Chapter Ten: Old Talismans Exchanged for New

After lunch, Ankang cut the red paper and began writing the Spring Festival couplets.
The first couplet read: "Good deeds in the world are rooted in loyalty and filial piety; the finest plans under heaven are found in study and farming."
The horizontal scroll: "Virtue passes down the family."
The second couplet: "Heaven is peaceful, earth is tranquil, and all three yang are in harmony; the home is united, people are at peace, and all things are in accord."
Horizontal scroll: "Auspicious and as you wish."
"Big brother, let me write the rest," Anjian eagerly volunteered from the side.
Ankang handed him the brush, saying, "Write carefully, don't waste the paper and ink."
"Don't worry, big brother. Teacher always says my handwriting is good. I promise not to waste anything," Anjian replied confidently, dipped his brush into the ink, and began writing stroke by stroke.
"Are you finished?" Mrs. Luo entered with a bowl of freshly cooked paste.
"Done," Anjian put down the brush and pointed to the papers on the table. "Mother, these are all mine."
"Mm, nicely written," Mrs. Luo smiled and nodded. "Take them out and put them up."
The three siblings carried the couplets and posted them everywhere. The An family's courtyard gate faced south, with five mud-brick rooms directly opposite. The kitchen and wood shed faced west from the east, the outhouse and chicken coop were in the northwest corner, separated from the main house by a passageway that led to the backyard. There, a well stood among several mulberry and catalpa trees, as well as a vegetable patch.
The first couplet was pasted outside the main gate, the second on the door of the house. Anjian's couplet went on the kitchen: "Cherish every bowl of porridge and every grain of rice, remembering their hard-won origins; value every stick of wood and every inch of fuel, always mindful of the difficulty in acquiring resources." The scroll: "Frugality keeps the home." "Prosperous livestock" was posted on the chicken coop, "Abundant harvest" on the rice jar. Even the outhouse received a notice for proper conduct.
Anyi gazed at the red couplets with a gentle smile. With the couplets up, the atmosphere of New Year's filled the air. In modern times, that festive feeling had faded; some families no longer bothered with couplets. In the city, fireworks and firecrackers were banned—safer, less pollution, but missing that unique noise and liveliness.
Anjian pointed to a character on the couplet and asked, "Sister, do you recognize this character?"
"I do. It's 'yi,'" Anyi replied.
"And this one?"
"'Xin.'"
"And this?"
Anyi chuckled, "'Jian.'"
Anjian jumped off the stool with satisfaction, boasting to Ankang, "Big brother, I've already taught sister a thousand characters!"
Ankang frowned, "Just one morning and you taught her a thousand? How could she remember them all? Don't you recall how I taught you—step by step?"
"You just didn't know how to teach. I taught her and she remembered everything. If you don't believe me, bring out the 'Thousand Character Classic' and test her!" Anjian raised his brows, proud.
"I'm not going to test her, I'm going to test you," Ankang said, doubting Anjian's claim and not wanting to discourage Anyi if she stumbled. He raised a brow, "You've learned prosody; I'll give you a couplet, you answer with the next line."
"Big brother," Anjian looked troubled, "Can you test something else?"

"This is the test." Ankang pondered a moment, then said, "Snow reflects the plum blossoms, plum blossoms reflect the snow."
"Ah, a palindrome couplet!" Anjian pulled a face. "Big brother, that's too hard. Give me something easier."
"Use your brain, not just your appetite," Ankang shot him a look, then turned to Anyi with a smile. "Sister, let's go inside to warm ourselves. It's cold out here."
Anyi glanced sympathetically at Anjian, then followed Ankang inside.
That palindrome couplet kept Anjian quiet for half the afternoon. At dinner, his eyes lit up as he looked at the food. "Big brother, I've got the answer!"
Ankang put down his chopsticks and looked at him. "Let me hear it."
"Rice mixed with bean dregs, bean dregs mixed with rice," Anjian said.
Anyi couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Ankang was stunned. "Is this the line you came up with after all that thinking?"
"Snow reflects the plum blossoms, plum blossoms reflect the snow; rice mixed with bean dregs, bean dregs mixed with rice. It's perfectly matched," Anjian insisted.
"Matched?" Ankang's tone rose several octaves. "How is that matched? Fine, I'll give you another. 'The Milky Way pours its reflection, the moon shines bright.'"
Anjian thought for a moment. "Iron pot boils fish, the flavor is delicious."
Anyi bit her lip to keep from laughing; her second brother was truly hilarious.
Ankang was not amused. His face darkened and he glared at Anjian, giving another line: "Auspicious snow welcomes the spring."
"Smoked pork fills the air with fragrance," Anjian replied instantly.
"Can you think of anything besides food? Are you reincarnated from a pig?" Ankang asked through clenched teeth.
Anjian scratched his head. "Then I'll change it to, 'Wax plum fills the air with fragrance.'"
Ankang took a deep breath. "How did you learn prosody? You can't even match simple couplets—how will you write poetry or prose? Starting tomorrow, read your prosody aloud. Every day, I'll give you a couplet to answer. If you can't, you won't eat."
"No, no, not allowed to eat!" Anjian stammered, glancing pitifully at Mrs. Luo and Anyi, hoping they'd plead for him.
Mrs. Luo pretended not to notice and focused on eating. In this era, all trades are humble; only study is esteemed. For men seeking to honor their ancestors, only entering the civil service through study was the path.
Anyi turned her head away. If you didn't study well, being chastised was only right.
Ankang pressed, "Did you hear me?"
Anjian, with nowhere to turn for help, grumbled weakly.
"Anjian," Ankang called sternly.

Anjian sat up straight and said loudly, "I heard you."
Ankang finally relented and spared him for now.
The next morning, Anyi was awakened by Anjian's reading aloud.
"...The heavens vast, the sun warm, sword and bow by the side. Half a stream flows green, a thousand trees drop red blossoms. Swallows cross the wild ferry in willow-laden rain, fish play in the fragrant pond among lotus and water chestnut. A woman's brows are delicate, beneath them a new crescent moon; a man's spirit is bold, in his chest surges a long rainbow..."
"Shuanzi, keep your voice down, don't wake your sister," Mrs. Luo said.
"Mother," Anyi called as she sat up.
Mrs. Luo heard her, came in, "Did your second brother wake you?"
"No," Anyi shook her head.
Mrs. Luo poured embers into the brazier, rubbed her hands, helped Anyi dress and comb her hair, then patted her cheek with a smile. "Go to the outhouse now."
Anyi trotted off. After finishing, she saw the boy next door again, perched atop the courtyard wall.
He saw her too and called, "Xi'er, Xi'er!"
Anyi stopped and looked at him.
"Are you alright now?" he asked.
"Yes," Anyi replied, not used to such concern from outsiders, giving a slight hum.
"The other day when Zhou Da Geng came to cause trouble, I ran to find your uncle. Luckily, they arrived in time, or that villain Zhou Da Geng would have strangled you," he boasted.
Anyi knew the Luo family had come promptly thanks to his warning, so she forced a faint smile and politely said, "Thank you."
The boy blinked hard, about to speak, when suddenly a woman's voice shouted, "Liu Xiaoyi, what are you doing up there again? Do you want to fall to your death?"
He immediately slid down from the wall.
"If you break your head and die, that's one thing. If you break your hands and feet, I don't have money to get you a doctor. Told you to work and you didn't, instead climbing walls, you really haven't learned..."
Liu Xiaoyi seemed to feel guilty and didn't respond.
Once the woman's scolding faded, Anyi turned to the kitchen for some hot water from Mrs. Luo to rinse her mouth and wash her face.
After breakfast, Ankang took over teaching Anyi to read. For the next few days, Mrs. Luo was busy preparing for the New Year, while Anyi followed Ankang, learning to read and write. She recognized many characters, but still didn't know what dynasty she was living in. Anjian focused on prosody; his couplet answers improved, finally avoiding food references, though his phrasing was still less than elegant. At least, he no longer responded with dishes.