In spring, there are many tender yellow hairy buds on the bare branches, which grow up gradually with the warming of the weather, round and plump, shiny and smooth, and green. When clusters of small yellow flowers are gone, many round green little persimmon hangs among the green leaves.
Not all little persimmon can grow up. Many little persimmon can't help falling to the ground, just like green and round pearls, which bring a lot of fun to children playing.
In summer, persimmon trees are flourishing, and little persimmon grows up day by day, covered with branches. Those thick and bright persimmons are flourishing in Harrison, providing abundant nutrition for countless fruits.
"Walnuts in July, pears in August, and persimmons in September." Entering the lunar calendar in September, the autumn wind is cool, and the blue fruit on the persimmon tree gradually turns from green to yellow, first light yellow, then golden yellow, and finally orange. Green leaves, golden fruits, when the wind blows, branches shake and brushes ring. There are some sweet-scented osmanthus in full bloom in the yard. Looking at the harvest scenery and smelling the faint fragrance of osmanthus, it is really refreshing.
After a few days, the leaves gradually turned yellow, while the persimmons gradually turned orange-red and finally red. Persimmons are red, that is, they are ripe and can be eaten, but for some reason, few people in the community pick them. I think there are two reasons. First of all, there are many kinds of fruits now, and people are not interested in persimmon, a local fruit. Second, the sugar content of persimmons is too high, and modern people pay attention to health care, so they do not advocate it. In any case, the result is that hundreds of birds enjoy the scenery and earn enough money.
"Everything is closed in autumn and winter, only persimmon trees hang lanterns. I want to ask who won't pick it until the wind and frost are sweet. " After the first frost, the temperature dropped and persimmon leaves turned red quickly. As soon as the autumn wind blew, they fell to the ground.
Every morning, persimmon trees are littered with fallen flowers, leaving only red persimmons and pecking birds on the trees. Crowds of birds are jumping around the branches, chirping, eating and making noises, and they are very excited. This kind of scenery will last until next spring.
The autumn wind has started, and it is getting colder and colder. Autumn leaves fall in the bleak season, and strings of fiery persimmons hang on the branches, swaying with the wind. Beauty is natural and full, revealing a kind of exultation and making people feel confident. This is the unique charm of autumn. Persimmon is the heart of late autumn and the hope of thousands of creatures.
Standing on the mountain, looking around, yellow leaves fly and red persimmons burn on the branches. Suddenly, all the red lanterns are beaming and spectacular. Stopping the lonely mood and enjoying different autumn scrolls will be full of affection and hope for this harvest season.
Yellow and red persimmons are heavy colors in autumn, and people hide all kinds of blessings in them. Mothers in hometown will leave some persimmons for distant children, waiting for their return. Wanderers in the distance will miss their loved ones more and more when the persimmon is red, miss the river in their hometown, miss the smoke in the kitchen, and miss the persimmon trees in front of and behind the house.
My feelings for persimmons began when I was a teenager, at my grandmother's house. Grandma's home is in Paddy Town, Shouguang County. There is a persimmon tree in the yard. The variety is "water persimmon". The trunk bowl is thick, four or five meters high, not big. It never needs management, but it bears a lot of persimmons every year.
The persimmon just picked is bitter and astringent, so it can't be eaten. This requires a hard process. Grandma put the persimmons neatly in the pot, added water, and made a fire under the stove, burning the water to 30-40 degrees. No thermometer. Grandma will know when she puts two fingers in the water. This process is called "Orchid Persimmon" and takes more than ten hours.
From dinner until the early morning, grandma was busy all night, and the persimmon was ready. A good persimmon is crisp, fragrant and sweet, with the fragrance of honey, the sweetness of sucrose and the delicious taste of sweet potato. It is not only rich in texture, but also has lasting charm. With a bite, the intestines will seep into the lungs, giving you an indescribable satisfaction and joy. But I can only eat one, and the others will be sold at the market for money. Grandma's family depends on it for a year.
Grandpa packed two baskets of persimmons, covered them with printed cloth with blue background and white flowers, and walked ahead in one hand and one hand. I followed closely, and the rice field was three miles away from grandma's house.
On the set, find a good location and start selling. When people from the industrial and commercial office come to check, they should show the "certificate of self-production and marketing" issued by the brigade department. At noon, all the persimmons were sold out. Grandpa took me to a small restaurant and bought two steamed buns for me to eat while walking. The steamed stuffed bun is stuffed with white flour cabbage and mixed with oil residue left by fried lard. It's delicious and delicious. It's the best thing in my memory.
Childhood days are hard, and sweet persimmons bring me not only the enjoyment in my mouth, but also a kind of expectation and joy.
When picking persimmons every year, it is customary to leave a few at the top of the tree. Grandma said it would be soft and sweet when cooked. In fact, in my memory, the persimmons left on the branches have never been picked, and they are left there to be blown by the wind and rain and pecked by birds. Years later, I realized that it was for birds! How many farmers' kindness and fear of life are contained in that red persimmon!
Sixty years later, my childhood impression of persimmons is still vivid, and the fragrance of persimmons is still floating in my heart. I gradually got used to finding a corner for myself in the flashy secular world, and I fell in love with life deeply. Decades have slipped away between my eyebrows. I work hard with a fiery heart and try my best to serve the society. I have faded away from my youth, gained more stability and maturity, and gained more inner dullness.
Persimmon is rich in nutrition, containing calcium, phosphorus, iron and other elements and various vitamins, especially vitamin C, which is 1.2 times higher than that of ordinary fruits. It is said that persimmon also has high medicinal value, which has the effects of clearing heat and eliminating dampness, moistening lung and resolving phlegm, quenching thirst and promoting fluid production, invigorating spleen and stopping dysentery, lowering blood pressure and stopping bleeding, and is a natural medicine for treating chronic bronchitis, hypertension, arteriosclerosis, internal and external hemorrhoids and other diseases.
Persimmons can be deeply processed, and the simplest thing is to process them into persimmons. After four processes of fruit selection, peeling, drying, cake kneading and frosting, the round persimmon became a flat persimmon. Persimmons can be kept for a long time. When it snows heavily, eat some persimmons around the stove. Sweet to the heart, really comfortable.
In Shandong, the most famous persimmon is "Cao Zhou Persimmon" produced in Heze. Heze is known as Cao Zhou in history, where the persimmon mirror is the best persimmon tree. The "Caozhougeng Cake" made of mirror persimmon is big, seedless, orange and transparent in color, soft in meat, sweet in taste and rich in nutrition.
Geng cake is self-frosted, full of particles and unique in flavor. "Persimmon cream" has the effects of treating children's aphtha, moistening lung and resolving phlegm, stopping dysentery and stopping bleeding, lowering blood pressure and so on, and is well received by domestic and foreign markets. Since the Song Dynasty, it has been listed as a royal tribute by successive dynasties. Later, it entered Japan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, and the demand has been in short supply.
Persimmons can also be used to make wine and vinegar. The brewing process is basically the same as the brewing process, that is, fresh persimmon is squeezed first, and then fermented and distilled to make wine vinegar, which has good nutritional and health care functions and has certain market advantages and development potential.
Persimmon trees, like farmers in their hometown, are simple, low-key and unobtrusive. In spring, they gave peaches and plums the most beautiful flowering period. In early summer, persimmons in full bloom are quiet and dull. The whole summer grows silently, and the green fruits don't ask. Finally, in autumn, they braved the wind and rain, covered with cold dew and stained with wind and frost. In the autumn wind, first frost smiles in the gloomy world, and the warm orange softens the whole autumn.
People in China have a soft spot for persimmons, because they have auspicious meanings. "Persimmon" is homophonic for "things", and the ancients integrated various festive and auspicious connotations into it.
In recent years, there are more and more persimmon trees on both sides of urban roads and in residents' courtyards. Generally, planting two trees in the yard means "all the best". Some kinds of apricot trees naturally mean "happiness and auspiciousness". You can't plant a tree, it's "nothing" and unlucky. It is unlucky not to plant three trees, which is an "eventful autumn".
Qi Baishi is good at painting persimmons, leaving many unique products. "Good persimmons in pairs", "Persimmons with good taste", "Persimmons are fragrant", "Peace in the world" and "All the best", the old man painted all his wishes for life on persimmon paintings. I remember a picture of New Love, which is the work of a 73-year-old man. There are some persimmons under a bottle of plums, next to which is a pot of old tea. Life is simple and clean in the end, and you don't need too much. Peace and joy are good.
In this life, people only want peace in the world and joy in their hearts. Living as well as the old man Baishi seems simple, but it is actually very difficult. Over time, we will meet many new people and things. Only when we face them with joy and peace can we taste them.
There are big dreams in the world, and life is cool in autumn. Persimmons become soft when they are ripe. In the process of maturity, people gradually become soft. Through the wind, frost and rain, through the sunshine and stars, the scenery along the way has already honed a hard heart into a moist luster.
Everyone has his own persimmon tree in his heart, and everyone lives his own life in autumn. In the face of this world, only with a soft heart and fiery love, like a persimmon, can the bitter sun and moon be sweetened.
"Sunset west wind rolls white sand, and Guanshan Wan Li is homesick. Luhuayan has no faith, and persimmon cream is full of crows. " Another year of persimmon red, strolling under the persimmon tree, looking up at this persimmon tree, tough and gentle, simple and romantic, touching the oranges on the branches, feeling sweet. I said to myself, not when I want to eat! Now you don't want to eat, but come together. What a bad thing!
(202111October 9)