The first couplet of Dragon Boat Festival, "Dragon Boat Festival is full of storms, and the children in the village are still wearing old clothes", is undoubtedly a description of the time and environment at that time. Even on the Dragon Boat Festival, there is no festive atmosphere.
At that time, writers in Chongqing had low income, lack of money and poor life. Even after the Dragon Boat Festival, the wind suddenly became "rain crazy", and the "children in the village" still wore old clothes, and "Xiao Jiang" just changed a pair of "new shoes".
The next couplet, "Invite me to wear a hat again, dare to love the thatched cottage for the mud", tells that Wu Zuxiang came to Lao She's apartment with rain gear regardless of the wind and rain, and Lao She was deeply moved. How dare he "love" his thatched cottage because of the deep mud and not keep the appointment!
On the necklace, the phrase "A guest is as close as flesh and blood, and has no money to buy wine for sale" was written by Wu Zuxiang, who regarded Lao She as "a guest" and "a heart". Therefore, no matter how poor you are, you should use the money earned from "selling articles" to support your family and "buy wine" to entertain guests.
The sentence "The fish was three feet in those days, not like the bean flavor today" was written by Wu Zuxiang. How many times did he invite Lao She to dinner? It is unclear to everyone. But I remember that when Lao She came to dinner, the food should be rich. "Fish is three feet" means that the fish is very big, which is a metaphor for a rich family dinner. However, this Dragon Boat Festival is rather shabby. The so-called "not as delicious as today's beans" is to express this meaning.
Extended data:
background
Lao She lived in Chongqing for seven and a half years, and lived and worked in four places successively. During his stay in Chongqing, Lao She had close contacts with Guo Moruo, Mao Dun, Bing Xin and Wu Zuxiang. In the communication between Lao She and Wu Zuxiang, they both left many interesting poems. This poem was written on 1942 Dragon Boat Festival, and Lao She was invited to visit Wuzhai in Beibei, Chongqing.
This poem highlights the profound friendship between Lao She and Wu Zuxiang, especially Wu Zuxiang's excellent quality of being sincere to others. At the same time, it also reveals the hardships and sufferings of 1942 literati living in Chongqing under the most difficult environment in War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression.
Lao She and Wu Zuxiang are by no means fair-weather friends who associate for eating and drinking. Their communication is more about frankly discussing literary creation, encouraging each other and criticizing each other.