After everyone was seated, Zeng Zhui bowed to Xu Jiang and urged, "Madam Xu, please ask the questions."
Xu Jiang pondered for a moment, then looked at the table full of dishes. An idea came to her mind. "How about using 'taste' to discuss writing?"
Zeng Zhui was stunned: "Taste?"
"Ancient sages say: 'Flavor, movement, and stillness nourish life; joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness are the changes of life.' Another says: 'Sweet and sour flavors have hundreds of names.'" Xu Jiang's eyes curved, and a cunning aura emanated from her. "Since people experience all kinds of flavors, how can writing be the same? I suppose each flavor should be unique."
Hu Xu tapped the bowl and dish. "This question is quite appropriate for the situation."
Zeng Zhuide got the question, and with a quick thought, he wanted to take the initiative, so he immediately slammed the table and said, "I got it, I'll go first."
Xu Jiang curled her lips and said, "I'm all ears."
Zeng Zhui passionately said, "While sweet and sour have their own unique flavors, I particularly love salty. Salty flavors last a long time, preserving everything from decay to decay. Writing should be like this. There are countless articles in the world that are elaborate and superficial, but because they lack this salty flavor, they soon fade into ashes and vanish."
Xu Jiang asked, "What does this 'salty' taste mean in terms of writing?"
"This salty taste represents substance, utility, and truth." Zeng Zhui elaborated: "Solidity means that writing should be full and not empty. Utility means not to write useless articles, but to benefit the people. Truth means to be sincere and genuine, without falsehood. These three combined together constitute the salty taste of writing."
"Good." Xu Jiang clapped his hands in praise. As a descendant of the Zeng family, he inherited quite a bit of his ancestor's legacy.
Zeng Zhui glanced at everyone present, looking quite pleased with himself, and asked impatiently, "Who's next?"
"Let me do it." Hu Xu tapped the table with his finger, pondered for a moment, and then slowly said, "There are so many flavors, it's really hard to choose one alone. I like to blend them the most."
Zeng Zhui glared at him, "How cunning!" Then he beat his chest and stamped his feet, regretting it all. He blamed himself for being too impatient and should have listened to the fox's words before answering.
Xu Jiang chuckled and made a gesture of invitation to Hu Xu.
Hu Xu said leisurely, "Taking advantage of its strengths and making up for its weaknesses is harmony. Compatibility and integration is harmony. There are hundreds of flavors in the world, but if you only take one, wouldn't it be bland?"
As soon as Hu Xu said this, Xu Jiang nodded to Zeng Zhui's wine glass and said to Shopkeeper Wang, "Pour some wine."
Although Shopkeeper Wang didn't understand what he said, he was happy to watch the fun and poured the wine as he was told.
Zeng Zhui glared at Hu Xu angrily, then drank the wine in one gulp.
Hu Xu continued, "The taste of 'saltiness' can indeed protect all things from decay. Literature that is practical, useful, and authentic can also benefit the people. However, literature is the essence of the human soul, and the feelings of this essence are reflected in all things. All things are the myriad phenomena, and they cannot be covered by reality, utility, or truth. So how can literature be confined to this single taste? I advocate harmony, which means melting all flavors into one, gathering the feelings of all things: joy, sorrow, illusion, and fantasy, naturally also practical, useful, and true. In this way, writers can connect with the heavens and earth to express their hearts and minds, and readers can explore its bittersweet flavors to explore the connection between heaven and man, and only then can harmony be achieved."
Shopkeeper Wang was confused after hearing this and thought to himself: It’s no wonder that his kid doesn’t like going to school. If he is forced to think about these things every day, he would rather sleep.
Xu Jiang was secretly surprised.
When a man has been away for three days, he should be treated with new eyes. Is this still the lonely, indignant, and arrogant Hu Xu she knew? This state of mind has already found the right path. No wonder even Yuan Zuzhi dared not relax, fearing that he would be beaten to death on the riverbank.
Zeng Zhui was stunned and speechless.
Xu Jiang counted and found that Hu Xu had refuted him three times in a row, so she made him drink three cups as a punishment.
After three cups, his face was already red.
Afterwards, several people turned their eyes to Lou Yunchun. Hu Xu's answer was the pinnacle, and they didn't know how he should respond.
Xu Jiang's face was full of anticipation. She and Lou Yunchun were both romantic, and she had never seen him talk about literature or philosophy.
Lou Yunchun drank a glass of wine slowly and said calmly, "I don't take one flavor, nor do I take a hundred flavors. I only take the flavor beyond the flavor."
Everyone was stunned. Zeng Zhui pouted and almost cried. It would have been fine if he was just one cunning one, but here came someone even more cunning!
Hu Xu sighed softly, secretly regretting his negligence and having already fallen into a disadvantage.
Lou Yunchun explained, "Food brings forth a hundred flavors. Whether you choose one or focus on blending them, all you need to know is to appreciate the flavor. Appreciating flavor requires not only knowing its true flavor, but also understanding the flavors beyond it. Writing is similar to this. Whether it's for practicality, utility, truth, or blending a hundred flavors, the ultimate goal is nothing more than an image beyond image, a scene beyond scenery, a purpose beyond purpose, a flavor beyond taste. The ultimate literary achievement transcends itself, creating a new artistic conception, allowing readers to create their own realm and reshape the text."
After listening to his explanation, Xu Jiang's heart was pounding. She looked at Lou Yunchun deeply, and then asked Manager Wang to pour wine for Zeng Zhui and Hu Xu.
Shopkeeper Wang was shocked. Hu Xu was defeated as well?
Hu Xu took the wine jug from Shopkeeper Wang and poured himself a glass, then toasted Lou Yunchun: "I, Hu, am humbled."
Such a broad mind is also admirable.
Although Zeng Zhui was reluctant and felt that the two were cunning, he was willing to admit defeat. He poured himself a glass, clinked glasses with Hu Xu, and the two drank together.
Seeing that he was completely red, Lin Hongchu suppressed a smile and said, "Didn't you say to drink less? How are you going to get past Mr. Du when you go back after drinking so much?"
Hu Xu smiled and said, "Just say that you're drinking while discussing your paper. Mr. Du does this kind of elegant thing often, so I don't think he'll be punished."
Xu Jiang knew Du Hui well. "Mr. Du can tolerate drinking during his paper, but if he loses the paper, and you and Zhaoyue are punished with drinking, it's hard to say whether he can tolerate it."
Thinking of Du Hui's fierce face, Zeng Zhui wanted to cry out to the heavens. What evil had he done? Why was he shooting himself in the foot?
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
