Chapter 244 Return to the Human World

Gu Dan can indeed confirm that the living standards of the people have improved to a great extent.

Because in addition to the white noodles sprinkled with a handful of green onions, there were also two eggs on the table.

"Eat, eat. You can't find Akino Village. When my generation is gone, I'm afraid there won't be many people who remember Akino Village."

The old man held the bowl of noodles, opened his mouth and ate two big mouthfuls of noodles, with a happy smile on his face, "It wasn't a good time, it wasn't rare at all."

Gu Dan nodded, gave him one of the eggs in the bowl, and said, "I ate a lot when I came here, so I'm not that hungry now."

"Tsk, you're just being polite."

The father-in-law didn't stop him. He pushed the egg aside and continued to eat the noodles with his bloody mouth wide open. The speed was enough to make people jaw-dropping.

A full bowl of noodles could be finished in just six or seven mouthfuls.

That’s not all. After finishing the noodles, my father-in-law nodded and took two sips of the noodle soup, as if he was testing the temperature. After making sure he could bear it, he used chopsticks to hold the egg and drank all the noodle soup into his stomach like a whale.

In just a few moments, the old man's face looked a little red, and there was a thin layer of sweat.

Noticing Gu Dan's slightly shocked look, the father-in-law burped and said casually, "I was so poor back then that I usually ate so fast, for fear that someone else would rob me of my meal if I was a step slower!"

He said it easily, but this habit was definitely not developed in a day or two.

How many days of fear and worry, where someone might snatch the food from your mouth if you are not careful, will it take to develop such a habit?

Even twenty years have passed and nothing has changed.

Gu Dan doesn’t know.

The old man seemed relaxed and casual. He put the bowl down, revealing two eggs inside, one of which was given to him by Gu Dan.

She picked up one with chopsticks, first sipped it with her lips, then took a small bite, and even closed her eyes, shaking her head like a student who was studying hard, savoring the taste of the egg.

Gu Dan had eaten countless delicious dishes. No matter whether in the Xia Dynasty or in any other country, whenever he went there, he was always treated as a guest of honor and the most delicious food was always served to him.

Although Gu Dan never asked for anything for this, it can be said that he enjoyed a wealth and glory that was beyond this world.

But no matter how delicious the food is, no one has ever shown such an attitude.

It seemed that what he was eating was not an ordinary egg, but a delicacy that was rarely seen in a thousand years.

"I see you have a few chickens in your yard. Don't you usually eat eggs?"

Gu Dan had no intention of offending, but he couldn't help but ask.

"Eggs are good things. How can an old man like me eat them casually? They are reserved for the kids!"

The old man said it casually, but he didn't seem to be struggling at all. Instead, he showed a slightly cunning smile - the so-called cunning was not slander, but came from the wisdom of the common people themselves.

"Besides, eggs are easy to sell, and we can save money to send our children to school. His father has been farming all his life, and his father's father has been farming all his life. Can he still be allowed to farm at his age? Life has finally gotten better, and my family has to support one child no matter what. It's good enough for us to have something to eat, why do we need so many?"

Gu Dan looked at him silently.

The old man's appearance at this moment was by no means humble, on the contrary, his eyes, polished by wind and frost, were almost sparkling, emitting a light that made people dare not look directly at it.

Today's life cannot be called rich, but it is enough to have enough food and clothing.

The most important thing is that they have hope.

There is hope to live a better life and hope to support a new generation, which is more precious than eggs or meat.

If there is no expectation for the future, there will never be such thoughts.

Wang Mang fulfilled his promise and the Xia Dynasty fulfilled its mission.

Even though it has not yet achieved what Mo Qiu had always hoped for, 'the hungry get food, the cold get clothes, and the working get rest', it has at least allowed the people to not struggle on the poverty line and give them hope for life again.

"Stop talking, just eat, or you'll be full of food by the time we meet."

Seeing that Gu Dan kept asking, the father-in-law urged him instead.

"Okay."

Gu Dan responded and imitated his father-in-law's previous behavior, wolfing down the noodles like a starving ghost just dug out of the ground.

After five or six mouthfuls, a large bowl of noodles was swallowed with the sound of slurping.

The only feeling Gu Dan himself had was that if he learned to eat like him, there would be no difference at all whether the noodles were clumpy or not; he couldn't feel it at all.

But on the other hand, I had a very clear feeling that there was something in my stomach and it felt warm.

"Hey, you're weird!"

The father-in-law was surprised to see Gu Dan succeed in imitating him and eating a whole bowl of rice. "My son wanted to imitate me before and almost choked himself to death."

"I can't taste anything if I eat it this way."

Gu Dan wiped his mouth and said.

"Yes."

The father-in-law smiled and nodded, "That's how we ate grass roots in the beginning. We didn't dare to taste them. We were poor and noisy, but we got used to it."

"Let's not talk about this anymore."

Gu Dan put down the empty bowl and asked casually, "Yuzhou Governor, have you heard of it?"

"Which one are you talking about? The one who left or the new one?"

The father-in-law asked.

"Um?"

Gu Dan was slightly surprised.

He was just asking casually. Would an old farmer busy in the field care about his boss in Yuzhou? He himself had never paid attention to this thing in his previous life!

But he never thought that his father-in-law seemed to know the person, and he knew more than one person! Gu Dan said, "The one I'm talking about is called Xun Ke."

"Oh, that one, that one is awesome, he's a good official!"

The old man gave a thumbs up and praised him generously: "The chickens in my house were sold to me at a low price by the officials. I never had such a good thing before. How could I miss him? Everyone in the town praises him!"

"oh?"

Gu Dan was a little amused and helpless.

No wonder my father-in-law has an impression of Xun Ke. The reason for the affection is because of the chickens at home.

"I don't know anything about the big stuff, but I heard that he was leading people to build bridges and roads. He's very capable. He comes to the fields every few days. He's been to my place several times. I've seen him before, but many people have surrounded him."

At this point, the father-in-law pointed at himself and said, "For someone like me, it would be embarrassing to go over and talk, so I didn't go over."

“That must be a good official indeed.”

Hearing the praises given to the younger generation he had trained, Gu Dan couldn't help but feel happy, as if his child had finally grown up.

It’s worth his hard work in cultivation!

"He is a good official, a good official."

The old man nodded repeatedly, "When he was here, he took care of all the grievances. He could even settle the dispute between the two towns over watering the land. I was very impressed by him, but later he was transferred away by the emperor."

Transferred?

He was probably promoted based on his political achievements. After all, he had connections, and it was natural for Wang Mang to take good care of him. Not to mention that Xun Ke was very capable himself, so it couldn't be considered as using a backdoor.

"What about the successor? How is it?"

Seeing that his father-in-law did not show much disappointment on his face, Gu Dan thought that he was probably quite satisfied with the new governor who took over after Xun Ke left, so he could not help but ask another question.

If he is really a talented person, you can go back and tell Wang Mang about it and ask him to pay special attention to it.

After all, in Gu Dan's own impression, the Xia Dynasty seemed to be quite short of talents.

"That's pretty impressive, what's the point of saying he's a Taoist? Anyway, he's not bad, it's just that I don't understand what he's doing. Anyway, there are more and more merchants and more and more things, so he must be a good official."

The father-in-law pointed at the watermelon and said, "He sent someone to bring back that watermelon, along with a bunch of other miscellaneous things, some useful, some useless, too many."

Taoism?

Gu Dan thought about it, could it be the two disciples of Qingpingzi? Zou Dan and Zhuang Sheng? But thinking about how Zhuang Sheng was absorbed in the book of gods and ghosts in the Sutra Library, Gu Dan shook his head and thought it must be Zou Dan.

He also had a deep impression of this little guy. When they first met, he boldly stated that he was a talented person. If he could demonstrate enough strength, he would be willing to follow him to create a prosperous world.

Gu Dan still remembers the original words.

"I am good at observing the stars and the celestial phenomena, the changes of yin and yang, and I can teach the people the time."

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Now it seems that I didn't tell any lies, at least it was true.

"not bad."

A smile appeared on Gu Dan's face. He had a new understanding of the new changes in the Xia Dynasty over the past ten years.

Those guys who were just kids back then have now grown up and started to provide shelter for others.

Over the years, Gu Dan has accepted inheritance from many people, and now it is time to give it to the world.

"I'm sorry to have bothered you for so long, but I don't have any decent gifts."

After these words, Gu Dan couldn't help feeling homesick. He stood up, thought for a while, and scooped a ladle of water from the water tank.

A drop of lush green liquid fell into it and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"This bowl of water, share it with your family, don't drink too much."

Gu Dan warned.

"Varied"

The father-in-law was about to speak when he suddenly realized that Gu Dan in front of him had disappeared.

In broad daylight, the whole person suddenly disappeared!

Only that bucket of water was left there, proving that what he had seen before was not an illusion.

The father-in-law stood there in a daze.

Although he was eager to return home, Gu Dan still suppressed his thoughts and drove towards the imperial capital at a not very fast speed in the most ordinary carriage.

What we saw along the way was enough to prove that the old man in Yuzhou did not lie.

The prosperous scene with everything competing to flourish is still before our eyes, and it couldn't be more genuine.

An endless stream of caravans filled the trade route, and people wearing costumes from other countries were vaguely visible among them.

There were not only caravans, but also students coming on pilgrimage.

Yes, a pilgrimage.

Gu Dan found out that during the time he was away, Wang Mang erected a large statue of Mo Qiu in the imperial capital.

It is said that there are two lines of words engraved on the base of the statue.

Promote the benefits of the world and eliminate the harm of the world! To the world, Mozi has passed away, but there are still many people who are grateful for his kindness.

Not only in the Xia Dynasty, but even in Daqi, Gu Dan saw Moqiu's temple and longevity tablets. The lower-class people may not be so smart and have limited knowledge, but it does not mean that they don't know who is good to them.

It is also for this reason that many students who grew up from the lower classes, when they are older and have extra money, want to come to the Xia Dynasty to appreciate the path that Mozi has taken and pay tribute to the great sage teacher.

This action even triggered a trend. If the students from various countries did not come to visit, they would be embarrassed to say that they admired the Mohist school and Mo Qiu.

Even when they were about to arrive at the imperial capital, Gu Dan saw students wearing Daqi costumes, kneeling down and kowtowed every time they took a step.

At first, Gu Dan wondered who was so bold as to force someone into this state.

When he asked someone, he claimed that he admired Mozi's virtues, but knew he could not compare with him, so he wanted to use this method to express his admiration and show his piety.

In this regard, Gu Dan's comment was: If Mo Qiu knew you did this, he would come over and slap you twice.

People should not degrade themselves.

Mo Qiu himself never claimed to be a saint, and he never even used his fame to accomplish anything.

Be it killing the emperor, beheading the commander of Daqing in battle, helping Yuzhou defend the city, or even the wrath of the master when the Yuan River burst its banks, from beginning to end, Mo Qiu only represented himself and the Mohist School.

He wants to uphold justice in the world, but he will not impose justice on others, nor will he use it to ask others to worship him.

It was just because he had seen the sufferings in the world, so he wanted to do something so that they could stand up and live.

This is the reason why Gu Dan sincerely admires Mo Qiu, and it is also the fundamental reason why he is willing to come out of seclusion.

Because there are people like that who work so hard, the morality and benevolence in our hearts are awakened.

Not everyone needs to practice this morality and benevolence. On the contrary, it is enough for most people to live their own lives well and not cause trouble for others.

But now, Moqiu has become the sage in their eyes.

When saints and wise men shout too much, it seems as if they are no longer human beings.

Put someone on a pedestal, express admiration, and highlight one's ignorance and naivety in a bizarre way.

Is this because of the realization of the virtue and morality contained in it, or is it just a living farce?

Gu Dan seemed to be thinking about something.

Walking in the mortal world, seeing it with your own eyes.

As flowers bloom, new problems are also emerging all the time.

This is the real world!

As long as we have not reached the ultimate world of great harmony that is like a dreamland, countless problems will arise every moment. When you solve one problem, a new one will pop up.

Fortunately, the Xia Dynasty is still young.

There is still a lot of time to correct one's own mistakes and paths.

There are also countless talented people who stay in positions that suit them, full of ambition to show their skills and talents.

After seeing and hearing everything along the way, Gu Dan returned to the place he had been away from for ten years, feeling full of emotion.

There seems to be no change around the courtyard.

Gu Dan casually pushed open the door of the courtyard and took a quick look. It was as if a thunderbolt was rolling in and hitting him on the head, leaving him no time to react.

The great master, the invincible man in the world, was now standing in front of his own house like a sculpture.

Dumbfounded, dumbfounded.

(End of this chapter)