Chapter 6: Burning Books and Roasting Geese?

  It was at that moment when I found it hard to make a decision, "Master..." My mother, Lu Shi's gentle voice was like heavenly music. Buddha, have you descended upon us?

  "Hmm!..." The old man seemed to snort in disdain, his palm knife transforming into an eagle's claw, as he grabbed the teacup and poured it down. What a clever move.

  Lu appeared suddenly in front of me and Old Man Fang, it seems that Lu had expected Old Man Fang to be narrow-minded and petty. With a swish of her long skirt, she sat down beside Old Man Fang: "Sir, you too, Jun Er was injured so badly, only recovering these past few days. If you want to take action again, why not divorce me first, give me a white cloth, so I won't have to witness father and son hurting each other..."

  Cold sweat suddenly broke out on his forehead, and his mother's killer move was also used too...

  "Hum! ...Madam, you're still protecting this unfilial son until today!" Old Fang's saliva was like sharp arrows, and I could only steel myself to face this fierce storm.

  "Yesterday, it was I who let Jun'er go, and if there's anyone to blame, it should be me... Besides, yesterday our Jun'er made a big show of himself, but didn't do anything out of line." Lu spoke softly, as if chatting with her own husband, and I could clearly see Old Master Fang's anger level plummeting, his raging fire extinguished in an instant.

  "Alas...... Madam, it's not that I don't care about him, but when will this scoundrel ever learn? He's no good at literature or martial arts, and every day he's causing trouble. How many times has he disgraced the House of Fang? Old Master Fang seems to have aged a lot, with a tinge of sadness... Yes, it's just like seeing his own father scolding him."

  "Father... I... the love that should have been left behind is dead!" I lowered my head and replied loudly. That kid was supposed to be dead, with such a good mother and a strict father who demanded himself to do well, yet he still...

  "Alright, alright, Master. Jun'er has admitted his mistake. Jun'er, pour tea for your father." Lu's gaze at me was as loving and doting as ever, making my heart ache. I wanted to tell her that her son... No, I am Fang Yi'ai, I am Fang Jun. As for that good-for-nothing Wang Ba Lao, let him go reincarnate and plague the evil tyrants of the society, the city management and the corrupt police.

  I respectfully poured a cup of tea for my father and also filled up a cup for Lu, Old Fang looked at me with an eye, his gaze seemed to have something in it, I raised my eyes, but saw him shift his gaze away, letting out a cold snort. Such a big person, still having the temper of a child... It seems that Old Fang indeed doted on Fang Yiai, that day he must have been so angry that he lost control.

  "Get out, copy the Thousand Character Classic for me a hundred times, and don't come out until you're done. If you dare to take one step out of the house, I'll break your dog legs!" As soon as the old man said this, I saw Lu Shi secretly let out a sigh of relief on the side, it seems that this hurdle has been passed. Just after walking out of the door, I faintly heard the old man's voice coming from behind: "By the way, madam, what was it that this scoundrel did yesterday......" This is something I've also wanted to ask about.

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  Heaven and earth are mysterious and vast, the universe is immense and chaotic. The sun and moon are full and bright, the stars are arranged in order... The extra month makes up a year, the law of music is harmonious, the clouds rise to bring rain, the dew condenses into frost, gold is born in the beautiful water, jade comes out from Kunlun Mountain... Wiping sweat like rain, hands shaking like chicken claws: "Green butterfly, how many times have you gone through?"

  "Two times..." The green butterfly standing beside me with its pen in hand, swayed unsteadily and covered its mouth to stifle a yawn, showing signs of drowsiness.

  "...only two drafts?" You've been writing from morning till now, noon, and only managed to write two drafts? One hundred drafts, do I have to wait until next year to leave the house? No way, no freedom, I'd rather die. Slap...the fine wolf hair brush was slapped onto the pen holder: "Green Butterfly!"

  "The slave is here!" The little maid was so startled that she jumped up, and the sleepy insect flew to Java.

  "Get me a goose instead of young master."

  "Slave... uh... young master?" Green Butterfly's eyes sparkled again, oh no!

  "Green butterfly, young master is not burning now, you let Fang Cheng catch a goose and bring it into the house, I have a great use for it..." I explained very kindly.

  "But young master..." Green Butterfly hesitated, with a worried expression: "In the study... you can't make roast goose, otherwise, you'll be beaten to death by the old master..."

  "What? ... Does the little girl think I'm doing something? Would I use all these books in the room as firewood? It's very likely that Old Man Fang would lock me up in the house and let me die with the goose."

  "Never mind, go and get me a few goose feathers, remember to get the big ones. If there are no goose feathers, then get chicken feathers, if not, then get duck feathers for me, remember to get the long ones from the tail or wings." Glaring with anger, stretching out my hand to grab your arm, aren't you going? I'm about to blow up!

  "The slave girl obeyed...". The little maid looked at me with a tragic expression as if she were going to the execution ground, and then covered her face and ran away in tears. Was this really necessary?

  "Scissors..." I held a chicken feather, with a very fierce momentum, and glared at the green butterfly, stretching out my hand.

  "For you, young master..." Green Butterfly fanned her curious big eyes, hoping that I could turn the chicken feathers into something strange.

  Ka-chong, I cut the hair into a shape, softened the hair tube, dipped it in ink, and pulled it across a used piece of scrap paper. Not bad! Although not smooth, at least my writing speed with a brush pen has been improved from N minutes/character to chicken feather pen: N seconds/character. Wahahahaha... The world's first chicken feather pen was born in my hands.

  "Wow... Young Master, you... You can actually write with chicken feathers..." In Green Butterfly's eyes, I have already become a god-like figure, hehe...

  "Green Butterfly!"

  "Good job!" The answer was correct, and he stood up straight, his bright eyes looking at me.

  "Take note, in the great China, during the 14th year of the Zhenguan era of the Tang Dynasty, a reborn great man Fang Yiai, after experiencing countless hardships and overcoming numerous difficulties, without regard for his own suffering, invented the first brush pen made from chicken feathers. From then on... Hmm, just kidding, don't look at me with that expression again, or I'll hit you!"

  "It's..." The green butterfly pouted its small mouth in distress. I continued to grind the ink, while struggling painstakingly with the chicken feather brush and tribute paper.

  The sky turned dark and then white, and when it was about to turn dark again, I, with two black eye circles, threw the 39th chicken feather pen into the trash can. First of all, you are a board, the great Thousand Character Classic project is finally completed, I'm so excited! I pulled up the green butterfly's hand, which was dozing off beside me, and shouted excitedly, as if I had seen the Chinese men's football team score an own goal with one shot.

  The green butterfly's face was red enough to almost steam an egg: "Young Master Jun... you're hurting your servant..."

  "Oh... exciting, not intentional haha..." Alas, my craving for green butterfly's tender tofu was seen through by this little girl. I'm too evil, no way, I'm not an evil uncle, I have to write a hundred times... forget it, just finished copying the thousand-word essay, now my hand is a bit cramped and I'm a bit allergic to chicken feathers.

  Before I could finish speaking, a loud cough was heard from outside the study. Father burst in with large strides. I bowed my head and stuck out my ears, as docile as a sheep: "Greetings, Father."

  "Hmm..." The old man ignored me and walked a few big steps to the table, picked up my calligraphy and examined it carefully.

  "An extra month makes a year, the law of music is in harmony with the sun. Clouds rise to bring rain, dew condenses into frost. Metal is born from beautiful water, jade comes out from Kunlun Mountains... Hmm? ... What is this thing?" The old man pointed at the sentence and asked me.

  "My goodness, I've gotten used to it, and even the punctuation marks have been taken away. "...the sentence... The child is so stupid, doesn't know how to separate sentences, can only use commas and periods..." I quickly explained the usage of these symbols with respect, no matter how spoiled I was, at least before crossing over I was a teacher, if I couldn't even explain such a small thing clearly, might as well just take a block of tofu and commit suicide."

  "Oh..." The old man looked at me sideways for a long time, then withdrew his gaze and stared at my pen calligraphy for half a day, muttering to himself.

  "It's rare for my son to be so diligent, and this symbol is actually quite useful for punctuation..." The old man's eyes grew brighter, like the stars twinkling in the sky. He seemed to have also grasped the use of these unassuming little symbols.

  "Thanks for the compliment, Dad..." Wiped the sweat from his forehead, the old man's imposing manner was intimidating, and he was relieved that he hadn't been beaten.

  "My son, these two days... hmm, the characters are too ugly and lack power. When I look at your writing, it's like looking at a person. Take this '琢' character you wrote, for example - it looks like it was scratched out by a chicken. The old master who has grasped the essence of running script commented very aptly; indeed, I had used a chicken feather to scratch it out. My idol! My gaze towards the old master is filled with stars."

  The old man seemed uncomfortable with my admiring gaze, so he turned away: "However... it's all worth it... you even know how to use periods and commas to punctuate sentences, not bad... not in vain for a father's hard work..." The old man appeared to be wiping away tears behind my back.

  "Dad..." My eyes are also a bit hot, after I was 16 years old, no one cared whether my handwriting was good or not, and if I did something wrong, no one would spank me on the butt with a large palm anymore. Today, it suddenly felt like going back to the past again.

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  It's been almost half a year since I last came here, and now I'm considered a new person haha. As a newcomer with a fresh attitude, please bear with me, everyone, and give me some encouragement votes first!