Chapter 12 Jiuhua spring bamboo shoots

When I arrived at Jiuhua Mountain in mid-spring, it was a day of continuous spring rain. I lived in a hotel opposite Gion Temple, and I could see Gion Temple in the rain by opening the window.Everything is wet and moist, and there is a faint dampness in the room.At night, the pattering spring rain accompanied by bursts of wooden fish and bells and chimes for homework in the temple, urging people to dream.In the middle of the night, the sound of chanting sutras stopped, and the sound of rain gradually stopped. Occasionally, there was a gentle breeze, and everything was silent.It's too quiet, but you can't sleep. When you step into the courtyard, you feel that the rain hasn't stopped, but it's just like a mist.The road is silent, but there is a sound. There are rustling sounds from time to time among the bamboos all over the mountain. Such a small sound cannot be heard in the middle of the night.

On the second day of arriving in Jiuhua, you must visit Huacheng Temple, Zhantan Temple, and then climb Shenguang Ridge to the Body Hall.Among the four famous mountains, Mount Jiuhua has the least impressive temple scale. Except for Gion, Huacheng, Zhantan and the Temple of the Body, most of them have the name of the temple but not the actual temple.A few houses with yellow walls in Wuwa are also a temple, which is far inferior to the grandeur of Wutai and Emei temples.Although Mount Putuo suffered the most damage, in recent years overseas donations have been donated to rebuild it, and it has also seen a considerable scale.It seems that the ashram of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva has been neglected, and it looks a bit shabby and dilapidated.

The third day was still drizzling.It is said that Tiantai Peak is the main peak of Jiuhua, and you can have a panoramic view of Jiuhua from the Avalokitesvara on the peak.What's more, "Jiuhua didn't come if I didn't come to the rooftop", so I decided to climb the Tiantai peak in the rain.Coincidentally, the rain seems to have stopped just now when I was looking for a way to climb the mountain, but the humidity in the air is very high, and the higher the altitude, the higher the humidity. artistic conception. Not far from Zhongmin Garden, the rain started to fall again, and it was getting heavier and heavier. It seemed that it could not stop for a while, and it was impossible to continue moving forward. We had to retreat to Zhongmin Garden and make another plan.Zhongmin Garden is located in the north of Tiantai Peak. The scenery here is quiet, the forest is lush, and monks and lay people live together, which is quite idyllic.Zhongmin Garden is rich in tea. Nearby tea growers often build cottages in the forest and sell tea for tourists to take a rest.Climbing to the Tiantai peak was blocked, and he was in a dilemma, so he could only choose a small tea house to sit down.I ordered a cup of tea. The tea is not good, but the water is good.When asked, the answer said it was mountain spring water.

There were very few tourists along the way to Tiantai Peak, but it happened to be cloudy and there were no tourists.The tea seller was an old woman in her sixties. After sitting down for a long time, she described the basic family situation from her mouth: two sons were working in Qingyang County at the foot of the mountain, a daughter-in-law was working in a tea garden, and the youngest son Not yet married.The old man lived with her in Zhongmin Garden. He used to be a farmer, but in recent years he started a small business selling tea and odds and ends at the foot of Tiantai Peak.The old lady is enthusiastic and talkative. Although some words are hard to understand, the meaning is clear.She cursed the bad weather for ruining her business; she also cursed the old man for putting down the spring bamboo shoots he dug early in the morning and disappearing.

It was past noon, but the sky was getting darker and darker. It was raining non-stop, but I was very hungry.When I asked the old lady if there was any place selling food nearby, she said that they could only be found in Jiuhua Street.I thought that if I could go to Jiuhua Street now, I would have already gone to the hotel for dinner, so there is no need to ask her.After a while, she offered to say that she also sells food here.When I asked her what to eat, she said that she could cook instant noodles, and she usually had some vegetables, or scrambled eggs, but it rained for days, so she didn't go to the street to buy them, and the eggs were gone.The rice is boring, but there is no food.I saw a basket of freshly dug spring bamboo shoots under the eaves, and asked her if I could fry some bamboo shoots for a meal. At this time, the old woman suddenly realized.

I watched her peel the bamboo shoots and asked her how to fry them?She said that there is oil, but no meat, so it can only be fried with vegetables.I said that's all there is to it.At this time, I suddenly thought of a joke: A teacher went to a rich man's house to be a teacher. The rich man didn't dare to neglect his husband, so he treated him with meat and vegetables. Make people vulgar".The rich man changed to vegetarian fried bamboo shoots the next day.A few days later, the husband shook his head again and said, "No meat makes a person thinner."The owner was at a loss, so he asked the gentleman directly what he wanted to eat?The husband said: "If you are good and not thin, you have to fry pork with bamboo shoots." Watching the old woman stir-fry bamboo shoots, I couldn't help but think of being an "elegant person" this time.

Only the top part of the bamboo shoots is taken, which can be said to be the tenderest among the tender ones.It is reminiscent of Xiao Chen's poem in the Southern Dynasty: "The spring bamboo shoots are ready for the sheath, and the weak willows are low for the wind." The spring bamboo shoots after the sheaths are removed are really like white and tender arms. Langan" famous sentence.The bamboo shoots are cut into hob pieces, and the remaining tops are cut into extremely thin slices.The old woman said: "Let me make another snow bamboo shoot soup for you!" One meal and one dish are served, and the rice is naturally indica rice from the south of the Yangtze River, which northerners are not willing to eat.The bamboo shoots are slightly yellowish after being fried, but they taste very tender.If you live in a city, especially a city in the north, you will never be able to eat such fresh bamboo shoots.The old lady said that the bamboo shoots grow at night, and the freshest bamboo shoots are picked the next morning, which is of course better after the rain.The old lady also dropped a sentence of the book bag, saying that this is "springing up after the rain".While talking, a bowl of soup is ready, and it is amazing when it is brought to the table. A bowl of clear soup is absolutely oil-free, with some chopped potherb mustard floating on it, accompanied by snow-white bamboo shoots fried without oil, black, green and white, Clear and clean, take a sip, the fragrance is unusual.The old woman said that potherb mustard is the pickle they usually eat, and after being chopped, it should be boiled in boiling water, one is to remove the salty taste, and the other is to restore the green color.This bowl of soup is just boiled potherb mustard and young bamboo shoots, no salt is added, just borrowing a little salty taste of potherb mustard is enough.

After eating a bowl of snow bamboo shoot soup, the fragrance is refreshing, and it can be said to be absolutely delicious.The lightness of this dish and soup is better than many delicacies.Just looking at the sheaths she peeled off, I felt a sense of pity. I suddenly remembered the rustling sound I heard when I was walking in the bamboo forest the night before. It must not be the sound of spring bamboo shoots growing, right? Tiantai Temple and Guanyintai did not go, and there was no chance to appreciate the panoramic view of Jiuhua in the spring rain.But the green bamboos all over the mountain, the misty spring rain, and the fresh spring bamboo shoots made me taste spring and hear green.