Night Talk | Lin Qing Xuan: The Mood of Sprouting
I realized that the setbacks in this world are just like those of plum trees. Sometimes we face the chilling winter, but we still have to be pruned, even shedding our inner juices. Those weak people cannot wait for spring, only those who always maintain a spring mood and wait for sprouting people can bravely endure the winter, and after shedding blood, they can still have a tree full of lush leaves, and then bear fruit that is better than before pruning.
- Lin Qing Xuan
the mood of sprouting
Author: Lin Qing Xuan
One year, I worked at the Wuling Farm to harvest watermelons and lychees. At that time, it was winter. In the morning, I had to put on a heavy cotton coat because the air in the mountains was particularly cold, and when I took a deep breath, the cold air would fill my chest and lungs.
I lived in the farmer's warehouse. In the morning, I carried a basket to the orchard, and the morning mist was flowing between the trees. I waited for the sun to come out and dissipate it. In the mist, due to the sparseness of the leaves between the branches, you could clearly see those plump and ripe fruits, floating out from the mist, the young watermelons were still covered with night dew, like just washed clean.
The mist flowed over the plum trees, like a vast river, at this time the sun shone down golden lines, the fruits were revealed, the lychees were almost transparent, and you could almost see the moisture inside the skin. Mature watermelons have a pinkish color, in the green background, that slight pink is like chicken heart stone, with a tree's blood flowing through it.
I especially like the moment of the morning sunlight. At that time, one day's work was about to begin, and I felt a joy to start working, and when I saw the watermelons that had been picked yesterday were still green, it felt like a sense of life, knowing that every plum tree had the power to grow fruit.
I carefully picked down the watermelons and put them in a basket lined with soft paper, and I could feel the weight of the watermelons in my hand, as well as the sweet interior texture. The watermelons in my hand, although separated from the tree, were like a heart of a plum tree.
Picking watermelons and lychees was not originally a heavy task, but by noon, I had almost sweated through my clothes. The winter sun at noon made people sweat, so we had to take off the outer cotton clothes. Such minor labor made us sweat so much, why? Sometimes I thought about this. Later I found that although watermelons and lychees were not heavy, they were easily injured, and we had to concentrate completely - concentrating also counts as our respect for the fruits that nourish the earth.
After only a month, we had almost harvested all the fruits in the orchard, and the workers had all gone back to the mountains. I, however, fell in love with the soil there, and with the permission of the orchard owner, I agreed to stay in the warehouse until spring.
Being able to spend the winter on the mountain was beyond my expectations. At that time, I had already graduated from school and was waiting for the recruitment notice for military service. Because there was nothing to do, my mood was almost relaxed. I borrowed a fishing rod from nearby people and went to the (Bi Hu - Mirror Lake) in Wushe by taking public transport, and I occasionally caught a few small fish. Usually, I just enjoyed the scenery.
Sometimes I went to (Lu Shan - Lu Mountain) to bathe in hot springs, and then basked in the sun on the rock of the hot spring; sometimes I went to nearby (Li Shan - Pear Mountain) to stroll around, watching tourists who came from the mountains to admire the winter scenery. At night, I lived alone in the warehouse, lit a small coal stove, drank a pot of aged wine, and then lay in bed, listening to the wind blowing through the trees outside the window, and I felt completely free, and was a person who had worked and waited for spring in nature and on the earth.
After harvesting, the orchard was not idle, and the orchard owner still came to the orchard every day to prune, weed, and manage the trees. Especially pruning, requires experience and technique, it is said that just pruning one item can affect the yield of the next year.
My travels around had come to an end. One day, I went to the orchard to help with the maintenance. I was surprised to see the orchard. Just a month ago, the orchard was full of fruit, and now it looked withered and dead, not only without fruit, but even the leaves that had been hanging on the branches had fallen off, only a few plum trees were still holding a few yellowish leaves that were trembling in the wind, ready to fall to the ground.
The fallen leaves in the orchard were almost all covered on the ground, walking on them made a rustling sound, and every step crushed the leaves. I didn't know that fallen leaves would fall off in winter, but for a southern boy, trees are always green, so seeing a dead tree makes you feel a little strange. I quietly stood in the orchard, looked around, looked at the plum trees that I had once admired for their lives and fruits, now full of the chill of winter, I couldn't help but sigh in my heart. The same sunlight and mist fell on different scenes.
Once, my employer, unable to understand my sadness, came over and patted me on the shoulder and said, 'What's the matter? Standing here staring blankly?' 'I didn't expect it to be only a few days, and the leaves have all fallen off.' I said, 'Of course, if the leaves don't fall off this year, there will be no new leaves next year, and there will be no fruit!' The orchard owner said.
Then he led me to shuttle through the orchard, holding a pruning shears, telling me how to prune branches that had no growth. He said it was a matter of cutting, because branches that were too dense would yield a lot of fruit next year, but if all the plum trees had too many branches, the fruit would not grow well, so it was better to cut them off, which could roughly grasp the yield of the next year.
Although I felt a pain for a plum tree's wholeness, as a plum tree, isn't it for fruiting? For producing better fruits, the mother tree must sacrifice something.
I saw some small branches, about the thickness of a thumb, fall off, and they were still dripping white juice. I asked, 'What if you don't prune them?'
The orchard owner said, 'Have you ever seen a wild lychee in the mountains? The fruit of the lychee has become
I often thought about those two plum trees that had died, especially when I faced unfair attacks and setbacks, those two plum trees, which had no importance, their dead branches were like two iron sculptures, holding my heart. I told myself, 'Get over it, spring is not far away, I will never lose the mood of sprouting people.' Sure enough, I wouldn't be defeated by the winter chill and pruning, although sometimes I would shed tears in the night when thinking about it, but those tears were the best fertilizer when a new spring came.
Over the years, I often thought about those two dead plum trees, especially when I faced unfair attacks and setbacks, those two plum trees, which had no importance, their dead branches were like two iron sculptures, holding my heart. I told myself, 'Get over it, spring is not far away, I will never lose the mood of sprouting people.’ Sure enough, I wouldn't be defeated by the winter chill and pruning, although sometimes I would shed tears in the night when thinking about it, but those tears were the best fertilizer when a new spring came.
Select from White Snow YouthPeople's Literature Publishing House 2017 Edition
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