Stockowners Club—Lai Qingsong

【Weiman】November 6 was the first time we went to visit Uncle Lai. When we arrived at his house, as soon as he entered we saw a small calico cat. It was the first thing to welcome us. Uncle Lai said that he was called Black Wheel, and was a very stubborn cat. Right away Uncle Lai started asking questions, making us answer them. Uncle Lai brought out his famous Qingsong Rice, and gave each of us a bag; he is truly generous. Later on he introduced plants, like water spinach, lotus, and ginger lily. Afterwards we returned to his house and stood under the eaves. Auntie boiled a large pot of tea for us to drink; Uncle Lai had us guess what it was. I said, red rice tea. It turns out that I was the first one to guess right. Later on, Uncle Lai wanted to take us in his car to visit the residence of an artist. Before we left, we took turns going to the restroom; it wasn’t until afterwards that we discovered that Uncle Lai’s toilet was environmentally safe! Here is how it worked: First of all, after doing our business, we had to fill the latrine with sawdust; this experience was very strange. While in the car, the experience of feeling the wind was very special. Later, we entered Uncle Lai’s home. His home was built out of planks, very much in the Japanese style; there was also a place to warm oneself. Later, Auntie returned, and started to teach us how to make rice rolls with fermented bean curd inside; they were really delicious. She also invited us to eat popsicles. This is how we passed a very fulfilling morning.

【Yaru】On the morning of November 6^th, we got up very early. We left for Uncle Lai Qingsong’s home filled with expectations and smiling faces. As soon as we arrived, I could not wait to jump out of the car. What I saw was a courtyard, which had many different kinds of plants growing in it. For instance, there were pumpkins and roselles, etc. Do you know how old the pumpkin was that we were eating? The answer is 80 years old. Uncle Qingsong invited us to eat some red rice popsicles; his wife also taught us how to make red rice roles. She said, “fermented bean curd” can make red rice roll that look common place change into very delicious food. When we first started to roll them, they did not look special at all. But the second time we rolled them, their shapes were better looking by far. When we swallowed them, our tummies filled with a feeling of good fortune; they were delicious. I never realized that fermented bean curd matched with red rice was so good to eat. Their restroom was also very special; it used a sawdust facility to replace the flushing toilet that the average home uses; this not only does not waste water sources, it recycles waste, and leaves no residual smell. Cats and dogs ran around occasionally, seeming to welcome us! Afterwards, we took his car and visited the home of an artist, called Uncle Yang Wenchang. There were a lot of strange things there, like a pile of deer horns, a lion head, and a bear skin, and also a pen for raising ducks! Standing on this field made me have feeling of closeness and simplicity, like letting me feel Uncle Lai Qingsong’s resolve and perseverance as a farmer. Before we all knew that being a farmer was very difficult; however, it actually carries a lot of happiness that city dwellers never felt, so on occasion one should come and experience the simplicity and beautiful scenery of the countryside. You will discover that unanticipated happiness is awaiting you!

【Xinhui】Today went to interview Master Lai; he patiently introduced various types of plants, and brought up one difficult question after another for us to answer. Under his introduction, we came to understand the characteristics of quite a few plants, and understood the difficulty of being a farmer. Later on, we took Master Lai’s car and all of us sat in the back; on the way we quietly looked off in the distance, enjoying the scenery; the air was breathtakingly clear and so captivating. Each flower and each stem of grass, each scene and each site, were all so beautiful; I felt that I was transported to the realm of the fairies. The oncoming wind was especially cool and delicious. When in the city I never felt such invigorating air; this is something I prized very much.

When we arrived at Uncle Yang’s home, it had many works of art and some pieces that were exquisitely carved, and some things we normally could see, such as lion bones and deer horns, etc.; this gave us many insights. When we were getting ready to return home, sitting in the car and looking at a stream, the stream was so clear as to be unbelievable. The car stopped, and we soaked our feet in the stream; it was so cold! At 12:13, Master Lai’s wife taught us how to make rice rolls; we were so busy working we got in each other’s way. Finally we finished; although the rice rolls did not look very much like rolls, still all of us thought they were delicious.

Today this trip to Yuanshan was entirely worth it; we learned a lot and increased the range of our experiences. We will remember all that was there, and are thankful to Master Lai for his explanations. His personable, warm voice is something that I will never forget.

【Youcheng】At 9:00 on the morning of November 6^th, a group of us gathered in the parking lot of the Liming Elementary School. The teachers who were accompanying us were Junliang, Huijuan, Yuhao….The children who were in attendance were eight in all: me, Lu Jigang and others. We all boldly set off on our journey to Uncle Lai’s house in four separate cars.

Uncle Lai’s house is in the country around Shengou, Yuanshan. It had a very large courtyard that was filled with many different types of plants, like roselle; rice stalks were piled up into a pyramid. Two cats acted as the guards for this house, and were responsible for patrolling the area. After entering this home, we saw a stove with a special design; in winter when it gets lit, it helps all to stay warm and boil water for tea. In the summer it helps circulate the air to keep it from getting stale. The life wisdom of the ancestors was on full display here, and was startling in its intensity, almost making me gasp. At noon Uncle Lai taught us to make royal red rice rolls. The ingredients included red rice, fermented bean curd, and salty braised sea weed. When rolling the rice rolls, don’t forget to wash your hands to make them damp so the rice kernels won’t stick to your hands. When bitten into, red rice rolls are very chewy. The sweet flavor of the rice made us love them so much we could not stop eating them—

we got so full! Afterwards we ate red rice popsicles with a very special flavor. Their unforgettable flavor made me want to eat another one. I really hope that next time I have the chance I will return and visit Uncle Lai’s home.

【Yaosheng】This morning we students who are participating in the Internet World Exposition and a few teachers went together to visit Uncle Lai Qingsong. When we arrived at his home, at first he started to introduce matters concerning agriculture to us. He said, “Now is the time to let fields lie fallow; we will not start to transplant seedling (they will be transplanted twice) until January. The place where the most of this activity will take place is probably Yilan, the western region in the dry season in winter, the eastern region in the dry season during summer, the large part of the southern region which is a largely temperate zone with its vegetables…etc.” Uncle Lai also told us that the agricultural land that he personally had to manage was approximately five hectares in extent. When Uncle Lai took us to view the lotus flowers in the back courtyard, the sun suddenly came out, and all of our faces suddenly changed. Uncle Lai said, “As far as you are concerned, it is a painful thing for you when the sun comes out because it is very hot. But as far as we farmers are concerned, it is a happy event when the sun comes out, because it lets plants absorb light.” Because it really was too hot, Uncle Lai let us go cool off. Uncle Lai took a few pieces of fruit in his hands and asked us, “Guess what these are. Who can peel them?” It turns out that we were able to peel them, so Uncle Lai told us that we were good at destroying things; this was really embarrassing! Uncle Lai said that these are lotus pods, and said to us that lotus flowers originally came from India. I smelled the lotus pods and could tell that they were very bitter! Uncle Lai then took us to the Lin family duck farm. I was really happy, because I was able to sit on Uncle Lai’s car where a light breeze wafted over my face. The feeling of euphoria really was difficult to describe. After arriving at the Lin family duck farm we saw a house, and in the house were many things such as deer horns, bear skins, fossilized fish, etc. We even wore the skull of a lion on our heads and took a picture wearing it. But during the process of taking pictures we were afraid of getting our heads stuck between its teeth! When I walked outside, suddenly a dog rushed over and bit me; it really frightened me, but luckily it bit my pants; who would have thought that I would lose to a dog. While getting ready for our return trip to Uncle Lai’s house, we also went to a ditch to play in the water. Don’t be suspicious, the water was super clean, and even had fish in it! Uncle Lai said that this water from a ground spring, so it was especially clean. After returning to Uncle Lai’s home, Aunt Hongmei taught us how to

make rice rolls with fermented bean curd. After eating our fill, Uncle Lai invited us to eat red rice popsicles; it turns out that rice can be used to make so many creative and tasty dishes and snacks, it really filled us with admiration. When time was about up, we stated our goodbyes to Uncle Lai and that we had to go tour another place. We really hoped that we could stay longer!

Today was a day that we had been longing for over a long period of time because today was the first time in my life to visit Mr. Lai Qingsong. Therefore, I was filled with energy, and was prepared to struggle hard! LET’S GO!

【Zuyuan】Early today I rode in my teacher’s car with a happy and excited heart. All along the way we all talked and laughed, and before long we had arrived at Master “Lai Qingsong’s” home. As soon as I saw Master Lai, I had a feeling of closeness, like a warm wind lightly brushing over my face—how comfortable! Next, we took a ride in Master Qingsong’s car. The slight breeze was lightly blowing, and after a short while we arrived at the home of artist Yang Wenchang. Inside were many pretty things on display; outside was a large pond that was sparkling clear. On our trip home we saw a small ditch of water that sprang directly out of the ground; it was also very clear. Master Qingsong said, “Go on down and play in it!” We never thought that a ditch of water would be so clear that we could see the bottom!

When we returned to Master Lai’s home, we saw many implements that we had never seen before, very much in the style of the Japanese. After viewing them, Master Lai’s wife taught us how to make rice rolls; three-cornered rice rolls are really hard to roll. The second time we finally mastered the secret, and also enjoyed eating rice rolls made out of fermented bean curd. Master Qingsong let us eat “red rice popsicles,” icy and cold, really delicious! When it was time to leave, we took a picture together with Master Qinggong; we all shouted with one voice, “Yea!”

【Hancheng】After a short while we arrived at the ancient homeland of water—Yuanshan. All along the way were agricultural fields; there were no tall buildings at all; it was all countryside that lived up to its name. No wonder Uncle Lai would select this location for his “work shop.” Afterwards we arrived at Uncle Lai’s house. He welcomed us very warmly; as soon as we entered we saw many plants, including dandelion, roselle, lotus roots, plantain….all sorts of vegetation; these all opened up our eyes to this world. We also saw two cats and one dog. Uncle Lai told us that the name of one cat was “Black Wheel;” the other cat as called “Ejia.” Next he introduced many different plants to us, letting us understand even better the characteristics of plants and their methods of planting, etc. Afterwards, he invited us to eat red rice popsicles and to drink red rice tea as well as letting us tour his house. His wife taught us how to make three-cornered red rice rolls with seaweed. I truly felt that being able to utilize one variety of rice to make so many things was something to admire.

What made us happy was Uncle Lai letting us ride in his car to go to the Lin family duck farm. On the way a light breeze cooled us off. Along the way we saw many large ditches irrigating the fields, and the water was both cold and clear, making us feel very comfortable.

What we gained this trip was much more than I could have imagined!