Chapter 43: Seeing the Essence Through Phenomena
The sun was still shining brightly at noon, but the sky began to be covered with dark clouds when the class was about to end in the afternoon.
Manbao and Bai Shanbao lay on the table and looked outside. They were a little excited. It would really rain if ants moved.
Mr. Zhuang also saw this. After class, he asked the students to stay in the classroom and wait for their families to pick them up. Then he took Manbao and Shanbao to the yard where he lived next door.
He took the two children to the study and asked, "What you saw this morning was ants moving. What do you see now?"
Manbao said, "It's raining. It will rain when ants move."
Mr. Zhuang laughed and said, "Silly boy, you got the order wrong. It's not that when ants move, it will rain. It's that when it's about to rain, ants move, moving their homes to a safe place. When humans see this, they know it's going to rain."
Mr. Zhuang spoke slowly. The two children counted on their fingers and found that it was correct, so they nodded.
Mr. Zhuang pointed at the rain curtain outside and continued to ask, "What are you seeing now?"
The two children said in unison, "It's raining."
"These are all appearances," Mr. Zhuang said, "Manbao, your parents told you that it will rain when ants move, so you believe that it will rain when ants move. Shanbao, you have never heard of such a thing, so you only see ants moving. But do you know what the teacher thinks when he sees ants?"
The two children shook their heads.
"The teacher will not only think that it is about to rain, but also think that there are so many ants under my house. The ants are gnawing on the house and furniture. I have to start preventing and controlling insects at home. I will also think that a thousand-mile dike is destroyed by ant holes..." Mr. Zhuang talked to them about ants in detail.
Manbao and Shanbao were stunned when they heard this. They had no idea that tiny ants could not only eat a big tree to death, but also destroy a house and even a dam thousands of miles long.
After Mr. Zhuang finished talking about the ants, he talked about the autumn rain outside and told them that what they were seeing now was just rain, but in the eyes of different people, this autumn rain had different meanings.
For these children, the autumn rain only confined them to school temporarily, but for the farmers, the autumn rain meant that they could start plowing the fields and fermenting weeds in preparation for next year's farming.
But for those who want to go out, this autumn rain does more harm than good, as they don't know how much time they will be delayed because of it.
Mr. Zhuang explained these things to the two children in detail, and they seemed to be completely unrelated, but he then changed the subject and returned to the question of the county magistrate.
"This morning, I asked you what the county magistrate does, and you told me what you saw and heard, but in fact, what you said is not complete," Mr. Zhuang said, "Sometimes what you see and hear may not be what you think in your heart. You need to see more, listen more, and think more. If you have too many emotions in your heart, then hold off and don't make a conclusion. Wait until some time has passed and you are calm enough to think about these things, and perhaps you will gain something different."
The two children understood a little, but not very clearly. However, Mr. Zhuang did not ask them to understand it now. Instead, he asked them to remember what he said and they would understand it when the time comes.
As they were talking, the people from the Bai and Zhou families who came to pick up the two children arrived. Manbao and Shanbao said goodbye to their master and ran out in the rain hand in hand. They were so happy that they were soaked by the rain. When they ran out, the two children deliberately looked for puddles to step in, and the water splashed everywhere, which made them even happier.
Outside the yard, warnings and scoldings from the two adults were heard one after another. The two children ran to their respective families while stomping on the water, making loud splashing sounds .
Mr. Zhuang stood at the door and watched, stroking his beard again and again, but he was thinking about what Manbao said in his heart.
The county magistrate wants to increase the entrance fee to the city. What is the reason this time?
Mr. Zhuang naturally knew more than the Zhou family. In fact, as early as three years ago, when County Magistrate Fu first came to Luojiang County, he increased the entrance fee. Not only that, but the taxes and levies were also increased. Then, within two years, County Magistrate Fu repaired a section of official road, reinforced the Luojiang embankment, and dug a canal for the county.
The term of office of a county magistrate is three years. This year, County Magistrate Fu was not transferred, which means he will serve for another term. But no one knows what political affairs he plans to do this time, or whether he will do nothing.
Mr. Zhuang was a little worried.
But these issues obviously cannot be discussed with the two children.
Manbao was taken home by Feng. As soon as she got home, she went to the kitchen to get hot water for her to take a bath. There was no other way. The child stepped on the water and not only her shoes got wet, but her pants as well.
Qian touched her little hand and scolded her, "You are becoming more and more troublesome. Why do I feel that you have become more naughty after going to school?"
Manbao said, "Bai Shanbao is also treading water."
"He is him, and you are you. Maybe he learned it from you. He wants you to learn good things, not bad things, and certainly not teach other children bad things."
Manbao sighed, "Okay, I won't step on water anymore."
A child's promise is as unreliable as the weather in July.
Qian asked Feng to give her a bath, and then gave her a bowl of hot water, and then let her go out to play, but only warned her, " Don't go out to step on the water and get wet in the rain, or I won't let you go to school tomorrow."
Manbao is at a age when he loves learning, how could he be reluctant to leave?
So she could only sit in the main room and wait for her brothers to come back.
Zhou Silang and his two younger brothers hid from the rain under a tree. They ran back when the rain was not too heavy, but their bodies were still wet.
Zhou Wulang and his friends helped to reclaim some wasteland today, and cut down a lot of bamboos. When they came back, they winked at their youngest sister.
Manbao understood that when Zhou Erlang came back, he would pester him to help him make the flower basket.
Zhou Erlang was just about to say that Manbao had made a lot of money from flower baskets. Zhou Erlang didn't say it, but he was very tempted. However, he had a lot of things to do recently and couldn't spare the time. When he saw Manbao asking, he immediately knew that it was Lao Wu and Lao Liu's idea. He didn't refuse and said, "Let Lao Wu and Lao Liu cut the bamboo strips, and I will weave them when I come back."
Even Old Zhoutou said, "I'll help you weave it when I come back from the fields."
After thinking about it, he felt that Lao Si was too unreliable to open up wasteland, and said hesitantly: "Why don't we let Lao Si stop opening up wasteland? The land at the foot of the mountain may not be fertile even after two years of cultivation. Why bother? It's more practical for him to help with some work at home."
Zhou Silang perked up and wanted to nod.
But Manbao didn't agree. He said, "Dad, Fourth Brother is disobedient, that's a punishment. The teacher said that changing one's orders every day is a taboo. What if Fourth Brother thinks it's okay to do something wrong in the future?"
"If he dares, I will beat him to death!"
Manbao looked down on her father, "You definitely can't kill Fourth Brother, or you'll be so sad."
Old Zhou was choked up and waved his hand, saying, "Okay, let your fourth brother continue to open up the wasteland, and your fifth and sixth brothers will see if they can keep the flower basket business going for a long time."
