"But after that incident, Wang Zhenren learned to be smart, he didn't dare to do that, because he was the only one in the prime of his family, both old and young, he didn't dare to risk his life again, for fear that he would be left in prison, and the family would lose the last labor force, and the whole family would fall apart, he was the prime of the family, and he was also the pillar of everyone's hearts."

So, what he said at that time was not only the officials, but also the people in the family. Study hard at home. Although there are quite a few complaints in the family, they still respect his choice. After that incident, this official never passed the exam, and his family knew a little about the fraud in the department, and they also understood that he had no chance to be that official after all. Therefore, the people in the family persuaded him one after another. On the one hand, it is under pressure from officials. On the one hand, it was dissuaded by his family, so after some psychological struggle, Wang Zhenren finally gave up studying to gain fame. ”

Once, when he encountered a sudden change in his family, he thought that was the bottom of his life. Later, I found out that it was not, it was just one of the many ups and downs in his life, and then he did not pass the official examination, and when he heard about the away fraud, he realized how dark it was at that time. ”

He began to learn swords, whether it was for performance, or for self-defense, or because there was always an unbreakable anger in his heart, in order to cut through the darkness of the field. In short, he worked hard as always, and he also had a good talent in learning swords. After studying for a few years, he really let him learn well. ”

"There are teahouses and the like, and I invite him to come over and perform. In this way, relying on this meager income, he finally paid for the family's expenses, and at that time, he was like a ghost who had lost his heart, as if his heart had long since died, and only his body was still alive. ”

At that time, in addition to learning swords every day, performing in the teahouse, and getting a salary on Weibo, he slept all day long. It seemed that he didn't care more about anything other than earning those few taels of silver. He resolutely stopped looking at the books, which he had sold all of them. When you pass by a bookstall, you won't look sideways. The ways of Confucius and Mencius that were read on the lips in the past were not even mentioned. ”

"It's as if I've broken with those ways of Confucius and Mencius. He doesn't read those books, and his family can't afford them. He was busy all day long, just for a few taels of silver. And so it went by, day after day. His former classmates. Hearing that he is so depressed now, not only did he not feel pity for him, but he came and fell into the well. One day, after checking, the boss told him that there was a big customer today, and if he could make this old man happy, he would get double the silver. ”

In those days, the old mother of the family was seriously ill and urgently needed a sum of money to save her life, so Wang Zhenren was very serious in those days, and the moves and postures of the sword dance were all carefully calculated in advance, just to let customers see the best performance. If you can please the customer, maybe the guest can grab a few more pairs of medicine for his mother with a few copper plates. ”

It may be that after he went, he found out that the big customer mentioned by the teahouse owner was a classmate who had been flattering behind his ass, and he was also the most flattering one before, and that classmate had worshiped him like a god, holding him vigorously, for fear that he would be unhappy. But now that I saw him, the ridicule in his eyes was so obvious, as if he was some kind of ant. ”

The world is hot and cold, and Wang Zhenren never thought of meeting them again.

Even if Wang Zhenren felt that he was walking dead and down, he didn't expect that his former classmates and friends would run to his teahouse and specifically ask him to perform.

The little brother who used to follow behind flattering, now he has become a big official, and a group of people around him nodded and bowed, facing that classmate, he had a flattering face, but when he turned his head to look at Wang Zhenren, his face was also a little disdainful.

"Put on a good show, if you make my master unhappy, you have good fruit to eat, if you are happy to perform, I can reward you with a few taels of silver today, how many taels of silver can I have, it should be your family for half a year, right?"

Across the stage, Wang Zhenren saw his former classmate, looking at him with a disdainful face, and he was no longer the person who once followed his ass and wanted to blow himself into the sky.

Now the situation is reversed, and the identity is reversed. He was even more down-and-out than the flattering little brother he once was.

Wang Zhenren closed his eyes, once he thought that his life was dark enough, but until today, he knew that there was no lowest, only lower.

A few years ago, he fell from the sky like a bird with its wings severed, and now he falls again and again.

He never imagined that his former classmate would stand on his own, mocking the appearance of giving him a few taels of silver.

It almost shattered the blood and bones, reassembled it, and trampled all his dignity to pieces. That's when he realized that he still had dignity, but then he didn't have it anymore.

He endured his nausea and began to dance the sword, more earnestly than before, but his heart was more desolate than before.

That sword dance was full of applause, and he won a full house, which was an honor he had never had before. And now, under the ridicule of others, he has completed the most perfect sword dance in his life.

After getting off the stage, the classmate called him to his side and looked at him condescendingly. He stood in front of his classmates with his head bowed, thinking that asking him to dance a sword was already the most humiliating thing.

Unexpectedly, that classmate came to take revenge on him, and he gave him a series of infamy, such as treachery, betrayal of relatives and friends, vain attempt to collude with the examiner but failed, etc., and the pride in Wang Zhiren's heart has long been polished away.

He is already extremely proficient in these routines, and as long as he dares to have a rebuttal, then he may not get a penny today. For the sake of reality, his pride is worthless, so he does not say a word from beginning to end. The classmate punched the cotton, and when he saw that he was like a walking corpse, with no expression at all, he felt bored.

He later ordered someone to fetch a purse, and in the purse was ten taels of silver, which was enough for Wang Zhenren to save his mother.

"Haven't you always promised to be rich and rich? once took three steps and a poem, and his talent moved the capital. Although it has been so many years now. I think you haven't forgotten that, and you must still have some talent, right? In this way, make two lines of poetry, and praise me for what I have done today, and if I am satisfied today, I will give you these ten taels of silver. I know that you have an injured old mother and a pregnant wife at home, and this is ten taels of silver that is about to buy their lives, and you have no reason to disagree. ”

Yes, Wang Zhenren has no room for refutation at all. Even, he should be pleasantly surprised by this.

But from the moment he learned the sword, he vowed not to touch a word of poetry again.

He was swearing a poisonous oath. If you touch another poem, you will say that there will be no more reincarnation days.

But now, for the sake of his mother's life, in order to be able to support his family, what is it to break a poisonous oath?

Once upon a time, he studied for himself. From the moment he decided to learn the sword, his life no longer belonged to himself, but to that broken family.

He gladly accepted the ten taels of silver, and used the most flamboyant rhetoric he had ever seen in the rhetoric, and praised the clothes of his classmate very closely.

Not only two lines of poetry, he made a poem of hundreds of words, just to praise his classmate who fell into the well.

Those few lines of poetry, although he was heartbroken, but it is very gorgeous and dazzling, so that people can't ignore the aura, he is still the wonderful and gorgeous Wang Zhenren, but his loss is done for flattery, contrary to his original intention, he is no longer the Wang Zhenren he once was. Even though his poems have a bit of aura, they are worldly, no different from those written by people in the world.

The former young master of the family was in the middle of the road, and now he is sprinkling hundreds of words for ten taels of silver.

The tablemate took a look at what he had done, sneered, and then threw the ten taels to the ground. The broken silver was scattered all over the place, and then the classmate left, leaving only Wang Zhenren, who lowered his head and picked up the silver. He knew in his heart that what he couldn't pick up was his dignity.

And it was then that he met that so-called friend. That friend. As if out of thin air, I picked up the silver with him.

In fact, Xiao Er in the teahouse said that he wanted to help Wang Zhenren pick up the silver together, and Xiao Er admired him very much, but Wang Zhenren politely refused. Unexpectedly, that person took advantage of Wang Zhenren's inattention and picked up a few pieces of silver and put them in his hands.

"Even if you dance the sword, they dance the sword, but you are different from them, I know." The man smiled and said, "I can see that your soul is clean. ”

"Even in the middle of the city, your soul is so clean and clear that you can't tolerate half a field of sand."

"Why should you be honest with yourself?"

Everyone thought that Wang Zhenren had to bow his head and compose poems for that classmate for the sake of those few taels of silver, but only he could see that Wang Zhenren was angry with himself.

"Although I don't understand the words in the mouths of you literati, I can see that you must have something in your heart. Why do you give him a few hundred words? You give him a dozen words, and he can still walk happily. ”

"At the end of the day, you're just angry with yourself. You don't want to bow to him, and you have to bow your head for the ten taels of silver. So you wrote all your anger in this psalm, and although I had never read and could not understand these difficult words, I could see it in your expression. You don't really want to bow your head. ”

The man said something, but Wang Zhenren lowered his head and said nothing.

He turned around and was about to leave with the broken silver, but the man took a few steps and stopped his way.

"I didn't read much, I did some business from all over the world, and I had some savings at home. Although I haven't read any books, I have always longed for it. Now, I have heard your poems by chance, and I like and admire your talent very much, I wonder if I can pay a few taels of silver a month and buy you a few lines of poetry? ”

Wang Zhenren raised his eyes and looked at him.

The tone of the classmate just now was mocking, with disdain to see Wang Zhenren make a fool of himself. But. The person in front of me, with a smile in his eyes and kindness all over his body, I can't compare the classmate just now with him.

That kindness was like a burning flame, giving him a little warmth in the middle of winter, as if his soul was also slightly ignited.

As long as others are a little good, Wang Zhenren will revert to his old ways, and the kindness in his heart will be reawakened.

After a while, he promised, "I'm sorry, these ten taels of silver are enough for me to treat my mother at home, and I can't agree to what you said." ”

"Why, am I bothering? If that's the case, I'm sorry for you, I wanted to help you, but it was self-defeating and made you sad. ”

"No, no," Wang Zhenren hurriedly waved his hand and said, "I don't blame you at all, it's my own reason." You must know that my family is in the middle of the road. My family can't afford me to study, and they can't afford me to get famous. So, on that day, I had already sworn that if I touched the poem again, I would be taught never to enter samsara. Although I was forced to lose my former self just now, I can't lose it again and again. ”

"You have to have at least some conscience to be a human being, right?"

The man laughed, as if he was smiling at his persistence, but his expression was always kind, with a faint smile, "You're right, you should have some conscience to be a human being." ”

"That may be a bit cruel to you, though. I didn't want to say it so bluntly, but just now, I decided to treat you as a friend. The man continued, "Friends should not hide anything from each other, treat each other sincerely, and do not have to take into account the hypocrisy of the world. ”

"Would you like to make this friend with me?"

Wang Zhenren blinked, and when he reacted, he realized that he had already nodded his head.

This is the first friend he has made in the past few years, and his heart is a little hot.

"Since friends should treat each other sincerely, they don't keep anything. Then you're welcome, and if you have any problems, just come to me. Although my family is not very rich, I have savings in the past few years, and if you are in trouble, I will definitely lend a helping hand. ”

"Don't be polite to me, don't be embarrassed about it, we are friends, even if all the property in the family is in your hands, I am willing."

His new friend smiled, as if laughing at his own childishness, "This is the first time I've taken the initiative to make friends, and others have been chasing me before." Now that I see you, I have also become in a hurry, but the feng shui takes turns. ”

Wang Zhenren laughed, and after laughing, he suddenly realized. I actually laughed.

And it's a smile from the heart. In the past, he had been learning swords, and he learned swords to cope with the smiles of customers and to reassure his family. He had never laughed for himself, but today was the first time in years.

He quickly put away his smile and restrained himself, he felt that he was not like a person at the moment, but like a pug who hurriedly wagked his tail when he was given a little food.

In fact, the facts are very different, even after experiencing such wind and frost, Wang Zhenren is still very easy to deceive.

As long as others release a little kindness, he will reveal his past and inventory without reservation.

In just a few words, Wang Zhenren has completely delivered his sincerity to this friend, and in the past, he also had many friends, and he would easily deliver his sincerity to others. But he later learned that those friends were not. Treat each other sincerely, but hypocritically. Because of his good family background, he made friends with him, so he rushed to hold him. As a friendship, I later learned that it was nothing.

After experiencing the middle and fall of the family and a series of events later, he should have been vigilant in his heart and would not make friends easily, but he has recently indulged in a rare time, and his mentality seems to have returned to his youth.

That's how you can make a friend with one word, and it is now.

"You helped me today and picked up my dignity, I promise you that if I can help you in the future, I will try my best to help you." Wang Zhenren said.

"Okay, I'll wait for you to make good on your promise."

Wang Zhenren really regards him as his good friend. That person also showed that Wang Zhenren did not have any suspicion about him.

Just like what the man said, if Wang Zhenren encountered any difficulties after that, he would ask him for money. The two are intimate, if Wang Zhenren is dancing on stage, then there will be his new friend offstage, who has never been absent.

But Wang Zhenren thought that he had finally come to work and his life had improved a little.

With the encouragement of that friend, he began to look at the poems again, and although the books were a bit expensive, if the friend was out on business, or if he saw it by accident, he would definitely buy it for him.

Wang Zhenren danced the sword while looking at the book again.

In order to repay that friend, he would occasionally write a few lines of poetry, which was completely different from the poems he made that day because of flattery, and his poems finally regained their previous aura, and the poems either wrote about the past negative retribution, or wrote about a scenery he had seen in the past few days. In short, it's no longer just about flattering people.

He also taught that friend to learn poetry, read books, and recognize words, but that friend was really not the material for learning, but after learning a few words, he gave yelling a headache and never learned again.

Wang Zhenren is actually still very frustrated.

He also sometimes feels inferior. I don't feel like I deserve this friend at all. His friend is a good person, usually when he sees a beggar or something, he will always give the beggar a few taels of silver peacefully, not a reward from above, but he also squats down and looks at the beggar at eye level, and then puts it in the beggar's bowl with great importance, such a small gesture is also he is maintaining the dignity of others.

Wang Zhenren is happy that he can have such a friend.

He also spent two happy years with this friend.

Until the death of his parents at home, and his wife also died in childbirth, one body and two lives.

At that time, there were only a few people left in his family, and in the end, there was only an old servant in the family who accompanied him.

The old servant had been his nurse before his family had fallen, and even though his family could not afford to pay the money for his employment, the old servant had always been by his side. Take care of their family and do the housework. Helped him a lot. And now, only this old servant is left in the family.

Wang Zhenren's heart was depressed, and he once again asked the old servant to take out the deed of sale and hand it over to the old servant.

"After taking care of me for so many years, it's time for you to live your own life in the future." Wang Zhenren said the last words to the old servant, and handed over all the family's savings to the old servant. Let her out.

The old servant was nearly 50 years old at the time, and he really couldn't bear to let her be a slave of the Wang family after her death, so he let her go free, and from then on she no longer lived for the Wang family, but for herself.

Wang Zhenren knows how important freedom is to a slave.

He has gone through such a peaceful life, and now he is also heart-to-heart, and can look at problems from the perspective of hard work.

He knew that if he eventually became a slave, then he must have longed for freedom in his heart, even if he had been a walking corpse and felt that nothing mattered, but as long as there was a glimmer of hope that he could restore his freedom, he would definitely work hard for it.

So he set her free, not only for her sake, but also for himself.

When he once longed for freedom, he couldn't escape in the mud, and he sent the servant to follow his own wishes.

He is free now, and he was free before.

Bury all members of the family.

Since then, he has stopped working for his family, but has lived entirely for himself.

So, he stopped dancing with the sword.

In fact, he never liked sword dancing, and used to use it as a tool to support his family, a craft.

When he saw that sword, he remembered that he had once been humble and servile for money.

After all, he became the most despisable person of his youth. But now, in his first year, with the help of his friends, he finally picked up his dignity.

He stopped dancing with swords, he began to write poems, he began to pick up books.

In fact, his previous study was not pure, he used to study for the sake of making meritorious contributions, for fame and fortune, and for being able to glorify his ancestors. But now, he reads just because he likes it, and when he immerses himself in the book, he forgets everything in the world, as if there are only words in front of him, which is the only thing that makes him feel happy.

Even though his family is getting poorer and poorer, he is still happy in his heart.

Just looking at the poems, he was happy.

There is Yan Ruyu in the book, and there is a golden house in the book.

He doesn't pursue Yan Ruyu, nor does he pursue the Golden House, he only pursues the poems in the book. Not because there are mundane things in the book that he likes, but because he likes every word in the book.

His lips were hung up again with those Confucian and Mencian ways, and sometimes he said things that even his friend couldn't understand.

He talks about anything all day. His friend learned to read and write, but when he saw that he couldn't learn it, he gave up.

But that doesn't stop two people from making friends.

Sometimes he was reading a book while his friend was on the side, taking care of business.

The two of them were fine, and he even felt very good.

If, in his youth, he had said that he would have made a merchant friend in the future, he would have scoffed at it.

(End of chapter)