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十六、學「范公劃粥」
這一年，王善人正好二十五歲。天年旱澇不勻，怎麼樣呢？春天沒有雨水，但入了夏，卻一直陰陰暗暗的，老不放晴。所以，年景就歉收了，在青黄不接之下，家裡的糧米也不夠吃了，王善人只得向人家借去，可是呢？沒借到。回到家裡王善人就對著大嫂說：「先把家裡全部的糧米，都過過斗，斗過以後，就每個月每個月給分起來存著。要算得很清清楚楚的，看每天有多少糧米可以吃？要是不夠大家吃，就添點野菜；有人來呢？也只是添點野菜，不添米。」
就這樣，到新糧下來，也沒有去求別人，糧米也夠吃了。一家人不但沒有挨餓，連牲口也省了往返運載糧米的苦。王善人處理糧米這件事，是從錦州城十里臺，聽張東家（僱主）講過的「范文正公劃粥」的故事上，格物思索出來的。所以王善人常說：「我在老張家扛活（做長工），學會一個『儉』字。」
王善人又說了：「我們人念書哪，都是往『多』裡念，不往『深』裡念，才得不著念書的道理。怎麼叫往深裡念呢？就是學會一個字，行一年的，不如行十年的深。我的道就是『一個字一個字學的，一步一步實行的。』將來世界大同，一切都要簡單；就像官家（政府機關）出告示，也不像現在這麼樣長篇大論的，只要畫一張畫，寫明時日就中了（就可以了）。」 →待續
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16. Imitating “How Sir Fan Allotted the Rice Porridge”
That year, Good Man Wang was twenty-five years old. The rainfall that year was unseasonal. How was it? There was no rain in the spring, while the summer weather was cloudy and gloomy, with no sunny days. Consequently, the harvest was poor. Under such conditions, there was not enough rice for the family. So Good Man Wang attempted to borrow some from others. However, he did not succeed in getting any. He came home and said to his sister-in-law, "Let us measure the remaining rice in the house. After the measurement, we will allot and put away the rice by month. We have to be very precise and see how much we can have for each day. If it is not enough, we will add some wild vegetables to our food. If we have guests, we will just add more wild vegetables, but not rice." They lived in this way until the new rice arrived. Without having to beg from others, they had enough rice to eat. The family didn't go hungry, and the animals were also saved the toil of transporting the rice. Good Man Wang learned this method of dealing with the rice shortage from a story that Mr. Chang, his boss at the Ten Li Platform, had told, called “How Sir Fan Wen Zheng Allotted the Rice Porridge." He came up with the solution after pondering that story. Therefore, he often said, "I learned how to be thrifty when working as a laborer for old Mr. Chang."
Good Man Wang also said, "When people study, they rather tend to broaden the spectrum of their study instead of deepening it. That is why they never attain the principle of study. What does it mean to deepen one's study? That is, once we have learned a lesson, practicing it for one year is not as deep as practicing it for ten years. My method is 'learning word by word and practicing step by step.’ In the future, when the whole world has become a great unity, everything must be simple. For example, government announcements should not be lengthy articles as they are now; they can just draw a picture and indicate the day and time, and that will do." →To be continued
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