Chapter 714: 714 Second Brother is nervous
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, “I didn’t do it on purpose…”
Seeing second brother’s nervous look, Su Qingyue smiled, “It’s alright, second brother.”
Xiao Yishan looked at the black smudge on the paper, “This wastes a piece of rice paper.”
“It’s not a waste, just write on the edge,” she said, “Second brother, you got ink on your hand, go wash your hands and dry them so you don’t wet the rice paper and then come back.”
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 wife’s.
Thinking that he couldn’t even hold the ink stick steadily while third brother was as skilled as a veteran, he couldn’t help but feel a hint of shame in his heart.
Su Qingyue gestured to the seat where Xiao Yishan had sat before, “In order to save time, I asked third brother to grind the ink first.”
“No harm done.” 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 wasn’t 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, “Write all the characters I taught you on the paper.”
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, “Wife, I remember you taught me about fifty characters, but I… only remember twenty.”
She handed each of them two more pieces of rice paper and let them continue practicing, “Write down as many as you remember.”
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.
“Second brother, don’t stress out; no one’s asking you to take the imperial examination.” She said, “You just need to be literate and not suffer the consequences of being illiterate.”
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, “Wife, do you think your husband looks handsome when he’s serious?”
“Stop talking nonsense, and focus on writing!”
Su Qingyue walked over to Xiao Yishan, bent down, and pulled his brush pen up a bit with her finger, “Your pen-holding posture is too low; move it up a little.”
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 brother’s attention was on her instead of concentrating on writing, Su Qingyue furrowed her brow, “Second brother, focus.”
Xiao Yishan then retracted his gaze and continued practicing.
Su Qingyue walked over to Xiao Qinghe and gave some guidance, Xiao Yuchuan spoke up, “Wife, why don’t you come over here to me?”