CHAPTER 31: CHAPTER 31: YOU WERE BORN BEFORE ME

Wen Wan ultimately couldn’t persuade her father and father-in-law, and had to watch them pack up and head to the Da Huan Mountain Coal Mine.

It’s said that officers from the government guard the entrance there, and once inside, everything, from eating to sleeping, must occur within, until the work is finished, with no outside family visits allowed.

This sounds much stricter than last year’s project digging the water channels at the foot of Little Yao Mountain.

Unable to sway Granny Song, and with no supporting evidence, Wen Wan decided simply not to overthink things, calming herself to begin earnestly learning to read.

As a beginner, Song Wei taught her the direct phonetic method and the fanqie method.

In other words, starting with the most basic reading of character pronunciations.

The direct phonetic method, as the name implies, uses another character with the same sound to denote pronunciation.

For example, the character "ying" can use "ying (迎)" to indicate its pronunciation.

The fanqie method uses the initials and finals of two other characters to indicate pronunciation.

Thus, the word "ying" can be divided into "yi (一)" and "ling (灵)".

The word "yi (一)" supplies the initial sound.

And "ling (灵)" provides the final sound and tone.

Looking perplexed as if hearing a children’s riddle, Wen Wan kept questioning inwardly, how could learning a simple character be this difficult? Who invented these complicated characters? So many strokes, written small, turn it into an indistinct smudge, not even recognizable, can’t it be made simpler?

But glancing at Song Wei’s elegant manuscript on the desk beside her, she gathered her resolve, yet perhaps too intensely, for she unknowingly fell asleep leaning against his shoulder.

Song Wei set down his brush, turned his head to look at his sweetly sleeping young wife nestled against him, his lips spread into a gentle smile, as he softly tucked her hair behind her ear without waking her.

Half-asleep, Wen Wan felt herself being carried to the soft bed, instinctively furrowing her brow, unable to open her eyes due to fatigue, but quickly recognizing the familiar scent of ink on Song Wei as she relaxed and drifted into peaceful sleep.

Upon returning to the study, Song Wei noticed the half of the desk where the young girl left a copy of "Thousand Family Poems"; just as he reached to close the book, the spring breeze fluttered several pages open.

As the wind paused, Song Wei’s gaze fell upon an intriguing line right in the center—

You were born before me, I am born although you are already old.

——

On a day during Yuanbao’s ten-day break, fine drizzle pattered from the sky, the spring chill crept through his pores, so cold it made him shiver.

Song Wei didn’t let Wen Wan accompany him, fearing she’d catch cold, while he donned a raincoat and prepared another for Yuanbao, fetching him home within an hour or so.

Granny Song missed her eldest grandson for the ten days he was away, and knowing he would return today, she had excitedly caught a plump old hen from the coop early in the morning to boil water and pluck its feathers, saying she wanted to make chicken soup to nourish her grandson.

As Song Yuanbao stepped through the courtyard gate, before he could do anything, his grandmother warmly held his little hand and walked him toward the main room while inquiring incessantly.

"Yuanbao, are you used to the food at the town school? Do you sleep well at night? Are the students at the town school easy to get along with? Has anyone bullied you? If anyone has, you mustn’t keep it secret, tell your father, and he’ll go beat them up for you."

Song Yuanbao, who couldn’t get a word in: "..."

Song Wei, following behind: "..."

Outside the main room, Granny Song deftly helped Song Yuanbao take off the raincoat, noticing his once chubby little face had slimmed considerably, making his chin appear pointed, her heart immediately ached.

Afraid his grandmother would inquire endlessly, Song Yuanbao’s eyes darted, he sniffed and exclaimed, "Wow! It smells so good! Granny, did you stew chicken?"