< >
Gao Xuan picked up his patched and patched straight tie from the creaking bamboo girdle. This was his best clothes, and he only wore them when he went to the academy to meet his teacher. 【Read the latest chapter】
Gao Xiucai was not very old. He had gained the title of scholar before he was thirty, so he was considered young and promising. But the family is really poor. Apart from a dilapidated house passed down from ancestors and some shabby household items, the family is completely bare.
He put on his clothes and dusted himself carefully. The scholar lady who was cooking outside came in. She was the daughter of a small civilian family. I was a wine seller on the street. He married his daughter because he thought it would be a good idea to marry a scholar. For this poor scholar.
"Ms. sir, there is no rice at home." The scholar lady said timidly. The price of rice in Hangzhou has increased dramatically recently. Even barley and buckwheat, which few people usually pay attention to, have also risen to one thousand yuan per stone.
Since the beginning of spring, there has been almost no rain in the entire northern Zhejiang region. When transplanting rice seedlings, we managed to rely on truck water to irrigate the fields. However, the drought continues today, and it looks like this year will be another disaster year. Families with a little wealth are all buying in in large numbers. Of course, rice merchants are also taking advantage of this trend and are the first to increase their prices.
"Just buy some barley first. Tell me, am I going to become a rice farmer?" Gao Xiucai couldn't bear to listen to this matter of making a living. He felt that he was incompetent in these matters. If the scholar's wife was willing It would be a good idea to talk to him about some of this year's wonderful works or "Xin Xue".
"There is no money in the family anymore..." The talented lady originally did not want to disturb her "husband-in-law"'s good interest, but she really had neither rice nor money.
Gao Xuan sighed, feeling confused, and finally found a bunch of fifty or sixty small coins in his sleeve to give to his wife. He hurriedly walked outside. He felt really aggrieved at home.
Gao Xuan had no livelihood: a few years ago, his family had a small income and he could make do with it. He kept studying and making friends with teachers in order to be able to enter school and pass the examination. A few years ago, his parents died one after another and he married another wife. , red and white things completely consumed the remaining little family property. Now if I continue to live like this, I will have to "beg for food" - relying on my father-in-law for support. Although Gao Xuan pretended not to know and didn't ask, he knew that most of the family's food, rice, oil and salt in recent months had come from his father-in-law.
"What's going to happen if this continues?" Gao Xuan felt heavy. He was going to Wanbi Bookshop today - he and a few friends went there a few days ago and were eye-opening to the environment and the wide variety of beautifully printed books. It is rare that the clerks in the bookstore are warm and polite to others. Not only do they not interfere when they, a group of poor scholars and poor children, read there, but they also provide tea. Gao Xuan saw a large set of "Collection of Ancient and Modern Books" among them. He read it for a long time without sleeping or eating, and did not leave until the bookstore was about to close.
The bookstore became a good place for him to spend time and escape from reality.
On the street, the sun was already very hot. There was no shade on the bare street. The dust was flying and the street was full of stench.
Gao Xuan walked in the sun and was already sweating profusely. Looking at the wealthy gentry people passing by in bamboo silk palanquins, he felt envious and resentful at the same time.
"This guy is greedy and greedy!" He cursed secretly. But I was very envious in my heart.
He walked for almost three quarters of an hour before reaching Wanbi Bookstore. The street in front of the bookstore was already filled with sedan chairs, and there were many servants standing there. Many of the people who came to the bookstore were wealthy gentry families. Gao Xuan carefully avoided these people and took a detour from the wall to the gate.
The room is cool and comfortable, and the air is filled with a rich fragrance of books, as well as a faint fragrance of flowers and tea. Gao Xuan was refreshed and walked towards it.
The bookstore has a large area. As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together, there are several halls in the bookstore. The one Gao Xuan went to was "Wenxi Hall" - the name sounded festive, and it also gave some psychological comfort to the poor scholars who were suffering. Most of the people reading and chatting here are scholars from poor and small families. They are all poor children and talented scholars.
Thanks to the large glass windows, there is plenty of light in the hall. The sun is shining brightly outside, but the awnings installed above the windows prevent the sun from shining directly into the room, and the temperature is just right. In addition, there is a small courtyard outside the window, which is full of green and feels gloomy.
The decoration and furniture of "Wenxitang" are mainly simple and practical, with only rattan benches and long wooden tables. Scholars and scholars who arrived earlier than Gao Xuan were sitting or pacing. They all looked at it with great interest. When they saw the wonderful things, some of them shook their heads and started chanting. Others spread out paper and ink on the long table and copied the contents of the book with a brush. Some people don't know if they went to bed too late, so they just lie on the desk and fall asleep.
A little further away from these tables and chairs, there are clear partitions, inside which are some scholars talking eloquently. Gao Xuan heard that they seemed to be talking about "Xinxue".
Gao Xuan greeted a few familiar people, walked directly to the wooden counter in the corner of the room, and took out a card. This is a library card from Wanbi Bookstore. Because Gao Xuan couldn't afford the one-tael deposit, he applied for a Category B certificate, which he could only go to the bookstore without taking back. The clerk standing behind the wooden counter picked up his card and opened a large "account book" - - This is a register that indicates the cardholder's name, address, borrowing time and types of books that have been borrowed. There is also a column for "introducer". The purpose of registering introducers is to roughly grasp the close relationship between these people.
The clerk checked the account book and quickly found the book he borrowed last time. Without him having to say anything, he sent him the second volume of "Collection of Ancient and Modern Books".
Gao Xuan found a seat and took out a bamboo cup from his pocket, with the words "A gift from Wanbi Bookstore" carved on it by a machine. Each person who applies for a certificate can get one. At the same time, according to the regulations of the bookstore, those who bring their own teacups can drink tea here for free. Of course the tea is not very good, but it is the best new tea of the year, not the "tea" sold in cheap tea shops outside.
The waiter came over with a large teapot with a tin spout, filled Gao Xuan's tea cup with tea, and then went to add water to the others with a few polite words.
While Gao Xuan was studying without sleep or food, Taoist Zhang had already come to visit Zhao Yingong's mansion.
"Right now, the church entrance in Tianshuiqiao is bustling with activity." Zhang Daozhang smiled, picked up a cherry and put it into his mouth.
Zhang Dai sent his family to deliver the cherries early in the morning. About three to five kilograms of cherries were wrapped in lotus leaves and put in an exquisite bamboo basket covered with leaves. The two family members solemnly delivered them to Zhao Yingong's house. I also had to develop several hundred literary rewards.
The cherries are placed in a large glass jar, bright and juicy. It looks very appetizing.
Zhao Yingong didn't say anything. He was carefully blowing the nèn leaves of Mingqian Longjing floating on the tea cup - this was given to him by another gentry in Hangzhou a few days ago - he had a tea garden near Longjing. In terms of this kind of enjoyment, Daming is a place that is rarely better than the old time and space.
The Hangzhou lesson plan finally broke out under the Taoist priest's unremitting efforts. A few days ago, Zhang and Huang Zhen had gone to the gate of the Catholic church to submit "The First Theory of Distinguishing Heaven". At the same time, they hired many idle people to post the full text in temples and temples in Hangzhou, demanding a positive answer from the Hangzhou church.
"You see, in a few days, this fire will burn even more fiercely." Zhang Yingchen said with a smile, "Those big guys from the church may want to ask you for advice."
Zhao Yingong shook his head: "How is this possible? I am just a scholar who lives in the local area."
"You underestimate yourself too much." Zhang Yingchen said with a smile, "Wanbi Bookstore is now also a famous cultural salon in Hangzhou. I heard that even the county magistrate of Renhe County in Qiantang is yearning for you..."
"No, it makes my skin crawl..."
Zhang Yingchen said: "It is absolutely true. Your strategy of borrowing books from Perfect Bookstore for free has gained yourself a lot of reputation."
Zhao Yingong thought that his action was originally to "raise his reputation". Otherwise, how could a foreigner like himself become famous in Hangzhou? These days, without any reputation, without the protection of the government and the gentry, it is difficult to do anything. Not to mention his next step in taking in refugees.
"Let's not mention this matter. The Hangzhou teaching plan has been prepared for you in advance. What are you going to do next?"
"Of course it's a hot topic!" Zhang Yingchen said decisively, "I have handed over the Fujian version of "Bian Xue Yi Shou" to Zhang. With his ability, of course he can find out the problems in it. Writing "Zhengwang Shuo" is just a matter of course. Something that takes little effort.”
"I still have a back-up here." Zhang Yingchen said and took out a page of paper from his arms, and Zhao Yingong took it. The article on the paper was written in classical Chinese. Judging from the content, it was obviously an attack on the church based on the text of the Bible. . Zhao Yingong felt that the examples and words in it were very familiar. Halfway through, he suddenly remembered that this was not the famous anti-religious essay written by Bo Yang!
Zhao Yingong was a little worried: "Taoist Priest! There is nothing else like "Zhengwang Shuo". In the final analysis, it is still a theological and philosophical discussion. This Bo Yang's essay is much more lethal. If he runs out, it will be too big for everyone in the church. , Don’t destroy the church with your actions, we are still pointing out others to help.”
"It's okay. Unless the church is overwhelmed, how can they see your kindness in helping?"
"The problem is that I can't help." Zhao Yingong knew very well that the trick Bo Yang used back then was to use his spear to attack his shield. I want to refute this article. Firstly, I don’t have such profound theological cultivation, and secondly, I don’t have Bo Yang’s essay writing skills. Zhao Yingong suddenly remembered: There is no Chinese version of the Old and New Testaments in this time and space. The Jesuits know that the only Chinese version is Australian. This article will definitely arouse the Jesuits' vigilance. ! .
< >, reading is a kind of enjoyment, it is recommended that you collect it.
