Approaching this two-story stone building with its eaves crumbling, one can hear the sounds of several children reciting their lessons even before stepping inside:
"To learn good and assist in benevolence, one must rely on friends; in social interactions, one takes turns being the host and the guest. When we are of one mind, we are called sworn brothers; when friends support each other, we are called close friends. The host is called the master, and the teacher is called the guest. One's father's friends are respected as father's confidants; one's colleagues are called comrades."
Song Tianyao peeked inside from the entrance of the Kuixing Pavilion. His grandfather, dressed in a starched, slightly frayed bamboo cloth robe with a grizzled scholar's beard, sat upright in front of a portrait of Confucius, his sharp eyes fixed on a dozen or so dirty children below. As soon as Song Tianyao peered in, Song Chengqi, who was sitting upright, picked up a small pebble from the ground and flicked it, hitting Song Tianyao squarely on the head with a snap.
Startled, Song Tianyao quickly pulled his head back.
After the children finished reciting a section of "Youxue Qionglin," Song Chengqi lectured on mathematics for another ten minutes. As the sun began to set and darkness fell Kuixing Pavilion, he finally dismissed the restless children.
After the children, who looked like monkeys, swarmed out, Song Chengqi stood up, slowly walked out, and spoke to Song Tianyao outside:
"What? Your parents are willing to let you come see this old man? Aren't they afraid I'll kill their son?"
At this moment, Song Chengqi, who was already sixty-two years old, stood in front of Song Tianyao like a refined old scholar. He looked Song Tianyao up and down in his suit. "Are you getting married? So you're dressed so smartly to invite me to your wedding?"
Song Tianyao took out the tattered cloth bag his father had given him and handed it to Song Chengqi: "My Dad has been saving this up for who knows how long without my mom knowing, and he asked me to bring it to you. Also, we've moved from the Squatter Area Jialin Road Kowloon Lam Road in Kowloon to Wan Chai Tai Wo Street in Wan Chai, Hong Kong Island. My Dad asked me to tell you."
"The farther away from me, the better." Song Chengqi took the bundle of tattered cloth, weighed it in his hand, and called out to a child walking a little slower in the distance, "Zongyi, take this to Hongbo at the Elderly Home next door and tell him that I'm treating the old folks there to drinks tonight."
"Your own clothes are almost worn out and your butt is showing, yet you still have the nerve to act generous and spend money to treat those old people to drinks?" Song Tianyao complained, but he didn't stop them. He let Song Chengqi give his Dad's secret stash of money to the child, while he took out a cigarette from his suit pocket, handed one to Song Chengqi, and lit a match for the old man.
"I'll pretend I never had that son, why should I spend his money?" Song Chengqi took a drag of his cigarette, turned and walked into the Kuixing Pavilion: "Come in."
Song Tianyao followed his grandfather into the Kuixing Pavilion and went up the wooden stairs to the second floor. The first floor of the Kuixing Pavilion was the school where Song Chengqi taught, and the second floor was his living room and library. As soon as he went up to the second floor, he smelled a musty smell of paper, which made Song Tianyao wrinkle his nose.
Two rows of wooden bookshelves filled with books, an old-fashioned jujube wood desk, two rattan chairs, a wooden bed, and two pots of orchids—that's all the furniture on the large second floor.
Song Tianyao was no stranger to his grandfather's place; he grew up here and even lived on the second floor for several years.
Seeing the rough-edged paper spread out on the desk, Song Tianyao walked over, picked up a brush, dipped it in ink, and casually wrote a few strokes on the paper. Song Chengqi brought over two teacups, ready to pour water, but stopped when he saw Song Tianyao pick up the brush.
Song Tianyao casually scribbled a few lines of a poem by the Song Dynasty poet Liu Kezhuang on a piece of paper. "Binding my bundle, I traveled ten miles through the night, carrying my poetry bag, discarding my clothes bag. The weather was cold, the road slippery, and my horse's hooves stiffened. It turned out to be Wang Lang, coming to see Liu Lang off. Drunk and flushed, we discussed literature. We startled the neighbor, knocking over his folding chair. Bystanders clapped and laughed at our unrestrained madness. What does unrestrained madness matter? What does madness matter?"
Song Chengqi waited for Song Tianyao to finish writing and put down his pen before pouring two bowls of water from the thermos. He then said, "It's been more than half a year since I last saw you, and your handwriting has actually improved somewhat. However, the strokes are still sharp and unbalanced. Your handwriting reflects your character. You're dressed like a son-in-law now, which means you've achieved some success through opportunism. I bet you're the one who got your parents to move. With that couple's help, moving out of the Squatter Area is a long shot. Speaking of which, I don't think I ever taught you to read Song Dynasty Lyrics (Song Complete Tang Poems before your mother took it away. Liu Kezhuang's poem is very unrestrained, enjoyable to read and vividly written. If this poem reflects your current state of mind, then it doesn't match your opportunistic situation. What is this? You clearly have big ambitions, but you can't be honest and straightforward. Instead, you've learned to be cunning, scheming, and hypocritical."
Song Tianyao let out a sigh of relief. His calligraphy skills weren't particularly outstanding; it was just that in his previous life, after becoming wealthy, he had feigned refinement and pretended to learn calligraphy from a few so-called masters. However, Song Chengqi's words about "the character reflected in the writing" struck him as sharp. These words were practically like stripping him naked and pointing straight to his heart. It seemed he should be more careful in the future and avoid showing off his calligraphy in front of elderly people like Song Tianyao.
If Song Tianyao didn't know his grandfather, he would definitely mistake this old man in a coarse cloth robe for a down-and-out feudal old-fashioned person if he were just walking down the street. But in reality, his grandfather's life, while not exactly a chaotic era, was certainly quite eventful.
Song Chengqi was born in 1889, the fifteenth year of the Guangxu Emperor's reign, in Chenghai County, Chiu Chow Prefecture, Guangdong Province. He studied literature and martial arts from a young age. His family was originally a large textile household with considerable wealth. However, they were framed by their peers in collusion with the government, and his father was imprisoned, causing the family to fall into poverty. When Song Chengqi was seventeen, he killed his enemy in a fit of rage and fled into exile, wandering the world.
In the thirty-fourth year of the Guangxu Emperor's reign, Song Chengqi, at the age of nineteen, wandered Hung Mun Jiangsu Province. He was invited by Li Jinzhou, the leader of the "East Liang Mountain" branch of the Hung Mun (Triad) in Jiangsu Province East Liang Mountain, to serve as the head of the Inner Eight Halls "East Liang Mountain." At that time, "East Liang Mountain" had more than 400 followers, most of whom were actors or engaged in jewelry and gold processing. In 1909, "East Liang Mountain" of the Hung Mun met Chen Qimei of the Green Gang. In 1911, "Dongliangshan" participated in the Shanghai Uprising, calling themselves the "Actors' Daredevil Team" and attacking the Shanghai Arsenal with Chen Qimei. The deputy leader, the seal protector, the sword protector, and other key members of East Liang Mountain died in battle. Leader Li Jinzhou was Song Chengqi wounded in the lung by a bullet. Song Chengxi saved Li Jinzhou. Before dying, Li Jinzhou passed down the secret formula of the mountain, and the position of leader of "East Liang Mountain" was passed on to Song Chengqi.