Wentu/Ying Zhigang

In the afternoon, the dancing sun shines through the shade of the alleys with mottled white walls and black tiles. The diligent moms sit under the eaves, enjoying the refreshing draft.

However, his hands were never idle, and grains of bright white and fine chicken head rice "broke through the cocoons" from the chestnut shell and rolled into the blue and white porcelain bowl following the gesture.

In the evening, the sweet and fragrant taste fills the alleys.

A bowl of hot, runny chicken head rice sprinkled with osmanthus, gently scoop it up with a spoon and delicately deliver it to your mouth. The sweet juice fills the taste buds with the few crispy fragrant glutinous grains.

This is the taste of Suzhou, the gentleness and elegance that flows into the blood, and the memories that everyone who has been to Suzhou will miss for a lifetime.

Every autumn, the delicious food that Suzhou people have been waiting for-chicken head rice is on the market.

In order to take a complete image of harvesting chicken head rice, I got up before dawn yesterday. After driving for half an hour, I finally arrived at the chicken head rice planting base in Luzhi.

In Luzhi, there are nearly 10,000 acres of paddy fields planted with chicken head rice, which are mainly distributed in the Chenghu International Slow City area and have obtained the "National Agricultural Products Geographical Indication Protection".

Chicken head rice is the high neighbor of summer lotus. The leaves are round and large, and the corners are slightly tilted upwards, like a green disc laid flat on the water surface.

Its flowers are light purple and float on the water, with the clarity of Chinese vetch.

After the flowers wither, the calyx does not fall off. As time flows, it slowly closes and expands, forming a fruit ball shaped like a chicken's head.

A fist-sized fruit ball is wrapped in hundreds of small maroon fruits. The outer shell is peeled off, and the chicken head rice, which is "round as pearls, the color as fish eyes, and the size of peas", reveals its true appearance.

When I turned on the camera, I took a special look at the time. It was exactly 5 a.m.

In the paddy field, farmers picking chicken head fruits have been crawling in the water and mud for two or three hours.

The miners 'lamps above their heads are floating around in the dark night like fireflies.

After reaching the fruit, use a bamboo knife to draw a circle on the leaves with the plant as the center. Then pull the fruit out of the water, quickly make two cuts on the roots, cut it off and place it in a bamboo basket.

For farmers, a bumper harvest is never poetic, just to endure the hardships of living.

From the twinkling of stars to the rising sun, from the setting sun to the west to the bright moon, it took nearly 20 hours of work, with only a break for eating and drinking water.

After the sun rose above the horizon, farmers, who had been busy for half a night, picked up bags of fruits from the paddy fields and piled them on tricycles, ready to be sent to the purchasing station.

The eldest brother who was photographed by me for more than an hour and was "too lazy" to talk to me while soaking in the paddy field finally came ashore.

I handed him a cigarette, but he shook his head and refused,"I don't have time to smoke." He bent down and picked up a woven bag of fruits, did not forget to grab another bag with his hands, and staggered towards the tricycle on the roadside.

Looking at the remaining bags of fruits, I stepped forward and tried to lift them, but didn't move them.

The sister-in-law, who was passing by with the chicken head fruit on her back, laughed,"It's more than a hundred kilograms. How can you handle it?"

Needless to say, harvesting chicken head fruits is hard, but peeling chicken head rice is also not easy.

Only 10 kilograms of chicken head fruits can you knead 6 kilograms of "chicken head beads", and 6 kilograms of "chicken head beads" can you peel 1 kilogram of "chicken head rice".

When it first came into the market, the outer shell of the fruit grains was still relatively tender and could be peeled off with your nails.

Wear a copper nail and even use pliers to break the shell.

Go to the vegetable market and have a look. Those vendors selling chicken head rice have peeled chicken head rice for a few days, and their nails are cracked and black.

A grain of chicken head rice needs to be planted, maintained, harvested, and peeled from the field to the table. Anyone who can make easy money is unwilling to do every process.

Every grain is hard work, so it is perfect to give chicken head rice.

So, when you scoop up that sweet, glutinous and refreshing chicken head rice, please cherish those who can still provide you with delicious food, and please cherish all food.

Because every bite we waste is the life that some people have worked hard.

Every bite is a life that some people have worked hard to live.