Heartfield (Part 2) My heart, from now on, has a field

Text / Cai Pingchan

After the rice was threshed, we bundled up bag after bag of paddy. We had also been baked about the same amount (Pangpang, with no sun protection, got roasted until later her skin hurt at the slightest touch -- farmers really have it hard). Two fen of land, three to five bags of paddy. During threshing, if a small stalk of rice ears had not been threshed clean, or if we saw paddy left lying in the rice field, we could not bear to leave it, and quickly picked it up. In the future, when we eat, we will surely eat more cleanly.

What we planted at Xiaotiantian was "xian 10" (indica rice 10). Because of dietary habits in Taiwan, China, most people prefer a sticky, soft texture, so most grow japonica rice. Japonica rice is also called Penglai rice, "rice from the fairy island of Penglai." As the name suggests, it is the sticky, soft rice that Japanese people like. It was introduced to Taiwan, China during the Japanese occupation period, and the people of Taiwan were told to grow it.

And indica rice? It is also called "zailai rice." Yes, as you would imagine, it is "local rice," haha! Super delicious! Because I love eating rice balls and am addicted to the chewy QQ texture of glutinous rice, when I ate the indica rice that Jialing cooked at noon that day, I really wanted to marry her and take her home! (She also stir-fried basin after basin, as big as a baby's bathtub.) Changhua Xizhou preserved radish, braised pork sauce, guomao, green vegetables… Jialing showed off the skills of an all-purpose housewife in the corridor of Sanguan Temple. Men who are not chauvinistic and are considerate should hurry and marry her! (Her criteria for choosing a partner, remember: "No male chauvinism.")

The texture of indica rice falls between Penglai rice and glutinous rice. I remember that when my mother wanted to make radish cake, she would also send me to buy zailai rice. Its shape also falls between Penglai rice and glutinous rice, longer than Penglai rice.

Siwei said that Master Qingsong had them plant indica rice because it is more resistant to pests and diseases (like how indigenous peoples, generation after generation running through the mountains and wilds of Taiwan, China, have stronger bodies?), and it does not easily catch infectious diseases. In particular, our Yilan Xiaotiantian did not use "conventional farming." Everything was done by hand. Even the seed selection for xian 10 (indica rice No. 10) was done kernel by kernel in Taipei, "every single grain hard-won." Not only did it avoid rice blast, it also survived the plum rain season and grew sunny and sturdy!

Brother Qingsong later said that the molecular structure of indica rice differs from that of japonica rice. Indica rice has long long chains and short, few branches, so the ethereal, immortal-like indica rice breaks down easily (feathers away) and digests easily. Penglai rice is different: its shape is round and short, its long chains are shorter, and its branches are many, so comparatively it does not break easily. Some people say that in the past, when they ate Penglai rice for dinner, their stomachs easily felt bloated, but after switching to indica rice, they no longer felt that way. This is the sturdy, solid indica rice!

When I drew as a child, I always loved to draw houses with tiled roofs like those in the rice fields of Yilan. It seemed that only this was what the song "My Family Is Truly Lovable" meant, the way a home should truly look.

My heart, from then on, had a field,

In the field of the heart, dwelling peacefully, the direction I long for.

Thank you, Yilan Xiaotiantian.

Good night, field of dreams…

Heart Field (Part 1): In the adult world, searching for a past article