After turning down the mountain, Chen Chao reappeared at the ferry. It happened to be early in the morning. The boatman came to the river bank early and saw the young man in black shirt again. Chen Chao silently walked onto the ferry to cross the river.
The boatman glanced around. It was still early in the morning and the passengers crossing the river had not yet appeared at the ferry. The boatman glanced at Chen Chao and asked in a low voice: "Are you in a hurry, guest?"
Chen Chao shook his head, sat down on the bow of the boat, and looked into the distance alone.
The boatman glanced at Chen Chao. He was fine at the moment. He thought for a while, then walked over and sat next to Chen Chao and asked, "Did you choose a good place?"
Chen Chao nodded but still said nothing.
The boatman thought for a moment, took out a wine gourd from his waist, handed it to the young man in front of him, and asked, "Drink something?"
Chen Chao glanced at the boatman but said nothing.
The boatman didn't care, he just took a small sip, and then said to himself: "In this life, people will always encounter a lot of regretful things, but life can always be lived. If you keep stagnating,
There’s nothing left to gain from this.”
Chen Chao thought for a while, reached for the wine gourd, and took a big sip himself. Only then did he realize that it was rice wine, sour and sweet, but not intoxicating.
The boatman knew what he was thinking and said with a smile: "If you have to make a living to support your family, how can you do it when you are really drunk?"
Chen Chao said: "It's pretty good."
The boatman lamented: "Actually, I drink strong liquor occasionally, but only once a month."
Before Chen Chao could speak, the boatman smiled and asked, "Are you not an ordinary person?"
Chen Chao looked at the boatman with some doubts in his eyes.
"I've been welcoming and sending people off at this ferry for so many years. I've seen a lot of people, all kinds of people, and my eyes are somewhat discerning. I guess you are one of those so-called warriors, a type of monk.
, serve in our army, or which yamen?"
The boatman took a sip of wine and asked some questions, which was much more natural than before.
Chen Chao thought for a moment and said, "I work as an errand in a government office in Shendu."
The boatman nodded and smiled: "You have a bright future. Looking at your age, can you become a general or something in the future?"
"Hard to say."
Chen Chao also took another sip of wine. The rice wine was not intoxicating, but the sweet and sour taste spread in his mouth, just like a person's whole life.
The boatman thought for a while and suddenly said: "There is something I don't know whether I should say."
Chen Chao said: "Let's chat casually, is there anything we can't say?"
The boatman also laughed after hearing this and said, "In that case, let's just say what's on my mind."
"Over the years, I have met many officials on duty at the ferry, both civil and military. The one I remember the most is an official who somehow managed to cross the river without a ferry from the imperial court to see him off.
Instead, I came with my escort to board my boat, which was very impressive. The escort who came with me forcibly kicked off all the guests who came first. After getting on the boat, they despised my boat for being broken. They said they wanted to leave here.
How can he show his ambition and do something for the people of the world, but in fact, when I look at what he does, I know that even if he becomes a high official in the city of gods, he will not take us ordinary people at all.
, Sure enough, a few years later, he came back in despair, this time with only a few followers. After boarding the ship, he said that he was born at the wrong time and should not be appreciated. This time, the followers did not treat the guests who were traveling with them.
I rushed off, but some of the guests on the boat made some complaints, and both sides started scolding each other, which was really embarrassing."
"What's even more unexpected is that there happened to be an official on board who was returning to his hometown to visit relatives. But not only was he not wearing official uniform, but the guards he brought with him were very low-key. The official who didn't want to cause trouble saw that
Seeing that the man was reluctant to give up, he revealed his identity and said a few words of fairness. He originally thought that the man would shut up in despair, but who would have thought that he would eventually make friends with the official on the ship, but the official
But I didn't show off, I still talked to him a lot, but in the end the man didn't know how to trick him, and finally he got close to the official."
At this point, the boatman took another sip of wine and said with a smile: "So, people, it's really strange. When you gain power, you feel like you are no longer yourself. When you lose power, you always think about yourself.
You are still the dominant self, and you are still trying every possible means to get back what you have lost."
Chen Chao listened to this story carefully, and finally nodded and said: "Good insight."
The boatman shook his head, "It's not really an opinion, it's just emotion. Seeing that you are a good person, I just want to talk about a few gossips. In fact, we common people are the same. The world is much better now than before, right? But no one
I think this is the best. There are monsters that eat people from time to time, and gods that kill people at every turn, so everyone thinks that one day they can truly live a peaceful life. Of course, even if such a day comes, they still won't be satisfied.
, it’s like I can have a full stomach, so I think it’s time to have a meal of meat every now and then.”
Chen Chao remained silent.
After the boatman opened his chat box, he started talking non-stop.
"But ordinary people don't have much ability to change the world, so they can only think about you officials working hard. Of course, it's hard to say whether this idea is right. After all, thinking about others to change your own destiny is like thinking about it.
Is it too forceful? I’ve been thinking about this over the years, but I still can’t figure it out.”
The boatman looked at Chen Chao and seemed a little confused.
Chen Chao shook his head and said: "The taxes paid by the common people are the official's salary, so an official should do something for the common people. This kind of thing can be said to be a matter of course, and it is also the official's responsibility."
The boatman sighed with emotion: "That's right."
Chen Chao suddenly said: "I did something wrong."
The boatman asked: "Is it a matter of dead people?"
Chen Chao nodded and said bluntly: "I left the capital of the gods and was going to a place. I met a mother and daughter on the way. They were not on the same road as me, but they had no guards. I knew that before they arrived at their destination,
It would be dangerous, but I still took one step and separated from them. But in fact, I had nothing to do. I sent them to where they wanted to go, and it was too late to come back, but I didn't do it. In the end, they all
died."
The boatman sighed and said in a low voice: "According to what you just said, the people have paid taxes and you have collected salaries, so you should do something for the people. But we have so many officials in the court, and each official is not responsible for anything.
Likewise, you can't do everything, let alone some things you can't do. I think you're right about this, at least from most people's perspective, there's nothing wrong with it."
Chen Chao shook his head and said, "But I can't get through it."
The boatman said: "This is guilt, not a fault. It's just like when I am walking on the road, sometimes I accidentally step on an ant. If I don't know, I don't know. But if I know, I will always feel sorry for the ant."
Chen Chao asked doubtfully: "How many people would feel sorry for Ant?"
The boatman smiled and said: "Then according to monks like you, aren't ordinary people just ants? What's more, you can't step on ants to death."
Chen Chao thought quietly and was speechless.
The boatman said: "Then let me put it another way, if the mother and daughter said bad words to you when they first met, and then you parted ways, you wouldn't feel any guilt even if you knew they were dead, right?"
Chen Chao frowned.
"Actually, the essence of the matter has not changed. They still died because you didn't escort them. But not only will you not feel guilty, you won't even feel anything, let alone say you did anything wrong."
The boatman looked at Chen Chao and said, "Things haven't changed. What you think depends on how people treat you and what you think about yourself."
Chen Chao said: "I seem to understand a little bit."
The boatman said: "I have never been to Shendu, but I heard that our Majesty is a very great person, but such a great man still cannot make us ordinary people live a good life. If His Majesty is not willing to do something for us,
What, then of course we will hate him for this, but if he has worked hard and done a lot, but still has a lot of things that he failed to accomplish, then we probably won't feel anything wrong and will still thank him."
"You and the mother and daughter have gone all the way and done some things. After that, you have your own things to do, and they have their own way to go. In fact, no one owes the other."
"Besides, have you avenged them?
"
Chen Chao nodded and said calmly: "I killed many people."
He also remembered what the study owner said.
"Are they all bad people?"
asked the boatman.
"They are all bad people."
The boatman said: "Then you don't have to feel guilty. You didn't help the mother and daughter from trouble, but you seemed to have helped a lot of people... I can't remember what that word means."
Chen Chao remained silent.
The boatman stood up and said, "No wait, I'll take you across the river."
Chen Chao looked at the boatman with some confusion.
"It's naturally the most cost-effective to wait for a boat full of people, but to send you just one person. To me, it's nothing more than earning less money. The trip is not worth it, but I can accept it. Besides, you have done some good things.
Then I feel it’s more worthwhile.”
The boatman smiled and said: "I am sending a good official."
Chen Chao frowned, not knowing what to say.
But the boatman had already started to punt across the river.
The two didn't speak again after that.
After the ferry finally reached the other side, the boatman docked the ferry at the ferry. Chen Chao stood up to get off the boat.
The boatman suddenly said: "I have one last thing to say. If you don't mind, I will tell you."
Chen Chao nodded, "Please tell me."
The boatman thought for a while and said softly: "I can't remember clearly. This was told to me by a scholar. It probably means that if an official does well in his duties, he is already a good official. But if
It would be great if you can do something besides this, but even if you fail to do things beyond your responsibilities, you should not feel guilty or be blamed by others. "...
The boatman recalled it carefully, and finally said with some uncertainty: "In the end, he seemed to have said that as long as he was a good person, he would be fine."
——
It’s just one chapter today, but starting from tomorrow, I will start to update it. I will work hard until I can’t write anymore, so I won’t ask for votes. This update is shameless.
This chapter has been completed!