Men, listen, grab the top of the mountain and stand in the center position

Wangshu, unaware that she was the subject of a heated conversation between the two men in the study, took a nap and trudged off to the stable to check on the chicks. Xia Xiaoxiao had originally filled a broken bowl with water, but when she saw her running over, she placed two handfuls of rice bran mixed with water on the side and reminded her, "Shushu, take a look!"

The little chick pounced on the tile and ate the rice bran. After taking a bite, it tilted its head back and shook its neck up and down vigorously. After swallowing it with great difficulty, it ran to drink a sip of water, tilting its neck back again to let the water flow down its long neck.

Everyone was choking and struggling for a bite of food, unable to swallow a mouthful. Shushu watched for a whole cup of tea and still felt unsatisfied. Until he was urged to go to the study with the steamed rice cakes and tea, he shouted from a distance, "Daddy, open the door!"

Father Ji hurriedly took the tray, which contained a plate of rice cakes, a plate of peach slices, and a pot of hot tea. "Xiuyuan, come over here and have a cup of tea first. Come, have a piece of rice cake."

At this moment, Ji's mother also came in with a tray. One bowl contained Wangshu's minced meat and Persian vegetable porridge, cooked to perfection. Another bowl came with bamboo skewers. The small table was now completely filled. The four of them sat down. "This is the Braised Pig's Ears, fresh from the oven, made by Ju Zaojun. Xiuyuan, you can try some. It's just common food, so please don't mind."

Qin Xiuyuan repeatedly bowed and said, "How dare I? The hospitality is so lavish."

Wangshu was the first to eat the meat with a skewer. He chewed it with great satisfaction, and couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow, it's amazing!"

"She said you gave her the chicks and she was so happy she said she'd make you a garlic oil dip for dinner."

The Ji family has no rule of not talking while eating or sleeping. Wangshu laughed and looked at Qin Jia gie gie and raised his ears twice: You know what's good.

"I told Aiai that we have 15 chicks now, so I'll only give them 10. She can decide for herself with the rest." Xia Aiai is very busy, but she's the only one in the family with experience, so she can focus on raising chickens. Wangshu also has his own selfish motives; he doesn't want to see the chicks collapse after just a few days. "I have to go every day to see the chicks drink water. Mom, Aiai also said she only keeps roosters that don't lay eggs for herself."

"My dear daughter, how do the chicks drink water?" Father Ji asked his daughter who was drinking porridge with great interest, with an expression that said, "Daddy doesn't know how to ask questions humbly."

Qin Xiuyuan watched the situation unfold and wondered how he would suffer as a father.

"When the little chick drinks water, it follows its father. Daddy, you are also a father, you should know how the little chick's father drinks water." After saying that, Wangshu took another mouthful of porridge and waited for her father to demonstrate.

Everyone laughed and passed by.

Wangshu stayed in the study, reading a travelogue written by Zhou Shi at the beginning of the Daliang Dynasty. She needed a comfortable posture to read, leaning on whatever she was leaning against. She leaned on the cushion in the shady corner of the desk, opened the book and started reading, and no one disturbed her.

When they were discussing different opinions and quoting classics from the annotated chapters of the Four Books, Ji's father suddenly thought of something and stood up to get a soft cushion to help the other person. "My dear daughter, cushion your back."

The travelogue was written by a retired civil servant of the previous dynasty. His wife died young, and after the establishment of the Daliang Dynasty, he dismissed his slaves and took his son from north to south, traveling all the way to famous mountains and rivers, looking for ancient temples and famous monasteries, tasting local specialties, and recording them in detail. After he fell and died while climbing a high peak in southern Guangxi, his son sorted out his drafts and sent them to a bookstore for publication, naming it "Splendid Mountains and Rivers". Because it does not use fancy words but uses simple and easy-to-understand terms, this book has now become a well-known introductory travelogue representative in the literary circle.

Some, after reading this, lamented the man's achievements, saying he was unable to enjoy a peaceful old age and die a natural death. He himself was not there to witness the book's popularity. Others, however, argue that as an official of the previous dynasty, with his country in ruins and his mountains and rivers no longer in existence, the literati's integrity was inherent in their commitment to family and country, not serving two masters at once. Only by immersing themselves in nature could they find solace in the anguish of their lack of ambition. He was already in his seventies when he fell, and had long since accepted his fate. As for the book's posthumous popularity, it left a mark on history, making his life worthwhile.

Wangshu envied the author. In his youth, he passed the imperial examination and entered the government. He served for over twenty years, influencing the people and accumulating considerable wealth. As the country changed, he grew old. He used his vast fortune to travel with his son, writing and recording, drinking and having fun together for over a decade. He died suddenly, without any illness or pain. His published works earned his son a large sum of money and also left a name for himself.

Despite the splendor of the mountains and rivers, and the natural and historical landscapes beyond, the father and son's journeys often brought them across families whose young men had been decimated by war, or whose women had suffered, their homes deserted by famine, their fields overgrown with weeds. Some more remote areas, less affected, still had large groups of children toiling away day and night just to make ends meet, each of which they documented. Often, using his former official status to stay with the local gentry or wealthy peasants, the author lamented the hardships of the people's lives, lamenting: "The world has been ravaged by war for too long, and the people have suffered for so long!"

The Zhou Dynasty's Daliang Dynasty is now divided among its vassal states. As the most powerful central city, Yaocheng continuously accepts refugees from all over the region, resettling them one by one in the outer city. This shows its ambition and clear purpose. The only king of a different surname, General Qin, governs the northwest. He is only in his early forties. His five adult sons, ranging in age from their teens to their twenties, are all skilled cavalrymen, some talented in both civil and military affairs. He looks like a tiger or wolf waiting to be raised in the mountains, not to mention several ten-year-old sons under him. His intentions are somewhat obvious to everyone!

There's a calm before the storm. The original owner really wanted his parents to have another brother, but Wangshu felt that his father and mother were wise. In troubled times, ordinary people are like grass. Less burden, living in the present moment is the way to peace and contentment.

The travelogue records that people eat each other's children and exchange them for food. How horrible! Throwing her into this chaotic world as cannon fodder, I really want to roar to the sky!

Qin Xiuyuan had heard the sigh coming from the dark brain at the corner of the table for the fourth time in a quarter of an hour. It was clear that the person was completely lost in his own thoughts. Since the round brain was fixed there, it was not disturbed by the noises of the other two people chatting, laughing, flipping through books, patting their hands, drinking tea, etc., which showed his concentration on reading. Ji's father had naturally noticed it too, and he stroked his mustache proudly, indicating that he could leave her alone.

"Alas!" He sighed loudly. "Drink today and worry tomorrow. That's it!" Wangshu straightened up and realized that his hands and feet were stiff and numb. He fell back to the ground and hurriedly called out to his father, "Daddy, come quickly, it hurts!"

Father Ji ran over and massaged her. When his daughter's screams finally subsided, he said, "Next time, lean on the couch and watch it. Try changing positions midway. The blood vessels will be congested and strained if you sit for too long!"

"This book is quite interesting. I'm completely hooked." Wangshu stretched and looked at the calligraphy they were practicing. Qin Xiuyuan slowly moved aside, making room for her to read.

"Interesting? My dear daughter is sighing so frequently, is she sad that the author fell off the cliff?"

Wangshu rolled her eyes inwardly. She could grieve for herself eight or ten times, but she wouldn't grieve for the author even half as much. "The author is already seventy, a rare age. He's had enough of fame, wealth, food, drink, and fun. Why am I so self-indulgent and sympathetic to him? If he hadn't died on the cliff, he might have choked on his food and died. It would have been more comfortable to die on the cliff."

The more he talked, the more pitiful he felt for the original owner's parents. "Let's just be sad for our own family. It's so rare. Who in our family can have such a long life! I'm definitely going to die. Mom won't be able to see it, but who knows about Dad!"

Ji's father, whose name was slandered: ...Thinking back, it makes sense. It's better to pity yourself. "Daddy will definitely follow you and Mom. With gray hair, loose teeth, blind eyes and deaf ears, it's better to beg for mercy!"

"Qin Xiuyuan, your handwriting is really good!" Wangshu was a little surprised. With the modern Internet, one can know everything about the world. She especially likes cursive script in calligraphy and has seen works by some famous artists. Qin Jiagie gie was writing the masterpiece "Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng" by Wang Bo, who is directly regarded as the greatest talent of all time in this era. The more she read it, the more she liked it. She couldn't help but turn her head to look at him with a sparkling look and praised him, "I think it has a bit of the meaning of 'wine is the flag, pen, knife and spear, the momentum falls from the sky and the Milky Way pours down'!" This sentence was used by the author in "Splendid Rivers and Mountains" to praise a hermit. The hermit was a general of the previous dynasty, both civil and military. The author quoted this sentence to praise the hermit's brushwork, which was vigorous and colorful, with a majestic momentum and boiling blood.

Read and apply immediately? Qin Xiuyuan: "Xiuyuan feels ashamed and should practice diligently to improve himself."

"Xiuyuan's calligraphy is indeed excellent. He will surely achieve great things in the future." Ji's father stroked his mustache, his satisfaction with his future son-in-law rising to a new level. "My dear daughter, come and practice holding the pen for a quarter of an hour!"

Wangshu refused, "Father, your hands are as delicate as catkins, how can you hold a pen? Let me see how the dinner is prepared."

Watching his daughter walk away gracefully, Father Ji had to take out two pieces of his daughter's calligraphy from the beginning of the month to prepare his future son-in-law mentally, "Xiuyuan, take a look."

Qin Xiuyuan: ...his level is indeed like that of a three-year-old beginner. The ink depth varies, and his basic skills in the horizontal, vertical, left, and right strokes are not solid.