The pastoral life of the grass tribe chief

The first typhoon of the year has finally formed and is beginning to make landfall along the coast.

However, people in the Lingdong area no longer feel the effects of typhoons.

Lu Yao couldn't remember how many years it had been since his hometown had experienced a typhoon. Every time he reached the coastal bridge, the typhoon would turn, either hurtling towards western Guangdong or passing through cities in the Greater Bay Area.

The Lingdong area is mostly characterized by strong winds and heavy rains, which are nothing compared to the terrifying scenes of uprooting roofs and trees that I experienced as a child.

During his years studying and working in Huacheng, he also witnessed the devastation caused by typhoons. The worst damage to his home was the flooding of the stream, which threatened the ponds along the stream. Some ponds were washed away by the flood, and the old, dilapidated house collapsed.

Government officials would go from village to village again and again, and whenever they found elderly people still living in their old houses, they would ask them to move to a safe area temporarily, and then move back to their old houses once the storm had passed and it was confirmed that they were safe.

In recent years, there have been very few reports of accidental deaths caused by typhoons in the Lingdong area.

Everyone says it's the protection of Mazu, the Three Mountain Kings, the Uncle and Aunt, Guanyin Bodhisattva, and other deities.

This typhoon will not have a significant impact on southern Guangdong, only causing widespread rainfall.

Maoyuan Township also experienced three consecutive days of rain.

It rains intermittently every day, and the rest of the time it's just a light drizzle.

Farmers love this kind of rain because it seeps into the soil, nourishes the land, and doesn't run away or go to waste.

The fact that rainwater can be absorbed and stored in large quantities by the land means that there will be no shortage of water even during the drought in the second half of the year.

The stream rose, but not by much. The sweltering heat that had lasted for several days gradually subsided, and the weather became much cooler.

Inside the bamboo shed, the grandparents and several younger relatives were drinking tea and chatting, their hearty laughter ringing out from time to time.

Under the eaves, Wang Xiurong was tearing pumpkin leaves (also called squash).

Several blackbirds hopped around nearby, catching flies and mosquitoes.

A group of cats and dogs lay quietly in various corners, taking a nap, occasionally letting out a contented yawn.

Outside, gourd vines entwine the trees, and light rain falls silently into the pond, creating small ripples.

Outside the pond was a lush expanse of green wheat grass, melons, fruits, and vegetables.

On the straw bank stood bamboo sheds under green bamboo, and nearby, longan, lychee, and olive trees were laden with fruit.

Further away are villages and distant mountains shrouded in a light drizzle.

A peaceful rainy day.

Lu Yao was lying on the bamboo bed scrolling through his phone when his tea ran out. He got up to refill his cup and, seeing this peaceful scene, took a picture with his phone and uploaded it to Douyin.

Since the people in the video didn't have front-facing photos, he didn't use AI software to recreate them and just uploaded them directly.

"Seeing this scene reminds me of my childhood."

"When I was a child, I loved rainy days the most. No one had to go out to work, and the children could play games together while the adults drank tea and chatted."

"I love videos like this; they wash away all my worries."

"They actually made me watch this video during work hours! The clan leader is inhuman!"

"You can slack off at work? What more do you want?"

"Exactly, what did I say about someone like me who has to grab orders and deliver fast food even on rainy days?"

"You all have jobs, but I haven't found a job for half a month. If I can't find a job soon, I'll have to go back to my hometown in the countryside to farm."

"You still have your hometown to go back to, but I can't even go back to my hometown."

"The place I wanted to escape as a child, I always want to go back to now, but I can never go back (crying emoji)."

Why do you like to eat squash leaves?

"I didn't know you could eat this when I was in the countryside, but now I want to eat it but I'm not in the countryside anymore."

"Seeing the old lady in the video reminded me of the time I spent with her when I was a child. It's a pity that I can never go back to my childhood, and I will never see my old lady again."

"The clan leader is so lucky. His grandparents and parents are all still alive. I'm all alone now."

"Besides my mother, my grandparents, maternal grandparents, and father have also passed away."

"We were poor when we were kids, so why do so many people reminisce about their childhood?"

"Back then, although we were poor, everyone lived the same life. There was warmth and humanity, no comparisons, and not much backstabbing. Our inner world was rich. Now we have everything, but our hearts are empty..."

"I really want to go back to rural life, where there are no mortgages, car loans, or financial pressures."

"A childhood that can never be returned to, friends that can never be returned to, family ties that can never be returned to."

"What can't be turned back is not just time..."

……

After sending the video, Lu Yao took a water glass and went into the living room to pour water.

"Mom, I'm going to see the bees."

After chatting with the elders for a while, I took down the straw hat hanging under the eaves, said goodbye to Wang Xiurong, put on the hat, and walked into the rain.

Lu Yao came to the beehives and carefully observed their honey-collecting behavior.

As June arrives, there are fewer nectar-producing plants in the area, and the weather changes drastically, with either rainy days or extremely hot days, so bees rarely go out to collect nectar.

If the beehive has no honey or little honey, the bee colony will lack food.

If they are not fed artificially, they will fly away.

Those who boast in live streams about their bee colonies being raised without any feeding are lying, and these people are often unscrupulous merchants selling fake honey.

Just like workers, they work themselves to the bone every day, but the boss doesn't pay them and leaves them starving. Who would do that?

The same applies to beekeeping. If the bee colony is short of food, you need to provide supplementary feeding to help them get through the honey shortage period. Only then will they stay and work for you, producing honey for you.

Lu Yao would feed any trees that were lacking nectar with preserved eucalyptus honey, or with syrup and pollen.

When he returned to the house after his patrol, there was a red BYD Dolphin parked in the yard.

Meanwhile, the car's owner, Lu Jijun, was sitting under the eaves chatting with his grandmother and mother.

In the living room, my second uncle and aunt were having tea and chatting with my grandfather and the others.

"You still dare to bring your second uncle and aunt back during a typhoon."

Lu Yao teased her.

"We watched your video and suddenly really wanted to come back."

Lu Jijun said.

"What video?"

Grandma asked curiously.

Lu Jijun opened the video to show the two elders.

The two elders watched the video in silence for a long time, seemingly lost in thought.

Do you think about your childhood, your parents, or your life?

"My second uncle likes to eat wheat cakes, so I'll go and fry some wheat cakes for him."

As Lu Yao spoke, he went to the storage room to get wheat kernels and wheat flour.

Rice is the staple food in the south, but wheat is also grown in many areas.

When Lu Yao was a child, every household grew wheat.

Fried wheat and fried wheat cakes are local specialties of the Lingdong area.

Fried wheat is usually eaten as a snack. It's easy to make: wash the wheat, peel it, put it in a pan and stir-fry over low heat. If you like it sweet, add sugar; if you like it salty, add salt.

To make fried wheat cakes, grind wheat into flour, add starch, chives, minced meat, and salt water, then pour in an appropriate amount of lard to a pan and fry into cakes.

It's savory yet soft, crispy yet with a wheaty aroma.

Pair it with a bowl of rice porridge or soy milk, and it's simply irresistible.

In the past, we had to remove the husks and grind the wheat into flour ourselves, but now we can buy ready-made wheat kernels and wheat flour.