Wake up（278）

 

Chapter 49 Killing

 

278

 

After the two old professors Hong Wenxuan and Shen Zhirui left the Golden Bauhinia Square in Wanchai, Hong Kong at night, there was a young couple standing in front of the large sculpture of "Bauhinia in Bloom Forever". It turned out that they were the two professors students Qin Xiling and Lin Beixue, but they passed each other unintentionally.

Qin Xiling and Lin Beixue are waiting for their alumni Wanru and Nanyangsheng. Both Wanru and Nanyangsheng are Professor Shen Zhirui's favorite students. Wanru heard that Nanyangsheng did not find a job after graduation, so she found Nanyangsheng through "Freedom.com", and helped Nanyangsheng apply for a Hong Kong visa through Lin Beixue's father, Cheng Jinghan.

At this time, Wanru and Nanyangsheng were driving towards the Golden Bauhinia Square.

Even though it was nightfall, Hong Kong was still brightly lit at night. Qin Xiling stands in front of the large sculpture of "Eternal Blooming Bauhinia". Said to Lin Beixue: Many people now call the flower on the Hong Kong regional flag and emblem the "Bauhinia flower", which is actually a kind of ignorance. The exact scientific name of "Bauhinia" should be "Bauhinia × blakeana Dunn". In "Flora of China", it is called "palace powder sheep's hoof beetle". The true redbud (Cercis chinensis) and the safflower sheep's hoof are not the same plant. The two kinds of flowers have completely different shapes and are often confused.

Qin Xiling said: The safflower sheep's hoof is an authentic Hong Kong plant. In 1880, a French missionary first discovered this arbor in Steel Wire Bay, Pok Fu Lam, west of Hong Kong Island. He transplanted it back to the monastery by cutting branches. Because the flowers are large and colorful, and bloom almost all year round, they are especially suitable for garden planting and appreciation. They were soon introduced to the Hong Kong Botanic Garden and a church in Guangzhou. In 1908, British botanist Donne officially named it after Henry Blake, the former Governor of Hong Kong. But in Hong Kong, people are used to calling the safflower sheep's hoof beetle "Yang Bauhinia".

The flowers of "Bauhinia Bauhinia" are huge and beautiful, and have a faint fragrance. There are five petals, the flower shape is symmetrical, and the veins on the middle petal are deeper; there are also five developing stamens, and the two on the edge are slightly shorter. Goat's hoof refers to the shape of its leaves. The leaves of this genus are either deeply or shallowly divided into two, resembling a goat's hoof. Originally born in the back alleys of the outskirts of the country, the "foreign bauhinia" has become a favorite of Hong Kong people because of its outstanding beauty. As early as 1965, it was selected as the city flower of Hong Kong; Hong Kong has issued stamps with it as the theme many times, and it can be seen everywhere on the Hong Kong dollar, which shows how popular this flower is in Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, which was established in July 1997, continued to adopt the elements of the bauhinia flower as its regional flag and regional emblem. The stamens of the bauhinia pattern on the regional flag are represented by five stars, which correspond to the five stars on the Chinese national flag, implying the relationship between mainland China and China. Regarding the relationship with Hong Kong, although the bauhinia was originally purple, the background color of the regional flag has to be red, so the pattern of the bauhinia flower has been changed to white.

Qin Xiling said to Lin Beixue: The appearance of Bauhinia and Bauhinia is very different. Bauhinia is a tree that can grow to a height of 10 meters. The leaves are heart-shaped. It grows up to 6 meters, the leaves are triangular, and the corolla of Bauhinia is small and false, usually in bunches of 2 to 10 small flowers on the trunk or branches.

Soon after the Basic Law was promulgated in 1990, some scholars pointed out the fallacy of the name "Bauhinia" used in its Chinese version. There are comments that omitting the word "foreign" at the beginning of "洋红庿" is out of the viewpoint of "political correctness". Corresponding.

Lin Beixue smiled and said to Qin Xiling: Why didn't you tell me this amazing story before?

Qin Xiling smiled: You didn't ask me?

Lin Beixue also smiled: Did I ask you just now?

Qin Xiling smiled and said: Because you are delicious, I just remembered to tell you about it.

Lin Beixue was very surprised: what does this "Bauhinia" have to do with my delicious food?

Qin Xiling said: The red-flowered sheep's hoof has a close relative called the white-flowered sheep's hoof, which tastes great and delicious. Yunnan people will pick up fallen flowers and cook them. But don't try blindly this safflower sheep's hoof beetle, the root bark is poisonous, and brave Yunnan people don't eat it. Bauhinia safflower is a natural hybrid of Bauhinia chinensis and Bauhinia chinensis, so its pollen cannot develop normally and cannot be pollinated, so it can only be propagated by cuttings.

  When Lin Beixue and Qin Xiling were joking, Wanru and Nan Yangsheng had already driven to the Golden Bauhinia Square.

Lin Beixue, Qin Xiling, Wanru, and Nanyangsheng walked to Staunton's for dinner. Wanru and Nanyangsheng met the manager of Staunton's. He was Mr. Cheng Jinghan, the father of one of Lin Beixue's friends, Cheng Yenan. At this time, Cheng Yenan warmly received Nanyangsheng, a guest from the mainland brought by Wanru.

Cheng Yenan told Nan Yangsheng: My grandfather worked as an English translator in Yan'an, but was persecuted during the rectification movement. After liberation, he was rehabilitated, but in 1962, he was implicated in the "Liu Zhidan novel case" and was imprisoned again. During the Cultural Revolution, my father and those puppies were all driven to Yan'an to join the queue, on the grounds that they went to the Holy Land to atone for their sins. The place where my father jumped in line was only a short distance from Liangjiahe. After the Cultural Revolution, my grandfather was released, and with the help of friends in Yan'an, he became an English teacher in a middle school. My father also returned to the city, to his grandparents. His father couldn't find a job at that time, so his grandfather forced him to learn English. When the college entrance examination was resumed, he became a worker, peasant and soldier student. In the end, I successfully went to study in the UK. "

Nan Yangsheng asked Mr. Cheng Jinghan with a smile: "Mr. Cheng studied in England, why did he return to Hong Kong and become a chef?"

Mr. Cheng Jinghan said with a smile: I returned to Hong Kong after graduation because my parents have settled in Hong Kong. Soon, Hong Kong returned to China. Facing the crazy patriotic tide, my father said that once Hong Kong is ruled by the CCP, Hong Kong will definitely be involved in the political whirlpool, and you must not repeat my painful experience. He told me that governing a big country is like cooking a small fish. The oil, salt, sauce and vinegar must be just right, neither too much nor too little. When cooking, you must master the heat and pay attention to the condiments. If you have political ambitions, I cannot advise you to give up, but I suggest that you learn to "cook small fish" first, and then consider your ambition of "governing a big country". I followed my father's advice and became a chef. Unexpectedly, just like this, my hobby of "cooking fresh food" made me inseparable from oil, salt, sauce and vinegar for the rest of my life. Instead, I've become increasingly disgusted with politics.

Cheng Jinghan also said: After my parents passed away, I read some works about Laozi left by my father, and I have a new understanding of the phrase "governing a big country is like cooking a small fish". The Tao is very clear, that is, governing a big country should not be tossed and turned, and it should not disturb the people at will, let alone toss around. At the same time, I also understood my father's original intention. In a country that is tossing around, don't blindly follow the trend, you have to master the fire.

What Cheng Jinghan said surprised Nan Yangsheng.