Prose of Yao Ji Xing Hua Cun

The apricot blossoms are in full bloom.

Through the mobile phone screen, I seem to smell the sweetness of apricots again, and suddenly I miss Custa Yi and Custa Yi's Xinghua Village. Of course, what I miss most is the apricots in Xinghua Village. The thought of apricots in Xinghua Village makes my mouth water.

Xinghua village is actually an unknown village, where three or five Kazakh herders live. There are always two rows of houses and a row of sheepfolds. Outside the sheepfold, a huge stone more than two meters high stands abruptly, which at first glance is God's masterpiece. I don't know if it's whispering or a visitor from the mountains. Very scary. If it hits someone, it will be fatal. There is a stream at the entrance of the village, which is crystal clear. I can't help bending down to grab an entrance. I used to drink water like this when I was a child, but now I am old, but I have too much scruples to drink raw water. There is a slope less than one meter between the upstream and downstream, and the gurgling sound is clear, but the source can't be seen. It must be "where to come from, where to go", there is no need to delve into it. Not far from here, there is a gate in name only. A little black dog dozed off lazily by the nest. We crept past without disturbing it, so we couldn't help feeling happy. After crossing the gate, people's eyes lit up: apricot trees are on both sides of the road, and apricot trees in Huang Chengcheng are waving to us enthusiastically! I was so excited that I stepped over the waist-deep weeds carefully and came to the apricot tree. Apricots are not tall and can be reached. So many apricots, does the owner really want them? That's a real pity.

"The peaches are full of apricots, and the deceased is buried under the plum tree." Apricots are super sweet, but I dare not eat more. It is said that if this apricot is left alone, it will grow on the tree until it is air-dried and will not fall. I just didn't say "never leave". This kind of apricot is called "hanging dried" by local people, and its name is "dried apricot on the tree", which is a specialty of Yili area. The child's father was born in Yili. Thanks to him, I am no stranger to "hanging dry", but fresh "hanging dry" is only eaten in Yili this time. The pleasure of picking apricots in person far exceeds the satiety of eating apricots. After a while, I heard my sister shout, "They have a lot!" " I don't care either. Looking at the tempting string of apricots overhead, I missed a few jumps and missed a few jumps. They swayed and seduced me on that branch. Never giving up, I rolled up my sleeves and decided to climb the tree. I walked around the tree, found a foothold, pedaled three times, and climbed it with great difficulty ... Finally, I put my dream apricot in my pocket. It took a lot of effort, and I don't know how many cuts I made on my arm before I got out of the tree. I thought climbing trees and pulling Elaeagnus angustifolia was a smart move to save money. I don't know whether decades of city life have made me lose my kung fu or I am old and my legs and feet are not agile.

Soon, two plastic bags were full. A group of people were preparing to go home when they met one of the owners of the apricot garden. He warmly invited us to pick apricots in his apricot garden, saying that he still had two good late-maturing apricots and a plum tree full of plums. Although my relatives have repeatedly said that no one cares about picking apricots for nothing, I am a little uneasy after all, and I am relieved to hear what the master said. When I was a child, I also picked apples after pulling out the orchard, but I haven't picked apples since the orchard was contracted. So many apricots can be picked at will, just like pies falling from the sky. At the invitation of the host, we were a little tempted, but looking at the plastic bags full in our hands, we saw that it was getting late. We thought about it and declined, and agreed to come back the next day.

When the little black dog saw someone coming, he stood up lazily, shook his hair and was about to bark. His relatives said, "Don't scream, don't scream, I'll bring you steamed bread tomorrow." The little black dog seems to understand, wagging his tail and getting out of the car, and continues to have his big dream in the Spring and Autumn Period.

When I returned to my residence, I found many Mao Mao thorns on my shoes, socks and trouser legs, which are probably Xinjiang specialties.

As a result, relatives did nothing the next day. Until the fourth day, relatives asked us if we were going to pick apricots, and we all said "yes". A group of four people happily set off for the apricot garden again. I wonder if I can meet the last owner of the apricot garden.

We went earlier than last time, took our time and enjoyed the flowers and trees all the way. The mountains are quiet and beautiful, and the sunset shines on the valley. The autumn tigers in my hometown are in full swing, and the mountains are already cold, but I don't feel cold, but my heart is warm. The little black dog is very considerate and doesn't bark. Relatives really took out two meat buns from their bags and threw them to it. It sniffed, wagged its tail and sat happily eating. We walked all the way and took pictures with our mobile phones. Relatives say it is beautiful here in spring. Hundreds of acres of apricot flowers are in full bloom and wild flowers are everywhere. Walking in this sea of flowers is like being in a fairyland, which is beautiful.

"In April, the world is beautiful everywhere, and the peach blossoms in the mountain temple." The climate in the mountains is slightly lower than that in the mountains, so the flowers bloom later. All kinds of crops ripen late. No wonder there are only dried apricots at the foot of the mountain and fresh apricots in the mountains. I really want to stay on this mountain when I hear the beautiful scenery described by my relatives and imagine the dense amorous feelings of apricot blossom and spring rain. Isn't this the Peach Blossom Garden in my dream? There are mountains and water, picturesque scenery, away from the hubbub. I don't envy Yuanyang, I don't envy immortals, I just want to stay on this mountain forever.

We regret not seeing the owner of the apricot garden. We can't take too many apricots (we can't take them back to our hometown), so we just picked a few and walked back with a smile. A car came from behind, and the road was narrow. We hurried away and looked back. It turned out to be the owner of the apricot garden. When he saw it was us again, he simply stopped the car and said that his apricot garden was not far away and asked if we could go. We are embarrassed to disturb him for fear of delaying his business. He waved his hand and said nothing. He just wanted to go to the village to pick up two buckets of water. It turns out that the stream is mountain spring water, not natural mineral water. He turned the car around and let us get on. Thank you for your kindness. We got in his car and went to his apricot garden. This apricot garden is really big. They are all contracted by him and his family, with an average per person 100 mu. He said it was very close, next to the apricot garden where we lived. It took more than ten minutes for the electric tricycle to arrive. The trees in his house are a little tall, and the ground has just been watered. He simply drove the tricycle into the Woods and let us stand in the car and pick apricots. Maybe it's because his apricot garden is far away. There are more apricots than the apricot orchard in front, so the bag contains apricots from two trees. The host also asked us to choose more, but we were all embarrassed and decided not to choose. He led us to pick some plums, and then we drove a tricycle, chug chug, and sent us all the way to the road outside the village.

When I met by chance, I only knew my master's surname was Wei. He refused to tell us his name in any case, but left his phone number so that we could call him when we came again.

I just haven't had a chance to go again, so I packed the apricots before they dried. Meeting is fate, farewell.

There is a place in Xinjiang called Custa Yi, and there is a Xinghua Village in Custa Yi. At this time, apricot flowers are in full bloom in the valley, and I can only dream of its beauty.