When the morning mist of Green Ox Valley drifted across the tiled eaves of the academy, Huwa could no longer count how many springs and autumns had passed since returning to the valley. The couplet on the front door had been bleached white by wind and rain; beneath the character for "Valley" in "Ultimately Returning to One Valley," the youngest son had used vermilion paste to stamp a chubby green ox print—a masterpiece from when he had just learned how to hold a brush.
Morning Practice: The Years in Taiji
The Protagonist's white beard was somewhat longer than it had been back then. When teaching Xiaotao how to practice martial arts, there was a leisurely composure added to his forms. Xiaotao's "Cloud Hands" still retained a trace of kneading dough, except now she could practice her forms while calculating whether the porridge on the stove was done: "Master, look! This 'Single Whip' move can stir the porridge along the way, keeping it from sticking to the pot!"
On the stone table by the edge of the practice ground sat three abacuses of different sizes. The eldest son's rosewood abacus was calculating the vegetable prices for today's market, the young daughter's bamboo abacus was engraved with sentences from the Tao Te Ching, and the youngest son's abacus was the most unusual—he used it like a skateboard, sliding through the morning dew to produce a string of "clattering" sounds that startled the swallows under the eaves. Huwa leaned against the green ox sculpture and smiled. …
Chapter 588