"Xiao Bei, be good. Sister’s not going anywhere. I’ll stay home with you, and even if I have to leave, I’ll take you with me, okay?" Ji Xinhe coaxed gently.
It was only then that Xiao Bei nodded with red-rimmed eyes: "Sister is the best!"
Ji Xinhe smiled: "Let’s go inside."
However, Xiao Bei suddenly asked, "Sister, didn’t you say that you brought a new friend for me? I saw two young ladies outside, but I didn’t see the new friend."
Ji Xinhe led him into the house: "He’ll be back tonight. You’ll see him then."
"Good!" Xiao Bei responded with eager joy, nodding his head excitedly.
Ji Xinhe then laughingly asked, "What did you learn in school today? I haven’t had time to quiz you properly since I got back. I heard that you’ve already mastered the Thousand Character Classic?"
Xiao Bei proudly said, "I can recite the Thousand Character Classic already! The teacher even praised me today!"
Ji Xinhe smiled and handed him a piece of green bean cake, "That’s impressive. But reciting it isn’t enough. You should also be able to write. I read the letters you wrote to me. You can write quite a few characters now, but they are crooked and twisted. You really need to practice more, ok?"
Xiao Bei hurriedly jumped down from the stool, ran to get a piece of paper and a brush, "I’ll write for sister to see!"
At this, Ji Xinhe couldn’t help but laugh.
Once Xiao Bei got his paper and brush, he propped himself over the table and began to write with painstaking precision. Looking at him nervously gripping the brush, yet trying hard to stay steady, Ji Xinhe couldn’t help but think that he seemed to have grown up a bit.
Xiao Bei neatly wrote the names on the paper, "Ji Bei", "Ji Dong", and "Ji Xinhe". He then turned to Ji Xinhe with an eager grin, "Look, sister, I can write your names!"
Ji Xinhe looked at the characters. Although the writing was still not very good, it was much better than in the past. She was comforted by this and praised, "Xiao Bei, you’ve improved a lot. But why didn’t you write Brother Mu Chu’s name?"
Xiao Bei scratched his head. "Mu Chu’s name is too hard to write."
Ji Xinhe chuckled. Mu Houchu’s name was indeed somewhat difficult to write. Considering Xiao Bei was only a beginner, she thought that could wait. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖
"But look at your character ’Ji’. It’s clearly not well formed. You can’t be skewed from top to bottom. You see, align it a bit, hold the brush firmly, then it won’t always be crooked." Ji Xinhe held Xiao Bei’s hand, and guided him to write stroke-by-stroke, making corrections.
"Oh~"
While writing, she asked, "What did the teacher teach today? Did he leave any homework?"
"Today, the teacher taught us to write and learn the San Zi Jing. But he didn’t assign any homework, he just told us to practice writing." Xiao Bei replied.
Ji Xinhe nodded, "What characters did you learn to write today? Show me."
Knowing that his sister was going to help him with his studies, Xiao Bei was very happy and immediately began writing.
Ji Xinhe sat by his side and corrected him from time to time, showing him where his hand was unsteady, where he had written the strokes out of order, and where he hadn’t done well.
Xiao Bei looked at his sister with admiration. "Sister is so amazing! Even writing can be this powerful!"
Ji Xinhe merely smiled, "I can only teach you when you’re just getting started. In a year or two, when you’re more skilled, I won’t be able to teach you anything anymore. Fortunately, we have Brother Mu Chu. He can teach you in the future."
As Ji Xinhe said this, she felt grateful she had come back. She had missed these crucial years by Xiao Bei’s side. In the future, everything might have changed.
However, Xiao Bei firmly said, "That’s not true! Sister is very talented. Even if I studied with you for a lifetime, I might not learn everything!"
Ji Xinhe gently patted his head, "If you want to become a businessman, you can follow me in the future. But if you want to pursue academic success, you should follow Brother Mu Chu. But it’s your choice. I won’t force you to do anything. We can decide when you grow up."
Xiao Bei tilted his head and thought, seemingly unsure about what to choose. He then laughed, "Anyway, sister said that I can decide when I grow up. So, I’m not in a hurry now!"
"Regardless of whether you want to become a businessman or pursue scholarly achievement, reading more books and recognizing more characters won’t hurt. You must study hard in the academy, understood?" Ji Xinhe admonished him.
"Yes, I understand!" Xiao Bei nodded emphatically.
Ji Xinhe then smiled. Xiao Bei was a good boy. She didn’t have to worry about him.
Perhaps because they were engrossed in their conversation, or maybe it was the comings and goings of Shulan and Xiaoyu who brought them refreshments, Ji Xinhe didn’t immediately notice the person standing at the door.
Suddenly looking up, she saw the boy Xiao Chaihuo standing at the entrance. She paused for a moment and then beckoned to him, "You’re back? Why are you standing outside? Come in."
Xiao Chaihuo hid his melancholy and came in with his head bowed, "I saw you talking so I didn’t come in."
Ji Xinhe laughed, "You don’t need to be so formal. If we were talking non-stop, would you just keep standing outside?"
Then she turned to Xiao Bei, "This is the friend I brought for you. Be sure to get along well with him."
Xiao Bei, who was normally shy around new people, hesitated for a long time before finally saying, "My name is Xiao Bei, what’s your name?"
Xiao Chaihuo looked up, "My name is Xiao Chaihuo."
Xiao Bei began to laugh, "This name is great! It sounds so different!"
"What’s good about it?" Xiao Chaihuo was momentarily stunned.
This name was given to him as a taunt by the servants in the Princess’ residence.
Ji Xinhe laughed and shook her head. If Xiao Chaihuo knew that there were people in their village named Gou Dan and Tiewei, he probably wouldn’t think his name was bad.
"Xiao Chaihuo is his pet name. He doesn’t have a formal name yet. Would you like to help him think of one?" Ji Xinhe asked Xiao Bei.
Xiao Bei jumped down from the stool excitedly, "Do you remember your last name?"
Xiao Chaihuo thought for a moment, then said, "I remember my dad’s surname is Li."
"Then you’ll be called Li Nan! I am called Ji Bei (North), you’re Li Nan (South). Today, our teacher taught us about directions, North up, South down! How nice?" Xiao Bei said with a laugh.
Xiao Chaihuo looked at Ji Xinhe and she smiled, "If you like it, you can use this name. I can’t think of any better ones anyway."
Where have you ever seen a servant who has a name that matches their master’s?
Even if the servant’s name has the characters from the master’s name, they have to change it. Xiao Chaihuo just stood there, stunned for a long time, before finally nodding firmly, "I want this name!"
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