The interior of the house is very simple, the furniture is old, and it is clear that Ma Guodong's family has lived here for many years. But the house was clean and tidy. When it comes to objects, there are actually no objects, mainly books. The sofa is flanked by two simple bookshelves, and the TV cabinet is lined with neat books. The whole living room is filled with the strong smell of books.

"The mountain people are coming".

Ma Guodong walked out of the study with a smile on his face, still holding an open book in his hand.

Lu Shanmin hurriedly stood up, "Hello old professor."

"Sit sit, sit down, this is not in the classroom".

Grandma Chen walked out of the kitchen with a plate of washed fruits, and said with a kind face: "Mountain people, don't be restrained when you get here, what professor doesn't teach, we are two empty nesters." As he spoke, he put the fruit plate on the coffee table, "Don't look at what kind of professor he is, it sounds very powerful, other professors are full of peaches and plums all over the world, and we welcome guests every day, we can be regarded as a door here."

Ma Guodong coughed embarrassedly, "Don't listen to your Grandma Chen's nonsense, there are a lot of people who come to look for me, but they are not here to discuss knowledge, they are all businessmen who want to use my fame to make money for them, so I don't bother to see them."

Grandma Chen smiled and said to Lu Shanmin, "You talk slowly, I'll go buy some food and try Grandma Chen's craftsmanship in the evening."

"Thank you, Grandma Chen". Lu Shanmin nodded and said.

"Let's go, go to my study and sit down." Ma Guodong got up and walked towards the study.

Walking into the study, Lu Shanmin was stunned, the study room of about thirty square meters, except for the position of one window, the four walls were full of bookshelves.

Ma Guodong said a little proudly: "Hehe, this is my life savings."

Lu Shanmin couldn't help but touch the antique bookshelf, looking at the book, it was the first time in his life that he had seen so many books.

"Like these books"?

Lu Shanmin nodded, and shook his head again, in fact, for him, he didn't have much desire to study, just because Bai Ling was admitted to the university, he had a potential curiosity about readers, and later because of Zhang Li's long-term plan and promise that Zeng Yaqian would strive to become a talent with enough capital to become friends with her, she had the idea of studying hard.

"Old professor, have you read all these books"?

"Well, I've seen almost all of them."

Lu Shanmin looked at the room full of books and exclaimed, "Then how much time do you have to spend reading books?"

Ma Guodong nodded, "It took almost a lifetime."

"So you've spent your whole life reading books, do you have time for anything else?"

Ma Guodong was stunned for a moment, he is an economist and a teacher, and it is of course a matter of course to spend time on books. It never occurred to me that I should spend my time anywhere else. Lu Shanmin's question made him a little unsure of how to answer.

Ma Guodong coughed dryly, "There is Yan Ruyu in the book, and there is a golden house in the book, haven't you heard of it?"

Lu Shanmin nodded inexplicably.

"Old professor, I've finished reading the two books you gave me."

Ma Guodong sat on the Taishi chair behind the desk, nodded with satisfaction, and pointed to the stool next to him, "Sit down and talk."

Lu Shanmin sat on the stool, "Adam Smith's economics is based on the premise of human selfishness and absolute egoism, isn't this contrary to the original goodness of human nature"?

Ma Guodong thought that Lu Shanmin would put forward some specific economic principles, but he didn't expect to raise such a question.

"What you're talking about is no longer in the realm of economics, but in philosophy. The traditional Chinese Confucian doctrine pays more attention to moral guidance, and often avoids talking about the weaknesses of human nature, and economics is not the study of what kind of person should become, but the study of what kind of economic behavior will be made as a human being.

Lu Shanmin frowned, "You are saying that from the perspective of economics, human nature is inherently selfish."

Ma Guodong nodded, "Many people talk about selfless dedication, especially some Taoists, and even try to change the selfishness of human nature into selfless dedication, which is completely a kind of behavior of covering up and stealing the bell, which is very ridiculous."

Lu Shanmin asked puzzledly, "But there are indeed many selfless people in this world, not so many entrepreneurs and rich people donate every year, and some people in the city give up their superior living environment to teach in remote mountainous areas, and for example, the village secretary and village chief of our village often pay out of their own pockets to help the lonely and widowed elderly in the village, and their humanity is selfless everywhere."

Ma Guodong shook his head and said: "Entrepreneurs donate money to expand the popularity of the enterprise and gain the favor of the public, so as to seek greater benefits. Most of the people you mentioned about going to teach are not really to improve the education level in remote mountainous areas, but to improve the education level of a region, it is impossible to solve it by relying on a few volunteer teachers, which requires the intervention of the national level to solve, and they go to teach more to realize their own ideals and values, which is essentially for themselves. As for what you said about your village chief, it is their responsibility to help the lonely and widowed elderly, and they do this for themselves to be more in line with the burden on their shoulders. So when you talk about selflessness, the starting point of the essence is selfishness."

Lu Shanmin stared at Ma Guodong in disbelief, "Then you are also selfish to teach me economics without asking for anything in return?"

Ma Guodong nodded, "I am a teacher, my responsibility is to cultivate talents, but I have never taught a decent student in my life, I am very ashamed and uneasy, I teach you not to ask for anything in return, but to seek peace of mind, which is essentially selfish."

Lu Shanmin lowered his head a little lost, since he was a child, he learned from his grandfather that Confucius and Mencius are the way of benevolence and righteousness, emphasizing the inherent goodness of human nature, in the morning Zuoqiu told himself that human nature is neither good nor evil, and now he hears the words of the old professor, and feels that he is telling himself that human nature is evil. For him, who has received 20 years of Confucian and Mencian education, his heart has been shocked again. But I felt that what the old professor said was very reasonable, and I didn't know how to refute it.

"According to you, there are no good people in this world"?

Ma Guodong smiled, "You, like most people, your thinking is given by the traditional standard of good and bad. Whoever says selfishness is not a good person. To put it mildly, if there were no selfish mentality of the toiling masses who want to turn over and become masters, would there be such a good society as ours today, and would we be able to have the re-emergence of China today? To put it mildly, without the selfish psychology of peasant workers all over the country who want to make money in the East China Sea, would the high-rise buildings in the East China Sea be able to rise from the ground? For your own sake, it's understandable, why do you want to be on the platform in black and white. ”

Lu Shanmin sighed, and his psychology was a little more relaxed, "It turns out that human nature does not distinguish between black and white."

Ma Guodong nodded, "As long as you realize that human nature is gray, you won't be so mindful of the difference between good and bad."

After figuring out this joint, Lu Shanmin smiled easily, "Old professor, I have another question I want to ask you."

"Well, you ask".

"Economics is a discipline that studies how to make money and how to spend money, and economists are experts in it, so why have I never heard of an economist who founded a big business, or which economics can become a rich man. ”

"Hiss" Ma Guodong gasped, why does this kid ask some questions that are always so sharp. This question is even more of a slap in the face to an economist like him.

Seeing that Ma Guodong's face was not very good, Lu Shanmin said embarrassedly: "Is this question a little abrupt?"

Ma Guodong coughed dryly, "What economists do is to summarize the economic phenomena that have occurred, find patterns from them, and provide reference for economic development." Our group of people are all scholars, and you have seen several scholars who are rich people." After a pause, he said: "Of course, we can also be regarded as hindsight, it is okay to play tricks, and if we want to fight in the market with real knives and guns, we still lack the courage." Readers, just this urine, the mouth blows hard, and few dare to move the real thing."

With a smile, Ma Guodong continued: "You just asked me if I have read so many books in my life, how can I have time to do other things, it really made me wake up like a dream, read books all my life, teach others how to do it, and do less myself." Mountain people, so I hope you don't die studying, and don't throw your mind on books, try to verify what you have learned in action, and then improve what you have learned.

Lu Shanmin nodded, and then asked the old professor about a series of economic theories that he didn't understand very well, such as 'consumption theory' and 'value theory'.

After teaching at the Finance College for so many years, this is the most hearty lecture given by Ma Guodong, often Lu Shanmin raises a question, and he will explain it, so that Lu Shanmin can learn more relevant knowledge. The teacher and student listened attentively and taught each other, and the whole afternoon passed quickly. It wasn't until Grandma Chen urged her to finish eating two or three times that the two walked out of the study satisfied.

Ma Guodong has the habit of going downstairs for a walk after dinner, and the two walk in the quiet community. Ma Guodong said meaningfully: "Not long ago, Zeng Yaqian's grandfather had tea with me."

Lu Shanmin frowned slightly, thinking of the man in the trench coat last night.

Ma Guodong smiled, "Zeng Guoqiang was quite unreasonable when he was young, but when he is old, his temperament has changed a lot."

Ma Guodong patted Lu Shanmin on the shoulder, "He is now the most enlightened person in the Zeng family."