Horse-head Wall Reflects the Qing Dynasty

Chapter 48: Explain the wonderful truth and teach everyone to test your sincerity and make you laugh and cry

A plate of pickles, half a bowl of porridge, and a few slices of freshly baked dried tofu. In the four directions, the morning light poured into the courtyard.

Cheng Heng silently sorted out the current situation of the Ying family in his mind, thinking about how to play the role of this teacher who "is equivalent to a long gown" - being able to accept Ying An as a girl, the teacher may not necessarily have the braid on his head in his heart.

The more he chewed the dried tofu, the more fragrant it became. The aroma of beans and brine filled his nose. Cheng Heng's eyes subconsciously fell on the dried tofu on the chopsticks. He decided to look for it after he returned to reality, maybe he could find a similar taste.

The tender dried tofu in those packaging bags are often coated with gypsum, which is essentially very cold. It does not have enough aftertaste and is not chewy enough. Cheng Heng's mother has a bad stomach and always suffers from stomachache after eating it. Even Cheng Heng himself is prone to bloating.

Returning to the Ying family's affairs from his scattered thoughts, Cheng Heng still wanted to get involved. Both pairs of parents were characters he wrote, and Cheng Heng had an inexplicable sense of responsibility for the choices of these people.

"Sir, both of the Ying family members have asked for leave today, and asked me to speak to you."

As soon as he put down his job, Cheng Heng, a man whose daily routine was a bit distorted, was forced to start working.

"Okay." Although he said okay, Cheng Heng didn't feel good at all.

These two kids made such a big fuss yesterday, and no one knows what caused it. It really makes people worry.

"Okay, now put all your homework from yesterday on the table and I'll check it."

Walking among a group of students, Cheng Heng's eyes were on their schoolwork, but his heart had long drifted to the Ying family. His goal this time was too unclear. What kind of people should he shape his two children into? And what should he do for the current Ying family?
Unaware of the fact that Cheng Heng himself was not aware of it, everything he did was still centered around the so-called "protagonist" in his mind, so that he was "biased" from the beginning to the end.

"Sir, yesterday a young gentleman came to my house and asked me to learn something I had never seen before... He said that many people are saying this now, and if I want to sell the things in my house, I must learn it."

Since he became a teacher, Cheng Heng had almost no time to rest during the day. When the students were playing and joking, there were always a few who came up to Cheng Heng with confusion and eager to learn - but Cheng Heng was not good at rejecting others.

"What are you studying? Can you become an official if you study those?" Needless to say, Cheng Heng knew what foreign languages the other party was talking about. In the drama school, Cheng Heng's English was the best among his classmates. He passed the CET-4 and CET-6 without having to pass them, and even tried to act in a Western drama.

But do you really want to ask Cheng Heng if he likes it? Cheng Heng doesn't like it. For Cheng Heng, foreign languages are just a tool that he has to use. Only by using foreign languages can he better pass on the drama that Cheng Heng likes to more people.

“They said yes.”

"Can you make money by learning those?"

"They said if you don't learn, you can't make money. Now that the port is open to trade, if you want to do business, you have to learn."

Cheng Heng asked seriously, and the student in front of him answered seriously.

"Then you can go and learn from them." Cheng Heng played the role of an old-fashioned gentleman very well, but there were some developments in modern history that had to be experienced, and Cheng Heng could not stop these students from pursuing progress no matter what.

"Sir, please don't be angry. I... naturally believe you."

Relying on the influence of his original body, Cheng Heng also experienced what it means to be intimidating without getting angry: "I am not angry. If you want to learn, go and learn from them."

The students who were originally talking eloquently became even more silent, as if Cheng Heng’s next sentence would be: If you cannot become a government official by then, don’t say that I did not advise you.

With a bow and a hint of hesitation in his slow steps, the student who came to ask the question turned around and was about to sit back in his seat. Cheng Heng, who had secretly vowed to play his role well and not get too involved, became anxious.

"Why do you think I'm angry?"

"Because that's what the gentleman said before."

This turned out to be the case. Cheng Heng became more certain of his suspicions and decided to ask, "Why didn't you go before?"

"because……"

The person just now hesitated when asked the question, and the other students gathered around and started talking at once.

"Don't you know, sir?"

"It was because his father scolded him when he got home. I heard he knelt in the yard for half an hour!"

The student who asked the question blushed at this time, and his embarrassing story was exposed in public. But now that it was exposed, the former had nothing to hide: "Sir, because my father scolded me and said that you are unhappy, and asked me to apologize to you."

"But I don't dare, and... this is not the first time that young gentleman has come to see me."

So the teacher was forced to wear the "long gown"! Once this idea took shape in Cheng Heng's mind, it could not be erased.

"If you want to go, go and learn from that young teacher for a few days. I won't force you."

"But you have to think clearly. Can you become an official if you study with him? Can it bring honor to your family?" In fact, the answers to these questions are yes. Cheng Heng knew that as long as the boy in front of him did not go astray, it would be the right choice for him to choose a new-style school at this moment.

Following Cheng Heng's words, the students around him fell silent. The teacher seemed to be serious and was not accusing him in a sarcastic way. The moment the student who asked the question raised his eyes, his gaze met Cheng Heng's, and he seemed to see some inexplicable encouragement from him.

Of course, a group of students could not believe that the "old-fashioned" teacher in front of them would really let them go. Besides, who knows whose parents are still hoping that everything will go back to more than ten years ago, or even a hundred years ago... the era when they could go to the capital to become officials by memorizing books and writing eight-legged essays.

"Well, read your books carefully, and don't think about happiness or sadness. This is not what you should be thinking about at your age!"

Cheng Heng was afraid of exposing himself.

It's not just fear of exposing themselves. Just as Guan Yin said, the old-fashioned teacher is like the spiritual pillar of this group of "conservatives". Once there is no new idea to quickly follow up and carry their hopes, this pillar cannot be broken, otherwise it will also be an unpredictable unstable factor for society.

If, Cheng Heng was thinking, if these children really figured it out, determined their goal of going to a new-style school, and achieved success with their own abilities, then the meaning of this old-fashioned teacher's existence would disappear.

Perhaps that would be the time for Cheng Heng to leave.

"Teacher, the two people from the Ying family are making trouble at the entrance of the school." There are always some distracted students. They glance outside from time to time, and everything they should and shouldn't see enters their eyes. "Teacher, aren't you going to take care of it?"

If the teacher can take care of it, he won't have to copy books anymore and can join in the fun, of course the naughty student thought so. "A family in Qiaoxi wants to propose marriage? You don't want me as your father anymore, right?"

"Dad, I'm not, it's just you and mom...mom should also have the right to pursue her own happiness."

Before Cheng Heng had time to think about what he should say to show that he was not there to join in the fun, the fun had already come to him. Ying Xuecheng and Ying Xuexin were yelling and persuading, and Ying Sheng naturally became the one who got beaten.

The reasonable neighbors would have already closed their doors and windows, not wanting to go to other people's homes and make a fool of themselves.

Those who were there to join in the fun were really worried that the child would be hurt, and they all advised them to talk things out behind closed doors. Someone would have to inherit the Ying family's pharmacy in the future, and it was right not to hurt the child.

"Dad, Dad, why did you hit only me?"

"Ms. An obviously also..."

"She too? Without your instigation, would she follow you to do such a thing?"

Cheng Heng finally understood what was going on. The two children had heard something about free marriage from somewhere, and went to choose a husband for their mother. Proposals came one after another, causing chaos at home.

"If I don't beat you to death today, I will take your surname!" The father had lost his mind and started talking without thinking.

"Dad, hey dad, if you follow my last name, isn't your last name still Ying?"

Originally, only the father's careless words were not considered funny, but as soon as Ying Sheng said this, everyone around, whether they were watching the fight or trying to stop the fight, or those who didn't understand anything, laughed out loud.

Ying's father felt ashamed, but his son's words inevitably broke his defense. He suppressed his anger and thought about why this brat deserved a beating, then swung the copper scale in his hand and was about to hit Ying Sheng.

Ying Sheng felt bitter. It was obviously not him who came up with that outrageous idea first, Ying An was the culprit, and in the end, he was the one who was beaten by his parents - but looking at it this way, these two were loved, and he was the one who was not loved.

Thinking of this, the boy sat down in the street and started crying, leaving the people around him confused as to why he was crying.

"I'm afraid you don't love me. How unfair is that to me?"

"Wow, wow, wow...Now it seems that I am the one who is not loved."

"Dad, why did you give birth to me if you wanted to kill me?"

"You were born wrinkled and ugly by your mother..." He would think of how his wife spent all day teasing the child after she had the baby. The store was originally busy with business, but as a result, he became the one being ignored. Ying's father felt miserable!

Cheng Heng didn't know why, but he suddenly felt a little ashamed in his heart - maybe it was just like Ying's father's mentality. Cheng Heng felt bitter for writing such a group of funny people!
"Wow, wow, dad, what do you mean my mother gave birth to me? Obviously..."

Worried that his nephew might say something shocking again, the uncle took advantage of the moment when both parties were unresponsive, reached out and covered Lian Yingsheng's mouth.

"Shh, don't talk. If you have any questions, uncle can go back and persuade your parents."

The farce was finally over, the onlookers dispersed, Ying Sheng and Ying An were also taken back home, the streets became completely quiet, but the private school was in chaos.

"Ahem." Cheng Heng cleared his throat, and most of the students fell silent.

Cheng Heng turned around from the door and walked into the study room step by step. The last rustling sounds of the students became smaller and smaller.

When he finally stood in front of the students, Cheng Heng couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed.

A group of students would at most walk out of the study to listen to the excitement, but Cheng Heng was nowhere to be found. Curiosity and worry drove Cheng Heng to walk unconsciously step by step to the gate, and he didn't know how many people noticed him among the people coming and going.

"Sir, so we should really be free to love?"

"Sir, my father said that he has found a wife for me a long time ago, but... I have only met her once. She is younger than me, more like a little sister. She can prick her hands when she embroiders. I am afraid. How can she be my wife in the future?"

Children speak without restraint. It is not because they look down on the little girl's embroidery, but because they wonder how such a "little sister" can manage such a big family in the future. Children do not have so many thoughts, but simply feel sorry for a sister who is younger than themselves.

"Oh, it's so scary. I touched the needle secretly before, and my heart trembled when it stuck in my hand."

"That's right, can't she stop doing embroidery? My family is not short of money. Mom said... Even if three generations don't make money, they won't starve to death!"

"But the one I embroidered is so beautiful. The little mandarin ducks look just like the pair in Nanhu Lake!"

Cheng Heng took all these words to heart. The original trace of bitterness still lingered in his heart, but he did not dare to show it on his face. He frowned and read from the book, interrupting a group of students: "Do not do to others what you do not want others to do to you."

"Who among you can tell me what this sentence means?"

It was a simple sentence, and it was not difficult for a group of teenagers who had long passed the enlightenment period, so Cheng Heng wanted to guide them step by step...

As the sun sets in the west, the chirping of birds replaces the sound of the group of students. Cheng Heng looks up at the sky. The sky is vast and wide, and there must be someone who can go out - this era has given them the possibility to go out, and they should see the boundless sky.

With the stars and the moon, Cheng Heng took out the porridge that he had just heated up from the kitchen and paired it with the dried tofu that had been cooled by the wind. In just one day, the dried tofu had a more mature taste, unlike the fragrance that was delivered to the mouth at the first moment, just a little bit, a little bit of fragrance on the lips and teeth.

"Time." Cheng Heng also thought of what made the aroma of dried tofu lasting and lingering.

So many things can be left to time. It's like time has already proven that the two pairs of happy enemies written by Cheng Heng are indeed meant to be together.

Since time will verify the choice, Cheng Heng thought: Perhaps he should delay Ying Sheng for a while longer, until time gives Ying Sheng the most correct choice, then no one will regret it.

The porridge that had just been heated up had become cold again. It was also the work of time. Cheng Heng's thinking had allowed time to steal the warmth of the porridge, but this warmth seemed to have been transmitted to Cheng Heng's heart, arousing the passion again for someone who had originally wanted to lie down.

Boiling a frog in warm water is not a drastic change, but it can gradually keep what you want to say in the hearts of those who should listen to it...

(End of this chapter)