Seeing that Wang An had finished writing, the whole family came over curiously to watch. As for Mu Xueqing, she had graduated from middle school; even if she didn't understand calligraphy, she could tell whether handwriting was good or bad.
Wang Dazhu and Liu Guilan had also attended literacy classes, so they were literate as well.
When the three of them saw the characters Wang An had written on the scrap paper, they were all struck speechless with astonishment.
No one mentioned the matter of the "cultured son" anymore.
After a long while, Mu Xueqing looked at Wang An with eyes full of admiration. She had never expected that although her husband wasn't great at studying—spending every day at school either fighting or brawling—his brush calligraphy was truly excellent!
Wang Dazhu and Liu Guilan also looked at Wang An with skeptical eyes, as if they couldn't believe this was their eldest son's masterpiece!
For the longest time, the couple had believed that Wang An might struggle even to hold a pen, let alone write!
After another moment, Wang Dazhu said with a chuckle, "From now on during the New Year, we won't have to beg anyone to write the couplets anymore!"
In the evening, Wang Yi returned home from school. The first thing he did upon entering the room was look toward his eldest brother.
This was because Wang Yi knew that Wang An had gone to the county town today, and he was wondering if his fountain pen had been bought.
Seeing his younger brother's expectant gaze, Wang An suddenly wanted to tease him. Recently, Wang Yi had been particularly devoted to his studies, showing signs of becoming a "bookworm." However, this was a good thing; the family might actually produce a college student!
Thus, Wang An pretended not to know what his brother meant and continued doing whatever he was doing.
"Big brother, did you forget my fountain pen?" Wang Yi said disappointedly, seemingly guessing that his brother hadn't bought it.
Wang An slapped his forehead and pretended to be anxious. "Oh dear, look at my memory! How could I have forgotten?"
Liu Guilan, her husband, and Mu Xueqing struggled to suppress their laughter, watching Wang Yi's reaction out of the corners of their eyes.
Wang Yi placed his schoolbag on the kang with a crestfallen air and sat there, looking gloomy!
At this point, seeing her youngest son's unhappy expression, Liu Guilan felt sorry for him. She turned to the table, took out two fountain pens and two bottles of ink that had been covered by red paper, placed them in front of Wang Yi, and said, "Your brother was just teasing you. Look at you, acting like a clumsy bear, good for nothing."
After speaking, she turned and gave Wang An a fierce glare, saying while glaring, "You're twenty-some years old and all you know how to do is mess around every day. Look at you, you tiger-head, just like your tiger-father! Good for nothing!" She completely forgot that she had been secretly stifling her own laughter just moments ago.
Hearing this, Wang Dazhu was momentarily stunned. He looked up at Liu Guilan, opened his mouth, but dared not say a word and lowered his head.
Suddenly, Wang Yi shouted loudly in excitement, "Wow! Eagle brand fountain pens! Big Bird brand ink! Big brother, you're the best!"
This sudden shout startled Liu Guilan, who was standing nearby. She jumped and then slapped Wang Yi on the back, shouting, "What are you yelling for? You scared the hell out of your old mother!"
Still in a state of excitement, Wang Yi ignored Liu Guilan and excitedly talked about who in his class used bottled ink and who used what kind of pen.
Looking at his excited brother, Wang An also wore a smile, for he understood all too well that kind of mutual envy and longing among classmates; it was just that sensible children wouldn't mention it to their families.
During dinner, Wang Yi seemed unable to extricate himself from his excitement. It seemed that the mixed-grain buns and meat were not as attractive as the Eagle brand fountain pen; he kept fiddling with it in his hand, examining it carefully.
Wang An noticed that the way his brother held the pen was exactly the same as how his brother-in-law had held the "Water-Linked Pearls" back then—not a bit of difference, as if they were both possessed.
"Did a poor man get a donkey? Can't count the donkey hairs fast enough? Second son, put that pen down and eat quickly!" Liu Guilan couldn't stand it anymore and rushed toward Wang Yi with a loud shout.
Without even looking up, Wang Yi let the pen slip from his hand straight into his pocket. His left hand grabbed a mixed-grain bun and started munching, while his right hand simultaneously snatched up the chopsticks, grabbed a piece of meat from the plate, and stuffed it into his mouth.
The movement was as fluid as flowing water; it was impossible to tell that just a moment ago, Wang Yi had been immersed in the world of the fountain pen.
Actually, Wang An knew this trick too; there was no other way, having been raised under such discipline since childhood.
It was foreseeable that if Wang Yi didn't hurry up and eat, the next act would be the "Dance of the Broom-Bundle," performed by Liu Guilan and Wang Yi!
One of the deepest lessons Wang An had learned growing up was that when it was time to eat, one must eat quietly. If you didn't eat, you got beaten; and even if you did eat, you had to eat properly. If you messed around and didn't eat well, you'd still get beaten after the meal!
At night, perhaps feeling uncomfortable from something poking her backside, Mu Xueqing whispered to Wang An, "Is it quite uncomfortable? You should still go find Shen Wei tomorrow!"
Mu Xueqing might have been sincere, but Wang An couldn't afford to be naive!
Therefore, Wang An didn't say a word, held Mu Xueqing, and continued to pretend to be asleep. No matter how you answered this kind of question, it would be wrong; only silence is gold!
The night passed without incident.
After breakfast, Wang An began making wire snares. With two bundles of wire, he made about a hundred snares, then threw them into the stove pit to be fired before packing them into the burlap sacks used for going into the mountains.
The snares he had recovered previously had already been processed by Wang Dazhu and packed into the sacks long ago.
As a father, Wang Dazhu always helped Wang An with things within his capability. In fact, Wang Dazhu had told Wang An that he wanted to accompany him in hunting the mountains, but Wang An certainly couldn't agree to that!
How could he let his forty-something-year-old father participate in such dangerous work? Impossible!
After finishing the wire snares, Wang An began making traps. The thick wire was truly hard; with a pair of pliers in each hand, he spent half the day struggling just to make ten!
However, these traps could catch wild pheasants, flying squirrels, or rats; they had many uses and wouldn't be a waste of effort.
When he reached the twelfth one, his father finished feeding the yellow goats and wild piglets and came into the room. Almost every person in the countryside knew how to make traps because rats were rampant in every household.
Wang Dazhu entered the room and watched beside Wang An for a while before saying, "What on earth are you making? This looks hideous. A waste of good wire, and they might not even work. Get over to the side! You can't do anything right!"
Then, quite angrily, he snatched the pliers from Wang An's hand and began making traps himself.
Wang An was genuinely stunned after hearing his father's words. He looked at the traps he had made; they were of uneven sizes and indeed didn't look very good!
However, Wang An felt that perhaps, probably, eighty percent of them would still work, though the more he looked, the more uncertain he became!
Actually, there were two key points to this thing. First, the two semicircles had to fit together perfectly; otherwise, the spring's force wouldn't be directed in one place, and even if it caught prey, the prey might break free.
Second, the trigger mechanism had to be handled correctly; otherwise, the bait would be eaten and the mechanism still wouldn't trigger, which would be truly ridiculous!
That would be equivalent to feeding the prey rather than hunting it—how embarrassing would that be!
Seeing that his father's traps were indeed quite square and proper, a bored Wang An began studying the deer hide again.
Now, whenever he had free time, Wang An would look at it for a while, mainly wanting to memorize it in his head. Only when it was memorized was it truly his own!
That way, after entering the mountains, he could quickly find the old caches!
After studying the deer hide, Wang An believed that he would definitely make a fortune next year! With so many old caches, just digging up a few would be a significant amount of money!
Having finished studying the deer hide, Wang An tucked a brown paper bag into his pocket and strolled over to Lu Yueyue's house!
On this final day of the Year of the Rabbit, I wish my dear big-shot readers a Happy New Year's Eve and great wealth in the Year of the Dragon!
(End of Chapter)