Summer Murcott mandarins meet au lait and a rain shower
As the calendar turns to July, the blazing sun pours out immensely powerful ultraviolet rays, baking the earth into a scorching inferno.
The tiny fruitlets of the Murcott mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco cv. Murcott) are protected by a layer of oil on the outside. Under the glare of the bright sun, they become glistening little green balls hanging from the tips of the branches, and sometimes the reflected light stabs at the eyes. On the fruitlets roasted by the scorching sun, the outer layer of oil pushes the surface temperature of the little fruitlets to over sixty or seventy degrees. As Sister A-xing was thinning the fruit (Note 1), her face accidentally brushed against one of those glistening little Murcott fruitlets and immediately broke out in a red, burning welt.
To Sister A-xing, these glistening little fruitlets are undoubtedly her own precious daughters, and she pins all her hopes on them marrying into a wealthy family in the future and improving her own difficult circumstances. Fearing that the scorching sun will darken their complexion, every farmer applies sunscreen to their precious daughters.
(Photo: photographed by Guan Yiran) In addition to the fruitlets, this practice also leaves a thin layer of calcium carbonate on the leaves, affecting photosynthesis and reducing the accumulation of energy.
An Afternoon Rain
It is currently the season for applying sunscreen to Murcott mandarins. Sister Li got up early in the morning and ran to the Murcott orchard to start work while the weather was still cool, only to suddenly discover that it had rained the night before, so the little Murcott mandarins on the trees were not yet dry and sunscreen could not be applied. She had no choice but to wait until the moisture on the Murcott mandarins had evaporated before she could begin work.
After struggling to hold out until around nine o'clock, the Murcott mandarins had finally dried, and work could begin! But by then the sun had already begun to radiate light and heat, making her feel very uncomfortable, yet she could only endure the blazing sun, wrap herself up in clothing with only her two eyes showing, and climb the ladder to start applying sunscreen to the Murcotts.
The passionate sun was unbearable, and sweat slowly soaked through her entire body!
"I can't stop!" Sister Li anxiously gave herself a pep talk, thinking that yesterday's rain had completely set back the progress she should have made. If she did not quicken her pace, this year's Murcotts would look very ugly, and next year's income would fall short, making life even harder.
A little after eleven o'clock, she could finally breathe a sigh of relief and take a break.
Sister Li dashed home to cook, hoping to start work a little earlier in the afternoon so she could catch up on the progress!
After the meal, a dark cloud drifted across the sky, and suddenly the rain came pouring down in sheets.
Sister Li's face turned green. She could not work in the afternoon, and even the sunscreen she had just applied in the morning, which had not yet dried, was all washed off!
(This article was compiled by the "Mountain City Farm Notes" unit of "Mountain City Voices")
Note 1: Thinning the fruit: that is, fruit thinning.