Chapter 85 Guo Baiwen, courtesy name Yizhang
After carefully counting the amount of grain and seeing off the honest farmers who had paid their rent, Grandma Guo's smile faded slightly.
This usually energetic little old lady is now sitting in a chair with her shoulders hunched over.
It looks quite small.
This expression makes it seem like he hasn't said anything, yet it's as if he's said everything.
Seeing this, Guo Baiwen also felt a little uncomfortable.
He had been so busy these days that he had temporarily forgotten about it.
Time flies by, and before we knew it, it was already the tenth month of the lunar calendar.
When he came out of the room, he glanced at his watch, which showed that today was November 20th.
Having lived here for so long, he has gradually gotten used to the lunar calendar.
No wonder I've been having this vague feeling lately that I've forgotten something.
But this is not the fault of the farmers. Ordinary families usually start preparing for rent collection before October, since winter is approaching and they can avoid damage to the harvested grain due to improper storage.
As a result, they waited and waited, but the homeowner never came to their door.
Fortunately, the farmers who led the way had inquired about the location of the host family's residence beforehand. After discussing it, they gathered a few people together and borrowed a cart from the village to bring the goods over.
Guo Baiwen paid for the cloth bags used to carry the grain and also gave some money to the people who came to transport the grain as a reward for their hard work.
After all, dragging the cart all the way from the village to the city, although not too far, still takes a lot of time and effort.
It was only because this year was a good year, and they traveled together with three or five young and strong men, that they were able to deliver the goods smoothly.
After thinking for a moment, he grabbed some more peanuts and dates and stuffed a little into each person's hand.
They agreed that if he didn't go to the village to collect rent next year, everyone would deliver it to his door, just like this time.
As for the time and travel expenses that may be incurred on the road, just like this time, we will provide all the necessary compensation.
Now that everyone has left, the courtyard is empty except for the pile of grain.
So Guo Baiwen wasn't in a hurry to put away the grain. He paced back and forth in the yard for a while, feeling a bit lost, before finally making up his mind and sitting down on the chair next to Grandma Guo.
Despite his calm expression, he was still somewhat apprehensive inside.
Having kept it a secret for so long, Guo Baiwen felt that some secrets could be revealed to his family.
Otherwise, I'd have to keep it all bottled up every day.
He felt like he was going to become a suffocating, brooding person.
But what should I say, or how much should I say?
He himself didn't know either.
So when Grandma Guo felt someone tugging at her sleeve, she turned around and saw the land deed and house deed placed in front of her.
She's no longer an illiterate old lady; following behind Wenzai and Xiaohua, she can still recognize fifty or sixty characters, albeit haltingly.
Moreover, even if she doesn't recognize anything else now, she does recognize the official seal at the bottom.
After all, I had just seen it at the county government office.
In addition to these contracts, Guo Baiwen also took out the money he currently had on him.
Some of the money spent on the custom-made pair of wild goose hairpins had been used up while studying at the academy. Since writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones are consumables, the more sheets he practiced calligraphy and did exercises, the more he naturally used up.
What he showed to Grandma Guo now was all the ninety-seven taels and two hundred and thirty-seven coins he had on him.
Compared to the initial amount, it was naturally not much, but clearly, the amount of money that was taken out still surprised Grandma Guo.
She had opened her mouth as if to ask something, but after seeing all this stuff, she quickly shut her mouth and then glanced outside.
Taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, he quickly closed the door to the main room, then pulled the boy down to sit with him, warning him, "Wenzai, you can't just openly hand over your money like that!"
Although this is home, the wall isn't very high, so someone might be able to see us.
Grandma Guo was extremely worried and helped sort through the money.
While tidying up, I also took the time to check their numbers.
She no longer asks where Wenzai got so much money.
Ever since she received the pair of earrings from Wenzai, she knew in her heart that Wenzai was definitely hiding something from her.
But as people get older, they crave this rare moment of 'blissful ignorance'.
As long as we know that Wenzai isn't the type to mess around outside, there's no need to ask too many questions.
But even though I knew it in my heart, I still felt a little lonely.
She reached out and patted Guo Baiwen's head, then carefully looked him up and down, saying with great satisfaction, "Wenzi has grown up. Now he doesn't need Grandma's help and can do things very well on his own."
Whether it was the previous plan to move to the county town, or the business of the family shop, or even the matter of Boss Li, she only learned about the cause and process from Wenzai and Qiaomai afterwards.
This busy old lady, who had been busy for half her life, felt for the first time that she might really be getting old.
Upon hearing this, Guo Baiwen's eyes welled up with tears, and a few drops of emotion involuntarily rolled down his cheeks.
Despite having grown much taller, he still nestled his head into Grandma Guo's arms, just like he had done back in Guojia Village.
Regardless of whether it could fit, he snuggled up to her and said in a coquettish tone, "Grandma, don't say that. Wenzai will need your help a lot in the future!"
"You must live a very long time, so that you can be of help to me in the future!"
Upon hearing this, Grandma Guo, who had initially felt somewhat sad, couldn't help but laugh.
She stroked the head that was still acting up in her arms, gently patted it, and then pushed the person to stand up straight, laughing and saying with a hint of disdain, "Alright! You're about to settle down and start a family, and you're still making this weird face to make Grandma happy!"
“In front of Grandma, I’m still a child no matter what!” Guo Baiwen replied with a self-righteous and unburdened expression.
But he also knew that he was too big to do such childish things anymore, and besides, his grandmother was getting old and couldn't stand him dawdling like that anymore.
Fortunately, after all that pleading and tantrums, the issues regarding the house and land deeds were finally resolved.
As for the silver coins that had been displayed, Grandma stuffed them all back into her hands.
After much persuasion, he managed to get the eighteen taels of silver that his grandmother had taken from her savings account because of the engagement returned to her.
Knowing that the house already belonged to her family, Grandma Guo no longer felt the same urgency to make money as she had at the beginning.
At this moment, it really is just as Guo Baiwen said.
It doesn't matter how much or how little I earn every day I open the shop; as long as I can earn a little, it's all good.
Grandma's clear intention to continue pretending to be ignorant made Guo Baiwen's tense heart relax a lot.
With no burden in his heart, Guo Baiwen's learning journey became smoother.
He has already completed two of the exercise books that Master Guo gave him. Now, he spends his days at the academy learning from the Master and his fellow students, and when he returns in the evening, he thinks about different ways to answer questions while looking at the complete set of the Four Books and Five Classics that he has already copied.
Then, I pondered and revised the good articles that were posted every ten days in the academy.
Over time, Guo Baiwen developed his own insights into how to write an article.
Master Guo also noticed his progress.
Knowing that Guo Baiwen had such a book, Master Guo also took the opportunity to carefully flip through it.
He studied the Four Books and Five Classics for a longer time than Guo Baiwen, so naturally he had a deeper understanding of the annotations and explanations.
Some small problems that I couldn't figure out before have become much clearer after reading this book.
Master Guo was overjoyed and was about to ask Guo Baiwen to lend him the book when he noticed the name noted at the very bottom of the cover—'Guo Baiwen'.
He was puzzled at first, then it dawned on him, "Bawen? You gave yourself that name?"
Guo Baiwen was startled, but quickly recovered and explained, "Yes."
“The students have been studying classical texts these past few days. Among them, the poem ‘Kuibian’ in the Book of Songs says, ‘Ivy and dodder, pine and cypress,’ with pine and cypress representing upright and unyielding qualities.”
"As for 'Wen', it comes from the Analects of Confucius, Yong Ye: 'When substance prevails over form, it is rustic; when form prevails over substance, it is pedantic.' Therefore, I thought of using the name 'Bai Wen' as my formal name."
Master Guo, who had been stroking his beard, fell into deep thought after hearing this. "It's something I've forgotten these past few days—"
The original two characters '八文' were sufficient as a name for a rural area.
However, Guo Baiwen has now entered the academy's classics department and will naturally prepare to take the imperial examination. Therefore, a name like 'Guo Bawen' would no longer suit him.
When Master Guo thought about it, he suddenly realized what was going on, but at the same time he couldn't help but feel a little guilty. "It's my fault for not thinking of this sooner. I've been your teacher for so long."
Upon hearing this, Guo Baiwen quickly cupped his hands and said, "Master, you have already devoted yourself to the students' studies every day. Naturally, I would not dare to trouble you with such a trivial matter as a name."
However, since Master Guo already knew about this matter, there was no reason for him to refuse.
Now that Guo Baiwen has decided on his new name, it is only natural that his teacher should choose his courtesy name.
After pondering for a moment, Master Guo took out paper and pen, and after considering it for a while, he wrote the two characters 'Yi Zhang' on the paper in front of Guo Baiwen.
Guo Baiwen stared at the two characters, silently repeating them twice in his mind. He looked up again, still somewhat bewildered, and after a pause, asked, "Master, what is this—"
"'Yi' is taken from the 'cypress' in your name, representing its growth characteristics—unafraid of frost and snow, evergreen and resilient. As for the character 'Zhang,' Master, I was also thinking—"
"The value of literature is realized through its chapters, but the chapters, in turn, can verify the quality of literature. Using these two characters to choose your courtesy name is just right, complementing your given name and making your inner and outer qualities consistent."
Master Guo put down his pen as he explained.
He picked up the paper, examined it for a moment, and then gently blew on the still-wet ink.
As he handed the paper to Guo Baiwen, he said with emotion, "I also hope that you can be like these two characters in the future. Whether you are studying or entering officialdom, you can always 'uphold your principles in the world and clarify your will through writing.'"
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