Chapter 74: The Earth is Round
Translator: CKtalon Editor: CKtalon
Dog Song was surprised as he scratched his head and said, “It’s not that far. Walking would take about twenty minutes. But going up the mountain would take at least an hour. The mountain is hard to climb.”
When Ouyang Fenghua heard that, her face turned bitter, “Dad, it’s… that far? For goodness sake, it feels like I’ll die going up there. Can’t I just not go?”
“The one who insisted on coming is you. Now here you are, reluctant to go. No, you have to come today,” Ouyang Huazai said with a groan.
Ouyang Huazai’s wife, Cui Jin, said with a laugh, “Silly girl. How can you miss your father’s calligraphy battle today?”
“Tch, what’s so nice about it? In terms of handsomeness, that monk isn’t as handsome as Dad. In terms of calligraphy skills, he’s definitely inferior to Dad. The outcome is already obvious. So what if I don’t see it?” Ouyang Fenghua said in disagreement.
When Dog Song heard this, he probed, “You are going up the mountain to compete with Fangzheng in calligraphy?”
Ouyang Fenghua said, “That’s right. Is there a problem?”
“No, so you guys are here to teach that little b.a.s.t.a.r.d a lesson. Then, let me give you the correct directions. Drive in that direction and in an hour, you will reach the foot of the mountain,” Dog Song said as he pointed towards the west.
“Ah!? Didn’t you say that it was in the east?” Ouyang Fenghua exclaimed.
Dog Song chuckled and said with a smile, “I thought you guys were going up the mountain to pray to Buddha. That kid, Fangzheng, isn’t a good person. I can’t stand him, so I gave you the wrong directions. I even tried to get you to walk, hoping that you would leave. Since you are here to stir trouble for him, I naturally have to give you the correct directions.”
Ouyang Fenghua was enlightened as she asked, “That Fangzheng has such bad character? None of you like him?”
“Hehe, it’s worse than bad! He’s completely f*cked up! There’s no lack of clandestine acts and deceits to his list of accolades. He’s completely infamous!” Dog Song’s voice was loud. He had yelled every sentence he said.
The villagers who were watching the scene immediately understood that this convoy of vehicles was here to find trouble with Fangzheng. Someone had originally wanted to step forward when he heard Dog Song speaking nonsense. However, at that moment, no one said a thing. When Jiang Songyun and the rest from the Calligraphy a.s.sociation asked them for directions, they would all point to the west.
A lie if repeated often enough would be accepted as the truth, so Ouyang Huazai and company believed them. He stepped on the accelerator and drove west.
Dog Song hugged his broom and wore his hat in a slanted fas.h.i.+on. He looked up and saw the convoy leave the village. Only then did he spit and said, “What bullsh*t. You want to find trouble with Fangzheng? Then go all the way to the west until you run out of gas.”
“Old Song!” at that moment, Du Mei yelled. Dog Song was given a fright as he stuttered, “What?”
Du Mei laughed out loud as she said, “Well done. I’ll get Yang Hua to buy some good wine on his way home. Come to our place for lunch.”
“Alright. That’s great. Wait until I’m done sweeping this street,” with that said, Dog Song began sweeping. Work time!
The rest nodded secretly when they saw Dog Song’s att.i.tude. He had changed completely ever since he had gone up the mountain. He woke up early to work and he would offer his help to everyone, no matter who it was. He was like a living Samaritan. In the past, people would call him Dog Song, but now, everyone called him Old Song when they mentioned him.
Dog Song also noticed the change. In the past, people looked at him with a little contempt, yet now, everyone looked at him with sincere joy. Nearly everyone invited him for meals or a drink. Even his wife had warmed up to him a lot more and his children had even written an essay, ‘My Idol, Daddy’.
This left Dog Song overjoyed. He realized that after doing good, he could not stop it. He had even gotten addicted to it.
By being diligent, good things came to him. When he helped others, he would often get cigarettes or alcohol in return. His quality of life had also increased greatly. Therefore, Dog Song was grateful to Fangzheng from the bottom of his heart. Not only had he escaped the tragedy of imprisonment, he had managed to turn over a new leaf! Hence, once he heard that Ouyang Huazai and company were there to make trouble for Fangzheng, he did not care if there was a beauty or not in the car. He directly sent them to the west.
In Ouyang Huazai’s car.
“Huazai, how confident are you about the compet.i.tion?” Ouyang Huazai’s wife, Cui Jin, asked worriedly.
Ouyang Huazai guffawed and said, “It’s just an ignorant young monk. Victory is definite. The critical question is how do I win beautifully. Alright, today’s a day for everyone to relax. Just treat it as if we are on vacation!”
“Yes, yes. Vacation!” Ouyang Huazai’s daughter, Ouyang Fenghua said with a laugh.
Cui Jin shook her head helplessly as she said, “You too… sigh. He’s just a young monk from a tiny temple. Is there a need to make things difficult for him?”
Ouyang Fenghua scoffed and said, “This matter is not Dad’s fault. If anyone is to blame, it’s that Wu Changxi! And that young monk. He must have gone mad trying to make a name for himself. To think he faked these things to deceive others! That monk doesn’t seem much older than me. Even if he started practicing calligraphy in his mother’s womb, how skilled can he be? I have also seen the text in the snow. It’s impossible that it was written by him! We are not here to have a compet.i.tion today, but to tear down fake news. It’s everyone’s responsibility to strike down imitations.”
“Alright, alright. I just mentioned it in pa.s.sing and that little mouth of yours blabbered on without end. Huazai, drive slowly. The village roads are narrow,” Cui Jin said with a smile.
“Got it. An hour journey by car, it’s really far,” Ouyang Huazai grumbled.
Jiang Songyun and company, who were behind, were a little dumbfounded. He began to regret that they had not come with the people from the Songwu Calligraphy a.s.sociation.
And at that moment, Jing Yan’s cameraman had returned up the mountain. Jing Yan finally changed into a pair of new pants. They were made of leather laced with leopard prints, which made her look rather savage.
Jing Yan looked up and refused to believe that Fangzheng would stop her this time.
Fangzheng did not stop her upon seeing this, and he couldn’t be bothered either. It was almost time for lunch, but Ouyang Huazai and company had not arrived. He was wondering if he should prepare lunch.
Just as he was pondering over it, Fatty and Monkey had charged up with a full water bucket. The two huffed and puffed as they ran to the kitchen and poured the water before going back down.
Seeing the duo crazily fetch water, Jing Yan was baffled. She muttered to herself, “Are these two people mad?”
Chen Jing cursed silently, “I hope it tires the two grandsons to death!”
At that moment, Cai Fang walked over and said, “Jing Yan, something isn’t right. Ouyang Huazai and company should have arrived by now. Why aren’t they here yet?”
“I’m wondering too. Eh? Someone has come.” Jing Yan looked into the distance. There was a group of people rus.h.i.+ng over, some of them were familiar while others not.
“It’s the people from the Songwu Calligraphy a.s.sociation. The person walking in front is Mr Sun Guanying!” Cai Fang instantly recognized the old man leading the group. He immediately strode forward to welcome the elder.
Everyone exchanged pleasantries. When Sun Guanying heard that Ouyang Huazai and company had not arrived, he said in surprise, “That’s impossible! Jiang Songyun gave them a call in the morning. They left early and we didn’t see them on the way, did they get lost?”