Among the fruits, there are not many varieties named “Shanghai”. The first thing that popped up in my mind was pear (Shanghainese called Shengli), that is, “Shanghai honey pear”.
Shanghai honey pears are not big, and the pears are a bit like apples. They are short, steady and round, with a short handle. When I was young, Shanghai honey pear was a new product. When it first came on the market, it was very sweet and had a lot of juice. The price was cheap. My family often bought it. Because of the small size of the pear, I was impatient with my dad asking me to peel it. Dad relied on being a parent. He never touched his hands when eating fruit, only his mouth. I cut and sliced Shanghai honey pears, then put them on a plate and handed them to dad. The remaining pear heart dad gave me to eat. I cherish good luck. Everyone was poor that year, and there were not many people who could eat fruit every day. I have a lot of experience in gnawing pear hearts. How to gnaw at the angle of the teeth can avoid the soreness of pear hearts and eat as much sweet pear flesh as possible.
My dad loves to eat fruits. He was severely diabetic and couldn’t eat a lot of things, but he didn’t give up fruits. He would go to the streets to teach me the types of fruits when he was lame. Everyone in the fruit shop near my house knows my dad. When he goes there, he will introduce what has just arrived and is fresh. Dad loves to eat pears, and Shanghai calls it “Tianjin Yali”; Snow Pear Fruit Shop says “Shandong Laiyang Pear”; and the fragrant pear is called “Xinjiang Xiangli”. Only Shanghai honey pears are local, and they are the least valuable. They were piled up when there were a lot of goods. One of them was rotten, and it quickly affected the others and became rotten. As a result, they could only be transported to feed the pigs.
My father actually likes to eat Tianjin Yali most. Yali has fine water content and a little sour taste. Ya Li is also beautiful, with a typical body with thin buttocks and a beautiful curve. The white pear body after peeling makes people feel pampered. Shandong Laiyang pears are huge, with thick skin and thick flesh, but they are delicious to eat with big mouthfuls. The pear juice can flow down the chin to the neck. It takes a long time to cut a large pear and eat it by one person. At that time, there were very few fragrant pears. It was probably because of the inconvenience of transportation from Xinjiang to Shanghai. My second sister assisted Xinjiang in the third agricultural division of Aksun. It took 6 days and 6 nights to arrive by train.
When I was 12 years old, my dad started to live a tight life. He never went to the streets anymore. He told me to go if he wanted to buy fruit. I was holding the change in my hand, and my eyes were patrolling the fruit stand. The old fruit shop seemed to know what I was thinking. He pretended to point to the processed fruits in the net basket next to me, saying that these are quite cost-effective, and it won’t hurt to eat right away. . At that time, my ability to recognize fruits was not bad. I knew that Tianjin Yali pears rotten very implicitly. It started from a small black spot. The skin did not break, but only slowly expanded. If you use a knife to gently dig out the black spot, The pear flesh beside it is still white. Dealing with the sale of fruits at reduced prices, the same can be eaten. At that time, the school didn’t have much classes. I often sat with my dad at home and talked about life trivial matters. My father heard me talk about the diligent and thrifty housekeeping methods I learned from the neighbors in the lane, and he didn’t say anything. But I know that his heart is no longer what it used to be. I bought a pear that was dug out of the rotten hole and went home, and he would not blame me.
In my memory, Shanghai honey pear has been on the market for a short period of time, and it must be in the summer heat. The old king of the fruit shop plucked his throat from time to time. It is cheaper and cheaper. Instead of waiting for it to feed the pigs, it is better to deal with it earlier. I was hiding not far away, and hearing that the price had fallen beyond any level, I strode up, grabbed a bunch and took it home. The washed Shanghai honey pears are placed in a washbasin, and the whole family eats together. My brother gnawed directly without peeling the skin. It was happy.
When I was 18 years old, I went to the countryside to go to the Fengxian Farm in the suburbs of Shanghai to grow grain and cotton in the company. In the sweltering summer, the nearby fruits even had a good harvest of Shanghai honey pears, and they were too late to be transported out for sale, so each company sent tractors to tow them away. Often when he was busy in the field to despair, he was in a good mood when he heard the good news that there were pears at the end of work, washed the mud legs on the ridge, and Le Diandian hurried back. There are so many pears. They are uneven in size and black, but they are divided into large basins in each bedroom.
After dark, everyone came out to enjoy the cool, sitting on a small bench and cutting raw pears to eat. Mosquitoes smelt the sweetness and came to join in the fun. The pu fan tried desperately to fan it. In the end, I was the only one who insisted on staying in front of the washbasin and cutting it. The pears are all gone. I was empty everywhere, looking up at the bright moon, I couldn’t help thinking of eating pears with my dad, and tears covered my cheeks.
For some reason, after the 1990s, Shanghai honey pears almost disappeared from fruit stalls, and sometimes I saw them suddenly, but after tasting a few times, they seemed to have completely lost their previous sweetness and moisture and became stiff. I wonder if I have an illusion due to age. Besides, there are so many delicious pears in fruit shops nowadays, why bother about the disappearance of Shanghai honey pears because it has the word “Shanghai”?
Until a few days ago, I received a box of “Cuiguan Pears” from the “Yicai” farm in Shanghai. The familiar low piers, steady and round appearance, the earthy yellow or greenish skin color with brown on top Spot, isn’t it just the extra-large Shanghai honey pear? Chongming Cuiguan pears are extremely sweet, with high water content, and very tender meat. The taste is several grades higher than the original Shanghai honey pears. I don’t know the origin of Cuiguan pears, but I know that agricultural products need to be continuously optimized and updated. Shanghai honey pears must have been eliminated due to various reasons, and the Cuiguan pears that have been replaced are coming.
From now on, the Shanghai honey pear that once brought me sweet memories will no longer see you.
