Prose: The Story of Paddy Field

It is easy for us to forget that we actually eat rice, especially in Hong Kong, where ordinary citizens have hardly seen rice fields, how seedlings grow tall and strong, and how they are harvested and threshed. I only saw bags of neatly packed white rice on the shelves of the supermarket. However, many customs constantly remind us that rice is an inseparable cultural pillar in southern China. For example, the annual magazine of Hong Kong? Send a peace meal? Traditional rural communities and good churches are still adhering to this ancient belief that giving white rice to the elderly is a good thing to do good and accumulate virtue. And those old people who endure the hardships of sun and rain and spend most of their time in line, except for getting a little cheaper, they think it is the blessing brought by that bag of white rice.

Recently, Greenpeace made an interesting exhibition called? My land, my rice, my life? Distribute cameras to five farmers in Yunnan, and let them shoot their work, partners and lives at will. The photos taken by them are very interesting, because we usually see the standard images made by tourists and photographers in this beautiful land, but we have never seen these habits appear in front of the camera, especially the rice fields and communities in the eyes of farmers who have never even photographed them. So they don't shoot simple villages or golden rice fields in the sunset, but real people and things around them.

From the perspective of farmers, the whole chain from the land to the plain rice in our bowl suddenly became clear. Those who have personally touched the rice grains we put into our mouths every day suddenly feel three-dimensional, thick and warm. At this time, we may begin to imagine how people in that rice field live and how they live. Can they sell what they grow? Is rice so cheap that they can't support themselves at all? How much will it cost to buy back those genetically modified seeds? How much fertilizer should I plant after planting? Can farmers afford it? Will all these exotic artificial varieties that invaded the original ecology of rural areas in Yunnan not only leave unknown sequelae for consumers, but also completely change the original ecology of this area?

All outsiders must respect the laws of farmland. Even at the worst of the political movement, it is no exception. I once heard of one? Cultural Revolution? During this period, the educated youth who wanted to go to the countryside for re-education talked about his experience. The places he went to were mainly rice cultivation and terraced fields. In the field, transplanting rice in early spring every year is a big event, so we must transplant rice with extra care. Each row should be tall and straight, and there should be a proper distance between one seedling and another, so as to ensure that each seedling has a healthy growth space and will not be emaciated and withered because they are too close to each other for nutrients. So the first person to transplant rice seedlings in the field must be the most skilled and experienced player, because if he wants this one? First seedling? If it is inserted askew, the whole line that follows it will tilt to one side, which is not regular.

People who can plant the first seedling in the countryside are respected, because they have the ability to rely on their own experience and skills, and they don't need tools. The new farmland cycle of one year begins with them. The problem is. Cultural Revolution? During this period, these usually high-ranking people were knocked down, and they were caught out for criticism if they had nothing to do. What should they do if they plant their heads in spring? My friend was surprised to find that everyone quietly gave way at that time, or invited the old gentleman out, only to see him unhurriedly bend down and send a seedling straight into the mud. He succeeded, and everyone was relieved to keep up. After plugging in the thread, his old man stopped working, sat and lit a cigarette, enjoying the cool air and watching others continue to work hard. Who cares if the movement is turned upside down? Farmland has the order of farmland, and the almighty is king.