Swords emerge from the human world

Chapter 48: Getting Rid of the Old and Inviting the New, Winning Hearts and Minds
"As the sun shines brightly on every door and window, people replace the old charms with new ones."

There are many customs and traditions for celebrating the Chinese New Year, but they can all be summarized as "getting rid of the old and welcoming the new".

Sweeping, dusting, and cleaning doors and windows; posting couplets, door gods, and kitchen gods...

All of these belong to the "external form" of "visualization and perception." Even if they do not contain true spiritual essence or divinity, as long as they have form, they can produce a certain effect.

It's like someone wearing a government uniform. Even if it's an imposter, if the public doesn't know the truth, they will instinctively feel respect and awe upon seeing it.

This is a deeply ingrained psychological response.

Therefore, "similar in form" is an extremely important concept.

To achieve a resemblance in appearance is already quite an achievement.

As always, the couplets and the character "福" (good fortune) in the house were written by Chen Jin two days in advance, stroke by stroke, on the red paper that had been cut out in advance.

This year, Chen Jin changed his font, which features strong, elegant strokes that appear extremely smooth and beautiful.

"Young man, your handwriting is becoming more and more full and spirited."

Chen Yuan sincerely praised, holding a couplet in his hands, looking very fond of it: "I don't know why, but looking at these words gives me a very comfortable and cheerful feeling. I don't even want to put them on the door."

In the imperial examinations, a candidate's calligraphy accounted for a significant portion of the score, so for most scholars, the most important thing in studying was to practice calligraphy.

In Shi Qifeng's eyes, Chen Jin's calligraphy clearly uses a runic structure, and it is not just writing characters, but also carrying the brushstrokes and charm of drawing runes.

This is precisely Chen Jin's attempt to reinvent himself.

Besides writing couplets for their own homes, neighbors have also been coming to their door to ask for calligraphy in the past two days.

There are a lot more people coming this year.

The news of Chen Jin's rise to wealth had probably spread throughout the village, and everyone wanted to come and share in his good fortune.

Liu the hunter also came, bringing his daughter Shanhua with him.

Unfortunately, the Chen family never brought up the marriage proposal again. Knowing he had missed his chance, he could only sigh.

But then I thought about it again. Chen Jin himself was unaware of what happened back then, and most likely he wouldn't have agreed to it.

It could only end without any resolution.

In the past, Chen Jin would always charge a small fee for writing calligraphy and couplets for others. He even considered it a holiday business, earning money only once a year to help supplement his family's income.

However, this year is different. We're no longer short of a few coins; we're simply writing everything for free.

Suddenly, the place was packed with people, almost wearing down the threshold.

……

Zhou family.

As in previous years, they set up a shed in the courtyard, with Zhou Ming, a scholar, personally overseeing the writing of couplets for people.

The writing implements were arranged neatly; tea and snacks were prepared perfectly.

This is, of course, for Zhou Ming's enjoyment.

Unexpectedly, the market seems to be doing poorly this year, with only a few villagers coming to ask for calligraphy, making it a rather small event.

Zhou Ming couldn't sit still any longer and ordered his servants to go and see what was going on.

The answer was quickly obtained:

"Young master, the villagers have all run to the Chen family."

"Oh, why?"

"Chen Tongsheng writes couplets for free."

"Snapped!"

Zhou Tongsheng slammed his fist on the table and stood up: "Outrageous! Chen Jin is so unruly! Isn't this cutting off the path to survival for us scholars?"

Upon hearing the news, Zhou Lizheng rushed out, his face grim, and said, "This person's actions seem to be an attempt to win people's hearts. Has he suddenly become enlightened? He actually knows how to cultivate prestige." Zhou Tongsheng sneered, "Given the Chen family's situation, what makes them think they can cultivate prestige? And what can they possibly achieve? It's a complete waste of effort."

Zhou Lizheng looked shrewd and calculating: "In my opinion, he must have gotten some good fortune in the city and is now getting cocky, trying to go against our family. Tomorrow, you must prove yourself. If you pass the imperial examination and he fails, you will completely crush his family."

Zhou Minglang said loudly, "Father, don't worry, I'm well prepared this time. I've written more than a dozen articles on classical texts, and I'm very well prepared."

Zhou Lizheng nodded: "That's good."

"Since he writes for free, I can also write for free. Let's see who can outlast whom."

Zhou Ming couldn't swallow this insult, so he immediately sent people to announce it throughout the village with gongs and drums.

However, after waiting for a long time, the results were not good, and the place remained deserted.

According to the feedback from the villagers, they praised Chen Jin's calligraphy, saying it was beautifully written.

This left Zhou Ming at a loss.

In a fit of anger, he simply packed up his stall and locked himself in his room to sulk.

……

After a busy day and dinner, Chen Zhi ran over to Chen Jin and told him about the situation with the Zhou family: "Young man, the Zhou family is petty and narrow-minded. Will they hold a grudge against you and see you as an enemy?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Jin calmly replied, "I write what I write, and he writes what he writes. Which side the villagers choose is a matter of public opinion, and there is no question of targeting anyone."

Shi Qifeng chuckled to himself, thinking to himself, "Sir, you even dare to beat and kill officials. How can a local gentry like the Zhou family be worthy of being your opponent?"

Time flies, and on New Year's Eve, after the reunion dinner, the year comes to an end, and the time comes to welcome the new year.

Chen Jin made a lot of firecrackers by hand and had a great time playing with his niece Chen Min, crackling and popping as he showed his childlike innocence.

Chen Yuan and the others watched, speechless, thinking to themselves that this young man was getting younger and younger...

During the Chinese New Year, relatives and friends visit each other to exchange New Year's greetings. This mainly involves visiting the maternal grandparents' family and the maternal grandparents' family.

With Chen Jin alone in his room, it felt much quieter.

However, he did not remain idle. Instead, he prepared a gift and went to a rural private school to wish the teacher a Happy New Year.

This one is the real veteran student, who has taught at the private school for many years. He was Chen Jin's first teacher, so there is a certain bond of respect and affection between them.

These low-level private tutors were far from having "students all over the world" and never produced any outstanding figures.

Now he is very old and his family lives in poverty.

Unfortunately, the village couldn't produce talented people, and its own resources were limited. Over time, fewer and fewer people came to study.

He had high hopes for Chen Jin and even borrowed his accumulated notes and articles from many years, but unfortunately Chen Jin failed the exams repeatedly and lost his prodigy status.

I deeply regret this.

After paying his respects to the ancestors, Chen Jin politely declined the invitation to stay for dinner and took his leave.

The old tutor then opened the gift box and found medicinal herbs, gift cakes, and strings of copper coins, each one a hundred-yuan coin.

He couldn't help but sigh, "Such a generous gift, I am unworthy of it."

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, after having breakfast, Chen Jin boarded a carriage and began his journey back to the city.

Knowing that he needed to focus on preparing for the provincial examination, Chen Yuan and the others did not dare to stop him. They only gave him a few words of advice and escorted him to the village entrance before reluctantly saying goodbye.

Watching the carriage disappear into the distance, Chen Yuan sighed and suddenly said, "We can't help Young Master anymore."

……

After returning to the city, life went on as usual, without any major upheavals.

Soon it was March, the season of flourishing vegetation, and the day for the start of this year's provincial examination arrived.

(End of this chapter)