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菲比 | 闪亮的日子 · Just Like a Kid

Phoebe | Shining Days · Just Like a Kid

Tuesday, April 15, 2025
The highest compliment I can give you is: Just like a kid.
Today, Xiao Jing and I were supposed to meet a Vietnamese guest named Michael, who had booked a streamside rubbing activity. To this end, I worked hard to look up new words and prepare to introduce the plants along the way, and I didn't go to bed until 3:30 in the morning.
It rained when the time came. Michael took a taxi from Xizhou to the meeting point. Xiaojing said that it was raining and he couldn't do the painting, so he could take him hiking. Michael decided to cancel. Since we were here, we chatted briefly out of curiosity. Michael works in technology and has been to China 4 times. He has been to many big cities and has studied Chinese before.
One of Michael's goals in traveling was to taste delicious food from all over the world. He opened his cell phone album, showed me the food he had eaten on this trip, commented on it, and asked me to recommend something to him. I recommended my favorite milk fan popsicle. Michael tasted the local cherries and blueberries brought by Xiaojing, but did not eat the boiled peanuts, nor did he accept the invitation to get into the van that Xiaoqi helped Xiaojing transform to visit. He left, and we set out to play. I want to collect some plants and do plant rubbings on the two pieces of cloth given by Miss Liangduan.
The agapanthus (Agapanthus genus, Amaryllidaceae) planted by people on the roadside bloomed like fireworks.

Xiao Jing found a Chinese wax cicada. The head of this guy stretched forward to form a head protrusion that looked like a "nose".
Along the way, I outputted the plant vocabulary I prepared one by one. Xiao Jing said that he was watching the English version of "My Neighbor Totoro" recently, and learned acorn, camphor tree, etc.
We came to a beautiful black boulder. The stone was high, like a small hill. There were some jagged marks on it that seemed to have been quarried. Over the years, mosses and lichens grew on some parts. It looked like a bonsai rock, but also had a bit of an alien temperament. Xiao Jing climbed up with great interest and decided to drink tea on it. Zha Mao followed closely behind.
Although the stones are beautiful, I am a little afraid that the stones wet by rain will make my feet slippery. Seeing Xiao Jing walking around on them nimbly, and the fat and chubby hair was not ambiguous, I hesitated for a moment and followed carefully. Xiao Jing had already placed the food on the stone.
The tea I brought was Tang Wang organic tea, a "Silver Needle" from the White Tea Garden tasting pack. Xiao Jing said that when picking tea, one bud and one leaf or one bud and two leaves are picked, and the Silver Needle uses the most precious "one bud". Xiao Jing took a sip of the tea and gave a detailed and favorable comment. I was surprised by her sharp perception. Is perception, like climbing mountains and catching insects, also a skill that can be acquired naturally? In childhood, I accidentally planted a willow in the play.
The lion king is like a dog that looks like its master.
On the stones, lichens and mosses are interwoven into a microscopic world, like a thick carpet.
A lovely moment
We talked about Michael and we laughed at the same feelings.
On the way back, I saw a small snake on the side of the road, motionless, and I didn't know whether it was dead or alive. When I looked closely and wanted to take a photo, it ran away. I only had time to take a photo of its body exposed as it shuttled through the grass.
PS Wang Bin said that this is a young purple-gray rat snake. He also said that the purple-gray rat snake is the ancestral snake of the Bai people, it is non-venomous, docile, and does not bite people. So I read an article "A Preliminary Study on the Bai People's Snake Worship".
I did some unsuccessful plant rubbing at home in the evening. I sighed that rubbing is a technical job. Xiao Jing said that it is a physical job!
Tuesday, April 22
What happened yesterday? I was resting yesterday.
At this moment, after finishing my morning reading, I feel a little bit sleepless.
Bird sounds, blue sky, a clear and warm world.
I want to write at least one interesting sentence every day.
What is interesting and worth recording is a matter of personal taste. All about your taste.
Thursday, April 24, early morning
The world is in turmoil,
We are in our little fortress with a view,
Chatting, drinking tea, eating snacks,
Light the candle and light the lamp in the darkness .
Postscript: I invited Xiao Jing and You to dinner at Xiangsiyuan, a Dai-style restaurant near Xiao Jing's home. I finally saw You as described by Xiao Jing. After dinner, Xiao Jing invited You and I to play in her car. After Xiao Qi's clever design and modification, a large platform can be spread out in the car in a few steps, and it also has a wide coffee table, where you can study, draw, sit, lie down, and play.
Xiao Jing drove her minivan to the middle of the field. It was windy and rainy outside, with a dark landscape and a few lights on the horizon in the background. Her mobile picnic life in Yangshuo became concrete in my mind. We huddled in the mini space in the van, drinking tea, chatting, eating the pudding and cakes bought during the tour, and she even brought me a portion home. The cake was really delicious. It was delicious because it was rare to eat it.
As we drove back, it felt like we were on a small journey.
Early morning of Friday, April 25
The room was in such a mess as if someone was about to move, with cardboard boxes piled up all over the place.
You said that her home was tidy and sparse. She made her own bread. She flew back and forth during the busy wedding season in May, September and October to shoot videos for the newlyweds' weddings. You was a person who naturally relaxed. Xiao Jing said that she was simple and self-centered, and it was very comfortable to be with her, even if they didn't say a word.
I have been so busy lately that I haven't cooked for myself for a long time. You said that she cooks three meals a day for herself, and time flies by between the three meals. I admire her healthy life with a balanced schedule and a well-organized life.
Sleepy. Looking forward to tomorrow.
               ＊ ＊ ＊ Noon ＊ ＊ ＊
The tall and quiet white young man holding a camera and shooting reminded me of Lennet. He asked the children, is Cangshan fun? In front of the mountain temple, he shared his perspective with us. The big eyes graffiti on the wall are the God of Tea, guarding the tea leaves that the villagers put on the ground in the temple to dry, blessing them to become good tea.
Early morning of Saturday, April 26
Sophie said yesterday that when she lived in Singapore, she found that geckos can help eat ants. The Singapore government can control mosquitoes, but not ants.
The hairy jumping spider is agile and has excellent eyesight.
The furry pseudo-leaf beetle looks like a necklace pendant in this pose.
The hairy potato beetle. In the book "Insects Around Us", it is written that the backs of herbivorous ladybugs are high because plants are rich in fiber and require a long digestive tract to slowly digest. In order to accommodate a longer digestive tract, their backs are higher than those of carnivorous ladybugs. Later, it is compared to humans. In order to accommodate a longer intestine, East Asians who eat more vegetables have longer bodies and shorter legs than Europeans and Americans who eat more meat. I laughed when I saw this paragraph.
Sophie carefully draws a bug while looking at the real thing.

We have a simple little tea table that lacks decoration.

Sophie's first nature note is really good! Soul painter!
Early morning of Sunday, April 27
Following the words "rice bowl" on it, I walked into a newly opened restaurant closest to the parking lot.
For the first meal, I ordered stir-fried pork with green peppers and rice, which cost 15 yuan. The green peppers were spicy. I said I couldn't handle spicy food, so the boss brought me a bowl of homemade soup, with beans and mushrooms stewed in meat broth, which was delicious! For the second meal, I ordered stir-fried vegetables that were not on the menu. When chatting with the boss, he said that a vegetarian ate like this at his place. Several vegetarian dishes were put together, whatever was available. This time the boss put together green vegetables, zucchini, and bitter melon, which I haven't seen for a long time! Add a fried egg, and as much rice as you can, for 15 yuan. The boss also gave me a bowl of tomato soup. I proudly took a photo and sent it to Jason, because he was in the country of vegetables - Japan. I sent it to Wang Bin, because he loves to eat vegetarian food. For the third meal, I still had stir-fried vegetables with fried eggs, but this time the bitter melon was replaced with potatoes, and the boss still conscientiously brought me freshly made tomato soup.
During the chat, I learned that the boss had been a soldier in Dali since 1995. After recovery, he worked as a truck driver, married a Bai girl from Lvtao Village and had a child. He has moved to Dali for 20 years and his child is in elementary school. He went back to his hometown in Sichuan to learn cooking, ran a business of driving tourists around the sea, and finally opened a restaurant in his family's house. The store is newly opened in the village and few people know about it. The boss hopes to make some money during the peak summer vacation season. He said that the land next to his house by the stream was originally his family's vegetable garden. The government built the road and filled it with concrete. Now everyone can park for free on a first-come, first-served basis. The boss said that when he occasionally goes back to his hometown in Sichuan, in the small cities near Chongqing, parking is charged everywhere. The economy of small cities is underdeveloped, and they rely on this to support a bunch of idle people.
I've been busy with work lately, so I've been eating at several restaurants near my home.
Tuesday, April 29, early morning
The female guests on Sunday all asked the same question: "Where is Dad?" Then on Monday, I met a father who brought his child to the stone painting activity alone. This was really rare, and I was surprised as soon as I saw him.
I always think that men look sexy when they are taking care of children and cooking, because at this time, they show their gentle and careful side, and their brains approach the ideal state of androgyny. The ideal man, or the model of the ideal human being, is like Xuan Dad and Saito Teacher, a gentleman like jade, illuminating the world around him.
                 * * * night * * *
Today, the seed teacher came to my activity. The yellow berries of the oval raspberry were ripe, and she happily picked them and shared them with my guests. Some parents didn't want them, maybe they were just being polite. She was surprised: city people don't understand the goodness of the mountains!
The kids were not polite, they wanted all of them! It was really delicious, full of fruity flavor! Wild berry, wild taste!

In January, I met Teacher Zhong Zi at an event at Chaimiduo Farm. I brought my nature notes that day, and she introduced the food forest. Teacher Zhong Zi is participating in the community building of Guilai Farm, and I often run into her on the road recently. Last winter, Wukong invited me and guest Echo to have tea outdoors, and it turned out that the place belonged to Guilai Farm.
When we were going down the mountain, Mr. Seedling described his recent life and mentioned "Transition Towns", which advocates "people who want to do something, do what they want to do, when they want to do it, and do as much as they want". I said, you are entering communism in advance. The consensus community always gives me this feeling. Seedling smiled, it is a bit utopian, we are the Nongtuo Gang.
To celebrate the successful completion of work this month, I bought myself an ice cream after a long absence. I bought it from the vegetarian shop next door, 15 yuan each. It was delicious, and the sweetness could be a little lower. After eating it, I sniffed the sweet smell in the empty paper box for a long time. Desserts are like the symbol of sweet life, La dolce vita.

Wednesday, April 30
night.
The way the locals name things is surprising, as simple as a child. The mushrooms that pop up when it rains and is cold in July and August are called "cold fungi". The pine cones with edible pine nuts are called "edible pine", and the ones that cannot be eaten are called "bitter pine". I heard him call pine cones this way when I participated in the Stardust event last month.
The most impressive part of that activity was the feeling of hugging a tree. Hugging a tree for a long time is like hugging a person for a long time, which makes people feel the connection between life and life and brings comfort.
photo by curly hair
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