The abandoned daughter of a wealthy family turns out to be a lucky charm, changing the fate of her e

Old Ke originally thought that even the staff of the program crew would need at least half an hour to solve the Huarong Road puzzle, so he could at least take a nap.

No sooner had I sat down than the door opened before the tea had even brewed.

Only a few minutes?!

Who can be this fast?!

"Did you break the lock by force?" Old Ke asked Shen Zhi suspiciously.

Shen Zhi chuckled dismissively: "You think you can break this little mechanism by force? I could have opened ten of them in the time it takes to find the right tools."

Mr. Ke: ...

I got tricked again.

Old Ke quickly cleared his throat, adopted a superior demeanor, and said in a deep voice:

"This is a sacred Buddhist place. What kind of behavior is this, shouting and yelling? Since you're a little late, I'll punish you two by making you each copy a section of the Heart Sutra. You can stop when you've copied it to my liking."

Shen Zhi glanced at the still steaming teacup in front of the document and muttered to herself:

"The tea isn't even cold yet, and you call that slow..."

Mr. Ke: ...

Don't be angry, don't be angry, they're just kids.

Shen Zhi thought that this was probably another essential activity her uncle had planned, and that he needed to win over this old man in front of him before he could tell her the location of the Vermilion Imperial Brush.

Thinking of this, Shen Zhi didn't cause any trouble and obediently let Shen Linchuan lead her to the desk.

Old Master Ke originally intended to teach the two of them calligraphy first, but the next moment he saw Shen Zhi skillfully take the brush, gently pinch the handle with her fingertips, and naturally suspend her wrist to write a few words in a flowing and elegant manner.

Her strokes were light, yet remarkably steady.

The brushstroke begins with a concealed tip, continues with a centered brushstroke, and the strokes are extended and graceful.

The first line of the Heart Sutra was copied down with even ink density and vigorous yet understated strokes, conveying a flowing and spiritual quality between the lines.

Old Ke had been keeping a high profile, half-closing his eyes, thinking he would just offer a few casual words of advice as a formality.

The moment his gaze swept over, his eyes widened in shock.

He unconsciously leaned forward, wanting to get closer and take a closer look at Shen Zhi's handwriting.

This character...

Despite his slender appearance, his brushwork is surprisingly powerful, his composition is unhurried, and even the dryness and wetness of the ink are perfectly controlled.

Let alone a young girl, even someone who has been immersed in calligraphy for twenty or thirty years might not have this kind of steady and powerful brushwork.

He was indeed smaller than the little girl in front of him.

Old Ke thought that since Shen Zhi knew how, he would teach another person. As soon as he turned his head, his eyes widened again.

Wow!

His calligraphy has a different style altogether, with thick, heavy strokes. The horizontal and vertical lines are straight and steady, with strong, powerful strokes and a broad layout, clearly showing the foundation of years of practicing calligraphy.

After writing a line of text, the strokes were clean and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.

Old Ke looked at the left and then at the right, and suddenly felt that he was not very useful sitting there.

With handwriting of this caliber, is it really necessary to hire him as a teacher?

Isn't it said that the entertainment industry these days is full of talentless pretty faces?

There are still many fish that have escaped the trap.

How come these two are so talented? One writes elegant small regular script, and the other writes vigorous running script. Their skill level is more than enough to be included in the city's calligraphy association!

As soon as Mr. Ke thought of something, his fingers began to tremble with excitement.

Having dedicated their lives to calligraphy education, their biggest worry is the scarcity of promising students. When they encounter someone talented and willing to learn diligently, the group of old-timers are eager to impart all their knowledge to them.

Unfortunately, young people nowadays love to learn new and exciting things, and very few have the patience to practice calligraphy by copying model texts.

Those calligraphy bloggers online may look flashy to laymen, but their compositions are actually disorganized and unappealing.

The association is almost out of talent, otherwise, he wouldn't be being pushed out as a variety show guest at the age of 65.

If we could get these two involved, maybe even more people would fall in love with calligraphy!

Old Ke became more and more excited as he thought about it. The way he stared at Shen Zhi and Shen Linchuan was as if he were looking at two uncut pieces of jade, or as if he were looking at two rising stars in the once-declining world of Chinese calligraphy.

In an instant, it felt like a kitten was tickling Old Ke's heart.

According to the rules, you can't poach people when recording a program, but it would be a waste not to recruit such a good talent into the association!

Dig! We have to dig!

Whether he can dig it up or not is another matter, but he has to make this breakthrough today no matter what.

Otherwise, if his old colleagues in the association see this live stream and say, "I'll try to get good talent," he'll definitely be gossiped about behind his back for a long time.

Old Ke carefully considered his words, starting with the little girl next to him who looked both well-behaved and pretty.

"Where did you learn your calligraphy from? How many years have you been practicing it?"

Shen Zhi's hands didn't stop moving, a faint smile playing on her lips: "I practiced for a few years when I was little, under the tutelage of... I learned it on my own."

When Mr. Ke heard this answer, his heart skipped a beat.

Can you reach this level after just a few years of training?

Could this be the reincarnation of Wang Xizhi?

Shen Zhi dared not say that her calligraphy skills were honed by Old Master Li, who used a slap on each hand.

From a young age, she learned everything quickly and mastered the secrets, always approaching learning with a playful attitude.

Only calligraphy.

Old Master Li often criticized her for being impetuous.

Little Zhizhi was locked in the study by Grandpa Li and practiced calligraphy for at least two hours a day. After five months of this, Grandpa Li finally found her handwriting barely acceptable.

But I still practice calligraphy for an hour every day, without fail.

Not only her, but also Li Xin and his five older brothers had to practice.

The Li family may not be able to return to China, but their hearts remain with China.

But when you're out in the world, you have to put on an act.

Shen Zhi caught a glimpse of the old master's jaw nearly dropping in astonishment out of the corner of her eye, and a surge of secret delight welled up inside her.

"And you? How long have you been practicing calligraphy?" Old Ke turned to look at Shen Linchuan.

"I'm not as good as Zhizhi. She started practicing when she was eight years old and continued until she graduated from high school, but she's neglected it a bit over the years."

Upon hearing this, Old Ke breathed a slight sigh of relief.

He said that being able to write like this requires a lot of practice.

Old Master Ke tentatively extended an olive branch: "I see that you two have some talent. If you were to become my disciples today, you would surely achieve great things in the future. What do you two think?"

Shi Yang, who was off-camera, was a little confused. How come he remembered that this part wasn't in the script?

Shouldn't the next step be for Mr. Ke to make things difficult for the two of them with calligraphy, and then reluctantly hand over the key to them after they finish copying the Heart Sutra?

Why are you taking on apprentices now?!

Shi Yang reminded Old Ke through the earpiece not to bring up other things. In the video, the old master clearly heard the voice, but pretended not to hear and continued to talk to Shen Zhi and the other person.

Shen Zhi's mind raced, and she immediately sensed something was amiss. She looked up at the old master craftsman.

She placed the brush she was holding beside the inkstone and asked, feigning difficulty:

"You can become my apprentice if you want."

Old Ke's eyes lit up.

Shen Linchuan, sitting opposite her, looked at Shen Zhi with surprise, just in time to catch a glimpse of cunning in the girl's eyes.

A doting, helpless smile.

Zhizhi has another mischievous idea.

Seeing that the old master was interested, Shen Zhi understood that this method was feasible.

So she changed the subject: "But we're still on a mission right now. We need to find the Cinnabar Imperial Brush first, otherwise we won't be interested in becoming your apprentice."