Chapter 15: The Concentric Fruit at the Cultural Festival
# Chapter 15: The Concentric Fruit at the Cultural Festival
The day before the cultural festival, Qingxi Village was bustling from dawn to dusk. The old locust tree at the village entrance was festooned with colorful lanterns—red, yellow, and pink—wrapped three times around the trunk. A wooden sign hung in the center, bearing the words "Qingxi Old Variety Cultural Festival" in vibrant red paint. A rainbow arch had been built across the ridge of the shared fields. Villagers had specially cut fresh grapevines and strawberry blossoms and tied them around it. The wind blew, gently swaying the leaves and petals, sending their sweet fragrance wafting from far away.
The cultural and creative workshop in the backyard was bustling with activity: Aunt Wang and several other women squatted on the ground, packing dried tomato specimens into paper boxes with simple drawings of old pear trees printed on them; young people helped tie ribbons to the vanilla soap, which were dyed lavender with grape skins; Grandma Zhang took two little girls to steam rice cakes. As soon as the steamer was opened, hot air wrapped in the fragrance of rice wafted out, and the cakes were printed with small tomato and strawberry patterns - carved from old wooden molds that she treasured.
"Xiao Wang, move the live broadcast stand a little to the left. We need to frame the old pear tree so it looks better!" Lin Xiaoman stepped on the wooden ladder and reached out to adjust the angle of the background board. She was wearing a light blue dress, the hem of which was blown gently by the wind. There was a strawberry petal on the end of her hair, which had been rubbed against her when she was wrapping the arch.
Chen Wang quickly stepped forward to steady the ladder, his palms gently supporting the legs, fearing she would lose her balance. "Slow down, don't rush." His fingertips accidentally brushed against her dangling wrist. They both paused, then quickly looked away, their lips curling slightly. He looked up at the old pear tree not far away. A string of small paper lanterns hung among its branches. The village children had strung them together yesterday. The warm orange glow of the lanterns made them look like a string of luminous stars from afar.
"The people from the County Culture and Tourism Bureau said that media from the city will be here today, along with a few bloggers specializing in rural tourism." Chen Wang handed her a bottle of boiled water, the cap already unscrewed. "The delivery guy just brought the picking basket. I saw it. It says 'Exclusive for Qingxi's Old Varieties' on it. It's quite nice."
Lin Xiaoman took the water, her fingertips touching the coolness of the bottle, and a warm feeling welled up in her heart. Just as she was about to speak, Wangfu came running over, carrying a small bamboo basket filled with a few pink-orange fruits—they were the "honey heart" fruits grown in the backyard. After two weeks of growth, their original green had turned a soft pink, and the shape of the two intertwined fruits became clearer, and they felt slightly soft and springy to the touch.
"This fruit is growing so fast!" Lin Xiaoman squatted down in surprise and touched the surface of the fruit lightly with her fingertips, fearing that it would break. "It looked green a few days ago, but I didn't expect it to be so red today."
As soon as he finished speaking, a car horn sounded in the distance. Chen Wang stood on tiptoe and looked towards the village entrance. "It must be the media and tourists arriving!"
Sure enough, the village entrance soon became bustling with activity. Young women in Hanfu, cameras raised, snapped photos of the lanterns atop the old locust tree. Parents, holding hands with their children, curiously peeked at the fences of the shared fields, wondering how the tomatoes there got their "golden edges." A livestreamer, camera trained on a rainbow archway framing the ridges of the fields, kept muttering, "Look, folks! This village is so well-decorated! Even the archway is wrapped in fresh grapevines!"
Chen Wang and Lin Xiaoman went about their business. Chen Wang led the tourists to the cultural and creative workshop in the backyard, holding a box of dried tomato specimens. "This is an old variety of tomato from our village. Even after drying, it retains its sweetness and is delicious when soaked in water or tea." He opened the box as he spoke. Tourists came over to smell it, nodding in agreement, "It really has the fresh aroma of tomatoes!"
Lin Xiaoman, standing by the shared farmland, held a tomato leaf with golden edges and explained to visitors, "The golden edges on the leaves are from the crop surviving disease. This means it's strong and the fruit will be sweeter." A little girl with pigtails leaned over and asked, "Auntie, are these strawberries also an old variety? They're so sweet!"
Lin Xiaoman smiled and squatted down. He took out a small packet of seeds from his canvas bag and handed it to the little girl. "These are seeds of an old variety of strawberry. When you take them home, find a sunny place to plant them and water them carefully. They will grow well." The little girl quickly put the seeds in her pocket and held them tightly. "I'm going to plant them on the balcony. When they bear fruit, I'll bring Mom here!"
As the midday sun grew warmer, the festival's "Traditional Variety Picking Experience" finally began. Carrying their own picking baskets, visitors cautiously entered the shared fields. Some chose tomatoes with golden leaves, saying, "They look healthy." Others carefully selected heart-shaped strawberries, arranging them neatly in their baskets. A boy picked a bunch of blueberries, held them up to the sun, and said with a smile, "These blueberries have such a thick white frost, they must be fresh!"
Chen Wang had just finished taking photos of a couple when he saw Lin Xiaoman waving at him. He ran through the crowd and saw a large group gathered under the old pear tree. A leader from the County Cultural and Tourism Bureau was speaking on the microphone: "Qingxi Village's traditional crops are not only a local specialty, but also a great way to drive rural development! Today we have a small ceremony—to witness the ripening of the 'Mixin Fruit' together!"
Everyone's attention was instantly drawn to the "Honey Heart Fruit" trellis beneath the pear tree. The pink-orange fruits hung from the vine, their glow warm in the sunlight. The two intertwined fruits were particularly distinct in the light and shadow. Lin Xiaoman gently tugged on Chen Wang's sleeve, and the two walked together to the trellis. Chen Wang reached out and carefully grasped the stem of a fruit. Lin Xiaoman also reached out, her fingertips gently supporting the base of the fruit—their hands accidentally touched, then quickly steadied themselves, their movements so gentle as if they were protecting something precious.
With a "click", the fruit was gently picked. The tourists around raised their mobile phones to take pictures. Grandma Zhang came over and said with a smile: "This fruit looks really cute, with two hearts leaning against each other, just like a young couple!" This sentence made everyone laugh. Lin Xiaoman's ears instantly turned red, and she quickly handed the fruit to the camera.
Chen Wang pulled out his phone, focusing the camera on Lin Xiaoman and the "Honey Heart Fruit" in her hand, and then quietly framed himself in the picture. As he pressed the shutter, he turned to Lin Xiaoman and said, "I used to write the 'Orchard Diary', but from now on... can we write it together?"
Lin Xiaoman was stunned for a moment, then nodded vigorously, his eyes shining like falling stars: "Okay."
The tourists nearby heard this and laughed, "This fruit is called 'Honey Heart Fruit.' You two picking it together means 'one heart,' right?" Uncle Li also came over, holding up his freshly picked tomatoes and shouting, "I think we should hold a cultural festival every year to let more people know about our old variety!"
As the sun sets, the cultural festival draws to a close. Tourists, carrying bags filled with fruits and cultural products, reluctantly make their way to the village entrance, muttering, "I'll definitely bring friends next time!" Villagers clean up the area and distribute leftover rice cakes. Laughter drifts across the ridges of the fields. The paper lanterns on the old pear tree are lit, their warm yellow light illuminating the pergola beneath, creating a particularly heartwarming atmosphere.
Chen Wang and Lin Xiaoman sat on the edge of a field, each holding the last remaining honey-heart fruit. Moonlight slowly rose, casting a shadow over them and the crops in their shared field. The leaves rustled softly in the wind.
"Do you think there will be more people coming to the cultural festival next year?" Lin Xiaoman asked softly, his fingertips gently stroking the skin of the "Honey Heart Fruit".
Chen Wang turned his head to look at her. Her profile was soft in the moonlight, and there was a small leaf on the end of her hair.
His voice softened, "Yes. As long as we work together to grow the old varieties well and make the village better, more people will definitely come."
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