daoxingyoustudent

Cai Jingjing said, "A sensible daughter? You've hit the nail on the head. I really am a sensible daughter. I was sent to someone else's home when I was little, and when I returned home at the age of six, I was the one who did all the housework. I always did it all by myself. I made the fire, cooked, washed dishes, did the laundry, cleaned the house, fetched water, and played with my younger brother... To be honest, when I was little, I didn't even have time to do my homework. I had to rush through it during breaks at school. But as long as my mother praised me for being "sensible," I would give everything. Alas, now that I'm old, it's still like this. It's like I'm under a spell, haha..."

At the end of the conversation, Cai Jingjing actually laughed and seemed quite happy.

Fang Chen was dejected and didn't know what to say. What Cai Jingjing said was exactly her own life experience. She was sent to her fourth grandmother's house when she was two months old. When she returned home at the age of six, she was responsible for sweeping the floor, wiping the table, washing dishes, and making porridge. After she was eight years old, she almost cooked all the meals at home, and she had no time to do homework. But her sister, who was three years older, didn't have to do anything. When she was a child, she wondered why her sister didn't work, but she was beaten and scolded by her mother. She scolded the little girl for being born bad, petty, and ignorant of respect. How dare she compare herself with her Yu'er? Why did she give birth to such a thing as you? Why didn't she strangle you to death back then...

After being scolded like that, Fang Chen never dared to ask his sister to work together again.

Fang Chen couldn't help but feel curious. Although they had known each other for so many years, they had never talked about each other's experiences. Cai Jingjing must be from a large family. She must have many brothers and sisters at her age. He wondered what Cai Jingjing's ranking was. Could it be the same as himself?

Thinking of this, she shook her head unconsciously: No, in most families, the eldest child suffers the most. With such a gentle and noble personality, she must be the eldest child.

So he comforted her, "People our age have many brothers and sisters, so the oldest one usually has to endure more hardships. However, your parents also rely on the oldest one, and your younger brothers and sisters will respect you. It can be said that there are both hardships and joys."

Cai Jingjing let out a cry of delight: "What do you mean by 'big brother'? I wish I were the big brother! I have an older sister two years older than me. She's been a spoiled little girl her whole life, and she's still delicate and tender. But then again, I brought this upon myself. I remember when I was a little over six years old, I had just returned from the countryside and saw the floor was dirty, so I picked up a broom and started sweeping. My mother smiled and praised me, saying, 'Great! You even know how to sweep the floor!' Hearing her compliment, my heart was filled with joy, as if I were flying all day. So, I always looked for work to do, hoping to see more of my mother's smiling face and hear more praise. But that never happened. Instead, my whole family assumed I deserved everything I did. I was used to working and loved it, and gradually, all the work became my responsibility. No one seemed to consider that I could get tired, either. Alas, in my mother's eyes, my sister was the auspicious cloud in the sky, and I was the mud on the ground."

Fang Chen exclaimed in surprise: "So you're just like me, I'm the same! No wonder Tingjuan said we're alike, it's true."

Cai Jingjing was also surprised: "Really? We are so similar? It's fate. Strange, I haven't told her this, how did she know?"

Fang Chen nodded quickly: "I didn't say that either. However, Tingjuan seems to be quite amazing now. I even suspect that she has reached a certain level of cultivation."

"Well, it's possible." Cai Jingjing continued, "To be honest, I originally planned to retire at 55, but when I thought about having to hang around my mother every day after retirement and listening to her PUA tactics, I felt desperate. It just so happened that our school couldn't recruit a music teacher, so I've been working here until now. However, I have to retire next year."

Fang Chen comforted her: "After retirement, you can travel around and see the world. You don't have to accompany your parents every day, right?"

Cai Jingjing said, "My mom has been completely controlling me for decades. She's shaped me into whatever she wants me to be. You know what? I was bullied all the time in elementary and middle school. I never understood why. It took me two years to figure it out: my mom was the first person to bully me! My sister was the second! It was their influence that led to the bullying in school!"

Fang Chen was shocked: There is such a thing?! Would relatives bring outsiders to bully their own family?

Cai Jingjing seemed to sense Fang Chen's suspicion and said calmly, "Hey, it's hard to put it into words! Let's not talk about these uncomfortable things. I have something serious to discuss with you. It's about your song 'Pair of Heron. Golden Wind Chills at the Frontier'. I composed a piece of music for you."

Fang Chen was surprised and delighted: "Ah? So soon? You just got back, why don't you take a break? You're working too hard! We can talk about it later when we have time."

"I finished composing it a long time ago. I didn't have time to tell you yesterday, and since I didn't have a guqin at the time, telling you wouldn't have been helpful. I particularly like this piece, 'A Pair of Heron Crows: A Golden Wind at the Frontier.' When you first sent it to me, I was struck by its depiction of autumn scenery at the frontier. Its detached, open-minded, and compassionate approach to life is exactly what I like. I've always wanted to sing it, and I figured it out by playing with the guqin. Now I'm going to play it and sing it for you."

Fang Chen also remembered this poem, which was written in 2014. At that time, he was experiencing some troubles, trivialities and entanglements with human relationships, and wrote it to comfort himself.

So, I quickly responded: "Oh, okay, I'm all ears!"

The music begins, and a series of scattered sounds highlight the bleak and cold autumn wind, with a sense of desolation unique to the frontier and a sense of brilliant colors. In the desolation, one seems to feel the splendor of autumn.

Then the slightly hoarse zither sang the first two lines:

"The golden wind rustles at the frontier,

Thousands of trees are swaying in red colors."

The penetrating voice creates a gorgeous scene of colorful forests and crimson mountains, sweeping away the desolate and bleak feeling and turning it into a passionate and unrestrained one. The following song becomes even more ethereal and distant:

"At dusk, the distant mountains are like dark blue,

The sound of the wind and running water."

Fang Chen seemed to sense the boundless expanse of the twilight. The rolling hills in the distance, like dark blue eyebrows, were tranquil and vast, forming a contrast of color and movement with the nearby "red colors." The picture was rich in layers, and the artistic conception was broad and profound. The gurgling of "flowing water," nature's purest sound, interwoven with the sound of the wind, formed a harmonious and pleasant "heavenly sound."

The melodious and heroic singing continued:

"The world and human nature are beyond measure,

The sky is vast and the earth is very generous,

Why not be kind and loving?

A thousand mountains have been crossed by a thousand men."

At this moment, just as when he first wrote this poem, Fang Chen feels a sense of immense generosity—the majestic, selfless generosity of the universe itself, as well as the heroic and broad-minded sentiments stirred within him. The generosity of the universe and the transcendence of the human heart mirror each other.