There is a taste of the world, and the joy of the world is
The autumn wind blows, and the sky is getting cooler. I sent my child back to school and met a small market. There is a stall selling shrimp paste on the west end of the market, with more than a dozen bottles of packaged shrimp paste. An old man was sitting leisurely wearing a baseball cap, browsing videos on his mobile phone, waiting for customers to come.
As I remember, at this time of autumn harvest in previous years, our family had already started eating steamed shrimp paste. While steaming buns in a large iron pot, we also steamed a large bowl of shrimp paste, so we didn’t have to cook for a day. We finished our meal in a hurry and went to the field to break corn on the cobs, pick up cotton, and cut beans. After communicating with the old man selling goods, he said in a strong Zhanhua accent, "I made this my own good shrimp paste. I was afraid that the wind would get into the dust and was unhygienic, so I put it in the bottle in advance." I said, I don’t want red shrimp paste, but purple shrimp paste. He said, I didn’t expect you to be so young and you are quite versatile. Our terrible sauce is even more fragrant than good shrimp sauce.
shrimp paste is very popular among people from the villages in northern Shandong. There are many ways to eat shrimp paste. You can steam it with steamed buns; you can also beat eggs, add green chili or dried chili to stir-fry; you can also add chopped green onion and spread it into salty food with batter. When we were a child, our family often ate shrimp paste, and I gradually learned to steam shrimp paste. There are also many ways to make steamed shrimp paste. Different people have different hobbies and flavors (some put eggs, some put tofu). Our family usually adds more chopped green onions, beats two fresh eggs, adds a few spoonful of oil, and adds less shrimp paste. Because too much shrimp paste is added, it is easy to be too salty, causing adults and children to cough. Steamed shrimp paste mainly tastes shrimp paste. After boiling the pot, steam it for about ten minutes and it will be ready to be served.
When I was a child, my house was built and the wall was built. Neighbors and uncles came to help me. Frying egg and shrimp paste was a dish. If we find a few small crabs in the steamed shrimp paste, the brother and sister will show each other... I remembered a joke from the villagers, flashlights are also home appliances, and shrimp paste is also seafood, and I can't help crying. After breaking a steamed bun and picking up a chopstick of shrimp paste, homesickness surged into my heart.
This scene often occurs in my dreams: under the dim oil lamp, my father, sister, aunt and grandma, I and I ate supper around the big pot. A shallow yellow-skinned steamed bun, a bowl of steamed shrimp paste, a plate of shredded radish, and a pot of cornmeal sweet potato porridge...
02
. It is the most beautiful thing.
these days, early in the morning and evening, I always encounter several turtledoves under the Paulownia tree at the entrance of the community. One of them was relatively small and often flew to the roof of my storage room, staying for a few minutes before flying away. The child asked me curiously, "Dad, is that the one that was released from our family?" I replied with a smile, "It should be. Why don't you come here every day?"
The story has to start from this spring. On the tenth day of the first lunar month, my wife and I took our children to Lijia Village, Haosheng Street, Zouping to visit relatives. We picked up an injured turtledove on the small hill east of Mianshan Temple. I don’t know why I couldn’t fly, and the hair on my tail was basically gone. I was afraid that I could not support it, so I hesitated whether to care. But the child likes birds and insists on taking them home to raise them. So, I took a schoolbag from the car and took it home carefully. I used a plastic basket of fruits at home to make a temporary bird cage, and prepared corn kernels, lunch boxes and water cups.
Like many boys, I have been curious about various birds that can fly since I was a child, such as swallows, who flew to the south for winter and flew back in spring. How did it find our village and how did it find its original bird's nest? Is the swallow flying into the house the swallow that last year? "The Book of Songs: Shang Song: Xuanniao" says: "The Xuanniao is born in heaven and descended to give birth to Shang." According to legend, Jiandi swallowed swallow eggs and gave birth to Shang's ancestor Qi, so the Yin people regarded swallows as clan totems and worshipped all kinds of birds. They believe that they have wings, can go to heaven or stand on the ground, are messengers and agents of God who can bring the will of heaven. To this day, many people still believe that birds have birds singing, hoping to understand their language and know more secrets.
When I was a child, every spring and summer when the leaves of the trees grow very densely, I could hear the "cucking" sounds on the big trees and on the roofs not far away in the village. I always thought it was the pigeons from my neighbor's house calling. In late autumn, I also encountered a turtle dove in the wild who died of eating pesticide wheat seeds mixed with pesticides. I asked the adults what this is, and the villagers said it was a "wild pigeon".
In my spare time, I like to observe it quietly up close, with beautiful feathers and beautiful eyes. When feeding and pouring water for it, it was not afraid, staring at me with its small eyes tilted and its neck tilted. It is very different from pigeons. First, the pointed mouth is not as wide as the pigeons; secondly, the feathers are mainly gray-brown, unlike pigeons, some are white and some are flowers, and they are all kinds of. To feed it better, I always use pointed-nosed pliers to break the corn kernels first and throw them into that small iron box. I also often take advantage of the opportunity of morning exercise to pick up corn kernels dropped by the truck on the side of the road. Dabao said, "Dad, you make the turtle dove almost turn into a big turtle dove." Even though I had a period of time, I sent a WeChat message to my child every day: Don't forget to feed the little turtle dove.
One day in July, I woke up at noon and heard the turtle doves chirping on the balcony. I heard that the sound was not one, so I gently pushed open the door. It turned out that there were several turtle doves calling it on the big poplar trees in the community, singing and reciprocating. After talking to my wife in the evening, I decided to let it fly the next morning. When I opened the window and saw it flying happily to the big tree opposite, I felt moved and reluctant to leave.
In 2022, the most beautiful thing is to meet the turtle dove, meet the turtle dove, and have a good friend who can fly.
Author: Xiwang Sugar Industry Wang Dongliang
Yidian No. Sugar Industry Qingfeng
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