Chapter 3 Mr. Blue Robe

My father chose me as his substitute to teach in the library. Actually, it was not a temporary measure. Before he took charge of the family affairs, when my grandfather was still alive, he deliberately trained me to be the heir of the "reading" of this "reading" family. .It was only because of internal changes in the family that I was pushed into the academy prematurely. I have a sister who is married.A younger brother, with a temper similar to that of his second uncle, has shown a stubborn nature at a young age. It is obviously not suitable to be a teacher teacher, "Humanity is not sophisticated enough"!My father had no choice, and even though I was not good enough, there was nothing I could do.If it is said that the father also has a hidden selfishness, this is an example: the second son of my uncle is very smart, but my father still chose me.

Needless to say, reading and practicing calligraphy are doubly strict for me.Especially after my father had the idea of ​​resigning, he became even stricter to me. The plank made of willow wood began to slap my palms. It was only a few seconds when I was endorsing.The most important thing is to carry out psychological and behavioral training for me, with the goal of being a role model for future students. "Be a role model for others!" This is the first sentence he says every time he teaches me. "To be a good example to others—" my father said, "You must sit upright, and you will be dignified by yourself."

I straightened my chest, straightened my waist, and brought my knees together.It is really not difficult to do so, the difficult thing is not being able to persist.Before I finished writing the two big characters, my waist became sore, and my knees separated. Suddenly, the willow board hit my waist and legs. I immediately sat up straight and beat me several times. I almost fell off the chair, and when I looked back, my father looked at me relentlessly. "Being a good teacher—" my father said, "walking has a trend. You have to walk steadily, not in a hurry. If you raise your head high, you will appear arrogant, but if you lower your head, you will be sluggish. When you look straight, you will look frivolous..."

I started paying attention to how I walked. "To be a good teacher—" my father said, "You must speak appropriately and make sense. You must take into account the up, down, left, and right sides of your speech, and you can't just try to make your mouth smooth. What you can say out of your own mouth must be in the ears of others..." All these teachings, although very difficult for a person like me who is just seventeen or eighteen years old, can be honed and improved gradually after a long period of time. rough. The strict taboo for the opposite sex started when I put on my crotch pants.It's not just that "men and women don't get close", my father doesn't allow me to play with any girls in the village at all, and he doesn't allow me to listen to the sour stories between men and women that the adults tell when they are together.However, when I was just 18 years old, my father suddenly decided to marry me.He thought that this must be done before his son entered the school, and then he could let me sit in the hall with confidence.It seemed to him that some kind of danger lurked when a man without a wife entered a sacred school.

What an ugly daughter-in-law my father married me! After half a month of marriage, not only did I not touch her a finger, I didn't even bother to say a word to her. Except that I had to go to the wing room to sleep at night, I didn't even have any interest in going into the house during the day.But I dare not express any dissatisfaction, the order of my parents! My father still saw my intentions, and one day, he called me into the upper room where he lived alone, with a solemn look on his face. "You seem to be upset recently?" "No. Dad." "I can see that. Tell me what's on your mind."

"Dad, no." "Then I'll say it—you're not satisfied with your wife, you don't think she's ugly, are you?" "……No." I didn't dare to look up all the time, and I couldn't hold back the tears. "This is the wife I specially chose for you," said the father.I never thought.He said, "A man who wants to aspire must first pass the beauty pass. Female sex is more ferocious than floods and beasts. Not to mention that King Zhou of Shang Dynasty seemed to perish because of praise, and King Tang was in chaos because of his concubine. Female sex, addicted to lust, will never become a master..."

I raised my head in surprise, and glanced at my father. Beneath the stern brows, there were eyes full of sincerity, frank sincerity, which made me feel that I was too ignorant.How can a man be greedy for women when he establishes a country, secures a family, and completes his studies!When I was 18 years old, I had never heard the truth about how to deal with marriage. Today, my father taught me frankly for the first time, and I realized the truth of life. My father immediately turned his head and signaled to my mother. My mother took out a blue robe from the cabinet, handed it to me, and told me to change it.I put on the blue foreign cloth gown sewed by my mother, and suddenly felt a heavy heart, as if I had grown up all of a sudden!For people, clothing is not only an external thing to keep out the cold.After wearing the blue robe, there is a strange sense of solemnity in every step and every step.

Father led me out of the inner room of the upper room and stood in the outer room.On the square table against the wall, there is a memorial tablet of the ancestor of the Xu family. Grandpa Xu Jingru left a half-length photo inlaid in a nanmu mirror frame and placed in the middle of the table.Father personally lit the red lacquer wax, inserted the purple incense, bowed, knelt down and prostrated three times, then stood on the side of the altar, and said loudly: "Incense——" I took two steps forward, stood in front of the altar, took out five sticks of purple incense from the incense tube, stroked them gently, lit them on the burning candle, and carefully inserted them into the incense burner, with trembling hands still Broke two.After reinserting, I bowed my head and waited.

"Bye—" my father shouted in a drawn-out voice. I cupped my fists and bowed. "Kowtow—" I knelt in front of the ancestral tablet, kowtowed three times, then raised my head, waiting for my father to give the order. My father took out a folded piece of white paper from his waist, unfolded it, and led me to swear to my ancestors: "If you are not filial to your grandchildren, you will kneel before the spirits of your ancestors. You will devote yourself to cultivation and spare no effort. You will not seek false fame, do not seek superficial wealth, and do not indulge in lustful pleasures. Only respect the sages and sages, only seek enlightenment, self-cultivation, honor the ancestors, and beg for the protection of the ancestors..."

My father said one sentence, and I repeated one sentence until the end.I stood blankly in front of the altar, terrified, wondering if I should stand or walk away now?My father stared at me closely and said: "Tomorrow, you go to the library to teach!" The ceremony where I took the place of my father was held in the Confucian Temple.It's the winter solstice.On the temple platform of a detached house, sits a colorful clay statue of Mr. Kong Lao, the ancestor of Chinese culture.The cobwebs on the roof beams and the rat droppings on the ground were cleaned up.Inside and outside the Confucian Temple, it was surrounded by students from private schools and enthusiastic farmers.Yang Guinian, the most important and respectable person in Yangxu Village, wearing a padded robe and walking on crutches, was supported by the deacon of the school, Yang Buming, as he walked into the Confucian Temple.

I stood next to my father, feeling very uncomfortable, but a secret superiority crept into my heart.Here—Confucian Temple, in front of Mr. Kong’s icon, all the leading figures in Yangxu Village stand in a row, and I am standing here too. On the snow outside the door, those clumsy but enthusiastic peasants are crowded. After cleaning the house, when it came to the official opening ceremony, they all retreated out of the door consciously. Yang Buming presided over the sacrifice, first waxing, then burning incense, and then singing in Yang Buming's tune, all the villagers inside and outside the house participating in the sacrifice, no matter how old or young they were, all fell to their knees, deep-fried pasta, dried fruit , placed in front of Mr. Kong Lao in Yang Buming's recitation.In the entire Confucian Temple, candlelight is shining, purple fragrance is permeating the air, and musical drums are playing, creating a sacred, solemn and solemn atmosphere. The deacon Yang Buming handed a piece of red silk to Yang Guinian, and the supreme ruler of Yangxu village would put red on my father as a reward for his honorable retirement.Yang Guinian held the red silk with both hands, put it on his father's right shoulder, crossed his chest and back diagonally, and tied it under the left armpit.I saw that my father quickly knelt down, kowtowed deeply and repeatedly, and when he stood up, tears filled his eyes with excitement.This stern man was in tears.He bit his cheekbones hard to keep the tears from overflowing his eyes.It was the first time I saw my father cry.In the past, I could neither see a smile on my father's face nor a drop of tears.There was something touching that had never been seen in those tears, which was admirable and sympathetic.This stern father never arouses sympathy and pity for him; his face and eyes always show toughness and majesty, which can only make people awe-inspiring and not allow anyone to feel pity.Now, his face is like a slit in the cloudy sky, revealing a blue sky and letting down a soft and moving sunlight. My father said a few words of sincere thanks. The deacon Yang Buming expressed his gratitude to my father on behalf of the parents of all the children in school, and encouraged me a lot when I took office.Yang Guinian didn't speak, but just nodded, which was the highest reward. As soon as the libation ceremony was over, I walked out of the Confucian Temple with my father. As soon as I went out, those old farmers surrounded my father, pulled his sleeves, patted his back, stroked the dazzling red silk, and talked and listened. Unclearly thanking Dade for his words, I stood by the side and also accepted the sincere words of encouragement from the old peasants. The power and property of the Yang family are much more majestic!Starting today, I will take over from my father and walk into that academy, and become a gentleman who attracts the attention of young and old alike! Can the black chair and the black square drawer table sit firmly?It will take at least twenty years until a certain unformed descendant handed over to me in the future, right?How easy it is not to make mistakes for more than 20 years, not to discredit the Xu family, not to leave a story for the Yang family, and not to be kicked out of the school by everyone!To get a happy ending, one has to be like the father... Private schools in rural areas also have winter vacations. The winter solstice in the lunar calendar is the end of school every year. After worshiping the ancestor Mr. Kong, they have a holiday. After the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the private school started again.I put on a blue cloth robe and went to sit in the hall for the first time, and I couldn't feel at ease no matter what.Walking out of the gatehouse of my house engraved with the words "Du Geng Biography", it seems that the village and alleys have become very strange overnight. The trees in the streets and alleys, the thick ancient locust tree and the straight poplar In the summer, the tulip trees that bear pods like garlic sprouts seem to be looking at me now, to see if I, an eighteen-year-old gentleman, can walk like a gentleman!In the crowded gatehouses of each family, someone is baiting my ridiculous walking posture, right?Oh!From the street gate of my house to the school, you have to go to the intersection in the middle of the street, and then turn into the South Lane, the distance is not close!In any case, I was out of the street gate, and there was no way to go back, but to go forward.At this time, like opening the dictionary when facing a very familiar new word that I really can't pronounce, I thought of my father's walking posture.How many times have I seen my father walking in the alleys of the village when he came and went to school, but the rules he taught me on how to walk were blurred. I raised my head, like my father, neither raised nor lowered, kept my eyes on the same level, straightened my neck, never looked left or right, tried my best to be unhurried, and walked forward. "Xingba...well...Mr. Xu..." Uncle Yang greeted me with a smile, and realized that he shouldn't be calling me by my nickname today, so he immediately changed his words, with a guilty look on his face, "You Are you going to sit in the restaurant?" "Oh! Yes." I stopped immediately, and answered his earnest question sincerely. After standing down, I didn't know what to say anymore.I immediately realized that I shouldn't stop, and I should just nod my head and walk straight to anyone in a purely polite greeting like my father did... I Immediately turned around and left. Walking into the black painted gate of the school, in the three open tile-roofed houses, the students have cleaned the classroom cleanly, and filled the square tables and benches that the students brought from home, neatly arranged, around the tables Sitting students with a wide range of ages, endorsing in wah wah wah.Seven or eight years before today, I have been sitting on the first desk in the left front row of this school, just one aisle away from my father's desk in front of the window.This position was chosen by my father. From the first day I entered this school to accept my father's enlightenment, until today I will sit at the teaching desk in front of the window. It has not changed. I understood it from the first day, father To put me in the unobstructed area where his eyesight can first scan... Now, the new first student who entered the school sat in that position. Except for a few newly added first-time students, the classrooms are full of acquaintances, companions, and classmates from my village who were classmates with me before the Spring Festival. Some of them are taller and stronger than me. Timid.I am fully aware of the old tricks they used to make trouble with my father, especially Yang Mawa and Xu Shuanshuan, who are as stupid as pigs in school, but they have all kinds of tricks.As soon as I entered the door, I saw the secretive faces of the two of them, and I felt a little stage fright, those faces with malicious intentions! I immediately walked towards the square teaching table, not paying attention to those faces with strange faces.I sat down on the straight-backed black lacquered wooden chair my father used to sit on, and my waist seemed to straighten naturally, as my father sat upright like this.I recalled my father's work procedure, sat down, first arranged the four treasures on the table, wiped the table clean, and then opened the book, or rubbed the ink in the inkstone.As soon as I heard abnormal noises in the classroom, I turned my head and walked around. When the atmosphere in the whole school returned to normal, I lowered my head to read or practice writing. My father usually reads first, and writes later when I go to school. I should do the same, except today. It is rare to concentrate on reading. Writing is definitely better for stabilizing emotions.I dripped water on the stone inkstone used by my father, pinched the ink ingot with three fingers, and slowly ground it.Grinding ink should also resemble the posture of a gentleman grinding ink, not like those students below. The best posture is of course the posture of father grinding ink. The ink is ready.On the corner of the table was a stack of gridded blank framed paper, which was handed over by the students, waiting for me to write in block letters in those blanks, and then they would take it back and spread it under the imitation paper to trace. On the next piece of blank paper, I pulled out the brush from the copper pen cap, dipped it in the ink, and just wrote a word when I heard a cry in my ear: "Brother Xingwa—" My heart skipped a beat, and I immediately turned my head to the side, and saw the youngest son of Qibo in my clan standing in front of me, smiling at me like a monkey: "Make me a frame." There was a burst of laughter in the classroom, oh!Should say school. In the laughter, my face was a little hot, a little embarrassed, and a little nervous.After school children enter the school, they should all be called Mr., how can they be called Brother according to the seniority in the village!But he is a first-time student who just entered school, maybe he doesn't understand, maybe he has forgotten what his parents should have taught him before entering school!I just said, "You put it down, go!" He went back to his seat, and the laughter died away. I turned my head to write again, and just after writing two words, another voice sounded in my ear: "Mr. Blue Robe—" There was a bang in my head, and the sound of wanton laughter in the school came from my ears.I turned my head and saw a silly smiling face, this is a half-foolish big kid in the village.The corner of his mouth was drooling, one hand scratched his butt behind his back, and he smirked complacently. He was almost as tall as me, with slack shoulders and hanging arms, like a roof truss that didn't fit well, loose.This old student, who has been studying for seven or eight years, can't read more than two hundred characters, and can't make up the "three returns" in his calculations. It's just that he has a strong family background and is the only root of his father's family, so he just stays in the school.This idiot, even if he broke his head, he wouldn't give me such an elegant name, so I immediately asked, "Who told you to call me that?" The laughter in the classroom stopped abruptly, and there were many expectations lurking in the silence "He...he didn't ask me to say his name." The fool said. "You said—who is he?" I asked coldly. "I dare not say - he hit me!" The fool was terrified. "I'll hit you first! Let's see if you say it or not!" I said. I touched the board from the table, and the willow board, which was slippery by the handle of my father's hand, was in my hand. I felt a little uneasy, and I said without retreating: "Stretch out your hand!" The idiot's face changed drastically immediately, the shadow of horror flashed across his eyes, and he hid his hands behind his back. I pulled a left hand from behind his back and pulled a stick, the fool immediately bent down, covered his left hand with his right hand and cried: "Ma Wazi, × your mother! You taught me to call him 'Mr. Blue Robe' , let me get beaten... woo woo woo woo..." I immediately stood up and looked at Yang Mawa, this "bad leader" who came up with tricks in the dark.If I don't hold down this Yangma baby, it will be rare for me to sit securely on this chair in the future.I ordered: "Yangmawa, come to the front!" Without losing her prestige, Yang Mawa shook her head and came to the front.Although he is not tall, he is not young, and he is also an old student.He gave me a curt bow, as if on an errand, and stopped. "Did you instigate him?" I asked. "No." He replied calmly, well prepared. "It's you!" The fool stared, "You said..." "Who can testify?" Yang Mawa said calmly. "..." The fool stared anxiously. "Don't be a witness!" I couldn't bear this kind of prank to continue, "stretch out your hand——" Yang Mawa held out her hand.There was a look of injustice and helplessness in his eyes, and he neither looked at me nor anyone, but casually stared at the opposite wall. I yanked the board, the hand flicked down, and then up automatically, without dodging, and I couldn't hear the groans of the beaten.I pulled the board again, the hand was still stretched out, I was a little angry, I wanted to teach him a lesson to relieve the anger, but I didn't expect that the more I beat him, the more angry I became.The hand stretched out in front of me seemed to be a rubber hand. I couldn't hear the groans of the beaten, let alone begging for mercy. I suddenly felt that that hand was demonstrating to me, even despising me.The classroom is very quiet, not a single sound can be heard.I felt that the confrontation between the two parties was continuing, and I couldn't waver in the slightest, otherwise I would be overwhelmed, which was rare.I didn't say a word, I didn't look at anyone, I just looked at the hand that was about to hit.I remember my father was like this when he hit the board. He never looked at the faces of the beaten, let alone listened to their groans and begging for mercy. He just hit enough numbers to hit.I have drawn five boards... The idiot suddenly fell to his knees, hugged my board, and cried, "First...Mr. first! Ma Wa told me to call you 'Mr. He and I both studied together, and we don't know how to fight. He asked me to play with you, called 'Mr. Blue Robe'... I will never..." I seem to feel that my arm is a little heavy and I can't lift it up. Thinking about it again, if Ma Wa keeps silent, can I keep beating?Instead, he took advantage of the fool's pleading opportunity to step down without losing his prestige and dignity. The fool got up first, bowed deeply, and ran down, while Yang Mawa took her time, bowed politely, and slowly walked back to her seat. I sat down again, picked up the brush, and wrote the unfinished frame, but my hands were shaking.It was the first time I hit someone with a stick, but I didn't enjoy the pleasure of beating someone, but added a tinge of inexplicable taste...