On the Wusong River, it was completely dark.Thick clouds overlapped, and the fields and sparse village houses on both sides of the bank melted into the darkness.There are tall ginkgo trees standing everywhere near the shore, and the southwest wind blows in waves, blowing the branches that have lost all their leaves. It looks like a dark shadow with disheveled hair. There is only one boat with a low roof on the river, heading south.It was against the wind, and there was the sound of gurgling water on the lip of the boat.There are two oars in the rear scull, two young peasant couples shake the right one, and a hunchback in their forties shakes the left one.It was cold, and their rowing hands were wrapped in cotton muffs.Everyone turned their heads to one side, looking straight ahead at the dark future from the roof; the oars in their hands were not as relaxed as when the weather was calm, and every time they were pulled, one shoulder had to be pushed forward, and one leg had to be pushed down, so as to Boosting momentum; the strong wind blows, tightly wrapped around the head and face, and then drilled in from the collar, sticking to the chest and back all over the place.They were silent, breathing roughly through the nostrils.

A red candle was lit on the small table in the cabin, the wind came in through the crack of the front panel door, and the flame fell from time to time like petals about to fall, so many candle tears accumulated on the candle body.The yellow light of the red candle illuminates everything in the cabin.A person of twenty-five or sixteen was lying on the quilts folded on the boards laid flat against the rear wall.Although he grew up in a water town, he seems to be suffering from congenital seasickness. As long as he steps on the bow and shakes the boat a few times, he will feel sick to his stomach and dizzy.This time there was a headwind again, and when I boarded the boat at one o'clock in the afternoon, I fell sideways, and I haven't sat up until now.Lying down, he naturally didn't feel anything; his nearsighted eyes were slightly closed leisurely, a cigarette was inserted obliquely in the corner of his mouth, and a wisp of green smoke slowly curled up from the lit end, which showed that he was not smoking there.His cheeks are a bit thin, red from the cold, with a straight nose, moderately thick eyebrows, and a pair of oval gold-rimmed glasses in the middle, he has the demeanor of a young gentleman.

In front of the plank bed, sitting with one arm leaning on the small table, was a younger youth.His clear eyes stared at the candle flame, thinking about his future.But rather than thinking about it, it is better to say that it is more appropriate to feel vaguely.He felt that the boring life was completely over, and sitting in the small cabin in front of him, and going on the sailing journey against the wind, was the end of the story.What is waiting ahead is a like-minded partner, a satisfying career, and the unity of ideals and facts; these are all inevitable, just like the weather is windy and cloudy tonight, but it is either tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, There is always a lovely morning with a smiling face.

The road you pass for the first time often feels very long, and it lasts for half a day with your body swaying. The sitting young man can't help but feel a little restless, and he looks at the lying companion and asks: "Is it almost there?" ?” Although irritable, his demeanor is still very gentle and straightforward; his thick eyebrows are slightly furrowed, which is a sign of his habit of thinking; his full forehead is shining with candlelight, and his hair is scattered but not rough Divide on top. "You're anxious, Huanzhi," the lying man held the cigarette in his mouth between two fingers, and slowly opened his eyes. "What a coincidence, the first time you go this way is against the wind. If the wind is favorable, you can blow it with full sail, and you will be there at four o'clock. Now..." He raised his body slightly and spun With one eye closed, the other opened out from the seam of the deck, trying to identify the familiar marks along the way.But except for a few dark tree shadows along the shore, there was only darkness.He knocked on the board door separated from the back boat and asked, "Ah Tu, have you passed Tao Village?"

"It's just passed," replied the young farmer on the rear stern, and his endurance against the fierce southwest wind could be discerned in his voice. "Well, we've passed Taocun, and there's still six miles to go; we can arrive at half past one at most." The lying man said, lying flat again; seeing how few cigarettes were left in his hand, he extinguished them casually. Pull up a corner of the quilt to cover your legs. "It's half past one more," Huanzhi looked at his companion's left wrist, "Is it half past six? It's eight o'clock at school."

The lying one raised his left wrist to look at him, then leaned to his ear to listen, and said, "It's seven minutes past six thirty." "Then, by the time we get to school, I'm afraid Mr. Jiang will have gone back." "I don't think so. He knows that today is against the wind, so he will definitely be waiting for you in the school. He misses you very eagerly. I will pick you up today because of his urgency. Otherwise, wait until the wind subsides tomorrow or the day after tomorrow." Wouldn't it be good to go?" Huanzhi was a little excited, and said dully, "Uncle Shu, I'm afraid I'll disappoint him in the future. But I'm willing to do my best to serve him, for his good intentions, and for my own interests."

"You two are a bit alike." Uncle Shu said, squinting at Huanzhi. "What? You mean..." "I said that you both like ideals, which is quite alike." "This is due to the fact that they are engaged in education. For example, a carpenter does not need ideals to make a table or a chair; or a plasterer, he only needs to stack bricks one by one to build a wall, and he does not need ideals. Education is about cultivating people—what should people be like? How should people be cultivated?—this must have ideals.” Huanzhi said clearly, as if he was declaring to ordinary people on behalf of Mr. Jiang.He usually meets people who don't like ideals too much, and when he hears his comments that he thinks are not very ideal, he will say that he is "unconstrained" and "farther than the truth", which often makes him feel unhappy as if he has been wronged.Now that Uncle Shu mentioned the ideal, although he didn't mean to despise him, he couldn't help saying the above justification.

"Old Jiang probably meant the same thing." Uncle Shu closed his eyes and continued, "That's why I told you once that he had finished an article on education, and that article was his ideal." "Do you remember what he said in that article?" Huanzhi's eyes glowed with longing. "He started by distinguishing what is sex and what is learning, and he talked about children's objectivity and rejection of education, and the true meaning of aesthetic education and physical education——ah! I don't remember clearly, there are more than twenty manuscripts. Anyway, he wants to ask Teachers, look, especially eager to discuss with you first, as soon as he lands later, he will definitely take out the manuscript paper that he never leaves."

"There are such enthusiastic people!" Huanzhi said convincingly.Then I imagined Mr. Jiang's appearance, behavior, character, and hobbies, and fell into deep thought for a while; I seemed to catch some things, but immediately felt completely at a loss.But no matter what, after half past one, I will meet this virtual human entity; when I think about it this way, I can't help feeling relieved and excited. The wind seemed to be getting stronger, and the sound of water gurgling at the bow had a whimpering tone; the candle flame was exhausted, and the candle tears were streaming down, piled up in the tin candlestick chassis; Individuals are extra hard there.

Uncle Shu curled up his legs a little, lifted the corner of his head again, shrugged his shoulders, and said, "Things are often unpredictable. When you were a primary school teacher earlier, didn't you often write to me, saying that this is the only thing in the world?" It's a boring thing, is it lucky to get rid of it as soon as possible?" "Well, yes." Huanzhi calmed down the relief and excitement in his heart, and solemnly agreed. "Up to now, only one or two years have passed, but you say that education is the most meaningful career, and you are willing to devote your life to it."

"I remember writing to you." Huanzhi smiled triumphantly, "Later I met a colleague who forgot himself and everything, only knew to serve children, and only knew how to delve into the children's world." The spirit, ah! I can't say, I only admire and envy." "Did he change your distaste for education?" "Of course it has changed. No matter what happens, the trigger of the crash doesn't have to be particularly important: for example, I like to read philosophy books, just because I used three coppers to buy a copy of "Three Greek Philosophers" from a street stall; Another example is that I yearn for socialism only because an article about the British Socialist Party and the Labor Party was published in the newspaper five years ago, and that article has just been shown to me. What my colleague gave me was a trigger. I think, I Why look for a fulfilling and satisfying life from other places? My colleague feels that his life is very fulfilling and satisfying, and I am just like him. In front of a teacher, can I not get what he feels? , yes, yes, I am 120% sure. Once the concept changes, everything changes: the students around me are no longer nasty and disgusting children; the square classroom is no longer a dull prison. Those children who left the day before yesterday , Thinking that I will no longer be with them in the future, I feel a little uncomfortable." When Huanzhi said this, his eyelids closed, searching for the sweetness preserved in his memory. "That's the same," said Shubo with a smile. "There are teachers over there, and teachers over there; there are students over there, and there are students over there; maybe the students over here are cuter." "I think so too." Huanzhi sat up straight, staring at the front with all his attention, as if through the panel door of the head cabin of the middle cabin, through the thick darkness of the future, he had already seen the school who was going to work many students. "It's rare to be like Mr. Jiang," Huanzhi sighed, thinking of their future students' happiness, because they have a principal Mr. Jiang who is particularly interested in education and likes to study.There are three principals he has worked with, and he knows at least a dozen or so principals. Where is there anyone who is as interested in education as Mr. Jiang?Naturally, not to mention research.They are nothing more than eating, seeing that the position of the teaching staff is exactly the same as that of the Lika division staff.He also believed that teaching was a job in exchange for food, but there should be something else besides food; if it was just for food, he should honestly find a job as a staff member, not a school teacher.Now I heard that Mr. Jiang seems to be very different from other principals. Although he has never met him, he has long been cited as a rare comrade. "He has nothing to do," Uncle Shu said very indifferently, "the field is managed by an accountant; Be a principal, give advice, play with kids." Huanzhi glanced at Uncle Shu; he was quite dissatisfied with the word "playing around". He thought that Uncle Shu had lived in the house for four or five years and had done nothing, so he had developed a cynical attitude.When I was a classmate with Shubo back then, I used to say what I saw, and this habit still exists, so I said, "How do you say it's fun? Is education a game?" "Haha, you are so serious!" Uncle Shu said with a sly smile. "It's just different words. You say research, you say service, I say play, but it's actually not the same thing?——If Lao Jiang was in my position, he would never be a principal. You think, my family is trivial I have to take care of everything, and I have to work hard to collect the rent of a few acres of land, do you have time to do other things?" When Shubo said the last sentence, Huanzhi felt that he was suddenly a middle-aged man, sophisticated, shrewd, and worldly, completely carved out between his eyebrows. "Lao Jiang still has a little selfishness..." Uncle Shu whispered again. "What?" Huanzhi asked in surprise. "He has two sons, and he wants to teach them very well. The school run by others is not to his liking. If he becomes the principal himself, everything can be arranged as he likes, and the two sons will be cheaper." "It's not selfish," Huanzhi said with a sigh of relief. "If you benefit from your own son, you also benefit from other people's sons. From a practical point of view, no matter what kind of public welfare, there is such a selfishness in it; but if you are selfish, you are also selfish to others. It is not selfishness but public welfare." gone." "I'm not saying that old Jiang is bad," Shubo argued. "I'm just telling you the truth, and he really meant it.--The candle is almost gone again, so try another one." Huanzhi then took out a red candle from the table drawer, lit it, put the candle holder in, and blew out the remaining candle that was taken out.The pungent oil vapor immediately permeated the small cabin.The flame of the newly lit candle was not strong, and the two faced each other, their faces were a bit hazy. "Shhh, I've encountered a headwind!" Uncle Shu murmured to himself; he tightened his neck a little, and took out a cigarette case from his pocket... When the replaced red candle was two-thirds lit, the sound of the water on the lip of the boat no longer whimpered, but gurgled alive like a small stream.The wind blew in through the window on the left panel, and the candle flame nodded towards Huanzhi. Uncle Shu was half asleep and half awake for a while, and suddenly felt that the sound of water was different from before. He sat up and knocked on the board door and asked Ah Tu, "Have you entered the port?" "After entering for a while, I can see the lights upstairs in the school," Ah Tu's voice was much more relaxed than before. "I'll go to the bow to have a look!" Huanzhi pushed open the front panel door with great excitement, and stood at the bow of the boat in two steps.A gust of wind was like a gigantic palm, oppressing his head, face and body heavily, suffocating his breathing.The sudden onslaught of cold made him clench his teeth. A gust of wind passed, and he began to smell the fresh, almost fragrant country air, which was very refreshing in his chest.The sound of the dog is scattered in the distance, if it is sinking or rising, it corresponds to each other.The two banks were close to the hull, and the black shadows of dead trees along the bank receded unsteadily.Twenty or thirty feet ahead, the silhouettes of houses lined up in thick black.There is a tall building in the middle, and there are lovely lights in the windows of the building.The light reflects the center of the river, showing a bright ripple that flexes and flexes. "Ah! Here we are, a new life has begun!" Huanzhi thought, staring at the light at the top of the building.After a while, the light seemed to expand, blocking his entire vision, the boundless darkness disappeared, and his whole body was bathed in bright and lovely light...