Chapter 3 Thank you teacher
The honor of the third master brought joy and hope to the whole family, but it also brought new troubles and troubles.Because according to the usual practice, next, Huang Zonghui had to go to Hangzhou, the provincial capital, to pay homage to the master who presided over the exam, and he also had to prepare to go to Beijing to take the imperial exam.Both of these things cost money.The Huang family in Tongde Township and the others were not rich even when their father Huang Zunsu was an official in Beijing; in the past ten years or so, the situation has worsened, and they often have to borrow money for trivial matters, let alone the current situation. We have to deal with the expenses of two stalls at the same time.Of course, the third master's fame must not be delayed.After a lot of borrowing here and there, and resolutely selling part of the land, he finally got together seven or eighty taels of silver.So, on April 15th, the newly elected Gongsheng Huang Zonghui bid farewell to his mother, Mrs. Yao, and was sent off by the beaming villagers to the ferry outside the village. Accompanied by Huang Zongxi himself, he boarded a The awning boat sailed to the provincial capital via the Yaojiang River.
From Huangzhupu to Hangzhou, the provincial capital, although the journey is not too far, it is still more than 200 miles by water.It will pass through three counties, Yuyao, Shangyu and Xiaoshan, and there is also a prefecture city, Shaoxing.Even if you don't stop on the road, you still have to walk for three or four days.Now, the awning boat has sailed out of the small tributary named Lanxi, and came to the Yaojiang River, and the vision has become wider.On the gentle, green and clear water, under the clear sky with floating white clouds, thousands of points of sunlight dance, like a flickering and soft horse, drifting towards the bow of the ship, reflecting the low canopy transparently.On both sides of the river bank, there are continuous distant mountains like animal ridges, against the backdrop of a dike of whirling green willows.Under the shade of dense willows, groups of cattle and sheep pass by from time to time.If you encounter a village or a market, as usual, there will be voices of human voices in the wind.Maybe it's because there is a piece of water, the country accent that has become so thin sounds so sweet, so soft...
After living in seclusion for a long time in a remote village with no news, he was able to take this opportunity to visit some friends, inquire about the current situation of the current situation, and live a few days of lively urban life again. . "Yes, over the past year or so, the situation in the country seems to have stabilized, and someone in our family has finally come forward. Could it be that the way of heaven, which runs in the dark, is undergoing a transformation? If this is the case, then I still want to devote myself to using the world. In any case, this government that has accumulated many evils and left the country to the desperation of the people, it is time to reform it! The change of the current situation may be a matter of implementation. Opportunity?" Thinking of this, Huang Zongxi rekindled a kind of hope, a kind of impulse, and then thought: next year will be the year of the competition, if the situation in the country can really stabilize, he can follow his younger brother and pass the competition smoothly. In the case of the township examination and general examination, then maybe it is not too late, and something can be done in a real way. "Of course, from now on, I have to restrain my mind and work hard on those arts and crafts. Although it is very boring, I have to endure it for the sake of life. Fortunately, there is still one year, as long as I am willing to work hard If you don’t believe it, you won’t be able to get through it! After passing this test, things will be much easier!” After making up his mind, Huang Zongxi became more cheerful.While leaning on the side of the boat, he watched the sights passing by on the shore, and at the same time unconsciously tapped the board with his fingers, humming a popular Sanqu——
The tune of "Song of Picking Tea" is called "Songchun", which was written by Shi Shaoxin, a famous sanqu master in Songjiang.Because of the beautiful lyrics, it is widely sung in the south of the Yangtze River.However, Huang Zongxi was not good at singing at first, and he seldom opened his mouth at ordinary times. Now he just hummed a few words casually because of a moment of joy.As a result, needless to say, I lost the tune, and some sentences were forgotten, so I had to mumble them.After this, the best piece of music was sung by him in a strange way, full of drawls such as "ummmahahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"Huang Zongxi didn't pay any attention to it, and just hummed it over and over in a contented manner.He didn't stop until he turned his head by chance and his eyes fell on his younger brother Huang Zonghui.
"Well, what are you doing?" Huang Zongxi asked suspiciously as he found that the newly selected Gongsheng was sitting cross-legged on the board of the boat with his head lowered, concentrating on counting the silver he brought.
Huang Zonghui raised his eyes, a wry smile appeared on his sensitive and fair face, and he didn't make a sound.
"Could it be too short to count?" Huang Zongxi couldn't help leaning over because the money was hard to come by.
Huang Zonghui shook his head: "It's not short, it's just..." He didn't continue, but just fiddled with the small pile of silver in different shapes silently.
Huang Zongxi looked at his younger brother and understood a little bit.He waved his hand and said comfortingly, "Like reasoning, what you have to do this time is not a trivial matter. You can't do it without spending a little money, but how you manage it, you can only 'look at the dishes and cut the chopsticks, and tailor the clothes'. In a place like the capital, you want Let go of your hands and feet, even if you bring ten thousand or eight thousand, it may not be enough to spend; but if you hold your hand tighter, you can handle it with such seventy or eighty taels. Besides, the official ship coming to Beijing from Liudu , Almost every day, I have already thought about it, and I plan to ask my friend over there to find a familiar official to take you all the way, and even save money for the journey. After arriving in Beijing, the board and lodging will also be You can ask someone to take care of you. Hey, just don’t worry, these things are on Brother Wei.”
"But I'm afraid that in the capital today, you can't do anything with this alone." Huang Zonghui frowned sullenly, "I heard that there are all yamen up, down, left, and right, and even when you sneeze, you will touch your joints and you have to take care of them. Besides, The pattern of sending silver is also very particular. You can’t send it directly, because it looks indecent. At present, it’s the most fashionable to send the "Four Treasures of the Study" and "Books". You don’t know if you don’t open it. It turns out that the inkstone is made of gold, and the pen tube is They were printed in silver, and those books, every letter and every letter, have 'book handkerchiefs', and they are either gold or silver..."
Huang Zongxi frowned and listened. "Okay!" he interrupted disgustedly, "you don't inquire about what you should pay attention to, but you inquire carefully about what you shouldn't pay attention to. According to you, isn't the whole court full of mud? Then the country What hope is there? What exams should we take, what official positions should we get? Wouldn’t it be better to just pack up and go home as soon as possible?”
After a pause, seeing his younger brother bowed his head and remained silent, he explained: "Of course, it is not uncommon for public bribery, corruption and lawlessness, but people like us, how can we follow the crowd and let it be manipulated? You must know that I have never been an official. That's it, if you are going to be an official, you should take it as your duty to revive the decline, and take it as your duty to renew the bad government, so as not to humiliate the family tradition! You didn't see that I went to Beijing the year before last, and I only brought thirty taels of silver and stayed for four Yue, I didn't send a gift, so I still dealt with it?"
The younger brother lowered his eyes and kneaded a piece of silver in his hand. After a while, he said dully: "Second brother said that the eldest brother failed the exam the year before last, not because his writing was inferior to others, but because he was reluctant to spend money to get through his joints. He told me not to be stingy this time..."
When he came to Beijing the year before last, the reason why Huang Zongxi saved everything was because he refused to accept the evil of "wealth can pass through the gods", and secondly, he had to reduce expenses as much as possible because of his family's poverty.Unexpectedly, after all my painstaking efforts, in the end, it became the subject of private ridicule by my younger brothers!Suddenly, a wave of anger surged from the bottom of his heart, and his eyes widened accordingly.
"Nonsense!" he scolded, "Don't be stingy with money? It's lavish! Could it be that you still have thousands of wealth in your possession? Then just spend it, and I will never stop it! But do you have it? Ah? Do you have it? "
Since his father's death, Huang Zongxi has been responsible for educating his younger brothers.Over time, a kind of "prestige" has been formed.Therefore, seeing his elder brother lose his temper, Huang Zonghui didn't dare to speak up again.Dejectedly, he repacked the money he had spread out, then hid aside, took out a copy of "Ming Wen Ding", Guan Zi bowed his head and began to practice.
Huang Zongxi's lingering anger still persisted.Undoubtedly, what he can't tolerate the most in his life is subservience, lack of backbone, and willingness to collude with evil in order to achieve a certain goal.Because of this, when he was in Beijing the year before last, he so resolutely rejected Zhou Yanru's recommendation and returned to the south resolutely.Although many relatives and friends felt that he was too impulsive and even considered him "stupid", he had no regrets.Not long afterward, during the period when the Qing soldiers entered the fortress, Zhou Yanru was sentenced to death by the enraged emperor and ransacked his home because of lying about the military situation, fearing the enemy and avoiding the war, and being corrupt and perverting the law.This incident proved that Huang Zongxi did have foresight.However, to this day, the two younger brothers, who were brought up by themselves, are only thinking of gaining fame, and they have even forgotten the principles of conduct, which really makes Huang Zongxi very angry.However, those words of his younger brother reminded him of how dark and corrupt the government has become; and he just guessed that the opportunity for reform may have arrived, was he too optimistic?Is there really any hope of changing this difficult situation?It was this kind of sudden question that spoiled Huang Zongxi's once buoyant interest and made him feel depressed, annoyed and at a loss. "No, even so, there is still hope. Since the imperial court has the power to stabilize the situation, it proves that the fate of the country is not yet over, and the vitality is still there. As long as the gentlemen in power work together and take steps step by step, there is always a way to bring the imperial court back. Get on the right track!" He stubbornly and tried his best to encourage himself.At the same time, in order to prove that his judgment was justified, he began to recall how stupid and absurd his brother's statement just now was, and planned to give a more severe reprimand.
However, when he turned his head, he unexpectedly found that Huang Zonghui also raised his eyes from the book, his eyes looked so timid, pitiful, full of begging for mercy.It is vaguely like the appearance of Huang Zonghui when he was still a frail young man and was called to him by his elder brother because he did something wrong...
A gentle feeling, like a breeze blowing over the strings of a piano, made Huang Zongxi's heart visibly move, and he choked up involuntarily.For a moment, he frowned and bit his lip, trying to resist the untimely interruption.However, it didn't work out. "Hmph, I'm on a boat right now, so I don't want the boatman to listen to me. Let's keep the account first. I'll make it clear to you when I get ashore!" He thought resentfully, then turned his back, with a sullen face, He sat down on the edge of the canopy.