竿起白露核桃香

俞天立

打山核桃，絕非易事。先用竿子中上部在樹枝上輕輕一拍，利用竿頭反彈的沖擊力擊打在果子上，這樣既省力，也能最大程度減輕對樹木的傷害，同時增加打落的山核桃的數量。這種科學的打竿方式，體現了對于自然的尊重，蘊含著農人的智慧。

白露到，溽熱散.天氣漸涼，正是浙江臨安山核桃成熟之時。

山核桃的風味，以臨安昌化的為最。這種堅果幾乎和昌化緊緊地捆綁在一起，與這里盛產的雞血石一樣，讓世人對這個浙西小鎮的認知變得獨特而容易。

（一）

昌化山核桃粒圓殼薄、脆口生津，自明朝初年以來開始種植、榨油，據說一度還成為朱元璋起兵反元時的軍糧。清朝黃景仁《核桃園夜起》曾云：“夢回小驛一燈紅，四面腥吹草木風。身似亂山窮塞長，月明揮淚角山中?！?/p>

近年來，借助于互聯網平臺，這種珍果聲名遠播，風靡全國乃至海外，成為吃貨們餐余飯后、休閑居家的首選零食之一。

岳父一家都是土生土長的臨安昌化農人，世代都與山核桃樹的根系緊密連結、難解難分。在他們所在的村莊，家家戶戶種植核桃樹，作為維持生計的重要收入來源。

山核桃這種干果如同嬌羞的大姑娘，平素躲在崇山峻嶺之中輕易不肯示人，非要等到秋高氣爽時節，讓人爬到那岧岧的山上高高的樹上一竿一竿地打下來，才露出芳容?？梢姡蛏胶颂?，絕非易事。

凌晨五點，我們一行五人便早起上山了。晨光熹微，山風涼爽。曲曲彎彎的山路，像是農人的汗印。一行人背竿的背竿，馱干糧的馱干糧，吭哧吭哧，尋途登覘，約莫四十分鐘才爬到山核桃林。

岳父母家的核桃林位于一面斜坡上，我的視野差不多得扭曲成四十五度角方能仰視那些綠蔭濃密的喬木。岳父提了竿子，蹭蹭地爬到樹上，身影霎時隱入茂密的樹蔭里，只剩沙沙的響動。

“啪！啪！啪！——”那竿子擊鼓一樣敲擊在枝干上，又靈巧而準確地回落在枝椏上，極富節奏感的擊打聲在群山間回蕩，如同一首悅耳的協奏曲。誰說農人不懂藝術的美？竿子和樹枝跳著歡快的“交誼舞”，成片的山核桃應聲而落，如同急雨落入水潭般灑在山坡上。妻子連忙讓我把草帽戴好，說萬一被山核桃砸到可不是好玩的。

父親挽起袖子躍躍欲試，岳父笑著讓他拿過竿子，站在樹下打那些低矮的枝條。只見他猴子一樣上躥下跳，掄起竿子就往樹上胡亂地拍打：“啪！啪！啪！”只是這聲音是他自己配的，只聞其聲，沒見幾顆核桃落下;一會他又喊“老爸在練武功嘞——”那個滑稽樣把眾人都逗得捧腹不已。

“你那姿勢不對！”岳父憨笑著朝他扯嗓子喊。眾人的目光聚焦到了岳父的身上，他開始邊比劃邊傳授秘笈。他說，正確的姿勢，應是先用竿子中上部在樹枝上輕輕一拍，利用竿頭反彈的沖擊力擊打在果子上，這樣既省力，也能最大程度減輕對樹木的傷害，同時增加打落的山核桃的數量，可謂一石三鳥。在順序上，得把近處低處打完再打遠處高處，切記不可傷害嫩枝嫩葉。父親連連點頭，虛心承認打山核桃這活計還是很有門道的。

我也由此開悟，山核桃樹是自然的生靈、草木的菁華，這種科學的打竿方式，體現了對自然的尊重，蘊含著農人的智慧。

（二）

岳母、妻子和我，就只能干些技術含量較低的活了——負責撿拾打下來的山核桃。

打落的山核桃不少隱匿在殘枝、落葉和亂石中，天青色的外殼也與草坡整體顏色接近，發現它們考驗著人的眼力。

一開始，我徒手去撿，不料很快手就被染黑，據說要一周左右才能完全洗凈。我只好乖乖地戴上了手套。山核桃本是大地之子，吸納天地之精華、山川之靈秀，對外來的打擾是極其敏感的。當我將其中一顆握在手心，它還帶著山林的溫度，顯得畏葸、嬌羞。我把山核桃放到隨身的編織袋里，它開始了脫離母樹后的長眠。一顆，又一顆……空蕩蕩的袋子漸漸鼓囊起來，這些剛才還在樹枝上搖曳生姿的小生靈，此刻顯得極為安詳。

漫山遍野的山核桃，仿佛是沙灘上的沙礫，岳父一把打下來的數量，便夠我們撿的了。終于，又撿了整整一袋，有驚無險地將之匯總到大麻袋里。岳母說，她干一天，這樣的大麻袋要撿上八袋，五百多斤！兩周的透支勞作，只為賺得一年的口糧。

午飯自然是在山上解決的。岳父母早已準備了飯菜，放在鐵罐里。岳父下了樹，把竿子扔在一旁，在地上搭起個簡易的灶坑，拾來柴禾，點起一堆灶火。炊煙隨風拂過漫山的核桃林，染了種特殊的清香，類似樟木的味道。

“或許，可以試著利用核桃殼，制成香料呢！”父親腦洞大開。沒有人能夠回答他的問題，對于岳父母這樣的農人來說，伺候好一畝三分地的山核桃已非易事。事后請教了專業朋友，才知核桃青殼可以配制蘭花植料，防止土壤板結，亦可驅蟲。

此刻，岳父已端上了熱騰騰的飯菜。眾人席地圍坐，狼吞虎咽。勞作后的片刻憩息，竟如此寶貴，仿佛飯菜也美味許多。聰明的岳父見我睡意矇眬，便用紗網為我做了墊子，我聊以枕著樹枝小睡一會。秋陽照著我的身子，酥暖暖的。

下午的活兒明顯加快，因那大塊的區域已撿拾完畢。妻子告訴我說，岳母再負責最后檢查一遍便可以收工了。

眾人漸漸從各自的崗位上湊攏過來，將一袋袋山核桃匯集在一起，整整有九大袋。那些山核桃相互依偎，仿佛熟睡的嬰孩，芳馨的香氣縈繞鼻尖。經過農人帶溫度的手，小小的山核桃變得溫潤可愛。

岳母則繼續一路撿拾，她的脊背彎成一輪彎月，仿佛是向大地的鞠躬，表達著深深的敬意和謝意。畢了，她雙手合十，對著那棵高大的核桃樹王，虔誠地作了個揖?！奥淦鋵嵳咚计錁?，飲其流者懷其源”，這樣的道理，岳母說不出來，但是她懂。對天地山澤心存敬畏，它們才會平等地回饋人類。法天則地，是亙古不變的真理。

（三）

我們在山上的最后一道工序，便是為山核桃進行脫殼。脫脯機就在山上，是岳父一早用“爬山虎”（）運來的。將滿袋的山核桃倒進喇叭口里，脫脯機便隆隆地運作起來。

機械怪獸開始吞噬這些生靈，精準地劃清自然與世俗的界限。從出口吐出來的脫了殼的山核桃，便是我們平時看到的模樣了;而那些青殼，從另一側的口子洶涌而出。

岳父讓我拿了鋤頭，將青殼從機器下方扒離，這些山核桃的“青色外套”很快變成了咖啡色。這種神奇的改變兆示著生命的演化，標志著山核桃離開大自然的襁褓，以社會產物的身份繼續生存。

汗涔涔的岳父將三滿袋去殼山核桃裝上“爬山虎”，領著我們踏上歸途。推車下山的路盡管崎嶇難行，但豐收的歡愉掛在他的臉上，他的雙腿噔噔噔走得格外穩健、格外有勁。夕陽在山脊上一點點收起光焰，但我們卻越走心里越敞亮。

回到家，天已擦黑。經過岳父的過水篩選，撇去浮在水面的壞籽，那三大袋山核桃竟只剩下三小筐。五個人一整天的勞作成果，不過是三兩吃貨一日之食。

過水篩選的山核桃籽料，還需要經過晾曬、選料、蒸煮、脫濕、開縫、分篩、烘干、入味等多道工序，才能最終出現在市場上，成為美味的零食。這其中所耗人力之艱，不知凡幾。

“誰知盤中果，粒粒皆辛苦。山核桃價格這么貴，不是沒有道理，也是對勞動的尊重?。　逼拮痈锌?。近年來，隨著病蟲害增多、土地板結，臨安山核桃林逐漸萎縮，山核桃產量早已不比當年。

隨著年輕世代走出農村，老一輩農人逐漸衰老，新的山核桃林已逐漸乏人種植。有幾人愿意接續這份辛苦的農活？我不免為之心憂。

但至少，對自然的虔敬，應當成為我們永不背棄的生態信仰。保持敬畏、心懷誠明，人生才能如一顆顆圓潤的山核桃，釋放出美妙的香味。

My wifes parents are rural residents in Changhua， which is famed for a center of hickory nuts production and for bloodstone， a kind of gem often carved into sculptures or made into seals.

In early September last year， my wife and I， her parents and my father got up at five oclock in the morning， ready to take in the hickory nuts from hickory trees in the hilly land allotted for private use. We followed a trail into the mountain carrying long bamboo poles and lunch. We planned to work for long hours. It took us about 40 minutes to climb all the way up to the hickory woods owned by my wifes family.

The hickory trees towered on a steep slope， which I thought was about 45 degrees. I raised my head hard to look up and saw the thick shape of the trees. My father-in-law clambered nimbly up a tree carrying a bamboo pole. Pretty soon I couldnt see him. I only heard the sound of the pole he was using to strike branches and nuts in a light rhythm. His use of the pole was masterful. Who says a rural farmer knows nothing about aesthetics？ Pretty soon， hickory fruits rained down. My wife urged me to put on the straw hat. It wouldnt be fun to be hit by the falling fruits.

My father was eager to try his hand. My father-in-law asked him to strike lower tree branches so that he didnt need to climb up a tree. My father jumped up and down excitedly， waving the pole hectically and imitating the rhythmic sound which didnt come from the striking. Few nuts fell for his effort. We all laughed. He joked that he was practicing Wushu.

“Your move isnt right，” my father shouted from up the tree. We looked up at him. He began to demonstrate the method and we watched closely. He hit a branch with the middle part of the pole first and using the recoil of the pole， he stroke target nuts with the tip of the pole. He explained this method minimized any possible damage to the tree and maximized the number of nuts. He went on to explain the strategy he was using： he stayed safe at one spot and targeted the nuts close before he moved on to handle nuts a little bit far away. He said it was important to protect leaves and twigs from any damage in the process of nut harvesting. It occurred to me that this method represents the wisdom of rural life.

So my mother-in-law， my wife and I were left to do the low-tech work： we gathered the fallen fruits. Though it didnt require any special skill to pick， it did need a sharp eye to see where all these fruits were. After all， some fruits looked green in a color similar to the color of grass. At first I picked hickory fruits with bare hands. But pretty soon my hands were dyed black. After learning that the dye would stick to my hand for a week， I changed my mind and put on a pair of gloves. We gathered the fruits into large sacks. My mother-in-law said she gathered eight sacks of fruits a day， that is， about 250 kilograms in total. For the woods of this size， the family needs to work two weeks to gather all the fruits. The cash earned is good enough for the whole year.

Lunch must be had in the mountain. My wifes parents had prepared the food. The father-in-law got down a tree and set up a simple fire pit. Dry wood was gathered and a fire was lit. The food was heated. Smoke rose and went through the hickory woods. The smell of the dry wood was nice.

After lunch， I took a nap in warm sunshine. We worked faster in the afternoon. We covered the whole area. After my mother-in-law checked the whole area again， we gathered together. Altogether， we had nine sacks packed full. My mother-in-law put her hands together and bowed to the tallest hickory tree. After that brief ceremony， we began to get down.

The last task we performed in the afternoon was to husk the harvest through a husking machine， which my father-in-law had carried to a convenient spot with an electric cart in the morning. The electric husking machine roared like a monster. The fruits we had gathered in the mountain were fed into the funnel of the machine. Nuts came out through one hole and the green husks came out through another hole. I used a hole to remove the husks away from the outlet. The green color soon became brown.

The father-in-law put three sacks of husked nuts onto the cart and we followed the trial down the mountain.

It was already dark when we reached home. The father-in-law performed the last task of the day： the husked nuts were put into water. Bad ones were picked out. Good nuts remained. The days work ended up in three baskets.

A multi-step processing will start after these nuts are dried and before they appear onto the market.