Qiao Ye: It's as beautiful as mint

That day, I called Jing and asked her where she was, as usual. "I'm in the ground!" She said, "I'm picking mint in the field!" Her hearty tone was really like that of a peasant woman, "I'll bring you some tomorrow." Many years ago, the couple rented a small plot of land in the suburbs, and the husband raised bonsai trees in the field, and she planted a variety of seasonal vegetables and crops in the gaps between the trees, such as eggplant, cucumbers, tomatoes, beans, Northeast sticky corn, sweet potatoes, soybeans...... And mint. Among them, mint is the most abundant and the best to raise. This year it is a lonely tree, and next year it will be a piece of greenery. After picking it home, soak it in water and drink it, and eat it with cold dishes, which is very good. "Every day when my child brings a glass of water to school, I put a few slices of mint in her cup." In our city, there is still such a child, in the water cup in the side pocket of her schoolbag, there are actually a few pieces of fresh emerald mint, I will be moved inexplicably when I think of this. I also like peppermint. When I was a child, there were often clumps of mint growing by the small river in my hometown, and before my fingers arrived, the coolness had come. Pick a piece and put it between the lips, and the fragrance and cool hemp will not dissipate for a long time. With a pout, I couldn't help but swallow the soft bi, until I fell asleep at night, and the fragrance and cold hemp could still be soaked into sleep. The next day, I went to Jingzhi's appointment to get mint from her unit. The spring sun was as fresh as mint, and the wind from my bike was as crisp as mint, and I suddenly realized what a beautiful thing it was—I was going to get mint. On this busy morning, in the bustling flow of people who are busy with fame, fortune, livelihood, and desire, my goal is actually a bag of emerald mint!

　　To the quiet unit, a brief conversation, take the mint. Because it had been heavy rain for the first two days, the mint leaves were covered with shallow mud spots. Jing said that she also dug up a few mint plants with mud roots for her colleagues, who also liked mint because of her influence...... "I was very careful and slow when I picked mint. Of course, it has to be like this, because the growth degree of mint is different, some like children have not grown up, then they can't be picked indiscriminately, only if they are ripe, can they be moved......" She was full of energy when she told about mint, and I suddenly found that this woman with the fragrance of mint was so beautiful. The rented land in the suburbs, Jing goes there twice a week, half an hour's drive. As for me, I rode a fifteen-minute bike to her to get mint and chatted for half an hour. ——It's not a fuss of hypocrisy, nor is it a fictitious petty bourgeoisie, we are all people who have experienced some things, only so, in this vicissitudes of life, these mint, these mint-like beautiful things, these mint-like fragrant and simple things, such as music, such as movies, such as childhood hills and youthful lovesickness, are our spiritual lungs. Its existence makes our hearts as soft as cotton, flowing like streams, and clear as springs. That's the only way I feel extra happy and happy because of mint, just because of mint. Carrying mint home is like carrying a bag of jewelry. Dear mint, dear mint, beloved mint, at this moment I would like to give it all the praise of passion, for it throbs as much as love for my preciousness.

Life is often so beautiful by Qiao Ye

　　Every afternoon, after picking up the child, I would take him for a walk around the street, which is a habit that we both enjoy. As I walked around, looking at the scene and gossiping, I felt that this was God's best reward for my hard work.　　Every time we walked to the Mandarin intersection, I would stop and have a chat with a woman who was selling side dishes, which was a must for our walk. The woman had a black face, long braided hair, and a well-dressed woman, but she was very clean. She has a wide variety of side dishes, and they are cheap and good, so they are often in short supply, and I often buy vegetables from her, so we know each other well. Therefore, every time you pass by, whether you buy groceries or not, you have to stop and greet her.　　When there are many customers, I also help her pack her bags and collect money. She would tell me in detail which dishes sold well today, how many hours it took to marinate the pork, where the broccoli was bought from, how the kelp shreds and tofu rolls could be cut into delicate hair, and what ingredients the shiitake mushrooms needed to be delicious and beautiful. Listening to her gentle words, I will feel waves of faint warmth swirling in my heart. It was as if the person who spoke to me like this was a relative of mine who had been around for a long time.　　And every time the child saw her from afar, he would shout: "Mother! This is our local nickname for women who are older than their mothers.　　The woman's smile, like the land of late autumn, was natural and mellow.

　　One night, I walked to the theater to see a play, and when it was raining lightly, I called a tricycle. The coachman was a man in white who was nearly fifty years old, and he was slightly chubby. Halfway there, I suddenly remembered that there was a friend living nearby, and I hadn't seen her in a long time, and I wanted to go up and talk. So I asked the driver to stop the car and settle the bill with him.　　"It's not there yet." He reminded me that I was probably a foreigner. "I wanted to come here to see a friend temporarily." I say. "Is it a long time? I'll wait for you. He said, "It's hard to hail a taxi on a rainy day." "No, I don't." I say. In fact, the business of tricycles on rainy days is often better, how can I delay him to make money?　　Half an hour later, however, I came out of my friend's house to find him waiting for me. His white garment was like a hazy cloud in the rain and mist.　　That day, I wanted to pay him double the fare, but he insisted on refusing: "Anyway, pulling others is also pulling, you are a stable business, and it saves me from running around." He laughs. I saw the raindrops fall on his hair like a clump of moonlight.　　The postman in charge of delivering mail in my neighborhood was a handsome boy who looked to be only about 20 years old. With dyed hair and a necklace, he seems to be uneasy, but in fact he works very hard. Every day at three o'clock in the afternoon, he would come here on time, put the mail in the mailboxes of each house, and then shout loudly: "The newspaper has arrived!" "Why do you want to shout like that? Is it required by the unit? "Once, I asked.　　He shook his head and smiled: "Shout, if someone in the house can hear it, you will be able to read the newspapers and letters in the most timely manner." ”

　　Later, every time he shouted, as long as I was at home, I would hear the sound and take the mail away. Actually, I wasn't in a hurry to see it, but I didn't want to live up to his shout. You know, every house shouts, he has to shout five or six hundred times a day.　　His youthful voice echoes like a bronze bell and a green bamboo.　　There are many such people in my life, who can give me this unforgettable feeling. Dusty cleaners, fruit vendors with fans to catch mosquitoes and flies, and bicycle repairers with greasy hands...... As long as you see them, a sense of intimacy that has no reason will permeate your body. I don't know their names or origins, but I really don't think they have anything to do with me. Their smiles make me happy, their sorrows make me haunted, their serenity silences me, and their haste unstrains me. I understand that my existence is insignificant to them, but they mean something very different to me. I know that I live between their daily toil and rush, between their tears and sweat, between their inextricable sorrows and joys, between their bluestone footprints and the breath of the waves.　　These dusty and humble people, their figures haunt my sight, and their spirits are precipitated in my heart. They often make me feel that this ordinary world is actually so lovely, this scattered world is actually so tacit, and the seeds of life that look like grass mustard are actually so tough and beautiful.　　I live on their nourishment, but they know nothing about their giving. They are more and more simple because they don't know, and I am happier because I know.