T.N: Finding information for the footnotes killed me (╥﹏╥)
It was already noon when they left the unit, obviously too late to start cooking now. Jiang Fan said: “Let’s go back and pick Brother Shen. It’s better to go to a restaurant, let Brother Fan treat you!”
“How embarrassing is that?” Zhou Hui disagreed and continued: “Brother Fan, you already did enough today. If you want to spend money, let’s spend mine!”
“Sister.” Shu Ran interfered. “Brother Fan doesn’t care about this, so don’t argue.”
Jiang Fan was not short of money. As a matter of fact, he liked spending money on his friends and treating them as a way to show appreciation. Zhou Hui’s refusal was undoubtedly similar to pouring cold weather all over his face. They were people living in different worlds, and Shu Ran didn’t want to make others unhappy because of pride.
“Okay.” After all, Zhou Hui was not small-minded herself. If her little brother said it was fine, she went with it. “Then I’ll treat you later.”
“That’s right!” As soon as Jiang Fan was happy, he put his arms around Shu Ran’s shoulders and started teasing: “Oh, no wonder Brother Shen cares about you. I also care about you!”
“Brother Fan, stop making fun of me.” Shu Ran naturally slid his shoulder out of his reach. In fact, he was still not used to having close body contact with others.
“Yeah, I’m just joking.” Jiang Fan hugged him briefly and let him go. Shu Ran was different from his other brothers. No matter how familiar they got, it’s better to not mindlessly touch him. He didn’t want others to be jealous.
The car drove fast. It took less than half an hour to go and pick up Xu Shen. They didn’t see each other all morning. The second Shu Ran laid eyes on him, his heart started beating violently. Xu Shen’s eyes were so aggressive, that even with a smile, he was still difficult to ignore.
“Brother Shen.” Shu Ran quickly shouted.
“Uh-huh.” Xu Shen sat down in the back row, his tall body immediately filling up the space.
“Brother Shen…” Chen Sen and his brother were still not back, and Shu Ran started to get worried. When Xu Shen entered the car, he pressed his hand and whispered: “Are they all right?”
“It’s okay. They are busy.”
Shu Ran wanted to ask more, but Xu Shen gently changed the subject. “How was it? Did Big Sister find someone she likes?”
The two of them were holding hands, hidden in a blind spot invisible to those sitting in the front. One of the hands was wider, with slender fingers and distinctive joints. There were faint blue veins surrounding the forearm and back of the palm. It was the hand of a mature man and it looked very powerful.
The other one was thinner, with no meat and so bony it made people feel distressed. The big hand was stroking the smaller one, unwilling to let go.
“I did. He’ll come to visit tomorrow.” Zhou Hui sat in the co-pilot seat and heard Xu Shen calling her Big Sister. She couldn’t help but laugh. What “big sister”, she was two years younger than him!
“That’s good. How are his conditions?” Xu Shen asked while lowering his head and kissing the small hand he was caressing.
Shu Ran did not stop him but was afraid Zhou Hui might suddenly turn around and see them. Jiang Fan silently adjusted the rearview mirror, to prevent her from witnessing something she shouldn’t. As a brother, this was all he could do.
Zhou Hui didn’t suspect anything and shyly talked about her blind date. Hearing that the other party had such bad family conditions, both Xu Shen and Jiang Fan wanted to scream: “Sister, why choose someone like that?!”
“Isn’t that quite bad?” Xu Shen kicked Jiang Fan’s seat. “Didn’t I ask you to take care of her? What kind of man did you introduce?”
“There were others with better conditions!” Jiang Fan felt wronged. He was at the scene today, stupidly watching Zhou Hui choose for herself. What could he do if that’s what she liked?!
“There were, but mine are not good either.” Zhou Hui was very self-aware. She was already happy that the man was part of such a respectable military unit. “Everyone introduced by Brother Fan was good. I chose him myself.”
“Anyway, it hasn’t been decided yet,” Shu Ran smiled and continued. “Let’s see when he comes tomorrow. If it doesn’t work, we’ll find someone else.” Although he disagreed with the man his sister chose, one thing must be said: “You see, in fact, I think it is good to not have any relatives. My sister will be the master of the house when she marries.”
Xu Shen lovingly glanced at his wife. “Silly… There will be children in the future, and there’s no one to help her. Your sister will have to do everything by herself. It hurts to think about it.”
That was true. If his family was better, they could even hire a nanny. The problem was that Zhang Yunsheng was only a clerk in the army, with a monthly salary of less than 100 yuan. They couldn’t afford hired help.
“Don’t talk about children. I can take care of both a man and child by myself.” Zhou Hui was full of confidence, thinking it was not that hard. After all, she was already used to raising children, with five younger siblings at home.
When Xu Shen heard her words, he whispered to Shu Ran: “Your sister already has a crush…There’s no way to change her mind.”
Shu Ran nodded helplessly: “Yet she doesn’t want to admit it.”
“Is he handsome?” Xu Shen was very curious. Zhou Hui didn’t even like him in the beginning, just how amazing was this blind date?
“He’s okay.” Shu Ran thought for a moment and lowered his voice to tell the truth: “I think he’s way above average.”
“Huh?” Xu Shen asked: “What is above average?”
“It’s like 7.5 points out of 10. Good, even excellent.” Shu Ran subjectively believed that Zhang Yunsheng could get this score based on his appearance alone.
“Can you rate men like that?” Hearing this, Xu Shen felt an itch in his heart. He hurriedly asked: “Then what about me? How many points do I get?”
Shu Ran: “…”
“How have I offended you?!” Shu Ran thought, unwilling to answer. There was no way Xu Shen didn’t know he was handsome, he just wanted to hear others praise him. Such a scheming 1 11- gong/the top in a gay relationship. 0-the shou/bottom, ah…
“Shu Ran?’ Xu Shen whispered, his eyes paying attention to Zhou Hui’s movements in the front seat.
Shu Ran had no choice but to reply. “It’s just full marks…”
Xu Shen was quite calm in the beginning, but hearing this answer, he laughed and looked at Shu Ran speechlessly. His wife always knew how to tease him.
“Are you kidding me?” He mouthed.
Shu Ran smiled and said nothing more, leaving Xu Shen to enjoy himself alone.
Jiang Fan in front was very curious. What did Shu Ran say to make Brother Shen so happy? He must ask later.
…………
The old-fashioned restaurant built in the 80’s was not luxurious. Everything was full of retro spirit, directly competing with Shu Ran’s modern aesthetics.
“There are a lot of people.” He sighed.
After the reform and opening up, the lives of ordinary people gradually became better, and the city started to look prosperous2The Chinese economic reform or Chinese economic miracle, also known domestically as reform and opening-up(Chinese: 改革开放; pinyin: Gǎigé kāifàng), refers to a variety of economic reforms termed “socialism with Chinese characteristics” and “socialist market economy” in the People’s Republic of China(PRC) that began in the late 20th century. The CCP carried out the market reforms in two stages. The first stage, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, involved the de-collectivization of agriculture, the opening up of the country to foreign investment, and permission for entrepreneurs to start businesses. However, a large percentage of industries remained state-owned. The second stage of reform, in the late 1980s and 1990s, involved the privatization and contracting out of many state-owned industries. The reforms led to significant economic growth for China within the successive decades. But, since arriving in the city, Shu Ran thought there were so many people, even too many people. It was no surprise the government decided to interfere and implement that well-known policy3The one-child policy was a program in China that limited most Chinese families to one child each. It was implemented nationwide by the Chinese government in 1980, and it ended in 2016. The policy was enacted to address the growth rate of the country’s population, which the government viewed as being too rapid…
“The mutton made by this master is very good. Brother Shen and I both love it very much.” Jiang Fan introduced the restaurant’s menu: “They also have big ribs! And roast lamb chops! Shall we order some today?”
“Forget about mutton, we can’t eat that in the summer.” Xu Shen thought that Shu Ran probably didn’t like it, even though it was quite nourishing.
“Oh, order whatever you want to eat…” Shu Ran was just like Xu Shen observed. He didn’t eat anything that had a strong taste.
Zhou Hui said: “I have cooked mutton several times at home, but no matter what I do, it still has a pungent smell. I don’t know how the master does it.”
“The master here has his own secret recipe, nobody knows it. If you don’t like mutton, we’ll not order it.” Jiang Fan turned around and winked at Xu Shen. This guy was a newlywed. He must pay attention to his wife’s needs and wants all the time, afraid to make him suffer.
Xu Shen was too lazy to pay attention to his antics, so he looked at Shu Ran and asked: “You’ve been running around all morning, are you tired?”
“Brother Shen, I’m the one who struggled all morning…” Jiang Fan interjected in a disgraceful manner: “Why don’t you ask me if I’m tired?”
“Get out of here.” With so many light bulbs around, Xu Shen had no choice but to stop talking.
“I’m okay.” Shu Ran glanced at Xu Shen and whispered with a smile.
They asked for a private room and went in. While waiting for the food to be served, Jiang Fan was idle. He asked the waiter for some paper and ink and started pressing Shu Ran to write him a couplet4A duilian (simplified Chinese: 对联; traditional Chinese: 對聯; pinyin: duìlián) is a pair of lines of poetry which adhere to certain rules. It is usually seen on the sides of doors leading to people’s homes or as hanging scrolls in an interior.
“Come on, great talent! I’ve been coveting your calligraphy for a long time!” Jiang Fan was exaggerating, as they only knew each other for a couple of days.
“Great talent? Who is that?” Zhou Hui was confused. Everyone looked at Shu Ran, so she looked over as well. No way, are they talking about her brother?!
Jiang Fan said: “Your brother’s calligraphy is very good. Don’t you know?”
Zhou Hui really didn’t. Was it really good? She had seen her brother’s handwriting before, and it was just pretty.
“I seldom write at home.” Shu Ran hurriedly said. “I’m busy with farm work every day. Who has leisure time?”
All of Zhou Ding’s habits came from Zhou Hui’s mouth. He had pieced together all kinds of information in an effort to understand him better. Zhou Ding was probably a smart kid who did well in exams without studying too much. A very slippery person.
On the day Shu Ran transmigrated, Zhou Ding had just finished his work and went to the river to take a bath. As a result, he got foot cramps and drowned. It was Zhou Hui who found him unconscious, and carried him back home on her back, taking care of his high fever for many days. So Shu Ran regarded Zhou Hui as his life-saver. Otherwise, he might have died as soon as he came here.
“You are just too lazy to study… you could have taken the college entrance exam.” Zhou Hui sighed.
“I still have to go to high school first and live in the city. It’s too expensive.” Shu Ran told the truth.
He was not Zhou Ding, but he felt that Zhou Ding agreed with him. His parents were too biased. Any money they had was reserved for his big brother Zhou Qiang and his wife.
“You precious…” Jiang Fan wanted to say something, but Xu Shen kicked him, successfully preventing him from making a fool out of himself. Every family had its difficulties. There was no point to rub salt on it. Having money didn’t mean you could just lie down and relax. There were so many other situations in life where money couldn’t help at all.
“Let’s do this.” Shu Ran felt sorry for Zhou Ding. He just wasn’t lucky enough. “What shall I write?” he asked Jiang Fan.
This confused Jiang Fan. As a learning scum, he had zero proficiency in either martial arts or literary arts. How could he know what to write?
“Heaven rewards diligence5is a highly popular and inspirational Chinese proverb, usually used by parents to encourage their kids when they work hard, but the results are not immediate?” Jiang Fan said weakly.
“Pfft…” Everyone laughed so much, making Jiang Fan feel like a total illiterate. Even though he was completely illiterate…
“Can you at least pretend to have some education?” Xu Shen smiled in disgust.
“You are educated enough. You help me pick something then!” Jiang Fan looked at the other completely illiterate man in the room.
“It’s not for me to hang in my room. You think about it yourself!” Xu Shen leaned back on his chair like it was none of his business.
“How about Tian Xingjian6“天行健，君子以自强不息” pinyin “Tian Xing Jian, Jun Zi Yi Zi Qiang Bu Xi” means “The heavens are in motion ceaselessly and a gentleman constantly strives to improve himself.” Ancient Chinese quote from Zhou Yi or The Book of Changes, written over 2,000 years ago from the Book of Changes?” Zhou Hui also came up with an idea.
“My brother hangs that one in his room…” Jiang Fan resignedly looked up at the sky.
“Hahaha…” Shu Ran couldn’t stop laughing. Tian Xingjian was indeed a hit, still popular 40 years later…
“It’s actually quite good, just a little bit outdated.”
Jiang Fan hesitated for a while, but still couldn’t come up with anything: “Why don’t you just decide? Whatever you think it’s good, I’ll frame it and hang it in my bedroom.”
“Frame it?” Since Jiang Fan wanted to cherish it that much, Shu Ran had to become serious.
“Dingzi, when did you practice calligraphy?” Zhou Hui watched her brother grow up. She was surprised she never heard about it. Was she so ignorant of her brother’s life? Yes, in fact, she and Zhou Ding weren’t that close before. Both of them had good grades in school, always competing with each other in secret. In addition, their parents preferred sons over daughters, giving Zhou Ding an advantage. Zhou Hui remembered that it was only after taking care of her brother who had a bad fever for days, that he started being very kind to her.
“Practiced it at school.” Shu Ran replied. With that, he also had an idea. He could write the “View of the Sea7观沧海 “Guān cānghǎi” is a four-character poem written by the poet Cao Cao at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and the first chapter of “Walking out of the Summer Gate”. This poem depicts a magnificent scene of the sea swallowing the sun and the moon, outlined by Cao Cao when he was climbing the mountain and looking at the sea in Jieshi Mountain. The whole poem is simple in language, rich in imagination, magnificent, desolate, and tragic” poem, which also complimented Jiang Fan’s name8Jiang Fan’s name, 江帆, translates as “the boat on the river”.
Zhou Hui was about to say that even with the skills he learned in school, he was still too confident, but Shu Ran figured it out with just a few strokes of the brush. His writing was silky and carefree, with the strokes dancing on the paper like flying dragons. His skill was obvious at first sight.
“Hiss…” Jiang Fan asked Shu Ran to write something for him, but he didn’t expect something so good. Just something passable was fine.
But this was more than passable. It was simply the work of a master.
“Is this a cursive script9Cursive script (Chinese: 草書, pinyin cǎoshū)often referred to as grass script, is a script style used in Chinese and East Asian calligraphy. It is an umbrella term for the cursive variants of the clerical script and the regular script. The cursive script functions primarily as a kind of shorthand script or calligraphic style and is faster to write than other styles, but it can be difficult to read for those unfamiliar with it because of its abstraction and alteration of character structures. People who can read only standard or printed forms of Chinese or related scripts may have difficulty reading the cursive script.?” Jiang Fan has seen something similar in his father’s study, and he thought Shu Ran’s script was not worse than that of famous calligraphers.
“Yes, don’t laugh at me.” Shu Ran knew his writing was pretty good, but compared to a real master, he still had a long way to go. It can only be said that everyone’s handwriting had its flavor, and one couldn’t judge purely based on the concept of good or bad.
Just like a work of art, it’s good if you like it and worthless if you don’t.
Xu Shen held his head with one hand, sometimes looking at the couplet and sometimes at Shu Ran, his thoughts unknown.
After Shu Ran finished writing the poem, he used a small brush to register the date and location, together with a little dedication: “Written under Senior Brother Jiang Fan’s coercion.” Underneath he signed his own name. All that was missing was a private seal10A stamp used in place of signatures in personal documents, office paperwork, contracts, art, or any item requiring acknowledgment or authorship. Usually made off stone, wood, or ivory, and is typically used with red ink or cinnabar paste.
Zhou Hui assumed that “Shu Ran” was Zhou Ding’s pen name so she didn’t ask. It was very popular to use a pen name in private conversations with friends or when writing letters to each other. Some even had more than one such nickname.
Everyone read it with appreciation and gathered around Shu Ran, saying: “Only missing a seal.” It was a pity that such a good work couldn’t be printed and sold.
“Let’s go back and find someone to engrave a few.” Xu Shen remembered there was an old seal shop close to the vegetable market, just two or three kilometers away from home. Jiang Fan couldn’t close his smiling mouth. He couldn’t wait to take the couplet back to his brother and brag that it was written especially for him.
“The ink is not dry yet, don’t touch it!” Xu Shen’s eyes were fast and his hands even faster as he patted Jiang Fan’s restless paws.
“Dingzi.” Zhou Hui looked surprised. “You are very good at this, I’ll let my wedding’s couplets11It’s customary for weddings to include a couplet. For New Year and weddings, the paper used is usually red, that being the colour of happiness to you.”
Shu Ran agreed: “No problem.”
The waiter came with the order, and upon seeing Shu Ran’s writing on the table, he exclaimed: “Hey, this looks good! Classmate, how about writing one for our restaurant as well?”
It would be so nice to just hang it on the wall! Other newer restaurants liked to hang landscape pictures and posters of popular stars. This restaurant, on the other hand, was quite old-fashioned, with a preference for calligraphy and old-school art.
Write a couplet for a restaurant? Shu Ran felt quite dull. It was the first time he encountered such a situation, and he felt quite shy. It seemed that back in the 80’s, more people appreciated calligraphy compared to his modern times.
“That’s not good…” It was just something to give to a friend. Shu Ran was embarrassed, thinking his works had never been shown to the public.
“What’s wrong?” Jiang Fan asked. “You write very well. If you don’t mind, just write something for them. Anyway, the ink is already prepared.” He now thinks Shu Ran is awesome enough to have his works displayed in restaurants.
Shu Ran was still hesitating. Xu Shen comforted him: “Why stress so much? If you want to write, then do it. If you don’t, I won’t let them force you.” He thought Shu Ran was too thin-skinned to say no, so he wanted to help him refuse. As a result, he heard Shu Ran happily say: “Okay, then excuse me if I make a fool out of myself!”
He had never done this before. Shu Ran concentrated on writing the couplet, feeling hot all over after it was done.
‘Hahaha… Why are you like this?” Jiang Fan said: “If I had your skill, my tail would be up in the skies, breaking through the clouds!”
Xu Shen commented: “Is a good thing God didn’t give you any skill. He was afraid you might disturb his piece in Heaven…”
“Get lost!” Jiang Fan didn’t care for his mockery. He filled a cup of tea and sent it to Shu Ran: “This tea is cold, beg Master to cool down.”
“Thank you, Brother Fan, I’ll do it myself…” Shu Ran touched his face and indeed found it quite hot. He quickly took a sip of the cold tea.
They laughed and made a fuss. Zhou Hui looked at her brother who had changed a lot. She felt relieved in her heart, with a trace of indescribable melancholy. She didn’t know where it came from, like the feeling of saying goodbye to the past.
Outside, the boss saw the couplet Shu Ran wrote and liked both the script and the content. He immediately found a suitable position to hang it. Later, he happily sent them a dish, saying it was the chef’s specialty. It couldn’t be more elegant to exchange calligraphy for exquisite food.
Jiang Fan kicked Xu Shen under the table and winked as if saying: “Your wife is very capable. Be careful.”
Xu Shen glanced at him and said nothing. Today was not the first time this happened. Last time, he asked Shu Ran if getting married to him felt like a losing business. Shu Ran shut him down saying that he didn’t care if his partner was educated or not, and the matter was over just like that. Xu Shen was more confident now, so he quietly asked: “How about you write one for our bedroom as well? Hang it at the head of the bed.”
Shu Ran was speechless and quickly whispered: “I’m not that narcissistic…” Hang your own name, in your own bedroom, where only you can see it…
“I like to look at it, write one for me.” Xu Shen whispered. “You can ignore it.”
Seeing that Zhou Hui was concentrating on serving everyone food, Shu Ran gave up: “I’ll get some good paper and ink later…”
After he agreed, Xu Shen fell into deep thought: “You put so much effort into it, it seems my house is not worthy of it.” He wanted to change to a better house, a small western mansion with a garden or something…
What kind of local tycoon’s speech was that? You’re so young and already have a house with a courtyard in the county town. Yet you still think it is not good enough… Shu Ran lowered his head to drink tea, thinking his and Xu Shen’s brain circuits didn’t align… But then, his expression suddenly changed.
Xu Shen asked: “What’s wrong?”
“You…” Shu Ran warned Xu Shen in a low voice: “Don’t think about doing anything illegal! No evil thoughts!”
Don’t make dirty money just to get a prettier house…
Xu Shen was stunned. His mind was indeed a little crooked right now. Jobs that made quick bucks were never clean, and once you’re stained, nothing can wash you up. But it was just a thought. He looked sideways at Shu Ran’s fair face and clarified with a smile: “I didn’t have any evil intentions!”
Zhou Hui put two bowls of rice in front of them and asked: “What are you two muttering about? Still not hungry? Hurry up and eat.”
Xu Shen took advantage of Zhou Hui’s lack of attention and fawningly picked up food for Shu Ran. He even tried to secretly kiss his face but failed, making Jiang Fan on the opposite side ridicule him wantonly. He didn’t expect Xu Shen to be a henpecked husband. It was so funny!
After lunch, Jiang Fan sent their family back. In the evening, he held the calligraphy Shu Ran wrote for him and ran to his brother to show off: “Look, the brother of the girl I’ve arranged a blind date for gave it to me!” By the way, he also vividly described how the restaurant’s boss also wanted a couplet, bragging like he was the Master. In the end, Jiang Fan asked proudly: “Brother, what do you think?”
Jiang Hang took a quick look and casually commented: “It’s well written, his foundation is obviously strong.” He must have at least ten years of experience, but upon seeing the boy’s signature, he realized the author was younger than his brother. That was indeed surprising. After all, learning calligraphy requires the influence of a good environment and the patience of an excellent teacher. Not like Jiang Fan, whose handwriting was taught by an assembly line master…
But he was right. Shu Ran’s original family had a scholarly background, with a rich heritage. Whether it was his handwriting or his somewhat arrogant, literary, and awkward temperament, it was all influenced by his upbringing.
The author has something to say:
A big chapter~
I’ll randomly send 50 red envelopes, to make the message area more lively QAQ!
