Chapter 70 Chapter 70 He Really Didn’t Come From the Imperial College…
There were four roast ducks, two of which were enough to be sent to Uncle Qin, and one to Hunter Fang. Hunter Fang's house was quite far away, so the roast duck to be sent to Hunter Fang's family would be delivered by Qin Run. As for the roast duck to Aunt Qin's house, Xu Yunfan waved his hand and wanted Qin An to go.
Qin Run grabbed Qin An, who was about to run out of the yard, and said, "Brother An, wait a minute. Yunfan, if you don't go, how are we going to talk to Uncle Qin and the others?"
"That's right." Xu Yunfan slapped his forehead. He had no choice but to go there in person.
Aunt Qin's family was preparing to cook dinner when Xu Yunfan suddenly came and brought them a cooked duck which he said was a roast duck.
Faced with the fragrant roast duck, Aunt Qin said she wanted nothing. Such a delicious roast duck would have sold for so much money, and how could they afford to accept it? "Xu boy, we can't accept this roast duck. Take it back and eat it."
The three eggs stood aside obediently. When they learned that Xu Yunfan had arrived, they ran out of the house to greet Xu Yunfan. When they suddenly smelled the delicious roast duck, the three eggs almost drooled all over the floor.
But they didn't make a scene. Erdan even chimed in, "Brother Xu, grandma's right. We can't take your roast duck."
"Why can't I take it?" Xu Yunfan was not good at refusing, so he put the basket on the ground and said, "Aunt Qin, my family roasted four ducks tonight, and we have one left at home. This is for you. Well, tomorrow at noon, could you please ask Uncle and Uncle Mu to go to the town to act as a guarantor for me? I want to apply for household registration."
Uncle Qin was chopping firewood when he heard this and stopped. "This is just a small matter. We can just go there tomorrow when we have time. It's not appropriate for you to bring ducks to my house for such a small matter."
"What's wrong?"
Xu Yunfan pointed at Qin Er and Qin San and the others, "Second and third brothers helped me with Run Ge'er's problem last time, and I didn't say anything. Anyway, our relationship is just like that of relatives. I have to help anyone who has problems!"
"You're right." Qin Er nodded in agreement.
Xu Yunfan continued, "I wanted to ask my uncle and Uncle Mu to guarantee me, but I never thought of giving you a duck as a thank you gift or anything like that. Well, I've been doing some business lately and making some money, and I've been in Xiao Qin's house for a while now. Logically, whether I marry into the family or marry Run Ge'er, we should treat you to a meal, but..."
At this point, Xu Yunfan felt a little embarrassed. "My cooking skills are just so-so. The dishes I make are not much better than pig food. I can only rely on Qin Run to cook. I am the only man in the family and I am new here. So I thought of bringing you roast duck. I would like to ask Brother Qin to call the brothers who went to Xiaoli Village with us before. We can treat everyone to a meal. I am not familiar with them, so I will have to talk to my uncle and brothers. Auntie, please don't think I can't do things."
Aunt Qin and Uncle Qin were speechless.
How can they refuse this?
If they didn't take Xu Yunfan's roast duck, according to him, it would mean that he, the son-in-law, invited them to dinner, but they didn't honor him. Doesn't this mean that they are dissatisfied with him?
They could buy it. They had never seen a roast duck that was so delicious and fragrant, but when they saw its tempting aroma and color, it was obviously not cheap.
Qin Er's wife was good at speaking. "This is different, Xu boy. If you invite us over for dinner, we'll go even if it's just plain food. But this roast duck you mentioned is really too expensive."
"Yes, yes, that's right. This roast duck is too expensive."
Aunt Qin is not a person who likes to take advantage of others. Even though Xu Yunfan said that he had made some money recently, it does not mean that the gifts he gave should be more expensive.
How expensive can a roast duck be?
Xu Yunfan choked for a moment and said in embarrassment, "If you don't want it, what should I do with my roast duck? We already have one at home, and we can't finish the extra, and there's no place to hang it in the well. If I leave it for tomorrow, won't it get smelly? To me, this is just a roast duck, which I bought specially to nourish you, Auntie. But what a waste of my saliva, and you don't want it. It seems that the gift I gave you is not to your liking."
It is said that when you hit a snake, you should strike it at its most vulnerable part. When you persuade people, you should persuade them to the point.
As soon as Qin Erfulang heard this, he knew that Xu Yunfan was here again. He had said such words. If they didn't accept this roast duck, there would be a big problem.
Finally, Aunt Qin helplessly tapped Xu Yunfan's temples and scolded him with a smile, "Don't spend so much money next time, okay? Save the money you earn. When you have money, you should start your relationship with Run'er."
Whether it is getting married or marrying into the family, if there is no wedding ceremony, in the words of others, it means that either Xu Yunfan does not value Qin Run, or Qin Run is not satisfied with Xu Yunfan.
Moreover, in their place, those who do not hold weddings are mostly those who are marrying for the second time or bringing a child into the family as a concubine.
Xu Yunfan responded with a smile, "Auntie Qin taught me that. I'll remember it. By the way, Auntie Qin, how many sweet potatoes do you have at home?"
Hearing this, Qin San almost stumbled. Aunt Qin was full of surprise, "What? You've already finished making that bag of sweet potatoes?"
No way, even sows are probably not that powerful.
Could it be that Xu Yunfan eats even more than that sow?
Xu Yunfan raised his mouth awkwardly, "What are you talking about, Aunt Qin? I'm not a pig. I bought sweet potatoes for other purposes."
No matter what Xu Yunfan wanted to do with the sweet potatoes, Aunt Qin opened the woodshed and showed it to Xu Yunfan, "Look, I still have so many sweet potatoes, you can take as much as you want."
Oh no!
Seeing at least seven or eight sacks of sweet potatoes, Xu Yunfan's eyes lit up and he became a little excited.
In the past, even if his elder brother gave him a supercar worth tens of millions, he would not be interested. But now... it's completely different!
Xu Yunfan was so happy, "Then I'll buy a few bags from you. By the way, Aunt Qin, how long will your autumn planting be?"
Aunt Qin has a large family, so the land for autumn planting does not need to be re-turned. They usually remove weeds in the corn fields diligently, so they only need to cut out the corn stalks before planting in autumn. As for rice, they do not plan to plant all of it.
Firstly, paddy fields are difficult to manage. Secondly, the corn and rice planted in autumn mature in mid-to-late October. At that time, the temperature is already cold, and it is difficult to dry them in the sun. They cannot even cut to the bottom of the rice. By then, it can grow again and they can harvest some. Therefore, the autumn planting time for Aunt Qin's family is not long.
"It will be finished in a few days. Just come and get as much as you want."
Xu Yunfan immediately came up with an idea.
He planned to make sweet potato noodles, and when the weather got cold, he would go to the town to set up a stall to sell spicy and sour sweet potato noodles, or cook noodles to sell.
To make sweet potato flour, the sweet potatoes must be washed and ground into pulp, which is a very laborious and time-consuming task.
Moreover, the hot and sour sweet potato noodles have to be made and sold immediately, which requires going to the town to set up a stall and get firewood, which is a bit inconvenient.
A few days ago, Xu Yunfan was thinking about the business he wanted to do, so he went to the shop to ask. Wow, a pound of charcoal costs eight cents. Isn’t this a waste of money?
How much charcoal do I need to burn in a day to set up a stall?
Since charcoal is so expensive, he might as well burn it himself.
So, when the time comes, he will have to hire people to chop wood, dig charcoal kilns, etc., and Aunt Qin and her family will be the best candidates to hire.
Fantasizing about making a lot of money in the future, Xu Yunfan was very happy and ran home in one breath before it got dark.
Needless to say, the roast duck that night was so delicious that Xu Yunfan ate four bowls of rice. Qin Run picked up a piece of duck leg for him and cleaned the fat on the duck skin.
Xu Yunfan grabbed the roast duck leg, took two bites of rice, and then scooped half a spoonful of sour beans to mix with the rice. The taste was just two words: amazing.
The next day, Xu Yunfan's food was sold out as usual.
Lin Xiaoran and Qi Xiu Ze ate like hungry ghosts a few days ago, stuffing food into their mouths. After finishing one portion, they would pack up another to take away.
Today, the two of them have learned to act politely.
They ate "carelessly", as if they were so sad that they couldn't eat. They picked up five or six grains of rice with one chopstick and put them into their mouths. This... I'm afraid girls are not as delicate as them when eating. Xu Yunfan counted them. Wow, they chewed five or six grains of rice thirty-seven times before swallowing them.
Damn, back then, in order to delay time, he couldn't even chew a mouthful of rice so many times.
Xu Yunfan moved a small stool and sat next to them. "What's wrong with you? Is it possible that the food today doesn't suit your taste?"
On the other side, Xie Baizhou and Shen Ruxi were eating quickly.
Lin Xiaoran had a sad face, his eyes were even a little red. He stuffed a piece of meat into his mouth, shook his head, and said nothing.
He looked as if he had something to hide.
Hearing this, Xie Baizhou put down his chopsticks and said, "Yunfan, please don't ask. I'm afraid if you ask, they won't even be able to eat the meat. It would be a waste."
"What's wrong?" Xu Yunfan became even more curious. Could it be that Lin Xiaoran and the others had encountered something sad?
Shen Ruxi cleaned a piece of pork chop and said, "The holiday ends tomorrow, and the dean will be back tonight. We have to hand in our homework tomorrow. By then, I guess they will be punished."
Seeing that Lin Xiaoran and the others couldn't get any information out of him, Xu Yunfan moved closer to Xie Baizhou and the others, curious, "What do you mean?"
Liking to join in the fun and listen to gossip is a traditional virtue that is ingrained in us.
Xu Yunfan was naturally no exception.
Shen Ruxi glanced at Qi Xiuze and Lin Xiaoran and said, "It's because they didn't complete their homework well. The dean will definitely criticize them."
Xu Yunfan: "Shouldn't it be the Master? The Dean is in charge of this matter?"
Knowing that Xu Yunfan didn't understand the class divisions at Qingfeng Academy, Xie Baizhou went out of his way to explain, "No, our academy has four classes, A, B, C, and D. Class A has two classes, Class A-1 and Class A-2. The four of us are in Class A-1, and one of the teachers who teaches us is the dean. The four of us... well, we're more valued, so the dean is quite strict with us. Xiao Ran's calligraphy isn't great, and Xiu Ze is even worse off. He writes terrible poems, and the poems he writes are crap. Of course, these aren't my words, but the dean's comments, so I just copied them. Before the field holiday, the dean assigned us homework, and none of them improved in calligraphy at all. Xiu Ze can't even compose a poem for ages, so I'm afraid he'll be punished tomorrow."
Who can eat when thinking about being punished by the dean himself tomorrow? I am not heartless.
Shen Ruxi saw Xu Yunfan's beautiful handwriting on the wooden board and couldn't help asking, "Yunfan, how did you practice your handwriting? It's so beautiful, I guess you must have practiced for a few years."
"No," Xu Yunfan thought carefully, "I just write casually. I learned it for a while when I was a kid."
Just write something casually?
Lin Xiaoran: “…”
Xu Yunfan's words were like a knife stabbing him in the heart. Other people could write like this just by casually practicing for a while when they were young. But look at him. In the dean's words, even the words printed by a dog's paw are more pleasing to the eye than his carefully written words.
In fact, Lin Xiaoran felt that his handwriting was not that bad, but when he looked at Xu Yunfan's handwriting, there seemed to be a big gap.
"Yunfan, tell me, how did you practice?" Lin Xiaoran was now trying his best to save the situation.
Xu Yunfan thought without hesitation, "Use the pen like a tip, write with spirit, move smoothly and unimpeded, then the calligraphy will be beautiful."
After saying that, Xu Yunfan broke off a branch and kicked away the debris on the ground.
It hadn't rained for a few days. Xu Yunfan rubbed the loess back and forth with the sole of his shoe. Soon, a layer of dust was rubbed out. He waved to Lin Xiaoran, signaling him to come over.
When Lin Xiaoran squatted beside him, Xu Yunfan wrote a few words seriously and taught at the same time.
Beautiful characters should not only look smooth and flowing, but also have both form and spirit, be full of spirituality, and be light yet powerful.
Xu Yunfan pointed to a few places and asked Lin Xiao to look at them. "Look at the overlapping strokes. The strokes appear compact and orderly. The characters appear rich and full, and the sky is powerful."
"Of course, the sticks I'm using now are different from the brushes I use, and using a brush also has its own rules."
"The art of painting lies in its beginning and ending." Starting a stroke is also called starting a stroke, putting down a stroke, or putting down a brush. The idea should be in mind before starting to write, and "begin with caution at the end." Lift the brush and, depending on the size of the character, begin by moving it in the air. Then, fold, cover, reveal, reverse, and flip the brush. Everything must be done steadily, accurately, decisively, and cleanly. If there's anything you're not satisfied with, you can retract the brush or start again to remedy it, but you can't change the brush and rewrite it..."
Xu Yunfan spoke as he brushed off several words. When he felt that he had finished, he turned to look at Lin Xiaoran and found that he had a confused look on his face and obviously had not digested everything yet.
Shen Ruxi, who was standing beside him, held the bowl and said, "No, Yunfan, did you really only practice it when you were a child?"
Why is he so unconvinced?
"Really? Would I lie to you about something like this? Just listen to me and try it out as I teach you."
Lin Xiaoran was greatly inspired. He found that what Xu Yunfan taught sounded very easy to understand, unlike the teacher who spoke in a very profound way. Sometimes, he couldn't even understand it, and he didn't know where to start asking questions.
"Yunfan, we are brothers, you can't be so partial to one over the other. I treat you as my brother, and now my life is in danger. I don't have to risk my life for you, but you can't just stand by and watch me die." Qi Xiu Ze hugged Xu Yunfan's arm tightly and spoke pitifully.
Xu Yunfan was helpless. "No, if I help you, I'll be exposed. After all, I can speak eloquently. Even if I really help you, our levels are so different. We're not even on the same level. Your teacher will be able to see the clues at a glance."
"Don't worry about this." Qi Xiu Ze was helpless now. "We'll deal with it when we're discovered."
At worst, he could just say that he had met a master during this period and would definitely make progress in the future. I believe that the teacher would not punish him too harshly after seeing his determination, right?
Seeing Qi Xiu Ze was determined, Xu Yunfan had no choice but to say, "Alright then. Helping one is helping, and helping two is no big deal. We're all brothers. You're in trouble today, so how can I not help you? Go get me some paper and pen."
Qi Xiu Ze not only brought paper and pen, but also a small table.
Xu Yunfan picked up the pen, too lazy to think, and started writing. Any poem by Li Bai was a masterpiece.
"Have you not seen the Yellow River's waters come from the sky, rushing to the sea and never returning? Have you not seen the white hair in the mirror in the hall, which was black in the morning and turned to snow in the evening..."
It goes without saying that Xu Yunfan has a beautiful handwriting, but what shocked Xie Baizhou and others was that Xu Yunfan could actually write such a good poem.
The whole poem is full of emotion and ups and downs. Its content shows a heroic and free-spirited sentiment and the lyrical power of the writing... It is not difficult to see the poet's bold and unrestrained personality.
If Xu Yunfan knew what Xie Baizhou and the others were thinking, he would probably be ashamed. With his level, how could he write such a poem? In this regard, could he compare with Li Bai?
The more Chen Ruxi read it, the more he felt that this poem had a grand structure with a good balance of tension and relaxation. It was truly a rare good poem!
Xu Yunfan put down his pen, picked up the paper, pointed at the character "来" and said to Lin Xiaoran, "Whether the calligraphy is good-looking or not, and whether the overall beauty is good or not, actually the layout of the white space is also an important point. No matter how many horizontal, vertical, or left-stroke characters there are, they can all be evenly spaced. Wouldn't that make the calligraphy look good? However, when the fonts are different, we can't generalize. We need to be flexible."
Until Xu Yunfan packed up his backpack, hid his purse, and left leisurely humming a little tune, Qi Xiu Ze and the other three were still unable to come back to their senses, one holding a twig, one holding a piece of paper, and two holding bowls, watching Xu Yunfan's back gradually become smaller.
After a while, Qi Xiu Ze finally withdrew his gaze and looked at the paper. He spoke with difficulty, "Is Yun Fan really a farmer's son, and not a graduate of the Imperial College?"
"Who knows? Anyway, I think the ink in his belly is darker than mine." Shen Ruxi said with a wry smile.
"What should I do? I don't want to hand this poem to the dean anymore. I want to hide it." Qi Xiu Ze thought, who knows, when Xu Yunfan becomes rich or something, the poems he wrote might be worth a fortune.
I have to say, Qi Xiu Ze guessed it right by accident.
Until later, when the Qingyun Hall on which Xu Yunfan sat became famous throughout the world, his handwritten calligraphy and poems became priceless.
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