I lived in Qinghai for several years, and then I went to Minhe County, Xinghai County and Xining City, the provincial capital, with my father. In retrospect, what I really miss is Guide.
I don't know the origin of the tour guide's name. Later, I read the fifty-first chapter of the Tao Te Ching, and said that life, moral existence and physical form. It is based on the respect and virtue of all things. The name of Guide County was originally transliterated from Tibetan as "eating obstacles, returning to virtue", and later changed to Guide during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. "Guidance" in Tao Te Ching means "emphasizing morality". The meaning of Guide County probably also takes the meaning of Tao Te Ching.
Guide is rich in products. At that time, he was ignorant, but now he doesn't know. This is the result of later comparison. Surrounded by desolate mountains and valleys, God left a bright pearl, which is the guide. The beauty of Guide is still deeply imprinted in my mind.
The Yellow River in the world, Guiding, means that all the Yellow Rivers in the world are Yellow Rivers, but only Guide has the smallest sediment concentration, and this section of the Yellow River is extremely clear. Is the upper reaches of Guide also the Yellow River? When I arrived in Guide, I suddenly understood? For the time being, this question can be answered by my father who has studied the hydrology of the Yellow River all his life.
The Yellow River is rich in yellow river fish, and the largest number is "moustached fish". This kind of fish is very small, like a small herring in the sea, with scales, palm size and two beards, so it is called "moustached fish". One day at noon, I set the fishing line and pulled it for more than ten minutes. Five fishhooks on a line actually caught five "moustached fish". Everyone is struggling on the line, the scales are shining and the water is splashing. Only fishermen know the joy of picking fish from the line. Grab a big bowl at noon and have a delicious fried moustache at night. The bigger one is cauliflower fish, with beautiful spots, no scales and thick and fat meat. This kind of fish has a high bite rate.
One evening, as usual, I used earthworm to press the hook and threw the stone with fishing line into the depths of the Yellow River, but nothing happened when I went home. At ten o'clock in the evening, take a flashlight to the shore. I still remember the feeling of pulling the string, slow and powerful, separated by a few seconds. Knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock until I knew the big fish was hooked. Pull slowly, and gradually see big fish making waves in the water. Great joy. When the big fish tugs hard, first loosen the line temporarily, and then tighten it until it is close to the shore. I caught a big catfish this time. I still remember that the weight is 3 Jin 9 Liang, which is probably the biggest fish I caught in the Yellow River. Naturally, the big fish turned into delicious fish soup in the pot the next day. It was an era of material poverty, and the value of fish could not be measured by money.
It is said that the most precious fish is the Yellow River carp. This kind of fish is usually not caught. Occasionally, use scales. There are red and yellow ones. It's beautiful. It tastes just so-so, as if it is not as fat as cauliflower fish and catfish. The reason why it is expensive is probably because of the small quantity.
Once, my friend Li Jianming and I went back to the Yellow River to hang nets. The hanging net is made of very thin metal wire, and the mesh size is suitable. Fish stick easily once they meet, and the more they struggle, the more sticky they become. Get up early the next day after hanging the net, and all the fish, big and small, are hanging on the net, weighing dozens of pounds. This is much more efficient than fishing. Since we have gained a lot, we usually surf the internet, but we only use it once, probably because we are all young. One is that we have no perseverance in doing things, and the other is that we have no time to study. The fish was finally sold in the county, 20 cents a catty and 5 yuan. If it is now, I wonder if I can buy a catty for five yuan.
One winter, Li Jianming and I went to the Yellow River, and suddenly we saw glittering under the ice. On closer inspection, it turned out that hundreds of yellow river fish, large and small, were huddled under the ice, as if they were fighting for something. Later, I learned that it might be that the water was too cold and the fish was exposed to the ice.
As a guide to the Yellow River, it is still very clear. The yellow color in the river is the rain mixed with the sand on the mountain that has just rained.
The banks of the Yellow River are covered with bushes, which is the world of pheasants. There are many pheasants. When you walk in the bushes, pheasants fly by in dozens of steps. Male pheasants have beautiful feathers, dark red and blue, which are very beautiful. They barked and jumped, and flew away as soon as they got close. Li Jianming's family is a noble hunter's family in Guide. There is a net and a gun in the family. He can also catch pheasants by setting traps and waiting for them to enter. We downloaded a lot, but later we went to school and didn't have time to watch it. I don't know if we caught it. After a long time, we went to see it. There are several sets there, but there is nothing. Sometimes rabbits get into traps. Pheasants, rabbits and pigeons are flying, barking, jumping and running in the sky and underground. Now that I think about it, it is really a fairy tale world. Wild seabuckthorn trees grow in bushes, and red or yellow seabuckthorn fruits grow on trees. When you put them in your mouth, they are sour. Later, I learned that this seabuckthorn fruit is a first-class fruit rich in vitamin C in the world. It's just that it tastes bad, and it's small, and there are thorns on the trees, so there are few collectors. Occasionally, a few urchins pick up a few pills and throw up after eating them. I don't know how it developed in recent years.
Li Jianming's big pigeon gave me a pair when she was holding a small pigeon, and he kept it and became familiar with it. Every time I come home from school, pigeons will fly over my shoulder when they see me, cooing affectionately and saying something to me, probably because they miss me. Why did you come back? Or circle around my feet to eat, feed it something to eat, and mumble, as if to say something happily, but I don't understand. Anyway, the little pigeon grew up and became good friends with me. But the good times didn't last long, and the warehouse where pigeons were released went into wild cats. When I opened the door the next day, I saw pigeon hair all over the floor and some blood. There is only one frightened pigeon left in the warehouse. For the next few days, the remaining pigeons always called. I know loneliness and sadness, and I remember anger and pain. This pigeon will never fall on my shoulder again. No longer by my side, it later flew under the eaves and refused to come down, keeping me waiting for a long time. Later, he walked around the warehouse all day, cocked his head and looked at the warehouse, muttering as if to call his partner out. Later, I flew east and headed for the Yellow River Bridge. I chased it and saw this sad pigeon, but it refused to come back. Pigeons' sadness and anger were left to me. From then on, I wrote down the enemy with the wild cat. Raising pigeons brings sad memories, and I have never raised pigeons since then.
Guide's pears are well known. Especially long-handled pears will turn black in winter and freeze into ice bumps, like frozen pears in Harbin. Melted with water, sweet and unique in flavor. At that time, many pear trees were planted in the yard of Guide Hydrological Station. My father and his hydrologist boarded the measuring ship with instruments for measuring the water of the Yellow River. I climbed up the pear trees and shook them hard. The pear fell to the ground with a bang, so I quickly picked it up and put it in the washbasin, and there was actually a full basin. At that time, when I was in primary school, I was still an urchin with a slingshot as a gun and riding a wooden stick as a horse.
That pear flower, when it blooms in April in spring, reminds me of that touching picture. Crystal clear, watery and dewy, white pear blossoms are blooming in every village in Guide. That is the most beautiful memory brought by the spring of the guide. "Like the strong wind in spring, it blows at night and blows open the petals of ten thousand pear trees". The fragrance of pear blossoms and the warmth of spring breeze come to my face. Until now, these moving and beautiful pears are still in their hearts, and they have not withered all year round. I was good at slingshots at that time. I shoot birds with slingshots every day, and countless innocent birds die under them. One day, Lao Feng and his father came back from an investigation. Lao Feng said, "See that big pear? Knock it down and it's yours. Bang, it bounced off the pear and ran to pick it up. " One day, a wild cat showed its head in the doorway. When it hit, the wild cat screamed. Revenge for pigeons. Mom said, don't hit wild cats. I said, it ate my pigeon. Mom said that wild cats are not sensible, and neither are you? Now the neighbor's cat is eating at my house, and it has gradually become my cat. I think it may be compensation for hitting the cat.
The guide grabbed mutton with a strange smell. Tibetans have to travel thousands of miles every year, driving sheep, crossing the Yellow River and rushing to the slaughterhouse near Xining. Those sheep don't know how to die step by step, eating grass all the way, crowded, noisy and chaotic, walking to guide. Those who can't walk and are injured are called tired sheep. A tired sheep costs ten yuan and eight yuan, sheepskin can sell for ten yuan and eight yuan, and mutton basically costs nothing. Sheep in Qinghai grew up eating clean grass, and their meat was delicious. Our family didn't eat mutton at first, but when we came to Guide, Qinghai, we also liked mutton. Lao Ji of Xining Qinghai Animal Husbandry Company lived in a hydrological station and became our friends. They solved the problem of lack of sheep, so we can eat a lot of mutton. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, ginger and onion, and cook a pot for the whole family. It tastes delicious and mellow. Grab the mutton with your hands, so it's called grabbing the mutton with your hands. Because of the low air pressure in Qinghai, we are all familiar with each other. Tibetan herders are not. They say that mutton tastes best when it is cooked to seven or eight minutes, and it's best to have some bloodshot and delicious. They rode horses to drive the sheep, boiled the mutton half-cooked, put it in a cloth bag and hung it on the horse. If you are hungry, cut it with a Tibetan knife. Very generous and romantic. But it is also very hard and tired. It's really a life of sleeping in the wind.
The Yellow River is frozen in winter, and skating has become the biggest hobby. Make your own ice car and get carried away. Don't go home for dinner. Once my sister came to ask me to go back for dinner. Just then, the ice car slipped back on an inclined plane and fell into the ice hole with a bang. Fortunately, the hole is not big and the cotton trousers are wet. Fear is the best teacher and risk is the best education. After that, I never go skating again. Than a thousand words spoken by adults.
Standing at the gate of the hydrological station, I often see old Tibetans passing by and greet them from a distance. "Qiao Demao, Qiao Demao" means hello. The old Tibetan smiled happily and replied, "Qiao Demao"! And I said, "Joe just paid off"? -Where are you going? The Tibetan replied, "Ah. . . Pay both. " These are two Tibetan words I know, and I know them all so far. My Tibetan primary school classmates Georgi, Garang and Lamaocuo are also the same age as me, but they still live in Guide, and that beautiful place is their home. If we meet again now, we won't recognize each other.
Then we moved. This is like the migration of migratory birds, but there is no law of migratory birds. Later, he came to Minhe County. It is a Hui Autonomous County and another local custom.
Later, when I came to Shandong, I often thought of Guide and missed it. When I miss Guide, I go online to search for Guide pear flowers, Yellow River carp and so on. When I miss Guide, I open Google Maps to find Guide Yellow River and Yellow River Bridge, but I can't find the hydrological station on the south bank of the Yellow River west of the bridge. Slowly enlarge the map, as if overlooking the world in the sky, looking for that early memory. It seems that when I was in Guide, I missed my hometown Gangshang Village, but there was no Internet at that time, so I looked for the port on the map. This village is too small to be found. Not only was there no internet at that time, but I had never heard of the word computer. I was envious when I saw cars passing by occasionally on the road. Dad said that cars can only be bought by the government. The implication is that individuals should not think about it. At that time, my biggest dream was to have a small bike of my own. I drew bicycles all over my junior high school English textbook. So, on my child's birthday, I bought her a permanent folding bike. She didn't know that a small bike was her father's childhood dream. Later, I bought a car to pull my father and children. I told the children that your father's biggest dream when he was a child was not a car, but a small bike.
Zoom in on Google Maps, and you can actually see the curved steel beams on the Yellow River Bridge. When we were in Guide, my mother also participated in the construction of the Yellow River Bridge and contributed there. At the southern end of the Yellow River Bridge, there are several big letters that say, "Huang Heqing Bridge". When we were in Guide, there was no bridge, only a pontoon bridge. Later, a bridge was built, but there were no curved steel beams and no big characters. How is the tour guide today? I really want to go back and have a look. Look at the bridge, the Yellow River and old friends. What's more, if you taste Guide's hand-grabbed mutton, will it still taste like that?