Lotus seeds, bitter vegetables, and bitter gourds, in summer, one must eat bitter lotus branches. From now on | bitter gourd
The lotus comes with the chirping of cicadas. When cicadas chirp from the treetops, lotus wakes up with the scorching summer heat. When the lotus woke up, it was fortunate that under the graceful lotus branches, it peeled off the emerald lotus canopy and ate the moon white lotus seeds. Write it down like this, and then peel off another handful at hand. Not going to the lotus heart, the entrance is slightly bitter. In the summer of Hangzhou, lotus can be seen everywhere, and the most famous one is undoubtedly "Quyuan Fenghe", one of the ten scenic spots of West Lake. However, there are more than two or three places with lotus around the West Lake. The waters of Hangzhou are vast, and the lotus has its dwelling place for generations, just like the willows of West Lake. I rarely go to see lotus flowers. Lotus blooms in the prime of summer heat. At this season, people are more delicate than flowers, and they can't stand the sun, so they think the night lotus looks good. Especially on windy nights, the lotus leaves flutter and the branches sway, creating a "weak lotus supporting the wind" posture. When the lotus flowers bloom, people in the streets and alleys of Hangzhou sell lotus leaves, lotus branches, and lotus pods, which have a rare historical significance. Usually, small vendors wear straw hats, ride tricycles to sell, or carry baskets to sell. The person riding a tricycle is usually a male, who not only sells lotus branches and lotus pods, but also many other flowers. The people who sell baskets are usually middle-aged women, who only choose one or two. Sometimes, both the front and back baskets are made of lotus seeds. Fresh lotus pods look good even with cuttings. And it is different from flowers, but it can be kept for a long time, and the emerald color fades away, becoming a withered canopy. After withering, the lotus pods look thin and bony, completely different from fresh fruits, as if they have shed their youthful youthfulness, leaving only the aging tendons. This type of lotus pod can be used for desk cleaning or for painting purposes. Ming Dynasty painter Chen Hongshou had the nickname Old Lotus. For some reason, I always felt that Old Lotus was a withered lotus pod, not a lotus flower. In previous years, when I bought fresh lotus seeds, I mostly waited for them to wither and age, and then placed them on bookshelves, desks, and windowsills. Last summer, I often went to a clinic in the West Lake area of Hangzhou to see an old Chinese medicine practitioner. The old Chinese medicine practitioner spoke and acted slowly and methodically. She said, "You have a strong heart. When you turn to the intersection and come across someone selling lotus seeds, you can buy some food.". From then on, I developed the habit of peeling and eating lotus seeds in summer. The old Chinese medicine practitioner picked me another light bamboo leaf. During those days, I often went to a place called Danzhu in the Xianju area, but the old Chinese doctor replied that this Danzhu was not that Danzhu. This is a traditional Chinese medicine with a taste similar to that of lotus seeds. When eating lotus seeds and reading some related poems, Yang Wanli said, "Drunk chewing a hundred pods of new lotus seeds", which is quite exaggerated. It's more reasonable to stew red dates with lotus seeds in Dream of the Red Chamber. This is common. When I was young, in the summer at home, my mother often stewed white fungus, lotus seeds, and red dates soup as a summer snack for children. I prefer peeling lotus seeds over eating them. Peeling lotus is somewhat poetic. This is a simple thing - pinch open the lotus seed with your fingernails, pick out fresh lotus seeds, and throw them into a plate. "Big and small beads fall on a jade plate," it's very touching. Just need patience, one by one, slowly - as soon as a person slows down, poetry naturally flows out. It is said that the bitter summer is unbearable due to the scorching heat of summer, or should one eat bitterness in summer. It's not easy to investigate, there's some truth to it. Hangzhou has lotus see
