"Fiery" summer days

(QBĐT) - These days, the sun is pouring fire on every roof of the village and every street. Everyone can feel the hot, stuffy weather. From early morning, the sun has been shining fiercely across the space. By late afternoon, when the rays of sunlight have faded, the heat still refuses to let people go. Just stepping out into the street, wherever you go, you will accidentally hear sighs. The harshness of the weather is imprinted on every exhausted, haggard face.

Illustration photo. Source: internet

It is no exaggeration to call sunshine a “specialty of the Central region”. Since the beginning of April, the sunshine has spread everywhere. The sunshine runs into the forest. The sunshine goes out to the sea...

Perhaps, the most beautiful sunshine is in January, that’s why there are such subtle feelings about the sunshine in Nguyen Huu Quy’s poem “January I miss gently- Winter sadness is not yet purple, the sunshine is still young”. The sunshine in early spring is not harsh or uncomfortable but warm and sweet like a young girl in her twenties. Along with the slight chill of the earth and sky, the sunshine kindles faith and hope for people when they go through the cold, damp winter days. Just imagine what spring would be like without the sunshine caressing and shining on all things to be green and colorful.

However, according to the law of the universe, anything "too much" is not good. The sun still has shades that make people feel terrified. On summer days, the sun is no longer "gentle" but like a grumpy old lady. It radiates a blazing heat as if it wants to challenge the adaptability and endurance of all species. Trees and landscapes become withered and withered under the "burning" of the earth. Beings like that, people seem to be dazed and exhausted of energy. Just stepping out on the street is enough to feel the harshness of the weather. The scorching sun hitting the face makes people think they are sitting next to a fire. Instead of driving for a long time on the road or participating in outdoor activities, many people choose to stay home or go to work to escape the heat. Air conditioners and fans are used at maximum capacity to cool the air.

On hot days, my family often takes the leaves of the fifth day of the month to make water to drink. Although there is no research proving that the leaves of the fifth day have medicinal properties, thinking about its flavor, I see that all the comments and inferences have a basis. The leaves of the fifth day are cut on the 15th day of the 5th lunar month, also known as the Doan Ngo Festival. I heard that leaves cut at noon are better than at other times of the day, so every year, as soon as the clock shows noon, my whole family takes the opportunity to look for leaves. After cutting the leaves that are grown and grown in the garden such as: green tea, bi bi, perilla... my father takes my mother to the hill behind the house to cut some more medicinal plants. The plants and leaves cut on the fifth day are chopped into small pieces by my mother using a cleaver and dried.

When dried in the sun, the leaves of the fifth-leaf plant have a characteristic, pure and gentle fragrance of the mountains and forests. Every summer morning, after cooking breakfast for the whole family, I take a handful of fifth-leaf plant leaves, wash them, put them in a pot, rinse them, and pour boiling water over them. After waiting for about 10 to 15 minutes, I pour the water into a glass and I have a delicious glass of leaf water, rich in the elegant flavor of the mountains and forests. On hot days, if I forget to mix the fifth-leaf plant water, no matter how many glasses of water I drink that day, my mouth will feel bland. The people of Le Thuy, my hometown, often say, “not yet thirsty”; meaning that the weather is so hot that even though I drink a lot of water, my thirst is still not quenched. And it seems that every full moon of the fifth month, every family takes the opportunity to cut fifth-leaf plant leaves, dry them, and store them for later use.

These days, the sun is shining everywhere. The sun is like a fireball radiating heat to the ground. My family still cooks squash soup and 5th day of the month leaves to cool down. Summer is so hot, but the people in my hometown are always full of enthusiasm. The energy radiates from the fields and the houses with tiled roofs. Looking at the farmers and construction workers "immersing themselves" under the "scorching" sun to complete their work, I feel so much love for my hometown.

Source: https://baoquangbinh.vn/van-hoa/202505/nhung-ngay-he-ruc-lua-2226431/