In the end, why did the ancestors plant such fruit trees in this poor home, father never seriously told us. They are planted in when, I do not know, only know that I was born, they are close to the yellow earth dam yard wall long. 10 years old that year, the yard wall collapsed, the three dependent fruit trees have become the object of animal venting - hungry cows and sheep, scurrying over the yard wall from time to time, do not want to gnaw the aromatic bark.
"People mixed face, tree mixed skin, animals mixed with the hair quarrel ...... Although the animals do not know to face, after all, they are an animal, so the tree will suffer, because the bark is stripped will die. Sometimes, trees want face more than people!" Father said, "We can't get someone to watch over a few trees just for the sake of a few trees. He saw that we all did not respond, so he sighed a long sigh, "Therefore, the sky will send a great task to the people, but must first suffer their hearts and minds, starve their bodies and skin, and empty their bodies ...... so that they can move their hearts and minds, and gain what they can not!" Squatting to the corner of the wall to smoke his dry cigarettes to go.
The fruit is not ripe, it was the village greedy children aiming at, every now and then you can always see the teeth and claws of the stick to pounce or seven on the eight brick tile to "hit" the light. The most pitiful thing is that those branches of the wind and rain, to the spring flowers in the season not see the charm of the branches, but the wind and rain all over the body shivering, allowing swarms of bees and butterflies to come to the pleasure of witnessing the tragedy, buzzing half a day, but also returned to the pleasure. Although the old and new bees and butterflies are not so lovingly infatuated, but through their unintentional scratching, my home compound than other homes earlier than the presentation of a spring full of color. Many pedestrians who pass by my house can't help but look up and see the bees like cotton balls and the butterflies that weave in and out of the dappled branches and leaves like little elves. They looked at, the heart of the idea of planting some fruit trees to their own homes. Although it is easy to plant flowers in the small farm yard and durable, but not practical, easy to be subjected to chickens, ducks, cows, sheep and pigs and dogs of the bad, not good to live. Therefore, only planting trees is the most suitable. Of course, planting trees is the most affordable is to plant some not worry about fruit trees. Exclusive small yard with deep-rooted trees, flowers in spring, winter, jade tree wind, cool summer shade, shade cool; autumn fruit hanging high, full of yard fragrance. In the fields of the day's work of adults and children, dusk with a bowl of rice, leaning against the branches of the tree to talk about long, talk about the countryside farming, pull the gods and ghosts, occasionally a few times the sparrows and turtledoves in the twilight swept through the branches, leaving a chirping sound ......
In the small yard, the three trees lined up north-south, north of jujube, south of the apricot, and in the middle of the pear, the tree is a very good, but it is not the best. They are equidistant from each other, high and low, and they reflect each other. Jujube tree grows tall and strong and crisp, there is everyone's style, will be handsome gas, blossom late and results, general hands and feet are not nimble people are not climbing up, is to climb up if not quick, but also can not stay in the tree, otherwise it will be like a steel needle jujube needles bleeding eyes, which seems to have become a self-protection advantage of the jujube tree. But it is too slow to develop, ten years to grow fist so thick, and kernels planted on the ground can not bud, so the fruit of the date tree sweet and sour, wood noble, in my yard luxuriant growth is really a blessing.
The date tree grows tall and sturdy, but not as simple as the apricot tree and pear tree. Apricot tree skin black and leafy, branch pole is not high but thick and sturdy, leaves densely covered, like a green helmet, some conservative posture, every year in May and June wheat yellow apricot also yellow. Fleshy apricots, with forefinger and mother finger a pinch, sweet and sour juice out of the mouth, the feeling is a kind of crispy soft, contained in the mouth is sour sweet, really can not bear to swallow a mouthful. Eat apricots and then eat pears, this is our family's "old rules". Pear tree grows between the two trees, thin high thin high, ting ting yu standing, like a weak beauty, but to the blossom and fruit show that time, is a force a force fierce growth, flowers like trumpets, fruit like green agate, green silk, shiny oil, bite is crunchy sweet. Sweet is sweet, just most of the fruit is very small, occasionally visible "alternative", the most developed can grow to the fist so big, long skin yellow, long to the outside of the water, if not picked in advance, sensitive to smell wasps will take advantage of the situation, in advance, for you to feast on. So, want to eat a complete and ripe banana pear, you must often observe the growth, while the wasps before the future to strike first. Perhaps, such an absurd and flavorful story, only our family can be staged, such a wonderful only on the people in this yard know, think about it, the tree and the fate of man is not closely related, much the same it? One day, my father said to me and my siblings under the jujube tree meaningfully: "When you grow up in the future, I will give each of you a share of the three trees, can feed the tree can certainly feed their own ......"
The three trees, though live together night and day, but each has its own distinctive development. They are quietly arranged in the small yard, not overbearing, hard-working, we these naughty group, you can use the pitch to tie a twine swing, you can tie a strip of cloth to build clothes and sun quilt, do not need to water and fertilize, do not need to cut branches and leaves, all natural, ordinary as a peasant under the eaves of a piece of household goods.
However, my feelings towards these three trees are far from being a family affair. In the fall of that year, my mother sent me off to Xi'an to study, and specially let my father, who was in his fifties, climbed to the jujube tree and picked half a bag of jujubes. Mother said with tears in her eyes, child, you are early in the morning out of the door, this date tree in all the fruit trees in the strongest adaptability, wide range of uses, especially in the lack of water in Northwest China is very short of things, you bring some, eat raw refreshing, cooked eat stomach, don't forget that this is the hometown of the soil and water, get to the school also let the teachers and students to taste the "specialties" of our family. I promised, I went to pick up the bag in the hands of his father, he was in the waist of the tree, two footboards crossed the tree pole, like a gecko night escape.
I've never seen a nearly fifty-year-old father with such a big move for their children to sell their lives, his wrinkles such as the bark of the old face blossomed with a 'joy' that could not be hidden. My father climbed the tree branch with one hand, one hand twisted the bag to me to receive the dates, I just stood to the tree under the open arms, unexpectedly my father's left hand to grasp the withered branch suddenly broke, there is no defense of my father fell down from ten feet high tree, green dates scattered all over the ground ......
The next day, full of complaints, I still embarked on the train to the Great Northwest, and from then on, with my son and his children. The next day, full of complaints, I still embarked on the train to the Great Northwest, and from then on, separated from my parents for many years.
When I went back to my hometown, I found that many strange high-rise buildings had been built around me. The white flowery tiles, a small house decorated like an exquisite bunker. Only my family that a few dilapidated old tiled house, the four sides of the old courtyard windy antique-like, quietly lying in a pile of dirty rubble. Brick rubble, but also that three still stand proudly apricot tree, pear tree and jujube tree. Rain and wind through the years, they are obviously much older, or was artificially damaged to the scenery is exhausted, can see that in the past that had been stretched in the air branches and leaves have been disheveled out of shape. Although it is the blooming season, but it is difficult to find the trace of flowers, and even more so that year's attraction of bees and butterflies, especially the young pear tree, also began to appear signs of withering. The old courtyard doorway is full of bleak, thousands of feelings into the vicissitudes of life, and vaguely back to the old dream.
In the desolate courtyard, everywhere is a pile of cow and sheep dung, some of the edge of the urine and shit has been moldy out of the disgusting moss, there are a few dull old hen side of the mouth and claws, enjoy picking up worms. Sometimes staring at a pair of suspicious eyes to observe the surrounding area, sometimes fluttering with the soil of the wings to beat the feathers of the unpleasant, issued a cooing shallow singing, what are they saying? What are they talking about? Are they singing "Children do not know each other when they see each other, laughing and asking where the guests come from"? Suddenly, a mouse from the tree hole to show a head, the hen screamed and jumped in fear, leaving a string of messy or deep or shallow plum blossom-like marks ...... Is this the old courtyard of my dreams, the paradise of childhood?
I was about to turn back, and suddenly realized that the date tree under the rubble, vaguely revealing some green. I turned back, trying to distinguish, scrutinize, that is indeed a bunch of wearing a yellow tip of the jujube tree seedlings. It was not born from seeds, nor fell from the sky, it was burst out from the roots of the old jujube tree y rooted in the soil. I know, I finally found the memory of the green, but also grew to the green memory, I want to tell this happy news proudly to all my friends, in my Henan home that house dilapidated compound there is a how how unique scenery three old trees that are no longer ordinary, still amazingly hold on to the corner of the broken house, and their descendants in the harsh environment marvelously renewed new life!