Chapter 52: Climbing Points Like Crazy
Da Tou was completely healed by Wen Yao’s “ugly” handwriting and couldn’t wait to run out and show Wen Xiuyi and Wen Jun, hoping to be praised.
His writing was clearly childlike and immature, easily recognized at a glance. But the other messy, horrendous character—Professor Wen stared at it for a moment, then asked Da Tou, “Who wrote this?”
Da Tou pointed at the room—Wen Yao was standing in the doorway.
Wen Xiuyi blurted out, “You wrote this? Since when did your handwriting get so ugly? Didn’t you used to write pretty well?”
Da Tou: ??????
He froze for a second, then suddenly realized. He tugged Wen Xiuyi’s sleeve, pointed at the character Wen Yao had written, then pointed at Wen Yao herself, letting out urgent little “ah ah ah” sounds, clearly anxious and upset.
Wen Xiuyi was baffled. “What’s going on with him?”
Wen Yao burst out laughing, nearly doubling over. Look at that, she’d made the kid so mad he was nearly speaking.
“You go coax him yourself. He thought his writing was ugly, so I wrote something even uglier to cheer him up. And you just came in and shattered the illusion with one sentence, hahaha…”
Da Tou puffed up his cheeks in a huff, looking like a little angry pufferfish, staring at Wen Yao with betrayed eyes.
Wen Yao casually took the paper from his hand and wrote two proper characters seriously:
Wen Yao.
Da Tou stared, eyes wide.
His sister’s handwriting was beautiful.
“Haven’t written in a while, got a bit rusty,” Wen Yao sighed dramatically.
Wen Xiuyi gave his daughter a helpless glare, then patiently consoled his younger son, “Tou, your sister was teasing you. You’re still small, and it’s your first time writing on paper. This is already great! Look around the village—what other kid your age can write like you? Right?”
Da Tou was still grumpy. When Wen Yao came over to pinch his little cheek, he turned away in protest—only for Wen Yao to anticipate his move and get him from the other side, laughing triumphantly as she left.
The little radish-head’s eyes dimmed again—clearly wounded.
Wen Xiuyi pulled him into his lap and guided his hand, one stroke at a time, helping him write the characters “Wen Zhao.”
“Daddy will teach you slowly. One day, your writing will be even prettier than your sister’s,” Wen Xiuyi said.
Da Tou looked at the characters on the paper, then at the hand holding the brush, and nodded seriously.
He would work hard. But even so, his sister’s writing was still the prettiest.
When they brought Da Tou to the old house, they also brought books and paper. Luo-shi and Old Man Wen were both surprised.
“Where did this come from?” Luo-shi asked, referring to the brush and ink. After all, Wen Xiuyi had sold everything of value.
“Had Yao go buy it yesterday. We’ve made a bit of money recently, and Da Tou’s always writing in the dirt—it’s not sustainable,” Wen Xiuyi replied casually.
Luo-shi let out a soft “oh,” then stared at him for a while, making Wen Xiuyi’s scalp tingle, before finally nodding and taking Da Tou inside to study.
Seeing this, Wen Xiuyi took the chance to plant a seed—he wanted to give the elders a heads-up that all the children should study. Even if they didn’t become scholars, literacy was always a good thing.
He stepped into the house. Old Man Wen was already clearing the kang table for Da Tou to practice.
“Dad, Mom, I plan to have all the kids study a bit. Whether or not they succeed is one thing, but at least they’ll be literate. When you’ve got time, let Second and Third Brother know. I’ve gotta head to the stall now, I’m off.” With that, Wen Xiuyi vanished like a puff of smoke.
The two elders stood there stunned.
“What… what did he just say?” Old Man Wen was clearly still in shock.
Luo-shi only froze for a moment before returning to normal. As she helped Da Tou get settled, she said, “He said all the kids should study.” Her tone was calm, as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world.
But only Luo-shi knew how turbulent her heart felt.
Was that really something her eldest son would say?
Back when the family supported him through school, she and Old Man Wen had considered sending other promising kids too—even if it meant tightening their belts.
They had even wanted him to teach the younger ones at home, but he always refused, saying it distracted from his own studies.
Yet now, he was bringing it up on his own? It felt surreal.
Her thoughts wandered. She didn’t even hear Old Man Wen talking until Da Tou tugged on her clothes and showed her what he had written.
Luo-shi’s expression softened as she praised him for being clever, even though she sighed silently in her heart.
What good was cleverness if he couldn’t speak?
That day, Wen Yao went with Wen Jun to Jishi Hall. First, to bring food to Doctor Jin and Shopkeeper Qiu. Second, to inform them the family would come with formal gifts tomorrow for the apprenticeship. Third… to farm some achievement points.
Upon entering the city, the four of them split up. Wen Yao and Wen Jun headed straight to Jishi Hall.
Hong Hai had opened up early. When he saw them—and the basket in Wen Yao’s hand—his eyes lit up.
“Wen Yao-mei, what tasty thing did you bring today?” He sniffed. Yep, smelled like meat.
Wen Yao gave the basket a shake. “Sweet and sour crispy pork.”
Hong Hai’s eyes lit up. He knew he’d smelled meat.
Though his mouth was watering, he held back. He had to wait for Doctor Jin and the shopkeeper before digging in.
Wen Jun got to work helping clean the clinic and sorting the previous day’s patient notes for Doctor Jin. Hong Hai scrubbed and wiped down the cabinets.
With the two of them busy, Wen Yao wandered around on her own.
There were some scattered herb trimmings on the dispensing table. Wen Yao glanced at Wen Jun and Hong Hai—neither were watching—so she discreetly swept them all into her space.
“Poria—polyporaceae family, dispels dampness, strengthens spleen and kidneys, calms the spirit, generates fluids…”
“Frankincense—burseraceae family, promotes blood circulation, moves qi, relieves pain…”
“Angelica dahurica…”
“Fresh ginger…”
Prompt after prompt popped up as her achievement points began ticking upward—six types, seven points each, forty-two points earned.
Awesome!
When Wen Jun glanced over, Wen Yao flashed him an OK sign. He understood—so the space wasn’t stingy after all. It recognized the items regardless of size.
When Doctor Jin and Shopkeeper Qiu arrived, they found Wen Jun and Hong Hai hard at work—and even Wen Yao helping organize the medicine cabinets.
Wen Yao was having a blast racking up points. Of course, she didn’t overdo it—just a tiny sliver of each herb.
Seeing her so absorbed, Shopkeeper Qiu joked, “Yao-girl, what’s this? You interested in medicine too? Maybe we should have Old Jin take you in as another apprentice.”
