Chapter 29 p1: Surprise
The next morning, Bai Luochuan woke up early, eagerly waiting for Mi Yang to remove the two heavy hardcover books that were pressing down, to see yesterday’s “A Study of Ancient Calligraphy Styles.”
After Mi Yang moved them, he pulled out the absorbent paper he had put in yesterday, tidied it up a bit, and then took it out to observe. The corners of this thirty-year-old book had been flattened, and the places repaired with glue yesterday were also very sturdy. Because he had used a mixture of Xuan paper pulp and bletilla striata glue to coat it, the color was like a layer of paste, looking a bit “cleaner.” But the Xuan paper had been soaked in black tea, so the color was slightly yellowish, and it didn’t look obviously new.
It lay quietly in Mi Yang’s hand, looking very natural. The originally detached pages were all closed, and the “sick book” had been cured. Now, it looked like an ordinary old book in eighty percent new condition.
Bai Luochuan was a little surprised. “The corners are all flat!”
Mi Yang smiled. “Of course, it’s been pressed all night.”
Bai Luochuan also circled the book, looking at it again and again. He found that it was different from what he had imagined. It wasn’t a brand-new book that appeared before him, not like the brand-new ones in the bookstore. Instead, it looked as if it had been naturally left for a long time, never damaged, and never repaired.
Mi Yang asked him, “What’s wrong?”
Bai Luochuan frowned. “Um, the pages that fell out are all glued back…”
Mi Yang placed it in his hand, satisfied. “Yes, isn’t it very sturdy?”
The young master Bai flipped it over and over. It was the same, yet not quite the same. He looked at it for a long while and asked, puzzled, “I thought it would turn white, like new.”
Mi Yang chuckled. “That’s not called repairing, that’s called renovating. They’re different.”
Bai Luochuan gestured. “Why didn’t you wash it white yesterday? I saw there was still a lot of cleaning agent left.”
Mi Yang shook his head, lovingly stroking the book, his eyes curving. “No, Grandpa Wei likes it, probably just the way it is now. After so many years, its pages have already yellowed, so let it stay the way it should be.”
Bai Luochuan didn’t quite understand. He frowned and didn’t say anything for a long time. But when Mi Yang wasn’t looking, he still secretly touched the pages with his fingers, wiped them, and after confirming that the old book was not dirty, he relaxed his brow and held it calmly.
Mi Yang saw all these little movements out of the corner of his eye. If it had been before, when he saw the young master Bai like this, he would definitely have been more careful and not shown these things in front of him, thinking that the young master was finding fault again. But now, he just wanted to laugh secretly and even leaned over to ask him, “Commander Bai, when you were fighting, you were crawling on the ground. Why weren’t you disgusted by the dirt then?”
Bai Luochuan’s little brow was still furrowed. He said awkwardly, “I was afraid your eyes would hurt. If they got red, you’d have to see a doctor again.”
Mi Yang was taken aback. In the spring, his eyes had gotten a little red from too much willow catkin, and it had taken several days to get better. At that time, he had stayed at home for a long time, and he had even missed kindergarten for a week. He had only had a few minor illnesses like this since he was a child, and he himself didn’t remember them. He didn’t expect the young master Bai to remember so clearly.
He reached out and stroked Bai Luochuan’s little head, grinning. “Don’t worry, I washed my hands. They’re very clean. I won’t get anything in my eyes again.”
Bai Luochuan looked as if he didn’t believe him and pouted. “But you got something in your eye last night.”
Mi Yang said, “It’s fine. You just have to blow on it for me, and it’ll be fine.”
Bai Luochuan thought for a moment and nodded. “Okay.”
Mi Yang placed a few more sheets of absorbent paper between the pages, put the book back in its original place, and then got up with Bai Luochuan to go downstairs for breakfast.
On Sunday, Mi Yang mainly spent his time changing the absorbent paper and also took the time to do his homework.
Elementary school students usually rushed to finish their weekend homework on Sunday night, and Mi Yang and the others were no exception. They had spent too much time fiddling with the book during the day, and by the time they remembered to do their homework, it was already six or seven in the evening.
The two of them sat at opposite ends of a small desk, each with a wooden chair, and buried their heads in their homework.
Bai Luochuan usually seemed very playful, but his self-control was also strong. When he was busy with something, he generally wouldn’t get distracted and would finish his homework in one go.
Mi Yang’s work was even simpler. After finishing the few test papers the teacher had given out, he went back to fiddling with the book.
After Bai Luochuan finished, he was packing his schoolbag when he found a test paper. He quickly took it over and said, “Little Good Boy, the math teacher asked me to give this to you before. I forgot.”
Mi Yang took it and glanced at it. It was a practice test paper for a primary school math Olympiad. The difficulty of the problems seemed to be at the third or fourth-grade level.
In the 1990s, math Olympiad competitions were very popular all over the country. At that time, there were also many math Olympiad problems in the newspapers, and there were even more major competitions. Many teachers would talk about things like the “Hua Luogeng Cup.” When students and parents talked about this, if a child could represent the school in a math Olympiad competition, it was definitely a matter of great pride, and they would walk with their heads held high.
Moreover, in many places, math Olympiad scores were also included in the middle school entrance exam. A student who won first place in a math Olympiad competition, even if their other subjects were particularly poor, would be admitted to a key middle school as an exception, and the school selection fee would be waived.
This was an era when the slogan “Learn math, physics, and chemistry well, and you won’t be afraid to go anywhere in the world” was shouted in every street and alley. People’s enthusiasm was in full swing.
