Linxia

Chapter 223, the wind rises

Fang Lin and his family were on their way to the capital, so time was not tight. They decided to visit some sightseeing along the way and would not miss Xuzhou Prefecture. They left their luggage at the collapsed house and went to find Ya's family for arrangements.

——The so-called 'collapsed house' is not a collapsed house, but a place for storing things. It was also called a relay house in the past. Now it has developed into a professional storage place. It can not only store valuables, but also merchants' goods and carriages. Most of them are built in the middle of the water to avoid fire.

Because they had found a dental hygienist, there were sedan chairs for welcoming and seeing off. The sedan chairs were usually carried by four to eight people, which was commonly known as the "eight-man sedan chair", and was extremely magnificent.

In the early years of Daxia, the number of people, color, and material of sedan chairs for different types of people were all customized. For example, the sedan chair that the emperor rode in was called a "Yu Jiao" and was carried by sixteen people; officials of the third rank and above were allowed to ride in sedan chairs carried by four people in Beijing and eight people outside Beijing; governors and governors-general were allowed to ride in sedan chairs carried by eight people, and all other officials were allowed to ride in sedan chairs carried by four people; the common people rode in sedan chairs carried by two people.

Today, these regulations exist in name only, as Daxia has become increasingly open and free.

Not only the sedan chair, but also everything from transportation to food, from going to Dadong Mountain and other scenic spots, from going up the mountain to going down the mountain, all matters were arranged by the Ya family, and there was no trouble or unpleasantness.

This reminded me of the plaque "Make You Feel at Home" hanging in the dentist's shop. In fact, they did just that.

Fang Lin and his family enjoyed themselves in Xuzhou Prefecture for half a month before they decided to leave. The remaining journey to the capital was not easy to take by water, so they decided to take the land route. The broker also helped them contact and hire a rickshaw.

It is worth mentioning that during the time in Xuzhou Prefecture, Fang Lin often went to Ge Chong for exchanges. There was already a hint of the philosophy of mind in the other party's thoughts. When Fang Lin took out Mr. Yangming's Dacheng version of the philosophy of mind to communicate with him, Ge Chong was simply astonished. Unfortunately, even so, he failed to abduct this man.

Yes, as a Jinshi, Ge Chong was not short of money. He was well-known in the village for his writings. His own courtyard contained tens of thousands of books. Besides reading, he cooked delicious food by himself. He must have been very free and happy, like a god. How could he be fooled by Fang Lin?
However, Fang Lin was not disappointed. Although he failed to kidnap her this time, he at least left a seed in her heart. If there was a turmoil in Da Xia in the future, there would still be a great chance.

……

Fang Lin and his party, as they had a lot of people including guards, maids, doctors, etc., hired eight carriages and continued on their journey.

It rained lightly that day.

In the carriage, as the car swayed, the sound of rain drops could be heard outside the carport, and the crisp sound of the bell hanging on the car could be heard in the rain.

Fang Lin felt it was okay and quite artistic. Unfortunately, Qiuqiu and her two siblings couldn't stand it and couldn't run around under the car like they did on a sunny day. They were quite bored and just jumped back and forth in front of the car and between the carriages.

"The coachman uncle is drinking!" Qiuqiu came over and said loudly.

The driver outside the carriage shed heard this and suddenly stretched out his hand: "Sir, would you like some wine?"

"Okay!" Fang Lin was not afraid of anything since he had brought so many people with him. He took the wine bag and took a sip. He felt that the wine was quite strong. It was not the wine from the south. It had some flavor of strong liquor. He asked, "What kind of wine is this?"

"It's called donkey-riding wine!" The driver seemed quite proud and laughed, "It's refreshing."

Fang Lin understood what he said. This Taiping carriage was quite slow, and the driver was inevitably bored and dozed off. Drinking some strong liquor to refresh himself was a good idea. He praised, "Good wine!"

He looked at Qiuqiu, who was curious and wide-eyed, eager to try, and dipped a little bit for her to taste. It was so spicy that the little girl's face wrinkled like a chrysanthemum.

The whole family smiled when they saw this.

Amidst the laughter, Fang Lin chatted with the driver, talking about each other's experience of driving a coach, and sometimes told a story at the request of Qiuqiu and her two siblings. They moved forward in this light-hearted atmosphere.

……

In the evening, we arrived at Jining Prefecture in Lu and passed by a village.

"It's getting late, and the wind and rain are going to be dark. Let's rest in this village tonight!" Fang Lin ordered.

At the entrance of the village, there is a Baihao Temple. When you get closer, there seems to be something shadowy inside.

Meng Jiang drew his sword and stepped forward, quietly approaching, which actually scared the other party.

It turned out to be a false alarm. There was just a person standing in front of the eternal lamp of the statue, and the wind and rain blew the lamp, causing the dim shadows.

The man's surname was Zhang, his given name was Zhang Ruian, and his courtesy name was Changgong. He was born in an ordinary family, but he was a scholar. His family was very poor, so poor that they couldn't even afford to light a lamp. However, he was very studious and studied and practiced calligraphy day and night. When there was no light at home at night, he would run here and read by the long-burning lamp in front of the statue.

Zhang Ruian had obviously heard of Fang Lin, and he was extremely reserved when facing such a famous person, especially a fourth-rank official.

Fang Lin looked at the words written by the other party on the ground and was slightly surprised. Compared with that teacher Yu, this person's handwriting was much better. He couldn't help but exclaimed: "Good handwriting!"

"Your Excellency, you are too kind! Too kind!" Zhang Ruian bowed in fear.

His family was poor and he had no access to a famous teacher, so he learned calligraphy entirely by himself through hard practice.

Most people memorize books by holding the book in their hands and studying hard, and memorizing them by rote. However, Zhang Ruian has his own method. He just copies it down. After copying it several times, it is imprinted in his mind and he knows it by heart. Not only does he memorize the book, but he also takes into account calligraphy, killing two birds with one stone.

After listening to the man's method of practicing calligraphy and seeing the large calluses on his hands from years of holding the pen, Fang Lin realized that this method is easy to say but few people can stick to it for a long time.

He sighed, "Nothing is difficult in this world if one is determined. If a person concentrates on one thing for more than ten years, even if he cannot become famous or build a family, he can still make some achievements."

Zhang Ruian was overwhelmed by such praise and could only say, "My family is poor, I just want to achieve fame and support my family."

In this situation, Fang Lin didn't say much. He told the other party that he was here for a trip and wanted to stay overnight. Zhang Ruian took the initiative to lead him to find Muramasa.

Zhang Ruian took Fang Lin and knocked on Muramasa's door.

Fang Lin bowed and said, "Muramasa, please. We are travelers who are traveling. Due to the wind and rain, it is inconvenient to continue. I hope it will be convenient for us to find a place to stay for one night and set off early tomorrow. I will pay the fee according to the rules."

Nowadays, many people travel around Daxia. Except in the city, it is difficult to find inns in ordinary towns and villages. B&Bs are popular. Some farmers even have a fixed price. As long as you pay the money according to the regulations, you can usually find a place to stay temporarily.

After hearing this, Muramasa learned from Zhang Ruian that Fang Lin was a fourth-rank official. He naturally agreed and borrowed the Baihao Temple at the entrance of the village. He also found some families with vacant rooms in the village. These families did not dare to ask for money, but Fang Lin insisted on giving it to them.

Fang Lin's family chose a house at the entrance of the village. The other family vacated two rooms for them. It was a little crowded, but when you are away from home on such a rainy day, it is rare to find a place to shelter from the rain.

Because it was an unfamiliar place and the wind was howling outside, it was difficult to fall asleep. Fang Lin got up in the middle of the night and saw Zhang Ruian leaving the nunnery and returning home in the wind and rain. He had been practicing calligraphy until so late.

……

The next morning, the rain stopped, but there was still a mist in the air. Fang Lin took Qiuqiu, who was clinging to him, out for a walk in the village.

As I passed by a place, I suddenly heard a familiar voice: "Help! Someone come quickly! Help!"

The strange thing is that although he was shouting for help, the voice was not very loud. It seemed that he was afraid of scaring people, so he shouted quite gently.

Fang Lin followed the voice and went to see that it was Zhang Ruian whom he had met last night. At this moment, he was stuck in a pile of mud like a tree stump, grabbing handfuls of mud with both hands and throwing them out, looking very embarrassed.

Fang Lin called for help, used a hoe to dig up the mud, and rescued the other person.

Zhang Ruian said: "This morning, I came to the back room to sweep leaves. There was a ridge next to me. I saw a layer of red and green leaves on the ridge. I thought they would fall to the roof sooner or later, so I just picked them off and swept them away together. Who knew that while I was sweeping, the ridge suddenly sank and slid over, burying me in a pile of mud. I straightened my back but couldn't move..."

A villager asked him, "Mr. Zhang, my house is right next door, and I was in the yard too, so why didn't I hear you calling for help?"

"I couldn't bear to shout loudly, for fear of scaring my mother." Zhang Ruian scratched his head.

The villagers laughed at him for being stupid.

Fang Lin looked at the ridge and shook his head slightly: "You are lucky, my Lord. If the ridge were to slide again, you would be buried alive."

"Uncle, the hill is about to collapse, why don't you run away?" Qiuqiu asked, rolling her big eyes.

"I didn't know it was going to cross, and when I found out, it was already in the mud."

Zhang Ruian invited Fang Lin and his party, as well as the villagers who came to help, to his home for dinner. The villagers knew the Zhang family's situation and left, saying that they had already prepared their own meals. Fang Lin politely declined, but when they knew that Fang Lin and his party were traveling and had nowhere to eat, they insisted on dragging him over.

Hard to refuse such a kind invitation, Fang Lin had no choice but to take Qiuqiu with him.

Because he had just come out of the mud, Zhang Ruian's clothes below the waist were covered with a thick layer of mud. He walked and jumped, trying to shake off the mud, looking very funny.

Qiuqiu thought it was fun and wanted to learn it, but Fang Lin stopped him.

……

Zhang family.

Fang Lin brought Qiuqiu over and entered Zhang's house. They were a little stunned for a moment, because the house was really almost bare, with nothing but some old tables and chairs.

This is normal. On the way here, I learned that Zhang Ruian's father died early. His mother worked in weaving and he taught in a private school, which was the family's source of income. However, studying was quite expensive, and the family was very poor.

Zhang's mother, Zhang Fan, had difficulty walking and was a little hard of hearing, so she didn't hear anything at first. It was only when Zhang Ruian came back and told her about it herself that she found out.

He knew that the neighbors would gossip about it and that he couldn't hide the matter, so he might as well just downplay it first.

But Zhang Fan was not stupid. When she saw the mud on her son's body, she knew that this matter was not as easy as it sounded. She blamed her son for being ignorant and not knowing how to call for advice loudly. She also wanted to thank Fang Lin and was about to kneel down, but was stopped by Fang Lin.

"Mom, it's all over. I'm fine, right? By the way, let's eat!" Zhang Ruian said, and went into the kitchen to serve the meal.

"My son!" Zhang Fan shouted, but she was unable to stop him.

Zhang Ruian went in, but was stunned when he saw two meals on the stove. One was a bowl of noodle soup and two steamed buns, and the other was a bowl of thin oatmeal porridge made with water.

"Mother, you always brought this portion to my room so that I could concentrate on my studies. I didn't know that you only ate this to fill your stomach."

As he spoke, tears welled up in his eyes: "I hope God will open his eyes and let me succeed soon, so that my mother can enjoy happiness soon!"

Fang Lin pulled Qiuqiu along and followed over. Looking at this scene, he suddenly had a strong premonition in his heart: this boy will become successful sooner or later.

At Zhang Ruian's insistence, and with more guests arriving, Zhang Fanshi "luxuriantly" made some more noodle soup.

The noodle soup was a bit choking because the flour was ground coarsely. Such food was nothing in the Fang family today. It could be called cheap food. The servants in the mansion ate better food. But in the Zhang family, it was already a precious good thing in the family.

"My family is poor and the food is simple. I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, sir." Zhang Ruian said ashamedly.

"It's okay. I also came from a poor time. The food I ate on the road of escape was not better than this." Fang Lin said, drinking the noodle soup with a normal expression.

The Fang family's conditions are much better now than before. He won't endure hardship without any effort, but he also won't be unable to endure hardship.

Qiuqiu was sitting next to them, stirring the food non-stop and hardly eating.

She had never eaten such a "bad meal" since she was born. Even when she went out recently, she had eaten much better food than this. However, after seeing what happened just now, the little girl thought for herself. She looked at the mother and son of the Zhang family who were drinking very happily and were afraid of spilling any, and then looked at her father who was eating the same thing. She also took a sip and swallowed it bit by bit.

Although he ate slowly, he still finished everything in the end.

……

After dinner, left Zhang's house.

"Qiuqiu, you did a good job just now." Fang Lin said, "My family lives a good life, but most people in the world are like your Uncle Zhang's family."

Qiuqiu was walking unsteadily, stepping on the grass by the roadside. She didn't pay attention to what her father said. After hearing what he said, she touched her belly and asked, "Dad, can I have some snacks when I go back later?"

"Haha, of course."

Fang Lin took his daughter and went back in the early morning light.

In the morning, before leaving, Fang Lin went to Zhang's house and handed over a hundred taels of silver: "Sir, I know you are a proud person. This hundred taels of silver is not a gift, but a loan... Why are you hesitating? Do you think you won't be able to pay it back in the future?"

"Sir, this..." Zhang Ruian could sense Fang Lin's provocation and was confident that he could pay it back in the future, but he was still afraid of what might happen and did not dare to accept it.

"This money is not for you. Think about your mother. Don't wait for you to become successful. Your mother's health has been ruined. The most regrettable thing in the world is that your parents are no longer around when you want to take care of them!" Fang Lin thought of his previous life, his tone was emotional, and he patted the other person on the shoulder.

Hearing this, Zhang Ruian gritted his teeth and accepted it: "I will never forget your kindness today, and I will definitely repay you in the future!"

"Hahaha, okay, I'll wait then."

Fang Lin clapped his hands and laughed, then he looked at the other person deeply and left: "Today I am able to see the wind rising from the tip of the green duckweed, how happy! How happy!"

Behind him, Zhang Ruian looked at Fang Lin's back and bowed deeply.

……

(End of this chapter)