Chapter 366

Wei Ming knew that Wu Yuru, Wu Zuoren, and Wu Zuxiang were known as the Three Wu of Maolin.

A small town producing three Wu-family masters of the arts was indeed rare: Wu Zuxiang in literature, Wu Zuoren in fine arts, and Wu Yuru in calligraphy.

As for the exact level of Wu Yuru's calligraphy and which script he specialized in, Wei Ming was unclear.

So Wu Zuoren gave him a proper rundown on this fellow townsman ten years his senior.

"Wu Yuru studied calligraphy under his father from childhood, grounding himself in Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi, meticulously copying the 'Lanting Xu' and the 'Shengjiao Xu.' His style is elegant, refined, spirited, and ethereal—he excels in regular, running, cursive, and clerical scripts, with his small regular script considered a peerless masterpiece."

Wu Zuoren added: "Qi Gong's calligraphy is certainly impressive, but his grasp of the Jin and Wei spirit may not match Master Yuru's. Even Qi Gong holds Master Yuru in the highest esteem, calling him the greatest hand in three hundred years."

Hearing of Wu Yuru's background, he seemed even more suitable.

In truth, a female lead's calligraphy scenes wouldn't be many, and even cinematic language could easily gloss over them—but Gong Ying had a foundation in painting and calligraphy and refused to cut corners; if the best option was available, she'd take it.

In her past life, she had trained rigorously in swordplay and calligraphy for her role in 'Qiu Jin.'

Wei Ming asked: "Where does Master Wu Yuru live?"

"Though Master Yuru and I share Maolin as our ancestral home, he was born in Nanjing and has long resided in Tianjin."

"Tianjin?" Wei Ming immediately hesitated—he already had little time with Xue Jie, and now he'd have to travel to Tianjin? Unmarried man and woman, even lodging posed a problem.

Wu Zuoren chuckled: "He's lived in Tianjin since the founding of the PRC, but lately he's been staying with his eldest son, who lives in Yanjing—and you probably know him too."

"Huh? I know him?"

That afternoon, Wei Ming returned to the library's rare book storage room, set down his bag, and went next door to the ancient texts repository.

Most here were elderly scholars with white hair; besides library staff, the majority were from the Chinese Language and History departments.

Professor Wu Xiaoru taught in both the Chinese Language and History departments, with deep expertise in literary history, ancient texts, popular literature, and opera studies.

But since his courses—'History of Chinese Opera' and 'History of Chinese Poetry'—didn't interest Wei Ming, he was among the few Chinese department professors he rarely visited, alongside Professor Jin Kaicheng.

Yet because Professor Wu Xiaoru was a regular in both the ancient texts repository and rare book storage, Wei Ming often crossed paths with him and occasionally chatted about amusing anecdotes in literary history.

Wei Ming never imagined he was Wu Yuru's eldest son—who names their children like this? Da Zhongma and Xiao Zhongma?

Later he realized: neither name was their birth name. Professor Wu Xiaoru likely chose it out of reverence for his father.

"Professor Wu, I brought back some German sausages from Germany—I brought you two, try them." Wei Ming had bought far too many; he'd been giving gifts for two days and hadn't finished.

"Mr. Wei, you're too kind," Wu Xiaoru, who was reading, paused, then declined: "But I don't accept gifts without merit."

Wei Ming: "Actually, I have a favor to ask."

Wu Xiaoru said: "Then I can accept it—but first tell me what you need, and I'll see if I can help."

Professor Wu had high scholarly achievements; those who could focus deeply on academia were meticulous—they'd never accept a gift before fulfilling a request.

Wei Ming explained Gong Ying's situation. Though Old Wei had said he knew Qi Gong too, it was likely only a superficial acquaintance; but Wei Ming was a colleague of Professor Wu, so he chose Wu Yuru.

"My father is already over eighty. Whether he's willing to teach is uncertain—I'll ask him and let you know once I have an answer." Professor Wu planned to wait for confirmation before informing him.

"Fair enough. Take the sausages—you'll never keep them here; the library staff would split them all up the moment you leave." Wei Ming shoved them into Wu's hands and bolted.

That night, Wei Ming stayed at the Overseas Chinese Apartment waiting for Wu Xiaoru's call.

They agreed to meet at Wu Xiaoru's home at five p. . the next day—he lived in the Peking University Zhongguancun residential area, not far away.

Wei Ming dashed out again. Xu Shufen whispered to Old Wei: "He's probably helping Xiao Xue."

Old Wei sighed: "Youth is wonderful."

The next afternoon, Wei Ming met Professor Wu Xiaoru with Gong Ying at the entrance of a residential building. Professor Wu was genuinely surprised to see Gong Ying—she was the hottest film star of the moment, and he and his wife had cried through her film.

They introduced themselves, then went upstairs.

Master Wu Yuru was already eighty-three. Wei Ming didn't know his exact birth and death dates, but though aged, the man showed no signs of illness.

The old man smiled often—perhaps from living too long in the 'Garden of Laughter'—and his speech even carried a hint of xiangsheng rhythm.

"I ate your sausages yesterday—delicious. So I'll certainly help. It's admirable you'd learn calligraphy for a film. But first, tell me the film's setting and your character's identity." Master Yuru intended to tailor his teaching.

Gong Ying briefly outlined the plot and characters of 'The Ink's Affection.'

"Zhao Xuzhi?" Master Wu Yuru smiled at the male lead's name. "Is it derived from Zhao Mengfu, Zhang Xu, and Wang Xizhi?"

Gong Ying, who had studied the script: "The screenwriter likely intended that—though the male lead's life story draws mostly from Wang Xizhi: inscribing on bamboo fans, becoming a son-in-law through the eastern bed, and his fondness for geese."

"Then your character is Xi Xuan—the 'Immortal Hand Among Women.' She must write exquisite calligraphy to be credible."

Wang Xizhi's wife, Xi Xuan, came from a scholarly family of calligraphers; legend held her skill rivaled that of the men in her clan, earning her the title 'Immortal Hand Among Women.'

Gong Ying bowed respectfully: "Exactly."

Wu Yuru said: "Write a few characters first—I hope you're not completely untrained?"

Wei Ming quickly said: "Gong Ying's father is a painter."

Wu Yuru felt slightly reassured—painting and calligraphy were inseparable; at least she was familiar with brush and ink. If she couldn't even hold a brush, he'd rather buy two more sausages to make up for it.

Wei Ming immediately reached into his bag to pull out the Four Treasures—he'd brought his own.

But Wu Xiaoru opened a room where a desk, inkstone, inkstick, paper, and brushes were already laid out. "Write here."

After all, he was the son of a great calligrapher—he loved this too. The study was hung with works by father and son, though neither ever called himself a 'calligrapher'—they wrote simply because they enjoyed it.

Wei Ming felt the same—he didn't aim to become a master; he wrote for his own pleasure, to lift his spirits.

Under the gaze of two masters, Gong Ying was slightly nervous—but her skill still shone through as she wrote three small regular script characters: 'The Ink's Affection.'

After finishing, she stood quietly to the side, her eyes falling on a nearby scroll—also small regular script, but its mastery was worlds apart, several levels beyond hers.

Master Wu Yuru said nothing harsh—he studied her brushwork carefully, then asked: "How long can you train?"

Originally, Gong Ying planned to return to Shanghai in a week, joining the crew to learn calligraphy and etiquette together.

But encountering such a master was rare—she gritted her teeth: "The film starts shooting next month. By then, I must be in Shanghai."

"One month. Come daily for one hour, practice four or five hours at home—that should be enough."

Gong Ying said: "After shooting begins, the calligraphy scenes might not be filmed for another one or two months."

She'd discussed this with the director: after shooting started, the crew would continue hiring teachers to instruct calligraphy, filming other scenes first and saving the calligraphy sequences for last, giving the main actors ample time to learn and improve.

Wu Yuru smiled: "Then twenty days will do. Practice three or four hours daily."

He then asked his son to fetch some model calligraphy copies.

Wei Ming hurried after Wu Xiaoru, whispering: "Professor Wu, can I join in too?"

"Of course."

Wei Ming added: "Should I prepare some tuition?"

From Wu Zuoren's account, Master Wu Yuru rarely sold his calligraphy and lived rather modestly.

Wu Xiaoru waved his hand: "No need. My father doesn't lack food or clothing—he gets a generous pension, sometimes even receives payment for brushwork—it's more than enough."

Wei Ming wanted to say he'd just earned over a million—but that might sound boastful. Seeing so many calligraphy copies in the Wu home, he guessed Master Yuru appreciated such things—he could look for similar items to gift him later.

After a while, Wu Xiaoru's wife returned from shopping. Seeing Wei Ming and Gong Ying, she was thrilled and insisted they stay for dinner.

It was a cramped two-bedroom apartment of barely fifty square meters, similar in layout to Uncle Anping's home. With Wei Ming and Gong Ying added, it felt crowded yet lively.

The old lady loved films and was currently obsessed with Gong Xue in the south and Zhu Lin in the north, constantly asking about Gong Ying's new movie.

She asked: "Comrade Gong Ying, do you know Comrade Zhu Lin? I've watched 'Happy Family' several times already."

Gong Ying blushed, glancing at Xiao Wei: "Yes, we're good friends—I visited her home yesterday."

"I knew it—beautiful people always hang out with beautiful people." The old lady was effusive, chattering nonstop to Gong Ying and forgetting to cook. Gong Ying shared Zhu Lin's latest filming updates with her.

Wei Ming quietly slipped into the kitchen and tied on an apron.

"Oh no, Mr. Wei, stop! Let me handle it—you two focus on your studies and give us more great films!"

After calligraphy lessons and dinner, Wei Ming and Gong Ying returned to the Beichi Zi Sihe Academy, where much of their brushwork supplies were stored. They'd sleep there tonight, then move some to Tuanjiehu tomorrow, and later visit Liuli Chang to buy Xuan paper.

Daily hours of practice would consume a lot—Wei Ming had previously written no more than half an hour a day.

Gong Ying practiced calligraphy for a while, then felt her wrist ache and sat down to write a letter.

"I'll write to the crew, explain the situation, and request to delay my trip to Shanghai."

In Shanghai, she'd learn from teachers hired by the Shanghai Film Studio—but at this stage, they couldn't find a more authoritative Jin-Wei calligraphy master than Wu Yuru.

Had the old master not been so aged, Wei Ming would have suggested the Shanghai Film Studio invite him to Shanghai to teach.

Besides Gong Ying, the two male leads, Bai Longma and Tang Sanzang, also had substantial calligraphy scenes.

Wei Ming wrapped his arms around Xue Jie from behind: "What if your calligraphy ends up better than the male leads' when shooting starts? That'd be awkward."

Gong Ying didn't immediately understand, then realized: "Don't say that—they're surely practicing hard too. Even if not, we can use close-ups or hand doubles."