Chapter 454: Tao can only exist in the heart

It was already noon when we returned to Shangzhou. Xiaolin drove over to pick us up. After we got in the car, she asked, "Did Mr. Dong receive the money?"

Mr. Dong lives in Fanhuatai, and I studied with him... We talked about all this on WeChat, but I didn't tell her the details about the money.

So I accepted the money from Mr. Dong in several installments and explained to her in detail the purpose of the money.

She said, "Well, that's enough. I'll fulfill your wish."

Suddenly, she asked again: "If you use his prescription to cure someone else, will you give him some money?"

This is a new question, I have never thought about it before. I was immediately stumped by her question. After thinking for a long time, I asked her, "What do you think?"

She smiled and said, "I don't know, that's why I asked you."

I said, "Tao Xiaolin, why are you so concerned about money? If I make a little money, Mr. Dong doesn't care whether I give it to him or not. He doesn't need small amounts of money right now. If I make a large sum like last time, of course I'll give it to him."

"Oh——" she responded.

I thought to myself that this might not just be her idea, my mother also had this idea.

Since I became wealthy, I've felt a bit distant from my family (except my dad). Whenever Xiaolin meets me, he doesn't ask me how my studies are going; he just asks about my money.

I said, "What else do I want after buying a villa? Do I need to buy another one and leave it empty? Let's talk about money when we meet."

Xiao Lin smiled and said, "Having a lot of money is a good thing. If you don't buy a villa, you can buy a few other houses to rent out."

“What do you do with the money you earn from renting out?”

Xiao Lin glanced at me and said, "You've really entered the Tao. You've detached yourself from worldly matters? Even if you don't do anything, keeping it alive is a kind of protection."

I said, "Xiao Lin, you've changed. When I first met you, you were so innocent. Now all you talk about is money."

She laughed and said, "Master Wan, it's not me who has changed, it's you who can't keep up with the times. Nowadays, everyone talks about making money, and the goal of the entire country is to make people live a better life."

For a moment, I was speechless. Kobayashi had a point. Everyone is chasing profit these days. Perhaps I, the so-called "Tao" seeker, am the alternative, the non-mainstream.

I couldn't talk to her about pursuits; that would be ridiculous. She couldn't understand the inheritance of the Dao. And promoting Chinese culture was certainly not beyond her comprehension.

You're the one who's supposed to promote Chinese culture? That's a joke. I need to correct my mindset, too. After all, I'm also living in the mundane world.

I talk with people who share the same mindset, such as Mr. Dong, Lingyun, Teacher Zhang, and Doctor Wang. With my mother and Xiaolin, I can only talk about worldly matters.

"Ah, why aren't you talking? You're becoming more and more profound."

I smiled and said, "You want me to say I love you?"

She glared at me again and said, "I'm here to tell you something serious. I'll pick a date and wait for you to come back and move in."

Half an hour later, we arrived downstairs.

Everyone living in this yard is from Xuri. I feel very embarrassed and afraid to see anyone - after all, I left Xuri.

I happened to meet one person who was stunned when he saw me. It took him a long time to say, "Wan... (I guess he wanted to call me Mr. Wan, but felt that it was not appropriate to call him Mr. Wan now) Mr., long time no see."

I was also stunned for a moment and said, "Yes, long time no see."

They forced an awkward smile, shook hands, and went their separate ways.

Thank God, I didn’t meet anyone I knew in the elevator.

A strong idea suddenly came to me: move quickly.

As soon as I got home, my mother circled me and said, "You haven't lost weight, nor have you gained weight. You're not like the last time you came back. Last time you were tanned."

My dad gave me a cigarette.

Sister Guihua came over with Xiaoyu in her arms and said to me, "Come and see your little baby."

I was just about to reach out and touch Xiaoyu's face. Sister Guihua pushed Xiaoyu aside and said, "Go wash your hands quickly."

After washing my hands, I came back to hold Xiaoyu. He started crying as soon as he was in my arms. My mother said, "Look, you're out there every day. Even your son treats you as a stranger."

Xiaoyu cried so hard that Sister Guihua had to take her away again.

I wanted to smoke a cigarette, but my father glanced at me and motioned me to go to the study.

My father and I went to the study. He opened the window and said, "Since Sister Guihua came, I can only smoke in the study occasionally, otherwise I have to go outside. It would be better to move there, so that each family can live on the same floor."

The father and son smoked cigarettes. He asked me about Dali. I introduced it to him while I smoked. Xiaolin made tea and brought it in. "We'll have dinner in ten minutes," he said.

I told my father about Mr. Dong's situation. After listening to him, my father sighed and said, "He is a man of great compassion."

Hearing this, I felt like crying. Of all the people in this room, perhaps only my taciturn father understood me and Mr. Dong.

I said, "Yes, you hit the nail on the head. The purpose of life is not to be happy or rich, but to have a dream in your heart."

My father said, "Shanhong, you have learned the true teachings from Mr. Dong. As long as you have the truth in your heart, that's enough. I hope you can still be like before, joking and acting as if nothing matters. That way you can get along better with others, including your family."

Because you understand the Tao and pursue the Tao, while others do not. Do you understand what I mean?"

I looked at my father and realized that he was the one who could read my soul. He was knowledgeable, had experienced hardships, and had seen many things.

In theory, he should at least be paired with an intellectual like a female teacher, but he has lived his whole life with his uneducated partner.

I nodded.

Xiaolin gently opened the door and said, "It's time for dinner."

Sister Guihua didn't sit at the table. She walked around holding Xiaoyu.

Our family sat down to eat. My mother asked, "Shanhong, are you looking forward to the good days?"

I said, "You can move on the 11th, 12th, 20th, or 29th of the 12th lunar month."

My mother put a chicken leg in my bowl and said, "Twenty, please. Living here is just like living at Aunt Liu's house."

Xiaolin didn't understand this sentence and looked at me.

I said, "We're in the countryside, and my family is planning to build a new house. I'm temporarily staying at Mrs. Liu's house, but it's quite inconvenient. That's what I meant."

My mother said, "This house was given to us by them. We are willing to move out now, but the old ladies and old men downstairs keep asking, 'Why haven't you moved in yet?'"

My father said with a sullen face, "That's your problem. You want to brag to others that you bought a new house."

My mother gave my father a sidelong look.

I quickly stepped in to smooth things over: "Mom has already made a big step forward. She only said she bought an apartment, not a villa."

Sister Guihua interrupted, "City people are not easy to deal with." She meant to subtly advise my mother to talk less about family matters outside.

My mother misunderstood, thinking she had found an ally, and said, "Yes, city people are weird. The countryside is still better."

I smiled and said, "I'll tell you a good Douyin joke from my hometown."

She asked, “What is Tik Tok?”

My father said, "Let's talk about it after dinner."

After dinner, my mother asked again, "How is the village? Tell me."

I recited: "The countryside is a paradise in the eyes of the rich, a desolate place in the eyes of the poor. It is a distant place in the eyes of poets, and a hometown in the hearts of wanderers. For the rich, the countryside is a pure land, for the poor, it is just dirt."

Everyone laughed. My mother didn't laugh.

After a while, she said, "It is true that the whole village is made of land."

Everyone burst into laughter again.

My mother said, "What are you laughing at? Shanhong, contact your brother-in-law. I have the moving company's phone number. I'll be packing up everything at home these next few days."

I said, "Actually, we can pack up our things, contact a truck, and move some of our things over every day. That way, we can clean and put our things away every day. As for the official move-in, it's just a ceremony."

My mother said, "That's better. Why are you sitting there? Xiaolin, come with me to clean up. Shanhong is tired, go take a nap first."

Xiao Lin said, "Master Wan, you should have a good rest."

I rolled my eyes at her, pointed at my mother and said, "I told you to work, and you dare to resist?"

Then he said to my mother, "Don't be so anxious. Xiaolin also needs to take a rest at noon."

She was stunned for a moment, then reacted and quickly said, "Yes, yes, you guys take a rest, take a rest."