Persimmons in my hometown are red.

It's late autumn now, and I think the persimmons in my hometown Longnan are already red.

Persimmon tree is one of the most common fruit trees in Huixian, Longnan, my hometown. Persimmon trees there are generally tall, with a tree body of more than ten meters. I remember when I was a child, there were two tall persimmon trees in front of my house and beside my yard. The fruit of one tree is called steamed persimmon, and the fruit of another tree is called pointed persimmon. Mature steamed persimmons are shaped like steamed buns made by smart women. The top of the pointed persimmon is convex, like an inverted top. Every year in late autumn, after the cold dew, the persimmons on the persimmon tree are first blue-yellow, then orange-yellow, and then deep orange-red, showing red smiling faces. That lovely expression seems to convey a mature atmosphere to people and render a profound artistic conception of autumn.

Whenever the autumn wind suddenly rises, the leaves on persimmon trees fall one after another, giving people a feeling that time flies and time waits for no one. At this time, all the persimmons were exposed. They stand on the high branches, and under the sunshine in late autumn, they present a crystal-clear luster, giving people the impression that the years are quiet and beautiful and the fruits are sweet and tempting.

Autumn in my hometown, no, it should be said that I have never heard the word "smog" all year round. Especially in late autumn, if it is sunny, the sky is surprisingly blue and the white clouds floating in the sky are dazzling. Persimmons nearby are red, cotinus coggygria leaves on the mountain are red, Cyclobalanopsis glauca leaves are yellow, and pine, cypress, bamboo, holly and wheat seedlings just exposed on the hillside are oily green. From a distance, all kinds of weather and all kinds of forest scenes give people a feeling like a lifetime ago. Such scenes often appear in my dreams now, which I understand as a mirage of homesickness.

Hometown people call picking persimmons "clamping persimmons", and the tools used to pick persimmons are called "clamping sticks". The clamping rod is to take a long bamboo pole, cut a V-shaped notch at the front end of the bamboo pole, evenly split the notch of more than ten centimeters, and then tie the tail of the notch with rubber.

I still remember the scene of holding persimmons: people tied a rope around their waist, climbed a tall persimmon tree, chose a strong branch that could take care of the surroundings, then hung the clamp rod tied to the other end of the rope and the bucket, put the clamp rod on the tree properly, and tied the bucket tightly to the surrounding branches. At this time, the persimmon began to pinch. Look at the twigs at the roots of persimmons, and stretch the clamp rod hard, and a persimmon will be firmly clamped. Then twist the clamp rod in your hand, and the branch will break. Then, return the clamp rod inch by inch, take the persimmon down and put it in the bucket at the back. So I went back and forth. Soon, I picked a handful of persimmons. At this time, slowly loosen the rope wrapped around the tree, slowly drop a bucket of persimmons on the ground, and ask the people under the tree to pour them out and put them away. At that time, I was a child, and I couldn't do the job of holding persimmons in a tree. I can only be a helper for my second uncle, carrying the persimmons that have fallen to the ground to my house in a cage, which is very hard.

In my hometown, there are many ways to eat persimmons, including retted persimmons, wine persimmons, dried persimmons and naturally ripe soft persimmons, all of which have unique flavors and endless aftertaste. Retted persimmons are sweet and crisp, and are usually made of steamed persimmons. It is said that mulberry leaves should be brewed with boiling water first, and then the cooled mulberry leaf water should be poured into a container filled with hard persimmons to soak for ten days. In addition to its sweet and crisp taste, wine persimmon also has a strong wine flavor. It is said that eating too much will intoxicate people. The process of making persimmon with wine is complicated. I remember when I was a child, grandpa would make a lot of wine persimmons every year. He first cleaned and dried a huge wooden barrel, then sprinkled a layer of distiller's grains mixed with distiller's grains, a layer of half-cooked pointed persimmons and a layer of distiller's grains until the barrel was full and sealed, and then pasted it into a dome shaped like a bunker with the mixed wheat coat mud. Once I aimed at the "bunker" to practice slingshots, and I was almost slapped down by my grandfather.

Wine persimmons should not be stuffy until the twelfth lunar month. Take them out to share with your family or transport them to the market for sale. I remember when I went to the market with adults, I often met people carrying baskets or pushing persimmons on the road. If you meet an acquaintance, they will offer you some wine persimmons. If you don't want them, acquaintances will impose them on you. In the end, they will say: the money to make a doll is not worth it. I suggest you accept it. I ate persimmon wine from several elders on the way. Because of different practices, persimmons taste different and unforgettable.

The food that nature gives to human beings can be described as rich and strange. Persimmons are cold-resistant and frozen. Its mature experience is a process from bitter to sweet, just like the taste of success in life. Persimmon has to go through the experience of wind, sun and frost from green fruit to maturity; Red, sweet and soft persimmons can only be natural after the first frost and cold dew.

Persimmon evolved from fruit to dried fruit, which made persimmon. Persimmons are made of semi-ripe hard persimmons. The production procedure is to peel hard persimmons with handles, string them together with hemp rope, hang them outdoors to dry, air dry in frost, take them down and put them in a jar after a while, sprinkle a little white flour layer by layer (to prevent adhesion), and then seal them. Persimmons can be eaten at the end of winter. Persimmon is sweet, soft and strong, and has a unique taste.

There are a bunch of persimmons hanging on the eaves of the white walls and blue tiles in my hometown, which are dazzling and can set off the prosperous days. This is a landscape in winter.

In early winter, you can see a few red eggs and persimmons on the tall persimmon tree, which are teetering in the air, attracting magpies to chirp and adding a little joy to the quiet countryside. Magpies fly to eat eggs and persimmons, but they often land on the branches before they get close to them. The ripe egg persimmon fell, and the magpie flew under the tree, but the egg persimmon was smashed into powder, and the magpie flew away in disappointment.

On the way home from school, my friends and I beat eggs and persimmons. I remember once, I picked up a piece of dirt and threw it at the eggs and persimmons on the tree. Eggs and persimmons were beaten. A companion named Suozi ran over to pick it up with his hands. As a result, the eggs and persimmons fell on his head and instantly smashed into mud, which caused his partners to laugh.

Childhood is interesting, and the red persimmon in my hometown in late autumn enriches my memory, and the red is bright. This not only increased my inner warmth, but also gave me more aftertaste about my life.

When I returned to my hometown a few years ago, I found that the persimmon tree had long since disappeared, and there were no candied persimmons and wine persimmons to buy in the market. There are some dried persimmons, but the quantity is very small, and I don't know who sent them.