The trip to Licheng brought Yue Haohan's soul a great impact, and after more than a month, Yue Haohan would often be unconsciously considered when there was no one, or when he couldn't sleep in the dead of night, how should he go on his own road in the future, thinking back on the bits and pieces of the past year at work, and often asking himself, what is his ultimate goal?

On 18 July, Yue Haohan, together with the members of the office of the leading group for reducing the peasants' burdens in the township, held a one-day mass forum in Longwanghe Village; after eating at Zhu Jinshan's house in the evening, Huang Zijian returned to the township with other personnel, and Yue Haohan stayed in his original bedroom in the management area at night.

Because he drank a lot of wine at night, Yue Haohan played Tai Chi in the courtyard of the management area, then took a cold shower, saw that the time was less than ten o'clock, made a cup of tea, sat at the desk, and unconsciously, recalled a conversation between the two people before Cheng Ziying left Jiangyang.

That night, in the study of the two of them at home, Cheng Ziying asked, "Haohan, what is the ultimate goal in your heart now?" Do you continue to work in the system and earn a salary of more than 100 yuan a month, or do you still insist on studying your traditional culture? Or you simply resign and go to the East China Sea to develop, where the world is bigger and there are more opportunities. ”

Cheng Ziying's question made Yue Haohan speechless, and he suddenly felt confused in his heart, and asked himself, yes, what is my ultimate goal? When I was in school, I wanted to study Chinese culture and traditional culture with Professor Zhang Haiming; But in the end, he became a transfer student by mistake, and when it came to administration, what did he do in the past year in the township government? What do you want to do in the end?

After being silent for a while, Yue Haohan looked at Cheng Ziying and said, "Ziying, to tell you the truth, I haven't thought about this question all along, but now that you suddenly ask like this, I feel so confused, think about it carefully, it seems that I have been so ignorant for a year." ”

Cheng Ziying said: "Haohan, I don't mean anything else when I ask you, but after knowing your thoughts, I can plan our future according to your ideas." If you go to Jianghan this time, if you are admitted to Teacher Zhang's graduate school, although you are studying on the job, you must also study seriously, and don't waste your studies because of mundane affairs; I know that it is a deep-rooted dream in your heart to study and promote traditional culture. No matter what you do, I will support you, and my ultimate goal is to love you well, support you, never give up, and stay at home in the future. ”

After Cheng Ziying finished speaking, she pursed her lips and smiled, and then said: "Haohan, do you think that my goal is too much, but I really think so in my heart, I feel very happy to have you and be able to stay with you for a long time." ”

Cheng Ziying said this, which reminded Yue Haohan of a sentence in the Book of Changes that Professor Zhang Haiming said when he was having lunch in Licheng: "It's not a prince, it's noble." "It seems that Ziying is a person who can achieve noble character. And what about yourself? What do you want to do? Once upon a time, I was very eager to have power, absolute power; Isn't that a temptation?

The next morning, Yue Haohan and Cheng Ziying took the car of Gu Zhengshan, secretary of the county party committee, to Jianghan and saw Cheng Ziying away.

Sitting there thinking about these things some time ago, Yue Haohan couldn't help but feel moved in his heart, thinking, why don't you come and test a hexagram? Use the I Ching hexagram to analyze and analyze your future goals and set your own position for the future.

As soon as he said that he would test, Yue Haohan got up and went to his document bag, and took out the three copper coins of the Qianlong period that he often carried with him, and these three copper coins were given to him by his godfather Deng Xuanchang.

Yue Haohan sat down in front of the desk, put the three copper coins in the middle of his palms, shook them with his hands together, and scattered the copper coins on the table, doing this six times in a row, and making a hexagram. The hexagram is the twenty-second hexagram of the Book of Changes, the hexagram of "Ben", and the six and five hexagrams.

Looking at the good hexagram, Yue Haohan shook his head and smiled, this hexagram is too familiar. The hexagram itself is about "a person must be clear about his ultimate goal". Professor Zhang Haiming also wrote a short paper to explain this hexagram, which is still a hexagram that Confucius got when he felt confused and predicted before he entered politics.

It is generally believed that the most important book about Confucius is the Analects, but in fact, it is his study of the Book of Changes that best reflects Confucius's thoughts.

When Confucius devoted himself to the study of the Book of Changes, he was already very old. While lamenting its breadth and profundity, he made the "Ten Wings" for the "Book of Changes", which was later known as the "Book of Changes". Confucius made the Book of Changes a serious philosophy, not a simple mysticism, but after all, the Book of Changes is a book about divination, so sometimes, when encountering something hesitant, Confucius will also divinate a hexagram to solve the doubts in his heart.

One day, Confucius suddenly felt very confused about his future, and he couldn't decide whether to continue to be an official or devote himself to studying, so he made a divination for himself. Confucius's divination is also a hexagram, which is slightly different from Yue Haohan's hexagram today, Confucius does not have old yin and old yang in the calculus, the hexagram is an unchanging hexagram, and today's Yue Haohanbu's hexagram is a change hexagram.

The hexagram is away from the lower gen, from the fire for the bright, the gen for the mountain, that is to say, there is fire under the mountain, it is magnificent, and the mountain is rigid, the fire is soft, and the rigidity and softness are combined, so it is very auspicious. However, when Confucius got this hexagram, he looked preoccupied, not only was he silent, but his face also showed obvious uneven colors.

When Confucius's student Zi Zhang saw Confucius like this, he asked his husband, "I heard that if the divination is a sign of good fortune, why do you sigh?" ”

Zizhang is the grandson teacher, the compound surname is the grandson, the famous teacher, the word Zizhang, in the late Spring and Autumn period Chen Guoren, withdrawn and extreme, generous, diligent and inquisitive, often discussed problems with Confucius. Zizhang once asked Confucius about benevolence, and Confucius said: "If you can practice the five virtues everywhere, you are a benevolent person." Zizhang asked, "What are the five types to ask?" Confucius said, "It includes five aspects: solemnity, generosity, honesty, diligence, and benevolence." Dignity will not be insulted, generosity will be supported by all, honesty will be valued by others, diligence will be achieved, and kindness will be able to make people submit. ”

Now, when Confucius heard Zizhang ask, he replied, "I'm not happy because the hexagram is the reason for the hexagram." The departed, decorated also, Liye. The hexagram is off the gen, and there is a fire under the mountain. When a mountain is burned by fire, it will inevitably shine in the sky, and everything around it will lose its original color in the firelight. This kind of color, which is contrasted by the firelight, will make people unable to see the essence of things. The color is expensive, either black or white, not black and white, or black and white. Because this is related to the essence of the matter, the texture of the good does not need to be decorated, and the texture that needs to be decorated is not good. Just like there is no need to paint patterns in red lacquer, there is no need to carve white jade, and there is no need to decorate orbs, why? It's because their texture is already very good, and they don't need to add any tricks. I don't need ornamentation, and I don't like carving, but now I have a fortune, so I'm very unhappy. ”

In Confucius's view, the beauty of things with an intrinsic essence does not need to be decorated externally, and now, he has a hexagram, which means not a positive color, but an ornament, which makes him expect that his doctrine will become an ornament for some people, rather than a real cultivation of virtue, so he is depressed.

Yue Haohan recalled the story of Confucius's divination told by Professor Zhang Haiming when he was talking about the hexagram, and said in his heart: "To be like Confucius, to strengthen one's beliefs and know that it cannot be done, is a psychological state that is difficult for ordinary people to achieve. No wonder people are Confucian saints, saints are saints! ”

The world regards learning as a stepping stone and a step, in order to seek the wealth brought by an official position, then the official position and wealth are the essence, and the learning is the ornament. However, Confucius, he doesn't think like this, in his eyes, the purpose of being an official is to realize his ambitions, so learning is the essence, and the official position is ornamentation, and he doesn't want to develop ornamentation instead of essence, that is, he doesn't want to lose his original desire and lose his essence in order to be an official. Sure enough, due to various reasons, Confucius never showed any great achievements in politics, but in the three months of governing the state of Lu, he showed the courage of an outstanding statesman.

When later generations talked about Confucius's political career, they often went from one extreme to the other, saying that "political unhappiness made Confucius devote a large part of his energy to the cause of education." Confucius once served as the secretary of the Lu state, and later traveled around the world with his disciples, and finally returned to the Lu state to concentrate on teaching. Confucius broke the monopoly of education and pioneered private learning. There were as many as 3,000 disciples of Confucius, including 72 sages, many of whom were high-ranking officials from various countries. In fact, when they see this, people ignore the fundamental purpose of Confucius's politics and education, which is ultimately to promote his teachings.

Yue Haohan thought in his heart, although Confucius had obtained the hexagram and foreknew that it would be difficult for him to achieve his goal, Confucius still did not give up - not to be a capable minister who governs the world, but to be a saint admired by all generations, and to make greater contributions to mankind, isn't it better?

Sitting at the desk, thinking about the hexagram of the hexagram, Yue Haohan's heart had a feeling of sudden enlightenment; In fact, the purpose of subconsciously wanting to have power is not for fame and wealth at all, it should be said that the purpose of being an official is also for ambition, in order to let those who need their help get more help. Knowing this, the ultimate goal pursued by Yue Haohan in his heart was clear, having more and greater rights was the essence, and everything else was ornamentation.

Another point is that the hexagram measured by Confucius is the unchanging hexagram, and the five hexagrams measured by Yue Haohan today are a change hexagram, and the change hexagram is the thirty-seventh hexagram of the Book of Changes, the "Wind and Fire Family" hexagram.

The family hexagram is an individual hexagram, the family refers to the parents, and the main hexagram is the separation hexagram, bright and dependent, just as the parents do housework and rely on the cooperation of the whole family; The Hakka is a Xun hexagram, powerful and obedient, such as a family member obeying the parent. This hexagram symbolizes that the external wind comes from its own fire, just as the influence and role of the family arise from within. A gentleman should pay special attention to his words and deeds, speak with a basis and content, and act with guidelines and rules.

The fifth line of the moving family said, "The king has a family, don't be compassionate, auspicious." "Meaning, the king can take a vacation at home without worry, auspicious. That is to say, having trust is like having authority, there will be authority, and ultimately auspicious.

Yue Haohan finally summed up the hexagram he predicted, if you want to achieve your goals, you must pay special attention to your words and deeds, speak with basis and content, and act with guidelines and rules. At the same time, it is necessary to gain the trust of the superiors, so that there will be authority and auspiciousness.

After measuring the hexagram, Yue Haohan looked at the time, it was already more than twelve o'clock at night, he got up and opened the door, and a cool breeze blew into the room, which was very pleasant.

The night in the mountain village is cool, although it is July, but the second half of the night is still a little cool, Yue Haohan walked out of the room, walked around the courtyard of the management area, suddenly felt refreshed, looked up at the stars in the night sky, and said to himself: "Then work hard for your ultimate goal!" ”

In the morning, as soon as the sky was polished, Yue Haohan got up and trotted to the Dragon King River. The newly built bridge was almost completed, Yue Haohan moved his lower limbs at the bridgehead, and then went to a flat field and played Tai Chi slowly. As soon as the move was held, I saw Wang Hongbin of Longwanghe Village and Li Ergou pulling a cart of goods with a board car and coming over from the Manshui Bridge.

Yue Haohan smiled, hurriedly stepped forward to greet the two, helped the two push the cart, and asked, "Hong Bin, what kind of good things are in this sack?" ”

Wang Hongbin replied: "Director Yue, this is the wild bamboo shoots that I broke with Ergou's family on the mountain in the spring of this year, and they have been dried. ”

"Selling these local products, no one asks you to collect taxes on agricultural specialties anymore, right?" Yue Haohan pushed the cart, looked at Wang Hongbin and asked with concern.

Li Ergou interjected: "No one collects it, no one imposes fines, and when we sell special products, we have a certificate issued by the Township Pilot Office for Reducing the Burden on Farmers, and those departments that collect money will no longer ask us to collect it." ”

Yue Haohan said: "The county stipulates that all taxes and fines collected from the peasants in your pilot villages must be approved by the county party committee and the county government, and no department may collect money or goods from you without the approval of the county party committee and the county government. ”

Wang Hongbin said: "Director Yue, you are good at this pilot, you are a good official who looks good for our people!" When everyone talks about you, Director Yue, there is no one who doesn't give a thumbs up. ”

Yue Haohan smiled and said, "Hong Bin, you don't bring me a high hat, make your money well, in addition to making a fortune yourself, you also have to help other people with poor conditions in the village." When the three of them arrived at the gate of the management area, Yue Haohan said goodbye to Wang Hongbin and Li Ergou, and went back to the management area for breakfast.