Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 167 They Got the Certificate

We first went to Captain Xiao's house to take a look. Both jars of sauerkraut were pickled very well. Apart from a white film on the surface, the brine and cabbage underneath tasted very pure, and there were no signs of spoilage.

Xiao Liewen looked at Chen Fan, "How is it?"

Chen Fan nodded and smiled, "Great, we can do it tomorrow."

Xiao Liewen clapped his hands and chuckled, "Good, good, good! The snow hasn't melted yet these past two days. If it snows again tomorrow, it will be even more beautiful."

Chen Fan closed the lid of the jar, gestured with his hand, and stepped outside, saying with a smile, "I didn't realize you were so poetic. Snowy day with pork stew, that sounds really nice."

Xiao Liewen led him outside, saying, "Hey, what's so poetic about this? This is just a little memory for me. Back when we ate the pork stew, it was snowing heavily."

As they chatted and walked, they headed outwards along the pond. When they passed the mud-walled houses, they went through a narrow path between two mud-walled houses, and after turning a corner, Chen Fan finally saw the thatched house he had mentioned.

No wonder I'd never seen it before; this thatched cottage was hidden in a thicket of mixed trees, almost invisible from a distance. Following a ridge along the field, I first came to a small yard enclosed by a bamboo fence, where two old hens were strolling around. They weren't afraid of people approaching, just clucking incessantly.

The front door of the house was wide open, but no one was inside. Xiao Liewen went up and called out twice, but there was no response. He then pointed to the back and said, "He's probably tending to the vegetable garden in the back. This old man can't sit still for a moment. You wait here, I'll go look for him in the back."

Just as he was about to leave, he turned back and whispered, "When you see someone, just call him Fourth Master. Don't say anything else, and don't stare at his legs."

Chen Fan nodded repeatedly, "Understood, I've got it."

Xiao Liewen then walked around the house and headed to the back.

Chen Fan carefully examined the thatched house, his brows furrowing in disapproval.

This is a type of house even worse than a mud-walled house. It is generally used as temporary housing, such as for duck herders, fishermen, or river workers. Unless someone is extremely poor, no one would live in such a house.

These houses are built by lining the interior with bamboo strips and then coating it with clay. There are no wooden pillars inside, no roof beams, and the roof is made of bamboo mesh covered with straw.

A heavy rain can wash away a section of the house's exterior wall, so after each heavy rain, it is necessary to reapply clay to reinforce it.

Or a typhoon could blow the house down.

Of course, there's no need to worry about people being crushed to death; at most, people inside will suffer some physical pain.

But living in a house like this is too uncomfortable.

However, considering Master Lu's status, perhaps he did it intentionally.

Thinking of this, Chen Fan could only remain silent.

A short while later, Xiao Liewen brought over an elderly man who looked to be in his seventies. Chen Fan glanced at him first, and when he saw the man nod slightly, he quickly stepped forward and greeted him respectfully, "Hello, Fourth Master."

Although the old man's hands and feet were covered in mud, his clothes were neater than most of the commune members', and he had an extraordinary air about him.

When he saw Chen Fan, he first looked him up and down before smiling and nodding, "Hello, hello."

He then raised his hand and, with a limp, led the guests inside.

This thatched house has only two rooms: the outer room serves as both the main room and the kitchen, while the inner room is a very small bedroom.

Once inside, Master Lu changed his shoes, washed his hands in a basin, dried them with a faded towel, folded the towel neatly, placed it on the basin stand, and then turned to pour tea.

However, Xiao Liewen waved his hand, "Don't pour it, we're not visiting."

Master Lu ignored him and poured two bowls of plain water, placing them in front of the two men, and said with a smile, "Whether you're a guest or not, it won't stop you from having some water."

Chen Fan accepted the drink with both hands, thanked him, and took a sip. Xiao Liewen also smiled, shook his head, took a sip, and placed the drink on the table beside him.

Then, pointing at Chen Fan, he said to Master Lu, "It's him, Little Chen, our team's broadcaster. His cultural knowledge is definitely top-notch, but his calligraphy is nothing to brag about. In any case, he's now a well-known 'cultured man' in Nanhu Commune, in our Lujiawan. If he were to write calligraphy outside one day and his handwriting was worse than a dog's crawl, wouldn't people laugh at him? So I wanted to ask Master Lu to teach him."

Chen Fan grinned obediently, "Thank you for your trouble, Fourth Master."

Master Lu remained noncommittal and took out a calligraphy brush from the drawer of the table.

Let's call it a calligraphy brush for now. It's a thin bamboo tube with some kind of bristle stuffed into the end, which does resemble a calligraphy brush, but it's obviously homemade.

Master Lu dipped the brush in water, handed it to Chen Fan, and said with a smile, "Here, write a few words."

Chen Fan didn't feel embarrassed at all. He took the brush with both hands, rolled up his sleeves, and wrote his name on the table.

Upon seeing this, Master Lu couldn't help but chuckle. "You probably haven't learned calligraphy before, but that's fine too. A blank sheet of paper makes it easier to teach."

Xiao Liewen stepped forward, bent down to look at the calligraphy brush in Chen Fan's hand, and turned to look at Master Lu, "Is this a chicken feather? Are you going to start practicing with a soft brush?"

Master Lu nodded and said to Chen Fan, “There are three types of calligraphy brushes: soft-bristled, mixed-bristled, and hard-bristled. If you start learning from the hard-bristled type, you will only be able to use hard-bristled brushes in the future and will not be able to use soft-bristled brushes. However, if you start from the soft-bristled type, you will be able to use both soft and hard brushes in the future. My suggestion is to start practicing from the soft-bristled type.”

He chuckled again, "Of course, it depends on your own wishes. If you want to learn quickly, you can practice hard hair directly."

Chen Fan said without hesitation, "I'll listen to Fourth Master and start practicing with the soft brush."

He didn't understand the difference between hard and soft; he was just confident in his skills.

Master Lu nodded in satisfaction, then picked up the brush in his hand and said with a smile, "Normal soft brushes are made of sheep hair or rabbit hair. Although chicken feather brushes are not uncommon, there are very few skilled users. This is because chicken feathers are scattered and cannot achieve the four virtues of a brush: 'sharp, round, even, and strong.' Historical records show that among all the brushes throughout history that were skilled in using chicken feather brushes, only Su Dongpo was truly proficient. Huang Tingjian, one of the Four Scholars of Su Shi, Dong Qichang of the Ming Dynasty, and Zhang Zhidong and Zhang Tixin of the Qing Dynasty could also use them, but they were slightly inferior to Su Dongpo."

He paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "However, in recent years I've had nothing to do and no brushes to use, so I've had to make my own chicken feather brushes. I've gained some experience with them, and I'm no less skilled than my predecessors. If you can start with a chicken feather brush, although it's more difficult, once you master it, learning to use other brushes will be a piece of cake."

The implication is that he believes he is no less skilled than Su Dongpo in the art of using chicken feather brushes.

That's awesome.

Aside from understanding this point, Chen Fan didn't know what the rest of what he said meant. He didn't understand anything about soft brush, hard brush, chicken feathers, or rabbit hair. He was just waiting for Master Lu's guidance to unlock the calligraphy skill board so he could speed up his skill-farming journey.

Ideally, pen calligraphy and brush calligraphy could be combined into one, allowing you to gain experience points for both skills – that would be truly satisfying.

After that, except for waiting until the time came to go back to the broadcasting station and turn off the radio, Chen Fan stayed here listening to Master Lu give his basic lessons.

From basic brush techniques such as concealing the tip, revealing the tip, using the side tip, and using the center tip, to the writing skills of basic strokes like "lifting" and "pressing," as well as the application of eight brush techniques including horizontal, vertical, dot, left-falling, right-falling, hook, lifting, and turning, Chen Fan finally understood why Xiao Liewen wanted to slap him after seeing the character "永" he had written.

On the surface, it looks like a character, but in the eyes of a calligrapher, it's not a character at all!
Especially after activating "brush calligraphy" and merging it with "pen calligraphy" into the "calligraphy" skill, Chen Fan's understanding of writing deepened. Looking at his own large characters again, he could hardly bear to look at them.

After finally finishing his first basic lesson, Chen Fan returned to the educated youth settlement fully equipped.

As soon as he got home, Jiang Lili informed him, "Your homestead certificate is ready. It's at Captain Yang's house. He told you to go pick it up as soon as you get back."

Has the land use certificate for the homestead been issued?
Wasn't it said that the certificates would be issued after the people in the veterinary training course received their veterinary licenses?

Chen Fan was taken aback at first, then put down his things and ran outside.

Never mind, since I've already got the certificate, I'll just go pick it up first.

Starting today, I'm a landlord with my own territory!

(The homestead certificate, although it was issued in 1981, is pretty much the same.)
(End of this chapter)