Chapter 11 Chapter 11

Three or four hirelings worked the wasteland in the spring sunshine.Cotton jackets were piled aside, and he was only wearing a single shirt of blue cloth, with sweat dripping from his face and forehead, steaming from the heat. The ground is full of bricks and tiles. It can be seen that houses were built there before, and some people lived in them.There are also quite a few unoccupied tombs that do not protrude very high; some are built with simple brick coffins, and some have only mud sticking to the coffin, and the rotten wood is exposed outside.The most preliminary work now is to pick up the bricks and tiles, so that the soil that grows all things can contribute its energy storage as much as possible.Those barren graves hinder the division of districts, and detract from the beauty; how incongruous it is to be dotted with dead graves on a thriving farm; so it must be leveled.Human bones are no different from dead branches of trees, and it is insignificant to throw them away casually; there are many places in the world that burn dead bones as a very legitimate method.But because Chinese people don’t look at dead bones that way, they always think it’s better to preserve them, so they decided to relocate them—that is, to bury all the coffins in another place, and even if the coffins are broken, they still have to pick up the bones inside Reburial.

After nearly ten days of work, the bricks and debris have been collected together. There is a large pile two feet high, occupying an area as large as two rooms.The non-dry and non-sticky soil has been turned, and new grass sprouts are piled up in a messy pile, and earthworms that have not yet escaped hibernation can also be seen.Several tombs have been flattened, and several coffins are placed aside; , Corrosion, makes people feel unpleasant. When the hired workers heard someone approaching, they didn't turn their heads to look. They continued to dig a deserted grave with dead vines one by one mechanically, but they all knew who was coming, because the number of times they had been in contact was really insignificant. not enough.

Bingru and Huanzhi came. As usual, Bing felt uneasy when he saw the peasants and workers working with their muscular arms exposed, as if he was too lazy and presumptuous, and at the same time he had a deep respect for them.The words I have said several times blurted out again without realizing it, "Thank you for your hard work, you might as well take a break and do it again." "Where, where, no, no," the flattered employees replied as usual, and several pairs of eyes cast a puzzled and strange look at Bingru at the same time.With your wages, how can you work hard?Take a break, isn't it delaying your business?You, old man, who has land and land, where is the shelf of the old man? ——These are the meanings implicit in the eyes.

Huanzhi looks at the clouds and things, bright and fresh, and a gust of warm wind blows, carrying the news of new life, development, and prosperity, and almost conveys it to every cell.The distant mountains on the other side of the lake have woken up from their deep sleep, full of hope for spring.The wheat seedlings in the fields are like women playing in spring, dancing their green clothes freely.The willow silk on the river bank has just revealed light yellow leaf buds.The birds are flying and chasing after them, as if they are doing a great cause.Several clusters of village houses are roughly the same in form, and the roof tiles are few and far between.The people living in those houses, men, women, old and young, see that spring will come, and the earth will have a new career and new success. They are also rejoicing. Work hard there.

Huanzhi thinks of the near from the distance.The farm is already being planted, and the most valuable new enterprise will be found in the school; the soil now treading will be the students'--not only the students' but the teachers', the school-men's--labor, study, In other words, the place of leisure and enjoyment is simply the land of ultimate bliss: when you think about it this way, happiness ripples in your heart as if the wonderful place is right in front of you."When will you be done?" he asked. "Hurry up, hurry up, it won't take ten days, even the field borders can be done," a long-faced hired worker replied, with a simple smile floating on his cheeks.

"We can grow hemp, beans, and cotton," Huan Zhi muttered to himself, with bright pupils destined to spread out on the black mud in front of him. The long-faced hired worker stopped the hoe, spit on the left and right palms, and then raised the hoe to work. At the same time, he said boastfully: "The watermelons grown here are excellent. The melons on the ground are sweeter than sugar." "That's right, we can still grow watermelons," Huanzhi continued, nodding his head, as if there were already countless big green watermelons growing on the ground, as if nature purposely used this to show its abundance.It also seems to see many students participating in labor, sitting scattered on the field in the evening sunshine, cutting up and eating freshly picked watermelons.The flesh of the melon is as white as snow; there is enough water to wet everyone's fingers;what!The reward for labor, the taste of Zhao Hu's usual diet...

"I didn't finish talking just now," Bingru said to Chao Huanzhi with a slightly hesitant expression. "In my opinion, Yigong can't be kept anymore. I told him again and again, for this town, for this school, for this A group of students who are familiar with him hope that he will not leave. Moreover, the farm has been opened up, and his teaching will embark on a new path; for all practical guidance and for his own interests, I hope he will not leave But he always said: I am very sorry; I have already agreed to the company, and I have to go in for business next month. What else can you do? Although there is an appointment letter, I am embarrassed to argue with a straight face. "

Huanzhi closed his eyes, as if he had just woken up from a good dream and wanted to chase after some aftertaste.Then he frowned and went on to say, with a worried tone, "Indeed, Mr. Li can't keep it anymore. He thinks that company is better than here because of the higher salary; What's the use of staying!" "He was born in a teacher's school. Unexpectedly, he abandoned his education career. He is so relentless, it's like abandoning his career. Seeing that he teaches on weekdays, he is still enthusiastic enough." "Enthusiasm, enthusiasm, can't match the needs of real life!" Huanzhi didn't want this situation in the education field, but this situation is a fact, so he said with the sentimentality of a patient stating his illness, "His family The burden is heavy, and the income is not enough to spend. When encountering a more affluent job, he naturally discards the old one. He once told me that he was honest and unceremonious waiting for an opportunity, like a fisherman guarding the river. If there are fish swimming over , There must be a bigger fish coming, this is what he has been thinking about all the time. According to this kind of thinking, of course he raised it again and again. Waiting for opportunities like this is an important part of his life. Now, He caught bigger fish."

Bingru didn't expect Yi Guild to say such words; he walked back and forth with his head bowed, his chest depressed, as if he was being oppressed; after a while, he stopped and said angrily: "If you're a foreigner like this, you won't be at ease in anything. Do it!" "This should be forgiven. In fact, the fish in the education industry is too small, so small that people have to cast nets on the riverside to guard them." Huanzhi said this, consciously violating his usual ideas.The small salary can only support the life of the mother and child. He has never paid much attention to this level, because there are other rich rewards other than material.Saying this now, isn't it "the only premise of salary"?Half justifying and half boasting came to mind, he said: "There are only two kinds of people who can work with peace of mind and no longer invest in nets: those who are rich and have no problem with their lives; those who take material life very seriously. It is another kind of person who is light, not afraid to face difficulties, and who wholeheartedly pursues spiritual comfort."

"Well," like a ray of sunshine revealing a gloomy cloud, a knowing smile appeared on Bingru's dull face; he understood who and whom Huanzhi referred to as the two kinds of people. "The rest of the people are just those who believe that there is a great future. Those who are more outstanding in the middle, of course, have more opportunities to transfer; when the opportunity comes, they wipe off the dust of the education world that they think is unlucky, and go to A future full of new hope. Therefore, those who do not belong to the above two types of people but have stayed in the education field for a long time, are they still conceivable!"

"Ah! It's really unimaginable." Bingru frowned, as if she was approaching an extremely dirty place. "Some are loafing young masters, because they don't want to be known as loafers, they act as teachers as a cover. Some are substitute workers hired for four yuan or six yuan. With them, the teaching platform will not be empty and empty. Some of them are part-time doctors and astrologists, and the school is also a consulting room and a fortune-telling center. This kind of situation is almost everywhere, but people don’t think it’s worth noting. Don’t you think so?” "Yes," Huanzhi said, "as far as the current situation is concerned, the salary of teachers will never improve; so this situation will continue, and it will become more common. There is a very serious problem here, that is, outstanding members will Excluded from the world of education, and retained, with very few exceptions, will be only those who are not fit to be teachers; so what is the point of having so many schools and so many children in school?" "This is indeed a serious problem!" Bingru looked at the front aimlessly sadly, as if she had come to a desolate realm, where she didn't see a bit of green that contained business, but only boundless sorrow and desolation.He himself is strenuously striving, and a new career is starting before him, which seems extremely small and feeble; when he thinks of the vast educational world, his own side is really like a bubble in the ocean.A sense of emptiness invaded his heart, and he asked for help: "What should I do? All hope hangs in education; and there is such a serious problem in education." "There's no way!" Huanzhi replied quickly; political corruption and social weakness all caught his mind in an instant. The idea of ​​"but I am a teacher" appeared again immediately: For example, when a ship sinks, all the people on the ship are drowning in the sea, but I am the only one standing on a rock with my feet on the ground. This is a certainty and an unlimited hope. ;Try from here, cry out, Anzhi can't save all the drowning people?When he thought this way, he straightened his body, like a player preparing to start a race in the sports field, and said: "However, education is always the most important thing for a nation. It all depends on the unremitting efforts of people with a heart, even in the smallest place, the smallest We will never despise our achievements; because no matter how small or insignificant something is, it is at least a brick; bricks stacked one by one will eventually form a big house. We don’t care about the situation in the entire education field, and we really can’t do it; What we hold are bricks in our hands, and let us lay the foundations on the vacant land. Our reforms and the effects of the reforms may not fail to attract the attention of the educational circles. Those who pay attention, approve and implement are our reforms. Companions. There are more and more companions, Mr. Jiang, what kind of new house do you think will be successful?" In recent years, Huanzhi has embraced optimism. The reason is that he looks forward to the brilliance of hope, and can form an image that is enough to strengthen his courage, so that he can continue to hope without feeling empty or tired.Here, of course, is another homemade stimulant. Although Bingru is pessimistically sensitive to what was just said, the reality is quite hazy.Just like when he was talking with his friends, he talked about the great European war that was being fought vigorously, how many lives were sacrificed, and the animal nature of human beings was unstoppable, a layer of sadness covered his mind like a black veil; This kind of sadness is by no means hypocritical, but it will never penetrate into the depths of my heart and take root in it.He looked at Huanzhi with reassuring eyes, and said, "I don't have the extravagant hope of improving the entire education sector. If this town can improve as a result of our efforts, I will be satisfied!" "When a small stone is thrown into the ocean, the visible ripples are limited, but the invisible but imaginable turbulent force is infinitely far away. Can we limit that force to a diameter of five feet or one foot?" Huan Zhiqu Watching the rise and fall of the hoe in the worker's hand, he almost recited poetry. He also said: "We just need to cast it. It doesn't matter how far the turbulent power reaches. I see them plowing the land, and I am indescribably happy; this small stone is thrown, and a new state of mind for our whole school is launched. !" "Please take over Yigong as the teaching and science department, and guide everything on the farm," Bingru saw that Huanzhi was so interested, and believed that his plan was correct, so he said it; at the same time, he looked at Huanzhi enthusiastically, Fully express the meaning of "please agree" without saying a word. "I'm in charge of teaching science?" Huanzhi turned his body a little childishly, a very subtle and unspeakable emotion made him blush.Miss Jin's words, "Cultivation labor is also of high value," and her chants of "New education! New life!" are deeply engraved in his memory: under the light of a warm spring night, the fresh In front of the window in the morning, these two simple but meaningful words aroused many poetic and beyond poetic reveries in him.At the same time, that graceful and well-proportioned shadow made him almost unforgettable; in meditation, he often traced her body, her face, and her demeanor, especially paying attention to the fluent movement of her black jewel-like pupils. Seductively so bright.He felt that besides education, his heart should have a place to settle down, just like a person who has a proper office must also have a comfortable rest room; and the most suitable place to settle down seems to be Miss Jin's soul .Now I heard that Bingru asked him to teach science and guide everything on the farm.It was as if the child was moved when she knew that her parents were going to buy her a toy she had always envied, because she had particularly praised it.He went on to say: "Although I have learned it before, I can still understand the homework in elementary school, but I have never studied the teaching method, and I am a complete layman. But I like to do farm work, because farming is the most expensive labor. The homework will be centered on the farm again, so I will take it on and try." "Okay," Bingru patted Huanzhi's shoulder, pleased with his straightforwardness, "It doesn't matter if you're a layman or an expert, the important thing is whether you like it or not. This is what you often say. Now, you can prove it again." Already." Because of his joy, Bingru pronounced loudly, almost as if he had drunk wine.Several hired workers stopped their hoes, opened their mouths, and looked at the two of them inexplicably.