Wen Ruyu’s attitude towards Xibao and his younger siblings was completely different from his attitude towards Cheng Baoguo, he was all kindness and benevolence, his face almost blooming like a flower.
"Let guess, this is Fubao, this is Dundun, this is Xiongxiong, and this is Zhuangzhuang, right? The one left must be Ye Yan, whom Fubao often ntions in her letters." The old man quickly matched the children before him with the photos and portraits. The portraits were drawn by Feng Qingxue in her spare ti using the sketch technique and had been sent to Wen Ruyu for his comnts.
Many tis, Wen Ruyu admired his Closed-door Disciple, who never forgot to study despite her busy schedule, and whose artistic conception in painting and calligraphy deepened because of her experiences. When one’s skill level reaches a certain height, technique becos secondary.
Fubao bowed and said, "Grandpa Wen, hello, I finally get to et you!"
Wen Ruyu also liked this extraordinarily gifted little apprentice-grandchild, "Your grandpa told you’d be staying at ho for two years this ti?"
"Yes, Mom and Dad want us to study well with Grandpa and Grandma." Fubao considerately stretched out her hands, not caring how tender and fair they were, to support the rough and splintery firewood behind Wen Ruyu, "Grandpa, I have so many questions eager to be answered, can I co to ask you tomorrow?"
Noticing her action, feeling the weight lifted from his shoulder, Wen Ruyu’s heart was full of warmth, he smiled and said, "Of course you can, it’s winter and I have nothing to do, co find anyti. Your Grandpa Jin is idle too, I’ll have him teach you a trick or two."
Fubao was overjoyed, her eyes sparkling like gems.
Xibao took over Wen Ruyu’s firewood directly, "Grandpa Wen, I’ll walk you ho. Tomorrow when we divvy up the catch, we’ll make sothing delicious, and you and the grandparents can co over to our house for dinner."
"Why not tonight?" Wen Ruyu asked back.
Xibao replied without hesitation, "It’s not that you can’t, having you over for dinner is a great honor for us, it’s just that we’re not well-prepared today, tonight it’s all plain tea and simple food."
Wen Ruyu laughed heartily, "What problem is there with plain tea and simple food? Companionship is what matters to !"
Fubao, supporting his arm, gleefully said, "Then let’s all go ho together."
Lu Erxiong hid the farthest, making everyone amused.
On the way ho, Wen Ruyu couldn’t help but look at him again and again, saying, "How much does this kid hate studying? He looks quite smart, doesn’t seem like soone who wouldn’t do well in school."
Lu Erxiong shouted loudly, "I’m very smart, I want to be a Great General, not a bookworm!"
Wen Ruyu grinned, "Kid, let tell you, even if you’re in the military, educated soldiers get promoted faster than illiterates, they can understand the orders from above and comprehend military strategy. War isn’t about using your body to block bullets, you have to know tactics, defense, commanding operations, inciting desertion in the enemy, and so on. A brave and leading soldier might beco a regint commander, but if he’s cultured, he could rise further to beco a brigade or division commander. Do you still think studying is useless?"
"Yeah, Erxiong, those Great Generals you admire are all very knowledgeable," Cheng Baoguo chid in casually.
Xibao also said, "Just like Grandpa Zhou I told you about, he’s very cultured, writes beautifully, and is versed in many military strategies, he cracked enemy intelligence when he was young and commanded several famous battles. If he were illiterate, he couldn’t even read a map. Erxiong, do you think Grandpa Zhou could have achieved all that?"
Because Erxiong was young, lacking in a sense of purpose, and showed no interest in studying, Lu Jiang and Feng Qingxue as parents didn’t force him to excel in school. Instead, they thought of cultivating his interest in learning, but were too busy to implent it, thus they entrusted it to Xibao.
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