Time passed slowly, and the people of Xujia Village remained seated, some staring blankly, some lost in thought, and others scratching their heads and yawning.
Of course, some people nodded in agreement.
Tian Gui empathized and said, "What the scholar said makes perfect sense!"
Xia Xiucai had already stood up and was speaking passionately to the crowd: "Life is like a person; if you don't let go of the past, you will suffer in the end. If you hold on, you will become famous!"
"If you don't let go, you'll suffer in the end": The character "若" (ruò) is formed when the left stroke doesn't extend outwards, which reminds everyone that you need to let go of your attachments.
If you don't let go of desires, greed, vanity, and distracting thoughts, you will suffer, and life cannot be all smooth sailing.
"Being unable to let go is an obsession! Kuafu chased the sun in the past, and his persistence became an obsession, ultimately costing him his life."
“Each person who holds back will become famous: the stroke in the character ‘各’ (each) needs to be held back to become ‘名’ (famous), which means to uphold one’s original aspirations and morality.”
"In this life, there are some things we need to let go of, and some things we need to hold on to!"
He seemed to be lecturing, yet it also seemed like he was lecturing to himself! Everyone around him was completely bewildered!
……………………
As the day passed, on Old Cloud Cliff, Xu Errui and Qiaoyun had eaten before dark and were wandering around the courtyard.
"Mother, Caixia has already eaten. She just needs to take a bath and then go to sleep. She won't be bothering you."
Chickens climb trees, pigs stay in pens. Qiaoyun takes care of all the chores at home, but she still feels a little guilty about leaving her child with her mother-in-law.
Jiang Zhi was playing with Cai Xia when she heard Qiao Yun talking. She quickly waved her hand, signaling her to stop talking so that Cai Xia wouldn't hear and she would be chased away.
Errui ran to the kitchen to check the water vat and saw that it was full of water and there was plenty of firewood in the kitchen: "Mother, the water and firewood are all ready."
Jiang Zhi angrily shouted, "Get out! You're so annoying with your nagging!"
Caixia put down her toy and tried to look up, but Jiangzhi blocked her way: "Caixia, be good, come with Grandma to see what Peppa Pig is doing. Is it going to steal food from the pigpen again? Let's go catch it!"
After saying that, he picked up the child and walked to the road next to him.
The child is young now, simple and easy to coax. When he heard that we were going to catch Peppa Pig, he quickly urged his grandma to go over.
On the other side, Errui, leading Qiaoyun, secretly made their way to Xiaoman's house.
After meeting Xiaoman, the three of them ran down the mountain and quickly disappeared into the jungle.
On the cliff, Caixia, who was riding on Peiqi's back, still spotted the three people loitering in the woods below. She immediately pointed at their departing figures and shouted, "They've run away! Mom! Dad!"
As he spoke, he immediately wiggled his hips and slid down the slope, trying to chase after him.
Jiang Zhi, who had been supporting her the whole time, immediately produced a cloth tiger as if by magic: "No, no, those are bad people, Caixia, look at this!"
Jiang Zhi had prepared in advance to deal with the children; if she couldn't use Peppa Pig, she would use toys.
Sure enough, Caixia was immediately attracted by the brightly colored plush toys and turned her attention to the cloth tiger.
Jiang Zhi looked in the direction the three young people had left and breathed a sigh of relief.
Xia Xiucai was no ordinary teacher; he would start the school year with the "Hundred Family Surnames" and the "Three Character Classic" according to the methods of the imperial examinations, teaching students to write and recognize characters.
He lectured in the village, starting from literacy, without any lesson plan, speaking freely and spontaneously, wherever his thoughts led him.
Some people didn't understand, found it annoying, and left early to go to sleep.
Some people thought it made sense and sighed as they listened.
Errui was completely confused and only half-understood what Xia Xiucai had said. When he got back, he kept pondering what Xia Xiucai had said: "Mother, the scholar was talking about the character 'person,' so why is it about letting go and holding on at the same time?"
He recognized the characters, but he didn't understand their implied meanings.
Jiang Zhi did not immediately explain what letting go meant and what obsession meant.
This is only the first lesson, it's normal if you don't understand it. Listen a few more times and then ask the Master for guidance.
Moreover, such profound thoughts require personal experience to truly grasp their essence.
Knowledge is accumulated over many years.
Even if you don't understand something while learning, as long as you think about it carefully, these questions will remain dormant deep in your memory.
Like a fine wine that has been aged with time and experience, once opened, it will release its most mellow aroma.
The principles you understand through others' explanations are like concocted wine—quick and plentiful, but lacking soul and fusion.
Now that there's a night school in the village, Jiang Zhi asked Er Rui to take Qiao Yun with him.
Although going up and down the mountain is arduous, requiring three hours of travel each day, it's nothing as long as I can learn something.
In the past, children growing up in the mountainous areas of Southwest China had to go to school every day, leaving early and returning late, traversing mountains and valleys.
Back then, every classroom had a banner that read, "The fragrance of plum blossoms comes from the bitter cold."
It is a rare life experience for Errui, Qiaoyun, and Xiaoman to be able to attend night school now.
With her child still young and her mother-in-law helping to care for the child, Qiaoyun also has the time and space to improve herself.
Night fell, and Peppa Pig had disappeared; she was probably wandering around in the mountains again.
Jiang Zhi closed the door and boiled water for Caixia to take a bath.
Amidst the rushing water, the little girl sat in the prepared medicine, while Jiang Zhi gently wiped her back with a soft cloth, softly singing a nursery rhyme:
"On New Year's Eve, the moon is bright, and thieves get up to steal slop jars."
The deaf man heard the sound of footsteps, the blind man saw someone climbing over the wall, the claws grabbed a doorstop, and the lame man got up and chased after them.
They chased him into the winter paddy fields, leaving him covered in dust, and when they lifted his braid, they saw he was a monk!
"Giggle giggle!"
Caixia splashed around in the water, making water droplets fly everywhere.
Jiang Zhi chuckled and gently pinched her little nose: "Goose! Goose! Goose, with its neck curved, it sings to the sky!"
"Goose! Goose! Goose!" Caixia imitated each word, her eyes crinkling with laughter.
After playing for a while, and with the water getting cold, we scooped them out, dried them, and put them back on the kang (heated brick bed).
I was worried that Caixia would cry a couple of times before going to sleep, but she was already tired from playing all day and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, and I couldn't wake her up no matter how I moved her.
Jiang Zhi covered her with a small quilt, then turned down the wick of the oil lamp, dimming the light in the room, before sitting down to twist cotton thread...
As she skillfully twisted her fingers, the bobbin spun, and clumps of fluffy cotton became fine thread.
Having been here for over a year, Jiang Zhi feels increasingly integrated into this era.
The "letting go" that Errui mentioned probably includes these points as well!
"Home is where the heart is at peace." In the years to come, I will have Errui, Qiaoyun, and Caixia sleeping soundly on the kang (heated brick bed) to keep me company. I am fortunate.
At the foot of the cliff, Xu Dazhu was exercising again. With his daily uninterrupted practice, he was able to stand for longer and longer periods of time, from a few breaths to a quarter of an hour.
Chunfeng had already brought over a basin of water and placed it beside her. After Xu Dazhu sat down, drenched in sweat, she wrung out a cotton handkerchief and handed it to him.
Xu Dazhu took the face wipe and asked, "What did Grandpa tell you to do just now?"
Chunfeng smiled and said, "Grandpa said the wheat has been harvested and that I should find time to separate from Auntie's family."
The mountain area is small, so after the wheat is harvested, it is piled on the branches of trees, and one batch is dried before another is harvested.
So much time has passed, and only now are they being gradually hammered and dried, ready to be shared between the two families.
Xu Dazhu was a little puzzled: "Why do I need to tell you when I can just tell Auntie directly?"
Chunfeng lowered her head slightly, her face showing undisguised joy and shyness: "Master said that the eldest sister-in-law is like a mother, and from now on, I will be in charge of these matters."
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