Chapter 4 Section IV Enrollment

When I was young, I was very weak because of the poverty of my family.I didn't start school until I was nine years old.Because my family was poor and weak, my mother sometimes wanted me to go to school, but she was also afraid that I would be bullied by others, and even more afraid that I would not be able to pay the tuition fees, so I didn't know a word until I was nine years old.Maybe, I will never get the chance to study for the rest of my life, because although my mother knows the importance of studying, the monthly tuition fee is really embarrassing for her.Mother is the most face-saving person.She was hesitant, and the time didn't wait for anyone, and it went wild, and I might grow up to be more than ten years old.A poor and illiterate boy in his teens would naturally start a small business—get a small basket and sell some peanuts, boiled peas, or cherries.Or go to apprenticeship.My mother loves me very much, but if I can work as an apprentice, or sell cherries on the street with baskets and earn hundreds of dollars a day, she may not firmly object.Poverty is more powerful than love.

One day, Uncle Liu came by chance.I say "accidentally" because he doesn't come to see us very often.He is a very rich man, and although he has no distinction between rich and poor in his heart, his wealth keeps him busy all day long, and he hardly has time to visit his poor friends.Upon entering, he saw me. "How old is the child? Does he go to school?" he asked my mother.His voice is so sonorous (after drinking, he is always proud of being called Yu Zhenting's leopard), his clothes are so gorgeous, his eyes are so bright, his face and hands are so white, tender and fat, which makes me feel that I am Probably committed some crime.Our hut, the broken tables and stools, and the earthen kang could hardly bear the vibration of his voice.After my mother finished answering, Uncle Liu immediately decided: "I'll come tomorrow morning and take him to school! You don't need to worry about school money and books!" My heart beat so high, who knows what going to school is all about!

The next day, like a disreputable puppy, I followed the rich man to school.The school is a reformed private school in a Taoist temple more than half a mile away from my home.The temple is not very big, but it is filled with all kinds of smells: as soon as you enter the gate, there is a smell of opium, followed by the smell of saccharin (there is a workshop for making sugar balls and candies), and further inside, there is the smell of toilets. Stinks with something else.The school is in the main hall.The huts on both sides of the main hall lived with Taoist priests and their families.It was dark and cold in the hall.The statues are all covered with yellow cloth, and the tablet of Confucius is placed on the altar.The students were all sitting facing west, there were about thirty of them in total.There is a blackboard on the west wall - this is the "improved" private school.The teacher's surname is Li, a very rigid but caring middle-aged man.Uncle Liu and Teacher Li "yelled" for a while, and then asked me to worship the saint and teacher.The teacher gave me a copy of "Earth Rhymes" and a copy.So I became a student.

Since I became a student, I often go to Uncle Liu's house.His house has two large courtyards, and dozens of houses in the courtyard have corridors.Behind the courtyard, there is a rather large garden.The left, right, front and back of the house are all his real estate. If those houses are lined up, they can occupy half of the street.In addition, he has several shops.Whenever I go, he will invite me to eat, or give me some snacks that I have never seen before.He will never treat me as a poor child and treat me coldly. He is a rich man, but he is not proud of his wealth. When I transferred from a private school to a public school, Uncle Liu came to help me again.

I remember very clearly: I transferred from a private school to a school, that is, I was enrolled in the third grade of junior primary school, and I was in the same class as Xin Tian.Our school is a second-class primary school in the south of Xizhimen Street.After school in the afternoon, we often went to the small teahouse to listen to commentaries or "Shi Gong An".He always pays for me.Soon, this small school was converted into a girls' school.I transferred to the No. 14 Primary School in Nancaochang. Most of Uncle Liu's property has already been sold. He is a wealthy man. He only knows how to spend money, but he doesn't know how to count.When people eat him, he is willing to let them eat; when people lie to him, he laughs at it.Part of his property was sold, and part was cheated, he didn't care; his laughter was still resonant.

By the time I graduated from middle school, he was penniless and had no property, except the back garden.However, at this time, if he is willing to use his mind to adjust his property, he can still make himself well-fed, because a lot of his property has been cheated away by others.However, he refused to hire a lawyer.Poor and rich are exactly the same in his mind.If at this time, if he stopped spending money casually, he could at least keep the garden and the land outside the city.However, he is very kind.Even though his own children were suffering from hunger and cold, and even though he himself was tortured, he still set up schools for poor children, porridge factories and other charitable causes.He forgot himself.It was at this time that I had the closest relationship with him.He runs a school for poor children, and I will be a volunteer teacher.He donated grain and rice, and I went to help investigate and disperse them.In my heart, I am very clear: giving food and money is just to prolong the suffering of the poor, not enough to stop death.However, seeing Uncle Liu was so enthusiastic and sincere, I didn't care to argue with him, so I had to do my best.Even if I argue with him, I will not win. Humanity can often defeat reason.

(1924) Uncle Liu's son died, and then his garden was also sold.He entered the temple as a monk, and his wife and young lady entered the nunnery as nuns.Judging from his character, it seems that he is bound to enter the path of seclusion and Zen.But judging from his living habits, everyone always thinks that he can only recite scriptures and give alms to monks, and he will never take precepts to become a monk.He actually left home.In the past, he ate delicacies from mountains and seas, and wore silk and satin.He also prostitutes and gambles.Now, he eats one meal a day, and in autumn he still wears a summer cloth robe.With such penance, his face is still red, and his laughter is still loud.I dare not say how deep his understanding of Buddhism is.But I really know that he is a good monk, he will do a little bit if he knows something, and do a little bit if he can do a little bit.His knowledge may not be high, but what he knows can be put into practice.

After becoming a monk, he soon became the abbot of a large temple.But it wasn't long before he was evicted.He wanted to be a real monk, so he did not hesitate to sell his temple property to help the poor.There is no such abbot in the temple.Generally speaking, the responsibility of the abbot is to expand the temple property, not to save the suffering.After leaving the big temple, he went to work as the abbot in a temple without any property.Since he had no money himself, he had to find food for the monks every day.At the same time, he also held charities such as porridge factory.He is poor, he is busy, he only eats a simple vegetarian meal a day, but his laughter is still so loud.There should be no Buddhist activities in his temple. When someone came to invite him, he would lead the monks to recite the scriptures for others without any payment.He was not in the temple all day, but he did not forget to practice; he kept the precepts more and more strictly, and he also learned a lot about the scriptures.During the day, he raised money and worked in various places, and at night he worked in the small room.No one who saw this poor monk would think that he was once a rich man who grew up in gold.

(1939,) One day he was reciting scriptures to a monk who had passed away, when he suddenly closed his eyes and sat down.After the cremation, many relics were found on his body. Without him, I might never go to school for the rest of my life.Without him, I might never remember the joy and meaning of helping others.Did he really become a Buddha?I have no idea.However, I do believe that his intentions and ascetic practices are very similar to those of Buddha.I have received his benefits both spiritually and materially. Now I really want him to become a Buddha, and hope that he will lead me to be good with his Buddha heart, just like thirty-five years ago, he took me to a private school like that!

He is Master Zong Yue. When I graduated from elementary school, my relatives and friends unanimously wanted me to learn crafts so that I could help my mother.I knew that I should find food to relieve my mother's hard work and hardship.However, I was also willing to go to higher education, and I was admitted to the No. 3 Middle School in Zujia Street. Not long after I was in the "No. 3 Middle School", I was admitted to a normal school secretly—uniforms, food, books, and dormitories were all provided by the school.Only in this way can I dare to tell my mother about entering a higher school.Enrollment requires a deposit of ten yuan.That's a lot of money!My mother worked hard for half a month to raise this huge sum of money, and then sent me out of the house with tears in my eyes.She worked tirelessly, as long as her son was promising.When I graduated from the normal school and was appointed as the principal of a primary school, neither my mother nor I slept a wink overnight.I just said: "In the future, you can take a rest!" Her answer was only a string of tears.After I entered school, my third sister got married.The mother loves her children equally, but if she also has a preference, she should prefer the third sister, because after the death of the father, everything in the family is supported by the mother and the third sister.The third sister is the right hand of the mother.But the mother knew that the right hand had to be cut off, and she couldn't waste her daughter's youth for her own convenience.When the sedan chair came to our broken door, my mother's hands were as cold as ice, and her face was bloodless—it was April in the lunar calendar, and the weather was very warm.Everyone was afraid that she would faint.However, she struggled, bit her lip, held on to the door frame, and watched the sedan chair slowly walk away.Soon, my aunt died.The third sister is married, my brother is not at home, and I live in school, so only my mother is left at home.She still has to operate from dawn to dusk, but no one speaks to her all day long.

The period of middle school① was the most melancholy. I only remember one of the four or five New Years, the most bleak one.It was the first time I switched to the solar calendar. On New Year's Eve in the old calendar, I had to go back to school, and I was not allowed to ask for leave.My aunt died just over two months ago, and it looks like she has lived with us for thirty years.She can be fierce sometimes, but generally speaking, she loves me very much.My brother is on errand and cannot come back.The mother is the only one left at home. -------- ①After Lao She graduated from primary school, he was admitted to Zujia Street Municipal No. 3 Middle School.Half a year later, he dropped out of school due to financial difficulties.Later, he was admitted to Beijing Normal School, which cost less. The New Year is the busiest and the most boring, I am always indifferent to it.For as long as I can remember, the family seemed to be poor.The firecrackers are always set off by others, and we ourselves are silent.The most real thing I remember is a picture of "Wang Xizhi exchanging goose" at home.Every New Year's Eve, my mother will find it from a mysterious place and hang it in the main room.When I got home at four o'clock, my mother didn't find "Wang Xizhi".After dinner, I had to tell my mother—I had to go back to school.She was stunned for a long time and said nothing.I walked out slowly, and she followed to the street door.Touching the few coins in the bag, I didn't know how long I walked before I reached the school.It must be very lively on the road, but I didn't see it, and I seemed to have lost my senses.When we arrived at the school, Mr. Superintendent was standing at the door of the superintendent's room.He first asked me: "Are you back?" I saluted.He nodded and called me with a smile: "Go back." This smile will always be imprinted in my heart.If I can go to heaven after death, I will show this smile to God. I seemed to be home again without leaving, and my mother was sitting facing a red candle.Her tears don't fall easily, she is kind and strong.Seeing me coming back, she had a smile on her face, and took out a thin straw paper bag: "I bought you some miscellaneous rice, I was busy just now, and forgot to give it to you." The mother and son seem to have a thousand words, but they are not energetic. Say.I went to bed early.Mother is also in the spirit. It is Mr. Fang Weiwei that I can't forget.Mr. Fang's writing and literary attainments are extremely profound, and I benefited the most from his old man when I practiced ancient Chinese and old poems at the age of sixteen or seventeen.Before the May 4th Movement, although I was very young, my prose was based on the Tongcheng school, and my poetry was based on Lu Fangweng and Wu Meicun.He gave me a pair.This pair of pairs was written to me before he died, and his skillful use of pen and ink can be regarded as his masterpiece.Before the Anti-Japanese War, no matter where I lived, I always hung it in the most conspicuous place.I still remember its text: "The passage of the scriptures through the four generations is called Tongde, and one discipline is good only for eternal life." -------- ① Fang Weiwei (1914-1917), also named.Principal of Beijing Normal University.From time to time, he is known as a master in the Jiangnan literary world.Died in the early thirties.He treats Lao She like a son.