Reborn in 1977

Chapter 166: Finding a Teacher

My calligraphy is bad?

Chen Fan immediately scoffed. Am I bad at calligraphy?

I just can't write large characters!

Back when I was in elementary school, even abacus calculation wasn't really taught anymore. Who would still learn large characters?

The characters on the bedsheets now were 'drawn' using my painting skills. Being able to see them clearly is good enough. Be content!

Chen Fan returned to the broadcasting station with a dark face, grabbed the calligraphy brush he hadn't returned, and started practicing with a stack of old newspapers.

After writing a few characters, he looked at the neat "永" (yong - eternity) characters on the newspaper and nodded with satisfaction. As expected, I still have some talent in calligraphy.

At this moment, Xiao Liewen walked in with his hands behind his back. He was about to speak when he saw the large characters on the newspaper. His mouth opened wide, and he almost dropped his smoking pipe.

Chen Fan looked back and smiled, "Captain, look at my writing. Isn't it pretty good?"

Xiao Liewen immediately gasped, slapped his face, rubbed it hard, and then asked through gritted teeth, "Let me ask you something."

Chen Fan put the calligraphy brush down. "Go ahead."

Xiao Liewen pointed to the characters on the newspaper. "Where did you go to school? Who was your calligraphy teacher?"

Chen Fan blinked, looked up, and then looked at him. "I forgot. What's wrong?"

Xiao Liewen clicked his tongue. "Tell me when you remember. I have to go and slap him twice. What kind of stuff is he teaching!"

Chen Fan's eyebrows furrowed as he looked at the characters he had written. "Is there a problem? I think they look pretty good. Horizontal strokes, slanting strokes, vertical strokes, bends, hooks, and dots are all clear at a glance."

"Bah!"

Xiao Liewen couldn't help but say, "Even a dog's scrawl is better than yours!"

Chen Fan opened his mouth wide. It can't be that bad, right?

Xiao Liewen picked up the calligraphy brush and wrote the character "永" (yong - eternity) on the newspaper.

Then he said to Chen Fan, "Look at it yourself. How is it compared to yours?"

Chen Fan looked at his writing and then at his own, nodding in agreement. "Yeah, it's better than mine."

Xiao Liewen was stunned for a moment, then a trace of suspicion flashed in his eyes. He asked, "Have you never learned calligraphy?"

Chen Fan turned his head and blinked. "Ah… probably not."

Xiao Liewen was speechless and threw the calligraphy brush down. "What 'probably'? You can't even see the brushstrokes. You definitely haven't learned it!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly laughed. "Oh, I thought you were a cultured person, that there was nothing you couldn't learn. Turns out you can't write large characters!"

Chen Fan was very unconvinced. "What's wrong with not being able to write large characters? Not being able to write large characters doesn't stop me from being a cultured person."

Xiao Liewen smiled noncommittally. "A cultured person who can't write large characters?"

Chen Fan was annoyed and embarrassed. "I can understand veterinary books."

Xiao Liewen: "You can't write large characters."

Chen Fan: "I can also repair electrical appliances."

Xiao Liewen: "You can't write large characters."

Chen Fan: "I can speak Mandarin and write news articles."

Xiao Liewen: "You can't write large characters."

Chen Fan: "…" ┴┴︵╰(‵□′)╯︵┴┴

When Xiao Liewen saw this, good heavens, his face changed like a chameleon, white turning to red, red turning to black, black turning to green and then blue. He was afraid of upsetting this precious thing.

He quickly said, "It's okay, it's okay. It's just writing large characters. I'll find you a teacher. I guarantee you'll have minor success in two years and major success in five years. Your calligraphy will be better than mine in the future."

Chen Fan thought he was just teasing him, so he changed the subject. "What did you come to me for?"

Xiao Liewen: "Oh, we're butchering the New Year pig tomorrow morning. You promised to make pig butchering dishes for me. Don't forget."

Chen Fan: "Don't worry, I won't forget."

After a pause, thinking that there was nothing else to do now, he said, "In that case, I'll go check if your sauerkraut is ready. If it's not, we can only use pickled vegetables instead. Sauerkraut that isn't pickled properly can't be eaten."

Xiao Liewen thought it was okay and turned to walk out, saying at the same time, "That's right, I'll take you to see the calligraphy teacher later. But, let me tell you, just keep this to yourself. Don't tell people everywhere, especially outside the brigade."

Chen Fan was a little surprised. "There really is a calligraphy teacher? Who is it?"

He knew that calligraphy classes started in the first grade of elementary school in this era. Even many people who didn't graduate from elementary school could write good calligraphy.

Moreover, as early as the 1930s, there had been literacy classes in the army, teaching calligraphy rather than penmanship. It seemed that it was only after the 1960s that they switched to teaching hard-pen calligraphy.

Therefore, he was not surprised that Zhang Wenliang, Yang Xingxiu, and even Xiao Liewen, who were not highly educated, could write good calligraphy.

However, judging from Xiao Liewen's current appearance, he was clearly a person with excellent calligraphy skills. Such a person generally wouldn't have a very low level of education. He had never heard of any cultured people in Lujiawan, so he was naturally a little surprised.

Xiao Liewen said in a low voice, "What kind of place is this?"

Chen Fan's eyes rolled slightly, and he said hesitantly, "Lujiawan."

Xiao Liewen nodded. "Do you know the origin of Lujiawan?"

Chen Fan was stunned, and a flash of inspiration flashed in his mind. "The Lu family?"

Xiao Liewen made a gesture to him, walking forward while laughing softly, "It seems that someone has told you…"

Chen Fan laughed and was still looking for reasons in his mind, thinking that he couldn't expose Jiang Lili no matter what.

Then he heard Xiao Liewen continue, "You guessed right. There is still one last member of the Lu family here. The calligraphy teacher I found for you is him."

Hearing this, Chen Fan couldn't help but stop and looked even more surprised. "Ah?"

Xiao Liewen patted his arm, motioning for him to continue walking forward, and then said, "Ah what? Do you think he used to be a local tyrant, so you should keep your distance and avoid him?"

Chen Fan's eyes wandered around. "Isn't that… the case?"

Xiao Liewen grabbed his arm and whispered, "This person is the fourth son of the Lu family. Back then, everyone called him Fourth Young Master. When the Japanese devils came, the Lu family all left, leaving only his family to guard the house. Later, when the Japanese devils came, he refused to be a traitor, and his whole family suffered. Those who were sick died of illness, those who were hungry died of hunger, and in the end, only he was left, and he also became disabled, with inconvenient legs and feet.

After liberation, when the land was to be distributed, he voluntarily handed over all his property and, like other ordinary people, was given more than one mu of land to live on. He didn't even want the big tiled house and donated it to the village to be used as the village committee. He built a thatched cottage next to the field.

The thatched cottage that stands alone behind that row of adobe houses that you pass by every time is his.

Another thing is that when the Lu family was still around, they were really good to the tenants below. If there was a famine year, they would lend grain without interest. If someone in the family got sick and didn't have money to treat it, and they came to ask for help, the Lu family's old master never skimped, lending as much as they asked for, without even charging interest."

Saying that, he patted Chen Fan's arm and smiled, "It's just that I think you're a good kid, otherwise I wouldn't dare to tell you. Anyway, in a word, just to be careful, you must never mention it in front of outsiders."

Chen Fan nodded vigorously. "Got it."

(Anti-criticism. Master Lu the Fourth has a prototype, from my hometown village. Born at the end of the Qing Dynasty, his ancestors were at most prefects. In the past, his family owned more than 5,000 mu of land in the whole village. He was kind to others throughout his life, never spoke rudely, never did bad things, and repaired bridges and roads when he had the spare capacity. He lived to be over ninety years old in the 2000s and died peacefully.)