Chapter 138: A shocking truth (2)

“Impossible!” Mrs. Huang stubbornly couldn’t believe that people of the Su family could write out the couplets, really wrote it out…… She was illiterate, but she could count.

It was obvious that the words on these couplets were more than those written by her son.

Mrs. Huang shrilled, “You.….. you bought it in town, right? That's right! It must be like this! I saw you going to town this morning! You went to buy the couplets, right!”

Su Xiaoxiao's chubby fingertips gently tapped the couplet, “Open your eyes and see it clearly! The ink is still wet!”

The villagers came forward to watch.

“Don't touch it!” Su Ergou said fiercely.

The fingers that were stretched out by the crowd quickly retracted.

They could see it clearly, the ink was still wet, and there was a strong smell of ink. At first glance, it could be seen that it had just been written.

Moreover, because of the close proximity, they made a new discovery.

The couplet papers from the Su family……  seemed to have a better color than Chen Xiucai’s* couplet papers!

*Xiucai (秀才) : is a scholar who has passed the imperial examinations in China and obtained the qualification for admission to academic institution in ancient China.

Also thicker!

Also…... no lint, no color loss!

Surprisingly, the color didn’t come off!

The youngest son of Lizheng’s* family couldn't help but touch it, it really didn’t fade!

*Lizheng (里正) : An official position in ancient china, mainly in charge of household registrations and tax payment.

Chen Haoyuan used the most ordinary red paper. The quality of the dye was bad, so when he bought it back, it had a severe color loss.

Niudan and the other child who were holding the couplets had their hands and sleeves completely turn red.

In addition, Chen Haoyuan's red paper had a rough texture and was thin. Every stroke of the word, the ink soaked through the paper and the ink stains were also slightly smudged.

The red paper that Su Xiaoxiao brought back from the Academy was ordered by Dean Shen from Fucheng with a large sum of money. The base paper was Xuan paper, which used the best dye technology, and was also thicker. It was naturally smooth, impervious, vibrant and did not get discolored easily.

 

 

 

-Red Xuan paper or rice paper, is a kind of paper originating in ancient China used for writing and painting. Xuan paper is renowned for being soft and fine textured. 

 

Dean Shen bought it for Young Master Xiang, and he even was reluctant to use it for himself.

Shen Chuan was very prodigal and asked his old man to give ten pieces to Su Xiaoxiao!

Even a fool could see that the quality of the Su family’s couplet papers were several levels higher than Chen Xiucai's.

What the villagers were thinking was—— I heard that Su Pangya took Su Ergou to do business in the town, did they really earn money?

And Mrs. Huang was thinking—— No! This could not be true! Such a vulgar girl like Su Pangya, how could she deserve to use better paper than her son’s?

Mrs. Huang's face turned blue and red for a while, and her heart was so suffocated that it almost exploded, “You, you…… who knows what kind of stuff you guys wrote? Do you think that you can call it a couplet just because you doodle randomly? Then I will just buy a few pieces of paper and clumsily scribble something, can it be counted as one too?”

Su Xiaoxiao smiled, “It doesn't matter if my aunt is illiterate. I will read it to you.”

“The first couplet: The Five Lakes and The Four Seas are Full of Spring! The second couplet: Thousands of Rivers and Mountains Shine In Brilliance! The horizontal couplet: Everything Becomes Fresh with a New Look!”

She had recently learned some characters, and these words happened to be within her knowledge range. If Wei Ting wrote another new character, she wouldn't be able to recognize it.

Everyone gasped and shocked.

They just saw a ghost, right!

Su Pangya read the couplets?

She, Su Pangya, was literate?!

Was this still the same little fat bully who always blackmailed people for money all the time, the one who was always being greedy and lazy?

Oh my goodness!

Did pigs climb the tree now?

Or the sun was coming out from the west ah!

Everyone was dumbfounded!

They dropped their jaws one by one in amazement! Not a single villager spoke for a while!

Su Xiaoxiao just liked this kind of feeling. A feeling that she exceeded everyone’s expectation and left them speechless.

She raised her chin, she put her chubby hands behind her back, and boasted, “My husband taught me!”

Alright, she actually learned it secretly. Wei Ting would not be so kind as to teach her!