Chapter 5

Xia Hongsheng felt uneasy, Xu Qixian was dumbfounded, and the teacher stretched his neck to look up at the sky, as if hypnotizing himself into nonexistence at this moment. The old headmaster, imitating Xia Hongsheng's earlier pen-holding posture, with his fingers curled like claws, wrote two lines of text with the fine chicken feather pen. The writing was crooked and uneven, making Xia Hongsheng and Xu Qixian both blush for him. The headmaster, looking at his own writing, also blushed, his face turning red. After a long while, he muttered, "Innovative... cough, cough, but not durable. The pen is too thin and too soft, hard to hold and apply force..."

Xu Qixian's face turned red, and he couldn't utter a word. Seeing that Xu Qixian couldn't even manage a half-sentence, Xia Hongsheng quickly turned his eyes, made a bow, and said with a tone full of reverence, "The headmaster truly is a master of calligraphy, finding the flaws of this feather pen so accurately with just a quick try!"

He quickly flattered him to prevent the old man from getting angry! This was Xia Hongsheng's thought at that moment.

After saying this, Xia Hongsheng quickly winked at Xu Qixian, but Xu Qixian frowned tightly and couldn't even let out a word. Xia Hongsheng felt frustrated, wishing he could kick him hard.

However, Xia Hongsheng didn't expect that his teacher's flattery skills were already at a masterful level. Without saying a word, he just took a step forward, picked up the feather pen, and pretended to write a few characters next to the headmaster's line. Then he put down the feather pen and sighed deeply, "Sigh... truly..."

The teacher deliberately shook his head with a regretful look. The vertical line of characters he wrote was even uglier than the headmaster's. The old headmaster instantly regained his psychological balance, his lips curling up, and wrinkles appeared at the corners of his eyes. Xia Hongsheng was stunned, wanting to give his teacher a thumbs-up from behind the old headmaster, but he thought better of it, knowing that if the teacher also got angry, the pain of the ruler on his hand would be unbearable!

The old headmaster, feeling satisfied, picked up the feather pen and examined it carefully for a while, then asked, "Jing Shi, how did you come up with this idea? I see you write very smoothly with this pen."

"Reporting to the headmaster, when I was punished to copy articles, I found the brush pen too slow. Then I remembered that when the teacher explains the classics, some words need to be recorded for later reflection and memory, but writing with a brush pen is too slow to keep up with note-taking. So I thought of making a pen that would allow me to write faster to keep up with the teacher's explanations. I tried it at home. As for the smooth writing, it's just a matter of practice."

"Hmm... This thing, though unconventional, is... well, useful for quick note-taking. Heh, using the tail feathers of my golden rooster, it looks quite unique." The old headmaster's eagle-like eyes sparkled, and it was unclear what he was thinking. Xia Hongsheng and the others didn't dare to make a sound, only bowing respectfully, waiting for the headmaster to speak. After a long while, the headmaster said, "This thing is quite novel. I have never stopped writing in my life. I don't think a mere feather pen can be a challenge for me. Yes, this feather pen is made from my golden rooster's tail feathers without my permission, so it naturally belongs to me. I will practice writing with it. Heh, when the time comes, Jing Shi can compete with me to see who writes faster."

Xia Hongsheng couldn't believe his ears. Was this still a conservative ancient scholar? Writing with a chicken feather pen seemed to be a disgraceful act. However, Xia Hongsheng was secretly relieved that he had encountered an enlightened headmaster!

After the old headmaster finished speaking, he turned to leave. Xia Hongsheng was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when he heard Xu Qixian suddenly say, "Headmaster, my junior and I have committed a mistake and should be punished!"

Uh... Xia Hongsheng, looking at the righteous and confident Xu Qixian, suddenly felt that he had overestimated him earlier.

"You should be punished. Very well, Qixian, you will copy Sima Xiangru's 'Fan Jiang Pian,' Shi You's 'Ji Jiu Pian,' Li Chang's 'Yuan Shang Pian,' Yang Xiong's 'Xun Zuan Pian,' and Jia Fang's 'You Xi Pian' five times each. As for Jing Shi, hmm, I find the article 'At the beginning of human life, nature is inherently good. Nature is similar, but habits diverge. If not taught, nature will change. The way of teaching is to value specialization. In the past, Mencius' mother chose a good neighborhood. If the child does not learn, she will cut the loom... ' to be very profound, but it seems incomplete. You should write it from memory and submit it to your teacher. Remember, use the feather pen to write, but don't try to take more of my golden rooster's feathers! Hahaha..."

After saying this, the old headmaster left with the feather pen.

The three of them respectfully saw the headmaster off. When they turned around, Xia Hongsheng looked at his teacher with a strange expression. The teacher's face darkened, and he shouted, "What are you looking at! I just found the words in those texts to be very reasonable, but didn't know their source, so I asked my teacher! I didn't expect the headmaster to also be interested and not know the source, so I came to find you. But I didn't expect to see you two running wildly from the back mountain! Rascals! If I don't break your legs, I'll be disappointed!"

The old teacher became angrier the more he spoke. He had been worried that the headmaster would expel the two of them in anger, but now that the headmaster was calmed by the novelty of the feather pen, he felt relieved. Seeing his two students, his anger flared up, and he raised his hand to strike, scaring Xia Hongsheng and Xu Qixian into running away.

As the sun set and the cicadas chirped, the students of the academy dispersed, leaving the place quiet.

Xia Hongsheng took a deep breath, looked at the several feather pens he had used, and rubbed his sore wrist. He had finally finished copying the articles and writing the modified 'Three-Character Classic' from memory, preparing to submit it to the headmaster. However, he hadn't figured out how to explain the origin of the 'Three-Character Classic' when the headmaster asked. He couldn't say that he had recited it from his modern knowledge while dozing off. Turning to look at Xu Qixian, who was still writing diligently, he noticed that Xu Qixian's brush pen writing was already quite good, and once he got used to the grip of the feather pen, his writing became smoother and more beautiful.

After a while, Xu Qixian finally finished the headmaster's punishment. He looked up at Xia Hongsheng, smiled, and said, "Today was really scary, brother. If the headmaster hadn't been interested in your feather pen, we might have faced more than just copying. Jing Shi, don't do such things again. You are still young, and occasional mistakes won't be pursued, but if you get used to it, it will be hard to stand on your own, and people will look down on you."

"Brother Xu, I understand, thank you!" Xia Hongsheng nodded sincerely. Although he still looked like a primary school student, he was actually an adult with a few years of work experience. He could see that this senior Xu was genuinely concerned about him and treated him like a junior brother, so his attitude towards him naturally improved.

"That's good. Let's go, the teacher is waiting for us." Xu Qixian, seeing Xia Hongsheng's sincere attitude, felt a sense of achievement, having pulled his junior brother back from a potential misstep, and became happy.

The other students of the academy had already left. The two of them went to find their teacher and respectfully submitted their copied work. The teacher sat at the desk, carefully examined it, and nodded at Xu Qixian. Xu Qixian smiled, relieved. Then the teacher picked up Xia Hongsheng's written work and started reading.

"At the beginning of human life, nature is inherently good. Yes, indeed, newborn infants are innocent and pure, how can they not be good? ... Nature is similar, but habits diverge. Indeed, if human nature is inherently good, then everyone's nature is the same at the beginning, but the environment they live in shapes their diverse personalities!" The teacher nodded and analyzed each sentence, his eyes widening as he read on, as if he had discovered a priceless treasure. His expression changed repeatedly, and from his pinched beard and open mouth, it was clear how amazed he was. After finishing the not-so-long 'Three-Character Classic,' the teacher remained dazed, holding the papers tightly, as if afraid they would fly away if he let go. He muttered to himself, then suddenly stood up and slapped the desk hard, "Good! Good writing! A timeless masterpiece!"

After saying this, the teacher, with an excited expression, turned to Xia Hongsheng and Xu Qixian and said, "You may go now," then rushed out of the room and ran to the back mountain, forgetting to ask Xia Hongsheng where he had learned the article.

Xia Hongsheng and Xu Qixian looked at each other. Xu Qixian, very curious, asked, "Junior, what did you show the teacher that made him so excited?"

Xia Hongsheng smiled mysteriously, not answering, and put his hands behind his head. He saw a few kites floating in the sky and a few wisps of smoke rising in the golden sunset, took a deep breath, and felt his body and mind relax.

"In the second month, the grass grows and the orioles fly. The willows by the dike are intoxicated by the spring mist. Children return early from school and hurry to fly kites in the east wind." Xia Hongsheng, looking at the scene, recited a line, then waved to Xu Qixian as a farewell and left the academy.

"Hmm? When did the junior learn to write poetry?" Xu Qixian, watching Xia Hongsheng's back as he left the academy, said to himself with a smile, "In the second month, the grass grows and the orioles fly. The willows by the dike are intoxicated by the spring mist. Children return early from school and hurry to fly kites in the east wind... Wonderful! What a beautiful poem. I think the teacher would be happy to know about it!"

After saying this, Xu Qixian didn't stay any longer and waved to his servant waiting under the locust tree.

A servant in a blue robe ran over with a large rooster. However, the rooster was pitiful, with most of its wing and tail feathers plucked, looking very ugly.

"Idiot, what are you holding that for! Tie it in the yard, we'll need it tomorrow!" Xu Qixian scolded the servant and left the academy to go home.

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