The old man finally arranged for Bai Gu to sleep in the room next to him that was usually used as a firewood shed.
Although the room was a bit shabby, it could still be tidied up, and Bai Gu was not picky.
Especially when the old man came in carrying an old quilt, Bai Gu's eyes widened.
Although this quilt is a bit old, it is a quilt! With this thickness, the quilt at Bai Gu's house is simply a piece of thicker paper in comparison!
Bai Gu took the quilt in a daze and kept stroking it uncontrollably, as if he was stroking a rare treasure.
In all his life, Bai Gu has never seen such a thick quilt, not even in the garbage dumps in the city.
The quilts in rich people's homes are nothing more than that, right?
Bai Gu suddenly came back to his senses and remembered something very important: "Master Xu, you... gave me the quilt, what will you do tonight?"
The old man just smiled faintly. He knew what Bai Gu was worried about: "I stopped covering you with the quilt you have a few years ago. I have a new one over there."
besides? !
Bai Gu was shocked, why is this old man so rich? He lights a kerosene lamp, has such a big house and a yard, and even has more than one such thick quilt. Isn't he just an old man who sweeps snow? So much money?
Hey, are there still a shortage of snow plowers on this mountain? Consider me!
The old man looked at Bai Gu's eyes almost popping out of his head, and felt inexplicably proud.
"If you need anything, call me next door. I'll go to bed first." Putting his hands in his hands, the old man turned around and left.
Bai Gu nodded.
Ha, even if something happens, Bai Gu doesn't dare to trouble the old man anymore. After all, someone has already lent me such a thick quilt, so it would be unethical to disturb someone else's sleep.
Bai Gu tidied himself up and went to bed.
This sleep was the most comfortable sleep Bai Gu had ever had in his life.
Even though there was only a broken straw mat under him, Bai Gu still slept extremely soundly, and he even woke up with sweat on his back!
The quilt was too thick, even on a cold and snowy day, it made Bai Guy sleep sweaty.
Bai Gu sat up, his eyes a little blurry, staring blankly at the quilt covering him, not knowing what he was thinking.
Or, I'm in a daze, and I'm waking up.
Not long after, Bai Gu got up. After getting dressed, he folded the quilt and placed it on the bedside.
Even though it doesn’t stack up well.
But at least the quilt belongs to the old man and to someone else, so we should pay more attention to it.
This is in other people's homes, not your own, so you can't be too presumptuous.
This is grandma’s teaching and should not be forgotten.
Bai Gu packed up his things, walked out of the room, and bumped into the old man.
The old man was holding a pot in his hand, and a little bit of white steam kept coming out from the cracks in the pot lid. A fragrant aroma came out and hit Bai Gu's stomach directly.
Bai Gu was immediately hungry.
The old man glanced at Bai Gu and saw the rag bag that Bai Gu was carrying on his back, but he calmly carried the pot to a pavilion in the yard, turned around and greeted Bai Gu: "Eat some?"
Just getting up from the warm bed, there was nothing in his stomach. When the cold wind blew, Bai Gu felt cold and hungry. Now that there was another pot of delicious food in front of him, Bai Gu simply couldn't walk.
At that moment, Bai Gu nodded and walked over.
The old man scooped up a bowl for Bai Gu with a smile and handed it over.
Bai Gu took the bowl and took a look, good guy, is the food so good so early in the morning?
A large bowl of porridge, with seven or eight large pieces of meat floating on it, and only one or two pieces of chopped mushrooms among the vegetables, poking their heads out pitifully. There are also some bits and pieces...pepper? It should be used to warm the stomach and add flavor.
Most importantly, there is meat!
Bai Gu doesn't eat this often. Who can afford it? Exorbitantly expensive!
Bai Gu was not polite, picked up his chopsticks and started to pull the porridge in the bowl.
The old man even invited me to eat. If I were more cautious, I would be betraying the old man's good intentions, wouldn't I?
As a human being, you should not be too shameless sometimes, otherwise you will easily get hungry.
If you want face or life, you have to choose one, right? The reality is not so kind and allows you to want it all.
The old man glanced at Bai Gu, didn't say anything, scooped out a bowl of porridge for himself, sat across from Bai Gu and started eating. There was just an indescribable smile in his eyes.
Bai Gu ate very quickly. He had already finished the whole bowl before the porridge in the old man's bowl had fallen much.
"Eat as much as you like and scoop it yourself." The old man asked Bai Gu to do it himself.
Bai Gu scooped up another bowl and started eating.
"What happened up the mountain?" The old man vaguely remembered that Mrs. Bai seemed to live in Lingding Lane, right? Although it's not far, the old man doesn't believe it's okay to go up the mountain in this weather.
Bai Gu paused while eating, then put down his bowls and chopsticks, and told the old man everything about A Yue's illness and his visit to Mr. Wu.
"That's right." The old man nodded, then pointed at Bai Gu's bowl, "You continue."
Bai Gu started to devour it again.
"Mr. Wu? Is he the doctor Wu from Yunshui City?"
"Yes, do you know Mr. Xu?"
"Dr. Wu is quite famous. I've heard about it." The old man took a mouthful of porridge and said, "Do you know how to pick ginseng?"
"I used to help some medicine shops collect medicinal materials and learned a little bit."
"How are you finding it now? Are you still there?"
"Mr. Wu said it was probably under a big rock, under a big tree, or in a cave. I have been up the mountain for a few days, and I only started to see big trees last night, otherwise there would be nothing at all." When he mentioned this, Bai Gu became depressed. , and then took another big mouthful of porridge.
Turn grief and anger into food.
Suddenly, Bai Gu seemed to remember something: "By the way, Mr. Xu, you have been in the mountains for so long, have you ever seen that kind of purple old ginseng?"
Since the old man has been sweeping snow on Guxue Peak for so many years, no matter how big Guxue Peak is, he should have visited it all, right? You must have seen old ginseng more or less, or heard about old ginseng?
maybe?
Even Bai Gu himself was not sure whether he could get any useful information from the old man. After all, purple old ginseng is rare and should be a valuable item. Otherwise, if a famous doctor like Mr. Wu stays in a big pharmacy like Changzhou Pharmacy, would he still need such a thing?
If it is available, wouldn’t it be better to just pick it up at Cheung Chau Pharmacy?
Things are rare and valuable. I have never heard of this thing. It should be very valuable. If the old man really had information about this old ginseng, he would probably not tell it. After all, it is a valuable good thing. No one would share it with others, right?
Anyway, Bai Gu himself definitely doesn’t know how to do it.
That’s a valuable thing! It’s equivalent to money! Would you give your own money to others to spend?
Do you really think there are a lot of fools who have too much money?
The old man answered the question unreasonably: "Now that you've come up here, aren't you afraid of something going wrong on the mountain?"
"It's definitely scary, but Ah Yue's illness cannot wait. She is still waiting for Mr. Wu to save her life!"
"She is not related to you, but you risked going up the mountain to collect ginseng for her. What do you want?" The old man took a mouthful of porridge slowly, and his tone was also slow.
Bai Gu couldn't help but be startled when he heard this sentence, and stopped eating the porridge.
The old man didn't do anything, and continued to slowly eat the porridge.
But Bai Gu's next words made him pause.
"Ah Yue is my sister in my family. As a brother, I should be good to her and take risks for her, isn't it right?" Bai Gu's tone was slow but firm. For a moment, the old man even felt that it was his own common sense that showed up. Made a mistake, asked the wrong question.
"Just, don't you think about yourself? Or, after spending so much time and effort, what can you get from this?" The old man is still very strange. This kid has a strange brain circuit.
"Why do efforts have to yield rewards?" Bai Gu scratched his head and expressed doubts.
The old man raised his eyelids and suddenly became interested: "Tell me about it."
"I don't know what to say, but I just think, well..." Bai Gu thought for a moment, "It's impossible for a person to achieve everything he wants in his life, right? How lucky do you have to be? You have to accumulate experience in your previous life. How many blessings have you received? You have to know how to be content! You can’t think of everything and want it all. We are not your parents, so we can give you whatever you want? Impossible!"
"What if? What if there is someone who can really want and have everything. Or what if someone is really that good? The world is so big, there is no shortage of cases and cases."
Bai Gu opened his mouth, unable to think of a word to answer the old man's question.
He lowered his head and remained silent.
He suddenly thought of the old beggar.
The old beggar is the kind of good person the old man said! Although he looks a bit ugly, the old beggar still has a good heart and often helps himself and has helped a lot.
It can be said that without the old beggar in recent years, it would have been difficult for Bai Gu to support himself and Xiaoxiao alone.
What's more, recently there was a seriously ill Ah Yue.
Bai Gu has a clear mind, and coupled with the teachings of his grandma when he was a child, he understands that living in this difficult world, everyone is selfish in order to survive, which is actually normal.
Even if you extend a helping hand to others occasionally, there will be a certain purpose.
There is no way to say more about this. This is human nature!
Bai Gu raised his head and looked at the old man: "Master Xu, I just think it's not good to do things with a purpose. If you are not sincere, the Nine Heavens Gods, Buddha and Bodhisattvas will not bless you."
"It should be said that those who have too utilitarian goals often fail to achieve their goals." The old man smiled.
"But, isn't this normal? Many people are like this, and I am the same. I go to Yunshui City just to find food to fill my stomach. I go to Gu Xuefeng just to dig ginseng to save Ah Yue. There is no purpose in doing things, no Doesn’t it make sense?”
The old man said nothing and poured a glass of water by himself. I dipped my fingers in water and slowly wrote a few words on the table.
Bai Gu didn't know words very well, and he only recognized the first character, which was "人".
The old man pointed to the line of water characters on the table: "Do you know them?"
Bai Gu shook his head.
"If a man does not act for himself, he will be punished by heaven and earth." The old man smiled, and then said: "If a man does not act for himself, he will be punished by heaven and earth."
Bai Gu suddenly realized that it turned out to be this sentence, he had heard it before!
But I’ve only heard of the former pronunciation. Why haven’t I heard of the latter one?
"Master Xu, this...?"
"Think about the difference for yourself."
The two readings are actually roughly the same, the difference lies in the word "WE".
A heavy sound, a soft sound.
"One should be recited softly, and the other should be recited harder?" Bai Gu smiled awkwardly, he really couldn't think of it.
Although he knew there must be a difference, Bai Gu didn't know what the two were talking about, let alone the difference.
The old man didn't say much, and directly explained the difference: "One is for one's own actions, and the other is for one's own actions."
The former is a more popular statement and is also the inner thoughts of the public. Pursue utilitarianism and benefit yourself in every possible way.
The latter is very niche, few people say it, and even fewer people do it. Follow your heart and be yourself.
Bai Gu had a bright mind and understood everything: "One is to find benefits for yourself, and the other is to be your original self, right Master Xu?"
The old man nodded.
"But Mr. Xu, does this have anything to do with what you just asked me?" Bai Gu was confused.
"Is it relevant? What is the relationship? You shouldn't ask me. You are the answer yourself. You just haven't thought about it clearly for the time being." The old man took a mouthful of porridge and looked at Bai Gu with a smile.
Bai Gu bit his chopsticks, his head was racing, but he couldn't think of a reason.
"Still don't understand." Bai Gu shook his head and finally gave up thinking.
"Didn't you say it yourself, people must know how to be content." The old man reminded me.
Bai Gu scratched his head: "That's right! I'm contented, so why do I care about whether there is any gain in the end? If you don't care about whether there is gain or not, then there will be no such thing as merit or utilitarianism."
In fact, Bai Gu himself has always done this. It's just that he did all this based on his heart, and he didn't think much about it, so he couldn't figure out the relationship for a while.
He had a bright mind and figured it out after the old man suggested it.
If a person does not serve himself, he will be destroyed by heaven and earth.
Hey! I learned another lesson: when I go back, I will have something to show off to the old beggar!
Bai Gu happily scooped up the porridge, his face full of joy.
The old man couldn't help but smile when he saw Bai Gu in front of him who was so happy because of such a trivial matter.
This guy is so good. It’s great to be young.
"Xiao Bai, you are a good boy! Your grandma taught you so well." The old man couldn't help but sigh.
Bai Gu shook his head: "Grandma taught me well, but I'm still not good enough. Some of Grandma's teachings are too profound, and I still can't understand them at all."
"Oh? You've done a good job, but you still think it's not good enough? You're a bit underestimating yourself." Looking at Bai Gu's doubtful eyes, the old man added: "It's just that you underestimate yourself."
"Grandma said that to be a good person, you need to be kind to others, treat others with sincerity, your words must not be false, and your shadow must not be slanted. Just these few points, I am far from being able to do it now."
The old man took a deep breath and said, "Be kind to others and sow the fields of blessings; treat others with sincerity, and everything will grow on its own; speak truthfully and be upright, and your thoughts will come true. What a discipline to follow, your grandma has great expectations for you. .”
"It's nothing more than being a good person. Grandma also said that being a good person is better than anything else."
"It's true. It's easy to write about people, but hard to do. It's even harder to do well." There was an inexplicable solemnity in the old man's eyes. "So, what kind of person does your grandma want you to be?"
Bai Gu was stunned, "Just an ordinary person who lives a good life. It doesn't have to be good, as long as he doesn't do bad things."
"Ordinary, ordinary people?" The old man smiled lowly, and then laughed again, "Do you know? How many people want to be this kind of person? This kind of person is the most difficult to be! Because This is the second type of what I just told you, people are not for themselves, and they will be destroyed by heaven and earth! Be yourself and follow your heart, this is the most difficult thing in the world, bar none."
Bai Gu blinked and said he didn't understand.
The old man laughed: "It's okay, it's normal that you don't understand. You are still young now, and you will know in the future. As long as you maintain your current mentality and thoughts, it will be fine."
"Why? Will this make me the kind of person Grandma expects?"
"Almost, because this is rare, you will understand later. Eat porridge first, then drink porridge." The old man looked as if he had found money and was very happy.
Bai Gu was confused for a while. Is this old man stupid? Why put that silly fun aside? He is even stupider than the guy at the end of the alley who has a mouthful of laughter every day and is born with a lack of brains.
Tsk, don't bother me, don't blackmail me! I don’t have money to pay for it!
This old man is really weird, he is more normal than an old beggar.
Bai Gu thought like this, but the action of scooping the porridge in his hands and mouth did not slow down at all. The same goes for the old man opposite.
It's snowing all over the world, so on the snow peaks, in the small courtyard, and in the pavilion. An old man and a young man each cook porridge, but they secretly compete to see who can cook porridge faster and eat more.
It's like two climbers secretly competing to see who can reach the top first.
It's both childish and fun.
it is more than words.
