Chapter 25 Teaching and Learning (I)

The next morning, just after the hour of Mao, Minglan was pulled out of bed by the parrot. Minglan was still dazed and wanted to continue lying in bed, but the parrot reminded her, "Girl, today is the first day that the master will teach you. It will be bad if you are late."

Minglan was startled and her sleepiness disappeared. She quickly climbed out of bed and urged the parrot. The parrot dressed Minglan up. Lemon and Orange also came with Xiaotao. Lemon and Orange were the ones Mingxi picked out from the candidates sent by the matchmaker.

Lemon led Xiaotao into the house, and Orange went to the kitchen to get breakfast. Minglan and Xiaotao each drank a bowl of hot porridge. The parrot stuffed several cakes into their small messenger bags. Minglan said that the parrot could not fit any more before stopping. Minglan put on her cloak and took her soup pot. Xiaotao carried Minglan's small schoolbag, and the two were escorted by Meng to Sheng Hong's study.

Sheng Hong planned to teach his daughters, so he asked someone to clean up an empty room next to the study and set it aside as a small school.

When Minglan arrived, Molan was already sitting inside. The charcoal basin had been lit in the room, and the whole room was warm. Minglan took off her cloak with the help of Meng, and secretly admired Molan in her heart, "Fourth sister is really the best student among us. She really loves to study. I want to be like fourth sister."

Molan felt Minglan's gaze, but she didn't have the courage to look back. She had been reading for a long time yesterday, and she understood some truths as if she had suddenly realized something. She felt a little guilty towards Minglan, but she didn't have the courage to apologize at this moment, so she could only escape.

Minglan didn't know what Molan was thinking. She chose a seat by the side and sat down, just next to Molan who was sitting in the middle. As soon as she sat down, she looked around. There was nothing decorated in this room, so there was nothing to attract Minglan. Minglan looked around for a while and felt bored, so she took out the snacks from her small crossbody bag and shared them with Xiaotao.

Yunzai, who was beside Molan, was inexplicably angry when she saw them eating happily as if no one was around. Why were they so happy? She wanted to make a few sarcastic remarks to vent her anger on Molan, but Molan pulled her sleeve and shook her head at her, so Yunzai had to give

up. At 12:30 in the morning, Rulan had not come yet. Minglan knew that the fifth sister might have overslept, but Daddy should be here, so Minglan was really worried about Rulan. Just as she was thinking, Sheng Hong walked in. Minglan quickly clapped her hands to shake off the crumbs on her hands. Xiaotao and Yunzai also retreated to the low stools in the last row and sat down.

When Sheng Hong entered the room, he first glanced at the seats. There was an empty seat, which meant Rulan hadn't come. He was furious and was about to ask someone to go to the mistress to call Rulan over, when he heard footsteps and a panting voice outside the door, "Run faster, magpie, we're going to be late."

Sheng Hong was caught in his breath when he heard the noise. When Rulan rushed into the room, she was met with Sheng Hong's red face, so angry!

Rulan saw Sheng Hong trying hard to keep his balance, but was knocked into the house by a magpie that came after him. When she was about to hit the ground, Sheng Hong reached out to catch his daughter. Rulan was shocked by this sudden change and screamed. Before she could come to her senses, Sheng Hong yelled at her, "Shut up!"

It turned out that Rulan's voice was too loud. She screamed right in Sheng Hong's ear and almost shocked Sheng Hong to death. Rulan was frightened by Sheng Hong again and wanted to cry out of grievance. Sheng Hong was very afraid of Rulan crying. , she cried endlessly, her crying was deafening. He said before Rulan could cry: "Okay, go back to your seat quickly. Today is the first day of class, I'll let you go this time. Don't be late tomorrow!"

Rulan grasped the key words in Sheng Hong's words. He let her go this time. Knowing that she would not be punished, she simply stopped crying. She turned around and glared at Xi Que angrily, then sat down in her seat. Xi Que also hurried into the room and sat next to Xiao Tao.

Sheng Hong also began to teach, "People learn to know, not learning is not natural. Today we are gathered here, I teach you to read in the hope that you can read to understand the truth, increase your knowledge and broaden your horizons through reading, and then understand the principles of the world, improve your personal cultivation and morality. Today I will first discuss with you the foundation of a person's life, you must listen carefully, think deeply and understand."

"What do you think is the foundation of life?" Sheng Hong began to ask questions.

Several Lans lowered their heads to think, and Molan raised her head first. Sheng Hong asked Molan to answer first. Molan said: "The Analects of Confucius said: "The gentleman is concerned with the basics, and the way will come into being after the basics are established. Filial piety and brotherhood are the foundation of being a person. My daughter believes that filial piety and brotherhood are the foundation of life and the foundation of being a human being. "

Sheng Hong nodded, expressing his satisfaction, "Mo'er is very good, are you reading "The Analects" already? Not bad! "Filial piety comes first among all virtues", filial piety is the foundation of human nature and the basis of personal cultivation, "filial piety, fraternal love, loyalty, trustworthiness, courtesy, righteousness, honesty and shame" are the "Eight Virtues", and "filial piety" ranks first, which shows its importance. Only by keeping this foundation can we stand higher and go further." Sheng Hong commented on it and explained the truth to his daughters for their understanding.

Minglan listened to her father's lectures attentively. Her eyes were wide open because of her attentiveness, which gave her a cute feeling. Sheng Hong found it pleasing and asked Minglan, "Do you have an answer tomorrow? "

Minglan was called by her father and slowly stood up. She thought for a moment before answering, "My mother taught me to be honest. Once, my mother asked me to practice calligraphy, but I wanted to go play with Zhenzhen, so I told my mother that I would practice three big characters after I came back. However, I had so much fun playing at my grandmother's house that it was late when I came back. I told my mother that I would practice tomorrow, but my mother disagreed. She said that promised things must be fulfilled. Honesty is the foundation of being a person in the world. Honesty means being consistent in words and deeds, not cheating or concealing anything, and being responsible for your promises to the end. Only in this way will others respect and trust me and be willing to associate with me. Besides, I also want to set a good example for Zhenzhen. "

Minglan's serious look pleased Sheng Hong, and Sheng Hong also praised Minglan, "The difficult things in the world must be done from the easy; the great things in the world must be done from the details. Ming'er can realize the great principles from the daily trivialities, which is great! Great! Insight into the world is knowledge, and understanding of human nature is writing. I am not telling you this to let you write articles like your brothers. I want you to understand that the great principles are not only in books, but also hidden in daily trivialities. You should observe more in your daily life, and you can ask me if you don’t understand anything.

And the honesty that Minglan just mentioned is also what I want to tell you. Honesty is the way of heaven; thinking about honesty is the way of man. This is a discussion in "Mencius", which means that sincerity is the law of nature, and pursuing sincerity is the way of man.

This principle may be profound, let me tell you another story. It is said that in the late Spring and Autumn Period, there was a man named Zengzi in the State of Lu. In order to coax her child to wait at home, Zengzi's wife casually said that she would kill a pig for the child when she returned home, but she did not really want to kill a pig for the child. However, Zengzi believed that children should not be deceived, so he really killed the pig at home when he returned. He explained that children are young and will take their parents as role models. If parents deceive their children, the children will learn to deceive in the future. This story talks about the importance of honesty and trustworthiness. Do you understand?"

Molan and Minglan nodded, Rulan picked at her fingernails, but there was no reaction. Sheng Hong saw it, pointed at Rulan's desk with a ruler and asked Rulan, "Rulan, do you understand? "

Rulan was frightened by the ruler and stood up immediately. Sheng Hong knew she didn't listen carefully and asked her, "Do you understand the story just now?"

Rulan mumbled something in reply. Sheng Hong didn't hear clearly and asked her what she said. Rulan said, "It's not that our family can't afford meat. Father and mother don't have to deceive us because of this!"

Sheng Hong choked, and thought to himself that a rotten tree cannot be carved. He did not want to talk to Rulan about the truth anymore. She would not understand if he talked too much. He just said to Rulan: "Remember, honesty is the foundation of life. Don't make promises that you cannot do. Don't cheat others. Be an upright person!"

Rulan listened and finally nodded. However, Sheng Hong did not let her sit down. He continued to ask her, "Your sisters have expressed their own views. Do you have any different opinions?"

Rulan scratched her head and rubbed her cheeks in worry. What opinions could she have? She just had to be the fifth lady of the Sheng family. What foundation did she need to consider? Rulan's sad face left Sheng Hong speechless. He wanted to ask her to sit down, but Rulan suddenly spoke excitedly, "Oh! I see! It's the ability! The foundation of life is to have ability, only in this way can you stand firm! My eldest sister is getting married, and mother nags her every day that she should learn to manage the household, learn to do accounts, and learn this and that. My eldest sister is very busy every day, but mother said that only if you master these skills can you stand firm in the Yuan family!" After Rulan finished speaking, she looked around proudly, showing that she was also very powerful.

Sheng Hong was briefly sad about his eldest daughter's upcoming marriage, then waved his hand to let Rulan sit down, and then praised Rulan with a bowl of water, "Ruru is very good, you are able to apply what you have learned, and you can also learn knowledge by watching your mother and your elder sister busying themselves. What the eldest lady said is absolutely right, when you get married in the future, you will also have to learn these things, but now you are still young, don't think about these, just follow your father to learn what is the foundation of being a human being, you should understand these first, it will be of great benefit to you in the future."