Chapter 71
It actually didn’t lose its color!
The youngest son of the village chief could not help but touch it. It was really not dirty!
Chen Haoyuan used the most ordinary red paper, the kind that was colored with a slot. The quality of the dye was not good, so after he bought it, the color loss was very serious. Tiedan and the other child with the couplet had their hands dyed red.
In addition, the patterns on Chen Haoyuan’s red paper were uneven. Not only did it soak the paper, but the ink was also slightly smudged.
The red paper that Su Xiaoxiao brought back from the academy was ordered by Dean Shen from the prefecture city at a high price. The bottom paper was rice paper and used the best dye technology. Moreover, it was thickened by an additional layer. It was naturally smooth and did not get soaked or lose color. The color was also purer.
Dean Shen had bought it for Young Master Xiang and could not bear to use it himself. Shen Chuan took out ten pieces and asked the old man to give them to Su Xiaoxiao!
Even a fool could tell that the Su family’s couplet was more than a level higher than Scholar Chen’s.
The villagers were thinking-they had heard that Fat Lass Su had brought Su Ergou to do business in town. Could it be that she had really earned money?
However, Madam Huang’s inner thoughts were-No! This is not true! How could a vulgar girl like Fatty Su be worthy of better paper than his son?
Madam Huang’s face turned green and red, and her heart was about to explode. “You, you... Who knows what you wrote? Can you say that it’s a couplet just by randomly drawing? In that case, can I buy a few pieces of paper and scribble?”
Su Xiaoxiao smiled. “It’s fine if Aunt can’t read. I’ll read it to you.”
“The first verse: Spring in all the lakes and seas! The second verse: All the rivers and mountains will shine! The horizontal verse-Myriad Phenomena Update!”
She had recently learned some words. This couplet happened to be within her knowledge. But if Wei Ting had written another word, she would not be able to recognize it all.
Everyone gasped.
They must have seen a ghost!
Fat Lass Su read the couplet?
She, Fatty Su, could read?!
Was this still the same fat bully who extorted money all day long?
Heavens! Earth!
Had the sow gone up the tree?
The sun had risen from the west!
Everyone’s jaws dropped! No one spoke for a long time!
Su Xiaoxiao liked the effect of blinding everyone who didn’t believe in her!
She raised her chin and placed her chubby hand behind her back. She said proudly, “My husband taught me!”
Alright, she had actually secretly learned it. Wei Ting was not so kind as to teach her!
Madam Huang did not believe it!
How could this wretched girl be so lucky?
Had she recruited a fairy-like live-in son-in-law who was actually a scholar?
No, no. Being able to write did not mean that he was a scholar. Some people only knew a few words in their early years but did not make much of it in the end.
She had heard from the Su family that Su Cheng and his new live-in son-in-law often went to look for the Qian family to farm.
Did he really have the ability to write couplets? Wasn’t copying books for others more profitable than farming?
Madam Huang immediately concluded that the words in the couplet were not proper words. Even if they were, they were like those bumpkins in the countryside who had only studied for a few years. Who knew what had been written?
As for Fatty Su, she definitely didn’t read on the spot. She memorized it in advance!
It didn’t matter if Madam Huang was paranoid or couldn’t bear to see others live well. In short, she felt that there must be something going on!
She said to Tiedan, “Go, call Hao over! Let him recognize what’s written on that couplet!”
Tiedan went obediently.
Su Xiaoxiao laughed.
Madam Huang pointed at Su Xiaoxiao and said, “Wretched girl, what are you laughing at!”
Su Xiaoxiao raised her eyebrows. “I’m laughing at you for being stupid.”
Madam Huang got someone to expose her for writing fake couplets, but when Chen Haoyuan came over and saw Wei Ting’s words, would he really not feel inferior?
“Do you want to call the village head over too?” Su Xiaoxiao said provocatively.
The villagers could not read and would believe whatever Chen Haoyuan said.
She remembered that the village head was literate and was quite fair.
Madam Huang snorted. “So be it! Who’s afraid of whom! Do you expect the village head to protect you? Impossible!”
Oh, what was Madam Huang thinking? Did she think that she had called the village head over to protect the villagers?
The villagers had also been led astray by Madam Huang. At first, they felt that Fatty Su was fearless. The words in this couplet were most likely not written blindly. However, after Madam Huang shouted, they felt that Fatty Su was doing the Su family a favor.
Would the village head agree?
This show was really getting more and more interesting.
The village head lived next door to Old Li’s house. The two of them came over again. Unlike the time when Madam Wan and Wang Laizi’s wife came to cause trouble, Old Li was illiterate. He had no right to interrupt today.
He was just worried about Daya.
He saw the change in the Su family and really did not want them to be maliciously hurt again.
“Village Head.”
Chen Haoyuan also came over and greeted him.
The Village Head nodded politely. “Scholar Chen.”
“Mother, what happened?” Chen Haoyuan asked Madam Huang.
At the door, Su Ergou had already pasted the couplet with red and black words on his wall. The banner was also pasted properly!
Madam Huang waved her hand and pointed. “Take a look at what’s written on that couplet!”
Chen Haoyuan looked over.
It was fine if he didn’t look, but when he did, he froze.
Seeing her son’s reaction, Madam Huang couldn’t help but urge, “Hao, what’s wrong? Say something? Is it nonsense?”
The villagers’ attention landed on Chen Haoyuan.
To be honest, they were indeed illiterate, but for some reason, the couplets of the Su family were more pleasing to the eye than those of Chen Xiucai’s.
Chen Haoyuan stared at the couplet and clenched his fists bit by bit, revealing a look of disbelief.
“Who wrote this?” he asked.