On Sunday, the family arrived at the courtyard.
Jiang Zhida brought Zhang Lu and Jiang Weixin with him. When the two children heard that they were here to pick dates, they pestered Jiang Zhida to come and join in the fun.
When the vermilion gate of the courtyard was opened in early summer, the two dogs Huangzi and Heizi could not wait to rush into the courtyard. The cold and lonely feeling that the house originally gave people disappeared in an instant, and it became lively again.
Zhang Lu held Jiang Weixin with one hand and Cen Huaian with the other, and rushed into the yard following the two dogs with a loud laugh.
Cen Huaian was forced to run after him.
"Dates! So many dates!" Zhang Lu's loud cheers came from the yard.
Jiang Weixin also followed her and called "Zao", only An An, a little child, did not speak.
In early summer, passing the screen wall, what comes into view is the withered yellow leaves covering the whole yard. Looking down, I see Cen Huaian, a small figure standing under a tall jujube tree, looking up at the jujubes on the tree, with a light in his eyes.
Zhang Lu was trying hard to climb up the tree, but Jiang Zhida grabbed him by the collar and pulled him down like an eagle catching a chick. Jiang Weixian ran around the tree happily, shouting.
Cen Zhengnian looked at them with a smile in his eyes: "They are now just like me and my elder brother, Da Zi and others when we were kids picking dates together."
Chuxia recalled: "I didn't pick dates when I was a child, but I did pick pomegranates."
Cen Zhengnian: "My grandfather has a pomegranate tree, and we can pick the pomegranates soon."
The seasons for pomegranates and dates to come into season are similar, around the Mid-Autumn Festival.
A kind of insect called the green moth is easy to grow on jujube trees. It has poisonous stings all over its body. If you touch it, you will be stung, and red and swollen bumps will appear immediately.
So before picking dates, Chuxia, Cen Zhengnian and others helped the children to fully arm themselves, leaving no skin exposed, even their faces were covered.
Jiang Zhida found a bamboo pole in the yard with ease and tied an inverted V-shaped branch to the pole. Then he tried to hook it gently, and the ripe dates fell down one after another.
Zhang Lu and Jiang Weixian ran and shouted with laughter. Because they were wrapped tightly and wearing thick hats, they were not afraid of the pain.
Cen Huaian held up the hem of his clothes, and the dates fell into a small pile. He grabbed the clothes with his two little hands and ran to Chu Xia and Cen Zhengnian.
"Mom, Dad, eat dates."
As he spoke, he put his clothes up in his pockets.
There were dates in Cen Huaian's pocket, some big and some small, most of them were half red and half green, and looked very sweet.
Chu Xia smiled and reached out to take a few, wiped them on her gloves, took a bite, and then stuffed another one into Cen Huaian's mouth.
The dates are indeed crispy, sweet and full of moisture. After eating one, you can’t help but want to eat more.
Cen Zhengnian also took a few dates. He smiled and touched Cen Huaian's head, letting him eat them himself.
Zhang Lu and Jiang Weixian squatted on the ground and picked up the dates that had just fallen, eating them as they picked them up. However, there were only a few dates thrown into the basket next to them.
Cen Huaian poured the dates from his pocket into the basket, ate two dates and squatted on the ground to pick up dates.
Jiang Zhida just tried to hook the dates to make sure the bamboo pole could be used. He called out to Cen Zhengnian, "Second cousin, find a bed sheet and put some dates underneath it!"
If you don't use a bed sheet to catch the dates, the ripe dates will easily fall to the ground and get broken.