"Winter in Hometown" Original by Lao Peng

Having lived in Shenzhen for a long time, my concept of the four seasons is probably only 11 months of summer and less than one month of autumn. Most people may prefer the two seasons of spring with flowers and autumn with fruits, but I generally prefer the four seasons with distinct climates. Spring is full of spring, summer flowers are blooming, autumn sings with fruitful songs, winter snow is endless, and the four seasons complement each other.

? In the four seasons, spring, summer, and autumn are all in a hurry in my mind. Only in winter, time seems to slow down. After walking through the winter in so many cities, I have a unique feeling for the winter in my hometown. Deeper attachment.

? Dongting stretches for more than 800 miles and is surrounded by tributaries. Yiyang flows through Zijiang River, one of the four waters in Hunan. It is known as a plain water town. It was called "Overflow" in ancient times because the city street corners are all around it. It faces north of the Yangtze River, with mountains to the south and water to the north, so it is named Yiyang. Since it is a water town, the climate is naturally relatively cold. In winter, when the sun does not rise, there is a layer of cold air floating in the air. Even if the sun comes out, the sky is still hazy.

The first half of the autumn frost is the beginning of winter. Since November, winter has arrived unexpectedly. Most days, it is always rainy and cold wind in my hometown. Sometimes the weather is like this for a week or two in a row, making it hard to relax.

Earlier in times of material scarcity, winter always worried housewives. Vegetables in this season were the rarest. Whether in the city or in the country, every household always had to prepare various dishes, such as Beans, peppers, peppers and radish, cat fish, cabbage seeds, king cabbage seeds, salt rapeseed seeds, chopped peppers, eggplant skins, mixed vegetable skins, taro nests, sword beans, Jerusalem artichokes, paprika seeds... these vegetables are also a must It is more cordial to say each word in Yiyang dialect, and you can't help but gulp down your saliva as you talk about it. It is precisely because of the wisdom of our ancestors that they know how to dehydrate and dry these vegetables in late autumn, then put them in universal jars and let time work their magic, which has become an indispensable taste bud for every household in my hometown. These dishes used to only appear in autumn and winter, but now with abundant produce, they have become side dishes available in all seasons.

No matter how expert you are, the same dish cooked in other places will not be as good as what your mother cooked in your hometown. Perhaps this is more about the fact that local products can produce the best flavor locally. These dried vegetables are more memorable in my childhood. When I was in elementary school, I had just finished school and eaten half of the bowl of crispy, salty Jerusalem artichokes on the table before I even started eating. When I was in high school, the food in the cafeteria was always not enough. My mother would fry a plate of chili radish in vegetable oil, and then cover it tightly with a glass bottle. The vegetable oil would not condense like lard, and it tasted better when it was cold. I think this is why Many students who have studied in the dormitory have had this experience, but this dish will be finished in a hurry in less than three days. I often eat steamed buns in the morning. Mixing some cat fish with it will make the steamed buns less boring. I can eat two 2-taels of steamed buns in one breath. This is due to the deliciousness of cat fish. Cat fish is a kind of fermented bean curd. In ancient folk customs, people would eat steamed buns in the morning. Taboos include: "dragon, tiger, ghost, dream". The word "fu" for fermented bean curd is homophonic to "tiger". Tiger is usually called "big cat". It means to have more than enough for many years, and the original meaning is called Maoyu. However, Yiyang people commonly call fermented bean curd: cat fish. The taste of this fermented bean curd is different from that of other regions. The key is that it should be mixed with chili peppers and goes well with wine and rice.

? Today’s foodies love hot pot more in winter. When the weather is cold, hot pot is everywhere in Yiyang. I don’t like fish heads, three delicacies, beef offal, and braised chicken. I won’t go into details here, but in short, even if it’s freezing cold, you can see that the wine stalls on the streets are crowded with people, and the enthusiasm is as bright as the glasses. This feeling is even more popular among the foodie classmates from my hometown.

? Winter in the south is colder than in the north. South of the Yellow River, most provinces have no heating. This seems to be unimaginably cold in the north. I vividly remember that when I was learning to cook in a hotel, it was the middle of winter and I spent most of the morning washing vegetables under the freezing cold tap water. It was so cold that I managed to persevere. Elders often say that it is always better for people to endure hardships and experience more when they are young. I think this is not unreasonable.

The Chinese New Year celebrations are most lively in winter. When I was a child, setting off fireworks was still not prohibited. Firecrackers generally refer to fireworks. In Hunan, which is rich in fireworks and firecrackers, there are many varieties. When I was a child, I played with skycrackers and woodpeckers. Cannons, throwing cannons, ground rats, and colorful bead tubes are all boys' favorites. Nowadays, they can still be set off in the countryside. However, with the prosperity of life, every household has begun to set off large fireworks. People are happy to do so. The prosperous life in my hometown is getting better and better now.

All the elements of winter are not enough to express the beauty of winter. In winter, you must wake up one night, and the city is covered in silver and snow-capped, which is a good scene of auspicious snow heralding a good harvest. Taking an ice leaf from the green leaves of the shrubs is stunningly beautiful. The pine trees turned into silver needles, and a row of translucent ice spines hung down from the eaves. The children were busy building snowmen and having snowball fights, completely forgetting that their little hands were frozen. It's bright red, and the family gathers around the firebox at night, chatting under quilts. The night chat around the fire is more real than the virtual experience on the mobile phone. When children grow up, they rarely have the opportunity to gather with their parents, brothers and sisters like this. We warmed up together, and when we grew up, we had a lot, but in fact we also lost a lot.

? Winter is the end of the year, and it is also a hope. Winter is coming, and spring is not far away. I hope that tomorrow, I will create a path forward! The winter in my hometown is far more than the simple things I mentioned. Every winter in my hometown has beautiful times and memories, carrying the story of our growth. Winter is coming, migratory birds are flying south, and I am looking north from further south.

Every year, my hometown asks me when I will return to my hometown. I think it will probably be in winter!

----Lao Peng Ahui wrote in Shenzhen

(Pictures come from the Internet)