Madam Xiao Was Impressive
"Also, you don't need to buy them all. We already have the Four Books and Five Classics at home; the ones I used before are in the room my aunt left me. My brother has history books and laws; you can take them and copy a set. As for the rest, I'll cover the money for you. You can pay me back when you sell your storybooks and have some money."
Xu Xue opened her mouth, wanting to refuse Xu Xi's help. But then she thought that if she didn't borrow Xu Xi's money, she would have to go home and ask her parents for it. Although Xu Xi had given the family two hundred taels of silver as capital, her parents were still under a lot of pressure. If they knew that she needed so much money for her studies, they probably wouldn't be able to sleep at night.
It would be better to borrow Xu Xi's money first, and she can pay it back later when she earns money. If she really can't make money writing stories, and her parents' business takes off, then she can ask them for the money to pay Xu Xi back. By then, her parents won't be under so much pressure, and they won't have to worry about her spending.
Xu Xue is quite confident about selling cold dishes. Mainly because they're so delicious.
She clenched her small fists and nodded vigorously. "Okay. I will definitely write stories and sell them for money."
As they were talking, she suddenly widened her eyes and exclaimed excitedly, "Sister, look!"
Xu Xi looked in the direction her chin pointed and saw three people walking in from outside the classroom. The one in front was none other than Madam Xiao, whom they had met at the jewelry store.
"She's in..." Xu Xi lowered her head, glanced at the class schedule she had written down, and her eyes widened suddenly, "Calligraphy?"
In her mind, calligraphy should be taught by an elderly master, since calligraphy requires years of accumulation. Someone who could become a teacher at the Women's Academy couldn't possibly have poor handwriting; they would at least have some reputation in the calligraphy world. But Madam Xiao looked to be only in her early twenties—far too young!
How young do you have to start practicing calligraphy?
Madam Xiao walked onto the stage, scanned the crowd below, her gaze lingering briefly on Xu Xi's table before quickly shifting away. She began, "My surname is Xiao, you can call me Madam Xiao. I will be teaching calligraphy to you all during this period."
The old woman and maid she led in were none other than Nanny Yun and Xiaoru, whom Xu Xi had seen in the silver shop. At this moment, the two of them brought out a large shelf from somewhere behind them. The wooden boards on the shelf were placed at an angle, and they laid a large sheet of Xuan paper on the boards and secured it with clips.
Nanny Yun took out a writing brush, ink, and inkstone from the bundle they had brought. Xiaoru dripped some water from a small porcelain bottle onto the inkstone and began to grind it.
Madam Xiao said, "To do something well, you must first have the right tools. To master calligraphy, the brush is the most important tool..."
She introduced several types of brushes and encouraged everyone to buy them. Seeing that Xiaoru had ground the ink, she began to write on the large Xuan paper with flowing, graceful movements.
She was young, and the women from prominent families had hardly heard of her. Although out of discipline and reverence for the academy, they dared not question her in their hearts, they certainly did not believe that she could write well.
As soon as an expert makes a move, you can tell if they're skilled or not. The moment Madam Xiao's words appeared, the slight noise that had been in the classroom vanished instantly. Everyone seemed to hold their breath, and the room became eerily quiet.
Xu Xi had been practicing regular script lately, while Madam Xiao was writing running script. Her characters were vigorous and powerful, elegant and graceful, both flowing and unrestrained. The beauty of her writing on the paper was palpable even to those who did not appreciate calligraphy.
"Ahhh!" The system's excited voice suddenly popped into Xu Xi's mind, "She's actually Master Mingcang's disciple, and her calligraphy has completely inherited Master Mingcang's true skills."
"Master Mingcang?" Xu Xi asked, puzzled. "Didn't you say he passed away more than fifty years ago? Madam Xiao is only in her twenties, right? How could she become Master Mingcang's disciple?"
The system was completely bewildered, and hesitated before asking, "Or perhaps... his grand-disciple?"
Xu Xi sighed, "If she really is Master Mingcang's grand-disciple, then I've hit the jackpot. Becoming Madam Xiao's disciple is equivalent to becoming Master Mingcang's disciple, and I might even get to see Master Mingcang's calligraphy. Earning 100 points for each piece of calligraphy is no longer just a dream."
The system nodded in agreement twice. "I'll check." Then it went silent, clearly going to investigate Madam Xiao's background.
Xu Xi was in an absolutely wonderful mood, and her gaze towards Madam Xiao was filled with eagerness.
"Alright, everyone, take out your paper and pens and write a piece of calligraphy. I want to assess your skills and see how good you are." After demonstrating her own abilities, Madam Xiao made a request. "You don't need to write in running script. Write whatever you're good at."
This is exactly what Xu Xue fears most.
Although she learned to read from her uncle and sometimes borrowed her brother's books, none of that cost her anything. Calligraphy, on the other hand, requires practice, and that uses up a lot of paper and ink. Her family was already struggling to support her brother's education, so they couldn't afford to buy her paper and ink to practice calligraphy.
Therefore, her handwriting is only legible and has absolutely no aesthetic appeal.
Now that Madam Xiao is asking everyone to write calligraphy, she's worried she'll be at the bottom of the class.
This girl wears her emotions on her sleeve; Xu Xi could tell at a glance that she lacked confidence.
However, there was no use in comforting her. Apart from the sounds of turning paper and grinding ink, no one in the classroom was whispering. She could only give her an encouraging look before starting to grind ink herself.
Xu Xue had no choice but to bite the bullet, lay out the paper, and begin grinding ink.
The teachers at the Women's Academy had it much easier than modern teachers. Not only did they have maids and servants to help them with chores, but even when they weren't lecturing, maids would still make them hot tea and bring them chairs.
While everyone was writing below, Madam Xiao was drinking tea above. When it was almost time, she stood up, walked into the aisle, and began to look at everyone's writing one by one.
Xu Xi was originally a focused and single-minded person. After transmigrating to ancient times, she practiced calligraphy whenever she had free time. She had long since developed the habit of quickly getting into the zone when she picked up a pen to practice calligraphy. Her mind and eyes were only on the words she wanted to write, nothing else.
The characters in the calligraphy book that Lady Hou had given her were already imprinted in her mind. Even though there was no calligraphy book in front of her now, the characters she wrote were still very similar to those in the book, and they also had their own unique charm.
Because this was the first opportunity to show themselves in front of the teacher, some students who wrote well and hoped to receive praise from the teacher were unable to concentrate. They kept turning their heads to see where Madam Xiao had gone while writing, and their writing was not as good as usual.
Madam Xiao walked down the other side of the passageway, went around to the back, then came back, finally stopping behind Xu Xi.