Several people stood at the door. Xiao Ruo raised her index finger and knocked on the courtyard door three times.
Boom, boom, boom, no one answered.
She raised her voice and asked, "Excuse me, is anyone home?"
This time there was a response, a vague voice came from behind the house: "Who...who..."
"We are looking for Senior Zheng Dongyang. Is he at home?"
"What...are you looking for me for?" Following this answer, a slightly staggering figure walked out from behind the house.
When he walked in front of a few people, a faint smell of alcohol came from him.
Zheng Dongyang is over fifty years old, but he doesn't have the stature of a rickety old man. Instead, he has slender limbs and strong eyes. His hair is black and white tied back, and he is wearing a gray suit. His wide cuffs are stained with grass clippings, making him look bohemian.
.
He held the courtyard door and shook his head, trying to wake himself up.
"I am Zheng Dongyang, why are you here?" After wandering like this, the smell of alcohol dissipated. He was just lying under the camphor tree, watching the clouds rolling in the sky, and he drank a few glasses of rice wine. He didn't drink much, so he was sober.
Also fast.
No one has been to his house for a long time, and he doesn't care.
The grass and trees in Mengxia are long, and the trees are sparse around the house. The birds are happy to have their support, and I also love my house.
A person is free and unrestrained, regardless of the troubles in the world.
Xiao Ruo and Xiao Niao Xiao Zhao bowed to Zheng Dongyang and took a step back behind Old Cen. Old Cen was the elder, so it was up to him to speak on this matter.
"I am Cen Xueliang from Shangxi Town Ciji Hall. I am here today to study for the children at home." Old Cen is older than Zheng Dongyang, so he does not need to salute Zheng Dongyang.
"Studying? I don't have a private school here." Zheng Dongyang waved his hand, and his wide sleeves swayed with the movement of his hand, like a gray crane pacing back and forth.
An old man and a young man in front of him looked at him longingly. Zheng Dongyang felt that it was unreasonable not to let anyone in, so he let the five people in to have a cup of light tea.
The furnishings in the house are very simple, it can even be said that there are no furnishings. There is only a wooden bed against the wall, a black square table in the middle, and only one stool. There is nothing else. The square tables are all staggered.
The book is open, with a piece of yellowed and rough paper at the top, and on the paper are the words "wild freedom".
He said he came in for a cup of light tea, but he didn't even see the shadow of the teapot. The only stool was given to old man Cen. Except for Zheng Dongyang, who was half-lying on the edge of the bed indifferently, everyone else could only stand.
"Doctor Cen has long admired your name." Zheng Dongyang's polite words were the limit. He scratched his head and felt a little itchy. Could it be that he fell asleep under the tree just now and a little grasshopper got into his hair? "Why did you say you came to me just now?
Are you here to study?"
Old man Cen coughed. Seeing Zheng Dongyang's unruly and unruly appearance, he was a little doubtful of his choice. Did he recommend him wrongly?
Xiaoruo looked at the wild cursives and books on the square table. The books spread out were densely packed with small cursive calligraphy, which were all marked by his experiences or opinions when he was studying. This showed that he did not have the reputation of being careless in vain, but had real intentions.
He is talented and practical. He has been able to insist on delivering policies and opinions to the government for many years, and the books he wrote are all about people's livelihood. This also shows that he has a pure heart, an upright person, and he really has the ambition to benefit the people.
Old man Cen touched his nose awkwardly and looked at Xiao Ruo. Xiao Ruo understood, took Xiao Zhao one step forward, and said: "Senior Zheng, this is my brother Xiao Zhao. We are here today hoping that you can become
His enlightenment mentor."
Hearing this, Zheng Dongyang was stunned for a moment, and then burst into laughter.
"Are you here to make me happy? I have no fame and I am not a private school teacher, how can I be the tutor of this little kid!"
"I have heard about you. You are very knowledgeable. Although you have not had the opportunity to enter an official career, you have been studying on your own and working for the benefit of the people. You are fully qualified to enlighten others!"
Xiaoruo looked directly at Zheng Dongyang, her black and white almond-shaped eyes staring at the tall, thin old man who was swaying with laughter. She could hear that there was self-deprecation, unwillingness, and a hint of anger in the laughter.
Zheng Dongyang felt that this girl's eyes were like two fires, the place she was staring at was bright and hot. He stopped laughing and stared blankly at the five people in front of him.
After a while, he spoke in a low voice, as if speaking to the five people, or saying to himself: "If you are knowledgeable, you can benefit the people. Ha, what's the use? What can you do..."
"Why is it useless? As long as a person can make full use of what he has learned, not waste his life, have a righteous mind, and serve the people wholeheartedly, there will always be a time when he can use his talents. Does it mean that he must be crowned a king and a prince to be considered useful? The temple is high and far away.
, but the temple in your heart is everywhere."
Xiaoruo's words were sonorous and powerful, like a big bell hitting Zheng Dongyang's brain, making his brain buzz.
"Dad said that even if you write a letter for others or hand a hoe to others, you are doing it for the people, because others are the people, and the people are made up of individuals." Xiao Zhao said in a soft childish voice.
He still remembered that Xiao's father used to hug himself and Niao Niao and told them that one person is a human being, two people are followers, and three people are a common people. Millions of people in the world are also composed of individual people. When you have the ability, you should help
Common people in the world, if you are still weak and unable to protect all the people in the world, then start by helping one person, because a person is also a common person.
Xiaoruo's words are the words of a bell, and Xiaozhao's words are the gavel that strikes the big bell, causing the big bell to emit a deep and distant echo. The sound waves seem to have a physical form, robbing the black fog in front of Zheng Dongyang's eyes, and there is enlightenment in his mind.
feel.
Looking at the five people again, Zheng Dongyang waved his sleeves, adjusted his clothes, and sat upright. He nodded to Xiaoruo Xiaozhao: "Having such insights at such a young age, this guy is extraordinary. If you don't dislike me for being just a boy, I am willing to be his
Master Meng.”
Everyone was delighted, and Xiao Zhao knelt down and kowtowed to Zheng Dongyang on the spot, which was regarded as a response between teacher and student.
Oral apprenticeship is only the first step, and the initiation ceremony is indispensable. Mr. Cen has never eaten pork and has seen pigs run away. He knew that the initiation ceremony needs to be held on an auspicious day, so he made an appointment to pick up Zheng Dongyang in three days to go to Tzu Chi Hall for the initiation ceremony.
Three days passed by in a blink of an eye. Zheng Dongyang got up early in the morning, picked out the most expensive clothes among the few clothes he had, put them on, packed himself up, and walked to Tzu Chi Hall with a high head.
Along the way, people felt it was strange. They had never seen him so proud, grinning and squinting, looking happy.
Someone greeted him: "Zheng Dongyang, what are you doing?"
"I'm going to my student's home to receive the apprenticeship gift."
"Oh! You still have students! That's strange!"
Everyone was talking a lot, but Zheng Dongyang didn't care what they were talking about. He flicked his sleeves and walked briskly on tiptoe, leaving everyone's comments behind.
Mr. Cen and Xiao Ruo from Tzu Chi Hall have already inquired about the complete initiation ceremony process.
They arranged ten kinds of dishes such as cabbage, glutinous rice balls, pork liver, small carp, etc. in the middle hall, and divided them into ten bowls. These were called "Shikui", and they invited Meng's old students to come and eat with Meng Tong.
After eating, Xiao Zhao knelt down and bowed to Zheng Dongyang on the red carpet. He was also dressed in new clothes by his sister today. The blue shirt made him have red lips and white teeth, like a little golden boy from a picture album.
After kneeling down and worshiping, Zheng Dongyang took Xiao Zhao's hand and wrote the three words "Master" that had been printed. After writing, he circled these three words to express his affirmation. Xiao Zhao knelt down again to express his gratitude and presented
One tael of silver and ten strips of bacon were prepared early in the morning as gifts for apprentices as a sign of respect.
After all the procedures were completed, Zheng Dongyang took Xiao Zhao's little hand and sat down together.
It was said that Xiao Ruo helped Xiao Xun prepare the food, but in fact she was still only in charge of the fire, and it was Xiao Xun who finished the cooking, cutting, stew, and stir-frying.
"Well... we deserve 37% of the credit for this dish." Xiaoruo looked at the dishes that were both delicious and delicious, and nodded in self-recognition.
Xiao Xun picked up a piece of white jade loofah with chopsticks and let her taste the saltiness, and received a thumbs up. He smiled and let Xiao Ruo allocate the credit. Xiao Ruo was still conservative and asked him to allocate the credit. The credit was 19 points, and he
, Xiao Ruo Jiu. How can there be good food without good heat? It is natural that it is all Xiao Ruo’s credit.