On the occasion of the Dragon Boat Festival, the scorching sun in midsummer gradually heats up. Along with the sun, there are also displays in supermarkets and shops, and various Zongzi leaflets, which indicate the arrival of this traditional festival.
Everyone has their own unique memory about the Dragon Boat Festival.Over the years, I have followed the project from north to south, and I have seen and eaten many different shapes and tastes of rice dumplings. What I remember most is the white rice dumplings made with my mother for the first time in my childhood.
Remember, at noon the day before the Dragon Boat Festival.In the gatehouse, my mother moved out the materials she had already prepared and started the annual event of making dumplings.After soaking the glutinous rice and zongzi leaves in clean water a few days ago, they have already drunk enough water and become clear and shiny.The ingenious mother chatted with her neighbors while fiddling with the leaves on her hands. The tender green leaves were folded into a funnel, poured into white fat glutinous rice for compaction, poured a few drops of water to increase the compactness, wrapped them and tied them with a string torn from the leaves, and a zongzi was made.
The dumplings my mother made were full and beautiful. I squatted beside the bucket and looked at the shaped dumplings. My heart was itching and I wanted to wrap one.Pick up a piece of zong leaf and fold it into a "funnel" like her mother, but the zong leaf is not very obedient, either the direction is wrong and the "funnel" is not shaped, or the hole after the "funnel" is formed is too large, and all the glutinous rice poured in is missing.
Seeing that my patience was exhausted, my mother was still silent. She picked up a piece of zong leaf again. This time, she stopped every step until I finished it, and then she moved on to the next step.Under her step-by-step guidance, I finished the first zongzi in my life by folding leaves, putting rice, compacting, wrapping, and tying ropes.I excitedly showed my work to my mother, while she looked at me with a silent smile. From the smile, I saw her approval and encouragement.The white rice dumplings that day also accompanied me throughout my childhood.
Since I left home from work, I have rarely spent the Dragon Boat Festival at home. I often experience different local customs in projects thousands of miles away.Last year, when I went home on the Dragon Boat Festival, my mother prepared the dumplings early, peeled off the leaves and dipped them in sugar. The familiar taste came again.Looking at the way I ate with relish, my mother was full of joy and talked about the scene of making dumplings when I was a child.
"The rice dumplings you made are small and leaky, but you are willing to work hard and do everything with a correct attitude." Mother smiled and said, "Now you seldom go home from work. Every Dragon Boat Festival, I can't help but think of the way you made rice dumplings for the first time. I think you must do your best in work, and my mother will be very happy."
I never thought that my mother's education was so meaningful and painstaking.The Dragon Boat Festival in the project is also very warm.The project department will purchase various flavors of zongzi for us from all over the world, send us salted duck eggs, and sometimes organize recreational activities.Smiling, I took my mother's arm and talked with her about the fun of the festival during the project, so that she knew that my Dragon Boat Festival was warm because of the company of other "family".
Today, although my mother and I are separated by thousands of mountains and rivers, our hearts are always connected. The Dragon Boat Festival is like a switch to touch our yearning. In our yearning, apart from the profound Dragon Boat Festival culture, there is also the warmest care in the distance.
