Master Chen's home is not far from Fang's home, located on Nanmen Street in Jinling City, next to Mingdao Academy.
When everyone came to the door of Master Chen's house, Mr. Fang looked solemn, straightened his clothes solemnly, took a lacquer plate covered with red cloth from the nursing staff, and didn't know what was on the plate, and then led Fang Zheng
After walking in, the nursing staff lined up at the door and moved the gifts in the car into Mrs. Chen's home in an orderly manner.
Mrs. Chen's house was not big, just a two-story house with earthen tiles and rammed walls, which showed that it had not been repaired for many years. An old servant led Mr. Fang and his son to the front hall, served him some tea, and then left.
The front hall is very simple. Apart from a few inconspicuous teak chairs, there are no other furnishings. There is a painting hanging on the wall. In the painting, a middle-aged man stands alone on a cliff, looking at the cliff with regret and sorrow in his eyes.
There is a vast river and mountains ahead.
Fang Zheng felt that the man in the painting was going to commit suicide. Before he died, he took one more look at the land that raised him? If you couldn’t bear it, just don’t die. Why did you paint it...
Fang Zheng curled his lips in disdain, and suddenly someone behind him asked: "Master Fang, how do you like this painting?"
Fang Zheng turned around in surprise and saw a middle-aged Confucian scholar in his forties standing in front of him. He wore a scribe's square scarf on his head, a black gown, and a pair of slightly worn cloth shoes. He had a square face and a pair of
His eyes are sharp and lively, as if he can penetrate other people's souls with one glance. He has a long beard under his chin, which is neatly trimmed.
Master Fang gave Fang Zheng a gentle tug and said, "You naughty son, why don't you pay your respects to Master Chen!"
Fang Zheng quickly bowed his head and said, "Student Fang Zheng, please pay your respects to Master Chen."
Master Chen waved his hand slightly and continued to ask the question that Fang Zheng had not answered just now: "Master Fang, what do you think of this painting?"
Fang Zheng felt a little guilty. He had studied so many things in college, but he had never studied Chinese painting. How could he comment? I can’t say that your painting is not very good. There are failures everywhere and no success in it. If you take it to the street
I guess it won’t fetch a good price, so why don’t you show it off?
If he really said that, Fang Zheng's father who believed in domestic violence would probably punch him on the spot.
There's no way, it's nonsense.
Fang Zheng racked his brains and came up with a few words that were commonly used in previous lives, and then said: "This painting is very good. From the student's perspective, this painting has both form and spirit, vivid charm, quite impressive, and the artistic conception is far-reaching and attractive."
Long Thoughts is a rare and good painting." Fortunately, he came from a Chinese major, so it was not difficult to lose his essay bag. When Fang Zheng said the last words, he started to shake his head.
This painting hangs in the front hall of his house. When we first met, I was eager to know Fang Zheng's evaluation of this painting. Even a fool could guess that this painting must have been painted by Master Chen himself. Anyway, you can't go wrong by singing praises.
.
Unexpectedly, Master Chen was smiling at first, but the more he heard the expression on his face, the more disappointed he became. As soon as Fang Zheng finished speaking, Master Chen shook his head and sighed.
Fang Zheng was stunned, and thought to himself, I didn't say anything wrong. I thought about it again, and every word was a good thing. Could it be that the praise was not harsh enough, and Master Chen was dissatisfied? This guy is too vain? I really want to kill you.
How dare you accept this boast?
Master Chen sighed and said: "It's hard to find a good friend! Three years ago, I heard that the Turks repeatedly invaded the country and the city was plundered. However, our Chinese Dynasty was cowardly and afraid of the enemy. The army retreated again and again, without any fighting spirit. The court hall
Above, party strife has become more intense, in official circles, corruption has become common, and in the marketplace, people have been displaced. Our great country, the Chinese Dynasty, is about to fall into the hands of foreigners, and the people will be even more miserable. It is a shame that I, a poor scholar, have to enter this country.
Then I had no one to make peace with me, and I couldn't bear to be alone when I retreated. I was so angry that I painted this painting to comfort me. Unfortunately, no one understood it. They just praised the painting skills and never mentioned the deeper meaning. I am a scholar,
So numb, so pitiful!"
Fang Zheng was confused after hearing this, and probably knew that Master Chen made this painting out of concern for the country and the people, and also had a hint of underappreciating his talent.
Fang Zheng shook his head secretly. Literati have such a sour temper, so what can they do with a painting? Can they save all the people from the fire and water? Can they keep the Turkic cavalry out of the country? Instead of sighing at home, it is better to go to the frontier to join the army to fight.
As for the enemy, it seems that Mr. Chen is a nerd, and he is also an angry young nerd. The symptom of this kind of nerd is to sit at home and worry about the country and the people, always immersed in his own sense of crisis.
Master Chen stared at Fang Zheng and said, "I saw you looking at this painting just now and stopped talking. I wonder what you have to say, Mr. Fang?".
Is this guy deliberately looking for trouble? Fang Zheng thought bitterly, if I have high opinions, why would I come to be your teacher? Are teachers in ancient times so humble when talking to their students?
Mr. Fang was anxious on the sidelines. He knew his son best. How could he talk about it? This kid couldn't even hold back fallacies. If this kid didn't know how to pretend to understand and talked nonsense, his apprenticeship today would definitely be ruined.
Mr. Fang quickly interrupted and said, "Mr. Chen, I brought my dog to my house today to be my disciple. Why don't you teach him this academic thing slowly when you have the opportunity in the future?"
Fang Zheng glanced at his father gratefully. After all, he is one of his own family members. He is so loyal!
Master Chen nodded noncommittally, and then began the apprenticeship process.
Master Fang ordered Fang Zheng to worship the portrait and tablet of Confucius, and then knelt down and kowtowed in front of Master Chen. Then he uncovered the red cloth on the lacquer plate and sent it over respectfully. There were six things on the lacquer plate: meat strips.
, celery, lotus seeds, red beans, red dates, longan.
This is the "six rites of repair" followed in ancient times. Among them, the meat strips express the disciple's feelings for the teacher; celery, which means diligence and studious; lotus seeds, which means painstaking education; red beans, which means good luck; and red dates, which means good luck.
It means high school as soon as possible; longan means perfect merit.
Master Chen immediately accepted Fang Zheng's bow and gave him a gift in return.
In this way, the apprenticeship ceremony was completed. Fang Zheng, a time traveler, has since become a Confucian student. Think about it, before time travel, he squeezed into the talent market with a large group of masters and doctors, went around in a big circle, and then entered the school again.
I have been so destined to books in my life, when will I be able to succeed...
After the ceremony, the three of them sat down and chatted. Mr. Fang wanted to make friends with Mrs. Chen in order to get more care for his precious son in the academy, so he spoke respectfully during the greetings.
Master Chen might not be very good at talking about trivial matters in life, so the other man answered in a perfunctory manner, but fixed his eyes on Fang Zheng. After a long while, Master Chen suddenly said: "I usually dabble in Yi Shu divination, and I observe Fang Zheng's face."
It's quite strange. Ordinarily you have already..." After thinking about it, I might think it was inappropriate, so I changed my question and asked, "Has anything happened to your health recently?"
Fang Zheng was horrified. You can't underestimate the ancient people. This guy is really a bit of a real person. He could tell at a glance that my fate was already over. Amazing! It's a pity to be a teacher. Go out and show off.
What a great stall, and how much money you can make.
After thinking about it, he still had to answer the Master's question. Fang Zheng said honestly: "Not long ago, the student... accidentally fell from the stairs. Well, his head hit the ground and he was unconscious for more than a month."
Mr. Fang glared at him fiercely from the side and said nothing.
Master Chen said: "More than a month ago, well, it was almost done, but that's not right. Ordinarily you should have been..."
Literary people love to be more serious. Fang Zheng quickly interrupted him and said: "Ji people have their own destiny and destiny. They are unpredictable and unpredictable. You may not be able to find out the truth in your lifetime. Occasionally, you may make miscalculations. This is also true."
normal."
Master Chen frowned and nodded: "Maybe it's better to have no books than to believe in books. I'm too attached to books."
Fang Zheng breathed a sigh of relief. Time travel was his biggest secret. He planned to keep this secret in his stomach and carry it into the coffin after his death. If Mr. Chen really figured out that he was ugly, he would be the first person from ancient times to be captured.
People treat time-travelers as monsters and burn them alive. Since God arranged for me to time-travel, wouldn't he let me fail like this?
Master Chen stroked his long beard and said, "Since I have accepted you as a disciple, I have to ask you about academic matters. What books have you read in your daily life?"
He read a lot of books, but they were all in vernacular. Fang Zheng wanted to tell the truth, so he counted them with his fingers: "The classics and meanings of the sages, the theories of hundreds of schools of thought, none of the students..."
"I have read them all, and I was lucky enough to be admitted as a student member." Mr. Fang interrupted him without changing his expression. After finishing speaking, he continued to sip his tea as if nothing happened.
"Ah?" Fang Zheng opened his mouth wide and stared at Mr. Fang dumbfounded. This is a big joke. Even if dad wants to satisfy his vanity, this is not how he plays it. Mr. Chen just asks a question, and I won't reveal it when I open my mouth.
What do you mean, dad?
"Oh? I can't believe that you are actually talented," Master Chen said happily: "It is not easy to be admitted as a scholar at such a young age. I will be nominated for the gold list in the future. I have gained a good disciple.