Mang Shusheng's Ink Painting Practice

Chapter 36 This Family Is Not Easy
Zhao Yifu brought a copy of the official document he had copied and came to a town on the outskirts of Moyang.

The Southern Dynasty had a dense population, and the area outside the city walls had long been filled with people. This was only okay in peacetime, but if war broke out, these people would probably not have a good end.

His good friend Fan Jin, who was much older than him, lived in such an environment.

He found a small, exquisite brick house in a town outside the city. He knocked on the door and heard a rather rough woman's voice from inside: "Who is it?"

Zhao Yifu was startled, and saw a burly woman who probably weighed more than 200 pounds pushing the door open and coming out.

This is his friend’s wife, Ms. Hu.

"Who are you looking for?"

Hu asked bluntly.

Zhao Yifu immediately clasped his fists and bowed, saying, "I am Zhao Yifu, and I have come here to look for my good friend Fan Jin, also known as Fan Zichang."

Hu snorted and said nonchalantly, "He's not here."

Then he almost muttered to Zhao Yifu: "None of these scholars are good."

Zhao Yifu didn't feel embarrassed, after all, she was Fan Jin's wife.

He quickly thought of a way out and pulled out a bag of Yiyi snacks from his pocket and said, "Wait a minute, sister-in-law. I came here in a hurry and didn't bring any gifts. I can only use this dried fish to entertain you."

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Hu immediately turned around, took the dried fish, took a look at it, and then quickly forced a smile and said, "So it's Brother Zhao. Why do you need to bring anything when you're here?"

"Really? I'll call that old guy out right now. He's only in his forties and he's already a little hard of hearing."

After saying that, he turned around and walked into the house, with no intention of inviting Zhao Yifu in.

Hearing the heavy footsteps of "dong dong dong" coming from inside the house, Zhao Yifu had no intention of going in to join in the fun.

A moment later, Fan Jin's thin body was carried out.

He said in a panicked and hoarse voice, "Madam, why is this happening? Why is this happening?"

Mrs. Hu threw him to the ground and said, "Your friend is here to see you. Treat him well and let him play in the city."

Having said that, he turned back and closed the door with a bang.

Zhao Yifu was speechless. How much did the Hu family dislike scholars?
Fan Jin then saw Zhao Yifu and gave a helpless wry smile. He then dug his hands into his ears for a while and pulled out some plaster, saying, "I'm sorry to make you laugh, brother Junxin, but if I want to study in this house, I have to use this method to calm my mind."

Zhao Yifu could only sigh from the bottom of his heart: "Brother Zichang is really hardworking."

Fan Jin pulled Zhao Yifu aside and said, "My dear brother Junxin and I haven't seen each other for a long time. Today we are going to have some fun."

Zhao Yifu knew his personality. The so-called entertainment was just strolling in the nearby rice fields. Any consumption-related activities would be unbearable for him.

But he didn't say anything. Since they were friends, he naturally had to adapt to the status of friends.

He said, "Brother Zichang, have you been studying so hard lately?"

Fan Jin smiled and said, "What else can we do?"

Zhao Yifu said, "I recently heard Master Zhou talking about my brother. He said that my brother's writing is sophisticated and his skills are quite good. What he lacks is not literary knowledge but worldly experience..."

As he was speaking, he saw Fan Jin showing an envious look, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

He stopped.

Fan Jincai said, "I never thought that we would be traveling together to Mount Moshan just a year ago, and now, in the middle of the year, my dear brother has become a distinguished guest of Master Zhou, the envy of others."

After hearing this, Zhao Yifu shook his head and said, "Brother Zichang, don't underestimate yourself. In fact, Master Zhou also cares about you. I came to you today to bring you some advice from Master Zhou." In fact, Zhou Su didn't have any advice for Fan Jin. It was all Zhao Yifu who wanted to give Fan Jin some suggestions based on his own understanding.

This was a white lie, because he now had a more thorough understanding of the requirements of the provincial examination.

Fan Jin immediately stood up solemnly, bowed in the direction of the Moyang City Academy, and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Master."

After doing so, he looked at Zhao Yifu expectantly and asked, "Brother Junxin, please tell me what your mentor has instructed you to do."

Zhao Yifu said, "As mentioned before, what Brother Zichang lacks is not the ability to write, but the experience of the world."

"What is experience? It is the cognition and reflection of affairs, the understanding and evaluation of government orders."

"I believe that with these, combined with your already sophisticated writing skills, you will definitely be able to pass the provincial examination."

In fact, we can put it in a simpler way: Don’t just study!
Fan Jin seemed to be thinking about what he had said, but he didn't seem to understand. He looked at Zhao Yifu blankly and asked, "What should I do?"

Zhao Yifu smiled and said, "Come, take these back and study them carefully. You will definitely gain something."

Fan Jin took the official document 'printed' by Zhao Yifu, and after just two glances at it, he felt his eyes light up... This kind of official document is definitely not something that ordinary people are qualified to access.

Therefore, ordinary people are still far behind those with real power in terms of information resources, and this information gap alone is enough to create a huge gap.

Fan Jin couldn't let go and asked, "Is this okay?"

Zhao Yifu said, "Don't worry, this is what I copied. Just remember not to show it to others."

Fan Jin was deeply moved after hearing this. He felt that Zhou Su might not remember a small person like him, and the one who really remembered him might be the good brother in front of him.

"I believe you, my dear brother. I cannot thank you enough for your kindness. If you achieve anything in the future, I will never forget what I did today."

Zhao Yifu smiled and said nothing when he heard this.

Is he seeking Fan Jin's repayment?

What's the point of that?

He just wants to have a clear conscience.

If Fan Jin had been awakened earlier, perhaps he could have passed the imperial examination earlier, and that would have been his true repayment of gratitude.

He thought for a moment and then said, "By the way, brother, please take a look at these documents first. We can discuss their contents together when we have time. We might gain something from verifying their contents with each other."

Fan Jin agreed and said, "That's exactly how it should be."

He sighed, "Having a close friend like Junxin makes me feel that life in this world is worth living."

Zhao Yifu heard the dejection in his words and advised: "Brother, please don't be like this. I think my sister-in-law is also sincere to you."

Fan Jin smiled bitterly and said, "I know she loves me sincerely, but she still can't understand what I'm pursuing. She thinks it's useless for me to study now..."

Zhao Yifu smiled and said, "No matter what, she is a good woman who has stayed with my brother till now."

He felt inexplicably guilty when he said this, and he wasn't sure if Mrs. Hu was sticking with Fan Jin because no one wanted her anymore...

But brothers always try to reconcile rather than separate.

In fact, if Fan Jin did not have Mrs. Hu's dowry subsidy and his father-in-law's occasional help, he would have been unable to make ends meet long ago.

Don't blame Butcher Hu for being unfriendly to his son-in-law. After all, he is already in his seventies and still has to work as a butcher to earn money to support his family, and also to subsidize his son-in-law's family... Anyone would be resentful if they were in his place.

(End of this chapter)