"What’s the red paper for?" Qin Xiangyang was still tallying their accounts, but he was also capable of multitasking and heard what his sister was saying.
"Isn’t it almost the New Year? I want to write Spring Festival couplets and sell them."
Qin Xiangnuan showed her written characters to Qin Xiangyang, "Brother, do you think my writing is good, or is the ones sold by others better?"
"Sister’s writing is good," Qin Xiangyang answered without hesitation. Everything about his own sister was good, of course, her writing was too; he might not understand it, but he just believed that his sister’s writing was good.
"Then shall we buy it?"
Qin Xiangnuan had made up her mind this year. She wanted to sell Spring Festival couplets, not just for the extra money, but she really wanted to know to what extent her calligraphy had developed.
She had started practicing since she was six years old.
Her teacher was the system, which was truly strict with her. It took her a full five years to unlock all the calligraphy courses. Five years actually amounted to fifty, and she was confident that no one in this era could spend as much time practicing calligraphy as she did.
She practiced for five or six hours at a time. Other people had to go to school and do chores; they couldn’t afford the same tenfold difference in time as she could.
With fifty years of foundation, if not too dull, and with a good mentor, how could her achievements be low?
Therefore, her current level of calligraphy was definitely not poor, at the very least, writing Spring Festival couplets was no issue.
Before long, Qin Xiangyang really brought back a lot of red paper. They cut the red paper themselves, Qin Xiangnuan spread out the paper and then picked up the brush. After a moment of contemplation, her still youthful face inexplicably held a sense of steadiness.
It seemed like a myriad of reincarnations and a cycle through an ever-changing world.
In the end, it all returned to a point of calmness.
Seated properly or standing at the table, one’s chest or abdomen, legs one fist away from the edge of the table, the left hand pressed flat on the table surface, the right hand holding the brush. The body naturally relaxed, the posture as if cradling an infant, achieving "head straight, body upright, arms opened, feet stable".
Hold the brush barrel with the right thumb, index finger, and middle finger, the ring finger and little finger together gently pushing from the inside out against the brush barrel, ensuring firm fingers and a hollow palm, with the brush held upright.
Lift the elbow so it is suspended in the air and hold the palm upright to keep the wrist smooth.
Dot, horizontal, vertical, slant, press, lift, hook, fold
She didn’t know how many times she had practiced each component, each stroke. It was in these monotonous and long practices that her temperament became all the more calm and serene. She had to write large characters for at least five hours a day under the system’s pressure. She could go without eating or sleeping, but she would sit motionless for about five hours.
Upper scroll: Peace and good fortune inside and out
Lower scroll: Family joy and wealth advances
Horizontal scroll: Fortune stars shine bright
Upper scroll: Prosperity widens with every passing year
Lower scroll: Peace and longevity increase every year
Horizontal scroll: Fortune stars shine bright
Upper scroll: The sunrise dyes the river flowers redder than fire
Lower scroll: Spring turns the river water greener than blue
Horizontal scroll: Birds sing amidst the blossom fragrance
With brush in hand, one could say she wrote as swiftly as if flying. Having studied so much ancient culture, writing a few Spring Festival couplets was no trouble for her. Of course, she did not originate these; she wasn’t quite that capable. Most of what she wrote she had seen in books. The system had all kinds of books, and it was truly bound to her. Whatever she needed, the system would provide. That Compendium of New Year Couplets was given to her by the system a few days ago. In just a few days, she had almost memorized it. Children have good memories, so now, without even looking at the book, she could freely recall and effortlessly write.