Linxia

Chapter 222, Strange Person

After Zhiqing and Xun Zhifu left, Ge Chong and Fang Lin said, "This Yu Jiaoyu was a Jinshi in the fifth year of Hongtai. Because he ranked last and had no background, he could only wait for a vacancy. In the past few years, he waited for a job in a remote county, but he didn't want to go, so he came back and became a teacher in the prefectural school..."

Speaking of Yu Zeqing, he was a well-known figure in the prefecture, and he was also a teacher in the prefecture school, so he had a decent income and could at least live a stable and rich life. But he had a hobby, calligraphy, but because of his lack of talent, he had no achievements and could only entertain himself.

Fang Lin nodded after hearing this.

In fact, many writers can only entertain themselves, which is the norm. Becoming famous and successful is rare and not easy.

"If it's just for self-entertainment, it's a good thing, it can help you cultivate your character, but people often get blinded by the word 'fame'."

Ge Chong smiled and said, "I have seen a lot at my age. Some people write calligraphy and get praised by others, so they think they are famous. There are also people who know they are not famous, but are very satisfied with their calligraphy. If you don't like his work, they think you are blind and will scold you. There are also people like Yu Jiaoyu, who are optimistic about his work, but lack the skills, and are unwilling to work hard, and only want to use some crooked means to make a name for himself."

"At first, his desire was not big, he just wanted to ask the prefect to write a few words on the calligraphy and put a seal on it..."

"This person is indeed smart." Fang Lin nodded secretly.

For a figure like the prefect, having his work inscribed and reprinted was equivalent to official recognition, probably similar to the "government award" in previous lives. At least within a small circle, it was something that could be boasted about.

"People are always greedy. After hearing too many compliments from this person, he really thinks that he should be a famous calligrapher and his works are masterpieces. It's just that no one is cheering for him, so he suffered from the disadvantage of 'good wine needs no bush', and his works were buried. Therefore, this person approached me twice before, wanting me to help recommend and promote, but I refused both times. I didn't expect that this time he even invited Xun Zhifu to be his lobbyist..."

After all, Yu Zeqing is a Jinshi. Moreover, Prefect Xun also needs political achievements. It would also be a glory for him to have a cultural celebrity appear in his jurisdiction. So it is not difficult to understand why Prefect Xun stepped forward.

Fang Lin could understand this. It was like this in every era, and there were always such people, like Qianqian in his previous life.

"Mr. Ge was a little unexpected. He was not the kind of person who was too upright, would rather break than bend, and was not inflexible. He came up with an idea that not only maintained the bottom line, but also sent the teacher away without offending anyone."

However, this is not difficult to understand. If Ge Chongzhen was the kind of person who was too upright and would rather break than bend, after proposing such unorthodox ideas as "the teachings of Confucius and Mencius are the source of all evil", he probably would not have honestly resigned from his official position and returned to his hometown to write books, but would have gone out to give lectures and lobby everywhere. In this case, I'm afraid even his good friends would not be able to protect him.

At this time, Ge Chong said, "If I had met someone like Teacher Yu ten years ago, I would have been stern and stern and driven him away directly, but now... Alas!"

I think that the reason why he is now round on the outside and square on the inside is that he encountered many setbacks and his edges were smoothed out bit by bit. There must be a lot of stories behind this.

"Forget it, let's not talk about this. The teacher Yu and I are both laymen. Today I will introduce a strange man to Zidun. His name is 'Jinsheng'. He lives not far away."

Ge Chong took Fang Lin out and came to a place by the river.

Three small pavilions were built here by the river. Bamboos were planted on the left as a fence. On the north side facing the street, an earth wall was built to separate it from the street.

Ge Chong knocked on the door and took Fang Lin to see the 'Jin Sheng' he mentioned. This man was thin and didn't seem to have much strength. He looked dull and stupid. He just nodded when he saw the two of them. When he heard that Ge Chong brought Fang Lin to see him, he led the two of them in.

Fang Lin originally thought that this pavilion was not big from the outside structure, and in fact it was, but when he actually came in, he was stunned for a moment.

There are more than a hundred kinds of plants in all seasons, planted in different shades and densities, which are obviously carefully arranged. In spring, the main flowers are poppies, with mountain mist, jasmine, and cassia. In summer, the main flowers are Luoyang flowers and Jianlan, with hollyhocks, chrysanthemums, Wangjianghu, jasmine, Duruo, and pearl orchids. In autumn, the main flowers are chrysanthemums, with autumn yarn, okra, longevity hibiscus, begonia, and wild hibiscus as background; in winter, the main flowers are daffodils, with Changchun as background.

In addition, there are woody plants: purple and white lilac, green calyx, jade disc, winter plum, Xifu, sun dan, white pear flower, etc., which are mainly placed on the walls and corners to block the scorching sun. Jin Sheng is a man of few words, and only when talking about flowers and plants, his eyes will be particularly bright: "Fire ants can make branches and leaves wither, black crickets will make flowers and plants thin, too many earthworms will damage the roots of plants, and elephants will eat up the grass leaves... Each kind of insect has a different way of catching it. For example, to catch fire ants, you need to put food such as turtle shells next to them to attract them out; black crickets need to be wrapped with a fine hemp rope on chopsticks and pulled out; earthworms need to be caught with lime water..."

Ge Chong seemed not to want to bother him any more, so he took Fang Lin to see him and left. On the way back, he said, "Jin Sheng has a weak constitution and is often sick, but even so, he still gets up early every day, gets out of bed without washing, and lies on the stone steps with disheveled hair to catch insects. There are thousands of flowers and plants in the yard, and he has to catch insects for each one every day."

"Jinsheng knows pests like the back of his hand. Different pests require different methods... This is a delicate job. Catching hundreds of flowers and plants every day takes a lot of time and energy, but Jinsheng doesn't find it hard. He enjoys it, even if his palms are cracked by the cold in winter and he sweats profusely in the summer."

“This is someone who truly loves flowers and plants.”

Fang Lin thought that Jin Sheng got up every morning, didn't wash his face or comb his hair, and even didn't eat or drink. He lay on the ground every day, carefully catching insects for the flowers and plants. I'm afraid that in the eyes of most people, he is either a fool or a lunatic.

'Such people are indeed either stupid or foolish, but they are cute in a cute way. Perhaps only such cute people can live a truly happy life.'

He was deeply touched and admired such a person, but it was extremely difficult for him to do so.

……

When he returned in the evening, Fang Lin brought the "exploded crab" that Ge Chong had promised him.

"Daddy!" Qiuqiu shouted and rushed over.

Fang Tai and Fang Xi followed behind like little followers.

"There are delicious foods." Fang Lin distributed the fried crab to Fang's father, Fang's mother, Tian Xuan, and Qiuqiu's siblings.

Then, Qiuqiu divided the cakes between herself and her two younger brothers: "One for me, one for you, Fangtai; one for me, one for you, Fangxi; one for me, one for you, Fangtai..."

Fang Tai and Fang Xi’s eyes widened. Oh my god, this is how you divide it?

This is when you can see the difference between the two brothers.

Fang Tai looked at his own little hands and feet, silently endured it and pretended to be confused; Fang Xi was clever and tried to point out his sister's mistake and resist, but was suppressed by Qiu Qiu by pinching her waist.

Mr. Fang, Mrs. Fang, and Tian Xuan all smiled when they saw this scene.

Fang Lin also laughed, thinking of today: 'Whether it's Mr. Jiang or Mr. Qian's extravagance and fighting, or Mr. Ge's elegance, or his love of books and food; or Yu Jiao's pretentiousness and fame; or Jin Sheng's focus on one thing and his love for flowers and plants, they are all possible in the context of a stable, prosperous, free and open country.'

"It's a pity that Daxia is now as prosperous as a raging fire and blooming flowers. I don't know how long this prosperous scene can last. Well, cherish the present and take this opportunity to take a good look at the mountains and rivers of Daxia." He thought so.

……

(End of this chapter)