Chapter 41 Solitude
Gu Jiao never imagined that the academic genius who had gone through the college entrance examination, postgraduate entrance examination and doctoral entrance examination in her previous life and finally emerged from the high pressure would have to start from scratch as a primary school student in her second life, and in the field she was least good at - calligraphy brush.
Gu Jiao was listless and didn't feel well at all.
Although she has a beautiful woman by her side, and her beauty is pleasing to the eye, she doesn't want to practice calligraphy, no, no, no!
“Let’s start by learning your name,” Xiao Liulang said.
His voice was somewhere between that of a teenager going through puberty and a mature man; it didn't have that unpleasant, hoarse quality, but instead had a clean, deep quality.
Gu Jiao was somewhat powerless to resist, and silently watched him write her name on the paper with wide eyes.
Unlike the previous surgical consent forms, this one seems to be more neatly signed.
But Gu Jiao still didn't quite understand.
Gu Jiao was opposite Xiao Liulang. From her angle, the words were upside down, so Xiao Liulang turned the paper over so that Gu Jiao could see them clearly.
Then, he wrote out the strokes and stroke order one by one on the paper.
Gu Jiao was overwhelmed by all the strokes.
It was neither traditional Chinese characters, nor clerical script, seal script, nor seal script, but a script completely unfamiliar to her.
Seeing Gu Jiao clumsily holding the brush with a bitter and resentful look, Xiao Liulang said, "Your grip is wrong. Raise your hand a little higher and don't be too stiff in your wrist."
"Is this how it is?" Gu Jiao adjusted it according to his instructions.
Gu Jiao's pen-holding posture was actually quite standard in her previous life, but it was still a bit lacking compared to Xiao Liulang, an ancient figure.
“Index finger,” Xiao Liulang said.
"Hmm?" Gu Jiao asked, puzzled.
Xiao Liulang hesitated for a moment, then extended his long, jade-like fingertips and gently flicked her index finger upwards.
If he did this in any other situation, Gu Jiao would definitely think, "He touched my fingertips, which is practically holding hands." But since he was teaching her to read, it was practically a class, and Gu Jiao was always very serious in class.
Gu Jiao took off her shoes, sat cross-legged opposite him, and began to practice diligently, stroke by stroke.
Xue Ningxiang waited in the main room. She didn't understand why Gu Jiao had been inside for so long. The letter wasn't long, so why did it take so long to read?
Little did Xue Ningxiang know that the two people in the room had completely forgotten about the letter; one was reading, and the other was practicing calligraphy.
Xiao Liulang would occasionally correct Gu Jiao's pen-holding posture, but he didn't insist on whether her writing was beautiful or not. After all, it was her first time holding a pen, and it was already good enough if she didn't write outside the lines.
If Gu Jiao knew what he was thinking, she would probably jump up and go berserk. How could she, a modern academic genius, be holding a calligraphy brush for the first time?
Gu Jiao has a very good memory. She can learn those complicated stroke orders after writing them only once, but her handwriting is so ugly that it's almost unbearable to look at.
By Xiao Liulang's standards, he was just a primary school kid who had just started using a pen.
After all, his handwriting was better when he was two years old.
The two of them had been in the room for half an hour without realizing it. Finally, the old lady, who was bored, came to find Gu Jiao and discovered that the two of them were writing in the room.
The old lady didn't go closer to look; she just glanced at it from the doorway and saw it was red paper.
She immediately made a judgment in her mind: "Writing Spring Festival couplets? Hmm, it's time to write them, or we'll miss the deadline. Call me when they're done."
She wants to put up Spring Festival couplets!
This is truly a beautiful misunderstanding. But since the old lady has brought it up, let's get back on track and start writing Spring Festival couplets!
"I'll cut the paper!" Gu Jiao put down her brush and went into the room to find scissors.
Thank goodness for saving her from this predicament! If she keeps training like this, her paws will be ruined!
Xiao Liulang stared at the red paper in front of him, looking somewhat dazed.
But when Gu Jiao neatly cut them and placed them beside him, he still picked up his brush and wrote a few Spring Festival couplets.
"Write a few poems for Xiao Xue as well," the old lady reminded him.
When the old lady said that, the two of them finally remembered that they had forgotten about Xue Ningxiang and her letter, and... it was quite awkward.
Half an hour later, Gu Jiao brought Xue Ningxiang's letter, the Spring Festival couplets written by Xiao Liulang, and a plate of sesame candy and chestnut cake to Xue Ningxiang's house.
"How come there are so many?" Xue Ningxiang asked in surprise.
Gu Jiao certainly wouldn't say that she came to express her apology. She said in a serious tone, "It's almost Chinese New Year. My aunt asked me to bring these over. The Spring Festival couplets are for you, and the chestnut cake and sesame candy are for your mother-in-law and your son."
Xue Ningxiang quickly thanked her.
"Just now..." Gu Jiao hesitated for a moment, but decided to explain.
To her surprise, Xue Ningxiang gave her a mischievous smile and a knowing look.
Gu Jiao: What do you know?! You know everything!
Xue Ningxiang was an experienced woman. She knew that if a young wife went into her husband's room and didn't come out for a long time, what could she be doing?
Why would she get angry over something like this? The reason she walked away quietly was to avoid seeing or hearing things she shouldn't have seen or heard.
"Just..." she whispered to Gu Jiao, "Remember to close the door next time."
Gu Jiao: I think you've misunderstood something...
In his letter, Xue Ningxiang's brother-in-law said that he had performed a minor service at the border, been promoted to squad leader, and received a reward of ten taels of silver. He sent the entire reward back to Xue Ningxiang, and told her not to mistreat herself while taking care of her mother-in-law and son.
He'll earn a lot more money in the future, so he told her not to be stingy.
This brother-in-law is a decent person.
Gu Jiao asked Xue Ningxiang if she wanted to reply, but Xue Ningxiang shook her head. Everyone had gone home for the New Year these past few days, and there was no one at the post station, so even if she wrote, she couldn't send it out.
After handing the things to Xue Ningxiang, Gu Jiao went home. Xue Ningxiang accepted the food, but Gu Jiao only asked for one pair of Spring Festival couplets, saying they were too expensive. Gu Jiao explained that they weren't bought from outside, but were written by Xiao Liulang himself, adding, "Paper is expensive."
The paper was a gift from Feng Lin, and he gave her a lot, so Gu Jiao didn't pay attention to the price. It wasn't until she asked Xiao Liulang that she discovered that this kind of paper for writing Spring Festival couplets was several times more expensive than ordinary paper.
“It’s not usually this expensive, but the price will go up during the Chinese New Year,” Xiao Liulang explained.
"So... is Feng Lin's family well-off?" Gu Jiao asked.
Xiao Liulang thought for a moment and shook his head: "I haven't asked, but it probably... isn't too good."
(End of this chapter)
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