Chapter 745: Master Sun and the Paper Kite

The courtyard of the new house was much larger than the one in Panlong City, at least sixty or seventy square meters. Under the eaves was a large water vat, enough to fit an adult. In the freezing cold, Master Sun was of course not in the water, but standing by the vat drawing water.

He Lingchuan stepped forward, very consciously picked up the water bucket, and walked into the house.

In the master's living room, the hearth fire was burning vigorously, and as soon as he entered, his whole body felt warm.

A large water basin was placed on the hearth fire, enough for a child to take a bath. Dozens of bamboo strips were soaking in the basin.

Sun Fuling pointed to the basin and said: "Pour it in."

He Lingchuan lifted the bucket and poured it in, then fished out a bamboo strip to test it; it was very thin but had good resilience.

He gasped: "The students are too naughty; do they need so many teaching sticks?"

Bamboo boards hitting the palm—a fixed memory from childhood.

Sun Fuling grabbed a clean bamboo strip and lightly whipped his back: "It's all for your own good!"

He Lingchuan straightened his back and patted his chest: "I'm not bragging, but even if all these bamboo strips were broken, they wouldn't hurt me. You have to change to a more powerful one."

With his current body strength, the bamboo strip only itched and didn't hurt.

"Itchy skin, right? Are you just asking for a beating?" Sun Fuling scolded with a smile and whipped him again, hitting him right on the buttocks. This time she used a bit of strength, but the guy had thick skin and still felt nothing. "If the students were all like you, the academy would truly not need to open!"

"What are these actually for?"

"Making paper kites," Master Sun grabbed a bamboo strip that had been soaking for a long time and wiped it dry. "The wind will pick up in two or three days; it's just right to take the students outside the city to fly kites. It would be best if the children of the Xiluo people and the Changhou people could play together."

He Lingchuan saw several stacks of white paper on the table: "How can such a childish thing bother our Dr. Sun?"

"The academy is short of manpower, and the craftsman who makes paper kites has fallen ill these past few days, so I had to distribute the tasks; each master has to make ten." She split the bamboo strip into two with a small knife, her movements as nimble as if the knife were peeling asparagus skin, not hard bamboo strips. "Sigh, I used to think that being a master only required teaching books; I didn't know there were endless miscellaneous tasks, most of which had nothing to do with teaching."

She pouted slightly, a bit unhappy.

It could be seen that everyone hated troubles outside their main job.

He Lingchuan heard her complain to him for the first time, no longer the otherworldly appearance from before.

"Teaching is hard enough," He Lingchuan agreed. "The students in your academy are all like wild monkeys."

He had been to Yuheng Academy; during the break, they were as noisy as a monkey mountain, making his head buzz.

"En-heng, they are all about the same as you." Taking advantage of the bamboo strips being soaked soft by the hot water, Sun Fuling quickly bent a diamond-shaped bamboo frame, tied it tight—it was the classic shape of a kite.

She complained in her mouth, but her movements were not slow at all.

"Master Sun is very skilled." What woman couldn't cook, but had amazing knife skills and could even make paper kites?

"I often did this with my father when I was young. The kites we made went to competitions and flew the highest and farthest," Sun Fuling glanced at him. "Can you?"

He Lingchuan also grabbed a small knife to help her shave the bamboo strips: "A piece of cake. I can even make giant dragons!"

Sun Fuling gave a 'chi' laugh, said nothing, but expressed her meaning clearly.

"Don't believe me?" He Lingchuan glared at her. "Make a few to show you?"

"Make a few small paper kites first to show me," Sun Fuling pointed to the bamboo strips. "Not a single one is done yet."

"Fine, fine." This thing couldn't stump He Lingchuan; when he was a child in the village, he had a hand in making straw scarecrows, paper kites, and grass grasshoppers; it was all about skill and speed.

He quickly made falcon-shaped, swallow-shaped ones, and even made a bat and a cobra.

Sun Fuling believed him now, because in the hands of outsiders, these bamboo strips could never be bent into the right shape. Not to mention he did it fast and well.

"Don't make anything too troublesome; I'm not good at drawing either." She took the finished bamboo bones to apply glue, then covered them with wet paper to tighten them, carefully trimming the edges.

After the paper dried, she still had to paint on it, and some had to be tied with long tails; this was a complete kite.

"Does this still need drawing?" He Lingchuan pointed to the side. "Give me that red paper!"

Sun Fuling looked at him and handed the red paper to him. This kind of gold-sprinkled red paper was generally used for visiting cards, expensive and stiff.

He Lingchuan grabbed a brush, dipped it in ink, and with great spirit, finished it in one go on the red paper: The three books must be read every day, your homework cannot be reduced.

"The Great Dao is simple; just paste this on the back of the kite! I guarantee the kids who get it will be moved to tears."

The "three books" were the textbooks designated by the Shumin Academy for students under twelve, all thick volumes; three stacked together weighed four jin.

Master Sun didn't know whether to be angry or amused, her hand holding the brush dipped in paint trembling: "You, you this..."

She also believed that the kids who got it would mostly cry.

He Lingchuan was pleased with his own handwriting, thinking he wrote quite well: "Learning through entertainment, isn't it good?"

Sun Fuling bit her lip to hold back her laughter, leaned over, and added a line of small characters: Gifted by Yuheng Commander He Lingchuan.

She wouldn't take the blame for this.

She was close, and He Lingchuan saw her pretty face close at hand, with a faint fragrance floating, and couldn't help but feel itchy.

By the time he reacted, he had already kissed her on the face.

Sun Fuling paused, turned to look at him, her bright eyes misty.

He Lingchuan's mouth felt dry: "Master, I..."

He had just wanted to pour out his heart, but a bamboo strip on the table suddenly sprang up and 'pa' whipped Sun Fuling on the face.

It turned out that the bamboo bone he made wasn't firm enough and had snapped.

But this was too, too coincidental, right? The bamboo strip was so fast it left an afterimage, and both he and Sun Fuling had their minds on each other, so neither had blocked it.

"Pa," the sound was a bit loud, almost shattering He Lingchuan's heart.

Sun Fuling was startled—she actually jumped up, covering her face with one hand, her eyes full of shock.

"Does it hurt?" He Lingchuan hurriedly offered his services. "Let me see, let me see!"

Sun Fuling let go, and there was an eye-catching red mark on her tender face.

This, this...

It's over, it's all over! "I have medicine!" He bit the bullet and took out ointment from his bosom, picked a little, and applied it carefully for her. He was always on field duty, so burn and pain-relief ointment was always carried with him.

The girl's face was delicate, and after applying the ointment, it was even smoother than congealed fat.

It was just that the red mark was too much of an eyesore.

She didn't make a sound, her cheeks still a bit puffed, and she didn't know if it was from anger or swelling, but the mist in her eyes disappeared.

Sigh, so this was what Master Sun looked like when she was angry; he finally witnessed it.

Seeing Sun Fuling's expression turning from sunny to cloudy, He Lingchuan feared it would turn into a big rainstorm, so he hurriedly shook off unrelated distractions: "I'm truly sorry, truly sorry! How about this, you don't have to do anything for the rest; I'll take care of all ten kites, you just supervise from the side, how about that?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 746 =====