Volume 5: Fellow Traveler Chapter 771: Foil
When Zhang Shou came back with a large group of people, most of the guests in Ge's house had left, leaving only Chen Xianzhang. It was not that Mr. Baisha didn't want to leave, but his students hadn't come back yet, so he could only chat with Ge Yong. Fortunately, Ge Yong was knowledgeable and humorous, so he cherished such exchanges, but when the group came back, he didn't think so anymore.
How come so many people came back together? What happened?
As soon as Chen Xianzhang began to wonder, Liang Chu rushed over. After paying his respects to Ge Yong, he stood beside his teacher and spoke at full speed, recounting the whole story in one breath. Of course, he described the details of what he had seen, and even the parts he had not seen... he supplemented them based on the information he had obtained before.
As a result, Zhang Shou found that he had saved himself the trouble again, so he simply stood beside Ge Yong without explaining anything. Zhu Er, who was originally preparing to say a lot, could not help but scratch his head in annoyance.
Because everything he could say had been said by others, and the was unspeakable - otherwise, would he tell Ge Yong that it was all planned after he received Ah Liu's call, but in the end the person he hired to act out the drama had not even appeared on the stage, and the role of the villain had already been taken away by someone else? If he dared to say this, even without his father and brother, this Grandpa Ge would beat him to death!
Don't think that Grandpa Ge is old and weak. It is said that he was both civil and military when he was young. He would not change his expression when he met an assassin on the road. Now it seems that he needs someone to support him when walking, but once he gets angry, his true face may be revealed.
So Zhu Er smiled and said, "Grandpa Ge, I was indeed angry at the time, so I acted impulsively. I admit my mistake, but since I brought these two seniors here, please forgive me this time!"
Ge Yong glanced at Jin Wanquan and Guo Sheng, who were a little hesitant when they just greeted each other, and did not even look at Zhu Er, but said to them with a pleasant face: "I have also heard of the agricultural books you two wrote. Although it is not something I am good at, agriculture is the foundation of the country. Emperor Taizu also said that before the problem of food and clothing can be solved, everything else is empty talk. So, you two are amazing."
The word "remarkable" naturally carries a different weight when it comes from the mouth of Grand Tutor Ge.
Even though Jin Wanquan and Guo Sheng had heard before that the old master had always been humorous and approachable, they still believed that seeing is believing. At this moment, they could not help but be greatly impressed. They quickly humbled themselves and said they dared not.
Ge Yong waved his hand indifferently, but smiled at Chen Xianzhang and said, "When I visited Wu Kangzhai in the past, he was personally leading his students to farm. He really practiced what he preached and never stopped farming. So, I admire him very much. He said he would not take the imperial examination, and he would not take the imperial examination. He said he would not take the official position, and he really carried out the word "education" to the end. This is a great Confucian, a pure Confucian."
"Shi Zhai, you have inherited Wu Kangzhai's legacy. You are clear-minded and upright. You may even be able to create a school of thought in the future. Now you have students. Although Shu Hou's character is a little eccentric, his eagerness to help others is not a bad thing. But Shu Hou needs to be more stable in the future. After all, the court is full of stable people, and they can't stand anyone who is different from others."
"And Jin and Guo, although you failed several times in the imperial examinations, you can still say that you have lived up to your life by writing these two agricultural books. However, agricultural books are written for farmers, but most farmers are illiterate. Remember to write them in a simpler way. Otherwise, it will be like a piece of music that is too high to be understood by the masses. If the farmers do not understand your book, won't the book be lost over time?"
"You should know that most scholars in the world are like the young scholar who humiliated you before. They value classics and history, poetry, but ignore practical work. I don't think many people would promote your agricultural books, so someone just treated your hard work as a joke."
"Although farmland production has gradually increased since ancient times, after thousands of years, this progress is really insignificant. Why? Isn't it because there are many scholars who study academic subjects, but too few scholars who devote themselves to practical work?"
"So, of all the students I have, why do I admire Jiuzhang the most? It's not because he's young, and certainly not because he's handsome, but because... at such a young age, he knows the importance of education, knows that agriculture is the foundation of a country, and knows that if there is high-yield food, the people can have enough food and clothing, and the world can be peaceful."
After saying so much in one breath, Ge Yong said unhappily without waiting for Zhang Shou to interrupt, "Jiu Zhang, you don't need to be so falsely modest. You are indeed a troublemaker, but at least the things you do are interesting. Apart from anything else, Zhu Jia Erlang was an extra bastard back then, but now he actually knows how to farm. This is finally a good sign!"
The long speech of Grand Tutor Ge drew everyone in, and no one knew what to say for a moment. After a long while, Chen Xianzhang finally spoke: "My teacher, Mr. Kang Zhai, once said that Grand Tutor Ge was humble despite his high position. Today, I have truly witnessed it. My teacher is indifferent to fame and wealth, and often makes harsh comments on officials, but he respects Grand Tutor Ge very much."
"What admiration? He is truly indifferent, but I can't escape this circle of fame and fortune. I am too old to take care of things, so I can only mess around. At most, I can only support the young people."
Ge Yong's smile deepened, but he nodded to Hua Hui and the witnesses as if nothing had happened and said, "Thanks to all of you for being so public-spirited today, we have indirectly helped Jin and Guo get justice."
It was the first time for Hua Huishu and several so-called witnesses to see a person of Ge Yong's level. Even Hua Huishu, who was used to seeing officials, was still a little nervous, let alone others.
But from the time they came in until now, they have only seen Ge Yong talking and laughing, and his attitude and tone of voice in dealing with people are so warm and welcoming, so the fear naturally turned into admiration.
At this moment, several people naturally rushed to express that it was as they wished, but they did not dare to express the flattery they had prepared in their hearts, as they felt that saying it out loud would be an insult to the imperial teacher of the dynasty.
However, Ge Yong actually asked their names and the industries they worked in one by one, which made everyone feel very happy. After all, the memory of Grand Tutor Ge was well-known throughout the world.
So, after everyone had been asked, Ge Yong asked about the recent situation of scholars, farmers, merchants and businessmen in Suzhou in recent years. After everyone rushed to answer one by one, they quickly left in a tactful manner, even Hua Huishou was no exception. After all, they didn't think they and Old Master Ge would have any common topics, and it would be meaningless to wait for others to order them to leave.
After chatting for a while, Jin Wanquan and Guo Sheng left next. Although it was a blessing to have a relationship with the famous imperial teacher, they were not young boys after all, and they would not really think of themselves as the top figures just because they were invited by Zhang Shou. However, when Ge Yong sent a name card, they were still a little flattered.
However, when Zhu Er said with a smile that he was going to see them off, the two old men, whose combined age was over 100 years old, were still a little confused. When did people who could write agricultural books really become popular?
Isn't this really too strange? Or is it possible that the second son of the Duke of Zhao's mansion really doesn't like beauty and Zhu Gong likes farming?
The next person to leave was Chen Xianzhang. Seeing Liang Chu's eyes rolling around and staring at Zhu Er who was seeing him off, Mr. Baisha from Guangdong was afraid that this disciple would say something else and cause trouble, so of course the best strategy was to run away. After all, if he hadn't been waiting for this overly lively young man, he would have left with the other guests long ago.
All the guests he had invited today had left, and the uninvited guests had also left. Ge Yong saw that Zhu Er had not returned from seeing the guests off, and there was only Zhang Shou in front of him. He immediately smiled and then shouted unhappily, "Yingying, why don't you come out?"
Seeing Zhang Shou's face full of surprise, the old man slapped the armrest and glared at the closed disciple who had just tried his best to defend him in front of others.
"You are still pretending! Do you dare to say that you didn't discuss this with your wife long ago? As soon as you left with that kid Liang, Yingying came to visit and asked the servant to send me a message saying that a younger acquaintance of mine was invited to tidy up my garden..."
Zhang Shou then realized that the reason he didn't meet Zhu Ying at Zhu Er's place was that someone had already come directly to Ge's house to kill him. He was just feeling amused and helpless when Ge Yong started to curse.
"It's winter now, the flowers and trees in my garden are all withered, there's no point in tidying up the garden! Even if you have a unique vision in this, this house was given by the late emperor before his death, how dare you change it casually?"
Zhu Ying, who came out in response, heard Ge Yong's vulgar words, but she didn't care. She stuck out her tongue and said angrily, "It's your fault that these guys you invited are not worthy of their reputation. I quietly went around to the back and watched and listened. What they said was so boring. Only Chen Baisha obviously didn't ask for anything, but what he said was often insightful. The others are really boring."
"Do you think everyone is like you? You were born with two parents, the best in the world. You never had to worry about food or clothing since you were a child, and when you were ready to get married, you had Jiuzhang, a one-of-a-kind person in the world, to match you. With your luck, how can you compare to those guys who worked so hard to study?"
"You were born much better than others! And you still think others are boring? Have you ever smiled at anyone in your life?"
Seeing that Zhu Ying finally kept silent this time, and Zhang Shou looked even more innocent, although Ge Yong wanted to lecture them again, but thinking that the young couple did not show their displeasure to those so-called wise men in public, he snorted and stopped talking.
"These guys are all old hands. Fortunately, Jiuzhang is better at pretending than Yingying. Otherwise, they would flatter their closed disciple in front of me and then make up a lot of bad things behind my back. Do you two believe it?"
"Of course I believe it!" Zhu Ying nodded quickly, then glanced at Zhang Shou and said with a smile: "Of course I know that Ah Shou is more patient than me, otherwise how could he be so comfortable? Of course, it is also thanks to you, Grandpa Ge."
Seeing the little girl rushing behind him like she did in the past, massaging his shoulders, even though Ge Yong had a thousand instructions, he could only hum like a spoiled child. Zhang Shou couldn't help but flatter the teacher a few times, so Ge Yong finally felt relieved.
"Among the ten so-called wise men, five are chasing fame and fortune. Among the remaining five, three are pretending to be indifferent but are actually speculating. One does not have the ability to be an official, but the remaining one is very likely a true Confucian scholar. But such people are not easy to invite. For example, this time, if Chen Baisha had not been recommended to the capital, he would not have come at all."
"Why do you think I invited all these people? They were all invited for him!"
Zhang Shou suddenly understood something: "So the teacher invited the others to serve as foils!"
"That's right, it's to be a foil... Wait, what the hell is a foil!" Ge Yong felt his breath stuck in his throat, and couldn't help staring at Zhang Shou and cursing, "What does this foil mean? Are you going to tell me what allusion it comes from?"
Seeing Zhu Ying smiling at Ge Yong and waiting for him to finish scolding her before helping him calm down, Zhang Shou saw her eyes that could speak glanced at him, so he said calmly: "Teacher, this supporting character comes from a foreign story. For the time being, we will call the city where the story takes place Paris."
"In Paris, everything can be sold: stupid girls and smart girls, lies and truths, tears and smiles..."
Zhang Shou had read a lot of foreign novels, long and short, and Zola's "The Foil" didn't have any sophisticated plots. What attracted him at first was the illustrations that weren't really that beautiful and the creativity of the man who sold the ugliness. At this moment, he told this ironic story, and after he finished, he saw Ge Yong's face darken even more.
"You are mocking me for being unkind, right? Do you think I am using the clownish faces of some guys to highlight the nobleness and magnanimity of Chen Baisha?"
When telling this story, Zhang Shou knew that Ge Yong would definitely scold him. Now that the expected thing happened, he smiled and said, "Teacher, how could I satirize you? The person who wrote this story naturally wanted to satirize the materialistic city where everything can be measured by money, but the meaning of my use of this word is..."
"Those who don't know their own limits but think highly of themselves think that they are the charming noble lady, and those low-key and inconspicuous guys are just ugly foils. In fact, the real situation is the other way around. For example, today, those old masters showed me and me that they were inappropriate, but Chen Baisha and his students showed us their original intentions and ambitions."
"It's not about being poor and taking care of yourself, or being rich and helping the world. It's about educating people when you retreat, and doing your best when you advance. Mr. Baisha was recommended by someone, right? But did he have unrealistic hopes that he could easily become an official? No. But what about those old masters today? They still remember the suppression in the past and hope that their own schools will rise to prosper."
"Teacher, don't you think that there are too many people who have agreed to give lectures at the public school? But the candidates who listen to the lectures are always discerning. When the time comes, some people will find that they have become the foils of others. Do you think they will turn around and hate you as the initiator?"
