Chapter 123 Master Du's Lecture

"Here they come, here they come!" The villagers in the audience ran around to tell each other.

For a moment, those who had been talking loudly stopped talking. Those who were busy with their work also put down their things. Everyone stared at the podium with burning eyes.

"Hey, who is this person?" A villager asked softly with a puzzled look on his face and a frown on his face.

"He sounds like the teacher from Wutong Academy. I heard Jiayue call him that." The other person narrowed his eyes slightly and said something she accidentally heard.

"The Wutong Academy in the provincial capital? Wow, that's a famous academy. I heard that the teachers there are all Juren!" Another person couldn't help but exclaimed, his face full of shock and yearning.

"Juren? Mr. Juren is going to give us a lecture?" Everyone was surprised and happy, whispering to each other, with expressions of disbelief on their faces.

"Alright, alright, stop talking. It's such a rare opportunity for the scholar to give a lecture. Why don't you go call your children to come and listen!" An old man looked anxious and loudly urged this group of younger generations who only knew how to gossip.

He really has no foresight. He knows that it is a juren who is giving a lecture, but he is still here making noises, not even letting his children come and listen.

"Oh, yes, yes, Dad is smart. I'll go get the kid from home right away."

"I'll go too. It's a rare opportunity for a scholar to give a lecture. Others can't even listen if they want to."

"This village chief is so annoying. He didn't explain clearly when he gave the notice. I don't even know where my child ran off to."

Everyone couldn't help but blame the village chief in their hearts. He didn't explain clearly when he gave the notice. He only said that someone was giving a lecture, but didn't mention that the lecturer was a juren!

But the village chief also looked innocent. How could he know the detailed arrangements of Gu Jiayue and others?

The villagers were in a commotion, and they hurriedly dragged the children who were playing and laughing in the academy over. "Everyone, sit still and listen carefully!"

The parents had serious faces, their eyes full of expectations, and they used their hands to hold their children firmly in their seats.

The children were forced to sit down by their parents, their faces full of reluctance, their lips pouting, their hearts filled with grievance and dissatisfaction. Several children whispered to each other: "We were having fun, why did you suddenly drag us into class?"

"That's right, I clearly said there are no classes today."

"Mrs. Gu is a liar. Let's not believe her words in the future."

"right!"

As more and more people gathered around, a subtle flicker of surprise crossed Master Du's usually calm face. Looking at the villagers, though dressed simply and poorly, their faces were filled with eagerness and admiration, Master Du suddenly felt a little uneasy.

Originally, he'd just been planning on going through the motions. It was just a formality, and losing wouldn't matter, so why take it so seriously? But the simple eyes of the villagers before him, their thirst for knowledge, made it hard for him to force himself on them.

“There is no discrimination in education.”

The words Gu Jiayue said when they were talking just now suddenly appeared in his mind.

Master Du's heart was filled with emotion. He bowed respectfully to the thousands of people in the audience and said, "My fellow villagers, I came here on such a whim that I am not well prepared. I hope you will forgive me."

A breeze blew by, blowing up Mr. Du's clothes, and his wide sleeves fluttered in the wind, giving him a somewhat immortal look.

The villagers were momentarily bewildered. The scholar actually saluted them? This... was really against the Heavenly Gang!

They hurriedly pressed the children down and made them bend over. Some of the children didn't pay attention and kowtowed under the pressure.

child;……

The villagers didn't care about the child's thoughts and held the child's hands harder and harder: "This is a rare good scholar, you have to listen to me!"

"Exactly! Where have I ever seen such an approachable scholar? He even asked us to be more patient with him. Oh, it's really rare!"

"Master Gu is indeed good, but it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a master to give a lecture. You little brats must listen carefully!"

"That's right, you must cherish this great opportunity and listen carefully."

Parents’ nagging makes children more and more impatient.

Not all children are as passionate and eager to study as Zhang Chuyan and Sun Hai.

For some children, because they are lively and active, or have undeveloped minds, or are still young and immature, reading is not a big deal in their eyes.

Therefore, they just wanted to play and were really unwilling to sit here and listen to the class properly.

But no matter how the children cried and resisted, the parents remained expressionless and were determined to keep them in their seats.

Some impatient parents even took off their shoes, held them in their hands, and glared at their children: "Don't force me to beat you in front of so many people!"

The children were so frightened that they shuddered, quickly covered their buttocks, and sat down obediently.

Looking at the various scenes in the audience, Master Du couldn't help but feel very interesting. Compared with the boring teaching day after day in the academy, this experience was quite different.

He waited a moment, until the audience quieted down, then spoke calmly, "The folks here today are all farmers, so I won't be lecturing on the Four Books and Five Classics. Instead, I'll share a poem about farming written by two of my former classmates. Perhaps it will be helpful to you all."

Du Fuzi recalls those days with a wave of emotion. Back then, he too was full of ambition and high spirits, chatting with his classmates and friends about how to speak up for the people and bring benefits to the region.

However, reality was like a heavy hammer, hitting him hard on the head and mercilessly mocking his naivety.

If you count carefully, he was actually a juren of the previous dynasty. After passing the juren exam, he became a county magistrate.

He served as the county magistrate in a northern county for more than ten years. The county magistrate did not care about anything and left everything to him. This lasted for ten years, and three county magistrates had been replaced, but he was still a small-time county magistrate.

No matter how hard he tried, he always failed in his annual evaluations, and there was no sign of promotion in sight.

The last county magistrate could no longer bear it and advised him to spend some money to smooth the relationship. He had already made great achievements in government, and with a little help, promotion was a sure thing.

But at that time, he was young and energetic, and he disdained such flattery and bribery. He even resigned from his official position in anger.

The lack of understanding from his family and the ridicule from his colleagues left him feeling depressed and dejected. Later, thanks to repeated sincere invitations from Principal Min, he finally came to teach at Wutong Academy.

After teaching at the academy for two or three years, he realized that he was too immature back then. If he could go back to the year he resigned from office, he would definitely donate one-third of his family wealth to smooth the relationship.

Master Du collected his thoughts and continued, "These two colleagues now work in the Ministry of Works, overseeing agricultural work for many years. They work diligently every day, not daring to slack off for even a moment. That's how they created this poem. I'll recite it to you first."

In 1929, we did not fight even when summoned;

Thirty-nine twenty-seven, playing the flute at the fence;

Forty-nine thirty-six, sleeping at night is like sleeping outdoors;

Fifty-nine forty-five, every family pushes the salt tiger;

Sixty-nine fifty-four, warm air comes out of the mouth;

Seventy-nine sixty-three, pedestrians carry their clothes;

Eighty-nine-seventy-two, cats and dogs seek shade;

Ninety-nine and eighty-one, the poor man's suffering is over;

Just when you stretch your feet to warm them, mosquitoes, lice, and fleas will come out."

Master Du suppressed the myriad thoughts in his mind, tried to maintain a steady pace, and began to lecture. His content was easy to understand, even catchy.

Master Du only read it once, but people with good memory already remembered most of it.

However, people are still confused about this poem which consists entirely of the number "nine" and do not understand its deep meaning.

This was understandable, and Master Du wasn't surprised. If everyone had understood it after just one instruction, he would have found it incredible.

"This poem vividly depicts the entire process of the weather changing from cold to warm over time, starting from the winter solstice. It is not only a record of climate change, but also an accumulation of life experience. Through these vivid descriptions, we can understand the characteristics of the winter climate and the living conditions of people at different stages."

"Okay, next, let's explain the meaning of this poem line by line.

In the 1929th day of the ninth lunar month, people greet each other without shaking hands. Starting from the winter solstice, the "Nine Days" (99 days) of winter arrive. During the first and second nine days, the weather is already extremely cold. When people greet each other, they keep their hands in their sleeves, unwilling to extend them. This is because hands exposed to the cold air feel extremely cold.

On the 27th day of the 39th month, the flute is played at the fence. The 39th day of the 39th month is the coldest time of the year. "Hui" is an ancient wind instrument, and here it describes the sound of a whistling wind, much like the sound of a flute. The whistling wind can be clearly heard even at the fence, demonstrating the extreme coldness of the weather.

During the 49th day of the 49th month, sleeping at night feels like sleeping outdoors. Even with a blanket, the cold still makes you feel like you're sleeping outdoors without a shelter. The nights during this period are truly unbearable.

On the 45th day of the 59th month, every household will push a salt tiger. A "salt tiger" is a salt crystal that resembles a tiger. During the 59th day of the 59th month, as the weather gradually warms, people will notice that salt in salt jars and other containers has lumped together due to the changing temperature, forming tiger-like shapes. This indicates that the indoor temperature has risen, and the salt's state has changed.

Sixty-nine fifty-four, warm air comes out of the mouth. Entering the sixty-nine, the weather becomes warmer. When people breathe, they can clearly feel that the air coming out of their mouths is warm, rather than the cold air in the cold winter. This indicates that the temperature has risen to a more comfortable level.

On the 79th day of the 11th month, pedestrians begin wearing lighter clothing. As the weather warms up, thick cotton-padded clothes are no longer necessary to ward off the cold; people can wear less clothing.

Eighty-nine seventy-two, cats and dogs seek shade. During the eighty-nine season, as the weather gets increasingly hot, cats, dogs, and other animals begin to seek shade to escape the heat. This also reflects that as time goes by and the temperature rises, animals' behavior changes accordingly; they, too, experience the heat.

After the 99th day of the 99th month, the cold days finally come to an end. The poor who lack adequate warm clothing and suffer from hunger and cold no longer need to endure the severe cold, which indicates that the most difficult cold period of the entire winter is over.

Just as I was about to stretch my feet to warm them, mosquitoes, fleas, and other small insects began to appear. This shows that with the warming weather, not only have human living conditions changed, but insects have also become more active, heralding the arrival of spring.

Master Du's explanation was extremely detailed and he also used easy-to-understand words, fearing that the common people would not understand.

The folks in the audience nodded repeatedly after hearing this.

At first, they were indeed confused about the meaning of this "Nine Days Song." But after Master Du's detailed explanation, many of them suddenly understood, and their hearts were filled with satisfaction from the knowledge and gratitude and recognition for Master Du.