Looking back at her childhood, whenever it was time to practice calligraphy, she felt as though she were locked in a desperate battle with a swarm of caterpillars. Everything she wrote under her brush turned out squiggly and unrecognizable, and she would invariably end up with ink stains smeared all over her face and clothes.
Before long, however, Su Shi'an began to feel a bit comforted. It turned out that she wasn't the only one in such a sorry state; almost everyone learning calligraphy for the first time looked the same. This was especially true since they didn't use bottled ink, but had to grind their own using an ink stick. As a result, the study was often filled with the thunderous roar of Deng Qiyue: "Be careful! You'll be washing your own clothes tonight if you make a mess!"
"Seventh Uncle, is this acceptable?" Su Shikuan presented the ink he had carefully ground to Deng Qiyue for inspection.
Chapter 34