Chapter 87 World I encountered another world.
Ever since the lamb was taken away, Song Jin had lost his appetite for two days. The thorn in his heart was not completely cleared away by Ji Shubai's words.
Sometimes she didn't think she was any better than the lamb. She was destined to be slaughtered by others. Even if someone stabbed her in the back, she should be grateful for their mercy. So she tried her best to get out of this trap.
She had no appetite, but paid special attention to the meals for those two days. She didn't see any mutton, so she felt relieved.
The departure date for Wujiang County was set for two days later. Ji Shubai was busy as usual. Song Jin was bored and wanted to find something to do to get rid of the negative impact of the lamb, so he plunged into the kitchen to prepare some delicious food for Pan Sheng.
Song Jin, who had just arrived, thought it would be easy to use the common food of the 21st century to describe the people of the Ming Dynasty. It was not until she failed in the matter of chili peppers that she realized that eating habits actually have a strong regional color.
People in Huizhou eat stinky mandarin fish because there are few lakes, so they can't eat fresh ones, and they are poor, so they can't bear to throw away the stinky ones.
You can try going to Poyang Lake instead, where you may not necessarily eat stinky fish.
The reason why hot pot is popular in Shu is essentially because the local area is too humid and needs something hot to resist.
You can't make good pickles in Guangdong because the temperature makes it possible to eat vegetables all year round. Outside the Northeast, no one would store so much cabbage. In Suzhou, if you want to make something delicious that everyone agrees with, don't go against the local taste style.
People in Suzhou love to eat sweet, sticky and soft things. For example, Ji Shubai loves sweets and will cry if something spicy happens.
She remembered that Pan Sheng was from Zhejiang and his taste should be similar, so she prepared caramel pudding and double skin milk. She did not deliver them personally, but asked the kitchen servants to deliver them together with the snacks.
As a result, when the person came back, she said that Lord Pan called her over, so she hurried over to Pan Sheng.
There were several people sitting in the flower hall, including Pan Sheng and his granddaughter, Ji Shubai and the county magistrate. In front of each of them was a bowl of snacks she had made.
Pan Sheng smiled when he saw her: "I thought you only knew how to mix cocktails, but I didn't expect you could also make snacks. This is really impressive."
After saying that, he invited Song Jin to sit down.
The small round table was just right for four drum stools. As soon as Song Jin arrived, the table became crowded. Miss Pei stood up and said, "Come sit over here. I'm tired too."
Song Jin looked at Ji Shubai, and seeing that he didn't stop her with his eyes, he thanked the girl and sat down.
"I saw you mix some wine that day, it was quite fresh, I drank a little too much because I was greedy, did I cause you any trouble?"
Song Jin couldn't help getting nervous when he heard him talk like that, and shook his head and said no.
Pan Sheng laughed again, pointed at Ji Shubai with his chin and said, "He didn't make things difficult for you?"
Song Jin suddenly wanted to laugh, thinking that this person knew Ji Shubai quite well, but she still shook her head and said no.
Pan Sheng twisted his half-foot-long gray beard and said, "You made a good snack today. I didn't expect you to have such skills at such a young age. What a pity."
Song Jin heard him say it was a pity, but he didn't understand what was a pity, so he had to listen to him continue.
"It's a good thing for people to be smart, but being too smart may not be a good thing, like Huo Xian, don't you think?"
"Ah?" Song Jin's heart suddenly rose to his throat when he heard him mention Huo Xian.
"Grandfather, you scared me."
Miss Pan said with a smile, but Pan Sheng put on a serious face and drove her away: "Go away, children should not interrupt when adults are talking. It's not proper."
Miss Pan smiled even more: "My cousin is a very nice girl. Why didn't Grandfather bring her out?"
Pan Sheng simply hit the girl on the head with his fan: "Stop talking too much. I won't bring you out next time."
Miss Pan quickly ran away: "I advise you to take it with you, Grandfather. Otherwise, who will let you drink?"
Pan Sheng smiled and explained to the people at the table: "The little boy is naughty and has been spoiled by me. He has no rules and regulations."
No one dared to blame.
Miss Pan left and the topic was changed, but Song Jin already understood it at this moment.
Don't be too smart. Once you become smart, you will want to show off, and once you show off, trouble will follow.
She was just an ordinary person, powerless, so why would she discuss the court? If someone with ulterior motives heard it, who knows how they would spread rumors.
Song Jin doesn't have much ability to protect himself, so that would undoubtedly be courting trouble.
Speak less, make fewer mistakes, and live longer.
She guessed that it was Ji Shubai who told Pan Sheng, so she glanced at Ji Shubai, and saw that he turned away with a guilty look.
What a big colander.
Pan Sheng didn't seem to want to continue the previous topic, so he stopped there and asked Song Jin what his plans for the future were. It would be a pity if only they drank the wine.
Song Jin took the opportunity to tell him that he planned to open a restaurant, sell some food and wine, and do some small business after returning.
"Hahaha, okay, okay, if I have the chance in the future, I will also go to Changzhou County to have a taste."
"There will be a chance."
Song Jin was very sure.
Two days later, Ji Shubai and his party bid farewell to Pan Sheng and the county magistrate and set off for Wujiang County on a post boat.
Back on the boat, Song Jin slept uneasily, his mood was sometimes light and sometimes heavy.
She said she felt relaxed because when she expressed her own ideas, she didn't seem to be harshly criticized, which made her feel accepted.
It's heavy because the people who accept her and integrate with her are destined to go to tragedy, and she is powerless to stop it.
In the novels she read before, it seemed that everyone who went back to the historical path always wanted to change something. But Song Jin was a pessimist, she believed that some things could indeed be changed, but it would inevitably cause other shocks.
She didn't know what the vibration was, so she didn't dare to move.
She couldn't sleep, so she got up, dressed, and went to the deck when it was just dawn outside.
As the door opened, the cool breath unique to summer mornings blew in the air. Song Jin walked towards the deck, smelling the damp and cool air.
It was still early, and no one was on the deck. I could only see the river was filled with fog. Looking forward along the river, it seemed as if the sky and the earth were merging. The mountains not far away were covered with clouds and mist, as if they were covered with a large white hat. Suddenly, a gust of wind came, and the clouds on the top of the mountain swooped down like a galloping horse, attacking the village below the mountain.
The river flowed steadily beneath his feet and everything was silent. Song Jin lifted up the hem of his cotton clothes, sat cross-legged on the deck, and temporarily found a bit of peace.
When Ji Shubai walked onto the deck, he saw a thin figure sitting cross-legged. At first glance, he thought it was a young monk meditating in some temple. But when he looked again, he realized it was Song Jin.
"Why are you sitting here so early in the morning?"
Song Jin was staring in a daze, and didn't even notice someone was coming behind him. He turned around when he heard voices, and saw Ji Shubai's tall figure standing behind him.
“Look at the scenery.”
Ji Shubai looked up after hearing this, and suddenly smiled: "The sky connects the waves and the morning mist, it's really nice."
Song Jin frowned after hearing this, she was most afraid of people reciting poems. The highest level she could recite poems was in high school. So many years have passed now, how could she remember a few lines?
"Your Excellency also wants to see the scenery?"
Song Jin changed the subject, fearing that he would cause trouble again.
Ji Shubai didn't answer, but just lowered his eyes and looked at Song Jin who was sitting on the ground. Song Jin felt a little scared. She didn't know why, but she silently straightened her legs and put her knees together.
Is this okay?
"You're weird."
"What's strange about that?"
Ji Shubai narrowed his eyes and said slowly: "You are not good at poetry, you don't know how to play the West Chamber, you don't know the card score, but you know Huo Guang and Huo Xian."
He paused for a moment and asked Song Jin, "Where do these things come from?"
Song Jin bit her lip. She knew that the butterfly effect would eventually take effect. If she advised him a few words, he would strip her.
"Didn't I tell you, Qingxutian?"
Ji Shubai chuckled: "At this point, you still want to deceive me?"
Song Jin turned his head away, thought for a moment, and then said, "Do you really want to hear it, sir? It's a long story."
"That's fine. There's time on board. I can sit down and listen."
After saying that, he took a half step back and looked at Song Jin, who was also looking at him. He looked at the ground, then at Song Jin, who was still staring at him.
He wanted Song Jin to help him mop the floor before he sat down, but Song Jin thought he was sick and didn't want to sit down.
Ji Shubai failed. He narrowed his eyes, raised a smile at the corner of his mouth, and turned and left.
Song Jin didn't keep him either. It was better that he didn't want to listen so as to avoid wasting his breath.
But before she could feel proud for long, she heard footsteps coming from behind her.
Ji Shubai came over carrying an official hat chair.
He placed the chair next to Song Jin, positioned it straight, lifted his coat slightly, and sat down with a majestic posture.
That would have been fine, he even turned around and gave Song Jin a meaningful smile.
"Now you can say it."
Western Eight!!!
Song Jin really wanted to curse, but then he thought that he couldn't use this word, what if that old guy Li Chengliang also said it.
Song Jin got up angrily, glared at Ji Shubai, and ran into the cabin. Not long after, he saw her coming out with an identical official hat chair in her arms, quite laboriously.
In Song Jin's opinion, Ji Shubai is a troublemaker. He could sit on the floor, but he insisted on sitting on the chair, which made him taller than Song Jin for no reason. Song Jin couldn't stand it, so he turned around and took out a handful of the same ones.
She imitated Ji Shubai's behavior, moved the chair to be level with his, lifted her skirt, and sat down with her legs spread out.
Ji Shubai frowned when he saw this scene.
Song Jin's knees were open so wide that a fat pig could fit in.
"You are a woman."
“I’m playing the man.”
“There are no outsiders here.”
"What if someone comes?"
"With me here, no one dares to doubt you."
Ji Shubai couldn't stand her posture after all, and forced her to straighten herself.
In fact, Song Jin was not used to that posture, he simply wanted to move back to Yicheng. Seeing Ji Shubai insisted, he did not argue with him and just closed his eyes obediently.
"Okay, let's start talking."
Song Jin was leaning his elbows on the armrests of the chair. When he heard Ji Shubai's words, he didn't know where to start.
"Why don't you believe in Qingxutian, sir?"
"If so, why did you come back?"
"What if he was punished?"
"What did you do wrong?"
Sometimes lying is harder than telling the truth. Facing Ji Shubai, Song Jin couldn't keep up his lie about Qingxutian.
She hated herself for not having the ability to make up myths.
"Have you ever heard that one day in heaven equals one year on earth?"
"I have heard of it, but..."
"My Lord," Song Jin said earnestly, "Sometimes, some things may seem absurd, but you might as well listen to them. If you are in a hurry to refute them, then there is no need to ask any more questions."
Ji Shubai muttered when he heard this: "Okay, you say."
Song Jin asked him, "Sir, have you ever thought that this day is actually here?"
"What?"
Song Jin came up with this sentence on the spur of the moment when she was forced into a corner. Even she was surprised and thought it was a wonderful metaphor.
Ji Shubai was also startled.
Since ancient times, when people talk about the world, the ground is always under their feet and the sky is above their heads. But Song Jin has turned it around.
"Listen to me, sir, and I will explain it to you slowly."
Song Jin set his sights on the foggy river surface in front of him.
"One day in heaven is one year on earth. This is just a metaphor, but it does exist."
"How to exist?"
Song Jin thought about it and did not answer him, but asked a question in return.
"Look at the lake, sir. The boat is on the river. Even if no one is rowing, following the river current, this boat can reach Songjiang Prefecture in a few days."
"Have you ever thought about this, sir? If this boat is placed in the pond of the Ji family's old house, where can it go?"
Ji Shubai was stunned by his question and couldn't help but reflect on himself.
The water in the pond at home is not stagnant, but the outlet is blocked, so only water can flow through. If a boat is put on it, let alone reaching Songjiang Prefecture within a few days, I am afraid that it will not be able to leave the Ji family pond until the day the boat sinks.
“It’s not going anywhere.”
"That's right." Song Jin rewarded Ji Shubai with a big smile.
"Look, it's the same boat, the same water. If you put it on the river, it can travel a thousand miles a day. If you put it at home, you can only count lotus leaves to live your life. If you sit on this river boat, won't you see and hear a lot more than if you sit on the boat at home?"
Ji Shubai frowned, pursed his lips, and nodded secretly, thinking it made sense.
"Has your Excellency ever heard another saying?"
"What?" Ji Shubai was intrigued and even leaned towards Song Jin.
"One flower, one world; one leaf, one Tathagata."
Ji Shubai frowned, not quite understanding what Song Jin meant by this sentence.
"This is a sentence from the Buddhist scriptures. There is a phrase with a similar meaning, which is "seeing the big from the small", which means seeing the big from the small."
Ji Shubai listened patiently without interrupting her.
"But not everyone can see this tiny thing. Look at the wind, it's bright, but you can't see it. Look at the sun, it's hanging in the sky, shining on everything, but you can't touch it. The ancients created myths, and it's hard to verify whether they are true or false nowadays, but if we can't prove that it exists, does that mean it must not exist?"
Song Jin thought that mathematics requires strict formula derivation, while philosophy does not require this.
"What do you want to say?"
"What I want to say is that the infinite universe that you see may just be hidden in a flower."
"It's ridiculous. How can a person live in a flower?"
"You're so stubborn!" Song Jin scolded him rudely, leaving Ji Shubai stunned.
"I'm just giving you an analogy. If you imagine that flower to be as big as the imperial palace, as big as Suzhou Prefecture, or as big as the Ming Dynasty, wouldn't that make sense?"
"Think about it, Ming is a flower, Siam is a flower, and Luzon is also a flower. Isn't this reasonable?"
"The relationship between flowers is like that between countries. At first, they are independent of each other and do not come into contact with each other, but under certain opportunities, some of them bump into each other, just like a flower falling to the ground and hitting another flower. At first, they have no connection, but later they bump into each other."
"What's the meaning?"
"I mean, I stumbled into another world."
Ji Shubai's brows were twisted into a knot.
"You? Encountered? Another world?"
"Yes, I encountered it." Song Jin slowly narrated: "I fell ill at the Bai family, and when I was about to die, I went to another world. In that world, I lived for thirty years, which means I am not much older than you. But when I woke up, only a few days had passed in this world."
"When I say that this is heaven, I mean the heaven in a day in heaven, which is a year on earth. I lived there for thirty years, but only a few days have passed here, that's it."
Ji Shubai slumped in his chair and didn't say anything for a long time. This answer was really unexpected and he needed to think about it carefully.
Song Jin didn't rush him and let him think about it slowly.
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