Chapter 374: Fighting to get Zhang Ye's works!
Zhang Ye was finally recognized!
It could be said that everyone did not have any such inkling on this matter in the beginning, but now, with Master Zhou mentioning it, they began realizing various things and observed the face of the youth in shades before glancing back at the name scribbled on the "Ode of Mulan"!
It's him!
It's really Zhang Ye!
Chen Mo had clearly heard of Zhang Ye's name before. He froze on the spot and nearly vomited blood!
His brother disciples, who had pitted with him against Zhang Ye, were all dumbfounded. Holy motherf**ker! How could it be him! Zhang Ye had appeared here?! Thinking of how they had challenged Zhang Ye to a competition earlier, their faces turned pale now. Compete with him? Compete my ass! F**k you! You were too well disguised! If we knew that you were Zhang Ye, we wouldn't have even tried! Who would want to compete in poetry with you?!
Amazement was in the air!
The chattering sound of discussion also started!
"What the heck!"
"So it was him!"
"No wonder he's so good! Why is he here?"
"F**k, isn't this bullying?! Compete with him in literary skills? Who can do better than him?!"
"Yes, I was thinking why these calligraphy masters and calligraphers could not even outdo this youth! That's because he’s Zhang Ye! I've read his poems and essays before. Every piece could be said to be earth-shattering. It’s also said that he doesn't even write a draft, he always composes them on the spot! Even if we don't mention our Calligraphy Association, which does not purely research literature, even in the Couplet Association, there might not be any masters who can outdo him in terms of literary skills! Has anyone heard of the 'Ode to Young China' prose from a few days ago? Even Peking University's Professor Yan was out talked by him!"
"If we knew it was him, we wouldn't have competed at all."
"Who would have known? Who would have even know that Zhang Ye's calligraphy skills would be so good as well?!"
Everyone basically knew who Zhang Ye was. Even if they did not know what he looked like or had never watched him on his programs or the news before, they would have at least heard of his name. After all, the calligraphy and literature world only differed slightly and had much in common. They knew more or less of the happenings in the literature world. As Zhang Ye's popularity rose, even if they did not follow his news purposefully, they would have seen him on the news. Only a small portion of the family members had never heard of Zhang Ye's name. They were already asking around to find out who he was and when they heard of his incidents and accomplishments, they too were amazed. They looked at Zhang Ye as if he was some god!
Father Su stared at his daughter, "Why didn't you tell me earlier?! Isn't that your colleague!"
Su Na giggle happily, "You didn't ask me. Oh right, Teacher Zhang said that he wanted to gift you the couplet that he wrote earlier. It was I who asked it for you!"
Father Su said happily, "Is that true?"
"Of course, I will go get it from President Wu later." Su Na replied.
"Great!" Father Su did not blame his daughter any further. That couplet verse writing was on his mind for a long time, but as he was not too familiar with President Wu, he found it difficult to ask for it during dinner.
Mr Feng looked annoyed and stared at Wu Zeqing. He spoke without any regard for his status, "Little Wu, you are so wicked! You are really so wicked! You invited Zhang Ye over and didn't even inform us. You totally cheated us old guys! Don't you think you should have told us beforehand? If we knew it was him, who would have dared to compete with him! He's a professional literary person and could even be ranked amongst the top level masters in the field of literature. To compete with us calligraphers on poems, isn't he embarrassed?! Are you even embarrassed! Hmph! If you have the capability, we should compete on the basics of calligraphy instead! We should compete on writing!"
Wu Zeqing gently smooth her hair while smiling and said, "If it's a competition on writing alone, then Little Zhang is definitely no match for all of you, but the rules of this competition were not set by me."
Teacher Wang rolled his eyes, "Then you have cheated us! By deliberately not telling us!"
Wu Zeqing laughed, "I didn't/ I thought you all would recognize him."
"Recognize? What do you mean recognize?" An old calligrapher, who had challenged Zhang Ye earlier, said, "He's wearing such a large pair of sunglass. Who would recognize him!"
Another calligrapher said indignantly, "Little Wu, you've also got a dishonest side to you."
Zhang Ye stood forward to say, "Dear seniors, I did not mean to hide it from you all. I am just used to wearing sunglasses most of the time."
Mr Feng said in a disagreeing manner, "In any case, you have offended us, so tell us how you'd settle this!"
Zhang Ye asked, "How should I settle this?"
Mr Feng glanced at him. "Gift 'Ode of Mulan' to me."
Zhang Ye said, "...but that’s my present for President Wu's birthday."
"I don't care." Mr Feng said stubbornly, "In any case, I will be taking it with me later! No one can fight with me for it. Whoever wants to fight with me, I will not give them any face!"
Everyone: "..."
Master Zhou was also tickled. "Old Feng, look at yourself... you are a calligrapher."
Mr Feng said in a matter-of-factly manner, "Having encountered good stuff like that, I don't care about my demeanor anymore. Little Wu, the poem I asked from Little Zhang earlier, I will give it back to you. I want 'Ode of Mulan' instead!"
Wu Zeqing smiled and said, "That's not possible. This is Little Zhang's present to me. It's also the best and most favorite present I have received in many years. Teacher Feng, you can't steal my most beloved item. You can have any calligraphy scroll you want, except this 'Ode of Mulan'. It is my treasure!"
Mr Feng did not give up. "Then lend it to me for a few days."
Wu Zeqing shook her head, "Hur Hur, I'm not lending this one out."
Mr Feng was so angry that his eyes were nearly popping out. "Why are you so stingy!"
Wu Zeqing smiled. "Other calligraphic works are OK, except for this one."
The ink had dried and Wu Zeqing walked over gracefully. She looked over 'Ode of Mulan' one more time with an expression of ecstasy before getting someone to keep it away for her.
Master Zhou came over to resolve things, "Haha, come on Old Feng. This is a gift from Little Zhang to Little Wu, and also a poem celebrating a woman's achievements. What would you want it for?"
Mr Feng said, "I wanted to give it to my wife. She would definitely love it to death!"
Zhang Ye coughed, "Teacher Feng, why don't I write another 'Ode of Mulan' for you?"
Mr Feng, who seemed like he really liked the piece, said, "It's the original that I want. A second copy does not have collection value!" Then, he went over to Wu Zeqing, "Little Wu, let's discuss this. I have a lot of calligraphic scrolls at home, some of which are even ancient calligraphic scrolls. If any one of them catches your eye we can exchange?"
Wu Zeqing smiled without saying a word.
In the end, Mr Feng did not successfully get that scroll that he had wanted. He was so angry that he lost his appetite.
If any of those poems, which Zhang Ye had written earlier, lacked the origins and backgrounds that many of them could not understand, the value would be considered average, but for "Ode of Mulan", it was extremely valuable. As it was a folk song poem, a story, it did not require any origins or historical setting to prop it up. Even in Zhang Ye's previous world, it was the same for "Ode of Mulan". In his world, there may or may not have been a person called Hua Mulan, but this incident of Hua Mulan serving on behalf of her father definitely did not exist! A meritorious award from the Khan? It was all just folklore. They were just stories, so even when this passage was transferred into this world, it would still have the same effect. It did not matter that it did not have an origin to support it, because Zhang Ye was just talking about the fictitious story of Hua Mulan. This sort of passage, whether it was just the story, the words, or the literary value, were all top of its class. It would do well in whichever world it was presented to!
When Zhang Ye was in secondary school, "Ode of Mulan" was the first poem in the language textbook. Their teacher even wanted them to memorize the few hundred words, without missing a single word. They were left with no other choice or room for discussion. They would even be forced to stand in class, copy passages, or other punishments. In the end, they would still have to memorize it all. Thus, it could be said that "Ode of Mulan" had a very important place in the literary and education timeline!
Even when the world was changed?
It couldn't possibly do badly!
Teacher Wang came looking for Zhang Ye as well. When he saw that Zhang Ye was going back to his table to continue eating, he dragged him over to the main table, "Little Zhang, sit here!"
Mr Feng was still feeling a sense of pity, "Let's have a drink, Little Zhang. I will make you knock out!"
Zhang Ye knew that he wasn't angry or being petty, "Don't do that, I am not a good drinker. I really can't drink."
Teacher Wang narrowed his eyes and said, "Looks like Old Feng really likes that 'Ode of Mulan' very much. When I lost to you just now, I felt really embarrassed, but looking at it now, I feel that losing to you in literature is very normal. Here, let's have a drink together too!"
Losing to other juniors?
They would definitely turn pale and be shocked!
But Zhang Ye had established his fame and was also a professional literature practitioner. Losing to him wasn't that big of a deal. The mood and feelings of these calligraphers who had competed with Zhang Ye earlier finally started to normalize.
Zhang Ye said humbly, "I just got lucky. If it were a true match of calligraphy, I would definitely not be able to match up to all of you teachers."
Master Zhou said, "You don't need to be humble. Your calligraphic words have already reached a very high standard. Most calligraphers would not be your match. As long as you continue to practice and learn, you will definitely earn yourself a place in the calligraphy world soon. Well I misspoke. What I meant to say was that you already have a place in the calligraphy world. Haha."
Zhang Ye said, "You're generous with your praise."
Master Wei also looked at him and said, "Do you have any plans to further develop yourself in calligraphy?"
Zhang Ye blinked, "I've not thought about it before, but maybe if there is a chance in the future I would love to. By then, if I have anything I don't understand, please give me your guidances."
It was getting rowdy over here as they all crowded together to chat.
Everyone else, who was present, including those who were having their lunch at their respective tables, were all discussing "Ode of Mulan" and Zhang Ye's name.
Over there, Chen Mo had fallen back silently to his stool without saying a further word. He had wanted to embarrass Wu Zeqing to get back at her for his teacher, but little did he expect that things would turn out this way. Not only did he not make President Wu look bad, he had allowed Zhang Ye to use his work as a stepping stone to praise Wu Zeqing with a poem that sang praises about women to the extreme. Chen Mo had offended numerous people and hadn’t even won a thing. As for Zhang Ye? Not only did he win everyone over, he had even gained the respect of the women and the calligraphers!
Why?
Why?
Chen Mo could not accept it!
A few of his disciple brothers noticed and came to console him, "Senior Bro, there's nothing we can do about this. Even our teacher is no match for Zhang Ye, not to mention you."
Another of his Junior Bro sighed saying, "There’s nothing to blame if we lose to him."
Chen Mo sighed and believed it was true. That Zhang guy was basically a freak. He was so young, yet his literary skills were so amazing. If he had known it was Zhang Ye, he wouldn't have gone to pick on him!