Zhou Shu in summer is the fragrance of the earth, the taste of home, which makes people want to stay, and it is also the beginning of efforts. The man in the paddy field has put on a straw hat, his trouser legs rolled up to his knees, his left hand carrying a cow rope and bamboo branches, his right hand holding a plow handle, and his mouth creaks from time to time. The old buffalo is very docile and has a clear touch temper. He lowered his head in front and slowly pulled the plow. Before the sound of "bang", he stopped at the head of the field and turned to gnaw at the tenderness under a cluster of stone dams. The man sat on a stone and smoked, rested for a while, took a few sips, and the smoke ring rushed out of the big nostril under the brim, thinking about dividing the paddy field into several "scattered" (cultivated) seedlings. The woman bent down to plant "Zaoedamame" seedlings on the new mud in the ridge of the field, imagining that there would be a good harvest of rice in the field this year. During the autumn harvest, send some to the two daughters' homes at the foot of the mountain to taste.
Raspberries growing in gaps in terraces are ripe. Our name is Mai Bao, a rare wild fruit in early summer in Zhou Shu. On the way to school, on the hillside or in the bushes, where there is sunshine, there will always be one or two trees with yellow and red fruits. Its branches are covered with thorns to protect itself, and children are greedy. Even if you are pricked a few times, you should pick up the fruit and have a full meal. Raspberry is sweet and sour, botanically called "aggregate fruit", and consists of many drupes. A small, round fruit with dense and short fluff will pop up a seed when the gum breaks in the mouth, which is very grainy. Can be used as medicine, has many medicinal values, and is also rich in vitamins. I heard that you can also make raspberry chocolate cake. A few days ago, in the countryside of Huizhou, I picked some raspberries on the roadside and tasted them. They are big and delicious, but not as sweet as my hometown Zhou Shu.
Zhou Shuren likes to plant peach trees at the door. They are not superstitious about peach trees to ward off evil spirits, nor do they use peach trees to fold peach blossoms as drinks like Tang Bohu. They just enjoy peach blossoms in spring and eat them in summer. In May of the lunar calendar, on the withered branches of peach blossoms, the peach tips in May have turned red. Fruits were rare at that time, and peaches were cooked by children in their youth. Just like looking forward to the stars and the moon, when no one is at home, reach out and pick a hard one to taste. I think the peach tips are red, and the ones with patches of red on the surface are the best, like the baby face of plateau red. Wash off the fluff and take a bite. The upper and lower jaws should be hard, crisp and cool, with a hint of sour taste in the sweetness, and even the sound of eating peaches is good. I don't like to eat ripe peaches. Maotao is also delicious, except that there is a kind of wild peach without grafting. There is a small late-maturing one by the river in my hometown, which is a "self-walnut", which is slightly bitter and needs to be picked in a hurry.
My hometown produces famous teas, but they are not famous, such as Hao Jian and Xuan Yue. I have never drunk them. I prefer herbal tea in summer. Tea is picked from the tea trees in the field. After picking fresh leaves in Grain Rain, the bud leaves are long but not old. Generally, after dinner, the wok is heated, fried until soft, rubbed on the stove, roasted overnight with charcoal fire, and dried. The finished tea leaves are like sun-dried caterpillars, curly and slender, with rich aroma. My family has an old white glazed teapot. The lid is tied to the handle with a string. The peony of "bloom" is outlined on the pot body. I missed a piece from the spout when I was a child, and there are still tea stains in it now. On the solstice of summer, wash the teapot with clear water before going out, grab a handful of your own fried tea and pour it directly into boiling water for brewing. There is no need to wash tea. The hot air stirred up the tea fragrance and went straight to the nasal cavity. It is a natural fragrance, a fragrance from the essence, and it is soothing. Let it cool. When I come home from work, I fill a cup of herbal tea and gulp it down. If I am not satisfied, I will have another cup, which will quench my thirst and make my teeth cool. When I was a child, I used to drink water from the spout.
Summer mornings are cool, and vegetable fields are the happiest places. There are small white flowers, small yellow flowers and purple hexagonal flowers on the plants, green peppers, eggplant and cucumbers are still asleep, leeks are tall and green, and dew is still hanging on the grass tips, which makes people fondle it. Pick some green peppers and eggplant with a basket on your arm, not too much. The edamame on the ridge of the field was picked early, and after entering the bulging stage, the beans were full and delicious, and even the beans were taken home together. After the child got up, he yawned and sat under the eaves peeling edamame. The fine hair on the beanstalk touches the back of his hand, which is what I hate most, but I like to eat it. Wash the picked green peppers, remove the pedicels and leave the seeds, chop them up and pat a clove of garlic. Young edamame need not be boiled. Heat the pan, add rapeseed oil, stir-fry edamame until half cooked, pour chopped green pepper, add salt and stir-fry quickly. Just put some in a bowl and pile it on the rice head. Orange and yellow vegetable oils penetrate between particles. Salty edamame and boiling rice open the taste buds of the day, and the hot air in midsummer is eaten out of the bowl. So is fried eggplant. Eggplant stalks can't be thrown. Zhou Shuren was thrifty and lied to children that it was delicious. Stir-fry with shredded green pepper, minced garlic and vegetable oil. As for the taste, I won't say much. Pile it in a blue bowl, put a piece of tofu brain in it, hold it to the door, and chat with neighbors while eating. Here, Zhou Shuren has breakfast, dinner, rice and drinks on holidays.
It is hot in midsummer, and adobe walls and wooden beams are good places for bees to enjoy the cool. They have no intention of picking honey, but they are bent on making holes in the earth walls and wooden beams, piling soil foam in the corner and dropping some sawdust in the house. These are all their masterpieces, especially at noon. Children catch bees to play with, a thin stick and a transparent glass bottle. First, insert the thin stick into the bee hole to find out the truth and don't hurt it gently. At the moment of pulling out, quickly cover the hole with the bottle mouth, the bees escape from the hole into the bottle, screw on the bottle cap, and then pick some flowers and put them into the bottle to keep bees. I was stung by a bee. The ladybug called "Sister Hua" is also our plaything, and there is no lack of harm. This kind of ladybug is brightly colored with red, black or yellow spots, which is very beautiful. It can be found on cotton trees, willow trees, locust trees or bean trees, and sometimes there are even a large number of gatherings. Its feet are caught on the back of the palm, which makes people feel itchy. Don't get into trouble, the secretion stinks.
No bamboo bed, no mat, no chair, enjoying the cool in summer night. Han Yu once said in a poem, "The Shuisong Bridge takes a hundred steps, and the bamboo bed takes seats to the monk's house." These bamboo products have complicated working procedures, which test the craftsman's skills very much. My uncle knows this skill. In midsummer, the attic is covered with ashes. In midsummer, men carry bamboo beds, women hold bamboo mats, and children run in front with bamboo chairs, and then go down to bridge opening, where they are soaked in river water, cleaned and dried. Bamboo mats should be laid on the bed. After dinner, families moved bamboo beds and chairs to the door one after another. The old man sat on a bamboo chair and shook his cattail leaf fan to watch the moonlight. A big fuzzy circle around the moon knew it was going to rain. Adults sprawled and chatted on bamboo beds at home. Children were not afraid of the heat, so they teamed up to catch fireflies on the roadside. It is often late at night to enjoy the cool. Old people and children are not suitable for sleeping in bamboo beds. It is too cold, and the heart is cold and the lungs are cold. Zhou Shuzhu mat is a famous traditional handicraft at home and abroad.
When cucumbers and cowpeas are planted, rice is dried and put into storage, and chestnuts are ripe, the summer in Zhou Shu will be over.