Text:
Distant wild rose village
"My son lives far away. If you take the train, how many hours will it take? I heard that there is a beautiful river in that village, which is full of wild roses. This is a pleasant place. "
"Hey, grandma, haven't you been there yet?"
"Yes, I haven't been there once. My son married a good daughter-in-law in the local area and has three children. We should also do a good job. My son often writes' Mom, come to our house and live with us', but I don't want my children to take care of it. Therefore, while I am still strong and capable, I want to stay here alone for a while. "
The old woman opened a grocery store in a small village in the valley.
The narrow shop is full of toilet paper, cosmetics, toothbrushes, brooms, notebooks and pencils. Grandma often talks about the son of that distant village with villagers who come to the store to buy things and old people who come to deliver goods. At first, the person who heard this nodded and said:
"How nice it is to have a good son!" I went home.
But people who used to know grandma would think:
(Again! )
Everyone in the village knows. This old woman doesn't even have a son! More than that, grandma always lives alone.
Nevertheless, no one interrupted grandma. Because whenever I talk about my imaginary son and grandson, my grandmother's face will turn crimson and her eyes will glow. Even the tone is young and crisp.
"The biggest one, a girl, is twelve years old. Round eyes, that's a lovely child. "
In this case, I said over and over again, unconsciously, grandma's eyes seemed to really see her granddaughter. You can even hear children's voices.
One day, grandma bought a kimono cloth for her granddaughter in summer. When sewing a long-sleeved kimono with butterfly flying material in this white place, a girl with the same braid as when she was young clearly appeared in front of her grandmother.
However, one day, such a girl really suddenly came to her grandmother's side.
It's an early spring night. A 12-year-old girl carrying a baggage, with a crunch, pushed open the old woman's shop door and suddenly cried:
"Hello, Grandma!"
While guarding the shop, the old woman who was sewing kimono suddenly looked up:
"ah!"
The old woman cried. In front of the store, there really stood a smiling girl with round eyes and pigtails, just as she thought.
"Are you ..."
Grandma took off her glasses and looked at the girl carefully. So, the girl said in one breath:
"I'm from Wild Rose Village, and my father sent me. My name is Qian Zhi. "
"Ah, one thousand ..."
Grandma nodded heavily.
Is it? Granddaughter's name is Qian Zhi ... Grandma was so happy that she burst into tears.
"You are just right. Come on, come here. I sew a kimono for you in summer. Almost there. Come and have a try. "
But the girl shook her head.
"It's too late today. Be sure to go back tonight. "
The girl said. Then, she lifted her luggage to the shelf with a notebook and untied it gently.
"Ah, what do you have?"
The old woman put on her clogs, walked to the store and walked to the girl. Then, I sneaked a look, and the bag contained a pile of white square soap.
"This is my father's soap. Can you put it in grandma's shop and try to sell it? "
"Ah, yes!"
Grandma forgot it, but she remembered it again.
"Your father, is to do soap. The name of the shop is probably called ... Yes, yes, it's called the Wild Rose Room, right? "
The girl who braided her hair nodded happily:
"yes. The soap in Wild Rose Hall is fragrant and foamy, and everyone agrees with it. So, dad said, from this year on, we will make more and sell them everywhere. So, first of all, I want to put it in grandma's shop to sell ... "
"Ah, is it? All right. I will sell more. In that case, wouldn't it be better to bring it earlier? "
Grandma narrowed her eyes, nodded several times and reached out and took out a bar of soap from the wrapping paper. Soap gives off a faint fragrance of flowers. This is the real rose fragrance. Grandma closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then, the distant village with red and white roses appeared in front of us.
"It's exactly twenty bars of soap."
The girl said. Grandma nodded and asked:
"How much is it?"
Unexpectedly, the girl said a surprisingly cheap price.
"At this price ... didn't your father go?"
The girl smiled.
"Dad said, this has earned enough. A week later, I will collect the money, please. "
The girl bowed in a hurry and left:
"I'm still in a hurry to go back tonight."
Grandma panicked.
"Will you go back? How a bit like an outsider. How nice it would be to come up for a cup of tea later. "
The girl folded the bag skin:
"I'll come back in a week."
With that, he hurried out of the shop.
After the girl left, grandma put the soap in the most conspicuous place in the shop, the Wild Rose Room. Then I thought, why didn't the client come earlier? Grandma can't help talking to people.
Today, my granddaughter came. Said his name was Qian Zhi, and that was a lovely child. I will come again next week. ...
These words are accumulated in my heart, and grandma always laughs when she is alone.
Soap in the Wild Rose Room sells like hot cakes.
As soon as the villagers entered the store, the grandmother said nothing, and her eyes were attracted by the beautiful soap and she bought one after another.
"This kind of soap smells good."
"Wash your face and hands with this soap, and your skin is particularly smooth. Well, that's it. "
The soap buyer said so. As a result, new customers came to grandma's shop one after another, and twenty bars of soap were sold out in less than three days. Grandma is so happy.
"In this case, it is good to put more. From next time, let them put thirty or fifty pieces. "
Grandma is looking forward to the day when the girl will come again. The summer kimono has been sewn, the name has been sewn, and the only room has been cleaned. And I went to a nearby farmer's house and bought three-in-one adzuki beans and three-in-one glutinous rice. My grandmother wants to make glutinous rice dumplings with bean paste.
From that day on, six days passed, and the night before the granddaughter finally came, grandma washed adzuki beans by the well in the backyard. Xiao Hong Liang You Xiao Dou. Grandma put them in the barrel, click click, is rubbing wholeheartedly, who called her behind:
"Grandma, what are you going to do?"
Grandma jerked back:
"ah!"
She cried and almost fell to the ground.
"It scared me a lot."
She said. Why do you say that? Because behind the grandmother, in addition to the last granddaughter, there stood a boy of about ten years old and a boy of about five years old. They all opened their eyes and stared at grandma's hand. Three children noisily ask:
"Grandma, are you washing adzuki beans? Just listen to the sound. "
"What should I do?"
"What should I do?"
The old woman closed one eye and replied:
"Glutinous rice, jiaozi, jiaozi."
"But I never thought you would come today. what can I do? Red adzuki beans don't need to be soaked all night and won't be boiled. Glutinous rice, just scoured out at the moment. You can't eat delicious red bean paste dumplings until tomorrow. "
Hearing this, the boys pursed their mouths. The biggest girl Chieko is also a face of disappointment, but she soon recovered and said:
"It doesn't matter. We've come to deliver new soap to dad and will be back soon. "
Grandma is anxious. Holding the adzuki bean bucket stood up:
"Alas alas, don't say so, come on up. The last three people came together and slept here tonight. Hey, this way. "
Grandma was very happy when she took her grandson to the store.
"Three grandchildren came at a time ... how can there be such a good thing in the world ..."
Grandma's face is as hot and warm as drinking wine.
"Is Dad okay?"
Let the children sit in a row in the shop room, grandma asked. Three people nodded, and this time grandma asked again:
"Is mom okay?"
The three men nodded together again.
"Are you? That's good ... "
Grandma is really happy.
"Does Dad still like to eat red bean paste dumplings?"
After hearing the grandmother's question, the three men looked at each other happily and replied:
"Dad likes to eat rice cakes and bean soup, mom likes to eat bean paste buns, and we like to eat bean paste dumplings best!"
"Oh, really?"
The old woman was happy and went into the kitchen with a bucket of adzuki beans. Then I thought, if I had known this, I would have soaked adzuki beans and glutinous rice in water earlier-
At this time, Chieko's voice came from a very close place behind him:
"Grandma, I used magic to soften red beans and glutinous rice immediately."
Looking back, grandma took out a little red rose with 1000 petals from her pocket and let it float in the adzuki bean bucket. Then, I took out a white petal. This time, it floated in a pot full of glutinous rice. Then, she closed her eyes and muttered a spell and said:
"This will do."
"What what?"
Grandma looked into the bucket. Strangely, the petals that had just been thrown in were obviously gone, and adzuki beans and glutinous rice looked plump. In spite of this, grandma still don't trust:
"Cook at once, ok? The glutinous rice will be ready soon, ok? "
Chieko nodded and began to quickly add fire to the stove. So, grandma also gave birth to a charcoal stove and cooked adzuki beans.
Grandma added enough sugar to the soft boiled beans to make delicious bean stuffing. It is the work of three grandchildren to beat the cooked rice with a pestle.
Outside the window, it was already dark, and grandma's house was lit with orange lights. When the mashed glutinous rice was made into dumplings, then wrapped with adzuki bean stuffing and put into a big plate one by one, the grandmother suddenly burst into tears. I haven't seen such a lively and happy party for decades, have I? Grandma remembers the old days when grandma's parents were alive and grandma's sisters were alive. It was also in this kitchen that she made glutinous rice dumplings with bean paste.
The plate of red bean paste dumplings was brought to the plate, and tea was made. Grandma and three children eat glutinous rice balls with bean paste.
"Is it delicious?"
"Is it sweet?"
When the grandchildren ate one by one, the old woman squinted and asked. The children just nodded. How many red bean paste dumplings did they eat? Three people's stomachs bulged unconsciously. When the eyelids sank, the youngest one lay down and fell asleep on the spot, and the child in the middle yawned. Grandma laughed.
"Oh, I'm sleepy when I'm full."
However, only the biggest thousand branches fought back their sleepiness, patting their younger brothers' bottoms and saying over and over again:
"Can't sleep. I can't go back tonight. It will be bad at dawn! "
Qian Zhi is about to cry.
"No, no! If you fall asleep, the spell will fail. "
However, when he said this, Qian Zhi's eyelids sank. Grandma looked at her lovingly and said:
"Don't worry, don't worry, so far away, not tired. Ok, go to sleep! "
Grandma brought bedding and put the three children to bed. Then, I lay on my slide rail. Soon, I fell asleep.
However, when I woke up the next morning, I was startled. The bed of three children is empty, and a pair of short brown hair is scattered on the empty bed.
Sure enough ... grandma thought.
No wonder they used such lovely magic to soften adzuki beans and glutinous rice ... those children turned out to be badgers ...
On the mountain road at dawn, three little badgers came back together and appeared in front of grandma. Then grandma's chest became warm again.
"Come again! I don't care if you are a badger ... you make me so happy! You are my grandson! "
Grandma said this to herself, while putting the new soap that Badger brought last night in the shop. Then, write down the words "Wild Rose Hall Soap" on the paper and stick it on the glass door.
When a customer comes to the door, the grandmother will talk about her son living in a far-away village to make soap. Then, I look forward to the day when those children send new soap.
However, what happened this time? A week passed, ten days passed, no, half a month passed, and the badger's children haven't come yet. The young leaves on the mountain are luxuriantly green unconsciously, which indicates that summer is not far away.
"What's the matter ..."
At dusk, grandma will stand at the door of the shop and look into the distance. The paper with the words "Wild Rose Hall Soap" posted on the glass door of the shop was teetering in the wind. There is no soap in the wild rose room in grandma's shop. They are all sold out. I really want to write a letter to those children, grandma thinks.
-Get more soap from the Wild Rose Room. I will sell as much as I can. And I didn't give you any sales, so I'm worried if I don't take it. By the way, one more thing is that thousands of kimonos have been made in summer-just write it down.
One night.
Grandma is still standing in front of the shop, looking at the mountains in the distance. She heard the laughter of the children in the village behind her.
The children are blowing soap bubbles. A string of soap bubbles emerged from the wheat straw in their hands and floated away with the wind. The children ran after the soap bubbles and laughed.
"Oh!"
Grandma narrowed her eyes.
"What a beautiful soap bubble ..."
Soap bubbles are all pale rose. See grandma lost in thought, a child said:
"This is a mixture of soapy water and wild rose soap!"
"Look, that's the fragrant and beautiful soap ..."
The old woman put on her glasses and stared at the bottles held by the children.
"Ah, is it? Is the soap of the wild rose hall ... "
Grandma's face lit up.
"Hey, lend me a punch, too."
The old woman grabbed the bottle and straw from a child beside her, gently inserted the straw into the bottle herself, and then blew it with her mouth.
Small transparent soap bubbles emerged from the tip of the straw, stained with a faint rose color.
Oh, it's the color of wild red roses! )
In this way, wild rose-colored soap bubbles emerged one after another from the wheat straw. The old woman was possessed and kept blowing soap bubbles.
Soap bubbles from the front of wheat straw, riding the wind, flow to the direction of the mountain. The most incredible thing is that none of the soap bubbles burst. Therefore, there are more and more of them, and they are constantly flowing. Staring at them, suddenly, where the soap bubbles disappeared, grandma seemed to hear someone calling her.
"Hey? who is it? Wait a minute, I'm coming. "
Grandma talked to herself and ran after the soap bubbles. The old woman just held the bottle of wheat straw and soapy water, opened her hands and kept running.
"Grandma, give me back the straw and bottle!"
The voice of the child crying and chasing gradually faded, and there was no sound, but grandma kept running. On the field road at dusk, groups of soap bubbles are getting redder and darker and sparkling. Grandma's legs are as fast as a deer running in the mountains. No matter how you run, you are not tired.
Chasing soap bubbles, grandma crossed the bridge at the end of the village and quickly climbed the steep mountain road.
In this way, how far did it run?
Unconsciously, grandma came to a plain with a small river.
"Oh dear!"
Grandma suddenly seems to be dreaming. Obviously, I have run three or five miles, but the air is still dusk, and a gentle red cloud is reflected in the river.
"It's not dark yet ..."
Grandma was blown by the wind and looked into the distance. Only then did she realize that there were many wild rose trees here, full of red flowers.
"Ah ah, I said how so good smell? In this place, the sky is rosy and the ground is rosy. I seem to have finally come to the place where my son and grandson live. "
Grandma is such a person muttering to herself. Earlier, there was such a song:
"Going round and round in circles.
A red rose.
Wild rose bean paste buns are delicious. "
Look carefully, behind the lush grass, there is a small wooden bridge. Up there, there are three little badgers.
"Oh, oh, here it is!"
Grandma was overjoyed. What seems to have been lost has finally been found again.
"You are singing here!"
The old woman walked up to the badger.
"Finally meet again ..."
However, when the badger saw the old woman, they all bowed their heads in embarrassment. On each badger's knee, there is a bean paste bag. White bean paste buns are so cute. There is a wild red rose pickled with salt in the middle of every bean paste bun.
"Ah, is this a wild rose bean paste bag? Did your mother do it? "
The badger still hung his head. Grandma also sat side by side on the bridge. Then, whispered:
"Don't be embarrassed. I know you are badgers. However, I don't care. "
Then, grandma said to the biggest badger:
"Chieko, your summer kimono, is ready. Long sleeves, but kimono is very beautiful. Next time, you must come and get it. "
Qian Zhi, a badger, nodded happily and gave grandma half a bean paste bag on her knee.
The bean paste buns have a faint scent of wild roses. Grandma gently put it in her mouth and chewed the beans. It's really delicious. While eating bean paste buns, ask:
"Where is your home?"
So, 1000 badgers pointed to the grass in the lower reaches of the river. Ah, grandma thought, that meadow is really home to badgers and soap factories. At this time, a purple smoke came out of the grass like a mist.
"Ah, is that the smoke from the soap factory?"
After listening to the old woman, the three badgers nodded happily. Grandma lovingly touched the badger's head one by one:
"If you don't come, I will worry. Because the people in the village want the soap in the Wild Rose Room. Tell your father to produce more soap and deliver more goods. Hey, sure. Be sure to come! "
The three badgers replied respectfully together in a low voice:
"Be sure to go."
At this time, the rosy clouds in the sky have already turned into lavender. There seems to be light in the grass, and grandma straightened up.
"Ah, it's already dark, go home. I am going home soon, too. "
A thousand badgers got up, ran to the river and suddenly took out a lantern from the grass. Then, just like magic, I immediately lit the lantern and took it to my grandmother.
The fire of lanterns is also the color of wild roses.
"You are so careful."
Grandma took the lantern and walked back to the mountain road. Grandma strode along the dark road by the river. Maybe it's because of those magical lanterns. Grandma will never get lost. Moreover, no matter how you walk, you are not tired.
"I finally went to my son's village. It is full of wild roses. What a beautiful place. On the bridge, I met three grandchildren ... when I came back, someone gave me this lantern. The soap of Wild Rose Hall will arrive in large quantities from next week ... "
Grandma said this sentence happily while walking in a hurry on the dark road. Then, in the middle of the night, I returned home exactly.
(Excerpted from "Wild Rose Village in the Distance" in Naoko Anfang's Fantasy Novel Series)