Meng Wan was completely embarrassed. Even when the slave trader had exaggerated his abilities, he had never felt this awkward.
His normally slightly upturned eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the pile of excrement-like stuff in front of him.
”Good posture, but you could lower your wrist a little more.”
Song Tingzhou clenched his fist and pressed it to his lips, suppressing a smile.
Meng Wan understood the reasoning, but he was just too soft-hearted; he almost wanted to flatten the pen on the paper.
It felt like a steam train had moved into his ears, puffing smoke from his left to his right, and he was incredibly embarrassed, holding that unruly calligraphy brush.
Song Tingzhou asked softly, “Shall I guide you through writing it twice?”
Someone was teaching him, and Meng Wan quickly nodded, “Okay!”
Meng Wan knelt on the kang (a heated brick bed) with his back to Song Tingzhou and facing the window. In front of him was a low square table. Song Tingzhou moved a step to stand to Meng Wan’s right, leaned slightly, and wrapped his palm around Meng Wan’s right hand. Their palms overlapped, and both of them trembled.
Before he became aware of his sexuality, Meng Wan was just an ordinary student. It was normal for him to joke and play with a group of naughty boys when he was in school. There was physical contact, and hugging and cuddling were not uncommon, but he never had that electric shock-like feeling before.
Could it be because he has kept his distance from other men since discovering he is gay, that the accidental touch made him panic?
Meng Wan felt he had figured out the key points and softly asked Song Tingzhou, who was still in a daze, “Are you done?”
Song Tingzhou glanced at his bright red ears, his throat dry and hoarse, and said, “That’s enough.”
He loosened his grip slightly, slid down to Meng Wan’s wrist, and grasped it loosely, then gently pushed his wrist forward.
”Don’t shake, move gently,” Song Tingzhou said slowly. As he finished speaking the last word, a neat “晚” (wan, meaning evening) character was written on the paper.
Meng Wan seemed to have gotten the hang of it, so Song Tingzhou led him through the practice a few more times. Before they knew it, it was getting late. The windows inside the room were made of white paper, which made it already dim, and now it was even harder to see.
”Dalang, Wan-ge’er, why aren’t the lamps lit?”
Upon hearing Chang Jinhua’s call, Song Tingzhou immediately withdrew his hand. He moved to the counter, took out an oil lamp, and lit it. The lamplight was dim and yellow, but it was enough to illuminate this small space.
Chang Jinhua lifted the curtain and peeked inside. “Wan-ge’er is in this room too? I thought you were lying down.”
Meng Wan shook his wrist. “I need to see my cousin about something, and I also want him to teach me some calligraphy.” He must have been bewitched; he almost forgot about the important matter.
Chang Jinhua slightly disagreed, “He’s going to the prefectural city in March, let him stay home and study. If you want to practice calligraphy, wait until he comes back from the prefectural city.”
Upon hearing this, Song Tingzhou interjected, “Reading won’t make a difference in a few days, Mother, why don’t you go wash your feet first?”
Chang Jinhua felt a mix of emotions. Was this a way of getting rid of her? It was true what they said, “A son is like a bird that flies away when he grows up; he’s already siding with his husband even before they’re married.”
She was still angry and went back to the main house without saying a word.
Meng Wan glanced guiltily at Song Tingzhou, “I’m not in a hurry to practice calligraphy right now. I came to you because of the market in the twenty-eight towns. I want to buy some red paper and ask you to write a few ‘Fu’ characters for me to sell.”
“Okay, do you want it now?” Song Tingzhou agreed without thinking. Although this thing wouldn’t sell for much money, it wouldn’t take much effort to write a few for Meng Wan if he wanted it.
”No, no, it’s too late today. I’ll make some examples for you tomorrow, and you can write them according to my instructions.”
After hearing about the rally in Twenty-Eight Town, Meng Wan decided to go and make some money.
A few days ago at the Hongmiao Village market, some people set up stalls to sell the character “福” (Fu, meaning good fortune) and couplets. They basically cut red paper into squares, with the pointed end facing up, and wrote the character “福” in black ink. The couplets were also done in the same way, except that the paper was cut into long strips.
Meng Wan wanted to try something different to make a few more coins. The town was different from the village. Even though it wasn’t as wealthy as the south, there were still gentry and landlords. Most families living in the town had some savings and wouldn’t care about an extra coin or two.
In the countryside, everyone goes to bed early at night. If there isn’t a scholar in the family, some families won’t even light an oil lamp, as it costs four or five coins to light one night.
Meng Wan washed his feet in the kitchen by the light of the stove, then went back to his room and lay down on the kang (a heated brick bed). Chang Jinhua was probably not asleep, but she didn’t say anything.
”Auntie, are you asleep?”
No movement?
”Mother~”
Chang Jinhua was furious. “You brat, aren’t you ashamed?!”
After getting engaged, Meng Wan let loose and said, “Hey, it’s only a few months away anyway, so I’m just getting used to it in advance.”
Chang Jinhua couldn’t suppress the smile on her face, but she still scolded, “You have no manners. If you were my son, I would have given you a good spanking.”
Meng Wan reached his hand out from under the curtain, saying, “A daughter-in-law is also a son, so go ahead and hit him.”
Chang Jinhua gently pinched him, her voice laced with laughter, “You’re not allowed to be so outspoken outside. If people hear you, you’ll ruin your reputation. A few years ago, there was a newlywed woman in the village…”
Meng Wan knew that her anger had subsided, and he felt relieved, falling into a deep sleep accompanied by her gossiping.
While he was eating well and sleeping soundly, the Tian family next door was not happy.
When the Song family started their feast at noon, the old and young neighbors all fell silent and eavesdropped. Chang Jinhua didn’t publicize her son’s engagement, but after Zhang Xiaoyu found out, almost everyone in the village knew, and the neighbors weren’t surprised.
Xiaomei was the only one who was happy for Meng Wan, but she was also a little depressed. “Why didn’t he tell me about such a big thing as Wan’er’s engagement? It would have been good if I had gone to his house to help out.”
Tian Wang put his arm around her waist and advised her, “You’re pregnant, how could they dare to ask you for help? The Song family has so many relatives. I saw Dali and Man’er go there. They don’t need any more people.”
Tian Xing lay on the kang in the east wing, glancing sideways at his younger brother and sister-in-law’s affectionate display, his eyes fixed on Xiao Mei’s barely rising and falling belly.
Aunt Tian (she wasn’t the head cook for the Song family; that’s how it is in the countryside, many people with the same surname and generation are addressed the same way. From now on, we’ll call her Aunt Tian, the neighbor aunt, Aunt Tian.)
Aunt Tian passed by the window, blocking her eldest son’s view. She glared at him fiercely and hissed, “Xiao Mei is pregnant, so she’s the most precious person in our family. Don’t look at my youngest daughter-in-law with that death stare. Look at your useless ger in your room. He hasn’t laid a single egg all these years and has wasted so much of our food!”
After a string of curses, Aunt Tian finally felt a little better. Her eyes were cold as she warned, “How did you get all those injuries the other day? Others may not know, but I know! I don’t know how I gave birth to such a simpleton like you. We see each other all the time in our own village. Even if we really get together, won’t the villagers gossip about our family behind our backs?”
Listening to his mother’s scolding, Tian Xing lowered his head further and further, while Zhu Ge’er shrank into the corner and became invisible.
He seemed to be living a worse life these days. Before, at least he looked presentable, his clothes always clean. Now, huddled in a corner, his clothes were covered in grime, and his trousers had two patches of thick, yellowish-white substance on them. He was so thin he was just skin and bones; every inch of his exposed skin was raw, and his face was bluish-purple.
Aunt Tian glanced at him and suddenly chuckled, “Zhu-ge’er, I heard you have a younger sister on your mother’s side who’s fifteen this year?”
Zhu Ge’er’s eyes were numb. “My sister is engaged.”
Aunt Tian glared at him and said, “With your parents as poor as they were, they naturally had to get the children betrothed early on.”
Tian Xing lay on the kang, panting heavily, “Don’t you still have a young ger in your family who hasn’t been betrothed yet?”
But he looks like a black monkey, and he’s not as good as Brother Zhu, otherwise he would have set his sights on him long ago.
As soon as he spoke, Zhu Ge’er trembled involuntarily. He understood what the mother and son meant. “His pregnancy mark is small…” He was also not very old, only fourteen after the New Year.
Aunt Tian clapped her hands and laughed, “Oh dear, what are you saying? I was just thinking that the New Year is coming soon, and your family’s conditions aren’t good, so why don’t we bring your younger brother over to stay for a few days and then send him back to your parents after the New Year?”
Aunt Tian was full of calculations. She thought to herself: If we bring that young ger over, the family will save a month’s worth of food for nothing. Her in-laws won’t be unhappy about that. After the New Year, we’ll send the young man back. If he gets pregnant, he won’t be able to find a family to marry. Won’t her in-laws be eager to send him back? If he doesn’t get pregnant, we’ll have to find a way to have a surrogate mother. The eldest son’s lineage can’t die.
The Tian family compound had many side rooms, which blocked the sunlight from both sides, making it feel much more oppressive than other houses. This was even more pronounced in the side rooms. Because Tian Xing took medicine every day, they even built a stove out of yellow mud and stones in this room. They would sit on the medicine stove morning and night, and the whole room was filled with an unpleasant smell of medicine.
No one else in the family wanted to come into the room; even Tian Xing’s own mother stood outside the window talking to her eldest son.
Zhu Ge’er was confined to the house all day, providing Tian Xing with outlets for his frustrations, yet he seemed oblivious to it all. He hid by the medicine stove, watching the disgusting faces of the mother and son, and listening to the harmonious family in the neighboring courtyard.
He gradually lost his inner warmth at Tianjia’s house, feeling like he was just a not-so-hard stone.
The next morning, as usual, Song Tingzhou’s reading voice woke Meng Wan. He didn’t have to get up early to make tofu, and there were no customers coming to his door early in the morning. Meng Wan changed back into his indigo cotton-padded jacket and thought to himself, “This is the one that looks best on me.”
Chang Jinhua went to the chicken coop in the yard to feed the chickens. In winter, there were no wild grass or insects on the ground. Every household would save the leftover chaff after harvesting the grain. When it got cold, they would mix it with water and use it to feed the chickens.
There was still half a pot of rice left over from the big pot of rice that was steamed for guests yesterday. Meng Wan scooped two ladles of water from the pot next to the main room and put it on the steamer rack.
Hearing the noise from the kitchen, Song Tingzhou came out and said, “I’ll start the fire.”
”Then add some firewood to the big pot first, and then help me light the small pot as well.” Meng Wan was no longer being polite with him.
Once the small pot was on fire, Meng Wan added a small half spoonful of solidified, snow-white lard. Before the oil melted, he added chopped scallions and fried them until fragrant, then added a bowl of water.
Took three eggs and beat them in another large bowl. Stirred the scallion oil and water from the pot into the egg mixture, put it in the large pot with the leftover rice, covered the pot and started steaming.
The family members washed up, cleared the dishes, and then ate dinner after a cup of tea.
The three of them, holding rice and sitting around a large bowl of steamed egg custard, ate with great relish.
”Wan-ge’er’s steamed egg custard tastes better than mine.” Chang Jinhua scooped up two spoonfuls and refused to touch any more. Her family had never saved eggs to sell; they were all kept for their own consumption. But in the cold winter, the chickens laid fewer eggs. Yesterday, they killed two more chickens for the engagement, and the eggs they had saved up a few days ago were now only half a basket left.
The two children are still growing and should eat more, so it’s okay for her to eat a little less.
”Eat more if you like it.” Meng Wan scooped a spoonful into her bowl.
Song Tingzhou, who had been eating in silence, also scooped a spoonful into Chang Jinhua’s bowl upon seeing this.
”You two can eat more, I’m not without hands and feet.” Chang Jinhua scolded the two younger people, but she felt inexplicably warm inside.
Whenever her son came back, the water tank at home would always be full, but he never touched any of the kitchen work. He had never been so thoughtful in her care.
Before Meng Wan came, she didn’t think there was anything wrong with him. Compared with other families in the village, Dalang was considered filial. But after Meng Wan came, something seemed different in the house. She was an ignorant country woman who could not see the world and said it was bad, but she could always feel it in her heart.
After the meal, Zhang Xiaoyu came to return the basket right on time. The sun was shining brightly, so Chang Jinhua cleaned up the dishes and chatted with him in the yard. After the New Year, Meng Wan would need to find a relative to marry into, and Zhang Xiaoyu’s family was a good match.
Song Tingzhou then placed the kang table that had been standing in the corner onto the kang in the small room and asked Meng Wan, “Wan-ge’er, what kind of ‘Fu’ character did you say you wanted to draw last night?”
”They’re here.”
Meng Wan jogged in to find him, and the first thing he said was about his grand plans and ambitions.
”Cousin, let me tell you, if we succeed in our research today, we’ll go to the paper seller in Hongmiao Village tomorrow and buy a lot of red paper. I’ll cut the paper, and you can write the characters. We’ll make a lot and take it to the market to sell on the 28th!”
Song Tingzhou replied, “There’s a family that makes paper near the town. They usually set up a stall in front of the private school. I often buy from them, and the prices are quite reasonable. Why don’t I go to their shop tomorrow and buy you some red paper?”
”OK.”
Both of them in the family were bewitched by Meng Wan, and they let him do whatever he wanted. Chang Jinhua never said anything about delaying Song Tingzhou’s studies again. Meng Wan then spent half a day in the small room studying, practicing calligraphy, and recalling the cartoon images printed on the “Fu” characters and couplets from his previous life.
Having a foundation from his past life, having written so many scrolls, Meng Wan gradually grasped some of the tricks of calligraphy, even though it was difficult. At least he could explain it to Song Tingzhou by gesturing on paper.
“Look, in previous years, wasn’t the ‘Fu’ character on the market simply written in the center?” Meng Wan wrote a crooked ‘Fu’ character on a piece of scrap paper.
Song Tingzhou chuckled inwardly, but didn’t show it on his face. He even nodded quite seriously, “That’s right. The ones with better handwriting will sell for one or two more coins, and the ones with worse handwriting will still be five coins each.”
The price he quoted was similar to what Meng Wan had asked about at the market, where an elderly scholar, over fifty years old, was selling his wares.
Don’t underestimate him just because he has a low academic rank. He has been selling “Fu” characters and couplets for many years, so his calligraphy skills are quite good. The price is also reasonable, six coins per piece. If you buy more, you can get a discount.
It was only after asking about the price that Meng Wan realized there was a profit to be made. With the New Year approaching, selling food would actually be easier.
However, firstly, the weather was cold when making hot food, and he was afraid the food would get cold when they arrived at the destination. Secondly, making food was quite troublesome, and his family had limited manpower. That morning, he had to get up early to make tofu, so he couldn’t take care of making anything else.
If you write the character “福” (fortune) in advance during these few days, it will be different. This thing is not afraid of freezing or spoiling, and you can just roll it up easily.
Low cost, simple labor, yet not cheap. A pure meat bun costs three coins, but one with a “福” (good fortune) character written on it costs six coins. No wonder scholars had a high social status in ancient times.