Sitting at his desk, Fang Yu thought the situation looked bad. The Master was strict on a normal day, but today he was like a man who had eaten gunpowder, fiercely criticizing every student who approached him. Fang Yu had no idea what kind of scolding awaited him when his turn came.
Before he could even finish this thought, the Master called his name next.
Fang Yu stood up and was about to go retrieve his essay when the Master's tightly knit brows relaxed somewhat: "The topic you chose this time is one I haven't seen you write on before. It's a departure from your usual flowery and ornate style. The essay's framework is good, and the content is well-written."
Master Zhang looked up at Fang Yu: "You took many days of leave previously, but since returning, your essays have shown significant improvement. It seems you continued your diligent studies even while you were absent. I am quite pleased that you can be so studious and eager to improve, but you must guard against arrogance and complacency. From now on, treat all your essays with the same care you gave this one."
Having said this, Master Zhang again addressed the others below: "Later, you may also take a look at Fang Yu's essay to observe and learn from it. There are aspects from which you can learn."
Fang Yu raised an eyebrow in surprise. On that day, his hands had been stiff from the cold, and he had merely written a straightforward discussion, worried he might have strayed from the topic or gone against popular taste and be punished by the Master with extra essays. He had never anticipated receiving praise instead. Although, internally, he was well beyond the age of being a student, being commended in this manner still left him feeling refreshed and clear-minded.
As he walked back from the lectern, he received several envious looks, among which were also a few gazes filled with resentment.
"Brother Fang, what topic did you choose? Might I take a look at it?"
After class, as Fang Yu was packing his book box to leave, a fellow student indeed came up to ask about the essay the Master had returned.
As the saying goes, one should learn from others' strong points. Fang Yu admired this kind of proactive and diligent student, so he generously handed over his essay. "I wrote about farming and silk cultivation," he said. "Please, feel free to take a look."
No sooner had his words fallen than a light, disdainful snort came from ahead.
"Brother Yanqi, rather than reading a fellow student's essay here, wouldn't it be better to listen to a few more words from the renowned scholars at the Lingxuan Cave Mountain Plum Blossom Appreciation Gathering? Presumably, the insights gained there would surely be far more profound. The event will be attended by many renowned scholars, and many Juren candidates are expected to attend. I've heard they will even be giving lectures and sharing their experiences from the Provincial Examination. It's bound to be an exceptionally beneficial outing. Why fritter away your time here? After all, the academic level among fellow students is relatively comparable. We are all Xiucai, how much superior can one of us truly be to another?"
Both looked over and saw it was Liang Minxu. Qiu Yanqi replied politely: "Brother Liang, there I must disagree. While an outing with the Educational Commissioner would certainly yield gains, that is an event several days from now. One cannot simply stop studying in the present. Master Zhang specifically praised Brother Fang just now, which indicates Brother Fang's essay this time is truly outstanding. All our fellow scholars know that the Master is inherently strict and rarely offers praise. My later essays have failed to progress, studying an outstanding fellow student's work a little can help me improve my own writing."
"Outstanding? Brother Yanqi, you might be overestimating some people a bit too much."
Fang Yu naturally understood what Liang Minxu meant by repeatedly mentioning the Lingxuan Cave Mountain Plum Blossom Gathering—it was nothing but a sneer aimed at him for not having an invitation to attend. He couldn't be bothered with Liang Minxu's petty demeanor and didn't want to spend his holiday time engaged in argument. So he said to Qiu Yanqi: "Brother Qiu, I have some matters to attend to and must take my leave now. If you would like to read the essay, you can return it to me next time we have class at the academy."
"Thank you, Brother Fang."
"Farewell."
Liang Minxu, seeing Fang Yu ignore him and leave openly, felt indignant: "Just one lucky instance of praise from the Master and he becomes so arrogant. It's definitely not a sign of lasting success."
Fang Yu hurriedly left the academy. At noon today, when Xuezhu came to deliver his meal, he mentioned that Qiao Hezhi's uncle had finished making the item he wanted. Eager to inspect the goods, he went straight to Lin Xuan's workshop instead of going home first, and obtained the pen he had been longing for.
Lin Xuan had made the pen exactly according to the drawings, its appearance no different from the diagram. Fang Yu uncapped it, feeling a sense of reunion after a long separation.
"The exterior matches your specifications perfectly," Lin Xuan explained. "However, the internal components were difficult to make. The slit in the nib was simply too narrow to create at that scale. Try it out first and see how it writes."
Lin Xuan had notified Fang Yu to come as soon as he finished the pen. Regarding the pen's success, he was even more anxious to know than Fang Yu himself.
Fang Yu glanced at the nib; the slit was indeed wider than a typical fountain pen's, visibly noticeable.
"Uncle,did you use a mold to make this nib tip?"
"Exactly."
Fang Yu added ink. As there was no rubber sac, the ink reservoir was made of iron, using a push-pull mechanism to draw and store ink. Furthermore, the nib lacked an iridium ball. To put it simply, the fountain pen had been replicated, but it scratched the paper, and the wide nib slit meant that if you pressed too hard while writing, ink would blob out, blooming on the paper.
He experimented with different pressures, writing a few characters. The process was quite laborious. Yet, to declare the creation a total failure would be inaccurate—it could indeed write. However, it contradicted the original goal of convenience. Moreover, the pen was entirely metal, making it heavy in the hand.
After such long anticipation, the result falling short of expectations left Fang Yu feeling somewhat disappointed. However, he didn't blame Lin Xuan's skill, it was primarily due to the limitations of current technology.
Lin Xuan could see the pen wasn't practical and seemed even more disappointed than Fang Yu. After a moment, he said: "Should I try to make some improvements?"
"Uncle, your ability to produce this already far exceeds my expectations. It was my own far-fetched idea to begin with, and I've gone and troubled you for nothing. I'll keep this pen as a memento." Fang Yu said: "But I would like to trouble you again with something else."
"The other day at your workshop, I saw some graphite. I've been thinking about it since, and I've had another idea."
Lin Xuan was quite interested: "Tell me about it."
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