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Yu Qian is "bitter and tired"

My mother called and said in a somewhat regretful tone: "The elm trees are growing very well this year, and there are many elm trees. It's a pity that you can't come back to eat the 'hard work' I made."

The "Kulei" my mother talks about is not the "Bitterness and Tiredness" in our lives. It is a special snack in rural areas of southern Hebei. It is between staple food and vegetables. It is also known as "Kulei". One of the traditional folk diets in the southern region, it is a product of "replacing grain with melons and vegetables" and "half-year grain with bran vegetables" during difficult times.

Yuqian "Kulei" is made from local materials and is simple to make. Although the dish has many dishes and few sides, it is fresh, tender and fragrant. It tastes good and is a favorite of people when they are short of food. "It saves money on rolling noodles and pancakes, and steaming dry food is not as painful as boiling it." The common people's jingle at that time has been widely circulated to this day.

In those spring days when I was a child, my mother often asked my brother and me to pick home the newly grown leaves and wild vegetables such as elmgrass, sophora japonica, broom seedlings, and purslane. Pick up the weeds and wash them, mix them with some cornmeal or sorghum flour, mix them with fine salt, steam them in a basket or blanch them in a pot. After they are hot, mix them with minced garlic and drizzle with sesame oil to make a " "Bitter and tired" to eat.

Among all the "kuti" raw materials, the most ideal and delicious is elm money. However, elm money is not often available. It is only available for a few days in a year, and you have to climb a tree to get it. , because everyone wants to try something new, so naturally there are very few that can be found. Because of the fresh elm coins, my mother finally became a tree-climbing expert after wrestling many times. Mother often holds the basket in her mouth and uses her hands and feet to quickly climb up the tree and pick up handfuls of elm coins. After a while, we jumped home with a basket full of elm money. Mother took out a large porcelain basin for kneading noodles, put the elm money in, added water, washed it repeatedly, took it out, mixed it with water, mixed it with cornmeal, and put it in the basket, all in one go. We were very busy in front of the stove, turning on the bellows and adding firewood. After a while, in the wisps of white air, the unique fragrance of elm money comes to the nostrils. My mother will mix minced garlic and sesame oil while it is hot, and a pot of sweet and delicious "Kulai" is ready. Although it tastes sticky, it has a sweet taste after all, and it is considered a delicacy for those of us who are greedy.

Later, I went to a boarding middle school in the county town and could only go home once every two weeks. Every time she went back to school, her mother would prepare a bunch of bottles and jars filled with various dishes she cooked by herself. Although the food in the school cafeteria was very rich at that time, my mother was still worried that I would not eat well and delay my growth. Every spring, my mother would dig wild vegetables and collect elm coins everywhere...prepare enough materials in advance, prepare "hard work", fill two large sealable bottles, and let me take them to school to eat.

At first I was very resistant and felt very shabby. I was afraid of being laughed at by my classmates, so every time I waited until my classmates were almost finished eating, I would embarrassingly carry the big bottle and find a corner to sit down and eat in silence. Later, my classmates discovered that I hid the delicious food and ate it secretly, so I told many classmates about this "secret", and everyone forced me to take out the food and share it. After everyone tasted it, they were full of praise for my mother's Yuqian "Kului" and even exchanged their meat dishes with me. Later, when eating, we often gathered together, talking and laughing and sharing with each other. Although the economy was backward and materially poor at that time, my mother used her unique love to nourish my body and fill my heart with happiness.

After joining the army, I never felt tired from eating my mother’s money. Every time I hurried home, it happened not to be in the spring. My mother is getting older and older, and she has always been nagging on the phone in the past few years, "You can't come back, and you have wasted such good money... When the epidemic is over, I will definitely make Yuqian 'Kulai' for you to eat with my own hands." ! ”

Although the economic conditions are now affluent, big fish and meat are commonplace, but the bitter yet sweet, sticky and fragrant taste of Yuqian has always been unforgettable. .