Chapter 914 What Makes Humans Human
To put it bluntly, Jiang Zhiyuan came to borrow money.
However, Song Chunxue did not have a good impression of Jiang Zhiyuan.
In his past life, Jiang Zhiyuan and his wife often interacted with Mulan and Sanwa, but they frequently quarreled. Mulan often scolded them for being sneaky at home.
Jiang Zhiyuan was seven or eight years older than his eldest son, who was already thirteen years old.
The land that the couple cultivated was not as good as what Song Chunxue cultivated alone.
These two people didn't farm properly when they were young, nor did they know how to be prepared for unforeseen circumstances.
Although she wanted her two sons to study for a few more years, she didn't save money properly and often took them to borrow money.
But at least they're smart; they know that in this poor, remote place, relying on their own hands to make a living means that their ancestors could never leave.
He hoped that the children who received an education could go out and see the world, and ideally settle down in a beautiful place, and then he would take them out with him.
“His great-grandmother must be living a good life. These boots are made of sheepskin, and they look very soft. The things she wears on her hands are also very expensive. She doesn’t look like a farmer at all. She looks like the mistress of a wealthy family. I almost didn’t recognize her.”
“I heard that his great-grandmother is practicing cultivation, and she’s doing very well. When the eldest brother’s wife’s sister and her family came to cause trouble, you even spent money to send them away. It’s really different from the past. Seeing this makes me want to go and practice cultivation too.”
You can hardly imagine how festive it sounds when this passage is spoken in a dialect, with its varied intonation and length.
"Alas, my family is in dire straits. I was allocated little land, and we don't harvest much grain throughout the year. We still haven't paid back the grain seeds, and we have to plant again this year. My eldest son's granary is full; could you lend me some grain seeds? I'll pay you back when the harvest is good."
Thankfully, he didn't complain about his parents, otherwise Song Chunxue would definitely have given him a good dressing down.
There were only two brothers, while their parents lived their entire lives in the earthen cave dwelling above Jiang Zhiyuan's house.
When she was young, she was naive and easily fooled, and often brought food and drinks to the father and son's families.
Now that I think about it, it's no wonder she was able to give birth to a child like her eldest.
She used to be even less capable than the eldest brother.
Even though I'm not a kind or generous person, when I meet someone who flatters me and talks a good game, I feel like I could give them my whole heart.
"The eldest son is now a prominent figure in our village. He's getting more and more handsome and has married such a young wife. It's truly enviable."
Song Chunxue listened quietly, not saying much, while the eldest sister was all smiles from being flattered.
Anyway, the boss can afford to borrow the money, so let him borrow it.
The way the child spoke made her feel really uncomfortable.
Song Chunxue made an excuse and went to bed early.
The eldest brother knew that Song Chunxue didn't like to talk to people, but he couldn't resist listening to what Jiang Zhiyuan said. Before long, he went into the house, took some silver, and lent it to Jiang Zhiyuan.
After seeing Jiang Zhiyuan off, the eldest brother went to the main house to find Song Chunxue.
He sat on a low stool by the kang (a heated brick bed), thoughtfully holding Song Chunxue's hair.
"Does Mother think I'm not smart enough?"
"..." Hmm, when did this kid develop self-awareness?
This made it difficult for her, as his mother, to dislike him.
"How could that be? Intelligence is innate, but how to conduct oneself and handle affairs is all about upbringing. Come to think of it, I spoiled you from a young age, making you act on a whim."
Jiang Yeming grabbed her hair, lowered his head and said dejectedly, "I knew it, Mother thinks I'm not as good as the other three."
Song Chunxue sat up abruptly. "Then do you think you're better than your three younger brothers?"
"..." The eldest looked at Song Chunxue, somewhat pleased that she could sit up and talk to him about these things, "It's not as good as that."
"That's right, you can drive me crazy sometimes. It's normal for you to be worried about me, but if you don't trust me, don't you trust Master Zhang?"
"Have you all forgotten that the reason I am where I am now is because of Master Zhang's wealth-attracting talismans? It's because I have good fortune, it's because Heaven has been watching over me and giving me opportunities time and time again."
Song Chunxue patted the eldest brother's head, "It's also a blessing from heaven. Heaven's guidance time and time again is surely out of concern for you. Only now do I understand what it means for one person to attain enlightenment and for even their chickens and dogs to ascend to heaven, because we are all connected by karma."
“Boss, you can’t be so willful anymore, always blaming others for your incompetence. Even though life is better now, you need to guard against arrogance and impetuosity, be low-key and humble, and have your own plans and opinions.”
Jiang Yeming's eyes reddened. "I want to too, but I don't know how."
"So, do you want to stay in the mountains, or buy a house in Zhuanglang County and leave here?"
Song Chunxue spoke gently and patiently.
“If you don’t want to be here alone, you can at least help Hongying if you go to the county. Or, you can save up more money and buy a house in Jincheng so you can live with your three younger brothers.”
The eldest brother remained silent for a long time before saying, "But I can't bear to part with this yard. I still feel more at ease farming."
"That makes sense. You clearly have your own ideas, so why do you feel like we abandoned you?"
She tried to speak softly, but now she had to teach her eldest son things she hadn't taught him before, no matter how annoying it was.
Because in this world, if even your own parents despise you, then who else will be willing to lend a helping hand?
Even couples who depend on each other for survival will eventually find themselves avoiding the same problems after a long time and many setbacks.
To confront human nature head-on is like casting pearls before swine, or throwing an egg against a rock.
But Song Chunxue could sense that her eldest brother didn't think he was always right in front of her.
He was able to step into this house instead of just thinking about how she had been negating him all day and going to sleep with his emotions bottled up.
For the eldest son, this is already progress.
No one is perfect. What makes us human is that we can be blinded by our perceptions, stubbornly cling to prejudices, and refuse to turn back until we hit a wall.
The reason why a spiritual practitioner is a spiritual practitioner is that he must be able to recognize this point.
Otherwise, how can one develop insight?
If one cannot control their temper, correct their shortcomings, or handle trivial matters calmly and rationally, how can they talk about spiritual cultivation?
If you don't even have the patience to teach your own children, how can you expect to teach your apprentices well?
Song Chunxue suddenly realized that her previous thoughts were somewhat backwards.
She always tries to escape the past, stay away from her children, and avoid correcting the cause and effect.
However, the relationship between parents and children is an unbreakable bond of cause and effect, so how can there be any talk of interference?
As long as you don't get overly concerned and don't focus too much on your child's difficulties, and don't try to shield them from calamities, you won't make things worse and end up being caught in the middle of fate.
The "naturalness" in "Tao follows nature" is probably this kind of nature.
Song Chunxue thought to herself.
Therefore, she never pries into her child's future.
Aside from getting married and having their birth dates matched, she never consults fortune tellers for her children.
They don't even tell fortunes for themselves.
However, her senior brother used to be unable to resist predicting future events for her.
Because she knew that once she started, she would be unable to resist peeking again and again, being led by the hand of fate, and becoming a controlled puppet.
"Waaaaah..."
When Song Chunxue came to her senses, the eldest brother was crying beside her legs.
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