I collect cultural relics in the human world

Chapter 200: Polygonum (Part )
Although the name sounds unfamiliar, Polygonum is a very common weed in her hometown. It can be seen everywhere in front of the house, behind the house, and in the waterside fields. It is an annual herb. The plant is tall, sometimes up to half the height of a person. A single tree It forms a clump, with purple-red stems standing upright, and long green leaves spread out in pairs. There is often a dark brown herringbone spot on the leaf surface, which is very recognizable. It will release a spicy smell when rubbed gently. So it is also called pepper grass or pepper grass in my hometown.

Polygonum is usually very inconspicuous, but only in July and August every summer, it will bloom small red or white flowers, dancing in the wind like ears of rice. He Si thinks that is the most beautiful flower of the year. season.

There is no idle weed in the countryside, and Polygonum is a traditional Chinese medicine. He Si has known it since she was very young. In a sense, it is precisely because of its medicinal properties.

At that time, there were some free-range chickens in the yard at home, and there was a field behind the yard to grow some vegetables for daily consumption. When He Si was playing on the edge of the field, she would go to the waterside to pick some fresh and tender Polygonum spp. when she had free time. Grandma explained It must be grass by the water, not as pungent as the grass on dry land, and she always kept it in mind. After returning home, I chopped the weeds and mixed some of them directly into the leftovers to feed the chickens. The other part was boiled by my grandma and allowed to cool before being sprayed on the vegetables. This can reduce chicken plague and reduce pests and diseases.

Spicy Polygonum has more than these effects. After remembering the spicy smell, He Si's mouth filled with a hint of sweetness. She thought of a few persimmon trees planted at the head of the village. When the autumn wind blows, the persimmons hanging on the branches light up with orange-red light like lanterns. Pick them off and take a bite. They are soft, waxy and sweet. They are He Si's favorite. But in the countryside, not only people, but birds also covet this sweet bite. After the frost, the persimmons are sweet, but the birds are the first to get there. Therefore, grandma would often pick a batch of persimmons to take home when they were slightly yellow or even green. She would not rush to eat them, but would soak them in water boiled with spicy Polygonum for a day and a night. When they were eaten again, they would feel astringent. The taste is gone, crispy and sweet, with a unique flavor.

As He Si thought about it, a mirror door reflecting the tree suddenly appeared in front of her eyes. She thought it was the small ditch that bypassed the village. It was the end of the year, and not a single leaf was left on the persimmon trees, but the flat, lantern-like persimmons were still dotted on the branches and had not been picked. There are fewer and fewer people in the village every year, and no one disturbs the plants. Finally, we can live a life that adapts to the four seasons. I don’t know whether it is a blessing or a misfortune. He Si could only see the skinny branches reaching up under the dark sky. No color could be seen. They were all ink with suitable shades, rather like a lonely and freehand ink painting.

There was a touch of moonlight flowing on the branches, which was reflected in the water. He Si looked at the undulating water patterns in the moonlight, and a smile appeared on the corner of his lips. She almost forgot that her grandmother once used Polygonum to help her fight back against the children in the village who took the lead in isolating her, right in this ditch.

That was the children's favorite repertoire every summer - lobster fishing. He Si didn't like it. She didn't like to be noisy since she was a child. It wasn't her nature, but her instinct. The group in a small place at the beginning of the village, with parents in the east and a short family in the west, loves to talk most about gossip. Specifically in this village, it was everything about her mother and her life. She could feel the false enthusiasm and real alienation from other adults, as well as the unabashed isolation of other children. Instead of forcing herself to blend in with this discomfort, it was better to enjoy the loneliness alone, so He Si was used to sitting at the desk from a very young age. It was quiet, but when I looked at the groups of peers having fun outside the window, I was still looking forward to it. So that summer, when the leading figure among the children in the village came to invite her to go fishing for lobsters for the first time in history, He Si was so flattered by the unexpected invitation that she agreed without any doubts. But she underestimated the malice that emerged from the children in repeated trials. She obediently obeyed the instructions and took on all the dirty work, catching earthworms, threading feed, and even driving away mosquitoes for others when they were fishing for lobsters, but in the end He was also pushed into the ditch by the children.

Seeing the children laughing and laughing on the shore, He Si never had the courage to fight back. She could only use her last bit of strength to hold back the tears and ran back home.

Looking at He Si who was in such a state of embarrassment, grandma didn't say a word. She just picked up the cold Polygonum water on the table and took her to the waterside again.

The children who bullied her hadn't left yet. When they saw the old man coming, they showed no fear on their faces. Instead, they made faces, as if there was nothing you could do to me. Grandma didn't speak to them, but just ordered He Si to pour a basin of water into the ditch. The children were stunned by this move. At first they didn't know why, and they looked at the old man and the young man and the ditch in front of them anxiously and curiously. But after a while, small fish and shrimps floated on the water, motionless, drifting with the current. As if they were already dead, fear appeared on the children's faces. "Poison, poison!" Someone shouted first, and the children turned and ran away with the shout. Grandma winked at her and told her the other name of Polygonum vulgaris - Buddleia.

It turned out that those little fish and shrimps were drunk, not dead. He Si calmed down and all the grievances she felt all afternoon were gone.

She and her grandmother went home to catch some fish and shrimp for dinner. Before dinner was served, the boy who took the lead in bullying her in the afternoon came to the door to apologize with his mother holding him by the ear, followed by several villagers. After saying a few words, before He Si could say forgiveness, the parent on the other end spoke again: "Although my son is ignorant and bullied your granddaughter, after all, it is a matter between children. How could you pour pesticide into the river? , Among other things, this water is the lifeblood of the whole village, and the concentration of this pesticide..."

"What's going on with the pesticides?" Grandma raised her eyebrows, "The children are not sensible, so the adults are also fooling around?"

"This...this, the children say that if you put a basin of water in, the fish and shrimp will turn upside down."

"It's raining when you listen to the wind, and you don't move your brain at all. It's no wonder that you teach such a child." Grandma said, her momentum became more powerful, "My granddaughter couldn't catch lobsters and was pushed into the ditch. I just used it with her. When some fish are drunk with Polygonum spp., when it enters your mouth, it turns into a drug that harms people, confusing right and wrong, not distinguishing between right and wrong, asking evil people to complain first, bullying orphans and widows, all of them are capable people. "

The face of the woman opposite turned blue and white, and the village chief who followed behind also blushed and tried to smooth things over: "It's all a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding..."

Grandma did not take advantage of the victory to pursue the victory, but directly saw off the guests, turned around and told He Si: "There is no need to please them, my child, there is no need for such burdens in life. You will have a broader life and meet friends who are worthy of treating each other sincerely." , and true friends don’t need you to please them.”

After that day, wherever the children were fishing for lobsters, grandma took He Si to pour spicy polygonum water. For a month, the children in the whole village failed to catch a single lobster. From then on, no one dared to mess with them. He Si.