Feng Qingxue returned home shortly before it started snowing again.
The flakes fell fast and furious, like torn cotton from a torn pillow.
While sorting through the blank rice paper and brushes she had scavenged from a junkyard, Feng Qingxue suddenly felt the urge to learn something new.
At her age, going back to school was impossible but she couldn’t bear wasting time waiting for the catastrophe to pass. Nor did she want to spend the rest of her life buried in endless domestic chores.
The only viable thing to learn at this point was calligraphy, especially because she had some family background in it.
Excited to act on her inspiration, Feng Qingxue immediately picked out a couple of suitable brushes.
The brushes were of good quality, produced in Huzhou.
Of the four treasures of the study - paper, brush, inkstone, and ink stand - everything was present save for the ink.
However, if there was no ink she could use water instead, and use wood as paper.
She found a wooden board in her storage. It seemed to be part of some rosewood furniture, with no carvings and quite smooth after being polished and coated with layers of tung oil. It looked still new.
Thus, she dedicated two hours every morning and every night to practice calligraphy, practicing even during her spare time.
She had continued her practice until the time she travelled across worlds. Now, she picked up where she left quite easily.
When Mr. Lu heard that she had been practicing calligraphy all this while, he surprisingly approved of it.
"Lifelong learning is critical. You’re young and should not stop learning. Opportunities often favor the prepared. It’s great to see you practicing calligraphy. Perhaps our family will produce a famous calligrapher in the future!"
Feng Qingxue laughed modestly, "I’m just dabbling, even a lifetime of practice may not make me a great calligrapher."
Mr. Lu seriously replied, "Don’t belittle yourself, even great calligraphers become so through endless practice."
Saying so, he went out for a while, and returned over half an hour later brushing snow off his body. He took out a small camphorwood box and a flat redwood box from his military coat and handed them to Feng Qingxue.
"Uncle Lu, what are these?"
As she asked, Feng Qingxue opened the redwood box first and found a complete set of superior-quality Four Treasures of the Study inside.
Next, she opened the wooden box, and immediately exclaimed upon seeing the item inside, "The Three Model Calligraphy of the Hall!"
Mr. Lu was surprised, "You recognize it? Not everyone can identify it at first sight."
"Of course I do. I’ve heard about this king of all calligraphic model books in the history of Chinese calligraphy. I’ve long admired it!"
The Three Model Calligraphy of the Hall is very famous in the history of calligraphy. It’s a compilation commissioned by Emperor Qianlong, containing works of more than a hundred calligraphers from the Wei and Jin Dynasty up to the Ming Dynasty, including more than three hundred masterpieces, featuring treasured works by Wang Xizhi, Wang Xianzhi and Wang Xun.
The collected works consists of thirty-two volumes, and it is said that only dozens of copies were meticulously engraved and gifted to favored officials by Emperor Qianlong himself.
In her previous life, Feng Qingxue had admired the original stone tablets of the Three Model Calligraphy of the Hall in Capital’s Beihai Park. She was amazed that the Lu family actually had a collection.
"It has been passed down in our family for generations. Keeping it hidden serves no purpose. Take it and study it well. Don’t disgrace the reputation of this calligraphy model book."
Feng Qingxue was thrilled beyond words and did not decline, nodding heavily while holding the model book.
"Uncle Lu, rest assured, I will not let the Three Model Calligraphy of the Hall down! I will practice diligently and cherish it carefully." This was an invaluable treasure, something many calligraphy enthusiasts would kill to have.