Fortunately, Li Feng was still thinking about Chen Duohai who was waiting outside, so he let Chen Ping out after a while. The most important thing is to get familiar with him today, and prepare pen and paper tomorrow.
Chen Duohai no longer knew how to thank Li Feng. He originally thought that it was God's blessing that the other party could give him some advice regardless of previous suspicions. Now he could still get Li Feng's guidance. His dark cheeks were red at this time and he was rubbing his hands nervously. , embarrassedly brought Chen Ping to his side, "This... this is too troublesome for you."
Li Feng waved his hand, "It's not a big deal. Besides, this guy Chen Ping is so smart that it's too late for me to be happy."
The two of them were no longer polite, said goodbye to Li Feng and rushed home.
As soon as I entered the yard, I saw Mr. Xiang listing the freshly chopped firewood and stacking them in the corner of the yard, presumably because he was worried that the firewood would get wet when it rained.
Chen Ping wanted to step forward to help, but as soon as he picked up the firewood, he was interrupted angrily by Xiang, "Why are you doing this if you have nothing to do?"
"I...can't move?"
Chen Ping looked at Xiang blankly. This is not what he has been doing on weekdays. Why can't he do it today?
Xiang's face was matter-of-fact, "How can it be the same now? You are the scholar in the family, and this hand is for holding a pen. How can you do such dirty work!"
This is simply nonsense. Chen Ping looked at his father for help, hoping that he could persuade his mother. This kind of idea is unacceptable!
But this was also Chen Ping's delusion. Instead of seeing anything wrong with Xiang's words, Chen Duohai nodded his head, apparently listening, and the two of them stopped him together.
Chen Ping was really dumbfounded when he saw this. He was already a scholar even before he started studying.
After dinner early the next morning, Xiang took out a sewn cloth bag with pen, ink, paper and inkstones already packed inside.
Although it was the second time to go to Li Feng's house, Xiang was still a little worried. She followed Chen Ping to the entrance of a neighboring village before going back alone.
Chen Ping followed the village road to find the door. He knocked twice, and the ajar door was pushed open by his force.
Li Feng rolled up his trousers and was digging the soil for the flowers and plants planted in the yard with a hoe. He also didn't forget to drive the earthworms he dug out to the chickens that were free-range in the yard.
"Students also work..."
Li Feng noticed the movement at the courtyard door. When he turned around, he heard Chen Ping's words. He laughed, "You guys said this, why do scholars stop working?"
Only then did Chen Ping realize that he had spoken out what was in his heart. He touched his nose in embarrassment, "I didn't mean that."
He was confused by the behavior of his family members yesterday. Seeing Li Feng's appearance now, he couldn't hold back his doubts for a moment, "Looking at you like this, you usually take care of these flowers and plants."
Speaking of these flowers and plants, Li Feng was not tired at all. He pointed at the orchid and said, "This is the orchid, but I love it so much. I can't let its beauty go to waste."
"This is great!" Chen Ping said with a smile, "I was still worried about how to convince my mother, but you have been a big help."
"How to say it?"
Chen Ping pointed to the chick eating earthworms next to him, "I don't know where my mother got the news from. Yesterday, she stopped me and refused to do anything. She also said that I was a scholar. Now that my husband is taking care of the family like this, I can be considered a success.
You can give me some advice from the beginning."
Li Feng looked in the direction pointed by Chen Ping. It was just something he did casually, but Chen Ping took it seriously. He suddenly couldn't laugh or cry, "Cheng Chengcheng, you are right."
Although it was perfunctory, Chen Ping didn't care about this. Instead, he asked Li Feng to promise that if Xiang came to ask about this matter, he would have to say something for him, but he still wanted to continue to read with him.
Li Feng was not annoyed when these sentences were connected in a row. He knocked the mud off the hoe and took Chen Ping into the house to study. He helped him, but Chen Ping couldn't study hard?
Yesterday's book was taken out again. Li Feng first read it out from the text, then began to explain its meaning to Chen Ping, and then asked Chen Ping to repeat it.
Chen Ping listened carefully and explained all the key points verbatim, which made Li Feng feel very relieved.
Since he was hopeless in passing the national examination, Li Feng has taught many children over the years, but Chen Ping is still the only one like him.
Unable to bite off more than he could chew, Li Feng decided not to continue teaching new content. Instead, he asked Chen Ping to take out a pen and paper, first teaching him how to place it, and then talking to him about the value of the ink, paper and inkstone.
"Don't look at this paper as white as the one in the book. Just practicing calligraphy is enough. If you are just learning to use a pen and your pen is unstable, it will be a waste to give you the best paper."
Chen Ping nodded in agreement. In today's era, the production of pens, inks, paper and inkstones takes a lot of effort, not to mention the price. His family's situation did not allow him to squander it at will. Even if Li Feng didn't say it, he would not be willing to part with it.
Follow Li Feng's movements and pick up the pen, but when it falls on the paper, the painting can no longer be called a stroke.
He didn't know whether Chen Ping's hand was not steady enough or the quality of the paper was really poor. Not only did the ink stains blur, but he even frowned at the crooked dots on it.
This is so different from what I expected.
"Beginners, this is normal."
Li Feng had been paying attention to Chen Ping's expression. Seeing the dull look on his young face, he quickly comforted him, "The more you practice, the better."
Chen Ping also knew this. He had never been exposed to calligraphy in his previous life, and now he was learning from scratch. He didn’t say anything more and continued practicing with his pen in hand.
Not long after practicing, his right hand began to tremble. As time went by, the trembling became more severe. He knew that he had reached the limit of his body, and practicing on paper would be a waste of paper.
Stopped writing.
"Why don't you write it?"
Chen Ping bit his lower lip, "What a waste."
Li Feng took a look and realized that what Chen Ping was talking about was a problem with the paper. Looking at the increasingly shaky strokes as he wrote, he asked him to rest for a while.
The two came to the courtyard, and Li Feng read a poem to Chen Ping while looking at the flowers and plants in the courtyard. He said something, and Chen Ping repeated it. The scenery outside was indeed beautiful. After a while, Li Feng was attracted by his sudden inspiration, and he grabbed the orchids and looked at them.
Thinking of words there.
Chen Ping was not idle either. When he saw dead branches on the ground, he simply used the dead branches as brushes and the ground as paper to practice his strokes.
By the time Li Feng came to his senses, Chen Ping had already written many strokes on the ground.
"Wonderful! Why didn't I think of this good idea?"
Li Feng took a sip of the cold tea placed on the stone table. He looked at Chen Ping, who was not affected by him at all, and at the arm that was still shaking slightly. He recalled the word "waste" that Chen Ping said to him before, and he seemed to be in a trance.
I remember how I looked when I was studying hard.
Chen Ping's hand holding the pen became stiff. He took a deep breath, stopped practicing, and moved his fingers. When he raised his eyes, he saw Li Feng looking at him, wondering what he was thinking.
"Sir?"
Li Feng looked back and said with a smile: "Would you like to take a break?"
Chen Ping shook his head and glanced at the sky, "Time is running out."
Li Feng glanced outside, and there was smoke rising from the kitchen. Just as Chen Ping said, it was getting late. The two returned to the room, and Li Feng took out a new book and continued teaching.
When Chen Ping was about to leave, Li Feng hesitated again and again and told Chen Ping, "Practicing calligraphy on the ground is indeed effective, but it is not absolute. After all, you still have to see the real results on paper."
Chen Ping quickly agreed, thanked Li Feng, and returned home alone.