C18 Read the Picture

Sung Guodong sprang into action and promptly retrieved two slim volumes from inside the house.

Sung Zhu noticed the books appeared aged, and she didn't recall ever seeing them before, prompting her to ask with curiosity, "Grandpa, what are these books?"

With a cheerful grin, Sung Guodong caressed the books and explained, "These were given to me by a buddy from my army days. They were used by his grandson. They're quite good. Oh, they're called 'picture books for learning to read.'"

A twinge of discomfort struck Sung Zhu when she heard they belonged to a comrade's grandson—could they have been Xin Jinzhou's?

She chided herself for being petty. After all, she had no connection to Xin Jinzhou, so why did he keep popping into her thoughts?

"Picture books for learning to read? Oh, Grandpa, this character looks amusing," Sung Zhu remarked, feigning a naive curiosity as she pointed at the illustration of a person.

"Yes, that's the character for 'person.' Zhu, starting today, Grandpa will begin teaching you to read."

"Really? Once I learn to read, can I study this book?"

Sung Zhu was genuinely fascinated by traditional Chinese medicine, but she couldn't let on to the old man that she already knew how to read and even understood the meanings of the characters. She had to appear as though she was keen to learn.

"Absolutely, Zhu, you're so bright. Let's start with this page," he said, beaming with pride.

Sung Guodong was delighted and immediately began Sung Zhu's lessons, starting with the simplest characters: "person," "earth," and "field."

Sung Zhu put on her best impression of someone earnestly seeking knowledge and quickly mastered a page.

"Grandpa, I've got it! This is 'up,' this is 'down,' and this is..."

Sung Zhu grew impatient, fearing that Sung Guodong might only teach her two pages a day. How long would it take for her to 'master' the subject and move on to the book she was eager to learn from?

So, she turned to another page and, following Sung Guodong's teaching method, began reciting the characters.

"Wait, Grandpa hasn't taught you those yet. How do you recognize them?"

Sung Guodong had indeed planned to teach just two pages a day, but he was pleasantly surprised to find his granddaughter so clever, able to infer and recognize the characters on her own.

"Isn't there a picture? Like this one, it's a drawing of a hand, so this must be the character for 'hand', right, Grandpa?"

Sung Zhu was intentionally trying not to stand out too much to avoid suspicion, so she pointed at the character for "hand" in the picture book and explained.

"Ah, yes! Zhu, you're so clever! You picked it up instantly!"

Sung Guodong was briefly taken aback, then he joyfully hoisted Sung Zhu into the air. Having such a bright granddaughter from the village was wonderful!

"What's the big deal? It's all thanks to Grandpa's teaching. Look, Grandpa, I recognize this one too! This is a foot!"

Sung Zhu noticed Sung Guodong's delight and realized she might still be drawing too much attention. That wouldn't do. She didn't want to be labeled a prodigy, so she quickly made a deliberate mistake.

Sung Guodong burst into laughter, "No, Zhu, you've got it wrong this time. The drawing is of feet, but this character is 'foot'!"

"Oh, it's 'foot'. Grandpa, 'foot' and 'feet' mean the same thing, right?"

Sung Zhu was purposely playing the part of a learner who could make mistakes. She couldn't afford to seem too precocious.

"Yes, Zhu, you're very smart. Oh, and Grandpa needs to get you some paper and a pen. Just recognizing characters isn't enough; you need to practice writing too."

Sung Guodong had no suspicions and immediately planned the next steps. He decided not to push her further with reading; haste makes waste, after all!

Sung Zhu also knew she couldn't rush this. She figured that taking a week to "finish" studying both books would be just about right.