Chapter 21: Following the teacher to learn how to write

  Her grandparents were so excited, as if the one writing was not Zhang Yue but themselves. No, even more excited than that! After all, this was their own granddaughter they had raised with their own hands!

  Grandfather took out the thumbtacks from the drawer, and he and grandmother compared them one by one, sticking that "spirit" neatly on the back of the sofa in the living room. That was the most eye-catching place in the whole house.

  Looking at the old man's movements, Zhang Yue was sweating! Written like this, it's still got the nerve to be posted in the house, what a loss of face! But, there's no place to say anything, besides, adults should think she's being humble.

  Looking at the adults' excited expressions, Zhang Qing couldn't take it anymore. She went over to pull on her mother's arm, twisting herself into a pretzel: "Mom, mom, grandma and grandpa are being unfair! Look at them... they're just being ridiculous, what's so great about that?"

  "What nonsense! Don't talk rubbish." Mom smiled and tapped her little daughter's forehead. "Don't be jealous, paint well, if you paint well, grandma and grandpa will also post your painting there."

  "Yes, you drew well, Grandpa will give you a sticker!" Grandpa said.

  "Alright, alright, you guys keep your promise!"

  It's better to be a kid, after a few words, Zhang Qing was enchanted again. Her two eyes narrowed into a slit. Everyone knew she was fantasizing about her painting being posted on the wall.

  In the evening, Teacher Tang came to give Zhang Qing a lesson. As soon as he entered the door, he saw that "spirit". He walked over and took a closer look, asking with interest: "Who wrote it? Zhang Yue?"

  "Teacher, you're also being biased, why didn't you say it was me who wrote it?" Zhang Qing said discontentedly.

  "You? Little girl, this definitely wasn't written by you. I've seen your drawings before, and as soon as you pick up a pen, I know what it's going to look like."

  "Oh, it was written by my sister. My mom even praised her for writing well." Zhang Qing couldn't help but curiously ask, "Teacher, isn't my sister's handwriting particularly good?"

  Mr. Tang looked again and said to Zhang Qing, "Call your sister over."

  "Sister, sister!" Hearing Zhang Qing's shout, Teacher Tang couldn't help but shake her head: "Zhang Qing, how old are you? This is just a small house, can't you just walk over and call out instead of shouting like that?"

  Zhang Yue, who had been listening in, also laughed: "Teacher Tang, you should scold her a bit, she'll listen to you. She's almost ten years old and still speaks loudly."

  After listening to her sister's words, Zhang Qing, who was pretending to be well-behaved because of being criticized, gave Zhang Yue a hard stare: "The teacher wants to see you." That look clearly showed resentment: "I called you with good intentions and still got scolded."

  Mr. Tang ignored the interaction between the two sisters and asked Zhang Yue: "Yueyue, have you practiced writing?"

  Zhang Yue shook her head, and Teacher Tang muttered to herself in surprise: "It shouldn't be like this? The characters inside clearly have experience, although they're not written well, but there's a sense of age sedimentation."

  Listening to Teacher Tang's monologue, Zhang Yue couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed and hastily interrupted: "Teacher Tang, I was just scribbling nonsense."

  Interrupted by Zhang Yue, Teacher Tang seemed to feel that she had dug herself into a corner. After all, this girl was still standing in front of her and was also a child she had known for so long, so she must have understood the situation and definitely thought wrongly about it.

  Teacher Tang looked at Zhang Yue and said: "Yueyue, you should practice writing when you have time. I know that your studies are tight lately, but you still have a talent for writing. Don't miss out on it. Another day, I'll find some writing exercises for you, and you can practice a bit every day. When you're done, bring them to me and I'll take a look. It's not about how much you write, even if it's just as a break, the more you write, the better it will be for your future."

  After hearing Teacher Tang's words, Zhang Yue nodded happily. She wasn't busy with her studies at all, and every day she was so idle that she wanted to find something to do. Teacher Tang's handwriting was so good, and now he was willing to tutor her for free - wasn't this like having a pie fall from the sky? What a great thing!

  Then when class resumed, Teacher Tang brought out some treasured calligraphy posters.

  There is Yan Zhenqing's "Duobao Pagoda Stele", Liu Gongquan's "Xuanmi Pagoda Stele". At the same time, I also brought a rubbing of Wei Furen's Cihua Xiaokai for her to appreciate.

  These things may not be worth much now, but in the early 1990s, people hadn't yet developed the awareness of cultivating children's hobbies, unless they were professionals, these were really hard to come by even with money!

  Looking at these treasures, Zhang Yue's emotions were beyond words, only heartfelt gratitude and emotion, as well as a stronger sense of responsibility.

  Digression

  Wishing you all an early Happy New Year!