Du Zhongxiao has never dealt with the mainstream readers of this era, although his father is a lifter, except for reading books when he was a child, he talks about firewood, rice, oil and salt on weekdays. As for the family and the country, Li Min is alive, and Du Xun does not have that mind.

Let Mei Yaochen go to the living room and serve tea, Du Zhongxiao thought about it again and again before saying: "That Fu I only have occasional feelings, written in essays." The so-called article is natural, I just happened to meet it-"

Listening to Du Zhongxiao's modestness, Mei Yaochen let go and said with a smile: "Xiaoyou is polite." I have read my article several times, and the mood during it is not at all like the mood of a young man. Several of us have discussed it, and we all think that your father is in the first place in the capital, and his family is in a dilapidated state, and Xiaoyou has a feeling. The article is naturally good, but if you haven't experienced the hardships of life, where can you do it? ”

Du Zhongxiao was ashamed, this topic is not good to continue. At that time, he just recorded an article about Ouyang Xiu because he was a person of this era, and he didn't think about it. Su Shunqin didn't say anything at that time, but he didn't expect that after returning to the city, he would spread the article widely. Others are okay, Ouyang Xiu saw it himself, and suddenly felt like a confidant, and recommended it to many readers who had contacts, and Mei Yaochen was one of them.

Talking about the article, Mei Yaoya's words got up with me, carrying "Autumn Shengfu" on my back and communicating with Du Zhongxiao. Fortunately, Du Zhongxiao still remembers some of the annotations of this text in his previous life, and he can say a few words, which is not particularly embarrassing.

After talking for a while, Mei Yaochen sighed: "Xiaoyou, I see you talking, you have some insight, but you are too restrained. We scholars are together, talk about some articles and insights, and we should be open-minded. ”

Du Zhongxiao said cautiously: "Official, you are the current magistrate, and I am just a peasant boy." Half a year ago, I was still without food and clothing, and I was hungry in the county. I've only been eating for a few days, and where can I talk about looking at the world-"

Mei Yaochen laughed when he heard this: "Do you think that if we become officials, we will have big fish and big meat?" Alas, the same. If we read the books of the sages and sages only to seek worldly glory and wealth, will it not be insulting to our ancestors? Using the truth in the book to help the world and save the people is the original intention of the reader. ”

Speaking of this, Mei Yaochen took out a letter from his arms and handed it to Du Zhongxiao: "I have a friend Ouyang Xiu, a jinshi of the seventh year of the Heavenly Sage Wang Gongchen List, and now the capital is surveying the pavilion. When we met before, he laughed at himself for inevitably being poor all his life. A few days ago, I was given a poem with Lu Jing, which is exactly what I said about the shabby poor people. Little friends, readers, should have this kind of mind. ”

Du Zhongxiao took the letter, and saw that it was a few days ago in the snowstorm in the capital, Ouyang Xiu and Lu Jing drank together, and sent a couplet of five words to Mei Yaochen on a whim. Lu Jing is the first year of Jingyou Zhang Tangqing list Jinshi, and the same year as the general judge Su Shunqin, now Beijing is a Dali judge, and Ouyang Xiu has a very close relationship.

The poem was repaired by Ouyang: "The cold window is bright and the moon is bright", and Lu Jinglian "scatters the lights, breaks the inkstone and cracks the ice." Nearly ten rhymes in the middle, and finally Lu Jing's "Yuan Bao is a powder, why should he laugh before the smile", "Ouyang Xiujie" met and mocked the rice. ”

The content of the poem is nothing more than two poor scholars drinking alcohol and eating shabby and having fun. These lower-level officials are not high-level, if they are just one person who still has no worries about food and clothing, but they have to support a large family, their lives will not be easy. The two also wrote a poem to send to a friend on a whim, chatting about self-deprecation. This is a common thing for literati at this time, and people always have to have some fun in life.

Du Zhongxiao secretly said that he was ashamed, his "Qiu Shengfu" was copied by Ouyang Xiu, but he didn't expect that someone would use him as an example to teach himself the truth of being a human being. It's just that now there are several young officials involved, and only one Ouyang Xiu can remember in his previous life, and the other two don't think about anything big, and there are not many things about them in historical records. Mei Yaochen said very reasonably, a scholar should have the world in his heart, but how can Du Zhongxiao, who has been a person for two lives, do it? What he cares about most now is how he will live, and then how he should live.

Du Zhongxiao looked at the couplet and five words again and again, but what he thought was something else. This poem is, of course, a mediocre work, with little to praise, and it is a literati game. But it is precisely this kind of game that shows the level of the reader. Impromptu rhyme, flat and stable, although there are no golden sentences, but every sentence must be to the point, and there must be a strong basic merit. And the basic skills are exactly what Du Zhongxiao lacks.

Although he was not a liberal arts student in his previous life, Du Zhongxiao still memorized some poems and articles, and most of them were high-quality products. Copy two songs casually, and it is not difficult to sing them in this era. Just like he occasionally copied an article "Qiu Shengfu", which was inadvertently passed out, and Mei Yaochen also came to visit. But this kind of copied literary name is like building a tower on the sand, and it will soon be revealed in its original form.

is like the couplet between Ouyang Xiu and Du Jing, the same scene, what if someone else wants to do a piece with Du Zhongxiao? Among literati, this kind of thing is very common, and without this ability, you can't play with others. This is the basic skill of the literati, it is the daily life of the literati, and those famous works are only revealed when these mediocre works are eliminated. Mediocre works can't be made, the export is famous, who believes it?

Thinking of this, Du Zhongxiao regretted that he copied Ouyang Xiu's article a little. There are a few characters like Mei Yaochen at intervals, and they have to show their stuffing. There is a risk in selling the copied literature, but it is still the right way to study honestly and take the Jinshi exam.

Seeing Du Zhongxiao's expression, Mei Yaochen didn't care. During the imperial examination in the capital, he met Du Xun by chance, and remembered that he was a mediocre talent who was bent on fame and fortune, and he didn't have much knowledge. Where can the vision of a son taught by such a father go? It's just that the article is well done, not only the literary style, but the open-mindedness and openness during it are what Mei Yaochen appreciates. If you can make this kind of article, you must not be an ordinary person, and that kind of mind can't deceive people. Even if you are trapped in life for a while, you will be fascinated by the world, and there will be a day when you will get up.

Seeing that Du Zhongxiao didn't want to talk more about literature, Mei Yaochen understood in his heart. A poor scholar in a small place, with limited knowledge, accidentally made a good article and came out, and it is certain that he will be concerned about it.

Mei Yaochen grew up with his uncle Mei Xun since he was a child, and he also used Mei Xun's grace to enter the office, and became an official at a young age. It's just that he became famous at a young age, but the road to the imperial examination has not been smooth, and he has been admitted to the scholar many times. People are like this, the more they lack something, the more they want to get it, Mei Yaochen is like this, he seems to be crazy about the jinshi in the imperial examination.

Fan Zhong, who admired these Shaozhuang faction officials last year, went to the northwest because the border marshal had the power to set up the shogunate, which gave hope to many people, including Ouyang Xiu and Mei Yaochen. Compared with the hard work in the interior, it is a shortcut to go to the frontier to not only make meritorious achievements, but also to be promoted quickly. However, the reality quickly disappointed them, and for Ouyang Xiu, who had advanced and retreated with him and was demoted, Fan Zhongyan was only the secretary. Ouyang Xiu naturally didn't want to go to the frontier to be a small civil official who drafted four or six documents, so he politely declined. And Mei Yaochen, who once asked Ouyang Xiu to recommend himself to Fan Zhongyan, also broke off his thoughts, and since then he has been at odds with Fan Zhongyan, pinning his hopes on Han Qi, Yin Zhu and others.

Mei Yaochen came here when he was hopeless in the northwest and was sent by the Ministry of Officials to Huzhou to supervise the liquor tax. The career was not smooth, the imperial examination failed, and all kinds of frustrations were stacked together, which made Mei Yaochen have a good impression of Du Zhongxiao, a young man who was too modest in front of him.

Drinking tea, Mei Yaochen introduced Du Zhongxiao to the literati who sang and sang with his own poems, and while introducing others, he let Du Zhongxiao really have the consciousness of a scholar, and not put all his thoughts into the world.

However, Du Zhongxiao felt that these literati friends in Mei Yaochen's mouth were a little more sharp than the generation of Lu Yijian and Wang Zeng, who were ending, but a little less bearing. Even if he doesn't care about current affairs, Du Zhongxiao can feel it from Mei Yaochen's words and the court governance he hears every day. With the arrival of the literati coach in the northwest on the stage, the new and old officials of the entire imperial court are changing, one era is ending, and another is slowly opening. Even in Linying County, with the arrival of Fan Town, Xinzhi County, you can feel the atmosphere of the times.

An era has an era style, and this style can be best expressed from an idealistic reader like Mei Yaochen. They are the most easily influenced by the times, and they are also the most able to change an era.

In order to support his family, Du Zhongxiao has been working for more than half a year, and his family situation has just improved. At this time, Mei Yaochen inadvertently showed him the characteristics of the times, which made Du Zhongxiao realize that this is an era of flowers and flowers, and it is also an era of cooking oil with fire.

Scholars dream of making meritorious contributions, and the whole society looks forward to peace and stability, but social contradictions have not been eased. Not to mention anything else, the Wu family, who opened a restaurant, took it for granted a few months ago that the foot household was a slave, and a commoner woman was a maidservant concubine.

Mei Yaochen was tired and picked up the tea.

Du Zhongxiao sighed and said, "Official, I have also read sage books since I was a child, and I understand the great truth. However, as a small people, they are helpless to be born in this world. Even if you are dedicated to the country and the people, you must first live. Take my restaurant as an example, until today, it can be regarded as providing food and clothing for our two families. But what did you know a few months ago? ”

Speaking of this, Du Zhongxiao sighed heavily and told him that he and his mother came to the county seat and had no food and clothing. Until he said that Wu Kejiu bullied the Han family and wanted to take Yueniang as a concubine, the two families were desperate, and said: "It's just a rich family, but one restaurant and a few Zhuangzi, so they regard the people as cattle and horses." There are also official offices in the county seat, and there are also county commanders and county lieutenants, but a prodigal son is doing evil in the yamen. Officials, these are peaceful years, the government is clear, and the small people are especially sad. If I hadn't had this method of steaming wine, I wouldn't dare to think about the situation of our two families now. Even though the newcomer Fan Zhixian was straightforward, the Wu family was not punished, and today he stole my family's method of making wine. They are rich and powerful, and in a few years, will they be the same as before? With the world in mind, I want to live first! If you are poor, you will be alone, and now I am poor and poor, and if I don't reach the time, I will help the world—"

Mei Yaochen was stunned: "You have also heard Su Tongju's letter mention it when you steamed spirits, and it was said at that time that the wine lees will be steamed for you, and your family will give porridge to the poor, which is a good thing." Why, the Wu family still dares to steal your family's method of making wine? It's worth it! ”