap oozed from the cut on the tree, slowly condensed, and then dripped onto the green leaves. From under the tree, I saw the leaf covered with sunshine. The leaves were clear and transparent, and the milky white juice moved slowly in the green. Crazy to watch. He didn't come back to his senses for a long time.

In the days that followed, I became irresistibly interested in papaya. I became addicted and ate one or two papayas every day. So my lover bought ten catties at a time and kept them. I often sit on the sofa and watch her cut the papaya. She is not tall. But the look in her eyes while cutting the melon, coupled with her long shawl hair that swayed from time to time, made me feel a kind of tenderness and trance. Daily chores, done so quietly and immersed in them with all your heart, can actually be so interesting. At that moment, I had the urge to walk over and hug her from behind.

Cut the papaya in half and you can see the seeds. Papaya seeds are very cute, like black pearls, a nest full of them. I couldn't help but hold a few pills in my hand, squeeze them once, and then throw them away if they were not too hard. I feel like it's a pity to throw it away. Later, every time I cut the melon open, I could always see clusters of black pearls. Every time I threw it away, I always had to look at it carefully. There is always a feeling of regret in my heart, even though I know there is no use keeping it. But I saw that Chen Yingxiong made the melon seeds white in "The Taste of Green Papaya". As exquisite and clear as jade, the slender and gentle fingers gently toyed with the melon seeds, with a smile on the corner of the mouth. Such a nest of shining white jade, spotless, so cute. Are there really pure white papaya seeds? I asked several people, but they all couldn't explain. Maybe this is because artists are different, they always make people feel novel. Just like the heroine casually throws a look at us, it makes us feel the joy of meeting and the longing for a kind of life. It was a soft and warm feeling. The pulp of papaya is soft and sweet. Eat papaya with a spoon. With a gentle spoonful, you will get a golden ball that fills your cheeks and melts in your mouth, making you feel the lingering warmth and beauty.

I actually ate green papaya at a party. Three friends, Yantong, Lulu, and Wang Bing. There is a lot of food on the table. There is green papaya served cold. Wash the papaya and remove a thin layer of green skin to reveal the white flesh. Cut into shreds, put them in boiling water, and drop into the blue and white porcelain plate. There is a small plate with a light sauce on the side. Mix it with rice vinegar, minced red pepper, minced garlic, etc., sprinkle it with a spoonful, and you will have a cool and refreshing delicacy, red and white, how can you not love it? The slight sour, sweet, spicy and salty flavor blends in your mouth, making it crunchy. Drink beer, talk poetry, and eat green papaya. The flesh of the melon is crystal clear and the taste is clear and crispy, perfect for drinking. They didn't know it was my first time eating it. I am not humble, I have had a good taste. The mouth is full of the faint fragrance of green papaya.

Another way to make papaya is to make soup. Papaya stewed with snow clam is a reserved brand of various restaurants in the south. Snow clams are very valuable. It is said to be produced in Tianchi, Changbai Mountain, Jilin Province, and was originally used by the ancient palace. I have eaten papaya stewed with snow clam several times. The Mingyuan Hotel is quite delicious and I go there often with my wife. The method is: choose good papaya and snow clam. Soak the snow clams for a day first. Lay the papaya flat, cut the top third, remove the seeds, put the snow clam into the papaya, add appropriate amount of rock sugar and water. Put into pot. Steam. Just half an hour. When it was served to the table, the golden papaya was filled with white snow clams. The soup is translucent, like misty clouds. Give a spoonful to your mouth, and it will be fragrant. The unique deliciousness and texture of snow clams linger on the tip of the tongue for a long time.

I experienced happiness throughout the summer of 2006 in the South. This feeling reminds me of the plum in "The Taste of Green Papaya". She was most beautiful when she finished working hard every day and poured water over her hair, with bright water flowing down her slender and smooth neck. I'm still in the South. We are close to that green papaya country. Very close. It’s only a day’s bus ride away. On a warm morning, I arrived in Saigon. I searched the streets in Chen Yingxiong Duras's dream. I have always wanted to find that old house with green papaya trees planted in the yard. Suddenly, in the flower window of Saigon's old courtyard, I saw the plum-like woman. She was looking back at the wind in the courtyard, her expression as calm as flowing clouds and flowing water, and the sun was shining all around her. Green papayas hang all over the courtyard.

Green papaya. Warm air. Sunlight. A warm and romantic country. I know this is a dream. It’s not bad to have dreams. When I woke up from the dream, I secretly thought about it in my heart.