Xiao Yishan took the ink stick, feeling a bit nervous for a moment, and the ink stick fell onto the rice paper, leaving a small black smudge on the paper. He furrowed his brow and hurriedly picked up the ink stick, âI didnât do it on purposeâ¦â
Seeing second brotherâs nervous look, Su Qingyue smiled, âItâs alright, second brother.â
Xiao Yishan looked at the black smudge on the paper, âThis wastes a piece of rice paper.â
âItâs not a waste, just write on the edge,â she said, âSecond brother, you got ink on your hand, go wash your hands and dry them so you donât wet the rice paper and then come back.â
He got up and left, and when he came back, he saw that third brother was grinding ink, and his movements were exactly the same as his wifeâs.
Thinking that he couldnât even hold the ink stick steadily while third brother was as skilled as a veteran, he couldnât help but feel a hint of shame in his heart.
Su Qingyue gestured to the seat where Xiao Yishan had sat before, âIn order to save time, I asked third brother to grind the ink first.â
âNo harm done.â He sat back down on the chair.
Su Qingyue let Xiao Yuchuan grind the ink several times before letting the three of them start practicing their writing with brush pens.
With ink on their pens, the three of them sat upright at the table, writing.
She had already taught them the proper way to hold a brush pen earlier, and when they practiced writing on the sand table, they also wrote with the technique of using a brush pen.
So, although it was their first time using the brush pen, it wasnât too awkward.
On their own initiative, the three of them practiced their writing on the rice paper, from left to right, line by line, trying not to waste any space on the paper.
Su Qingyue casually said, âWrite all the characters I taught you on the paper.â
Xiao Yuchuan was the first to put down his pen and hand the rice paper to her.
She took it and, upon looking at it, was somewhat surprised to find that he had actually written all of the fifty characters she had taught him in the past ten days or so. Moreover, when she casually mentioned how to turn and where to place the pen while writing, he not only wrote the characters but also developed a hint of calligraphy style, which was faintly taking shape.
Fourth brother and second brother also finished writing in turn.
She looked at their work, and fourth brother had also written all the characters she taught, but only in basic character shapes, without any calligraphic implications.
Xiao Yishan felt a bit guilty, âWife, I remember you taught me about fifty characters, but I⦠only remember twenty.â
She handed each of them two more pieces of rice paper and let them continue practicing, âWrite down as many as you remember.â
Xiao Yishan saw that third and fourth brothers had both written down fifty characters, while he had written the least, indicating that he had learned the worst, and his facial expression became embarrassed.
âSecond brother, donât stress out; no oneâs asking you to take the imperial examination.â She said, âYou just need to be literate and not suffer the consequences of being illiterate.â
He then relaxed his expression upon hearing that.
Su Qingyue watched the trio writing with their heads down and noticed that third brother was learning the fastest.
As Xiao Yuchuan felt her gaze on him, he raised his head and winked at her, âWife, do you think your husband looks handsome when heâs serious?â
âStop talking nonsense, and focus on writing!â
âOh.â
Su Qingyue walked over to Xiao Yishan, bent down, and pulled his brush pen up a bit with her finger, âYour pen-holding posture is too low; move it up a little.â
Xiao Yishan looked at her profile, seeing her serious expression, her big bright eyes, and her delicate and pretty lips. He felt a surge of hunger in his throat, and his gaze turned fiery.
Noticing that second brotherâs attention was on her instead of concentrating on writing, Su Qingyue furrowed her brow, âSecond brother, focus.â
Xiao Yishan then retracted his gaze and continued practicing.
Su Qingyue walked over to Xiao Qinghe and gave some guidance, Xiao Yuchuan spoke up, âWife, why donât you come over here to me?â