Except for the three elm trees inside and outside the south wall of my house, and the row of locust trees outside the west wall, I can't remember the exact number, but about five to eight. These trees are not too straight, and even a little crooked, in fact, there is more of an artistic beauty, but I couldn't perceive it in my childhood at that time. They are as thick as the thighs of adults, and there is green moss growing on the shady side of the tree trunk ravine. In spring, the trees sprout, and the young leaves turn from yellow to green, gradually stretching, and the trees are verdant. In April, clusters of small flower buds in the shape of ears of wheat grow between the branches. The buds gradually grow, and by the beginning of May, the locust flowers bloom, white as a brocade, the stamens are goose-yellow, and the calyxes are yellow-brown. The tidbits are bunched and fragrant. In full bloom, clusters and clusters bloom on the branches, pressing the branches down slightly and swaying in the wind. In May, the weather had already begun to heat up, and I had already torn off the window paper from the west window, and the smell of flowers rushed in and filled my room.
Every year, when the acacia flowers bloom, it always attracts bee catchers from the south to come to our village to collect honey. They brought their families with them, pulled dozens or hundreds of beehives in big trucks, set up tents in the open space north of the village, and they spoke a dialect that we did not understand, and they would settle down temporarily, and they could stay for more than half a month until the flowering period was over, and then move to another place. Usually within half a day to a day after they arrived, I would hear a "buzzing" sound on my locust tree, and sometimes even small bees would fly into my room. I often lie in my room in the west room and listen quietly, feeling satisfied that the little bees are willing to come to my house to collect honey.
Every year, their arrival always attracts a large number of onlookers from the village, and we children are naturally more active. In the 1981 edition of the five-year primary school Chinese textbook I studied, the second semester of the second grade was the sixth lesson in the fourth volume of "Bees", which began: "In spring, the sun is shining, and the fields are full of flowers...""My sister-in-law has left me this book a long time ago, and I am already very familiar with the contents. Now, combined with the actual situation, the understanding of this text is naturally even more profound.
Every day after school at noon, after lunch, there is still some time before class, and we always come in groups to see the freshness. I saw the beekeepers arranging the beehives in a row, and placing several large barrels and some beekeeping utensils near the tent. Swarms of bees fly around and buzz, each looking for their own hive. We never dared to run around when we came, and we were always careful to worry about being stung by bees. Beekeepers wear gauze-like shields that cover their faces and necks. It was here that I learned some basic bee knowledge. For example, knowing that bees do not sting easily, they only do so when they perceive danger, and that they do not live long after stinging. There is also a queen bee in each beehive, and the queen bee will sometimes lead a team to escape and "mutiny" in an attempt to establish a door on her own. When caught by beekeepers, they will immediately strangle it to death, and then write the words "no king" on the hive where it is located.
At one point I saw these two words on several beehives. Of course, the most attractive thing for us is watching the beekeeper shake the honey, that is, turning the hive with a crank in the vat, the honey will be thrown into the vat. The beekeepers would also sell honey to the villagers on the spot, but I only had to swallow saliva and never went home to ask my parents to buy it. Because I know that it's useless to say it, it's impossible for my parents to buy me this kind of "luxury" to eat.
Once, Yang Zhanfeng and I were at the door of the beekeeper's tent, and saw a little honey on the lid of the big barrel where they put a spoon on it, and Yang Zhanfeng pinched a little bit with his thumb and forefinger and put it in his mouth when the beekeeper turned his back and didn't pay attention. I have a female classmate named Wang Yuhong, she has average grades in Xi, but she buys honey every year. When she went to school, she carried a chubby red plastic kettle, and she always said to others with a very serious expression: "I have honey in my kettle!" This means that no one is allowed to touch her kettle or drink her honey water. Of course I wouldn't touch her kettle, but I wanted to know what honey water was like. It must be a sweet and delicious taste that cannot be described in words...I'm left to guess with my imagination. I also know that the honey made by the queen bee is called "queen bee (king) pulp", which is a higher level of nutrition than honey, which is even more unthinkable.
The locust flowers are edible, and they are sweet to chew when you pick a bunch from the tree and put them in your mouth. The calyx is yellow-brown and already delicious, and there is another variety with red calyx, which is rare but sweeter. Once I found a small locust tree near my uncle's house with a few bunches of locust flowers blooming on it. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was a red calyx and was able to enjoy the sweet taste. Later, after settling in Qingdao, in the Haier Industrial Park and Hisense R&D Center in the Hi-Tech Park, purple-red petals of acacia flowers were found, which are even more beautiful, but they can't be eaten. I once saw a report on Qingdao TV's "Life**" column, saying that this is a variety imported from South Korea and has a high viewing value.
In autumn, the leaves of the locust trees gradually turn yellow, and a gust of wind blows, and they gently fall into the corners and alleys of my house. When I was a child, I took a needle and thread from my mother's drawer, led the needle myself, and strung the yellow locust leaves into a string, and I was very happy to see my creativity and results.
Every year after the Spring Festival, when the lanterns are held on the thirteenth to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, my father will ask me to carry a kerosene lantern to shine on the tree, saying that this will make the tree grow faster. I have always fulfilled this sacred task with great devotion and conscientiousness, and I will stay for a little longer on every tree in my house to bless my tree from growing quickly.