The five-nut mooncake that cannot be gnawed
"The dew comes from tonight, and the moon is bright in my hometown." As the annual Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, there are a wide variety of mooncakes on the online platform, in supermarkets, and on the streets, which is dazzling. Cantonese, Su-style, sweet, salty, meaty, vegetarian, big, small, full of festive atmosphere, seducing people's taste buds. Among these all kinds of traditional mooncakes, I only have a special liking for the old five-nut mooncakes.
Whenever I see a five-nut mooncake, I will think of the old-fashioned five-nut mooncake that I can't chew, and I will think of the scene when my parents came to the army to see me thirty-eight years ago.
I was 20 years old that year, and it was the second year I joined the army. According to the unwritten rules at that time, my parents could visit me in the army this year, and in the third year we could take leave to go home to visit my home. So, my parents planned to visit me early after the Mid-Autumn Festival in 1987.
I remember it was a night in late autumn. After dinner, under a full moon, another comrade and I were walking along the vegetable field in the camp in the rustling autumn wind. The company correspondent ran over to inform me that my parents came to the army to see me, waiting at the gate of the camp, and asked me to pick me up. At that time, telephone numbers were not popular, and there were no communication tools such as mobile phones. My father once said in a letter before the Mid-Autumn Festival that he would go to the army to see me with his mother after the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Although I have only been away from my hometown for more than a year, the Niushan slope in the south of the village is not very good, the Dukang River in the east of the village is clear, the sound of reading aloud in the school in the west of the village, and the green fields in the north of the village. The clear sky, the clear river water, the simple folk customs, the smiles of my neighbors, the sensible, obedient and clingy little yellow dog I raised in my home, and my cute student (I worked as a primary school teacher for a year before joining the army)...
The five-nut mooncake that cannot be gnawed
For more than a year, every grass, tree, brick and tile in my hometown has always appeared in my mind. Even at night I dream of the mountains, water, people, and affairs of my hometown.
For more than a year, I have been thinking about my lovely hometown, my elderly parents, and my brothers and sisters.
Before the correspondent finished his words, I ran to the gatehouse quickly and looked at my parents who were slightly tired but had a smile on my face. I was so happy that I forgot to take my parents back to the barracks to rest first to relieve their suffering from boating. I don’t know how long it took, but after the Sentinel friendly reminder, I left the door with my parents.
After I arrived at the company and took my parents to our wireless shift, I asked them to sit down and drink some water to rest. I turned around and reported to the company leader and asked for a place to stay.
After I had dinner, I went to the residence arranged by the company, I had sex with my parents.
My father said that because there were many people in the car, they stood on the green train from their hometown Yichuan County, Luoyang, Henan Province to Yongdeng County, Lanzhou, Gansu Province, where our troops were located for more than 20 hours, and the car fell three times in the middle. "Can the army eat enough? Can the climate in the northwest be adapted to? Is training hard? Are you tired..." My parents asked me about my well-being with concern. During the chat, they took out the "baby" they brought to me one by one from the bag they carried with them. Among them are Du Kang wine, the famous Du Kang wine in my hometown, the handmade cloth-soled shoes I like to wear, local specialties such as sweet potatoes and peanuts, and a tightly wrapped five-nut mooncake. "Eat it quickly. I know you have a delicious mooncake. Your mother left one for you." My father carefully opened the packaging and handed it to me, and said to me kindly. I took the mooncake with both hands, and I was about to break it apart and eat it with my parents. "You can eat it alone, and we have all eaten it." My mother saw my intention and whispered. However, due to the limited storage conditions at that time and the long storage time, the mooncakes became extremely hard, and I tried several times but didn't break them apart. "You eat it alone, we have really eaten it." My father also said to me in a sincere tone. Seeing that my parents insisted not to let them break them (actually, I really couldn't), I had to start eating alone. But the mooncakes are indeed a bit hard. They have changed into several places, but they can't chew them. If you can't eat a big stutter, you will bite it slowly. Although you can only bite a little bit in one bite, you can taste the taste of a mother who has been missing for a long time in every bite. The sweetness of walnuts, the simplicity of peanuts, the purity of rock sugar, the true feelings, homesickness and family affection are now fully reflected.
The five-nut mooncake that cannot be gnawed
Seeing my embarrassed eating look, the two old men showed shame on their faces and advised me to not eat if I couldn't chew. While I agreed, I put the mooncakes aside and continued to chat with them, chatting until very late...
Although the mooncakes can't be gnawed, they are not broken. In that era when materials were relatively scarce, not only me, but I believe that most of the people who passed through that era were reluctant to throw them away, and they felt that it was too wasteful.
If you can't bite, you will be insulted. Whenever my parents returned, I secretly went to "stood" the mooncake alone, and I kept on for a long time. That is not an ordinary mooncake, it is a love for your son brought by your parents from thousands of miles away!
The osmanthus fragrance is fragrant, and the Mid-Autumn moon is full again. Thirty-eight years have passed in a flash, and my parents have left us for many years. Today's living conditions are indeed much better, but no matter how expensive the mooncakes you buy at the supermarket, you can't eat the delicious and delicious mooncakes you used to be.
I miss the mooncakes that I can't eat, the hometown that I dream of, the childhood that I can never go back, and the parents who gave birth to me and raised me!
Author: Zhu Zhengyu, from Yichuan, Henan Province, was once known as Wenming and Zhengming. Has been a primary school teacher, through national defense green, in factories, and as a unit secretary. He has published hundreds of articles in mainstream media such as Legal Daily, Procuratorial Daily, People's Public Security Daily, Henan Daily, Gansu Daily, Dahe Daily, Henan Legal Daily, Lanzhou Evening News, Luoyang Daily, and other national and provincial and municipal media. He has won awards for more than 10 news, literature, and photography works and has been commended and rewarded many times.
