But when Lu Chang'sheng started to use a tree branch as a pen and the ground as paper, he suddenly froze.
"What's wrong, Chang'sheng!"
Black Monkey waved his hand in front of him.
"It's nothing!"
Lu Chang'sheng's expression was complicated, and he didn't even feel like practicing his writing anymore.
"Let's do it another day!"
Wang Heihou found it a bit baffling, but the moment he heard Lu Chang'sheng say they could go slacking off together in the afternoon, all his annoyance vanished.
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"I didn't expect that this 'locked' part actually meant this!"
Lu Chang'sheng looked at the panel.
The description after the Root Bone talent was already different from before.
"Name: Lu Chang'sheng"
"Age: 9/55"
"Root Bone: 1/10 [Genius (replaceable)] (Note: Talent level temporarily visible: Inferior, Plain, Low, Average, High, Genius (replaceable·locked!))"
The Root Bone talent had become 'Genius.'
The 'locked' words after Genius had already disappeared.
Now, the words 'replaceable' had brightened a little.
Lu Chang'sheng tapped lightly.
The Root Bone changed back to 'High' like before.
Switching back and forth, he'd already vaguely understood something in his heart.
"High means my talent for slacking off, but this Genius must be my talent for reading and learning characters!"
"So, this is the true core use of this Golden Finger!"
The Root Bone talent isn't about all talents, but just one field among them.
"In other words, if I go into business, it'll show my talent for that. If I go to study, it'll show my talent for studying. If I practice martial arts, it'll display my talent for martial arts!"
The function suddenly became much more powerful.
"If I could really live a long life, maybe—I could become a true all-around genius!"
"Sigh, I'm being greedy. There are thousands of paths in life. To master everything with just one person's energy—how could it be that easy?"
"Still, having a Genius-level talent in reading is quite a surprise!"
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In the afternoon, after Lu Chang'sheng went slacking off with Wang Heihou and the others, he started practicing his writing.
"I don't know what standards Mr. Chen uses to select students, but just in case, I should do my best to be well prepared!"
Lu Chang'sheng analyzed and practiced recognizing the characters.
The book from Wang Heihou's house had over twenty pages—not a lot—and when he counted, there were 168 unique characters.
The rest were all repeats.
Lu Chang'sheng found some dark green fruits.
The villagers called them 'Blackheart Fruit.' The juice is black, slightly sweet, but a bit poisonous. Eating them won't kill you, but they'll have you stuck in the outhouse for a whole day.
He mashed up the Blackheart Fruit, used the juice as ink, found a flat rock, and copied everything onto it like the book.
Two days later, his home had several more stone slabs, which he placed in a corner of the yard.
The little mountain village lacked everything except empty land. Just putting the slabs there, it became Lu Chang'sheng's little study.
Whenever he had time, he'd grab a carved stick as a pen and practice stroke after stroke.
Once he got to Mr. Chen's place, as long as he could match up the characters, he'd basically have done his reading and character recognition homework.
The elders saw that he didn't delay the farm work or slacking off, so they left him alone to draw and write as he pleased.
And so, Lu Chang'sheng memorized the new characters in his mind again.
He spent two days remembering the characters, and then half a month more to carve them deep into his bones.
His goal was to reach the level of picking up a pen and being able to write fluently.
Night fell.
The whole family sat down to eat.
Besides wild vegetables, there was a big pot full of fish soup.
Couldn't say the soup tasted amazing, but at least it had some nutrition.
Mr. Lu's expression was milder than usual.
The eldest son could work hard and never complained.
The second son could catch fish and was thinking about reading and studying.
Though he didn't think it would lead to anything big, having the heart for it was what mattered most.
As for little Heitu, nothing much to say there.
Raise her up, then find her a good family in the future, and that'd be enough.
"The crops in the field are looking good. In a month or so, we'll have a harvest. Then the family will actually have some income!"
Mr. Lu spoke calmly.
"That money will go for the eldest's wedding!"
The last batch of money was supposed to pay for Lu Haozi's bride, but Mr. Lu had spent it on social favors instead.
Apart from Mrs. Lu muttering about it now and then, no one else said much.
The head of the family was still Mr. Lu, after all.
Lu Haozi looked both shy and happy.
Getting married was the one thing he had to look forward to now.
"Er Dan, how's your character learning going?" Mr. Lu looked over.
"Hmm~ feels pretty good!"
Lu Chang'sheng answered.
"Come out with me after dinner."
Mr. Lu said.
After dinner, the two of them left and headed to Zhao Deshui's house.
After some greetings, a woman let them into the yard, and they saw Zhao Deshui.
"Old Lu! It's so late, have you eaten?"
Zhao Deshui's face was all smiles.
What surprised Lu Chang'sheng was that Zhao Deshui looked a bit worn out.
"Old Zhao, last time I asked you to help inquire about Mr. Chen taking in students. Any news?"
After some chitchat, Mr. Lu couldn't help but ask.
Zhao Deshui wasn't offended, just shook his head, "Brother, you're in too much of a hurry. Learning to read and write isn't something you do in a day or two. The ones who make it into the teacher's door usually want to really dig into their studies. How could they leave so soon?"
Lu Chang'sheng stood behind his father, staying quiet.
When the elders were talking, if kids interrupted, they'd be looked down on.
He already knew things probably wouldn't work out anytime soon anyway.
Sure enough, before long, Zhao Deshui subtly signaled them to leave.
"I need to get ready to rest. If anything happens, I'll tell you first thing!"
"Alright then."
Mr. Lu left, looking disappointed.
"Sigh~"
Zhao Deshui's wife saw the two off, then turned and saw Zhao Deshui sighing and grumbling. She couldn't help but complain, "I told you not to take them in from the start. Now look, you're stuck between a rock and a hard place!"
Zhao Deshui was frustrated. Hearing this, he glared and said, "What do you know, woman! Qing isn't doing great at Mr. Chen's place. We finally hit an opportunity, and they need us to vouch for her. If it works out, we all move up a level. If we don't act now, we might not get another chance!"
"That's true, but with so many families, you can't keep dragging this on!"
Zhao Deshui's face got even darker.
He paced inside for a long time, then gritted his teeth and said, "We'll keep dragging it out. If nothing else works, we'll have to go to Hu."
"You—" Zhao Deshui's wife's face changed slightly. "You still dare get involved with that guy? Aren't you afraid—"
"It's better than having them hate me!" Zhao Deshui said.
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