Zhu Shi "Drinking with Tamarind"

The first time I met the writer Tamarind was at a wine table at a friend’s party. At that time, I happened to read his "The Wall" in "Xinhua Digest" and exchanged a few words with him about "The Wall". He doesn't talk much, smokes a lot, and drinks very little.

After getting familiar with it, I learned that Tamarind is his pen name and his real name is Zhou Cheng. During the day, everyone was busy with their own affairs, and most of their encounters were at the wine table. It may be because of the alumni relationship and easy communication. His words and drinking capacity are gradually increasing. During the dinner, when a new face appears, we usually recommend: Tamarind, a national first-level writer, a professional writer in Jiangsu Province, and a writer-in-residence. He sat upright, with a slightly arrogant humility, showing that he was very useful; when he was happy, he would stand up, shake hands, and say hello.

During the banquet, if anyone asks for a book, Tamarind will basically not give it to him. It is said that book sales are the responsibility of the publishing house, not self-financing, and there is no book sales task. This is not to say that Tamarind is stingy, but that he sees that the man is not a scholar at heart, and he only wants books out of etiquette, curiosity, or just for appearance. When people who really read asked him for books and periodicals, he would carefully and neatly inscribe on the title page "Brother so-and-so corrects me" and "so-and-so please read it", sign his name and date, and then hand it over. Don’t think that it’s over after you accept the book. When you meet him in the future, he will ask you about the content of the relevant works and your thoughts after reading it, just like a teacher checking a student’s homework. Once, he suspected that I had not finished reading "The Book of Cultivation" and actually asked me about the ending of the hero. If your answer is unclear, then you will definitely not have any more of his books. His explanation for not giving away books among his acquaintances is: The publisher only gives me 15 leeway. I speculate that he has a more vivid and practical reason: works are activated and vitalized by readers. Having books but not reading them is equivalent to having no books.

At banquets, jokesters are indispensable, and a few meat and vegetables are served, and sometimes they even directly allude to the writer's possible pink experience. At this time, Tamarind is always noncommittal, showing a nonchalant look, and clicks. As he started smoking, he smiled knowingly along with everyone. Some narrate anecdotes, and the narration is ups and downs, humorous, and when the plot or the characters' language shines, Tamarind will stand up, take the wine glass, and respectfully toast the narrator, occasionally adding the sentence " Well said." Whenever the narrator has an extreme point of view, he will try to interrupt or wake up the dreamer with a few words. When someone was impassioned about social phenomena, he stated that society needs conscience, fairness and justice, and reminded not to forget the safe and equal environment in which issues can be discussed.

As the diners communicated with each other, Tamarind scanned the whole place, like an FM radio filtering channels, to subdivide the topics of their communication. If there is nothing he is interested in, he will feel like an outsider, outside the Three Realms and not among the Five Elements. If there is content that he hears and understands, he can use his mobile phone to write down relevant content or thoughts at any time. A lot of content in the essay "Small County Town" should come from the drunkenness of the wine.

When Tamarind drinks, I feel that wine is the surface, while examining people and understanding social welfare is the inside. When someone talks about relevant content, he will say, "This is really good material." Or when someone talks about content that attracts his attention, he will encourage him to continue talking with his eyes, or even directly ask about the relevant situation. After drinking, he prefers to light up a cigarette and walk home alone. Sometimes when someone wants to escort him, he will directly say, "Let me walk alone and think about something." Chapters such as "Fragrances", "The Beauty of Encounter" and "I Want to Be Kafka" are probably related to "Think About Something".

At the banquet, he occasionally talked about calligraphy, painting, literary games and other topics. He naturally showed his admiration for those with superb talents. His essays commenting on Zichuan's calligraphy touch on the content expression of words as inner paintings, which can be said to be a very interesting book. He had a good friendship with Wang Qiyin, a painter from Hai'an, and he also got along well with "celebrities" in culture and art in the small county. Those who don't understand the Dharma will not give a single comment. In Hai'an, those who have a bit of artistic talent and literary aspirations are proud to have dined with Tamarind. When everyone gets together, he often blames himself for not being good at doing research on historical materials whenever he talks about modern and contemporary literary celebrities from Hai'an, such as Wei Jiangong, Jiang Hesen, Wu Yiqin, Wang Zheng, etc.

Even those ordinary wine molecules in those days lived in inconspicuous or even dark corners, often ignored or forgotten by their owners. After years of wear and tear, their hair was unkempt and their voices were held in silence, but they indulged themselves, accumulated themselves, became more and more mellow, and lasted for a long time. Fragrant. Only those who are destined can share it. Showing off his good wine is usually when he is socializing and the buddies he usually has fun with are not present, showing off, that is the inevitable meaning of showing off. Tamarind drinks good wine, giving people a strong sense of ritual. The scene is similar to thinking out words that you are satisfied with. Under normal circumstances, when he encounters good wine, he will ask the store for a wine divider. His carriage is always stocked with these appliances. A precious sword is given to a hero, and a jade plate is filled with pearls. For good wine, he likes to drink it carefully in a small wine cup and drink it slowly, savoring it for a long time, as if this can highlight the charm of the wine and cultivate the style of the Wei and Jin Dynasties. When pouring the wine, he looked solemn and did not tolerate a little overflow. If someone else rushes to pour the wine and accidentally overflows the glass, he despises the rude and clumsy behavior and will criticize him unceremoniously. Not only does he cherish good wine, he also doesn't waste any ordinary wine. If he can't drink it himself, he will find someone to drink instead, and he will never shake or spill a drop of wine. It is usually difficult to manage enough good wine. When the supply is insufficient, even if it is his favorite, he will give it to his tablemate who drinks a lot.

If you know someone who has good wine that is worthy of being on the table, he will remember it and mobilize you to bring it out and drink with him. He likes to take out the wine given by others and share it with everyone. At the same time, we can also share the stories related to the wine. At this time, we will also get the encouragement to record our life in words, and even specific method guidance. This makes drinking with him different from being a fair-weather friend.

Several friends who often get together call him "Secretary-General" in private. There are also people who are keen on the "Secretary-General"'s prestige in overall arrangements and coordination, and they want to replace him. Facts have proved that his charisma cannot keep up. This top rank among the people belongs to Tamarind who seems to be idle but is actually diligent.