Rise From the Humble

  Chapter 68 Snow and Green Bamboo

  The slices are as thin as paper, easy to eat and delicious.

  It was around noon when we came out of rich man Li’s house, and the wind and snow outside were still there. As soon as Zhu Pingan thought of the mutton shabu-shabu he had just eaten, he felt a spring breeze on his tongue, and he didn’t feel cold even when it was windy and snowy.

   Humming a strange tune, a copy of "The Doctrine of the Mean" with Zhu Xi's annotations lay quietly in the schoolbag on his back, and Zhu Ping'an stepped into the snow again.

  Auspicious snow heralds a good year, and snow is a sign of a good year among folks. Whenever it snows, farmers are always happy. This year's heavy snow, next year's harvest will definitely be good. This saying has been verified for thousands of years. Snowmen, snowball fights, skiing, etc., followed by snow. But after it snowed, we had to face a very embarrassing problem, that is, roads were blocked by heavy snow and traffic was inconvenient.

  At this time, the heavy snow was already palm-deep, and walking on the road was particularly strenuous. Zhu Ping'an walked home in the wind and snow, and suddenly thought that Old Master Sun was not with his children, and he was getting older, so snow removal would be a difficult task. So, Zhu Pingan changed the direction and should go to Old Master Sun's house.

  Going to Old Master Sun's house is also familiar with the road. Over the years of learning, Zhu Ping'an has often gone to Old Master Sun's house to ask for advice.

  Old Master Sun’s house is not far from rich man Li’s house, and he arrived at Old Master Sun’s house in less than ten minutes. Mrs. Sun is also from a well-to-do family, and the courtyard with civil structure can be regarded as an upper-middle family in the village.

   Those of you who have read many novels may have an idea: Master Sun was moved by Zhu Pingan's diligence and studious, and thought that this son is not a treasure, so he wants to entrust his daughter to him and so on.

  Hehe, you guys are really thinking too much. Mrs. Sun is almost 60 years old, and her daughter is in her 40s. Even her granddaughter has already started a family, but the children under her knees start a family and start a business in the town. Old Master Sun and his wife live together, which is a good story.

  Master Sun’s house is not closed at night, so you can walk in directly. There is a clump of bamboo planted in the yard, which adds a bit of poetic flavor to the yard.

  When he walked in, Old Master Sun was trimming his own bamboo. The heavy snow and strong wind bent the bamboo. Mr. Sun was worried that the bamboo would be broken, so he was helping the bamboo to clean the snow with a small broom.

   "Teacher." Zhu Ping'an entered the yard, and bowed his hands to Old Master Sun who was straightening the bamboo.

"Oh, it's Ping'an." Mr. Sun knew that it was Zhu Ping'an who came without turning his head. Mr. Sun asked Zhu Ping'an while trimming the bamboo, "Ping'an, what do you think about this bamboo?" ?”

  What is your perception of bamboo?

Zhu Pingan didn't quite understand what Old Master Sun meant. He looked at the bamboo that Old Master Sun was trimming. The wind and snow were overwhelming, and the bamboo was still stubbornly green. There has been a saying since ancient times that the three friends of Suihan, pine, bamboo and plum, said, "The green bamboo is proud. Xue Lingshuang, not afraid of wind and snow, students should learn from their strength of character."

Old Master Sun put down his broom and shook his head when he heard the words, "It's true that winter bamboos are proud of the snow and frost, but the heavy snow falls on the bamboos. Some bamboos are tough and resistant to snow, and they don't bend at all. The waist will eventually be crushed by the snow. There is also a kind of bamboo, which will bend after the snow falls, quietly waiting for the wind and sunshine to melt the snow, and when the snow melts and falls on the ground to moisten the root system, the bamboo will thrive , as tall as ever."

Speaking of this, Old Master Sun turned his head to look at Zhu Ping'an, "Ping'an, we want to make bamboo that is proud of the snow and frost in winter, but we should also make a second kind of bamboo, which can be stretched and bent, as long as we keep the roots Deviate from your heart! If you keep the green hills, you won’t be afraid of running out of firewood.”

   "The students have been taught." Zhu Ping'an benefited a lot and made a deep bow.

Old Master Sun waved his hand, twirled his beard and said, "In this section, I am very optimistic about you. In a few months, it will be the boy's test. To you, this scientific test is the wind and snow and the green bamboo. Don't you worry about it?" It's going to be crushed."

   It turned out that Old Master Sun was worried about this, worried that if he did not perform well in this scientific examination, he was worried that he would be hit by failure and unable to stand up, so he used bamboo to remind himself.

   "Master, please rest assured, Ping'an will know." Zhu Ping'an immediately made a promise, so as not to worry about Old Master Sun.

   "Well, I can feel at ease in this way." Old Master Sun smiled heartily.

   "You old man, why do you still let Ping An stand in the snowstorm, Ping An, come quickly, and taste the tea newly brewed by the wife."

  Mister's wife has gray hair, but she is neatly tidied up, and she also has a bookish look on her body.

"Hehe, thank you, Mrs. Huaxiong. In ancient times, there was a saying of warming wine and beheading Huaxiong. Today, let me keep the name of warming tea and sweeping snow." When Zhu Pingan faced his teacher, he was much more relaxed than facing Old Master Sun. Then he picked up the shovel, broom and other tools in the yard, and started working in full swing.

   "You child!" The teacher's wife scolded.

  Old Master Sun smiled and continued to straighten his bamboo.

  When Zhu Pingan started sweeping snow, it was still cold while holding the broom, but after sweeping for a while, the heat evaporated from his body, and his whole body became hot. If it wasn't for fear of catching a cold, Zhu Ping'an would have taken off his clothes.

   It didn't take long, Zhu Ping'an cleared the snow in Mrs. Sun's yard to create a large open space, and also cleared a long road outside the door.

   Sweeping the snow and making tea was extraordinarily fragrant. After drinking the tea from his wife and saying goodbye to his wife, Zhu Pingan braved the wind and snow and set foot on the return journey.

The thatched cottage where Zhu Ping’an’s family used to live has now become a courtyard with two entrances and two exits with blue bricks and red tiles. Zhu’s father has made a lot of money traveling with ox carts between towns and villages over the years. The mother who ran the house made a lot of money, so she rebuilt the yard.

   "Really, why is it snowing properly?" In the yard, Mrs. Chen looked at the heavy snow and was extremely unhappy.

   "Hehehe, the auspicious snow is a sign of a good year. It's a good sign." Father Zhu smiled innocently while sweeping the snow.

   "Your size, if it doesn't snow, our bullock carts will earn at least tens of hundreds of dollars a day." Chen said regretfully.

  Hehehe, mother Chen is the same as before, her eyes shine when mentioning money.

   "Ah, the pig is back, come in quickly and warm up the stove." Mother Chen's sharp eyes saw Zhu Pingan coming back from the snow for the first time, and hurriedly called Zhu Pingan into the house.

   "I'll help my father clear the snow before going in." Zhu Ping'an smiled silly.

   "Leave him alone, he is exhausted with all his strength."

   Mrs. Chen didn't care about this, walked over a few steps, dragged Zhu Pingan into the house, slapped the snow off his body, and pressed Zhu Pingan in front of the stove.

  Mother's kindness, Zhu Ping'an didn't refuse any more, and sat down to warm his hands.

   "Where's my brother?" Zhu Pingan didn't see his brother, so he couldn't help asking.

As soon as the elder brother Zhu Pingchuan was mentioned, the mother Chen said angrily, "Not long after you left, your elder brother went to the old Zhang's house to sweep the snow. He really married a wife and forgot his mother. If you are not married, you will forget me to a corner."

  Big brother Zhu Pingchuan just got engaged to the daughter of the old Zhang’s family in the same village last year, because the old Zhang’s family loves the daughter very much and said that they will raise their daughter until they are eighteen and then get married.

   "Hehehe, my mother is jealous, don't worry, my son won't be like his brother when he gets married, and his son Sweeping Snow will also take his mother with him."

   "You have no conscience, you are darker than your brother, he just went to sweep the snow by himself, but you even want to take your old lady around!"

   Mrs. Chen was surprised by Zhu Pingan's interruption, but her mood improved a lot.

  (end of this chapter)