Do Not Speak Ill of My Mother!
Chapter 301 - 295 The Chinese teacher ran away (1)

Chapter 301: 295 The Chinese teacher ran away (1)

Feng Shuzhen wore a white cheongsam made from soft, supple fabric, embroidered with a few tastefully understated flowers that gave her an air of sophistication.

Although she was an elderly lady, her hair remained meticulously combed, twisted into a bun at the back of her head, held in place by a simple silver hairpin.

The nearly eighty-year-old grandmother had a face that radiated kindness, and the few steps she took had the cultivated grace of the noble ladies of yesteryear!

Upon seeing her, Yueqing reflexively stood up.

The others were puzzled by her reaction, but out of respect for the teacher, they too rose from their seats.

"Hello, everyone," said Feng Shuzhen with a warm smile, reaching out to greet the children before her. She then gave Jiang Chuanning a slight nod, her demeanor graceful and dignified, "Xiao Jiang, long time no see."

Jiang Chuanning responded politely, "Teacher Feng, long time no see."

The online audience was buzzing with comments.

[What a kind-hearted old lady, how old is she, in her sixties or seventies? She’s very well-preserved; usually, people of this age aren’t in great spirits. Yet she looks lively and spirited, not to mention that poised and leisurely elegance about her.]

[What’s her name? Feng Suzhen?]

[Didn’t the subtitles just show it? Feng Shuzhen! Sounds like the name of some calligraphy big shot, any knowledgeable people want to fill us in?]

[No, haven’t heard of her...]

Feng Shuzhen walked to the lectern and greeted everyone gently, "Hello children, my name is Feng Shuzhen. At the invitation of Miss Yueqing, I’m here at Zhongxing to spend three days with you all on a calligraphy practice course..."

Yueqing sighed to herself...

Well, Teacher Jiang, if you’re going to invite someone, just invite them! Why do it under my name...

And it’s a top-tier expert like Teacher Feng?!

Jiang Chuanning pretended not to see the little fox’s frantic expressions, his heart bursting with joy inside.

If it weren’t for the crowd around them, he would have loved to have a heart-to-heart with Yueqing, "Why invite Teacher Feng? It must be because she missed you! If it wasn’t under your name, how would she leave the Jiang Family to come to Hua Country? Right?"

Yueqing: Feeling bitter, yet unable to voice it... wuwuwu.

Feng Shuzhen’s gaze swept over the audience with affection, briefly pausing on Yueqing before she smiled and looked away.

She spoke softly and amicably, "When I was asked to come here, Boss Jiang of Zhongxing talked to me about everyone’s situation. Some of you have a solid foundation, others are complete novices, but it doesn’t matter. Practicing calligraphy is a step in cultivating the heart, requiring everyone to persevere. There’s no need to please others with your writing, you just need to find tranquility in it, to slow down your fast-paced lives and enjoy the process that brings pleasure to both body and mind..."

[This teacher speaks so well! Practicing calligraphy is indeed about enjoying the peace it brings. If you start by competing with others, you might as well not practice at all.]

[Hahaha, I have a reasonable suspicion you’re implying something about Soaring Sky!]

[No implication needed, it’s pretty explicit! After all, Soaring Sky’s actions are really puzzling. They also do teaching sessions and even invited Teacher Zhang Guowen. It’s a complete challenge to Zhongxing.]

[You can’t say that. Zhongxing proposed teaching the Gentleman’s Six Arts, but it’s not like they invented them. Soaring Sky might have had a similar training plan for a long time, and it just happened to coincide with their schedule.]

[You’re so gullible, I wouldn’t even need to talk if I dated you. You’ve filled in all the blanks and convinced yourself already.]

No one expected that Teacher Feng’s brief words would not only be very useful to the audience but also relax the artists like a breath of spring air.

They did not possess the outstanding pen practice skills of the three selected by Soaring Sky.

Jiang Chuanning’s decision to broadcast both sides seemed to have salvaged some of Zhongxing’s reputation, but it actually added pressure to the artists invisibly.

Right now, the teaching situation over at Soaring Sky was silently playing on the curtain in front of the stage.

Under the camera, Chi Xianlin and Gongsun Ping, one wrote even more beautifully than the other! Even Si Younian, who seemed carefree, wrote characters that could be considered quite decent.

When it was their turn to practice, their grip on the pen was wrong, not to mention how they might be mocked by netizens!

Now, Teacher Feng’s words had finally put everyone at ease.

Seeing the children enter a relaxed state, Feng Shuzhen spoke with a smile, "To practice calligraphy, we must first start with grinding ink and holding the pen. Each of you has a set of brush and ink at your table. Let’s pour some clean water into the inkstone..."

She took a tea cup and gently poured some water into it.

"Beginners shouldn’t pour too much water. If you’re unsure of the amount, turn the tea cup lid upside down and pour half of the water from the lid into the inkstone..."

Everyone followed suit.

Feng Shuzhen put down the cup, took an ink stick in her right hand, and held it horizontally at a 90° angle over the inkstone, "Next is grinding the ink. Place the ink stick at the edge of the water mark. From here roll and make circles, grinding the ink gradually inwards..."

As if she knew what questions everyone would ask, she explained calmly while demonstrating, "Why not grind directly in the middle? Because if you don’t control your strength well, it’s easy to make the ink splash and stain your clothes..."

"The process of grinding ink can be quite tedious. You can imagine it as mountains and rivers; every move you make is like Pangu creating the world, transforming everything in the inkstone into reality..."

"In the first circle of grinding, the ink and the hard inkstone collide, creating a chaotic world... The second circle is a spark of stars, where with a tiny force, the ink starts to diffuse... Be careful, new ink is sticky and has sharp edges. Do not grind it too much and try to avoid the inner circle to prevent damage to the inkstone’s surface..."

The barrage of comments was abuzz with excitement.

[Although I don’t know the background of Teacher Feng, she really speaks and acts so gently!]

[Grinding ink is originally monotonous, but Teacher Feng makes me feel as heroic as if I’m creating heaven and earth!]

[I’ve taken out my long-unused Four Treasures of the Study and started grinding ink along with the teacher hahaha.]

[It seems Teacher Feng is really skillful, in just a few words she has got everyone organized clearly! Not only has she stopped Heizi from mocking Zhongxing artists for their bad writing, but she has also made them relax their minds.]

[Yeah, when the camera previously turned to the artists, some were extremely nervous! Now look at them, they are quite relaxed, as if the camera doesn’t exist...]

"On the sixth circle, the ink gradually merges with the water, and you can see the ink color getting denser, from watery to thick. Next, we maintain the speed that suits our wrists best, continue to grind, until the ink becomes rich and sticky."

From the moment Feng Shuzhen appeared, Zhang Guowen had been staring intently at the screen in front of him.

Although both sides chose to broadcast, they tacitly turned the volume to the lowest, to avoid disturbing each other.

Zhang Guowen was very close to the screen, so he naturally heard Zhongxing’s introduction of Feng Shuzhen.