These photos of Weibei slopes after returning farmland to forests were taken after I returned to my hometown from 2009 to 2011. These photos taken are all saved in the Renren photo album, but unfortunately Renren cannot be opened now. The articles I wrote on Renren before were no

Weibei slopes after returning farmland to forests

These photos were taken after I returned to my hometown between 2009 and 2011. These photos taken are all saved in the Renren photo album, but unfortunately Renren cannot be opened now. The articles I wrote on Renren before were not rescued. Only these pictures were rescued. It’s a pity and sad!

At that time, I had not come to Baoji and worked in Huaiya, Mei County. During the twenty-three years I worked in Huaiya, under normal circumstances, if there was nothing special to disturb me, I would go back to my hometown Dujia Village every Saturday. Firstly, my parents are at home and I should go home often. Secondly, I should go home and take a look at the slopes, land and water in the village. This is good, because I originally like the countryside and the mountains and rivers in the countryside. , every plant and tree, I feel very kind; I already hate the tall buildings in the city, the flowing vehicles, and the day and night life!

's home is at the foot of the Weibei plateau, backed by the thick and simple plateau. Don't underestimate the Weibei Plateau. The Weibei Plateau is part of the Loess Plateau. This is the place with the deepest loess distribution in the world. The famous Loess Plateau appears prominently in high school geography textbooks, with a special chapter introducing it. The source of loess was analyzed and explained in the textbook, but I did not agree with the explanation of the source of loess in the textbook, so I wrote an exploratory article and posted it on the public account, which was later forwarded by , an print media. There is no need to dwell on the source of loess here.

In the south, especially in Yunnan and Guangxi, the soil is red, very sticky, and is acidic soil containing iron. High school geography textbooks say that such soil is very suitable for growing tea. The movies " Five Golden Flowers " and "Liu Sanjie" reflect things in Yunnan and Guangxi. There are stories about mining iron ore for iron making and tea picking; the Northeast belongs to black soil, and high school geography textbooks describe the soil quality of the Northeast. It has also been analyzed that the black soil rich in humus is suitable for growing food, so Northeast China has always been our country's big granary. The old movie "The New Story of Veterans" talks about developing Beidahuang and planting wheat . The loess in Guanzhong, Shaanxi Province, has a special soil quality, hard but brittle. It is as hard as iron when it is sunny, and muddy water flows when it rains. Soil and water loss is serious, and loess slopes in particular are simply not suitable for developing crops. But at that time, "taking grain as the key link" was advocated, and the land that could grow food should be grown in food, and the land that could not be grown in food should also be developed to grow food. As a result, soil erosion on the north slope became increasingly serious, and it caused conflicts among the production teams. strife.

At that time, I was in junior high school at Chequan Middle School. Chequan Middle School is located on a hillside at the foot of Weibei Plateau. The school has no courtyard walls, just a few houses with brick and earth-wood structures, lonely on the desolate slope between the third and fourth teams of the Cycling Team. Farmers were harvesting wheat on extremely steep slopes, and we could see it clearly while sitting in the classroom. One year, members of the third team and members of the fourth team had a quarrel over cutting wheat. It turned out that the upper half of the slope was allocated to the fourth team, and the lower half was allocated to the third team. Due to the rain, a large area of ​​the slope slid down, and large areas of the slope ground of the fourth team slid down to the ground of the third team. When harvesting wheat, the members of the third team harvested the wheat planted by the fourth team that had fallen to the ground in their own team, and a fight broke out.

The fruit tree plot on the north slope of my house

As for such a special soil quality and such a large slope, what should be planted? In fact, our ancestors did a good job growing alfalfa . Alfalfa is different from other plants. Other plants are harvested and planted every time, but alfalfa is a perennial drought-tolerant plant. It can thrive no matter how dry it is. Another characteristic of alfalfa is that it is perennial, so it is cut again and again. Young alfalfa is a very good vegetable, and farmers like to eat it. When alfalfa grows, it becomes a good green fodder for livestock. The large livestock in the production team all like to eat alfalfa.Alfalfa is firmly rooted in the loess, with dense stems and leaves above it, which can well retain water and soil and prevent soil erosion. In the 1990s, the country put forward the initiative of "rebuilding a Northwest China with beautiful mountains and rivers", returning farmland to forests, planting trees and grass on all land unsuitable for growing food, and restoring the damaged natural ecology. Villagers have basically replanted some sloping land that is not suitable for growing food with alfalfa or drought-tolerant fruit trees.

My family contracted a large piece of wasteland on the north slope and planted fruit trees, mainly persimmon trees and walnut trees. The woods above the picture belong to my family, and they seem to be growing well. These economic fruit trees not only increase the income of villagers, but also play a role in preserving soil and water and beautifying the environment.

In the past few years, every time after returning home, I always liked to go wandering around in the wild when I had nothing to do. One time when I went home, my mother said to me, now that the persimmons are ripe, you should go to the persimmon forest on the north slope. There are a lot of soft persimmons!

I am very happy to hear this. I like to eat persimmons. After breakfast, we walked along the winding path to the north slope. Looking from a distance, it is a dark green area. The loess that was still exposed in May is now invisible at all, and the entire northern slope has become soft and pleasant. . . . . . When you come to the edge of the forest, the branches and leaves are dense. When entering the ground, you need to carefully and gently push aside the branches. Large ripe persimmons also fell on the ground in the persimmon forest.

The persimmon tree is not very tall, but it bears many fruits. I ate one, two, or three. . . . . . I ate six large persimmons in total. They were ice-sweet and really enjoyable.

I was eating and looking at it. This barren slope that used to be bare and worthless could actually grow such sweet fruits; this yellow slope with exposed loess and continuous slurry and rocks could also become so dark green. So endearing. It seems that there is really nothing superfluous in this world, it just depends on how people use it. God created this world, He did not create useless things. Even if some things are not useful now, they will be of great use in the future, although I can't see their value yet. I think if everyone has seen its value, I'm afraid it's already too late, isn't it?

People north of the Wei River and below the plateau bury their deceased elderly people on this barren slope where crops can't grow. I originally thought that this barren slope of loess mixed with mortar stones was just a cemetery for burying people, and I didn't expect it to have such a use. The originally exposed grave mound is now hidden under a patch of green, much like a specially planned cemetery. Looking at a place not far away, there lies the deceased old man in the village. Among the lush pines and cypresses, tombstones are looming. These dead souls may not have thought that their resting place would become so quiet, lush and charming. . . . . .

When I went home this time, I looked at the photos I took in the past. Facing the photos triggers some memories and feelings. I took a break from my busy schedule and typed out this bunch of words at will.

June 30, 2022

A persimmon tree on the north slope