Chapter 175 Kapok
As time went by, Sun Shan got used to the life in Hong's School. He got along very well with his classmates and roommates. Maybe because he was still a kid, everyone was very tolerant of him.
On this day, Hong Xiucai walked in and said with a smile: "In the afternoon, we will go out for a spring outing. You should get ready."
As soon as Mr. Hong left, Sun Shan asked in confusion: "Spring outing? Where are you going?"
Ou Hanjun said happily: "It's in Huangyang County, where else can I go?"
Sun Shan was speechless. This was nonsense. If it wasn't in Huangyang County, then where was it? Are you going on a long journey? An afternoon was not enough.
The little fat boy Du Zhipu explained: "Ashan, the master may go to the Pangjiang River. The master likes to go to the Pangjiang River to appreciate the kapok flowers the most."
Sun Shan knew where the Pangjiang River was. It was right next to Manager Xia's Xiaowang Village.
It's called a river, but it's actually a river. It's not too big or too small, and you can cross to the other side in a few steps.
But there is a reason why it is called a river. When typhoons come in July and August and there are heavy rains, the Pangjiang River will flood and become extremely ferocious and fierce, which is completely different from the Pangjiang River in winter.
Now it is February, the season when kapok flowers bloom, so it is not surprising that Mr. Hong takes everyone to appreciate the flowers.
Speaking of kapok flowers, Sun Shan could only think of picking them up to dry and make soup.
Sunjia Village also has kapok flowers. Every time the flowers bloom, children pick them up to play with, while adults pick them up to dry in the sun.
Huang would also take Sun Shan to pick them, and after drying them, she would add pork spine, coix seeds, and red beans to make soup, which could clear away heat, relieve fatigue, strengthen the spleen and remove dampness.
Zeng Jiajun said with a smile: "It's good to go out. I don't have to go to class. It's boring to go to class for a whole month."
The tall and thin He Weizhan quickly covered Zeng Jiajun's mouth and said rudely, "Ah Jun, you are looking for death. You dare to say that you are bored at school. The teacher heard it and spanked your hand again."
Zeng Jiajun's mouth was covered, but he still understood that what He Weizhan said made sense. You must never say you don't want to go to school, otherwise, Hong Xiucai will really make you drop out.
Mr. Hong does not need your tuition fee. He has an income from teaching, and his two sons also have an income from working in Zhangzhou Prefecture. I heard that they are doing well and have already bought a house in Zhangzhou Prefecture.
Mr. Hong really doesn’t care whether students study or not, as he is not the boss of a rice restaurant.
Yao Zhi, who was slightly taller than Sun Shan, whispered, "It's good to go for a spring outing. It's not too cold or too hot today, and the warm wind is blowing gently. It's very comfortable."
Wang Wei next to him seemed to have thought of something, and covered his mouth and laughed secretly: "We in Class C go out for spring outing just to have fun, but Class B is different from Class C. We must be asked to write poems, hehe."
Thinking of this, everyone laughed happily.
Sun Shan also wanted to laugh, saying that the purpose of the outing was to write poetry.
At that time, I will be able to witness the poetry writing skills of my senior brothers.
However, he couldn't tell the quality of poetry. He had read a lot of Tang and Song poetry, but he couldn't resonate with anything that was not a masterpiece of all time.
After lunch, when the afternoon class bell rang, Hong Xiucai arrived as scheduled and led 16 students from Class A, Class B, and Class C to Xiaowang Village.
It seems that Du Zhipu was right, and we did go to Pangjiang to enjoy the flowers.
Because Huangyang County is so small, it only takes 30 minutes to walk from the school to Pangjiang.
Sun Shan knew where Pangjiang was and had seen Pangjiang, but he had never seen Pangjiang in spring or with kapok flowers in full bloom.
At this time, the water of Pangjiang River was flowing quietly, looking very gentle. Both sides of the Pangjiang River were planted with willow trees.
Plant a kapok tree every few willow trees. The willow trees and kapok trees complement each other, creating a unique spring atmosphere.
Hong Xiucai looked at the tall kapok tree full of kapok flowers with a smile on his face, and said to the students: "Kapok is also known as climbing branch flower, Qiongzhi, and hero tree. Our kapok tree is full of treasures. The bark can be used as medicine, and its flowers can be eaten."
So Mr. Hong gave everyone some common knowledge about the kapok tree.
Sun Shan was fascinated by what he heard.
After talking about kapok, Hong Xiucai changed his tone and said to the students: "Think about the poems and verses about kapok and say them out if you think of them."
After this question, everyone fell silent. The people of Daqian like the four gentlemen "plum, orchid, chrysanthemum and bamboo" the most, but there are not many descriptions of kapok.
Sun Shan felt that apart from the people of Guangnan Province who loved kapok trees, people in other provinces really didn't know much about the kapok tree.
Hong Xiucai's question made the air quiet. Some students frowned and thought hard, while others whispered to each other, trying to find each other's memories.
Sun Shan saw Zheng Hongwen from Zheng Tongsheng's family had a sad face, as if he was recalling past poems.
Sun Shan felt that Mr. Hong's question was a piece of obscure knowledge. If he asked everyone to answer "plum, orchid, chrysanthemum, bamboo", they would definitely be able to answer it fluently.
Let alone the Four Gentlemen, there are also many popular poems about peonies and lotus flowers.
There are really good poems about kapok flowers.
The first thing that came to Sun Shan’s mind was Shu Ting’s “To the Oak Tree,” which described the kapok tree.
"I must be a kapok tree next to you, standing with you as a tree."
Show the independence of kapok.
After a long while, Li Sheng from Class A replied: "Teacher, I thought of a poem about kapok."
Hong Xiucai encouraged him, "Speak, and let everyone hear it."
Li Sheng sang: "Who can I borrow the Yaohuang and Weizi flowers from? There are not many yuli and cherries, but the spring scenery in the south is different. The whole city is full of kapok flowers."
After everyone heard this, some students remembered it and rushed to answer: "It is Yang Wanli's "March 10th Rainy Cold", a seven-character quatrain."
Sun Shan listened carefully. This song was very familiar. He must have heard it before. It vividly depicted the gorgeous scenery of red cotton flowers in the south in spring. It was very similar to the blooming kapok flowers in front of him. Oh, it was really apt.
As expected, Mr. Hong was very satisfied and said with a smile on his face, "Not bad, especially the last two sentences, which describe the unique beauty of our south, which cannot be found anywhere else."
Hearing Mr. Hong's praise, Senior Brother Li Sheng straightened his chest proudly, as if he had written the poem himself.
However, Sun Shan also admired Senior Brother Li Sheng, because at least he had read it, remembered it and could recall it.
After all, it's quite niche and many people will ignore it.
Because Senior Brother Li Sheng started it, the students behind him gradually recalled more poems about kapok.
Su Dongpo's "Remember the Shangsi Day in the south of the city, the kapok flowers fell and the erythrina blossomed"
Liu Kezhuang's "A few trees are dyed red for half the sky, and the residents say they are kapok flowers"
Everyone put their ideas together, and slowly more and more poems about kapok were created.
Sun Shan apologized for what he had just said. There are many poems describing kapok, so kapok is not a niche plant.
It’s just that few people have ever seen the kapok flower, so it’s not very well-known.
Hong Xiucai was satisfied watching the students reciting poems, and he was also happy in his heart. Before leaving, he said, "Well, you have performed well today. Today's homework is to write a poem about "Kapok" and hand it in tomorrow."
I specifically said to the students in Class C: “Same to you!”
So the students wailed everywhere, and Mr. Hong turned around in a smug manner and led the students back happily.