席梦麟：上海崇明国际生态岛崇之往事-8月

Chapter 8   抓住夏天的小尾巴

七夕纳凉无离愁，

立秋捕虾不放钩，

中元话鬼眉头皱，

处暑鸭汤煮毛豆。

Chapter 8   Catch the ending of summervocation

Qixifestival nightfeels thecoolness rather than sorrow

The Start of Autumnlaughs at lobsters caughtwithouthook,

Ghost festival turns talesto unconscious frowns,

The Limit of Heatcooks duck soup with soybeans.

    “人皆苦炎热，我爱夏日长”，暑假的最后一个月大有时不我待的紧迫感，一边是暑假作业债台高筑，一边是台风汛期导致聚众嬉戏的计划屡遭搁浅。不期而至的阵雨经常来去匆匆，能上升到灾害级别的就属冰雹，鸡鸭窝在骤然猛烈的攻击下，顶篷多是难保的；而菜地里戏耍的幼龄孩子被打得一颈窝冰屑也很普遍，再高级别些的天灾就是台风。

   "Everyone is bitter about the heat, while I love the daytime in summer so." The last month of summer vacation gives kids the warning of urgency. On the one hand, the summer holiday homework waits in queue, and on the other hand, typhoonspostpone the reserved games from time to time. Moreover, unexpected showers easy come easy go. Sometimes rain may even rise to a hail,whose sudden and fierce attack is a disaster to the bird's nests. The young children, in the meantime, play in the vegetable fields will be showered with a neck of ice.

崇明因为夏季多风，潮汛难防，所以知青农场的开垦之初最重要的任务就是植树造林，防风固土，造福耕地。白杨、水杉加上冬青、松柏的四季关照，让防风堤岸在炎夏成为了农场人不可多得的纳凉宝地。“天阶夜色凉如水，坐看牵牛织女星”的隽永清丽不仅属于宫娥，跟着大人们围在桥畔乘凉的孩子也能感同身受。从朴实无华、殷实上进的农村场景，搬迁到整齐划一、都会市井交融的生活方式里，不离其宗的就是对这片万古星空的仰望。牛郎织女那段棒打鸳鸯的离愁别绪在这里不消赘述，流萤清月才是这一晚的主角。

Due to the windy and flood season, the most important and beginning tasks of the educated youth farm is to plant trees, for the sake of forestation to consolidate the earth, benefiting the cultivated land. Hence now, with the protection ofmetasequoia, pinesand cypress as the windbreak embankment, the trees are now reputed as the rare treasure for the farm residents in the summer. "The steps seem steeped in water when cold grows the night, One sits to watch two stars in love meet in the sky." is not only refer to a palace, but also a family who enjoy the coolness near the riverbank and bridge. No matter for those who live in the unpretentious and sturdy rural scenes, or in the neat and downtown lifestyle, it is the look of this starry sky for all to look up above. The cowherd and the weaver girl’s sorrow do not play the main roles here whilethe glowworms and moon do.

立秋前后，河沟里日日弓背的龙虾不仅是个好玩伴，还是一道随钓随做的美食。钓虾的启蒙大多始自父亲，顽童心理难减的父亲会手把手地教孩子三步搞定。第一步，翻开一块蚯蚓屎密集的泥地，抓起仓皇扭窜的蚯蚓，将事先准备好的铅丝，把蚯蚓从头穿到尾，然后把铅丝弯成一个圆扣紧，龙虾的食饵就制成了。第二步，从竹林里掰下一根一米长的竹竿，用外婆纳鞋底、缝被单的粗棉线，剪成和杆子等长，再把饵扣拴在杆子上，渔具便成形了。第三步，饵置入河沟，杆支于岸头，垂直下水的棉线如若有偏移，右手立马起线拉动，左手网兜伺候。

Around the start of autumn, lobsters in the river have been both a fun companion to play with and the food from fruitfulfishing. Initiatelobster catching knowledge usually comes fromfather who concludes the process into three steps. The first step is to create the bait. Choose certain muddy ground where shackles dwell, then pick up the worm and penetrate it with prepared wire from head to bottom, at last bent the wire into a round buckle. Secondly, find a one-meter-long bamboo pole from the forest, cut a piece of cotton thread of the same length with the pole to tie the bait at the line end. Finally, place the bait in the river with pole in hand. Once there is any movement on the cotton line, it means the bait has been bitten, thus pull up the line immediately and have the netserved as supporter.

龙虾属于河里实至名归的吃客，贪吃到被捕也舍不得放钩。大钳子契而不舍地夹住蚯蚓饵，直到被连虾带钩地接入网兜还执着于饵，最终被甩入铅桶，发现与同类正同呼吸共命运后才作罢，徒劳无益地举着钳子懊恼抗议。

Lobster can be defined as a greedy creature that is so fond ofeatingthat it is reluctant to put back the bait even when it is caught. Even though hooked into the net bag, they still attach to the bait in perseverance. It is until they were finally thrown into the lead barrel and meet their own kinds the same fate that they start to do the protest, but in vain.

崇明私宅前的小河沟，自留地田边芦苇丛生的池塘，甚至洗碗洗衣的运河支流都是龙虾的聚集地，尤其雷阵雨前后的闷热时分，龙虾会和螃蜞一样傍着芦苇杆浮出水面透气。每当这个关口，业精手勤的外婆就会挽起裤脚管，顺着河边，提着铅桶，一路空手捉虾，短短一集西游记的功夫，厨房里就会飘出龙虾煮熟后的腥味炊烟。循香飞奔，只见满碗的“红与黑”乘于灶上，肥厚的虾黄正从身尾相交的缝隙里溢出，油亮桔粉，想象着紧实、滑嫩的虾尾肉，绝对等不及酱油和醋，就要上灶徒手左右开弓的。含着香醇的虾黄，想到薛宝钗在螃蟹咏里那句“眼前道路无经纬，皮里春秋空黑黄”，就开始盼着外婆赶快下水捉螃蜞。

Ponds with reeds are the ideal gathering places for lobsters, especially during the sweltering hours before the thunderstorms, they will swell with the reeds and float out of the water, same as crabs. Upon this, grandmother will sophisticatedly roll up the trousers, stepping into the river, carrying the lead barrel, catching the shrimp all the way. Just an episode time will find lobsters will ready for supper in the kitchen. Follow the nicecooking smell, one will fly to the stove and find a bowl of "Le rouge et le noir ".The delicacy makes one cannot wait for the soy sauce and vinegar before eating with bare hands.

月中即中元，升起的烧纸火堆总让孩子们好奇询问，而大人们有时却讳莫如深。于是，晚餐后围坐纳凉的机会是孩子们竖起双耳，寻找答案的时候。其实谈论的不外乎聊斋、阅微草堂里善恶惩劝的相似内容，但有名有姓，绝非道听途说的七里八拐，所以可信度和恐怖程度双双晋升。

Ghost festival, the fifteenth of lunar July, falls in August when the paper-burning fire always increasethe childlike curiosity to ask reasons. However, adults often keep silence on the issue. Therefore, the opportunity that night to sit with family after dinner will see children erect their ears and look for answers. In fact, it is nothing more than talking about the good gets reward while the evil gains punishments. Nevertheless, so long as the talk involvesfamiliar names or sites, the credibility and the degree of terror are both promoted.

最让孩子们惊悚难眠的莫过于当某些故事牵涉到自己的至亲，如果听来尚无消解之术，那就更绝望了。最常听见的就是“鬼压身”，“鬼上身”等现象，具体切近的描述，意蕴深长的结尾，都能让人困在噩梦里数天。后来读到圣经故事里耶稣赶鬼，才发现全世界都在抗争着同样的威胁，居然逐渐心安了。农耕文明强调的敬畏，重音也许正是在“畏”上。当晚，偷听罢“鬼话”，突然要求黏着父母一起睡的孩子比比皆是。

The most horrifying thing for children is to realize certain stories involve their own close relatives. It is even more desperate if they don’t yet know how to solve them. The most commonly heard phenomenon is "sleep paralysis" and "ghost possessed hour". The detailed description and meaningful results render kidshaunted by nightmare for several days. Later when one reads the story of Jesus in the Bible and discovers that the whole world was fighting with the same threat, the tranquility arrives then. The festival night will sympathize those kids who eavesdrop on "ghost words" and thus stick to parents for sleeping together.

其实驱逐莫名恐惧最有效的方法就是移情到真实惬意的日常生活中。“离离暑云散，袅袅凉风起”的处暑节气里，迎来了妈妈为家人煮鸭汤滋补的日子。相比于脱毛容易，口感肥润的鸡肉，鸭子毛多又精瘦，但是三伏刚过，性热的鸡显然不适宜，而天天戏水的凉性鸭就刚好补上这阳盛天遗留下的阴虚问题。爸爸用这番祖传的本地中医原理，让孩子们看待这锅汤的态度也陡然变化。

In fact, the most effective way to expel the inexplicable fear is coming back to real life. The Limit of Heat season ushers in the days when mother starts braising the duck soup for family. Compared with chicken, duck hair is much easier for removal, taste more refreshing, and meat leaner. During this period, father will quote ancestral local Chinese medicine principle to explain to children that duck, swimming all day long, bear the Yin (feminine) traits that can cure the summer tan, while chicken contains Yang (masculine) attributes which is not suitable for the hot days.

鸡鸭在崇明多为家养，因为在河流密布的岛上，养鸭放鸭是举手之劳，搭个鸭窝，买些鸭苗，就能看着它们成群结伴地快乐成长了。孩子们喝鸭汤时多半不会回想起小鸭苗毛茸茸、黄澄澄、摇摇摆摆满地找食的可爱模样。妈妈会在鸭汤里放上同为凉性的冬瓜让口感更醇厚、加上青毛豆提鲜。于是，毛豆因为吸收了鸭子的荤油更香糯，鸭肉和冬瓜则互掺互助，瓜肉合香，汤肉合润，连泡几碗饭下肚都觉得不过瘾。

Chickens and ducks are the two mostly domesticated poultry.Raising ducks is comparatively easy by making a nest near the river and buy some ducklings, then you can watch them grow up in groups. Therefore, when children drink duck soup, they choose to forget the cute appearance of ducklings with furry, yellow, and swaying stance. Mother will put the cool melon in the soup to make the taste mellow with green peas. Bowls of rice as attachment to the soup are yet enough for a increasingly good appetite.

八月就是这样，在水桥边结伴寻找隐蔽的螃蜞洞，在纳凉听故事时咬着甜芦粟却不慎被芦粟皮划破了手指，在月末的几天，夜以继日地疯狂赶作业，焦急又期待地等着开学。

This is August. Children look for little crabs in the hidden caves under the water bridge, attending to a story so much that accidentally scratch fingerwith the sorgo skin,burning the mid night oil to complete the two month homeworkwithin a couple of days, anxiously looking forward to the start of school.