Riding the wind of rebirth

The one who said this was Li Dongping. He and Zhang Qianyi were the tallest in the small team, and could be seen at a glance.

Actually, Huang Ruishan, who was standing on the side, was also quite tall, but he wasn't as handsome as the other two. So, when he stood at the door, the girls from Sichuan Conservatory of Music were so bold that they openly stared at him.

"Everyone's here! It's been a long time!" Zhou Zhi was happy to see everyone.

“We agreed to treat everyone today,” Tong Xiaolin said with a smile. “We used to have gatherings at Sister Tian’s restaurant and Cold Drinks, and she wouldn’t accept our money. You’re not allowed to try to take it from us this time.”

"That was her idea. Saying you're all students makes it sound like I'm not one." Zhou Zhi didn't want his classmates to feel bad for him, so he shifted the blame to Tian Rui: "Then I'm happy today, I'll eat with Xiao Miao for free!"

"Everyone says they want to thank you for supervising the thesis," Zhang Qianyi said. "Zhouzi, Xiaomiao, it's been a long time."

"Hello, boss." Zhou Zhi laughed, "You and Xiaolin, the man is handsome and the woman is beautiful, you can only imagine how beautiful your future children will be..."

"If you keep talking nonsense, Qianyi will beat you up!" Tong Xihua is always aloof in front of outsiders, but she can let loose in front of Zhou Zhi. After all, they have a relationship through organizing the dance club and the sugar and wine trade fair, which is different from the relationship between ordinary classmates.

“Xiaolin is just being dramatic. I could say the same thing to Monkey and Wenxin without any problem.” Zhou Zhi turned to Zhao Xing and Du Wenxin and said, “Monkey and Wenxin are both smart. Their children will definitely be good at business in the future.”

Zhao Xing nodded repeatedly: "My mother said that we both have the genes of the Zhao family, and Wenxin and I are lucky to have come into a good era."

Du Wenxin couldn't take it anymore: "Don't you even know how to blush!"

After saying that, she began to retort: ​​"If we're talking about smart kids, I'm afraid no one can outsmart your two kids, right?"

Just then, Li Yijia ran over: "You guys are so mean! You didn't even wait for me while I was changing my clothes! Xiao Miao, I missed you so much!"

After saying that, he took Mai Xiaomiao's hand and asked, "Are the children all alright?"

"Yes, that's good." Mai Xiaomiao smiled and said, "They miss you too."

The atmosphere froze instantly when the two said this. Even the diners sitting on the benches waiting for their food fell silent, pricking up their ears to hear the gossip.

Zhou Zhiyi suddenly realized: "Hey, what are you two thinking! They're talking about the children at Lianhe Township Elementary School."

Du Wenxin then patted her chest: "You scared me to death! I thought you were secretly in Liangshan Prefecture..."

"It's all Zhouzi's fault! He steered the conversation this way," Lu Qiao said, both amused and exasperated. "Just then, Jiajia came over and picked up the thread..."

"Everyone's here, come up!" A small window opened upstairs, and Qi Xinyan, Wu Ling Shuang, and Lu Jiayi poked their heads out: "The pot's boiling!"

These three arrived early to reserve seats, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to eat.

Everyone chatted and laughed as they went upstairs, where two tables were full in a small private room.

Taro, pork intestines and chicken soup can't really be considered a hot pot. Essentially, it should be considered a braised dish, but it's served in a pot and heated over a low flame on a stove.

The preparation is so thorough that you can tell about 70-80% of it at a glance. The taro is cooked separately in salt water, the pork intestines are first braised to infuse flavor, and then pressure-cooked together with braised chicken pieces. Next, the taro is placed at the bottom of the pot, then the pork intestines and braised chicken are added, and two large spoonfuls of chili oil are poured on top before serving.

Since everything is served as a pre-cooked dish, it can be brought out very quickly. Once you've almost finished eating the taro, pork intestines, and chicken, you can order bamboo shoots, dried tofu, and vegetables separately to cook in the pot like a hot pot.

This dish is very warming in winter, and the seller gives generous portions and it has a rich flavor, so it is very popular. With the number of customers more than doubling, business is naturally booming.

The flavor is already so rich, and the owner also provides dipping sauces with pickled mustard greens, dried peas, sesame oil, ginger, scallions, garlic, oyster sauce, and other seasonings. You can dip it dry or mix it with a spoonful of chili oil from the pot to make a wet sauce, both of which are very delicious.

College students are still not used to drinking baijiu (Chinese liquor), so this kind of food goes well with beer.

We were all close classmates, and we had a great time eating and chatting.

The reason everyone specifically expressed their gratitude to Zhouzhi is because Zhouzhi found excellent thesis topics for everyone.

Undergraduate research projects in Chinese literature are generally not difficult, but to stand out, the topic must be novel, the content detailed, the argumentation sufficient, and the conclusions reliable. Only in this way can you win the favor of your supervisor.

These days, Chinese literature majors are still in high demand. Apart from Lu Jiayi, who is determined to take the postgraduate entrance exam, most of them have already found their place in the industry. Therefore, there is an important point to Zhou Zhi gave them early on: the research topics should be easy to complete.

To have novel and diverse research topics, the best approach nowadays is to cross disciplines.

Chinese literature major papers cannot only discuss Chinese literature; they must be combined with other subjects, such as statistics, mathematics, music, fine arts, history, and porcelain making.

In addition, they are all related to the birth background of most people.

For example, Zhou Zhi chose "A Preliminary Discussion on the Works of Representative Figures in the Literature of the Five Liang Dynasties" for Huang Ruishan's research topic.

The Five Liang refers to the five regimes that formed in the Hexi Corridor region during the Sixteen Kingdoms period: Former Liang, Later Liang, Southern Liang, Northern Liang, and Western Liang. Their geographical core was the area around present-day Wuwei, Gansu.

At that time, the Central Plains were in turmoil, and many cultural figures fled to the relatively stable Hexi Corridor, where they created a brilliant culture together with the local ethnic minorities.

Li Gao of Western Liang, whose works such as "Ode to My Aspirations" and "Ode to the Locust Tree" hold an important place in the literary history of the Five Liang states, is best known for his prose works, including "Letter to My Son" and "Memorial to the Eastern Jin Court," as well as Liu Bing's "Inscription for the Jinggong Hall."

This region also played a significant role in the eastward transmission of Buddhism. The rulers of the Five Liang dynasties were mostly devout Buddhists, attracting Buddhist monks from both the east and west to settle in Hexi. Famous monks such as Dharmaraksha, Fotucheng, Kumarajiva, and Dharmakṣema all had connections to Hexi.

To unearth a paper with such a unique subject from this perspective is truly significant.

For example, the research topic assigned to Xu Gang was "Pei Jingfu's Journey on the Silk Road and the Record of Rivers, Seas and Kunlun Mountains".

Pei Jingfu was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) in the twelfth year of the Guangxu Emperor's reign. He served as magistrate of Lufeng, Panyu, Chaoyang, and Nanhai counties in Guangdong. His collection of calligraphy, paintings, and antiques aroused the jealousy of Cen Chunxuan, the then Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, forcing him to temporarily flee to Macau. Cen still dismissed him from his post and imprisoned him in Nanhai Prison. Pei submitted a memorial to the court stating that "among the magistrates of Guangdong and Guangxi, Pei is the ringleader of corruption, relying on foreign power to disregard the law," but no evidence was found to support this claim, and he could not be severely punished. Therefore, he was exiled to Xinjiang.

Upon arriving in Xinjiang, he encountered a fellow graduate of the provincial telegraph office who had passed the imperial examinations in the same year. Given the backwardness of the border province and the lack of talent, he was appointed acting director of the telegraph bureau. In the early years of the Republic of China, he served as the provincial governor of Anhui. In his later years, he resigned and returned to his hometown, where he entertained himself by collecting calligraphy, paintings, and antiques.

The Records of the Rivers, Seas and Kunlun Mountains is a record of his experiences along the way.

On his journey to the garrison in XJ, Pei Jingfu made two cloth bags and carried them with him. He recorded everything he experienced on the road, everything he saw and heard, and everything he thought about each day, and put them all in the bags.

This journey began in the South China Sea, passed through the Yellow River, and finally reached the Kunlun Mountains. The trip covered 12,000 li (approximately 6,000 kilometers) and lasted over 370 days. As a prisoner, Pei Jingfu passionately observed the landscape of his homeland; in his writing, the majestic mountains and boundless plains vividly displayed the "bright and magnificent spirit of the frontier." (End of Chapter)