Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 166 Find a Teacher
Is your calligraphy really bad?
Chen Fan immediately scoffed, "Am I bad at calligraphy?"

I can't write big characters!
Back when I was in elementary school, even abacus wasn't taught much anymore, so who would still learn to write?
The words on the bed sheet were actually drawn by him using his drawing skills. It's good enough that they're legible. Be content!

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

After writing a few characters and looking at the neat and orderly "永" characters on the newspaper, he nodded in satisfaction. Sure enough, he did 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 words on the newspaper. His mouth dropped open, and he almost dropped his pipe.

Chen Fan turned around and looked at it, then smiled and said, "Captain, look at my handwriting, isn't it pretty good?"

Xiao Liewen immediately gasped, slapped his face, rubbed it vigorously, and then gritted his teeth and asked, "I have a question for you."

Chen Fan put the brush down and said, "Please go ahead."

Xiao Liewen pointed to the words on the newspaper, "Where did you go to school? And who was your calligraphy teacher?"

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

Xiao Liewen clicked his tongue, "Tell me when you remember, I'm going to go over and slap him a couple of times. What kind of nonsense is he teaching!"

Chen Fan frowned, looking at his own handwriting with a puzzled expression. "Is there a problem? It looks fine to me. The horizontal strokes, vertical strokes, curves, and dots are all clearly visible."

"Pooh!"

Xiao Liewen couldn't hold back any longer, "Even a dog's scribbles are better than yours!"

Chen Fan's mouth dropped open. "Seriously?"
As he spoke, Xiao Liewen picked up a calligraphy brush and wrote the character "永" (yong, meaning eternal) on the newspaper.

Then he said to Chen Fan, "Take a look for yourself, how does it compare to yours?"

Chen Fan looked at what he had written, then at what he had written, and nodded in deep agreement, "Yes, it's better than what I wrote."

Xiao Liewen was taken aback at first, then a hint of suspicion flashed in his eyes as he asked, "Have you never learned to write large characters?"

Chen Fan turned his head and blinked. "Ah... I guess so."

Xiao Liewen was speechless. He threw down the brush and said, "What do you mean 'should be'? You can't even tell the brushstrokes. You've clearly never studied calligraphy!"

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

Chen Fan was indignant. "So what if I can't write big characters? Not being able to write big characters doesn't stop me from being a cultured person."

Xiao Liewen smiled enigmatically, "A cultured person who can't write large characters?"

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

Xiao Liewen, "You can't write big characters."

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

Xiao Liewen, "You can't write big characters."

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

Xiao Liewen, "You can't write big characters."

Chen Fan, “…” ┴┴︵╰（‵□′）╯︵┴┴
When Xiao Liewen saw this, good heavens, his face changed like a mask, turning from white to red, then red to black, then black to green, then blue, as if he was afraid of upsetting his precious child. He quickly said, "It's nothing, it's just writing big characters. Well, I'll find you a teacher, and I guarantee you'll be a pro in two years and a master in five. You'll be writing even better characters than me in the future."

Chen Fan assumed he was joking and changed the subject, asking, "What brings you here?"

Xiao Liewen: "Oh, we're slaughtering a pig tomorrow morning. You promised to come and cook the pig-slaughtering feast for me, don't forget!"

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

After a pause, and thinking that there was nothing else to do, he said, "Okay, I'll go check if your sauerkraut is ready yet. If it's not ready, we'll have to use kimchi instead. You can't eat sauerkraut that isn't properly pickled."

Xiao Liewen thought it over and decided it was a good idea. He turned around and walked out, saying, "Perfect timing. I'll take you to see Teacher Da Zi later. But let me tell you, this is something you should keep to yourself. Don't tell anyone, especially outside the brigade."

Chen Fan was somewhat surprised, "There really is a teacher who teaches calligraphy? Who is it?"

He knew that these days, calligraphy classes started as early as the first grade of elementary school, and even many people who didn't graduate from primary school could write pretty good calligraphy.

Moreover, as early as the 30s, there were literacy classes in the army, and the writing method taught was with a brush, not a fountain pen. It seems that it was not until the 60s that they switched to teaching penmanship.

Therefore, it is not surprising at all that people with low levels of education, such as Zhang Wenliang, Yang Xingxiu, and even Xiao Liewen, could write beautiful calligraphy.

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

Xiao Liewen asked in a low voice, "Where is this place?"

Chen Fan's eyes darted around slightly, and he hesitated before saying, "Lujiawan."

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

Chen Fan was stunned for a moment, then a thought flashed through his mind, "The Lu family?"

Xiao Liewen gestured to him, and while walking forward, chuckled softly, "Looks like someone told you..."

Chen Fan chuckled, still racking his brains for a reason, thinking that he absolutely could not betray Jiang Lili.

Then Xiao Liewen continued, "You guessed right, there's one last member of the Lu family here. He's the calligraphy teacher we found for you."

Upon hearing this, Chen Fan stopped in his tracks, his expression even more surprised. "Huh?"

Xiao Liewen patted his arm, gesturing for him to continue walking, and then said, "What 'ah'? Just because you think he used to be a nouveau riche, you should keep your distance and avoid him?"

Chen Fan's gaze darted around, "Could it be... that's not it?"

Xiao Liewen grabbed his arm and whispered, "This man is the fourth son of the Lu family. Back then, everyone called him the Fourth Young Master. When the Japanese invaded, the Lu family all left, leaving only him to guard the house. Later, when the Japanese came, he refused to become a traitor, and the whole family suffered. Some died of illness, some starved to death, and in the end, only he was left, and he became disabled and had difficulty walking."

After liberation, when land was to be distributed, he voluntarily handed over all his property and, like other villagers, received a little over an acre of land to live on. He didn't want his big tile-roofed house anymore and donated it to the village to serve as the village committee. He then built a thatched hut next to his land.

Every time you pass by that row of mud-walled houses, there's a single thatched hut behind it—that's his.

Another point is that when the Lu family was still alive, they were truly good to their tenant farmers. In times of famine, they would lend grain interest-free. If a family fell ill and couldn't afford treatment, they would come to them for help, and the old patriarch of the Lu family would never be stingy, lending them whatever amount was available, without even calculating interest.

He patted Chen Fan's arm and laughed, "I only told you because you're a good guy. Otherwise, I wouldn't have dared to tell you. Anyway, just to be on the safe side, you absolutely cannot mention it in front of outsiders."

Chen Fan nodded vigorously immediately, "Understood."

(To avoid trolling. Master Lu is based on a real person from my hometown village. He was born in the late Qing Dynasty, and his ancestors had served as prefects. Back then, his family owned more than 5,000 mu of land in the entire village. He was kind to everyone, never used foul language, and never did anything evil. He used his spare time to repair bridges and roads. He lived to be over ninety years old in the early 2000s and died peacefully of old age.)
(End of this chapter)