Chapter 435 if line - He San's pineapple

Qiongzhou.

Summer continues uninterrupted.

Before dawn, the sun had not yet risen and the air was filled with a humid and hot mist.

The sea surface was calm with sparkling waves, and the tide was rushing away from the fine white sand beach.

On the beach, some people were barefoot, leaving footprints in the sand.

They carry bamboo baskets on their backs and hold iron hooks, small rakes and fishing nets in their hands, ready to dig out seafood from the cracks in the sand and rocks at any time.

Some people caught crabs, some found conches and clams, and some caught small fish and shrimps.

He San's trouser legs were rolled up high, his feet were covered with sand, and his short brown shirt was stained with moisture and stuck to his body.

It was sticky and uncomfortable, but He San smiled happily because his backpack was already full of things.

There are crabs, shrimps, conches, and even a small octopus.

"Let's go back and cook soup!" He San said hello to his companions and turned to walk towards the village.

He was very tanned and his skin color was similar to that of the others. He had handsome features and his eyes were bright.

In the first year of Yongchang, because their father was convicted, their family was exiled to Qiongzhou, and several years passed in the blink of an eye.

Their father was executed for suspected involvement in the third prince's treason case, so it was a mercy from the emperor that they and their mother were able to keep their lives.

When his father had the accident, the eldest son of the He family was engaged but not married, the second son was also not engaged, and the youngest son, He San, was not even ten years old.

Mrs. He decided to break off the engagement for her eldest son so that the girl would not be a burden. She only brought her three sons to Qiongzhou.

At that time, everyone in Dayu knew that the humidity and heat in Lingnan were unbearable.

Qiongzhou is even hotter than Lingnan.

Many people find it difficult to adapt to life in Qiongzhou.

However, that group of exiles were lucky. When they first arrived in Qiongzhou, it was winter, and the weather was neither cold nor hot, but as warm as early summer.

This also gives them a good period of adaptation.

But when the scorching heat wave hits, people really don’t want to go out at all. When they walk outside, they feel like they are going to melt into a puddle of water.

When they arrived in Qiongzhou, they had no house, no land, and no servants to serve them.

They had nothing, and the government didn't care much about them, almost letting them fend for themselves.

He Dalang and He Erlang both cried, thinking they were going to die here.

He San looked at the tall coconut tree curiously, wondering if there were any trees that grew like this.

The mother said to them, "Don't cry, we are not at the stage of death yet."

The mother actually took them to the bank to withdraw some money.

The three brothers looked at their mother in shock.

Everything in the house was confiscated, and all the properties under the He family's name were confiscated. How could there be money at this time?

Mother just sighed and said, "Your father arranged this before the accident. He was prepared for this day and hoped that he would never need the money, but now he has to use it."

The three brothers didn't know how their father had done it secretly. This money was nothing to the He family before, but it was a great help to the mother and her four children who had just arrived in Qiongzhou.

The mother and her two children found shelter in the local area and bought enough food to last them for a month or two, so they were able to survive.

For a family, moving from Chang'an to Qiongzhou was like falling from the clouds to the dust.

The young He San discovered a different kind of fun in the dust and mud.

Qiongzhou is very different from Chang'an, and also different from my hometown in Shannan Road.

There is a big sea in Qiongzhou. Some of the sand on the beach is very white and very comfortable to walk on barefoot. There are also some shiny things in the sand.

Qiongzhou had fruits he had never seen before, and huge leaves as tall as him.

As time passed, his memories of Chang'an gradually faded.

He San remembered the pond and pavilion at home, the wide and smooth Suzaku Street, how his father and brothers were too busy to spend time with him, and how his brother Zixin, who was a few years older than him, would hold his hand and teach him how to paint orchids...

After he came to Qiongzhou, he learned to grow rice with his mother and two brothers.

Like the local farmers, they walked barefoot in the fields and saw earthworms emerging from the soil around their toes.

They also learned from the locals how to pick coconuts and bananas to eat. To do this, the three brothers all learned how to climb trees.

Crack open a coconut and you'll find sweet juice inside, just like the water bags that grow on trees.

Between the shell and the juice, there is a layer of snow-white flesh.

Children learn everything quickly, and He San is the fastest to learn climbing trees.

All kinds of fruits on the tree became his food.

Meat is expensive in Qiongzhou. Given their current conditions, they may not be able to eat a bite of mutton for a year or two, and they eat very little chicken, duck, or pork either.

In order to feed themselves, people will always find ways to make ends meet, so the mother and son learned to catch seafood.

Although they are not good at swimming and cannot go out to sea, they often go to the sea during low tide and can catch some fish, shrimp and shellfish.

But if you eat too much seafood, it will taste fishy, ​​so it still needs oil.

So they spent some more money and bought some piglets to try raising.

Only after raising pigs did they realize how smelly the pigpen was.

But then he thought about how delicious lard was and continued feeding the pigs.

He San felt that life in Qiongzhou was harder than before, but also more lively than before.

Now I spend every day with my mother and two brothers.

Climb trees together, farm together, catch fish together, and eat together.

Life in Chang'an is good, but life here doesn't seem to be that bad either.

A year later, one day, He San, who had picked up a small bag of conchs at the beach, sat on the beach to rest.

The salty, damp wind blew past the corners of his eyes.

He picked up a stone and drew on the beach.

Subconsciously, his hand drew a clump of bluegrass on the flat sand.

He San looked at the sunken shape of the orchid in the beach and felt it was both strange and familiar.

The eldest brother came over with two fish and some seaweed. He saw the painting on the ground and smiled:

"This seaweed is beautifully drawn. I just happened to pickle some today. I'll go home and pickle it."

The second brother came over with a basket of bananas on his back and glanced at the ground:

"Is this a painting of a coconut tree head?"

The second brother squatted down and added a few round coconuts under the pattern drawn by He San, and also drew a long tree trunk.

So the orchid turned into a coconut tree.

"Does it look good?" asked the second brother.

He San took his second brother's hand, carried the basket of conch shells on his back, and said with a smile:

"nice!"

Coconut trees are more beautiful than orchids.

The second brother also laughed: "Let's go pick some coconuts to eat."

The time on the island evaporated in the sunshine, and ten years passed in a flash.

He San climbed up the tree to pick coconuts, and when he came down again, he had become a strong adult man.

His skin color was so tanned that it was no different from that of the locals, and he had forgotten how fair and rosy he looked as a child.

The eldest brother and the second brother both married and had children in the local area and started their own families.

He San also got married.

The person he married was the daughter of a family in a seaside fishing village.

The girl was very capable, good at swimming, and had a pair of eyes that were very smart when she looked at people.

There was no ceremony when they got married, they just had a good meal, made some new clothes, and then lived together.

Mrs. He felt mixed emotions as she watched her three sons all get married.

She said: "I didn't expect that we would really take root here."

Every year, criminals are exiled to Qiongzhou.

It's like a batch of seeds blown in from the north every year, taking root and sprouting in the humid and hot south.

The three brothers of the He family have all gotten married, and several new houses have been built. With more people, there is more work to do.

In addition to raising pigs, chickens, ducks and catching seafood, the family also grows rice, melons and fruits.

He San is very passionate about growing new things and is very good at it.

I planted lychees, mangosteens, longans, and sugarcane.

When he was planting, he would use words and pictures to record the process and compare them.

As time goes by, we gain experience and our crops get better and better.

One year, a merchant caravan that had taken the wrong route accidentally landed in Qiongzhou.

When He San went to deal with them, he ate a very strange fruit.

The outer skin is yellow with raised scales and thorns, and a tuft of tough grass grows on the top.

I accidentally pricked my hand and it hurts a little.

But after the fruit is cut open, the bright yellow flesh is fragrant, sweet and refreshing.

The foreign sailors called it pineapple.

So He San exchanged some pineapples with those people, and then took the cut pineapple tops and tried various methods to plant them.

After a few years, a batch of pineapples were actually grown.

Those pineapples are planted next to his vegetable garden. Anyone who wants to come to his vegetable garden to steal vegetables may be pricked by the pineapple bushes.

The He family's days are getting busier and busier.

During the busy farming season, there is not enough manpower, so they have to hire people to help.

He San and his wife had a son and a daughter.

The two children have been able to swim in the sea since they were young, like two little fish in the water.

He San gave the children nicknames: Big Fish and Little Fish.

When Dayu was fifteen years old, Mrs. He passed away.

She was over fifty years old when she died.

For a woman who was exiled from Chang'an to Lingnan, it was considered a blessing to live past the age of fifty.

Before she died, she said, "Life has had its ups and downs, its blessings and hardships, but we've made it all. I have no regrets. The only thing I can't let go of is Yan'er. I sent her away in such a hurry, and now we're so far apart. I haven't heard from her in all these years, and I wonder how Yan'er is doing."

After Mrs. He passed away, the three brothers took care of their mother's funeral.

He San spent a lot of effort and after several twists and turns, he finally contacted He Yan.

In the letter, they told He Yan that they had already settled down in Qiongzhou and their mother had passed away.

It took a long time for He Yan's reply to arrive.

The letter mentioned that she was now in Chang'an and her daughter Lu Wan was working as a female official in the capital.

He also said that one day, when the emperor issued a general amnesty, his brothers might have a chance to go back.

When the three brothers of the He family received the reply letter, they just smiled and were glad to know that He Yan was doing well.

As for Chang'an, they have no plans to go back.

Having lived in Qiongzhou for more than 20 years, they have become accustomed to this place where it never snows.

He San's daughter Xiaoyu likes painting like her father.

She would draw fish, shells, corals that could only be seen by swimming into the sea, and the humid rainforest that blocked out the sun.

One day, the little fish was drawing with a branch on the beach.

Two people walked towards the beach, a man and a woman. They were handsome and their skin was much whiter than that of the locals. It was obvious that they were from other places.

The woman was beautiful, with a heroic look in her eyes.

Xiaoyu saw her, stared at her blankly, and heard her say to the man beside her:

"Ah Che, it turns out the sea in Qiongzhou is so big!"

"Can you catch fish? I used to catch fish in Lingnan when I was a kid. Let's try it at the beach later."

The handsome man smiled and said, "Okay, go catch some fish. I'll draw a picture of Zhizhi catching fish and bring it back to show them."

The two walked up to Xiaoyu.

Xiaoyu's eyes were still fixed on Zhizhi without blinking.

Zhizhi asked: "Little sister, what are you looking at me doing?"

Xiaoyu fiddled with the branch in his hand: "I have never seen you before. You are not from our village."

Zhizhi squatted down and sat next to Xiaoyu: "Yes, we are from other places and came to Qiongzhou on business."

Xiaoyu: "Are you here on an errand at the beach?"

Zhizhi smiled and said, "No, I came to the beach because I finished my errands."

Little Fish didn't quite understand: "What's fun at the beach?"

The sea is just a large body of water with sand around the edge, that's all.

"I'm not sure either, so I wanted to ask you." Zhizhi asked Xiaoyu, "What were you doing at the beach?"

The little fish pointed to the ground and said, "I'm drawing. I can draw on the sand or on the shells."

Zhizhi had just picked up a shell and handed it to Xiaoyu:

"Is it painted on this?"

Xiaoyu nodded: "But if you want to paint on shells, you have to use pen and ink."

Xue Che listened, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes: "You can use pen and ink?"

Qiongzhou is remote and poor, with few educated people. I didn't expect that this little girl could use pen and ink.

Xiaoyu nodded: "During the Chinese New Year, my family would buy pens and ink. My father and uncle would also teach us how to write couplets."

Zhizhi took out a small box from her body, which contained a small portable pen.

The ink on the tip of the pen has dried, but I can write a few strokes with a little water.

Zhizhi handed the pen to Xiaoyu: "Draw for you."

It was the first time Xiaoyu saw such a delicate and small pen. None of the shops in Qiongzhou County had this style.

She took it carefully, held it in her hands and looked at it again and again before picking up the shell to draw.

The shell was not big, and she drew a few leaves on it.

But with just a few strokes, the painting is so vivid.

Xue Che said to Zhizhi, "This painting is quite similar to the orchids painted by my father-in-law."

Zhizhi took a closer look and said, "A bit, it also looks like the seedlings my father painted."

But Xiaoyu said, "It's not grass or seedlings, it's pineapple leaves. My father taught me how to draw them."

Zhizhi raised an eyebrow: "Pineapple?"

Xue Che was puzzled: "What is a pineapple?"

The little fish said, "Pineapple is just pineapple, sour and sweet."

At this time, He San and his family came back from the fishing boat at the seaside with some seafood on their backs and waved to Xiaoyu:

"Xiaoyu! Go home!"

Xiaoyu said, "Those are my parents and my brother."

He San walked over and took Xiaoyu with him, looking at the two people in front of him who were obviously not locals with a questioning look:

"Who are you two?"

Xue Che and Zhizhi briefly explained that they came to Qiongzhou from Chang'an on business and were looking around in their spare time.

Zhizhi asked He San if he could take them to see the pineapples, as they also wanted to buy one to try.

He San: "Of course."

He San took Zhizhi and Xue Che to the pineapple field.

I picked two bright yellow pineapples, peeled them, and soaked the flesh in salt water.

While He San was processing the pineapples, he was chatting with Zhizhi and Xue Che.

Xue Che asked some questions about the local customs and practices, and He San answered them enthusiastically.

He San also asked about some things in the capital. Finally, he asked:

"The capital is far from Qiongzhou. I have a request. When you return to Chang'an, could you please take a can of dried pineapples to a family in Chang'an named Lu? She's a court lady, and her mother is... an old friend of ours."

He didn't dare say that it was his niece. After all, his niece was an official now, so it was better not to let people know that she was involved with the exiles.

Zhizhi knew who it was the moment she heard it: "Lu Wan? She's the only female official with the surname Lu. We can bring her back for you."

Then she asked, "What about dried pineapple? What does it look like?"

He San shared the pineapples soaked in salt water with Xue Che and Zhizhi, then took out a small can of dried pineapples.

"Sometimes we can't finish it, so we dry it to preserve it. We can eat it dry or soak it in water."

Zhizhi and Xue Che thought the fresh pineapple was very refreshing. Then they tried a piece of dried pineapple and thought it tasted good too.

So they bought several pineapples and a few cans of dried pineapples, planning to take them back to Beijing to share with relatives and friends.

While Zhizhi and Xue Che were talking, Xiaoyu sat not far away, looking at them curiously.

Before Zhizhi left, he waved to Xiaoyu:

"This pen is for you. The pineapple leaves you drew are very beautiful."

Xiaoyu's eyes lit up instantly. She looked up at her father and saw that he had no objection. She happily accepted the pen.

"Thank you, sister."

Seeing this, He San gave Zhizhi some extra fruits from home to express his gratitude.

Zhizhi and Xue Che left the village with their hands full of things.

Xiaoyu sat at the door with the new pen, looking at it carefully in the sunlight.

Xiaoyu said, "Dad, they said the pineapple leaves I drew look like orchids."

He San, who was picking up the fruit peels and garbage, paused slightly, and some vague images from his childhood flashed through his mind.

When he was lost in thought, his daughter came over to him again and showed him the pen:

"Dad, what is this word?"

Xiaoyu saw a word engraved on the pen, but she didn't recognize it.

He San looked down and saw the word "Pei" engraved on it.

He suddenly realized something.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Xiaoyu asked.

He San was silent for a while, then shook his head: "Dad just suddenly remembered some things from his childhood."

After saying that, he continued with the work at hand.

After He San packed up his things, he turned back to the house and saw Xiaoyu drawing on the wall.

Draw a few leaves.

He San bent down, held the pen in his daughter's hand, and drew together.

Not only did he draw the pineapple leaves, but he also drew the plump pineapple body.

Xiaoyu chuckled: "Dad, you draw so well."

He San nodded and smiled faintly:

"Well, Dad, I've been painting for many years."

The orchid he drew for a long time when he was young eventually grew into a pineapple under his pen.

…

The scorching light dissipated.

The scenery before my eyes faded, blurred, and turned into a halo.

The halo became smaller and smaller, and finally turned into a tiny dot of light.

In the deep blue void, Wuwei opened his eyes.

Taoist Master Wangji and Wuwei were floating in the dense light spots like the Milky Way.

Taoist Wangji's voice seemed ethereal and ethereal:

"Wuwei, did you see it?"

Wuwei woke up from his dream: "Master, I have seen another world."

Taoist Wangji raised his fingertips lightly, emitting a soft light:

"What you just saw wasn't an illusion, but another universe. The universe is vast, and all things exist simultaneously. It's just that we are mortals, as insignificant as dust, and can only live in a small corner."

Wuwei understood.

What he experienced was real, and what he saw was also real.

Thousands of worlds are unfolding simultaneously, each one different and yet coexisting in harmony.

Taoist Wangji asked again: "Wuwei, what regrets do you have?"

Wuwei smiled in relief and bowed to the Sect Leader:

"My disciple has no regrets in this earthly world."