Transmigrated as the Villain Boss's Precious Darling-Chapter 47: Third Brother’s Unlimited Potential

The old master smiled and nodded. "That’s right. The Awakening of Insects is when the hibernating bugs that spent the winter underground are startled awake. Simply put, it’s about waking up the insects."

Jim Thorne was overjoyed, his eyes crinkling into crescents. He had actually guessed correctly.

’Learning isn’t so hard after all,’ he thought. ’Just guess a few times and you get it right. If I just put in a little more effort, maybe I could improve my test scores from the single digits to the double digits!’

"Third Brother, you’re amazing... (two hundred words of flowery compliments omitted)."

Tang Xiaonan praised him relentlessly, and a huge smile spread across Jim Thorne’s face. He was happier than if he’d scored a perfect one hundred on a test—not that he ever had.

Old Master Tate spoke again. "The Awakening of Insects is one of the twenty-four solar terms. It falls between March fifth and seventh each year. Its arrival signifies the stirring of yang energy and the warming of the earth. The old saying, ’Spring thunder awakens the hundred insects,’ refers to this very solar term. It also marks the beginning of the farming season. All of creation is revived, brimming with life. Oh, and by the way, that last character isn’t pronounced *yang*, but *àng*, with a level tone."

The old master’s unhurried explanation of the solar term was far more vivid than any teacher’s lecture. Jim Thorne listened with great interest and actually managed to commit the meaning of "Awakening of Insects" to memory.

"Grandpa Tate, what does ’brimming with life’ mean?" Tang Xiaonan asked.

The old master gave her a meaningful look, then pointed to the mountain. "Look. The trees on the mountain are budding, little blades of grass are pushing up through the soil, and the hibernating animals are waking up. Doesn’t it feel different from winter?"

"Of course it’s different! In winter, the trees are all withered. The mountain looks dead. Now, it’s alive," Jim Thorne cut in.

"That is the meaning of ’brimming with life’," the old master said with a smiling nod. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

’The boy isn’t actually dumb, nor is he barbaric or unreasonable,’ he thought, gaining a new perspective on Jim Thorne. ’He’s just gone a bit astray. With some careful guidance, he can still be set right.’

Jim Thorne also had a new realization. ’So that’s what ’brimming with life’ means. I’ll remember it this time. It’s not like in class, where I forget as soon as the teacher says it. Seeing it for myself makes it feel new, and I can actually remember it.’

Old Master Tate then taught them a few more timely idioms from the newspaper, such as "spring returns to the earth," "all of creation is revived," and "the ice and snow melt away," as well as a few other spring solar terms.

"The year begins with the Start of Spring, followed by Rain Water, then the Awakening of Insects, and after that, the Spring Equinox... I’ll teach you the Song of the Solar Terms."

The old master was getting into it now. He had been a university professor, after all, and enjoyed imparting knowledge and clearing up confusion. If he couldn’t teach university students, teaching primary schoolers was good too. At least it gave him something to do.

"Spring, Rain, Awakening, Equinox, Clear, and Grain... Summer, Grain Full, Grain in Ear, Solstice, and the two Heats... Autumn, Heat’s End, Dew, Equinox, Frost, and Cold’s Descent... Winter, Snow, Great Snow, Solstice, and the two Colds..."

The Song of the Solar Terms was catchy and much more interesting than memorizing the terms one by one. Tang Xiaonan had it memorized after just a few repetitions.

"Grandpa Tate, I’ve memorized it."

Tang Xiaonan could actually recite it perfectly, but not wanting to seem like too much of a prodigy, she stumbled through it, deliberately mispronouncing a few parts. Even so, both Old Master Tate and Adrian Hawthorne were astonished.

"Wonderful, Xiaonan!" the old master praised generously.

Out of the corner of his eye, Adrian Hawthorne saw Jim Thorne’s face flush with anxiety. Amused, he deliberately said, "I’ve memorized it too."

He recited the Song of the Solar Terms with perfect fluency. This made Jim Thorne even more anxious. It was one thing to lose to his little sister, but he absolutely could not lose to that Hawthorne kid. Spurred by desperation, Jim Thorne unleashed his latent potential and actually managed to memorize it.

Although he stammered a little, he didn’t make a single mistake. By the second time through, he was already quite fluent.

"You’re the best, Third Brother! Have a cookie!"

Tang Xiaonan took out a cookie, broke it in half, and fed one piece to Jim Thorne. She gave the other half to Adrian Hawthorne. "Mr. Hawthorne is the best too!"