The walk after the lunch

(Hainan 2006)

After cousin XH pointed to me the well that was built by my late paternal grandfather, we continued our stroll around the Tan Niu village. Tan Niu was the name of the village, but I have no idea why it was called as such.

I remember that afternoon was a very hot day. The transition lenses on my pair of spectacles were visibly turning brown to shield me from the ultraviolet rays of the sun.

Yet, the bright rays of the sun seemed to have brought out the beautiful colours of the countryside. I could not help but admire the beauty of the rural area.










Along the way, I would hear the occasional hooting sounds of vehicles driving along the narrow roads of the countryside. It was difficult not to hear them because the sounds emitted by these vehicles would definitely be loud enough to disrupt the general peace and tranquility of the countryside.





After some walking, we stopped by a house. Cousin XH told me that the house belongs to one of our distant relatives. We walked in, and I was excited to see the seeds of the rice plant being laid on the floor to be sunned.




That was clearly a good demonstration of how ignorant city-dwellers can be. I eat rice almost everyday, but I do not have much experience to come into contact with the seeds of the rice plant.

Cousin XH showed me how to remove the outer husk of the grain using the hand. Once I did that, I had a grain of brown rice in my hand.

I was also being told that most of the villagers in the village grow their own rice. This is what I could term as self-sufficiency. Perhaps money isn't everything to the villagers, the fertility of the land is?

The walk was a good one.