Chapter 21: Paper Cut Chopsticks

  "Alright," after thinking for half a day, Wang Kuang really couldn't think of anything that could replace the snowman to attract the little girl's attention, suddenly remembering a small trick he had learned before crossing over, he said: "I'll perform a trick for you, using paper to cut off chopsticks, how about it?"

  "Can paper cut a chopstick? I don't believe it." The young woman stared at Wang Kuang with skeptical eyes: "What if you can't cut it, then what?"

  "I'll never give up, let the young lady handle it." Wang Kuang was full of confidence, this trick had always worked for him before he crossed over, how could he possibly fail? He called Sun Er to take a piece of paper from the cabinet, during the Tang Dynasty, they still used grass paper (this grass paper is still widely used in northern Fujian and Zhejiang's Taishun area today, it's not like what CCTV said that it's on the verge of being lost) which was coarse and soft. Xuan paper had already been invented at this time, but such precious paper was not something ordinary families could afford to use. Not to mention ordinary students, even rich and noble young masters wouldn't dare to use Xuan paper to copy their work unless they had created a masterpiece or found a rare book that they wanted to keep. Seeing the grass paper was too soft, Wang Kuang folded it in half, which made it slightly better. He then took a pair of chopsticks from the table in front of him and handed them to the young lady: "Try these chopsticks, see if there's any problem with them."

  The little girl tried to bend it and couldn't bend it, so she nodded: "This chopstick is good."

  Sun Er Gao San and the others naturally knew Wang Kuang's magical abilities, always able to come up with something extraordinary. Seeing Wang Kuang about to reveal another trick, they all gathered around. Sun Mingqian even forgot for a moment that there were guests present, his head directly turned towards Wang Kuang. Lin Han took one look and thought, "It seems this young man's charm is greater than the Lin family of Chang'an? I haven't even said what I'm looking for you about yet, and besides, there's still the young master of the Zhongshu family standing in front of you, but you're not paying attention?"

  It's not surprising that Sun Ming was so upset earlier, as Wang Kuang had been staying at the inn for over a year and had indeed done many incredible things. Although he had tried his best to keep a low profile, his years of living in the mortal world and his education had still caused him to unintentionally reveal some amazing abilities in front of the people at the inn. For example, after setting up something called an "ocarina" on the well in the inn, it became much more convenient for everyone to use water. Zhu Si Niang often praised Wang Kuang for this, as she had previously been the only one responsible for fetching water and knew how hard it was. Although she no longer had to fetch water herself, she still couldn't help but sing Wang Kuang's praises.

  Another example was last winter when the inn ran out of fire starters on a cold and gloomy day, and even the flint stones were damp and wouldn't produce any sparks. The neighboring households didn't have any fire either, so there was nowhere to borrow from. But Wang Kuang went to the wild pond outside and brought back a block of ice, which he then ground into a strange shape with a thick middle and thin edges. He held it up against the sun and managed to ignite a handful of dry grass.

  Over the past year or so, everyone at the inn had come to accept that Wang Kuang was definitely a celestial being who had descended to the mortal world. Otherwise, how could he even borrow fire from the heavens? So whenever Wang Kuang wanted to do something, everyone would crane their necks in anticipation, waiting to see what amazing thing he would do next.

  It was precisely because of this that Wang Kuang had become a protected person at the inn over the past year, with a status even more revered than that of a panda.

  Seeing Sun Ming like this, Lin Han also didn't say anything, got it, let's take a look together, really want to see how this young man can use paper to carve chopsticks?

  Wang Juan made the young woman hold one end of the chopsticks in each hand, then he himself pinched a folded paper with one hand and held it high above his head, saying: "The young woman can hold it steady now, I'm going to cut it down."

  The little girl was already half-believing and half-doubting after his mysterious words, her heart full of curiosity. She clenched her fists again and said: "Alright, go ahead and peel it."

  At that moment, Wang Kuang's hand holding the paper came down, and the chopsticks suddenly broke into two pieces. The young woman was still holding onto the chopstick, not yet reacting to what had happened. Due to Wang Kuang's sudden movement, she became unstable and fell towards him. Wang Kuang quickly sidestepped and supported her with a gentle hand, preventing her from falling to the ground. He did this for a reason - as a member of a wealthy family, it was not appropriate for him to touch her. By sidestepping, he allowed Lin Han and others to see that he had not taken advantage of the situation. Upon witnessing this scene, Lin Han nodded in approval, thinking that Wang Kuang was indeed clever and knew how to avoid getting into trouble. As for the paper that Wang Kuang was holding, it remained intact. Everyone present, except for Sun Er Gao San and others who were already aware of what would happen, gasped in shock: Could this be the legendary skill of a master swordsman, where even a flying flower or a falling leaf could cause harm?

  This is actually a very simple trick, when Wang Juan pinched the paper, his index finger naturally stretched out. To onlookers, the straightened index finger was just to stabilize the paper so it wouldn't shake left and right. The real secret lies in the index finger, when pinching, letting the paper and index finger almost align, with only a tiny bit of the paper exposed. Onlookers thought the paper was cut by the chopstick, but actually, it was the tip of the finger that cut the chopstick. The exposed part of the paper is soft, and deformed instantly when in contact with the chopstick, then restored to its original shape when separated, so no one could tell. Later on, someone even boasted about having practiced kung fu since childhood using this trick, deceiving many people. But actually, anyone who knows the secret can easily cut the chopstick.

  (You book friends can try it in front of your girlfriend or boyfriend, using a new 100-yuan bill is even more impressive. If you expose about 1-3 cm of the bill, it will look more realistic. Just remember to practice at home first, master the position and control of your index finger, this won't hurt your hand, doesn't require much strength, just speed, very safe. If you can impress a beauty or win the favor of Prince Charming, don't forget to give Grey Sparrow some support.)

  But Wang Kuang's move had truly and utterly stunned Lin Han and the others, and the gaze they directed at Wang Kuang was no longer ordinary. The eyes of those guards were especially fiery hot, as if they wanted to rush forward immediately and kowtow to beg for guidance, but they didn't dare make a move because their master was present.

  At this time, the little girl also reacted, after all, she was used to being careless and didn't care about the taboo of touching a strange man. At this moment, even if she cared, she had already thrown away her inhibitions in Java. Moreover, if she cared, she wouldn't have followed her brother from Chang'an to Jian'an to play. When they arrived in Jian'an, she was too lazy to bring even a maid with her, thinking it would be troublesome. Otherwise, how could Wang Kuang have had the chance to help her earlier? The little girl had completely forgotten about the distinction between men and women. She grabbed Wang Kuang's hand and looked at it left and right, then snatched the paper away to examine it, unable to believe that such soft and fragile paper could actually cut off a chopstick.

  After watching for half a day, I couldn't find any flaws. Not to mention her, but even in later generations, how many people have seen this performance? Even if they are knowledgeable and experienced, they can't help but praise it.

  "Good kung fu!" Lin Han woke up from his shock, as a merchant who had been on the road for many years, he had seen and heard a lot, but he knew that there must be some trick to it, yet he couldn't figure out what it was. He secretly admired and praised him repeatedly, then turned to ask Sun Mingqian, "Who is this young man?"

  "Oh, it's my fault. This is my distant nephew from a branch of the family. Two years ago, his parents passed away, and he and his brother wandered to Jian'an. My nephew has been clever since childhood, but he just doesn't like reading books. Until now, he can't recognize a single character. I feel ashamed."

  This sentence made Wang Kuang break out in cold sweat: "It seems that until now, everyone still thinks I'm illiterate?" Fortunately, fortunately, for more than a year, he hadn't come into contact with anything that required reading or writing. Otherwise, his disguise would have been exposed. Because of his interest in seal carving in his past life, he could recognize almost all traditional Chinese characters and even write some common seal scripts.

  After crossing over, as long as it wasn't a formal article that was too obscure, he could cope. Adding to the fact that he had read books for over a decade in his past life, by the end of it, he had grown to loathe textbooks and would get headaches just seeing them. So after arriving in Tang Dynasty, he subconsciously avoided reading. As long as he could recognize characters, that was enough. Although he couldn't do abacus calculations, at least he knew how to use a brush pen. If he couldn't even do something this simple, then his degree from a top engineering university would be useless.

  With his foundation in seal carving, the characters he wrote might not look good, but at least they were passable. If in the future there was a need for him to write, how could he explain that he hadn't attended school yet could do this? Thinking of this, Wang Kuang couldn't sit still anymore.

  He immediately said: "Uncle, it's not that I don't want to read books, but these past years have been too eventful. My two sons are also young, and I haven't had the heart to think about it. Now that I'm under your care, I can finally settle down. I was just preparing to ask Mr. Liu to teach me literature. I know that the path of imperial examination is far and unattainable for me, and I don't have the talent for it either. So I thought, if I could recognize a few characters, it would be better for my future endeavors. But I don't know if Mr. Liu is willing to teach this unruly disciple?"

  "Good, good." Mr. Liu, the old master of the family school, was full of praise. He loved both the house and its occupants, and Wang Xian deeply pleased him. Naturally, he also looked up to Wang Kuang, not to mention that this year Wang Kuang had no bad reputation among the people of Jian'an City, except for liking to hear people brag. Now that he saw Wang Kuang willing to "turn over a new leaf", why wouldn't he be happy? He had taught Sun Ming's two sons before, and one more Wang Kuang wouldn't be too much trouble for him. Moreover, in his opinion, this Wang Dalian was quite self-aware, with not high demands, as long as he could recognize characters and read, that would be simple enough.

  So Wang Xiang's study was settled in a relaxed manner, and Mr. Liu also saw that Wang Kuang was not fond of being restrained, so he allowed Wang Kuang to come and ask for guidance at his leisure without having to attend school.

  Division

  Today I saw a video, the Varyag finally conducted an actual takeoff and landing, it's a bit exciting to say, although in the eyes of the Grey Sparrow, that is just a "quasi-aircraft carrier", but after all, it's the first step, and it has finally taken off.

  Still want to recommend and collect it, your support is the motivation for Grey Sparrow.