Chapter 43: Seeing the Essence Through Phenomena
The sun was still shining brightly at noon, but the sky began to be covered with dark clouds when the class was about to end in the afternoon.
Manbao and Bai Shanbao lay on the table and looked outside. They were a little excited. It really would rain if the ants moved.
Mr. Zhuang also saw this. After class, he asked the students to stay in the classroom and wait for their families to pick them up. Then he took Manbao and Shanbao to the yard where he lived next door.
He led the two children to the study and said, "What you saw this morning were ants moving. What do you see now?"
Manbao said, "It's raining. It will rain when ants move."
Mr. Zhuang laughed and said, "Silly children, you got the order wrong. It's not that when the ants move, it will rain. It's that when it's about to rain, the ants move, moving their homes to a safe place. When humans see this, they know it's going to rain."
Mr. Zhuang spoke slowly. The two children counted on their fingers and found that it was correct, so they nodded.
Mr. Zhuang pointed to the rain curtain outside and continued to ask, "What are you seeing now?"
The two children said in unison, "It's raining."
"These are just appearances," Mr. Zhuang said. "Manbao, your parents told you that ants moving means it will rain, so you assumed that ants moving means it will rain. Shanbao, you've never heard of such a thing, so all you saw were ants moving. But do you know what the teacher thinks when he sees ants?"
The two children shook their heads.
"Teacher will not only think that it is going to rain soon, but also think that there are so many ants under my house. The ants are gnawing on the house and furniture. I need to start pest control at home. I will also think that a thousand-mile dike is destroyed by an ant hole..." Mr. Zhuang talked to them about ants in detail.
Manbao and Shanbao were stunned when they heard this. They had no idea that tiny ants could not only eat a big tree to death, but also destroy a house and even destroy a dam thousands of miles long.
After Mr. Zhuang finished talking about the ants, he talked about the autumn rain outside and told them that what they saw now was just rain, but in the eyes of different people, this autumn rain had different meanings.
For these children, the autumn rain only temporarily confined them to school, but for the farmers, the autumn rain meant that they could start plowing the fields and fermenting grass in preparation for next year's farming.
But for those who want to go out, this autumn rain does more harm than good, as they don't know how much time they will be delayed because of it.
Mr. Zhuang explained these things to the two children in detail. They seemed to be completely unrelated, but he then changed the subject and returned to the question of the county magistrate.
"This morning, I asked you what the county magistrate does, and you told me what you saw and heard, based on your most intuitive impressions. But in reality, you didn't tell the whole story," Mr. Zhuang said. "Sometimes, what you see and hear may not be what you think. You need to observe, listen, and think more. If you're feeling overwhelmed, hold off on jumping to conclusions. Wait until you've had enough time to reflect on these things. Perhaps you'll gain a different perspective."
The two children understood a little, but not very clearly. However, Mr. Zhuang did not ask them to understand it now. Instead, he asked them to remember what he said and they would understand it when the time comes.
As they were talking, the people from the Bai and Zhou families who came to pick up the two children arrived. Manbao and Shanbao said goodbye to their husband and ran out in the rain hand in hand. They were so happy when they got soaked by the rain. When they ran out, the two children deliberately looked for puddles to step in, and the water splashed everywhere, which made them even happier.
Outside the yard, warnings and scoldings from the two adults were heard one after another. The two children ran to their respective families while splashing water.
Mr. Zhuang stood at the door and watched, stroking his beard again and again, but he was thinking about what Manbao said in his heart.
The county magistrate wants to increase the entrance fee to the city. What is his reason this time?
Mr. Zhuang naturally knew more than the Zhou family. In fact, as early as three years ago, when County Magistrate Fu first came to Luojiang County, he increased the entrance fee. Not only that, the taxes and levies were also increased. Then, within two years, County Magistrate Fu repaired a section of official road, reinforced the Luojiang embankment, and dug a canal for the county.
The term of office of a county magistrate is three years. This year, County Magistrate Fu was not transferred, which means that he will serve another term. However, it is not known whether he plans to do any political work this time, or do nothing at all.
Mr. Zhuang was a little worried.
But these issues obviously cannot be discussed with the two children.
Manbao was taken home by Feng. As soon as she got home, she went to the kitchen to get hot water for her to take a bath. There was no other way. The child stepped on the water and not only her shoes got wet, but her pants also got wet.
Qian touched her little hand and scolded her, "You are becoming more and more troublesome. Why do I feel that you have become more naughty after going to school?"
Manbao said, "Bai Shanbao is also treading water."
"He is him, and you are you. Maybe he learned it from you. He wants you to learn good things, not bad things, and certainly not teach other children bad things."
Manbao sighed and said, "Okay, I won't tread water anymore."
A child's promise is as unreliable as the weather in July.
Qian asked Feng to give her a bath and give her a bowl of hot water before letting her go out to play. She only warned her, "Don't go out to play in the water or I won't let you go to school tomorrow."
Manbao is at a age when he loves studying, how could he be reluctant to leave?
So she could only sit in the main room and wait for her brothers to come back.
Zhou Silang and his two younger brothers hid from the rain under a tree. They ran back when the rain was not so heavy, but they were still wet.
Zhou Wulang and his friends helped to open up wasteland today and cut down a lot of bamboo. When they came back, they winked at their youngest sister.
Manbao understood that when Zhou Erlang came back, he would pester him to help him make a flower basket.
Zhou Erlang was just about to say that Manbao had made quite a bit of money with his flower baskets. Although he didn't say it, he was very tempted. However, he had been busy with many things recently and couldn't spare the time. Seeing Manbao asking, he immediately knew it was Lao Wu and Lao Liu's idea. He didn't refuse and said, "Let Lao Wu and Lao Liu cut the bamboo strips. I'll weave them for them when I get back."
Even Old Zhoutou said, "I'll help you weave it when I come back from the fields."
After thinking about it, he felt that Lao Si's land reclamation was too unreliable, and hesitantly said: "Why don't we let Lao Si stop reclaiming the wasteland? The land at the foot of the mountain may not be fertile even after two years of cultivation. Why bother? It would be more practical for him to help with some work at home."
Zhou Silang perked up and wanted to nod.
But Manbao refused to agree. He said, "Dad, Fourth Brother is disobedient, and that's a punishment. The teacher said that changing one's mind every day is a big taboo. What if Fourth Brother thinks that doing something wrong is nothing?"
"If he dares, I'll beat him to death!"
Manbao despised her father, "You definitely can't kill Fourth Brother, otherwise you would be so sad."
Old Zhou was choked up and waved his hand, saying, "Alright, let your fourth brother continue to open up new land. Your fifth and sixth brothers will see if they can keep the flower basket business going for a long time."
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
