Not long after, Feng'er jumped in from outside the door, followed by another footsteps.
"Hey, was today's meal good?"
Before seeing the person, he heard his voice first. Chen Muwu first heard a voice speaking with Shaoxing accent. When he turned his head, he found a middle-aged man of short stature with a trademark mustache appearing at the door.
He knows this person very well!
Lu Xun also saw Chen Muwu sitting in the guest seat, so he asked Zhou Zuoren: "Second brother, who is this gentleman...?"
"Mr. Yucai, junior Chen Muwu, cousin Hanchen, my eldest brother is Chen Muqiao. He and Brother Zhou were classmates when they studied abroad in Qianben." Chen Muwu stood up quickly and bowed his hand to Lu Xun.
"It turns out someone came from my hometown. I asked how I could see fresh winter bamboo shoots on the dinner table today. I haven't had this hometown flavor for a long time. How is your eldest brother Zheng Xiang?"
"Thanks to Mr., my eldest brother is very good."
Listening to this voice-over, it seems that Mr. Lu Xun is also an old acquaintance of Chen Muqiao?
He doesn’t show his real face, but his eldest brother’s social circle is really wide!
Unlike the cold-faced look in the photo printed in the textbook, the real Lu Xun in front of him had a smile on his face: "Second brother, has your mother given this rare good thing to you?"
"Send it away, send it away. This time Han Chen sent three kilograms of winter bamboo shoots, which is enough!"
Looking at the two brothers in front of them, who could have imagined that in less than half a year, the two brothers would break up to the point where they would never interact with each other until they die?
Lu Xun patted Chen Muwu on the shoulder: "Have you been waiting for a long time? Sit down, sit down."
After that, he sat down at the seat reserved for him at the dining table, picked up his chopsticks, picked up a piece of fresh winter bamboo shoots from the plate, and commented while picking them up: "I have lived in my hometown for more than 20 years, and I am most proud of it." It’s just this delicious taste of bamboo shoots that your brother has taken the trouble to make.”
After that, he put the bamboo shoots into his mouth, chewed them carefully for a long time, and closed his eyes to savor the taste.
After a while, Lu Xun said leisurely: "Yeah! It's delicious! The taste of fresh bamboo shoots is indeed unmatched by dried bamboo shoots.
"Before the Western calendar, many fellow villagers from Shaoxing in Beijing came to send dried bamboo shoots. I don't know how many times we in Shaoxing have encountered great famines in ancient times. It actually frightened the residents like this, as if they would be there tomorrow. As if it were the end of the world, I like to store dry items. If there are vegetables, they will be dried in the sun; if there are fish, they will be dried in the sun; if there are beans, they will be dried in the sun; if there are bamboo shoots, they will be dried until they look ugly; water chestnuts are rich in water , the meat is characterized by tenderness and crispiness, and it also needs to be air-dried...Hanchen,"
"What's the matter, sir?" Chen Muwu was still listening to the teachings. Unexpectedly, Lu Xun mentioned his name as he spoke.
"Have you ever heard that people who explored the North Pole in the past often got scurvy because they only ate canned food and couldn't get anything new?"
"There is a saying that sailors on ocean ships in the old days were prone to beriberi because they couldn't eat fresh vegetables."
"Look, I said it would be better for us Shaoxing people to go explore the Arctic instead. As long as we bring enough dried vegetables, we can go further than them, right? Hahahaha..."
I thought there was something wrong with Lu Xun calling him by his name seriously, but I didn't expect that the big gentleman had spent so much time preparing for it just to tell a cold joke. 【1】
The noon meal has always been carried out in this relaxed and happy atmosphere.
After drinking and eating, Lu Xun asked Chen Muwu what he had to do during his trip to Beijing.
"Professor Hu Shizhi invited me to come to Beida University to give several lectures on the theory of relativity."
"Okay, okay! Young people are awesome. When I have time, I will definitely go back to cheer you up!"
After lunch, I was left to drink a few cups of tea and chat about the world.
Until Mr. Lu Xun, who was full of wine and food, yawned several times, Chen Muwu realized that it was time for him to say goodbye.
After another round of polite greetings, the two Mr. Zhou sent him out of the courtyard together. They did not turn around and leave until they watched Chen Muwu get into a foreign car and drive away again.
On the way back to Mazhai in Dongbanqiao Hutong, Chen Muwu saw a noodle seller's stall on the roadside.
He remembered the two little boys he saw at Ma Yuzao's house this morning, so he asked the driver to pull over temporarily and bought a Monkey King and a Zhu Bajie from the stall as gifts for the children.
Entering the horse house where they were staying again, the two children were really happy after accepting the visitor.
"Han Chen, you are such a doting child. What's wrong with using that little money? You have to buy something that you can't eat or touch."
"Mr. Youyu, look at how happy the two children are! Happiness is more important than anything else."
Ma Yuzao, who had just returned home from Beida University, pretended to complain and welcomed Chen Muwu into the living room for tea again.
"Mr. Youyu..."
"Hey, it's not like you don't know the relationship between me and your eldest brother. Why don't you meet me? Just like your eldest brother, just call me second brother!"
Ma Yuzao raised eyebrows at Chen Muwu's title.
Ma Yuzao, who was seven or eight years older than Chen Muqiao, was born in the fourth year of Guangxu's reign (1878), while Chen Muwu was born in the twenty-eighth year of Guangxu's reign (1902). The age difference between the two was two rounds of twenty-four years. There is already a generational difference. Chen Muwu’s words about second brother are really hard to say.
"Second...Second brother, what's the latest situation at Beida?"
Ma Yuzao shook his head: "Well, Principal Cai has decided to go this time. He has already bought the train ticket for the afternoon and will leave Beijing today."
Historically, Cai Yuanpei resigned as president of Beida University at every turn, a total of eight times, but only this time was gone forever.
"Then who will be in charge of the work at the school?"
"This issue has become a hot mess. Some people are talking about inviting Lin Zongmeng to come, others are recommending Hu Shizhi, and some are saying that it is better to wait for the Ministry of Education to appoint a new person. Let's not mention this troublesome matter. How is your eldest brother doing lately? At home, Is everything okay?"
After this, there was another series of polite words exchanged between you and me.
After visiting the male owners of both families continuously throughout the day, Chen Muwu had completely different attitudes toward the two men.
He went to Badaowan mainly to get acquainted with Mr. Lu Xun, so he had to accept Zhou Zuoren, who later became a traitor.
But in Dong Banqiao, he really wanted to make friends with Ma Yuzao, another friend of his eldest brother.
Because even Zhou Zuoren, who would later seek refuge with Qi and accept a false position, also wanted to seduce Ma Yuzao and sent someone to send a letter to persuade him to join. Ma Yuzao, who was in dire straits, could tell the visitor, "Who is Zhou Zuoren? I don't know him!" These words are worthy of his admiration, Chen.
The conversation lasted until dinner time. At the dinner table, Ma Yuzao also praised the fresh winter bamboo shoots.
But he only tasted a chopstick and left the rest to his wife and brother-in-law.
What a quiet, good man!
After the meal, Ma Yuzao told Chen Muwu again not to be polite if anything happened, and to treat this place as his own home, and Chen Muwu kept saying no.
After parting ways with his host's family and returning to his room, Chen Muwu became anxious.
There are only two days left before the first lecture, but he hasn't even finalized the title of the lecture yet!
Sure enough, the deadline is the primary productive force?
*****
[1] Author's note: Lu Xun did say this passage, which comes from "The Sequel to the Huagai Collection· Ma Zhi's Diary· July 4th"
