Chapter 68 Snow and Bamboo
The slices are as thin as paper, easy to eat and delicious.
It was around noon when we came out of Mr. Li’s house. The wind and snow were still there. Whenever Zhu Pingan thought about the mutton shabu-shabu he had just eaten, he felt like a spring breeze on his tongue, even if it was windy and snowy. cold.
Humming a strange tune, a copy of "The Doctrine of the Mean" annotated by Zhu Xi lay quietly in the schoolbag slung on his back. Zhu Pingan stepped into the wind and snow again.
Auspicious snow heralds a good harvest. Among the people, snow is a sign of good harvest. Whenever it snows, farmers are always happy. If it snows heavily this year, the harvest next year will definitely be good. The saying that auspicious snow heralds a good harvest has been verified for thousands of years. Building snowmen, having snowball fights, skiing, etc., come one after another with the snow. But after it snowed, we had to face an embarrassing problem, that is, heavy snow blocked roads and inconvenient transportation.
The snow at this time was already a palm deep, making walking on the road particularly strenuous. Zhu Ping'an walked back through the wind and snow with one foot deep and one foot shallow. He suddenly thought that Mr. Sun's children were not around now and he was a little old. It would be very difficult to clear the snow. So, Zhu Ping'an changed direction and headed towards Old Master Sun's house.
Going to Old Master Sun's house is also a familiar journey. Over the years of studying in Mongolia, Zhu Ping'an often went to Old Master Sun's house to ask for advice.
Old Master Sun’s house is not far from Rich Man Li’s house. It takes less than ten minutes to walk to Old Master Sun’s house. Old Master Sun is also from a well-to-do family, with a civil structure yard, which can be regarded as an upper-middle-class family in the village.
For those of you who have read many novels, you may have this idea: Master Sun was moved by Zhu Ping'an's diligence and studiousness, etc., and believed that this son was not a thing in the pool, so he wanted to entrust his daughter to him, etc. Something like that.
Haha, you are really overthinking. Mr. Sun is almost sixty years old, his daughter is in her forties, and even her granddaughter has already married a long time ago, but her children have all started their families and careers in the town. Old Master Sun and his wife lived together, which was a great story.
Old Master Sun's house is open at night, so you can walk in directly. There is a clump of bamboo planted in the yard, which adds a bit of poetry to the yard.
When I walked in, Old Master Sun was arranging his bamboos. The heavy snow and strong wind bent the bamboo. Old Master Sun was worried that the bamboo would be broken, so he was using a small broom to help clean the snow from the bamboo.
"Teacher." Zhu Ping'an entered the courtyard and saluted Old Master Sun who was arranging the bamboos.
"Oh, it's Ping An." Old Master Sun knew that it was Zhu Ping'an who came without turning around. Old Master Sun was so moved that he straightened the bamboo and asked Zhu Ping'an, "Ping'an, what about this bamboo?" , but what insights do you have?”
Perceptions of bamboo?
Zhu Ping'an didn't quite understand what Old Master Sun meant. He looked at the bamboos that Old Master Sun was trimming. The wind and snow were blowing, but the bamboos still stubbornly maintained their green color. Since ancient times, there was a saying that the three friends of Suihan are pine, bamboo and plum. So he said: "The green bamboo is proud." The snow is icy and frosty, not afraid of wind and snow, students should study on their own Hearing this, Old Master Sun put down his broom and shook his head, "It's true that winter bamboos are proud of the snow and frost, but the heavy snow falls on them and some bamboos are tough. , resisting the snow, no matter how hard you bend, it will eventually be crushed by the snow. Plant bamboo and it will bend after the snow falls. Wait quietly for the wind and sunshine to melt the snow. When the snow melts and falls on the ground to nourish the roots, the bamboo will grow strong and remain as tall as ever. "
said. At this point, Old Master Sun turned to look at Zhu Ping An, "Ping An, we We want to be a bamboo that stands proud of the snow and frost in winter, but we also want to be a second kind of bamboo that can stretch and bend. As long as we stick to the roots, we will not deviate from our original intention! If we keep the green hills, we will not be afraid of running out of firewood.”< br>
“The students have been taught.” Zhu Ping’an benefited a lot and made a deep bow.
Old Master Sun waved his hand and twirled his beard and said, "I am very optimistic about you in this section. In a few months, the boy's examination will be held. For you, this scientific examination will be the end of the wind and snow. Cuizhu, don’t let yourself get crushed.”
It turned out that Old Master Sun was worried about this. He was worried that if he did not perform well in this scientific examination, he was worried that he would be hit by failure and unable to stand up, so he used bamboo to encourage himself.
"Teacher, please rest assured, Ping'an will be safe soon." Zhu Ping'an immediately made a promise to avoid Old Master Sun from worrying.
"Well, that makes me feel at ease." Old Master Sun smiled heartily.
"You old man, why are you letting Ping An stand in the wind and snow? Come here, Ping An, and try the newly brewed tea by the master."
The master's hair is gray, but she manages it well. It's clean and tidy, and it has a bookish air about it.
"Haha, thank you, Master. In ancient times, you could kill Hua Xiong by warming wine. Today, let me leave you with the reputation of sweeping snow by warming tea." Zhu Pingan was much more relaxed when facing Master Sun than when he faced Old Master Sun. He smiled naively. Then he picked up the shovel, broom and other tools in the yard and started working enthusiastically.
“You kid!” the teacher’s wife scolded.
Old Master Sun twisted his beard and smiled, and continued to trim his bamboo.
When Zhu Pingan started sweeping the snow, his hand was still very cold holding the broom, but after sweeping for a while, the heat began to evaporate from his body, and his whole body became warm. If it weren't for the fear of catching a cold, Zhu Pingan would have wanted to take off his clothes.
It didn’t take long for Zhu Pingan to clear away the snow in Old Master Sun’s yard, leaving a large open space, and a long road outside the door was also cleared.
Sweeping away the snow and making tea was particularly delicious. After drinking the tea from his wife, he said goodbye to his wife and Zhu Pingan braved the wind and snow to return.
The thatched house that Zhu Pingan's family originally lived in has now been turned into a courtyard with two entrances and two exits with blue bricks and red tiles. Zhu's father has made a lot of money over the years by traveling with oxcarts between the town and the villages. Money, Mrs. Chen was also a mother who could manage the household. When she made more money, she rebuilt the yard.
"Really, why is it snowing?" Mrs. Chen looked at the heavy snow in the yard, feeling particularly unhappy.
"Hahaha, auspicious snow heralds a good harvest, a good sign." Zhu's father smiled innocently while sweeping the snow.
"You are so big, if it doesn't snow, our ox cart will make at least dozens or hundreds of cash a day." Mrs. Chen said regretfully.
Hahaha, mother Chen's eyes light up as usual when she mentions money.
"Ah, Xie'er is back, come in quickly and warm up on the stove." Mother Chen's sharp eyes immediately saw Zhu Pingan returning from the snow, and she quickly called Zhu Pingan into the house.
“I’ll help my father clear the snow before we go in.” Zhu Ping’an smiled naively.
"Don't worry about him, he is struggling to use his brute force."
Ms. Chen didn't care about this, walked over in a few steps, grabbed Zhu Ping'an and dragged him away. When he got to the house, he patted the snow off his body and pressed Zhu Ping'an in front of the stove.
Due to his mother's kindness, Zhu Ping'an didn't refuse anymore and sat down to warm his hands.
"Where is my brother?" Zhu Ping'an couldn't help but ask since he didn't see his brother.
When mentioning his eldest brother Zhu Pingchuan, his mother Chen said angrily, "Not long after you left, your eldest brother went to Lao Zhang's house to clear the snow. He really married his wife and forgot about it. Mother, he didn’t marry me yet, so he took me I forgot how many corners there are.”
The eldest brother Zhu Pingchuan just got engaged to the daughter of the old Zhang family in the same village last year, because the old Zhang family loves their daughter and said that she would not get married until she was eighteen, so count the time. , it’s time to get married next year.
"Hahaha, my mother is jealous. Don't worry, my son won't be like my brother when he gets married. My son will also take his mother to clear the snow."
"You heartless person, you are darker than your brother. He just went to clear the snow by himself, but you even want to take me to help him!"
Ms. Chen was interrupted by Zhu Pingan and said, I felt weird, but my mood improved a lot. (End of this chapter)