Chapter 9 orchid

orchid When I was six years old, I went to the mountains to dig orchids with my grandfather.With bamboo baskets, short hoes, and water bottles, I walked along the cobbled path in the village and the machine-plowing road next to the rushing stream.A stone bridge connects the two banks of the stream.The bridge has no guards and no roof. It is very high. There is a big cypress tree beside it. People in the village often hang dead cats on it.Sometimes there will be two or three hanging on the branches, gradually drying. After crossing the bridge, there are two paths that fork.One leads to the east, passes through an ancient earth temple, and enters the depths of the vast mountain.The other leads to the west, where there are large tilled fields filled with lush crops.This day is to walk along the east mountain road.

There are two small stone statues in the Earth Temple, and fruit and wild flowers are offered on wooden tables.The incense ash has accumulated very thickly, which shows that people often come to offer incense.Although the small earth temple is simple, it looks quiet and majestic.The view is wide and the mountain breeze is blowing.In spring, red rhododendrons bloom among the green trees.I just feel that this position is very special, it makes everything around me look orderly and prosperous. The mountain road behind the Earth Temple is steep and unknown, leading to the layers of mountains.There was no one else on the mountain except the two of us.My grandfather carried a basket on his back, and he didn't say a word on the road.He devoted most of his life to the land and labor, and he was a silent man.I tried my best to support my strength so that I could keep up with his footsteps, but I just felt that the mountain road was very long.At this time has been completely away from the villages and fields.

In the deep alpine forest, the mountain trails lined with trees are covered with thick pine needles.In the afternoon sun, the pungent smell of pine resin is transpired, and the birdsong occasionally sounds crisply, like a shadow.I don't know how long I walked, my grandfather stopped, handed me the kettle, and asked me to wait where I was.He followed the pathless bushes to the bottom.Grab the weeds with your hands, move your steps carefully, and step back little by little.Lush green grass swaying in the wind.He quickly disappeared. Sitting in the shade of the trees on the top of the mountain, the sun shines on the eyelids from the gaps in the pine needles, and the golden light is shining.In the green mountains, you can only hear the pine waves undulating in the strong wind, just like the tides rising and falling.Very strong wind.The sky was exceptionally blue with white clouds spreading over the mountains.At that moment, time and heaven and earth seemed to be at a standstill, stagnant.But it was extraordinarily quiet and sudden.

After waiting for a long time, my grandfather climbed up from the bottom of the valley.His short hoe was soiled, and the bamboo basket behind his back contained freshly dug orchids.The thick white roots are wrapped in fresh mud, and the slender green leaves are like simple grass stems, and the flower buds are hidden in it, making it difficult to distinguish.He drifted away, looking for traces of orchids, and only picked six or seven bundles, with a clear heart and no clinging at all.Turn around when you're done picking. Grandmother planted these orchids in clay pots to decorate the garden, and distributed the rest to neighbors.The jerky calyx with a slightly purple top stands upright, and it doesn't need to be exposed to a lot of sun. If it is placed under a cool corridor, the buds will bloom in a few days.The light green flowers are inconspicuous, if you sniff closely, there is a refreshing floral fragrance, which makes you feel clear.They are so fragrant, the smell is elegant, and there is no distracting thought.It only grows in the deep valleys that are difficult to reach, isolated from the world, difficult to pick, but without any pride.

Everyone in the family loves Lan.The true nature of orchids will not be copied and mutated, nor will they make deals with this world.Orchid in the empty valley, how appropriate.Grandfather knew where they were, and every spring, he traveled long distances with love to visit them in their old places.This left an impression on my heart.