When I returned to my grandmother's house for the Chinese New Year this year, there were various foods such as fruits, candies, biscuits and candied fruit on the table, and I saw papaya in a plastic bag at a glance. Before I even tasted it, the taste in my memory was already awakened.
Every time my grandmother made papaya fruit, she would fill it with a red plastic bucket, and whenever a guest came during the Chinese New Year, my grandmother would bring out a plate from it. As long as we saw my grandmother enter the room with a plate, we children always followed her as soon as possible, gathered around my grandmother, and watched my grandmother put papaya from the bucket into the plate one by one, and we swallowed saliva directly.
On this day, we gathered around my grandmother as usual, and I noticed that my brother next to me was about to move, and before I could think about it, I saw his hand quickly reach for a piece of papaya in the bucket. But the grandmother was even better, and she quickly slapped her brother's hand lightly, and knocked his hand back, and the younger brother pouted aggrievedly. Grandma was disgusted and pretended to be angry to educate her younger brother, but her crooked eyebrows had already revealed the smile hidden in her eyes. Although the "sneak attack" was not successful, my brother still sucked the sugar water on his fingers with a satisfied face, and we were all very envious. Grandma couldn't help laughing when she saw our greedy cats, so she gave each of us a piece first. After they got the papaya, they ran out as fast as they could, and I excitedly and carefully squeezed the piece of papaya in my hand, which had been hungry for a long time, and trotted to follow them.
By the time I got out into the yard, I couldn't see them, so I didn't intend to catch up with them, so I sat down at the door. I pinched a thin piece of papaya, held it up and put it in the sun to observe, and I could see that there was a faint light penetrating, like jade, which was very beautiful! After licking it, a layer of thick sugar water wrapped in the surface of the papaya slid from the tip of the tongue to the throat, and the honey-like sweetness spread to the heart. Take a bite lightly, and it's cold and crunchy. I chewed it a few times before the aroma of the papaya was released, and the sweetness of the sugar water mixed with the fragrance of the papaya became more and more intense, filling the entire mouth. This taste has been in my memory since then.
I got up and walked a few steps, and there was a square clearing in front of the door, about a meter below the surface, with a small utility room and a flock of chickens and ducks. And voila! The mother duck and the ducklings were pacing leisurely around, and the ducklings were stretching their necks and chests, swaying and walking in line, looking really interesting, like little old men walking with their hands behind their backs. The mother chicken took the chickens to rummage for insects in the soil, and suddenly two chicks fought for one insect, and the other chicks quickly joined the fight when they saw the opportunity, and no one let anyone. I craned my neck and kept an eye on the "ring". At this time, the ducklings who passed by also joined in, and the scene was very "lively", and I couldn't laugh straight while standing on the sidelines and watching the excitement. As the worms got into the belly of one of the warriors, the farce was soon over, and before I could see who the winner was, they scattered as if nothing had happened, and went on with their own business.
I continued to taste the papaya fruit in my hand, and my eyes wandered to the road in the distance, where an old ox slowly appeared, walked by, and disappeared into the green rice field. The green seedlings were gilded with a layer of golden light, which came from the afterglow of the setting sun. The light of the setting sun was not dazzling, and I stared at it for a long time, not feeling it moving at all, but when I looked at it a little later, I realized that it was no longer in its original position. I thought to myself: it must have taken advantage of the fact that I was not looking, suddenly grew two legs, took a big step in the direction of the western mountain, and then quickly hid its legs before I found out, and pretended to be motionless. I saw through its disguise at a glance, so I just waited and stared at it to see when it stretched out its legs. But I looked at it as if I was hallucinating, and felt that the round, small, red sun on the top of the mountain was like a shiny salted duck egg yolk, and my stomach "gurgled" in agreement. I didn't want to watch the sunset, because the smell of food wafting behind me had already taken away my soul. So I finished the last papaya in three or two bites, sucked my fingers and turned around and went home.
Later, my grandmother's old house was demolished and a beautiful big house was rebuilt. The chicken coop in front of the door is gone, replaced by a tall house, which blocks the view, the narrow road, the old cattle walking on the road, the green field and the "egg yolk" that is about to set. Later, the taste of papaya and my grandmother remained forever in my childhood memories. When I tasted the papaya fruit again after a long absence, I still felt very sweet, but it was so sweet that it hurt my toothache, but it was not sweet in my heart.
Editor in charge: Cao Jing Bi Ruoxu.
*: China Youth Daily client.