Talk about the Ox in the Year of the Ox.
Compared with other animals, cattle are hardworking and docile domestic animals. They cultivate fields and build land, and farmers work hard, and cattle are the most important assistant. The cattle are closest to the countryside plants, trees, insects, fish, grains, vegetables, melons and fruits, and many things are given the image of the cattle. It can be said that the people in my hometown have deep feelings for the cow. As the Year of the Ox is approaching, I suddenly remembered many things and places related to cattle on Chongming Island, which are both vivid and interesting.
1. Cattle foot stains
"When the cow is plowing or trampling the ground, it walks in a straight line. Within one step, there are four foot stains. At the end of a material field, when the cow changes direction, there will be more than a dozen foot stains left. The cow foot stains are half a foot deep. Compared with a farming season, every cow foot stain that farmers can see is left in the previous season, the only and the last." This is written by Mr. Wu Jianguo in a beautiful article about "cow foot stains" in the " Changxing Island Collection" series.
ox foot stains are the footprints of cows. On the field roads, rice fields and mudflats on the island, you can often see concave ox foot stains, pushing away the surrounding new soil. Some cow's feet were covered with clear water, some were covered with weeds, and even one or two snails were climbed into.
"When working in Changxing Island, when you are thirsty, find a cow's foot stain, push away the crops or grass around you, kneel on the ground with your knees, hold your hands on both sides of the cow's foot stain, lower your head. At this moment, the cow's foot stain is filled with a blue sky, and there are also white clouds... Among the floating pollen grass seeds, put your mouth close to you and sucked a few big mouthfuls, and drank the water in the cow's foot stain, the blue sky, white clouds and pollen grass seeds into your body!" The poetic words allow us to see the spring hidden in the cow's foot stains.
The deepest impression of cow's feet is that when I was a child, I was playing in the rice fields and accidentally fell into the cow's feet stains left when I was plowing. I staggered back and leaned back into the rice fields. The mud and water poured into my nostrils and mouth, like a mud monkey, in a mess. This really corresponds to a saying: If a person is unlucky, he can flood his feet. Now there is no scene of old ox plowing the land, and the ox horn stains are only left in memory.
2. Niuta scattered
Food writer Shen Jialu said, "Emoji beans are better, and their fragrance, glutinous and soft are better than their kind." Chongming Island is a place where Niuta scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scattered scatter
The ox tread flat particles are oblong and flat, and the shape is as flat as the soles of the cow's feet, just like the one who is accidentally stomped by a cow. The saying "the ox tread flat" is really vivid.
ox treads are late edamame, and usually the pods mature in September and October, just in time for the Mid-Autumn Festival. The highlight of the 10th month of August is after dinner. The whole family sat together, and the table was filled with boiled taro, edamame, and longevity fruits. The beef tread is the first choice variety. Cut off the sharp corners of the bean pods, wash them, put them in a wok, and cook them in salt water. The ox tread has large pellets, and squishy edamames are slightly pursed on both lips, and the glutinous and crispy edamames are in their mouths, with a slightly sweet taste. There is also a steamed crab with a steamed bacon, and a layer of full beef slabs are laid below, which makes this dish with meat and vegetables feel ground-like.
After leaving my hometown, I rarely eat authentic beef squids, so I often think of its taste, which is really a lingering taste.
3. oxen horn melon
Early summer and early autumn, other in the field gradually fell into the market, and oxen horn melon ripened at this time.
Ox horn melon is a type of vegetable melon. It is named after its thick stem and a small handle as thin as a cow horn. It is also called beef leg melon because it is thick like a cow shank. In the Chongming dialect, there is no saying of melon or cantaloupe, and it is all called vegetable melon. Its great name is recorded in the earliest existing Ming Dynasty Zhengde's "Chongming County Chronicles·Properties".
In the countryside, there may be a vegetable melon field in a piece of cotton field or corn field. When farmers plant cotton, they put the melon seeds in the cotton seeds and sprinkle them into the fields. Plant vegetable melons at the bottom, and grow cotton or corn on top, each with its own length. In summer, the cotton has not bloomed yet, but the cauliflower is ripe.
Most Chongming vegetable melons are nearly round, with the exception of the cow horn melon. One of them is slightly thin and the other is slightly thick, and it is curved like a cow horn. When eating, you can directly chew with your small head. The ox horn melon has green skin, the flesh and chain are blue-white, and its appearance is solid, and the shadow of the ox can be seen faintly.
oxen horn melon is not a vegetable melon with high sweetness, but it is crispy, thick and juicy, and has a large size. Its ripening period is late until the high autumn, when other vegetable melons have fallen into the market, the cow horn melon is just enough to make up for the shortage. Although it is a light sweet, it seems to be rare and precious.
4. Niu Peng Town and Niu Peng Port
"Winter cows need to be nested, spring cows need to be exposed", the nest is the nest, which refers to the cattle, the shed for raising cattle. The place where the cowshed gathers becomes the place name.
There are two places named "Niu Peng" in Chongming. Niu Peng Town and Niu Peng Port. At first glance, the names are similar. I think they are in the same place. In fact, they are eight feet away. They are located at the westmost and easternmost end of the island respectively. "Niu Peng Port" is located in the northwest of Chongming, the northern end of Yuejin Farm, and is an earlier ferry dedicated to Haimen, Jiangsu. "Chongming County Chronicles" records that "Niupenggang Ferry was moved from Cangfang Port in 1970 and crossed with Haimen Qinglong Port ."
One year, we had to visit relatives at Haimen, and finally arrived at Niupenggang Wharf and started queuing up for the boat. The first time we saw a car, we could get on the boat. I thought Haimen was far away, but I saw it as far away as I could see on the other side. I got on the boat and arrived at Qinglong Port on the other side in less than half an hour's voyage. It turns out that the distance is not Haimen, but our Chongming Island. It is too long from east to west.
Niu Peng Port back then was a channel from the island to the outside world. People set out from here to Qidong, Haimen Qidong, across the river, looking for opportunities and realizing their dreams. People come back from here and return to their hometown to relieve their strong homesickness. It has been 15 years since Niupeng Port Wharf stopped sailing. In the vast sea, the wharf is like a retired old ship, more like an old ox, standing upright on the riverside in the northwest of Chongming Island.
So, what about Niu Peng Town?
There is no longer the name Niu Peng Town on the Chongming map now. This small town named after its concentration of cowsheds is located in the northeastern part of the island. It belongs to the Yu'an People's Commune established in the 1950s. The commune is located in the cowshed, so it is simply called "Niufeng Town". It was then changed to a township and then a township was revoked to build a township. Perhaps because the name "Niufeng" is too popular, the older generation still follows the old title.
Once on a whim, I drove to Yu'an Town . Looking around, there was no trace of Niupeng Town decades ago. There were beautiful villas on both sides of the road, and the farmhouses in the distance were also buildings. Time passes by like a flash of time. Here, the changes that happened in the former Niu Peng Town can be described as earth-shaking. It really has changed the world!
column editor: Shen Yilun Text editor: Shen Yilun Picture editor: Xu Jiamin
Picture source: Visual China
Source: Author: Shi Min
