Chapter 53 Chinese cabbage

There was a time when the winter in Beijing was almost monopolized by Chinese cabbage.Due to the geographical position in the north and the cold climate, the cold-resistant and easy-to-storage Chinese cabbage naturally dominates the winter vegetables. Especially on the dining table of ordinary people, they are all refurbished according to Chinese cabbage: shabu-shabu, dumplings, stewed vermicelli ... It's not tiresome.There is also a famous dish with authentic old Beijing characteristics: vinegared cabbage-even if the picky southerners taste it, they are full of praise.As a result, such a name has been added embellished to the menus of many restaurants across the country.Strictly speaking: there are still differences between the cabbage in the south and the cabbage in the north. The common name in the south is Xiaobaicai, which is like a nickname for a watery little girl-no wonder there is a local nickname "Yang Naiwu and Xiaobaicai".The cabbage in the north is extremely powerful and full of vitality. It looks like a big girl with thick eyebrows and big eyes in the harsh living environment.So it played a major role in the rough and rough daily life of northerners.

When I set off for Beijing, the relatives and friends who saw me off kindly reminded: "Be careful of the strong wind and sand in Beijing. There is nothing to eat in winter, only Chinese cabbage. You will miss the fruits and fresh vegetables in the south..." Their expressions of pity seemed to be Sending off a loved one to cross the desert.It can be seen that in that era, Beijing's Chinese cabbage was as famous as Dafengsha. In my first winter in Beijing, I met Chinese cabbage on a narrow road-the impression has been deepened repeatedly over the years.Whenever the autumn wind gets tighter and the ordinary citizens living in bungalows start to store briquettes for their stoves, the fat Chinese cabbage will make its grand debut on the city stage.In the middle of the night, various convoys rushed to transport Chinese cabbage from the nearby countryside into the capital; when I woke up, I found that the streets and alleys had been transformed into open-air vegetable farms, and truckloads of Chinese cabbage were unloaded on the side of the road (like a brick wall) ), foreign vegetable farmers in military coats sell them in baskets with large scales called live pigs, and the citizens also dispatched their families to line up to buy in an orderly manner.At that time, Chinese cabbage was almost equivalent to a social welfare undertaking, and a catty was only worth a few cents. Many families bought hundreds of catties (as if they were saving food), and they had to rely on it to survive the long winter. .The rest is the problem of storage: Chinese cabbage is drying on the balconies, window sills and even roofs of every household, and everyone's life is surrounded by Chinese cabbage.I was living in the Planning Commission compound in Sanlihe at the time. I climbed the stairs in the dark late after get off work, and accidentally knocked over the Chinese cabbage placed along the wall, steps, and aisles of someone's house.Fortunately, Chinese cabbage is very strong, if it is porcelain, it will be over.Many Chinese cabbages are stored in the open air. Fortunately, the owners are very relieved and conscious, and the well water does not interfere with the river water: after all, every family has endless Chinese cabbage, so there is no need to take advantage of others; Stealing one or two trees is not worth much.Chinese cabbage, the cheapest and most popular vegetable in Beijing, may never have the blood of nobles, but its taste of civilians is closely related to our lives.

It is impossible to calculate how many tons of Chinese cabbage the entire Beijing city consumes every winter.It may be quite poetic for market economy experts to conduct private visits on Weibo.Choose a commanding height and look around. There are Chinese cabbage everywhere in your field of vision. Beijing city in winter is almost surrounded by Chinese cabbage—you can’t believe it is the world-renowned international metropolis.But precisely because of this, Beijing is a city with a strong sense of humanity. It has an extremely traditional and civilian side.If I were allowed to design its city emblem, I would probably suggest engraving a silver Chinese cabbage in a prominent position - to show a permanent commemoration of the people and peace.What else is better than Chinese cabbage that penetrates the masses and the grassroots—especially in the cold winter months when the door is closed by heavy snow, it is simply with our belief in survival and ordinary joy.People depend on food, Chinese cabbage, citizens believe in the ancient floating clouds in the sky...

No wonder an old man who worked in the Imperial College said: "Nowhere can compare to Beijing. The stewed cabbage in Beijing is also better than other places - Wuweishen is in Beijing." Wang Zengqi who was present was very puzzled: "What is Wuweishen? God? I haven’t been able to find out yet. But the Chinese cabbage culture of Beijingers is understandable. The Chinese cabbage that each Beijinger eats for a lifetime is about as tall as the Beihai White Pagoda.” After all, Chinese cabbage also has a monotonous side.It is really difficult for a clever wife to make this traditional dish look new every day.As far as I know, Chinese cabbage has dominated civilian life in Beijing for at least a century.The locals are probably used to it.They can chew out the true taste of life even from the blunt cabbage. As I was buying it, I thought about things in eastern Zhejiang. Shepherd’s purse is a wild vegetable that people in eastern Zhejiang often eat in spring...” He also recalled with relish Malantou, Huanghua Maiguo (commonly known as Sage Grass), and Ziyunying ( Commonly known as Grass Zi) and other series, it is like a treasure.Even Ye Shengtao, who is gentle and honest, once drank with friends and chewed thin slices of snow lotus root, he suddenly missed his hometown: "Here, lotus root is almost a treasure. It was probably brought from our hometown. But the quantity was not much, most of them were robbed by the waiters who waited on the rich and wealthy; the rest had to be offered in the larger fruit shop, which was located between Jinshan Apple and Luzon Xiangmang. Buy it at a good price." Because the lotus root is associated with water shield, he eats water shield almost every day in the spring of his hometown, "but it's not the case here; it's hard to eat this unless you go to a restaurant... I have never loved my hometown. , Thinking of this, I feel that my hometown is very cute. I don’t understand why I have such deep emotions? After thinking about it again, it’s very simple: because I have love in my hometown, and the love is only in my hometown. Then I lingered and tied it, and I couldn't leave it."

Compared with the Chinese cabbage that gets along day and night, Yimian Zhongjiangnan's seasonal vegetables are like golden branches and jade leaves.Even in the objective judgment of diet, there is too much human affection involved.Chinese cabbage will naturally be devalued in the emotional chants of literati.Fortunately, the three meals a day of ordinary people are still inseparable from it-not only because of its cheapness.The society is progressing, and many years have passed, the dominance of Chinese cabbage in Beijing's winter vegetables has gradually been shaken, and the food culture is less and less affected by geography.Wang Zengqi, who also immigrated to Beijing from the land of fish and rice in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, joked joyfully: "Beijingers are very conservative. They didn't know what bitter melon was in the past. In recent years, some people have learned to eat it. Vegetable farmers have also grown it...Beijingers are open in taste! Beijing People used to know how to eat Chinese cabbage. From this we can see that Chinese cabbageism can be overthrown.” The lovely old man Wang Zengqi actually attributed Chinese cabbage to a kind of doctrine; perhaps in his understanding, Chinese cabbage symbolizes a certain kind of tradition , or deep-rooted customs.

This also confirms the formulation of my article: Chinese cabbage symbolizes an era, a poor and simple era.In other words, it is a memory that is still continuing.During these years in Beijing, I have established a deep relationship with Chinese cabbage—the Chinese cabbage in a foreign land, after all, gave me the initial comfort and reception.I reckon that the roots and fine blood vessels that I am stuck in a foreign land must have the calcium and nutrients provided by Chinese cabbage.It was a kind of Northern generosity—that once aided me as a wanderer.Even if I am not allowed to praise it (it is too ordinary after all), how dare I forget the Chinese cabbage in Beijing.It may not be a noble wife, but it is a strong nanny (like Dayanhe in Ai Qing's memory), taking care of our sensitive and fragile personal life in obscurity.I still think biasedly: in winter in Beijing, if a family’s kitchen doesn’t enshrine a few Chinese cabbages (like a commoner family god), it’s not like a family at all—it’s too lacking in a simple and realistic atmosphere of life.A commoner's paradise, even if it's based on Chinese cabbage - what's there to be ashamed of?Seeing Chinese cabbage gives me a sense of health, positivity, and resilience—like our lives themselves.Chinese cabbage, in my memory, will always be filled with a rich smell of human fireworks and human touch.

Qi Baishi, a great painter who lives in Beijing, also has a good impression of Chinese cabbage.He not only made Chinese cabbage, which is difficult to be elegant, but also a wonderful comment: "Peony is the king of flowers, litchi is the king of fruit, and Chinese cabbage is the king of vegetables." The old man Baishi named Chinese cabbage the king up.